Lamborghini will join the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s new Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class in 2024 with an LMDh prototype. Acura, BMW, Cadillac and Porsche previously announced plans to join the class in 2023. Lamborghini began competing in the WeatherTech Championship GT Daytona (GTD) class in 2016. Since 2016, Lamborghini has posted 15 victories in the WeatherTech Championship GTD class, including consecutive wins at the Rolex 24 in 2018, ‘19 and ’20. Continue reading
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A Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe from 1955 has been sold at auction for a record price of €135 million to a private collector, Mercedes-Benz said today.
It was one of just two prototypes built at the time. Named after its creator and chief engineer, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, it is considered to be “one of the finest examples of automotive engineering and design by automotive experts.” Continue reading
See the story below the jump for the recall link.
Ford Motor Co. is warning rental car companies and other owners of 2021 Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators to park their vehicles outside due to the risk of fire. The automaker has confirmed 16 fires, mostly in vehicles that were unattended. Fourteen of these fires were in rental cars, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warned today.
“Until further notice, owners of these affected vehicles should not park them inside – they should only be parked outside and away from homes and other structures. Fires have occurred in vehicles that were parked and turned off. Continue reading
During April 2022, new passenger car registrations in the European Union saw a significant drop (-20.6%), as supply chain issues continued to disrupt car production.
With the exception of the pandemic year in 2020, this was the weakest April result in terms of volumes sold since records began. Put another way, Russian roulette is a bad game. All major markets contributed to the region’s negative performance: Italy (-33.0%), France (-22.6%), Germany (-21.5%) and Spain (-12.1%), according to ACEA*. Continue reading
Europe’s diesel vehicle sales continue the counter-intuitive trend of strength this year as the move to plug-in electrification has slowed in part because of a diminished focus on tougher CO2 targets. Another factor: diesel popularity is also due to price increases starting to negatively affect BEV buyers in particular, the respected LMC Automotive consultancy said today.
The latest diesel sales information comes at a time when 27 automakers are lobbying the EU to ban the sale of all, yes all, internal combustion vehicles by 2035 and replace them with zero emissions vehicles – aka electric – if the Global Warming goals of net zero emissions are to be met by 2050 to avoid the worst impacts of planet- and people-killing climate change. Continue reading
ASEAN LV sales continued to grow in March (+17% YoY +32% MoM), improving Q1 2021 sales by 23% YoY, according to the LMC Automotive consultancy. LMC attributed this to falling COVID-19 cases normalizing economic activity and mobility in the region. “As a result, overall ASEAN LV sales are now increased to 3.10 mn units, or a 13% YoY increase, this year,” said LMC. Toyota Group remains the dominant force in the market. Continue reading
CARB’s new Mary D. Nichols Campus in Riverside.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) said today it will host an open house of its new state-of-the-art “green” Southern California Headquarters at its Mary D. Nichols Campus in Riverside*. People are invited to tour the facility from 2- 5 p.m. as well as experience an electric zero-emission car Ride and Drive, interactive booths, a display of zero-emission trucks and buses, and what is likely the largest art collection dedicated to air quality. CARB Board Members, CARB Executive Officers, Riverside City and County Representatives will be in attendance.
“This world-class facility houses the newest advanced vehicle emissions testing laboratory in the world. The new headquarters and laboratory will enable CARB to continue its globally recognized research and achievements in reducing air pollution and fighting climate change over the coming decades. Continue reading
Honda Motor Company today announced that it has spent an unspecified sum to become the title sponsor of the Japanese Grand Prix in this season’s 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship. The Japanese Grand Prix will be held at Suzuka Circuit (Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture), 7-9 October. 2022 as the Formula 1 Honda Japanese Grand Prix 2022.
“It is great pleasure for Honda to be named as the title sponsor of the F1 Japanese Grand Prix to be held at the Suzuka Circuit which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year,” Koji Watanabe, Operating Executive, Head of Corporate Communications Supervisory Unit, Honda Motor Company. Continue reading
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Today, Genesis Motor America announced the start of sales of its first electric vehicle, the 2023 GV60 SUV. The GV60 will be offered in two packages in the United States. Initially, Genesis GV60 will only be sold at some Genesis retailers in California, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. It is as much a biometric information sales experiment as it is a vehicle. Customer response will be worth watching. No range numbers were in the release? (AutoInformed: Genesis Electrification Follows Hyundai Motor Group Ideas)
The Genesis GV60 is a first step in the brand’s move towards a lineup of fully electrified vehicles. GV60 delivers apparent world-first automotive technologies including so-called Face Connect, a system enabling drivers to unlock and lock their vehicle securely with facial recognition, and optional Genesis Digital Key 2 with Ultra-Wideband (UWB) applicability. Continue reading
The new Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards proposed by the Biden Administration# last month require an industry-wide fleet average of ~49 mpg for passenger cars and light trucks in model year 2026, the strongest fuel efficiency standards to date. On the face of it it appears to be sound policy. However, the devil is in the details. And lobbyists for special interests are largely hidden from public view.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration set standards that will increase fuel efficiency 8% annually for model years 2024-2025 and 10% annually for model year 2026. They will also increase the estimated fleet-wide average by nearly 10 miles per gallon for model year 2026, compared to model year 2021 when voters Dumped the Trump anti-environment mis-administration. This badly needed revision is a 43% increase from the previous standard of approximately 28 mpg, thereby undoing the Trump Administration’s rollback of Obama-era standards in 2020.
Mercedes-Benz USA said today that Mercedes-Benz AG has determined that on model-year 2006-2012 ML, GL and R-Class vehicles, the brake booster might be affected by advanced corrosion and fail.
Mercedes-Benz AG has found that moisture may wick under a rubber sleeve installed around the brake booster housing. Following extended time in the field with significant water exposure, “this safety defect could result in corrosion in the joint area of the brake booster housing, thus contributing to a vacuum leak at the brake booster. The brake force support might be reduced, leading to an increase in the brake pedal forces required to decelerate the vehicle and/or to a potentially increased stopping distance,” Mercedes said. In some cases it could be impossible to stop the vehicle with the brake pedal.
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This is a pittance when viewed against the ongoing effects of Republican tax cuts for the rich.
CBO today estimated the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) net cost to taxpayers will be $31 billion. This is roughly what it reported in July 2021, although a tad less than OMB’s latest estimate*. The estimated cost of the TARP stems largely from ongoing grant programs aimed at preventing foreclosures on home mortgages, assistance to American International Group (AIG), and aid to the automotive industry. Taken together, other transactions with financial institutions have yielded a net gain to the federal government from dividends, interest, and capital gains.
TARP, arguably the most contentious of the Federal government’s numerous attempts in 2008 to stop the U.S. and global economies from sliding into another Great Depression or worse, prevented the collapse of the financial system by bailing out profligate and reckless Wall Street firms and insurance companies. Continue reading
In Japan early this morning, Nissan Motor posted an annual fiscal-year 2021 net profit of 215.5 billion yen (~$1.67 billion) – its first net profit since fiscal year 2018-19. This was better than its forecast of 205 billion yen. However, like Toyota yesterday, Nissan said operating conditions require caution so it is predicting a net profit for the current fiscal year of 150 billion yen. (AutoInformed – Toyota Annual Results Show Profitability Struggle Goes On)
“It is clear that our industry and therefore our performance was impacted by intensifying headwinds in the last fiscal year,” said chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta, warning that conditions remain uncertain to an unprecedented degree.
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Ford once exported to growth markets from its manufacturing plant in Chennai.
Early this morning in India, Ford told employees in the Chennai plant that it is dropping plans to manufacturer EVs for export, according to Ketan Thakkar of the Economic Times.
“The company is likely to pursue its initial plans to sell its factories in Sanand, Gujarat and Chennai. The production at both the plants has stopped. While the Sanand plant sale talks with Tata Motors are progressing well, it is still pursuing multiple suitors for its Chennai factory, say people in the know,” the Economic times said. (AutoInformed: Washington Diddles. India Puts Billions into Securing EV Jobs; Ford India Stops Manufacturing Vehicles For Sale; Ford Exec Re-shuffle in Struggling India, South America, China) Continue reading
Mercedes-Benz to Increase Focus as a Luxury Car Company
Striving for an operating margin target of ~14%.
Mercedes-Benz (MBG stock symbol) has hosted a strategy update on the Côte d’Azur dubbed ‘Economics of Desire’ that outlined the future of Mercedes-Benz as a ‘pure-play’ luxury car company. The company will focus more on luxury, elevate its product portfolio, accelerate its path to a fully electric future and target structurally higher profitability, according to top executives. (AutoInformed: Mercedes-Benz Group Posts Some Strong 2021 Results)
“What has always been the core of our brand is now also the core of our strategy: the luxury segment. We are further sharpening the focus of our business model and product portfolio in order to maximize the potential of Mercedes-Benz even in challenging conditions. At the heart of that is our goal to build the world’s most desirable cars,” said Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG. Continue reading →