Three-Peat for Penske at Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

Posted on 11 April 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Three-Peat for Penske at Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

Penske and Chevy power. Click to Enlarge.

Josef Newgarden kept Team Penske and Chevy unbeaten in three NTT IndyCar Series races this season with his second consecutive win of 2022, capturing the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Newgarden earned his first career Long Beach victory in the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, holding off Romain Grosjean in the No. 28 DHL Honda and reigning series champion Alex Palou in the No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Grosjean tied a career best by finishing second. The 2014 series champion Will Power finished fourth in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.

Team Penske has claimed at least two of the first four spots at the finish in all three races this season. The last time Team Penske won the first three races of the season was 2012, and Chip Ganassi Racing in 2020 was the last IndyCar  team to start a season with three straight wins. Continue reading →

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BMW Cutting CO2 Emissions from Aluminum Wheel Casting

Posted on 8 April 2022 by Ken Zino

Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on BMW Group Cutting CO2 Emissions from Aluminum Wheel CastingThe BMW Group claims that working on sustainability it will use cast aluminum wheels produced with so-called for its BMW and MINI brands from 2024 onwards. The transition applies, in particular, to the energy-intensive electrolysis used in producing aluminum and to the wheel-casting process. Agreements have been reached with all BMW Group wheel suppliers. Up until now, wheels have accounted for  ~5% of supply chain CO2 emissions. Transitioning to more sustainable production that relies on green power will reduce these emissions by more than half. The BMW Group procures ~10 million light-alloy wheels per year; 95% of these are made from cast aluminum.

There is not a globally agreed methodology, approved audits or accounting principles or common terminology in the increasing use of sustainability by large manufacturers. The German auto industry is currently under heavy criticism for its lobbying the German government to not impose sanctions on the use of Russian or other fossil fuels, saying it can’t be done. There isn’t even an agreed way to spell or say aluminium in English. Continue reading →

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Another? Ford GT Heritage Edition – Holman Moody

Posted on 8 April 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Latest Ford GT Heritage Edition - Holman Moody

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The Ford GT is no longer in production,  so AutoInformed thought the 2022 Ford GT Heritage Edition was the end of the line. That super-car offered marketing homage to the 1964 Ford GT prototypes that led to America’s only Le Mans-winning super-car 

Wrong – there’s big money involved as long as there are paying customers.

The original Ford GT40 prototype debuted at the 1964 New York Auto Show. Now Ford is returning to New YAWK for the first public appearance of its new GT Heritage Edition – the 2022 Ford GT Holman Moody Edition. This marks the final 2022 Heritage Edition paying tribute to the GT40 MK II race car that completed the famous 1-2-3 sweep at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966,  with wins from 1966 to 1969, and in born-again form in 2016. The GT Heritage Edition will debut alongside the 1966 Ford GT40 MK II. (AutoInformed on: First Look: 2022 Ford GT Heritage Edition. The Last?) Continue reading →

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FAA – Largest Fines Ever for Two Unruly Passengers

Posted on 8 April 2022 by Ken Zino

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today proposed the largest-ever fines ever against two passengers for alleged unruly behavior.* The fines of $81,950 and $77,272, respectively, are part of the ~$2 million the agency has proposed since January 2022. The passengers have 30 days after receiving the FAA’s letter to respond to the agency. The FAA does not identify passengers against whom it proposes civil penalties.

“If you are on an airplane, don’t be a jerk and don’t endanger the flight crews and fellow passengers. If you do, you will be fined by the FAA,” U.S. Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg said when he announced the fines. Continue reading →

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NLRB – Ban Mandatory Anti-Union Employee Meetings

Posted on 7 April 2022 by Ken Zino

The National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo today issued a memorandum to all Field offices announcing that she will ask the Board to find mandatory meetings where employees are forced to listen to employer speech concerning the exercise of their statutory labor rights, including captive audience meetings, a violation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

Abruzzo noted that that the Board has long-recognized that the Act protects employees’ right to listen to – or refrain from listening to – employer speech concerning their rights to act collectively to improve their workplace. Forcing employees to attend captive audience meetings under threat of discipline discourages employees from exercising their right to refrain from listening to this speech and is therefore inconsistent with the NLRA. Such meetings are often scripted or run by outside consulting groups that attempt to paint a harmful picture of unions. (Must Read by AutoInformed: John Oliver discussing the mechanics of union busting, and why the companies who do it face so few consequences.) 
Continue reading →

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‘Entry Level’ Mercedes-AMG SL 43 4-Cylinder?

Posted on 7 April 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on ‘Entry Level’ Mercedes-AMG SL 43 4-Cylinder?

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During the 70 years of its development history, what is known in shorthand as the SL series has undergone mutations from a racing car to an open-top luxury sports car. Now, the new Mercedes-AMG SL 43 is mutating again shedding eight-cylinders for four-cylinders, after two V8 models in the nascent Mercedes-AMG performance brand. Price range is unknown but in this league, 0h, $135,000+ is a good guess. (AutoInformed: Sports Car Market Magazine Hooks Hagerty as Sponsor of The SCM Modern and Classic Touring Series. AMG Invitational First)

The SL 43  is a 2+2-seater with fabric soft top and, ahem, a 2-liter inline four-cylinder gasoline engine rated at a combined fuel consumption 9.4-8.9 l/100 km with combined CO2 emissions of 214-201 g/km. In the new SL 43, materials used include aluminum, magnesium, fiber composites and steel, from which the windscreen frame is made, for example. This serves as roll-over protection in conjunction with the roll bar system behind the rear seats, which pops up when needed. Continue reading →

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March European Sales Plummet – Supply, Pandemic, War

Posted on 7 April 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on March European Sales Plummet - Supply, Pandemic, War

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The West European selling rate dropped to 9.0 mn units/year in March, from 10 mn units/year in February, bringing the Q1 2022 average to just 9.6 mn units/year, according to the LMC Automotive* consultancy.

“The start to 2022 has been very disappointing as the automotive industry continues to endure the impact of supply problems. To make matters worse, the horrific war in Ukraine only adds to these issues,” LMC said. (AutoInformed: West European Car Sales Flat Before Russian War On Ukraine; Global Light Vehicle Sales Rate Drops in February; German Automakers Bearing Brunt of Putin’s War on Ukraine) Continue reading →

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BTS – Aviation Fuel Cost at 7-Year High

Posted on 6 April 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on BTS - Aviation Fuel Cost at 7-Year High

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The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today released U.S. airlines’ February Fuel Cost and Consumption numbers indicating U.S. scheduled service airlines used 1.14 billion gallons of fuel, 5.4% less fuel than in January 2022 and 11.4% less than in pre-pandemic February 2019. The cost per gallon of fuel in February 2022 ($2.60) was up 24 cents (10.2%) from January 2022 and up 70 cents (31.3%) from February 2019. Total February 2022 fuel expenditure ($2.98B) was up 4.5% from January 2022 and up 16.2% from pre-pandemic February 2019.

At $2.60, the cost per gallon of fuel in February was the highest since October 2014’s $2.68. Also noteworthy in February 2022 was the 55.8% year-over-year increase in fuel consumption on domestic flights, reflecting an increase in domestic air travel from last February. Combined with the 60.9% year-over-year cost per gallon increase, the increase in fuel consumption resulted in a year-over-year domestic fuel cost increase of 150% ($1.27 billion). Continue reading →

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Porsche Buys into eFuels via HIF Global

Posted on 6 April 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Porsche Buys into eFuels via HIF Global

A pilot plant is being built north of Punta Arenas in Chile’s Patagonia. It is  expected to make ~130,000 liters of eFuels in 2022. It will then be expanded in two stages to ~55 million liters by 2024, and ~550 million liters by 2026.

Porsche is taking a $75 million piece of HIF Global LLC or ~12.5% of the holding company HIF Global, which is internationally active as project developers of eFuel* production facilities. Porsche is investing in the development of eFuel operations in Chile, USA and Australia. Electricity-based synthetic fuels – eFuels – let combustion engines operate – potentially  –  in an almost CO₂-neutral manner, depending on how they are produced, and if you do a life-cycle analysis.

The sports car and SUV manufacturer initially plans to use the eFuel from Chile in motorsport projects. In the future, it is also conceivable that they will be used to fuel the company’s own vehicles with combustion engines during initial fueling at the factory, and at Porsche Experience Centers. Continue reading →

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EPA: Bans Asbestos – First Under Chemical Safety Act

Posted on 5 April 2022 by Ken Zino

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said today it is  finally taking action to protect people from asbestos exposure by releasing a proposed rule to prohibit ongoing uses of the only known form of asbestos currently imported into the U.S. This proposed rule is the first-ever risk management rule issued under the new process for evaluating and addressing the safety of existing chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that was enacted in 2016.

The proposed rule would ban chrysotile asbestos, the only known form of asbestos that’s currently imported into the U.S., which is found in products such as asbestos diaphragms, sheet gaskets, brake blocks, aftermarket automotive brakes/linings, other vehicle friction products, and other gaskets also imported into the U.S. Most consumer products that historically contained chrysotile asbestos have been discontinued. Continue reading →

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GM, Honda to Develop New EVs for Sale in 2027

Posted on 5 April 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on GM, Honda to Develop New EVs for Sale in 2027

What fun for brand managers – a common platform for Cadillac and Acura SUVs?

In identical releases this morning from Detroit and Tokyo, GM and Honda said they will design a new EV series expected to go on sale in 2027 starting in North America. The unnamed vehicles will be based on a new global architecture using GM’s next-generation Ultium battery technology. The companies said they will also work toward standardizing equipment and processes to achieve “world-class quality, higher throughput and greater affordability.” Specifically mentioned was the compact crossover segment, which is the largest in the world, with annual volumes of more than 13 million vehicles – think Buick Encore and Cadillac XT4. (AutoInformed on: Honda Prologue EV – Vapor Ware Until 2024; Honda to Abandon IC Engines – Global Electrification by 2040; Honda, GM Ink MoU on North American Alliance!)

The business justification for the expansion of GM Honda collaboration has increased in urgency since yesterday’s release of the latest UN report on Greenhouse Gases. It said that greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025 – at the latest – and then drop by more than 40% by the end of the decade to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. (U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Continue reading →

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EPA Fines Iowa, Missouri Sellers of Auto ‘Defeat Devices’

Posted on 4 April 2022 by Ken Zino

Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on EPA Fines Iowa, Missouri Sellers of Auto ‘Defeat Devices’The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said today it will collect civil penalties from two companies that allegedly sold illegal “defeat devices”  that are designed to make automobile emission controls inoperative, in violation of the federal Clean Air Act. Baillie Diesel Inc. of Nixa, Missouri, agreed to pay $18,000. D & K Repair of Rock Valley, Iowa, will pay $90,000. As part of the settlements, the companies agreed to destroy their inventories of defeat device components. They also certified that they have stopped selling devices that disable vehicle emission controls.

“Cracking down on sellers of illegal defeat devices is a top enforcement priority* for EPA,” said Wendy Lubbe, acting director of EPA Region 7’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division. “These illegal practices contribute to harmful air pollution and impede federal, state, and local efforts to implement air quality standards that protect public health,” said Lubbe. Continue reading →

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Ford Motor Q1 and March Sales off -17% and -26%. Cars Dying

Posted on 4 April 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Ford Motor Q1 and March Sales off -17% and -26%. Cars Dying

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The overall semiconductor shortage and Ford Motor’s forecasting, production and sales practices resulted in declines in March and Q1 2022 US sales. In a delayed release, Ford posted today that total vehicle sales in March at 159,328 declined -26% year-over-year. Cars sales at 3628 dropped -67%. For a Q1 best forgotten, Ford US sales at 432,132 declined -17%. (GM 522,000, Toyota 514,592, FCA 405,221 . Ford car sales at 14,022 were off -49%, which almost rounds down to, well, dead. (AutoInformed last week: NA Q1 Light Vehicle Sales Rate at 14.1M, -2.7M YoY)

“While the global semiconductor chip shortage continues to create challenges, we saw improvement in March sales, as in-transit inventory improved 74% over February,” said Andrew Frick, vice president, Sales, Distribution & Trucks. Continue reading →

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Jeep Slowly Killing Diesel and Petrol Engines in France

Posted on 4 April 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on First Ever Jeep EV Teased by Stellantis

The growing EV parade. Click to Enlarge.

Jeep® will be is the first brand of the Stellantis group to market a 100% electrified range in France today the Group said. The e-Hybrid versions of Renegade and Compass will replace pure internal combustion engines, including Diesel versions. However, ordering of all ICE versions is open until 30 May. Hybrids, of course, remain part of the global warming problem. They are not the answer.

“The electrification of our ranges is no longer an option, it is obvious dictated jointly by supply and demand,” said Guillaume de Boudemange, director of Jeep in France, who will preside over the slow five year transition to pure EVs.  (AutoInformed.com on: Finally – First Jeep EV Teased by Stellantis; Stellantis Doubles China Sales, Bolsters and Consolidates Aftermarket as Jeep Sales Plunge) Continue reading →

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Hertz, Polestar Announce Global EV Partnership

Posted on 4 April 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Hertz, Polestar Announce Global EV Partnership

A performance EV in the rental market? Remember Carroll Shelby in 1966 with the Shelby GT350H in the notorious Hertz Rent-A-Racer program?

Hertz (NASDAQ: HTZ) and Polestar, a Swedish electric performance car maker, today announced a new global partnership that includes purchasing up to 65,000 electric vehicles (EVs) over five years.

Availability is expected to begin in Spring 2022 in Europe and late 2022 in North America and Australia. Polestar builds on Hertz’s announcement last October to offer its customers the largest EV rental fleet in North America and one of the largest in the world. Continue reading →

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