Trade News

No heater. No windshield wipers. No turn signals or brake lights. No GPS.

All are missing from the Ford Explorer "Men's Only Edition." Not because Ford Motor Co. is cutting corners — or thinks men don't use turn signals anyway — but rather to spotlight the many indispensable vehicle features invented by women.

To mark International Women's Day last week and Women's History Month in March, Ford created a satirical ad narrated by actor Bryan Cranston, who does many of the company's commercial voiceovers.

"For the first time ever, we've completely reimagined the automobile," Cranston says in the video. "Introducing the Men's Only Ford Explorer, with no windshield wipers, no heater, no turn signals. Wait, no rearview mirror, no GPS — are you kidding? Ah, it's missing all the parts created by women. Wow, whose great idea was that?"

Ford plans to use its website and social media accounts throughout March to recognize the automotive achievements of fem…

Tire sensors are likely to become smarter and generate more important data for drivers in the coming years as electric vehicles become more prominent, industry executives say.

That's an important safety factor. EVs are generally heavier than gasoline-powered vehicles and generate massive torque, leading to faster tire wear rates, said Yagil Tzur, vice president of product at Israeli tech startup Tactile Mobility.

"EVs have longer service intervals," he said. "They don't get to repair shops as frequently, so no one professional is looking at the tires. That leads to increased risk."

Major tire manufacturers such as Goodyear, Michelin, Continental and Bridgestone are developing advanced sensors and experimenting with products to help tires last longer and to give drivers notice of when they might need to be serviced.

"If you don't personally monitor them, you end up with increased risk of accident and risk of tire blowouts and greater braking dista…

When a New Mexico city began talking about charging children $5 to play in sports leagues that use municipal fields, a local auto dealer stepped in.

Gary Hamilton, the owner of Hamilton Auto Group, told the Clovis parks committee that he would foot the bill for every child in town. He estimated that it would cost him $30,000 to $60,000 a year.

"If it was $100,000 a year, I'd still do it," he told The Eastern New Mexico News. "It's the right thing to do."

The city originally discussed charging $50 but received numerous complaints. Officials said they would send an invoice to Hamilton, who has General Motors, Ford, Stellantis, Hyundai and Toyota dealerships near the New Mexico-Texas border.

Hamilton said it's important to make sure the fees don't stop any child from playing a sport.

"If we've got more kids doing wholesome things," he said, "we've got less crime."

Five automotive brands placed in the top 20 brands gaining recognition with Generation Z, according to the latest quarterly report by Automotive News sibling publication AdAge and Harris Poll.

The poll ranks brands by how much their equity has changed with Gen Z — that is, how much their perception of brands is changing from quarter to quarter. It surveys U.S. consumers ages 18-24.

BMW was ranked fourth overall, and it was the highest of any auto brand in the study. No. 1 was discount grocery chain Aldi, followed by the WNBA and ice cream brand Blue Bunny.

The automotive brands' showing has to do with how "EVs are driving a lot of momentum," said Harris Poll CEO Will Johnson.

Here are highlights.

No. 4 BMW and No. 19 Mini: BMW announced in October that it would invest $1.7 billion to build EVs in the U.S., "the biggest single investment we've done so far," BMW Group Chairman Oliver Zipse told Reuters.

BMW-owned Mini hyped its EVs in…

"We have your back."

That is the message from Hyundai Motor America and Culture Brands, the automaker's first Black marketing agency.

The automaker and agency began working together in 2021, producing ad campaigns with uplifting overtones that depict everyday Black people living their lives.

For example, "Dad's Precious Cargo" shows a father chauffeuring his daughter and her friends to a dance in a Palisade, highlighting the large crossover's spacious second and third rows and intercom. Another spot, "Leading by Example," shows a boy being picked up from school by his uncle in an Ioniq 5 for a "guys night." They stop for snacks while recharging the electric vehicle from 10 to 80 percent in 18 minutes, and when they get home they plug a video game console into the vehicle, demonstrating its reverse charging capability.

Culture Brands has also produced campaigns for the Santa Fe and Tucson crossovers.

Hyundai's search for an agency to help a…

Gotion Inc.'s multibillion-dollar electric vehicle battery factory proposal in Michigan has swelled by 1 million square feet and 200-300 additional jobs despite lingering uncertainty that the project will even happen.

The Chinese battery parts manufacturer has presented a revised plan to local officials that would increase its initial footprint by a third, calling for the addition of two 500,000-square-foot plants on the site near Big Rapids, Mich., according to township Supervisor Jim Chapman.

That would expand its footprint to roughly 3 million square feet across six buildings in Mecosta County in western Michigan. How much that would increase the originally planned $2.4 billion investment is not clear. The company had originally announced 2,350 jobs with the plant.

Chuck Thelen, vice president of North American operations for Gotion, said he "cannot confirm at this time" the new details.

The company shared its revised plans with township offi…

For some in Marshall, Mich., an hour and a half West of Detroit, the $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery factory planned by Ford Motor Co. is seen as a business boon. But for others, it is a threat.

Work is ramping up on the automaker's lithium iron phosphate battery plant with Chinese giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., which promises to create 2,500 jobs in Calhoun County and secure Michigan a spot in the automotive future, according to officials.

Workers with Detroit-based general contractor Walbridge Group were seen this week shuttling to and from a large barn at the center of the 2,000-acre megasite that appears to be serving as a command center for the gargantuan construction project at hand.

While the long-term economic impact of the project remains to be seen, it has longtime Marshall resident Michael Kelley, 56, wondering what sort of future his small business has in the quiet town.

"It's bittersweet with an emphasis on bitter,…

GMC is expanding the charging capability of its Hummer EVs so that they can act as generators and send a charge to other electric vehicles.

The 2024 GMC Hummer EV pickup and SUV will be upgraded with standard 19.2-kilowatt Level 2 onboard charging capability on certain trims. The Hummer EV Edition 1 pickup available before the 2024 model year has 11.5-kW AC charging capacity.

The boost will give the Hummer EVs the ability to not only charge faster, but also offboard power for the first time through the Power Station generator — including the ability to send 6 kW of charge to other EVs, GMC says.

The capability and the 19.2-kW onboard charger will come standard on the 2024 vehicles in trims 2X and above, GMC said. The brand has said that includes the SUV's Edition 1, 3X and 2X trims and the pickup's 3X and 2X trims. A plug accessory to enable vehicle-to-vehicle charging will be an option, GMC said.

Before, "you could not effectively take power fr…