William Thornton
William Thornton covers how Alabama’s auto industry shapes the state’s economy, workforce and communities, tracking the major manufacturers, their suppliers and the policies that affect them. His reporting treats automobiles as a business and industrial story first, tying models on the line to investment decisions, jobs and long-term shifts in manufacturing. He brings long-running business experience to a beat where economic development, labor and technology meet on the factory floor.
Business-side coverage of Alabama automakers
Thornton writes frequently about the performance and footprint of the major automakers that build vehicles in Alabama, including stories on how many of the top U.S.-made automobiles now roll off Alabama assembly lines. He follows production rankings, new model allocations and plant milestones to show how specific vehicles translate into thousands of jobs and billions in output. His pieces often connect a single plant or model to broader corporate strategy, such as where companies choose to expand capacity or introduce new technology. Across this coverage he treats automakers as anchor employers and industrial platforms, not just consumer brands.
Jobs, investment and industrial policy
A recurring thread in his work is the link between auto manufacturing and major investment decisions, from plant expansions and supplier projects to incentives and training initiatives targeted at the industry. He covers announcements about new facilities or upgrades through the lens of payroll, hiring needs and the kinds of skills manufacturers are seeking. When public agencies support new auto-related projects, he tracks the dollars committed, the timelines and the promises on job creation, situating each deal within the state’s competition for manufacturing work. His stories often highlight how policy choices and corporate decisions intersect on issues like workforce development, infrastructure and industrial strategy.
Industry shifts, technology and supply chain
Thornton’s auto coverage also follows how new technologies and market changes filter into Alabama’s plants and suppliers. He pays attention to developments such as electric vehicles, advanced manufacturing techniques and automation, and how these forces change demand for parts, logistics and labor. His articles reflect how supply chains adjust when automakers add or retool models, including the ripple effects on local suppliers and related businesses. In these pieces he treats the auto sector as part of a wider manufacturing network, explaining how decisions made by global companies play out across the state’s factories and transport corridors.
Broader business reporting background
Thornton is a business reporter for the Birmingham News and its sister publications at the masthead, and he has worked full-time in media since the early 1990s with experience covering local government, education and courts. That background shows in his auto stories through close attention to public records, economic context and the impact of corporate decisions on workers and communities. He brings a news reporter’s discipline to a specialized business beat, using clear language and concrete numbers to explain how the automobile industry functions as one of Alabama’s core economic engines.
4 more automobile journalists.
Aarian Marshall
Aarian Marshall is a staff writer at WIRED who stands out for covering how cars, software, and policy collide. She writes on transportation systems and cities, from the auto industry to broader mobility systems. Before WIRED, she reported on cities and urban policy for The Atlantic’s CityLab. Her beat runs from electric vehicles, fuel prices, tariffs, and car-buying decisions to autonomous vehicles, robotaxis, and software-defined cars. She reports with a systems view, linking policy shifts, technical failures, and urban life to what happens on streets, in repair shops, and at the pump.
Adrian Leung
Adrian Leung writes engineering-led coverage of Chinese electric vehicles and performance cars for CarNewsChina. He focuses on new energy vehicles, battery systems, powertrains, electric platforms, high-end domestic brands, and track-ready models, and he explains technical details in plain language for non-specialist readers. His reporting treats new models as hardware and systems stories, with precise figures on range, battery capacity, chassis layout, motor outputs, weight, and acceleration. He also covers the Chinese auto industry’s finances and technology roadmap, including sector profits, vehicle volumes, and solid-state battery timelines. His background in Electrical and Computer Engineering shows in the way he writes about vehicle electronics and battery management.
Al Pefley
Al Pefley is a television news reporter for CBS12 News whose work centers on how laws, law enforcement and local decisions shape everyday life for drivers and other residents. He reports in a general assignment role but returns often to transportation, public safety and pocketbook issues, treating driving as a point where policy, disability and policing intersect. His coverage includes driver-focused laws, fuel and tax policy, crime, policing and internal affairs findings, with a consistent focus on accountability and concrete consequences for people’s wallets, safety and trust in institutions. He explains county gas tax debates, campaign positions on teacher pay, property crime and retail theft in short, clear segments. Pefley works primarily on the scene, using live or recorded field reporting and interview-driven pieces to show what happened, why it matters and what comes next.
Aliza Savira
Aliza Savira focuses on the hidden financial costs of owning modern cars, especially how insurance can undermine expected savings. She writes about automobiles for MSN, looking at new technology and electric vehicles through everyday ownership rather than showroom appeal. Her work highlights the gap between promises of cheaper running costs and the full financial picture of owning a vehicle. In electric vehicle coverage, she treats insurance premiums as a key ownership problem that can erode long-term value. She stays close to practical questions drivers face, such as which recurring costs matter most after purchase. She reports on how insurance structures and premium levels interact with new automotive technology. Her beat is consumer-focused automobile reporting, with a clear, utilitarian lens on ownership experience, recurring expenses, and risk, rather than lifestyle or performance.