Ford posts record first-quarter profits

Ford Motor Co. said first-quarter net income increased 15 percent from a year earlier to $1.61 billion, as rising U.S. auto sales pushed North American profits to a record, offsetting deeper losses in Europe.

Lajdziak replaces Schembri as the president of Smart USA

Jill Lajdziak, Saturn's former top executive, was named president of Smart USA just three days after starting with the company. David Schembri, who previously held the job, will take an unidentified position with the Penske Automotive Group, which distributes the Smart ForTwo microcar in the United States, the company said. "Dave will transition into retail operations at Penske Automotive Group with our dealerships," said Penske spokesman Anthony Pordon.

RTT Student Awards contest launched

Students from around the world have been invited to enter the annual RTT Student Award, sponsored by NVIDIA and Wacom. RTT has called for submissions of visionary ideas and concepts to enter in the categories of ‘Emerging Technology' and ‘Funky Visualization,' with an expert judging panel deciding on the highest caliber submissions. Winning students will present their project at Excite 2012, RTT's showcase for cutting-edge innovation and technology in the world of 3D real-time visualization.