Corey Cohoe

Charlotte-based Spartan Motors Inc. has entered an agreement to acquire custom fire apparatus developer Smeal Fire Apparatus Co. and its subsidiaries for $36.3 million. The transaction is expected to close in January 2017.

Return to Park, a new technology designed by Dearborn-based Ford Motor Co. to automatically shift a vehicle into park when various conditions occur, will be featured in every 2017 Ford Fusion.

The new Hydra-Matic 9T50 nine-speed automatic transmission will make its debut in Chevrolet’s 2017 Malibu and will also be available in the 2017 Cruze Diesel and 2018 Equinox. The General Motors Co.-developed transmission will be an option on 10 vehicles models by the end of next year.

Nonprofit educational organization Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc., has selected Roger Penske, chairman of Bloomfield Hills-based transportation service company Penske Corp., as a recipient of its 2017 Horatio Alger Award.

Michigan could save $4.8 million on its annual snowplowing bill by deploying tow plows, says a new report developed by Southfield-based Lawrence Technological University.

As part of the Michigan-based Skilled Trades Training Fund program’s plan to administer grants totaling $17 million during the 2017 fiscal year, nearly 15,000 workers in the state will receive training for in-demand technical jobs, the state-based Talent Investment Agency announced.

A new event space called Castle Hall has opened on the second floor of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) building in downtown Detroit and is now taking reservations.

The Colorado ZR2, a performance variant of the Chevrolet Colorado that was designed to be a foot narrower and 500 pounds lighter than full-size, off-road trucks, will go on sale in North America next spring.

Benton Harbor-based WLabs, which is owned by Whirlpool Corp., will begin a test market launch for its Zera Food Recycler, a system that can convert food waste into homemade fertilizer, on Jan 6.

A new, full-service musical instrument store, called Third Wave Music, will open on Nov. 23 in Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood.