Tag Archives: automotive press association

Surprising Shifts in the 2024 American-Made Index

Posted on 18 June 2024 by Ken Zino

A Cars.com survey found more than half of in market car shoppers are willing to pay more for people, if it creates more U.S. jobs. The question is how much more are they willing to pay? And I’m happy to tell you that the answer is a lot more. Car shoppers cars.com surveyed said 56% are willing to pay more for a vehicle if it creates more U.S. jobs. Of those, 58% say they’re willing to pay an additional 10% considering the overall expense of vehicles. Consumers desire to support jobs in the US is something that automakers and dealers should be more aware of,” said Cars.com Editor-in-Chief Jenni Newman at an Automotive Press Association Briefing that AutoInformed was part of. Continue reading →

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EV Pickups Least Reliable Says Consumer Reports at APA

Posted on 29 November 2023 by Ken Zino

New Electric vehicles (EVs) have on average 79% more problems than (ICE) vehicles with internal combustion engines(ICE). Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) are even worse with an average of 146% more problems, according to  the Annual Auto Reliability survey* from Consumer Reports Continue reading →

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What Does American Made Mean?

Posted on 21 June 2023 by Ken Zino

The website Cars.com released its 2023 American-Made Index® today at a time of intense discussion about whether the term means anything. The standards for the American-Made Index include location of final assembly; percentage of US. and Canadian parts; country of origin for available engines; country of origin for available transmissions; US manufacturing employees relative to the automaker’s footprint. Continue reading →

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24 Hours of Le Mans in 2030 – Intriguingly Unpredictable

Posted on 20 April 2016 by Ken Zino

“Maybe the significant changes will be in the level of autonomous or remote control of the cars?” said Ben Bowlby, the owner of Bowlby Racing, who was part of the panel. We need to work out what the objective of racing in 2030 is and what the rules will be. Only then we can determine what the race car will look like.” Continue reading →

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Millikin Out as GM General Counsel in Ignition Switch Snafu

Posted on 21 October 2014 by Ken Zino

In a terse statement, General Motors says that General Counsel Michael Millikin “informed the company of his decision to retire in early 2015.” Millikin was taken to task for his role in covering up – he claims he didn’t know – the deadly ignition switch debacle at the second Senate hearing on the sordid safety defect matter. Continue reading →

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Automakers Flub Launch of High Tech Vehicles, IQS Shows

Posted on 18 June 2014 by Ken Zino

The latest IQS or quality data revealed today at the Automotive Press Association meeting in Detroit shows that the number of problems experienced by new-vehicle owners has increased from the previous year, as automakers continue to have severe problems with complicated technologies now being deployed in new vehicles. Continue reading →

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Toyota to Retail Hydrogen Fuel Cell Hybrids in U.S. by 2015

Posted on 5 September 2013 by Ken Zino

Carter told AutoInformed that he has seen and driven the Toyota fuel cell hybrid. The ultimate timing for U.S. retail sales is dependent on California’s hydrogen infrastructure program that aims to put in place 35 hydrogen-refueling centers in the Los Angeles area by 2015. Continue reading →

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Millennial Car Buyers Dream Big, Purchase Smaller

Posted on 23 August 2013 by Ken Zino

Herein lies the problem with much consumer research, including automotive. What people say in a clinic is belied by their actual behavior. This has opened a completely new academic industry – behavioral economics – that shows people make emotional and non-rational decisions often with information “framed” by stereotypes and anecdotes, not anything approaching real data. This behavior – on view all the time on Fox “News” – results in marketplace inefficiencies that makes a mockery of traditional economics or in the case of Fox, rational discussions of public policy. Continue reading →

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Owners Report Quality Improvements at Most Automakers

Posted on 21 June 2012 by Ken Zino

A growing problem area is lumped under the “audio, entertainment, and navigation” category where reported problems have increased by 8% from 2011. This continues a negative trend, with problems in this category increasing by 45% since 2006, while other categories have improved by 24% on average. Buyers aged 35 and under, who grew up with myriad consumer electronic devices are particularly vocal about the design failures of automotive electronics. This is a growing problem for the product development departments of automakers that are largely managed by older, white males. Continue reading →

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