Tag Archives: autoinformed.com

Loyalty Keeps Vehicle Buyers Out of Market Amidst Shortages

Posted on 30 September 2024 by Ken Zino

Perennial brand loyalty leaders including Toyota, Honda and Lexus have each been able to grow their respective shares of loyal customers amid stagnation experienced by other brands, according to the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Automotive Brand Loyalty StudySM.

“Amid ongoing inventory shortages, the most loyal customers actually stayed out of the market if they were unable to get their desired vehicle,” said Tyson Jominy, vice president of data & analytics at J.D. Power. “Now that inventory levels are recovering, customers are coming back. In particular, Toyota and Honda are benefiting from increased availability of hybrid vehicles, with Honda owners swapping out their gas-powered vehicles for hybrids at nearly triple the rate of the industry average. Lexus is also benefitting from strengthened residual values, which are helping drive loyalty for the brand despite premium brands as a whole experiencing a plateau this year.” Continue reading →

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IPR Center Warns Consumers of Chinese Counterfeit Airbags

Posted on 27 September 2024 by Ken Zino

CBP officers at U.S. ports of entry are looking at imports – particularly those from China – for shipments suspected of containing counterfeit automotive parts. During fiscal year 2023, CBP and HSI seized ~20,000 shipments containing goods that violated Intellectual Property Rights, equating to nearly 23 million counterfeit items. The total estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price of the seized goods would have amounted to over $2.75 billion had they been genuine parts. Out of those shipments, ~100,000 items were counterfeit automotive goods, with a MSRP of over $10 million. Continue reading →

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Lima Refining Settles Clean Air Act Violations in Ohio

Posted on 27 September 2024 by Ken Zino

The Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency today announced a settlement with the Lima Refining Company (LRC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canadian-based Cenovus Energy, to address violations of the Clean Air Act at its refinery in Lima, Ohio. LRC must pay a civil penalty of $19 million and implement ~$150 million in capital investments, including control technology expected to reduce emissions of benzene by an estimated 4.34 tons per year, other hazardous air pollutants (HAP) by 16.26 tons per year, and other volatile organic compound emissions (VOC) by 219 tons per year.

“This settlement is part of an ongoing initiative to curtail illegal benzene and VOC emissions at refineries that have failed to allocate the necessary personnel and capital investments to ensure compliance with rules they have long been subject to,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Under the settlement, the refinery will implement controls that will greatly improve air quality and reduce health impacts on the overburdened community that surrounds the refinery.” Continue reading →

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McLaren W1 Supercar Global Reveal This Sunday

Posted on 27 September 2024 by Ken Zino

McLaren Automotive today said that the next version of its legendary ‘1’ car lineage – a new supercar named W1, will be revealed at 13:00 BST on Sunday 6 October 2024. The McLaren W1 is the successor to the McLaren F1. The W1 name “celebrates McLaren’s World Championship mindset.” The public reveal date marks the 50th anniversary of McLaren winning its first Formula 1 Constructors’ World Championship, and Emerson Fittipaldi winning the 1974 World Drivers’ Championship with McLaren.

“The McLaren W1 is defined by real supercar principles and is the ultimate expression of a McLaren supercar. Born of our rich racing history and World Championship mindset, W1 pushes the boundaries of performance and is worthy of the ‘1’ name. Like its predecessors the F1 and McLaren P1™, W1 defines the rulebook of a real supercar,” Michael Leiters, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive. Continue reading →

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Prius Prime Changes its Name to Prius Plug-in Hybrid for 2025

Posted on 26 September 2024 by Ken Zino

Toyota (NYSE:TM) said today that the 2025 model year version of Prius Prime will be rebranded as the  Prius Plug-in Hybrid. The change to the Prius Plug-in is intended to help consumers easily identify the powertrain choices among Prius models. The 2025 Prius Plug-in Hybrid will also adopt a “PHEV” badge on the rear, indicating its Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle powertrain. It will be available in three grades: SE, XSE and XSE Premium. Pricing was omitted. Back in 2022 when a new Prius Prime model was introduced, with a manufacturer estimated EV range of up to 44 miles and a 6.6-second 0-60 time, it was a flexible vehicle short and longer trips. The 2025 with a 13.6 kWh lithium-ion battery, the SE grade has a manufacturer-estimated 44-mile all-electric driving range rating. While the XSE and XSE Premium have a manufacturer-estimated 40 mile all-electric driving range rating. Continue reading →

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GM Milford Proving Centennial Noted

Posted on 25 September 2024 by Ken Zino

More than 7,000 General Motors employees, retirees, and their families gathered at the company’s Milford Proving Ground site in southeastern Michigan last Saturday to mark the 100th anniversary of the company’s flagship vehicle testing facility.

“The Milford Proving Ground is at the heart of GM’s long history of innovation that has revolutionized the auto industry, from safety technology to Super Cruise – it’s where vehicles get better, and it’s where I started my career as a summer intern working on V6 noise and vibration,” said Mark Reuss, president, General Motors. “Today, we celebrate 100 years of Milford and look forward to its next century of leadership in vehicle testing and development.” Continue reading →

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Environmental Justice Climate Corps Launches

Posted on 25 September 2024 by Ken Zino

“Our partnership is a first-of-its-kind effort within the federal government to expand pathways into environmental justice careers,” said Michael S. Regan, EPA Administrator. “This program will create opportunities for young people through President Biden’s American Climate Corps that will help folks in overburdened communities access and benefit from historic funding secured under the President’s Investing in America agenda.” Continue reading →

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C’est Fou – Chinese EVs Will Be at 2024 Paris Motor Show

Posted on 25 September 2024 by Ken Zino

Stellantis today announced it will participate in the 90th edition of the Mondial de l’Auto 2024 (Paris Motor Show) from14 – 20  October with its three traditional brands – Citroën, Peugeot, and Alfa Romeo. More controversial will be the Chinese brand, Leapmotor making its debut at the show.

Leapmotor Founder, Chairman and CEO Zhu Jiangming, together with Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, will unveil the all-new B10, a C-segment SUV, expanding its product line-up in Europe’s core segment through this distinctive partnership in the automotive industry. Continue reading →

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Stellantis Holds Media Drive for Chinese Leapmotor EVs

Posted on 24 September 2024 by Ken Zino

The first European Media Drive is now taking place in Milan for the C10 and T03 models of the Leapmotor brand, a Chinese company in the technology field which has the highest growth in the New Energy Vehicle (NEV) sector.* The event, held in Milan and Lake Maggiore, marks the official debut of Leapmotor International in Europe. In a controversial move in October of 2023 Stellantis took 51% of a joint venture with Leapmotor that gives it exclusive rights to build, export and sell Leapmotor EVs outside China.**

“Stellantis will invest more than €50 billion during the next 10 years in the field of electrification and will do everything it can to reach the targets set out in its Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, including the achievement of a 100% sales mix of BEV vehicles in Europe by 2030 and 50% of BEV passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in the United States. To reach these sales goals, the company is ensuring around 400 GWh of battery capacity with the support of six battery factories in North America and Europe. Stellantis aims to become a zero carbon-emissions company across all sectors by 2038, with a percentage offsetting for an amount of the remaining emissions,” the company formed by the merger of FCA and PSA said today. Continue reading →

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Connected Car Wars – Biden Takes on China and Russia

Posted on 23 September 2024 by Ken Zino

“Connected vehicles provide many benefits — from promoting vehicle safety to assisting drivers with navigation — but they also pose new and growing threats. These technologies include computer systems that control vehicle movement and collect sensitive driver and passenger data as well as cameras and sensors that enable automated driving systems and record detailed information about American infrastructure. Now more than ever, vehicles are directly connected into our country’s digital networks,” The White House said. Continue reading →

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Annals of Marketing – VW Gewürz Ketchup Brand

Posted on 23 September 2024 by Ken Zino

Volkswagen of America announced today that VW part number 00010 ZDK-259-101, VW Gewürz Ketchup Brand, a condiment used to dress VW currywurst, will be available in the U.S. for a limited time. The public can claim their own bottle, distributed through DriverGear retail operation, starting today at no cost while supplies last.

“This year we’re celebrating more than a big anniversary of selling cars,” said Rachael Zaluzec, Senior Vice President of Customer Experience and Brand Marketing, Volkswagen of America. “We’re celebrating stories, memories, passion, and all the fun, and unexpected things that make Volkswagen the brand we are today —things like our Gewürz Ketchup Brand condiment.” Continue reading →

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Solid-State Cell Technology – All Hype No Production Way?

Posted on 23 September 2024 by Ken Zino

“With a stream of major cell suppliers regularly announcing ‘major’ breakthroughs in solid-state cell technology, it is proving difficult to discern the reality of the state of play at present.” This from GlobalData’s dedicated research platform, the Automotive Intelligence Center, which was released today as an analyst’s comment.*

“The harsh reality is that 90% of news, plans and solid-state plant activity appears to be bogus, as start of production (SOP) dates slip or vanish, with this being particularly true of information coming from China,” said Oliver Petschenyk Powertrain Analyst at GlobalData. Continue reading →

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Unifor GM Members Ratify New Contract for CAMI Assembly

Posted on 23 September 2024 by Ken Zino

Unifor members working at the CAMI Assembly and Battery Assembly plants over the past week ratified a new collective agreement with General Motors.* There are pay increases, supporting Unifor’s Detroit Three pattern agreement and eliminates a historic pay lag with counterparts at other Canadian GM facilities. Unifor Local 88 members voted 95.7% in favor to ratify the new two-year agreement, which will expire on September 20, 2026. Local 88 represents more than 1300 members at CAMI Assembly and Battery Assembly who manufacture the Chevrolet BrightDrop EV 600 and EV 400 and Ultium battery modules.

“We are pleased our team members at CAMI Assembly, the manufacturing home of the Chevrolet BrightDrop electric van, have ratified a new agreement that supports our employees and our business. Thank you to the entire Unifor bargaining committee and our GM Canada labor team for your leadership and collaboration,” said Kristian Aquilina, GM Canada President and Managing Director. Continue reading →

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California Economy Booms as Greenhouse Gases Decline

Posted on 20 September 2024 by Ken Zino

A report* released today by the California Air Resources Board shows that for 2022 greenhouse gas emissions dropped across most sectors and is the equivalent of removing more than 2.2 million gasoline- or diesel powered cars off California’s roads for one year. Between 2000 to 2022, emissions fell by 20% while California’s gross domestic product increased by 78%. This shows the effectiveness of the state’s climate change and air quality programs, which will be rejected by climate deniers and fossil fuel lobbying funding organizations, political candidates or parties.

“California is proving that climate action goes hand-in-hand with economic growth. We’ve slashed carbon pollution by a whopping 20% since the turn of the century all while building the world’s fifth largest economy. Cleaner air, more good jobs – that’s the California way,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. Continue reading →

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GM Recalls 450,000 Vehicles for Brake Control Software Failure

Posted on 20 September 2024 by Ken Zino

General Motors is recalling 449,671 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, GMC Sierra 1500, 2023-2024 Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade, and Escalade ESV vehicles. The electronic brake control module software may fail to display a warning light when a loss of brake fluid occurs. These vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 135, “Light Vehicle Brake Systems.” The recall safety defect is caused by a mismatch between the electronic brake control module (eBCM) software and eBCM calibrations.

“A driver may not receive an indicator of a loss of brake fluid before the level is below FMVSS 135’s requirement. In the event of a brake fluid leak, the vehicle’s brake pedal performance may degrade before the BRAKE telltale timely illuminates in accordance with FMVSS 135, increasing the risk of a crash. In the event of a brake fluid leak, affected vehicles still meet FMVSS 135’s stopping-distance requirements,” GM said in the required NHTSA filing made public by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this morning. Continue reading →

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