Category Archives: economy

SEMA – 2021 Strong Year for Specialty-Equipment Market

SEMA also reflects the ongoing Biden economic recovery as 2021 was a strong year for the U.S. economy amid record demand and consumer spending. Currently, the automotive industry has 2.91 million employees, only 4% below employment levels from before the pandemic in February 2020, making the automotive industry one of the best recoveries of any sector in the economy. Continue reading

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Ford Motor and Stripe Sign E-Commerce Deal

For Ford and Lincoln dealers offering digital payment services today, Stripe’s service is expected to drive offer efficiency into processing of e-commerce payments, such as vehicle ordering, reservations and digital and charging services. Continue reading

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Biden Proposes New Clean Energy Policies and Actions on Offshore Winds, Public Lands, Transmission Lines

Build Back Better will, no doubt, continue to be opposed by the Republican party comprised of nope-dopes heavily financed by fossil-fuel and related businesses. Continue reading

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NADA Predicts 2022 New-Vehicle Sales of 15.4M, up 3.4%

Whether such long-term predictions are of any use is an open question at AutoInformed given the volatility of the ongoing COVID pandemic. Consider that 2021 closed with new-light vehicle sales of 14.93 million units, an increase of 3.1% compared to 2020’s sales volume of 14.47 million units. However, December 2021’s SAAR totaled just 12.44 million units, a decrease of -23.7% compared to December of 2020. Continue reading

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First Place! Toyota Ousts GM as US Sales End 2021 at 14.9m

Overall, US Light Vehicle sales in December fall by 27% YoY, ending a chaotic 2021 at 14.9 million units. LMC noted that even December – traditionally one of the strongest months of the year – flopped and registered the steepest YoY decline of the calendar. AutoInformed notes the rate of change in the Covid infected world is increasingly making traditional long-term based indexes – such as calendar years irrelevant, or even downright harmful indicators for policy makers, businesses and anyone who uses them for planning. Continue reading

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Significant 2021 Automotive Stories and Trends

With that in mind, here’s our perspective on the last annum, from autonomous vehicles to global warming, to driving high disasters, to trade and tariffs and to the rise of fascism. We do this with a humble awareness that AutoInformed conducts its education in public. We begin with our take on significant automotive stories as we enter another year of plagues – covid, political, social or otherwise. Continue reading

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Washington Diddles. India Puts Billions into Securing EV Jobs

This is not an isolated occurrence. Electric vehicles, the so-called hydrogen economy and connected cars are the future of the planet and high paying employment. Virtually all major industrial nations are promoting policies and incentives to become major forces where no automaker dares to go alone. Except the dis-United States it seems. Even Senator Manchin’s next Maserati that he drives to his yacht will likely be an EV. Built where? The question facing Washington politicians of his ilk is simple: Do you care about the people in your district? Continue reading

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Census – Who Aren’t Vaccinated Against COVID?

Most of the Household Pulse Survey response options are either about information (“Don’t know if it will protect me”) or trust (“Don’t trust the vaccine”). However, one involves access: “It’s hard for me to get a COVID-19 vaccine.” Continue reading

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Census – US Population Growth Slowest Ever

Given our urgent need to be internationally competitive and the staunch Republican opposition to helping poor families and young children in favor of tax cuts for the super wealthy, the news comes at a particularly bad time for the Party of Nope , aka Republicans or the grand old white NOPe. When will they put country over ideological allegiance to what is now the party of insurrection and treason? Continue reading

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Building Back – FAA First-Year Airport Funding $2.89B

Many of these enhancements are crucial for automakers, suppliers and millions of workers as just in time delivery practices have collided with the non-vaccinated covid resurgence and the semiconductor shortage. The money will come from the Airport Infrastructure Grant program, one of three new aviation programs created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The law provides $15 billion over five years. The FAA estimates the backlog of airport modernization and safety projects totals $43.6 billion. Continue reading

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Immunomedics CFO Charged with Insider Trading

Herewith the, err, lowlights from the SEC legal action: while serving as CFO of Immunomedics, Usama Malik learned that the FDA had permitted the company to halt a clinical trial for a breast cancer drug because the existing trial data provided compelling evidence that the drug was effective. Malik – who was subject to a trading “black-out” that prohibited him and anyone living in his household from purchasing Immunomedics stock – immediately told Lauren S. Wood, with whom he lived at the time, as well as three family members. Wood and two of the family members then bought Immunomedics stock, as did an account in the name of the third family member’s spouse. Continue reading

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US November Light Vehicle Sales Forecast Down Again

“Retail inventory on dealer lots is expected to end below one million vehicles for a fourth consecutive month, with sales in each month being dictated by the number of vehicles delivered to dealerships rather than reflecting actual demand,” said Thomas King, president of the data and analytics division at J.D. Power Continue reading

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CARB OK’s Record $1.5B for Clean Vehicles, Mobility Options

The CARB approval came the same week as the Biden Administration passed its forward looking, far reaching enlightened infrastructure bill will also move the U.S. toward a cleaner*, job creating society for all that not only builds back better, but posies the U.S. for successful leadership in dealing with extreme climate and life-killing global warming. Continue reading

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2020 Vehicles Post Fuel Economy, Low Emissions Records

In August, President Biden signed an Executive Order that sets good policy for US citizens with an ambitious new target to make half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 zero-emissions vehicles, including battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, or fuel cell electric vehicles. EPA also proposed a new rulemaking under the Clean Air Act that by 2026 would establish the strongest greenhouse gas emission standards for cars and light duty trucks in history. Continue reading

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Biden’s Build Back Better Act Decreases Budget Deficit!

Some of those budgetary effects are associated with programs that are classified as off-budget. The decrease in the on-budget deficit over that period would be $783.3 billion. To do the math for insurrectionist Republicans, this means ~$14 Billion dollars in the black, which probably because of the color means that most Republicans will no doubt oppose it. The failed former president, currently the insurrectionist in chief residing in Flori-duh, not only didn’t actually do anything to repair the infrastructure despite voluminous weekly (weakly?) announcements that it was infrastructure week, his tax cuts for the rich ran up record deficits. Continue reading

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