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After spotting a dealership's help wanted sign during a small-town refueling stop led James Gramm into car sales in 1983, he became a dealer nearly 20 years later on April Fools' Day in 2002.

"The letters on the front of the building were made of Styrofoam," Gramm told Automotive News this week, laughing as he recalled how the Dodge dealership in Fredericksburg, Va., looked on the day he bought it. "One letter fell off as I pulled up. It literally fell off the building."

That dive of a dealership launched Safford Automotive Group, now one of the country's largest auto retailers after completing the industry's largest new-vehicle store acquisition deal so far in 2022, as tracked by Automotive News.

On Nov. 7, Gramm's Safford Automotive bought 16 stores in Maryland and Virginia from Brown Automotive Group, more than doubling its store count. The deal adds 14 franchised dealerships, one used-vehicle store and a muscle and classic car store to Safford, of S…

Policymakers on both sides of the pond work toward EV tax credit changes. Volvo’s CEO makes a bold prediction about ICE-EV price parity. Carvana’s troubles deepen with more license suspensions. Plus, Automotive News F&I reporter John Huetter talks about the FTC's proposal targeting “junk fee shock.”

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Audi's original dedicated electric vehicle, the E-tron, launched in 2019, is getting a reboot for 2023 that includes updated styling, more range and a new name: the Q8 E-tron 55 and Q8 E-tron Sportback.

A more energy-dense 114-kilowatt-hour battery pack replaces the 95-kWh unit in the same space. Power outputs are unchanged. The 55, with all-wheel drive via a dual-motor setup, maxes out at 402 hp and 490 pound-feet of torque in Sport mode. The high-performance SQ8 E-tron features three electric motors — a 166-hp unit up front and two 131-hp motors bolted on the rear axle — to produce a combined 496 hp and 718 pound-feet of torque in Sport mode.

Audi expects a 30 percent increase in range, given the more efficient rear electric motor and improved aerodynamics. It estimates 361 miles for the Q8 E-tron and 372 miles for the Q8 E-tron Sportback, both based on the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure. The Q8 E-tron can charge at a rate of 170 kilowatts…

Self-driving vehicles may take a long time to hit the road in large numbers. The sensors driving much of their progress, however, are starting to go mainstream.

Lidar technology is trickling into human-driven vehicles in some cases. In others, it's finding scale in different industries.

The latest example of lidar for human-driven vehicles came earlier this week when Volvo unveiled its EX90, which contains the first fruits of its five-year collaboration with lidar provider Luminar. A standard front-facing lidar unit will underpin driver-assist features in the crossover.

With distinctive shapes resembling spinning chicken buckets or hockey pucks, lidar units once symbolized self-driving ambitions. Volvo's designers fashioned a far more subtle integration of Luminar's Iris lidar unit into the EX90's roofline.

It signals a shift into a new era — just not the one initially expected. But waiting for self-driving vehicles to materialize wasn't just the…

The Las Vegas Convention Center once again came alive with the world's biggest auto accessory party, the Specialty Equipment Market Association Show, back for a second year after a brief pandemic hiatus. Several automakers and aftermarket companies showed concept versions of their latest cars and light trucks. Here are some highlights from SEMA's once-again-annual show.

Acura has resurrected the Integra sport sedan in the U.S. after 21 years. To celebrate, Honda's luxury division partnered with three of the nation's top tuners, allowing them to showcase the new Integra's potential for personalized performance.

Ford unveiled 10 vehicles at the show, including F-150 Lightnings, Broncos and a Bronco Sport. The Bronco modifications were meant to emphasize the SUV's off-road prowess. One Lightning was modified to serve as a race-support vehicle, while another was called the Lightning Swiss Army Knife to highlight its versatility and functionalit…

Driverless cars have been just around the corner for nearly a decade.

Yet after ambitious promises by CEOs of automakers and startups and buy-in from investors to the tune of more than $200 billion, there is not yet one fully autonomous vehicle on public roads in the U.S. today. And it isn't even all that close.

Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley said as much recently when the automaker pulled the plug on Argo AI, a once-promising startup on which it bet $1 billion five years ago, when then-Ford CEO Mark Fields predicted driverless cars would be widespread by now.

"Profitable, fully autonomous vehicles at scale are a long way off," Farley told investors.

While not necessarily surprising, Argo's unwinding has had a chilling effect on the AV tech sector and thrust the future of fully autonomous driving further into uncertainty. But that does not mean AV work has stalled, said Reuben Sarkar, president and CEO of the American Center for Mobility near Ypsi…

<!--*/ */ /*-->*/ Long awaited, hydrogen’s moment may be here for transportation and beyond

Hailed as a "magical" solution. Derided as a perennial fantasy. Embraced as an "earthshot."

Many have eyed hydrogen's tantalizing potential as an abundant and pollution-free energy source for transportation and beyond. Jules Verne described a method in which "water will one day be employed as fuel," and wrote hydrogen and oxygen will "furnish an exhaustible source of heat and light" in his 1874 novel The Mysterious Island.

Nearly 150 years later, hydrogen's applications are no longer confined to science fiction. But despite the straightforward chemistry involved in its production, the ascendance of hydrogen to the realm of a society-altering energy source remains elusive.

Now, after decades of pilot projects and sporadic deployments, hydrogen appears on the cusp of economic viability and widespread use. Spurred by the simultaneous global challenges…

Nissan warns dealers of production cuts at a key U.S. plant. Rivian takes a big net loss in Q3. Elon Musk encourages Tesla’s competitors to keep advertising on Twitter. Plus, Sono Motors co-founder and CEO Laurin Hahn talks about his company’s plan to sell its solar electric car for around $25,000.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Daily Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

iPhone / iPad

“Daily Drive” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Android

“Daily Drive” is available on the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

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WASHINGTON — Three House lawmakers have joined a push in the Senate to delay certain sourcing and manufacturing requirements in the Inflation Reduction Act's tax credit for consumers buying new electric vehicles.

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., introduced a bill — known as the Affordable Electric Vehicles for America Act — in September that would create a longer phase-in for the tax credit's North American final assembly requirement as well as its critical mineral and battery component provisions.

U.S. Reps. Terri Sewell of Alabama, Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri and Eric Swalwell of California — all Democrats who won midterm reelections in their states — introduced a companion bill this month.

Sewell said the bill is a "win-win for Alabama, ensuring that automakers and car buyers alike can take advantage of these tax credits immediately."

The mounting effort in Congress comes as the U.S. Treasury Department prepares to issue proposed guidance by Dec. …

There's a phrase that keeps getting tossed around in the autonomous vehicle business: trough of disillusionment.

Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt said it on General Motors' recent earnings call, and Aurora Innovation CEO Chris Urmson used a variation of to describe where the industry is right now. Their comments came after Ford and Volkswagen-backed Argo AI shut down and after a year-long rout in self-driving tech stocks.

What's happening is a brutal shakeout among companies trying to monetize a new technology. Money poured into startups during bubbly days before and during the pandemic. Many of those investments aren't panning out. Companies with cash, technology chops and patient ownership are still in the game. Any company missing just one of those three pieces are going away.

The remaining players are still getting funded and are still eyeing a big prize if they can scale up a business before investors lose interest.

"The laggards are falling behind while…

Modern car buyers can get everything they need to make a purchase decision without coming to the lot. With just a few keystrokes, they can visit multiple dealership websites, research options, lock monthly payments and even complete the deal paperwork. By delivering an efficient, personalized experience when they finally come to your store, you’ll be seen as a trusted expert and not just another typical dealer out for a quick sale.

To help dealerships succeed in this brave new world, CDK Global developed a six-part guide to understanding what prospective buyers want and how to give it to them. Topics include:

The Car Dealership Sales Process: What Shoppers Want From Shopper to Buyer: The Customer Journey Car Dealership Sales Tools: What You Need Dealing with Dealership Inventory Shortages: What to Say Inbound Phone Leads: To BDC or Not to BDC Winning Car Dealership Sales

Today’s customers have the resources necessary to educate themselves and make decisions on thei…

A Buick electric crossover prototype has been photographed undergoing road tests, signaling that the General Motors brand is nearing the start of its transformation to a zero-emissions lineup.

The heavily camouflaged electric vehicle, spotted in southeast Michigan, looks similar in size to the Chevrolet Blazer EV or Equinox EV that GM revealed this year. The prototype appears to share styling elements with the Buick Electra-X crossover concept that GM introduced in China in June, notably the headlight layout.

A spokesman for Buick declined to comment on future products. Buick spokesman Mikhael Farah said Buick "will have an all-electric portfolio in North America by the end of the decade, with our first EV arriving in showrooms in 2024. Buick's future EV products will carry the Electra name, drawing inspiration from Buick's history while appropriately positioning it toward a zero-emissions future."

Buick has said all of its EVs will ca…