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Tag Archives: auto industry commentary
October – Smart Mobility Cyber Incidents. 7 Deadly Threats
Upstream’s AutoThreat Intelligence analyzes and circulate cyber-threat intelligence specific to the automotive sector. Here’s the latest list of the most interesting incidents – the 7 Deadly sins so to speak of the Cyber Word. Continue reading
Commerce – Countervailing Duties on Vietnamese Cars,Tires
Among the subsidies preliminarily countervailed is Vietnam’s undervalued currency. This is the first time that Commerce has ever made an affirmative CVD determination regarding a foreign currency with a unitary exchange rate. Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of passenger tires from Vietnam based on these preliminary rates above. Continue reading
Ford Recalls 375,200 Explorer SUVs – Recalling a Prior Recall
Some affected Explorers, sold or registered in rust inducing areas of North American states and provinces where corrosion is common, have experienced a fracture of the outboard section of the rear suspension toe link after completion of a prior safety recall repair. A fracture of a rear toe link significantly diminishes steering control, increasing the risk of a crash. Ford is aware of 13 reports of accidents and six reports of injuries related to this condition. Continue reading
Posted in customer satisfaction, recalls, safety
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, Explorer Recalls, Ken Zino, nhtsa
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Covid – Drastic Changes to Commuting Have Slight Effect on Feelings about EVs and Self-Driving Technologies?
While the ongoing Covid plague has drastically changed American lives, what’s not new is that Inexperience and Lack of Knowledge Remain Barriers for Acceptance of EVs and Self-Driving Technologies. Nonetheless, automakers are investing heavily in electrification and self-driving technology despite an absence of substantive consumer interest in either. Continue reading
Kawasaki to Pay $160K for Small Engine Violations
This is the first time that a manufacturer has been cited for failing to comply with the regulation specifically as it relates to replacement engines since its adoption in 1990. The so-called Small Off-Road Engine (aka SORE, with irony?) Regulation requires that all small off-road engines sold in California be covered by an Executive Order certifying that the engine meets and was tested to the required exhaust emission standards. Continue reading
Posted in aftermarket, environment
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Ken Zino
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Cadillac V-Series Blackwing to Get Magnesium Wheels
One of the longstanding weaknesses of OE engineering and marketing led to a thriving aftermarket wheel and tire business. Cadillac was among the front-runners ignoring wheels – notably chrome – as its customers customized their rides. Continue reading
Pete Lyons Wins Royal Automobile Club Award for Shadow: The Magnificent Machines of a Man of Mystery
Lyons know whereof he speaks. Pete draws on sizeable first-hand experience: he was present for Shadow’s two big débuts, in Can-Am at St Jovite in Canada (1970) and in Formula One at Kyalami in South Africa (1973). His numerous interviews for the book included six days with Nichols himself not long before the ‘Shadowman’ died in 2017. If you have racing in your blood, this is a must read. Continue reading
Ford Q3 Net Income at $2.4B Treads Water. Q4 $500M Loss?
As a result, the Ford outlook is wobbly including a fourth quarter adjusted EBIT between break-even and a, gulp, $500 million loss. Continue reading
US Vehicle Sales to Rise in October?
However, complete U.S. new-vehicle sales including all transactions for October are projected to reach 1,321,400 units, a -4.5% decrease from October 2019 when adjusted for selling days. The seasonally adjusted annualized rate, aka SAAR, for total new vehicle sales is expected to be 15.9 million units, down 0.8 million units from 2019, the least year-over-year decline since the pandemic began. This is the annual output of two to four final assembly plants, without considering the component parts plants from internal or external sources. Continue reading
Ferrari Recalls 812 Superfast for Rear Glass Blowouts
Ferrari ultimately determined that the problem of the component could entail the full detachment of the rear window from the vehicle, thereby potentially creating a road hazard and increasing the safety-risk of a crash for following traffic. Continue reading
GM Defense Delivers First Infantry Squad Vehicle to US Army
The ISV is based off the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 mid-size truck architecture and use 90% commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) parts, including Chevrolet Performance race components. The 5,000-pound ISV was engineered to fulfill military requirements and designed to provide rapid ground mobility. The expeditionary ISV is light enough to be sling loaded from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter and compact enough to fit inside a CH-47 Chinook helicopter for air transportability. The parts, combined with the ISV’s Rollover Protection System, should provide agile transportability on the battlefield. Continue reading
Multinationals Liable For Supply Chains? Swiss Vote Due
“For too long, multinational corporations have been able to hide their abuses behind a veneer of respectability, using plausible deniability whenever bad behavior is highlighted. The Responsible Business Initiative is part of a global movement by unions and civil society organizations to hold companies responsible for their behavior,” said IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches. Continue reading
Leasys Tweaks Noleggio Chiaro with ‘Light’ Model
The new Noleggio Chiaro light allows customers to rent a vehicle at a competitive monthly fee with a minimum set of services, which include Third-Party Liability (TPL) insurance, roadside assistance, I-Care info-mobility service and the customary use of the Leasys app to manage the contract from a smartphone. This package of essential services allows customers to benefit from the right of pre-emption to buy the vehicle at the end of the rental period. Continue reading
Posted in marketing, mobility company
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, FCA Bank, Ken Zino, Noleggio Chiaro
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California AG, CARB File Motion To Shield LA Area Communities From Port of Los Angeles China Shipping Terminal Air Pollution
In 2008, the Port of Los Angeles certified an EIR that imposed feasible air quality mitigation measures to reduce the China Shipping Terminal’s anticipated adverse air quality impacts, including those on nearby communities. However, six of those measures were never implemented, exposing communities to harmful air quality impacts that should have been reduced by the mitigation measures included in the 2008 EIR. Continue reading →