Category Archives: results

Chinese Junk Watch – E-Bully Youth Electric 1000W ATVs

Posted on 25 May 2026 by Ken Zino

The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) warns that E-Bully Youth Electric 1000W ATVs sold under various brand names including “Seangles” and “Offroad Mall” fail to comply with mandatory U.S. Federal ATV safety standards. They create a risk of serious injury or death.

“The youth ATVs fail to meet mechanical suspension requirements, and the reverse indicator light fails to illuminate, posing a crash hazard. The parking brakes fail to hold, posing a collision hazard. Additionally, the surfaces near the footwell can reach high temperatures posing a risk of severe burns,” CPSC said in a release. Continue reading →

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Annals of Marketing – NISMO Coming to Australia

Posted on 24 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“NISMO represents one of the most authentic expressions of Nissan’s passion for performance, innovation and customer excitement,” said Ivan Espinosa, President and CEO, Nissan Motor Company. “As we advance our long-term vision of mobility intelligence for everyday life, we will continue to deliver new experiences to our customers. The expansion of the NISMO brand in markets such as Australia is an important step in bringing exciting experiences to customers who value performance and authenticity,” Espinosa claimed. Continue reading →

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Annals of Marketing – BMW LEGO M3 E30

Posted on 22 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“The BMW M3 E30 is now available as a LEGO® Speed Champions set. The exclusive kit featuring a special-edition livery design is a unique heritage item for fans of all ages,” BMW said.

“The distinctive livery pays tribute to the car’s legendary heritage and draws inspiration from the BMW M Motorsport division. Besides the visually captivating forms and colors of the livery, it is unique in that it is applied not only to the scaled-down replica LEGO® Speed Champions BMW M3 E30 version, but also to the actual BMW M3 E30,” BMW said. Continue reading →

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Aftermarket Auto Service – Cost and Affordability Are Key

Posted on 22 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“Affordability is playing an increasingly important role in the aftermarket service experience, but delivering on the fundamentals remains critical,” said Lisa Nguyen, manager of OEM Solutions at JD Power. “Index data show that aftermarket providers are largely executing where it matters most, with the majority of impactful key performance indicators (KPIs) completed more than 70% of the time and the top two – the service advisor being completely focused on customer needs and providing helpful guidance – exceeding 90% completion rates across segments. Continue reading →

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Stellantis FaSTLAne 2030 Financial Reform Revealed

Posted on 21 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“We have great people, the muscle of global scale, unmatched brands that connect and inspire, the deep local roots of our regions and dealer partners to meet our customers’ distinctive needs, and a relentless focus on innovation and excellence in execution. With these strengths, we are uniquely positioned to offer delight, functionality, and affordability. Adding to these the accelerating and amplifying benefits of our ‘win-win’ partnerships, we have everything we need to deliver our FaSTLAne 2030 ambitions,” claimed Filosa. [This is the corporate equivalent of betting on the come line in the Casino at Monte Carlo – AutoCrat.] Continue reading →

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Chinese Dongfeng Voyah Vehicles Coming to EU Via Stellantis

Posted on 20 May 2026 by Ken Zino

Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) and the Dongfeng Group today announced their intention to form a European joint venture for shared sales, distribution, manufacturing, purchasing, and engineering activities. The joint venture would take responsibility for the sales and distribution of Dongfeng’s Voyah-branded vehicles in designated markets in Europe. This would circumvent EU tariff’s on Chinese-made vehicles. [Stellantis and Dongfeng Group recently announced the production of all-new Peugeot and Jeep models in China for the domestic market and export – AutoCrat]*

“The plans we are announcing today take our recently strengthened cooperation with Dongfeng to an all-new dimension of an international partnership to the benefit of customers around the world,” said Antonio Filosa, Stellantis CEO. “With this new chapter in our collaboration, we will give our customers an even greater choice of competitive products and pricing, leveraging the best of Stellantis’ global footprint alongside Dongfeng’s access to China’s advanced new energy vehicles ecosystem.” Continue reading →

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Stellantis, Jaguar Land Rover Sign MOU on Tech Development

Posted on 20 May 2026 by Ken Zino

Stellantis (NYSE: STLA. STLAM.MI) and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore opportunities to collaborate on product development in the United States. Under the terms of the non-binding MOU, Stellantis and … Continue reading →

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Volvo Cars and Google Gemini Add AI Tech

Posted on 19 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“The EX60 provides an ideal platform to explore the future of contextually aware driving experiences,” said Alwin Bakkenes, Head of Global Software Engineering at Volvo Cars. “Working closely with Google as a lead device partner allows us to help bring the latest advances in AI into the automotive environment faster and more collaboratively than ever before.” Continue reading →

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HondaJet APMG S Upgrade Expands to Mexico

Posted on 19 May 2026 by Ken Zino

Honda Aircraft Company said today that the so-called APMG S program (footnote 1) is now available to owners in both the U.S. and Mexico of HondaJet Classic and APMG aircraft. This improves performance and adds the capabilities of recent technical innovations.

“We are excited to provide our customers in Mexico the opportunity to upgrade their aircraft with the advanced technology and performance of more recent iterations of the award-winning HondaJet,” said Amod Kelkar, Senior Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer at Honda Aircraft Company. “We are pursuing additional international certifications and hope to expand availability of the APMG S upgrade package to more HondaJet customers around the world soon.” Continue reading →

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May 2026 Light Vehicle Production Forecast is Down Again

Posted on 19 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“North America’s vehicle production outlook was reduced by 13,000 units for 2026 and 339,000 units for 2027. Near-term production remains relatively steady as automakers continue building key high-volume vehicles to meet demand and support lean inventory levels, especially in pickups and core utility segments. However, the forecast assumes manufacturers will not cut output preemptively unless demand weakness or supply disruptions become more visible. As a result, the brunt of the downside risk shifts into 2027, especially for vehicles and segments more exposed to high fuel costs and softer consumer spending. [Such as the gas guzzling pickup trucks and SUVs that are (were?) extremely profitable offerings from what used to called the Detroit Three. Now GM, Ford and Stellantis – AutoCrat.] Continue reading →

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Chrysler Recalls Jeep Cherokee Models for PTU Failures

Posted on 18 May 2026 by Ken Zino

Chrysler (FCA US) is recalling ~62,000 2019-2023 model year Jeep Cherokee vehicles. The Dauch Corporation supplied power transfer unit (PTU) may fail resulting in the sudden loss of power or parked vehicle rollaways. The driver may notice a Service 4WD message, noise, vibration or change in drive quality.

“Some 2019-2023 MY Jeep Cherokee vehicles may have been built with two-speed Power Transfer Unit (PTU) which may fail internally,” FCA said in the mandatory safety defect filing made public by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) this morning. “A loss of motive power can cause a vehicle crash without prior warning. A vehicle that rolls in PARK can cause a vehicle crash without prior warning or injury to others outside the vehicle.” Continue reading →

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BMW N.A. Starts Preferred Pricing at IONNA Charging Sites

Posted on 14 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“BMW firmly believes in an electric future, and it’s no secret that reliable high-speed charging infrastructure remains essential to the continued growth of the electric vehicle market,” said Shaun Bugbee, Executive Vice President, BMW of North America. “We currently offer one of the broadest portfolios of premium electric vehicles in the U.S., with the next-generation BMW iX3 arriving in the U.S. later this year. As our electric vehicle offerings continue to expand, initiatives like this help ensure our customers enjoy a seamless ownership experience wherever they travel.” Continue reading →

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Trumped – National Average for Fuel Prices Climbing Yet Again

Posted on 14 May 2026 by Ken Zino

AAA said today that the national average for fuel prices is once again on its way back up.*

“After five straight days of declines earlier this week, the national average is once again on its way back up. Today’s national average is a couple cents lower than last week, but with crude oil prices hovering in the $100/barrel range, pump prices remain elevated,” AA said. Continue reading →

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First Glance – Acura Hybrid SUV

Posted on 14 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“Honda will reallocate more development and production resources into hybrid models to accelerate the market launch ahead of the original schedule and increase the number of compelling products,” said Toshihiro Mibe, global CEO of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. “We have made steady progress in the development of hybrid vehicle technologies, where Honda has strengths, based on our belief that hybrid models will continue to be the key to addressing environmental challenges.” [Today Honda posted its first Japanese full-year loss in history taking ~$9 billion in costs ‌to restructure its electric-vehicle business. Honda also dumped its longer-term EV sales forecast.-AutoCrat] Continue reading →

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BMW Group to Convert Preferred Shares to Common

Posted on 14 May 2026 by Ken Zino

At the Annual General Meeting of BMW AG (XETRA: BMWG.DE) late yesterday, and a subsequently held separate meeting of preferred shareholders [Susanne Klatten and Stefan Quandt – AutoCrat], the conversion of preferred shares into ordinary shares was approved.

“For the weighting of BMW AG in major stock indices such as the DAX or the EURO STOXX 50, it is already the ordinary shares that are decisive as the share class with the highest free‑float market capitalization. As a result of the conversion, their proportion in free float will increase significantly by around 19%,” said Chief Financial Officer Walter Mertl on Wednesday in Munich. “This step therefore strengthens the weighting of BMW AG in relevant indices. The simplified capital structure represents a clear added value for investors and may have a positive impact on the share price performance of the BMW share.” Continue reading →

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