Chevy Camaro Beats Toyota Camry at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Chevy Camaro Beats Toyota Camry at Atlanta Motor Speedway

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In a real photo finish, Daniel Suarez, driver of the #99 Freeway Insurance TrackHouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1,claimed victory on Sunday 25 February 2024, at the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. Ryan Blaney in the #12 Ford Mustang took second. Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was third.

They finished three wide across the line with less than one-hundredth of a second making the difference.

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Mustang Matte Clear Film Coming from Ford

Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Mustang Matte Clear Film Coming from Ford

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Ford Motor (NYSE: F ) said today that it will sell as an option a new Matte Clear Film that can be applied to any currently available Mustang paint color to create a satin-like finish. Ford said it is better for paint protection than a vinyl wrap. Deliveries of Matte Clear Film for Mustang coupe – EcoBoost, GT, and Dark Horse – will start in June 2024. It will become available on the Mustang convertible by year-end. It’s a $5995 option with a thus far unknown ‘take rate’ in industry jargon.

“Mustang has been about driving freedom and freedom of expression for 60 years, and our new Matte Clear Film provides a whole new way for customers to make Mustang their own,” said Laurie Transou, Mustang Chief Program Engineer. Continue reading

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Mannheim – Porsche Penske Motorsport Reveals Team Home

Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Mannheim - Porsche Penske Motorsport Reveals Team Home

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Porsche Penske Motorsport has a new team headquarters in Mannheim, Germany. It converts a former Porsche dealership into what’s said to be a state-of-the-art, high-tech facility for its world championship campaigns. While the factory team prepares the two Porsche 963 race cars for the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at its base in Mooresville, North Carolina, work on the WEC endeavor is done at the new team headquarters in Mannheim, Germany. Mannheim of course is known as the place the bicycle was invented, but AutoInformed notes that this is more akin to the Mannheim rocket themes of classical music as sports car racing ushers in a new classical age.* (AutoInformed.com on: Rolex 24 At Daytona – Record Crowd as Porsche Beats Cadillac; Le Mans – Ferrari, Corvette, Victorious in Rain)

“Our state-of the-art facilities have to deliver everything we need to operate across two continents – between Mannheim, Weissach and Mooresville – and globally as a race team,” said Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. “The building, originally designed and built by Porsche and then acquired by Penske for a Porsche dealership, has been fully remodeled and modernized to support the needs of racing and servicing our hybrid-powered Porsche 963 race cars around the world.” Continue reading

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Record Consumer Spending Forecast for US February Sales

Total new-vehicle sales for February 2024 in the US, including retail and non-retail transactions, are projected to reach 1,214,600 units, a 1.4% increase from February 2023, according to a joint forecast from J.D. Power and GlobalData* issued today. The seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) for total new-vehicle sales is expected to be 15.4 million units, up 0.4 million units from February 2023 as the Biden Administration economic recovery continues. Consumers are expected to spend ~$40.8 billion on new vehicles this month. This is the highest on record for the month of February, and 4.1% higher than February 2023. (AutoInformed.com on: Slow Sales Start for US Light Vehicles in January 2024)

“This month, the new-vehicle market is poised for volume growth with total sales expected to rise a modest 1.4% and retail sales growing 3.8%, selling day adjusted,” said Thomas King, president of the data and analytics division at J.D. Power. Continue reading

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IIHS Changes Rear Occupant Scoring on Overlap Crashes

Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on IIHS Changes Rear Occupant Scoring on Moderate Overlap Front Crashes

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The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said today that it is changing its scoring criteria for its updated moderate overlap front crash test. IIHS claims that this will improve the test by accounting for variations in the position of the rear shoulder belt. (AutoInformed.com on: Automakers Slow to Make Vehicles Safer?)*

“Most of these changes are part of a planned transition that we informed automakers we’d be making before we launched the updated test a year ago,” said Jessica Jermakian, IIHS vice president of vehicle research. “The new scoring eliminates an artificial benefit our initial ratings awarded for a high shoulder-belt position. Pressing ahead with a simpler program while we validated the new metric allowed us to start incentivizing vehicle improvements a year earlier,” Jermakian claimed. Continue reading

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January 2024 EU New Car Registrations Up 12%

In January 2024, the EU new car market rallied from the slowdown experienced in December 2023, with year-on-year car registrations increasing by 12.1% to 851,690 units. The trade bloc’s major markets all saw significant growth, with Germany (+19.1%), Italy(+10.6%), France (+9.2%), and Spain (+7.3%) posting either high single-digit or double-digit gains, according to ACEA.*

The EU diesel car market contracted by 4.9% in January. However new battery-electric car sales surged by 28.9% to 92,741 units, representing a total market share of 10.9%. The four largest markets in the region, together covering 66% of all battery electric car registrations, recorded double-digit gains: Belgium (+75.5%), the Netherlands (+72.2%), France (+36.8%), and Germany (+23.9%). Continue reading

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US Vehicle Transaction Prices Down in January

The automobile market is not contributing to inflation. The extensively covered January Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key measure of inflation is widely misrepresented in AutoInformed’s opinion.

Cox Automotive* said today that it observed declines in retail vehicle prices last month, according to actual transaction data. Kelley Blue Book reported that average transaction prices for new vehicles were down by 3.5% year-over-year, Another Cox measure, Dealertrack data show average used retail prices down slightly less. “Both measures indicate the retail auto market is not pushing overall inflation higher,” Cox said. Continue reading

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Germany Bucks Death of the Diesel Trend

GlobalData* said today that the 2023 full-year car diesel share in Western Europe is confirmed at 15.8% with 1,830,000 units sold for a 15.8% market share. January 2024 was another month of low Month-over-Month variation in the share of new car sales in the region that were diesel at a provisional 15.5% share with a few minor markets yet to report. This is ~3% drop year-over-year as diesel engines continue to slowly fade away.

“All markets lost diesel share in January on an annualized comparison basis, but Germany saw volume of diesel sales increase by 2500 units while several other markets also saw modest volume increases,”  the GlobalData European Light Vehicle Powertrain Forecasting Team said. AutoInformed notes that Germany is the home of Bosch and Mercedes-Benz, both with long pioneering histories in diesel breakthroughs.** Continue reading

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Hispano Suiza Teases Carmen Sagrera EV

Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Hispano Suiza Teases Carmen Sagrera The EV not Neighborhood

Carmen Sagrera.

Hispano Suiza* has unveiled the first images of its new hypercar, the Carmen Sagrera, in a 12-second teaser video. It will be the third model in the company’s range of all-electric hypercars and is due to be unveiled in mid-2024, to mark the brand’s 120th anniversary. (AutoInformed on: Hispano Suiza Coming to New York City Concours)

With a new 103 kW battery capacity, the overall driving range will increase. Whether this matters to buyers in the exotic electrified hypercar segment remains debatable. Nonetheless, it is being touted as “the ideal testimony to the 120-year history of the company founded by Damián Mateu and Mark Birkigt in Barcelona in 1904. Continue reading

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Do Media Have the Electric Vehicle Market Collapse Wrong?

Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Do Media Have the Electric Vehicle Market Collapse Wrong?

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The European Passenger Vehicle (PV) Battery Electric Vehicle market EV market grew ~32% with positive growth in all months except December during 2023. This growth was better than many forecasters indicated at the start of last year (and better than in 2022), with some predicting no growth. BEV sales volume came in at just under 2.1 million units. This is 500,000 more than were sold in 2022.

“It is clear there has been some recent slowdown in the market, but it depends where you look. Some brands are doing considerably better than others, with the likes of MG and Tesla standing out as strong performers in 2023,” the respected consultancy GlobalData* said today. Continue reading

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Recalls – Ford E-350, E-450 with Dual Rear Wheels

Ford Motor Company is once again recalling model year 2021-2022 E-350 and E-450 vehicles equipped with dual rear wheels. A bad connection between the power steering pressure line and the brake-hydro boost unit can cause a sudden loss of power steering fluid, according to documents made public today by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This is a modification of a previous, NHTSA 22V-089, Ford Field Service Action 22S08. These vehicles are often used as buses.

A bad connection between the power steering pressure line and the brake hydro-boost unit may cause a sudden loss of power steering fluid, with steering fluid on the ground underneath the vehicle. This sudden loss of power steering fluid may result in a loss of power steering assist, with increased steering effort, and loss of power brake assist, requiring increased force on the pedal to brake, potentially resulting in increased stopping distance. A sudden loss of power steering assist and power brake assist increases the risk of a crash. Some drivers report hearing an audible “pop” if the power steering pressure line fitting becomes disconnected while driving. Continue reading

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Ford Recalls 2023 Explorers for Loose Steering Knuckles

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling some 2023 Explorer vehicles because the right-front lower fastener connecting the steering knuckle and strut may be loose or missing, according to document made public by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today. Lincoln Aviator models made at the same plant, Chicago Assembly, are not affected by this safety defect. (AutoInformed:Ford Recalls 1.88 Million Explorer SUVs for Trim Detachment)

A loose or missing connection between the knuckle and strut can cause improper tire alignment, resulting in a steering pull or require increased steering effort. Moreover, the brake hose may contact the tire and become damaged, resulting in a brake fluid leak and a loss of braking. Either of these circumstances can increase the risk of a crash. Continue reading

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Annals of Marketing – Lexus and the LA Clippers

Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Annals of Marketing - Lexus and the LA Clippers

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The LA Clippers said this week that Lexus will be named “the official luxury vehicle of the LA Clippers and Intuit Dome,” with a Lexus Courtside Lounge at the new arena. Lexus joins naming rights partner Intuit and AT&T, Pechanga, and Ticketmaster as Intuit Dome Founding Partners. Ex-Microsoft pooh-bah Steve Balmer now owns and runs the Clippers. The monetarily peripatetic team was formerly of Buffalo and San Diego.

The Clippers history with arenas is troubled. They fled the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in 1999 for Staples Center (nowadays Crypto.com Arena; that’s com not con), which they shared as an unloved stepchild with the Los Angeles Lakers and the National Hockey League’s LA Kings. The rental deal with the Lakers required the removing and then re-installation of Laker memorabilia and sponsorship logos and other stuff  before and after their games. Hardly five easy pieces – so to Jack Nicholson speak  – with our fond memories of his courtside Lakers seats where he held court at the Forum and Staples Center. Continue reading

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Ford Trends – Climate Change and Post Covid Consumer Views

Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Ford Trends – Climate Change and Post Covid Consumer Views.

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Jen Brace, Trends and Futuring Manager at Ford Motor (NYSE: F) yesterday noted several trends in global research that show post-pandemic shifts in consumer sentiment and how people are reacting to technology by rewriting the rules of living, working, buying, and traveling. The self-professed “data nerd” shared the latest Ford consumer research with the Society of Automotive Analysts via Zoom.

“Think of this as the 10,000 foot view of what we see happening around the world. We purposely keep it at a very high level because we’re trying to understand consumer sentiment around the world. So we’re really trying to understand what’s happening in some critical categories that we refer to as the steep categories that stands for social, technological, economic. environmental and political,” said Brace. Brace is clearly STEEPed (Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political) in consumer attitudes. Continue reading

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California – Equitable EV Charging for Multi-Family Housing?

Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on California - Equitable EV Charging for Multi-Family Housing?

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California Assembly member Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento)* has introduced Assembly Bill 2427, the Equitable EV Charging Act to increase access to electric vehicle (EV) charging for residents of multi-family housing by making it easier to deploy curbside charging. The California Energy Commission (CEC) found that no more than 33% of multi-family housing residents have access to home charging and that lower income residents, and residents who identify as Black, African American, Hispanic, or Latino have the lowest access to home charging.

“The State of California is leading the way to transition our transportation system to 100% zero-emission vehicles, but the millions of drivers who don’t have access to at-home charging are at risk of being left behind,” said McCarty. “If we want all Californians to have access to electric mobility, we must provide them with convenient and affordable public charging options where they already park: the curb.” Continue reading

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