Automotive technology will be as big a star at the New York International Auto Show, which starts this week, as the cars themselves. Tesla has upped the bar again by announcing it will have something like an autonomous car this year, That would seem to put pressure on the brick-by-brick, autonomy-by-evolution approach the industry subscribes to at large.

It's bad enough when I hear my daughter and her friends wondering if they can be the next Taylor Swift. When I hear a variation of that from grownups, I want to slap someone. It brings me back to the late '90s. I'm not talking about grownups thinking they want to be Taylor Swift. It's grownups thinking they can be Howard Roark.

General Motors sent out a memo to dealers last week, saying it planned to cut the powertrain warranty coverage. The letter, which has been reported upon in numerous places, says the roll-back reduces visits under its free maintenance program for Chevrolet, Buick and GMC vehicles, starting with 2016 model-year vehicles. Also downgraded is the five-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty. It is being cut to five or 60,000 miles. GM will reduce the number of service visits under its two-year, 24,000-mile Chevrolet Complete Care, GMC Pro Grade Protection and Experience Buick Protection maintenance programs from four years to two.

Ford may need to focus on Focus. And GM on Malibu. Yes, the domestic brands' trucks and SUVs are selling, but their cars are not. February auto sales weren't great overall, of course, what with the brutal winter that kept people in their caves. What did move were larger vehicles, what with gasoline prices under $2 in some places, and cake-and-eat-it-too engine improvements and weight savings that let consumers go large without sacrificing too much at the pump.