Trade News

Representatives for Carvana Co. and the Illinois secretary of state met Wednesday in Illinois court for a scheduled hearing — the latest step in a legal challenge that's unfolded over the online retailer's license to sell used vehicles in the state.

The matter arose in early May, when the secretary of state suspended Carvana's dealer license. The regulatory agency said its police unit had investigated several consumer complaints and discovered a pattern of Carvana failing to properly transfer titles for vehicles it sold and misusing the issuing of out-of-state temporary registration permits. The agency stayed the suspension order May 26, saying Carvana could sell vehicles as long as it followed "strict guidelines."

When additional consumer complaints emerged, the secretary of state again attempted to suspend the online retailer's license in July, at which point Carvana filed for injunctive relief. That request was granted July 29 by Judge Bonnie Wheaton of the…

Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) are poised to radically change and disrupt the automotive industry, for both OEMs and consumers alike. While there’s little doubt that ADAS will make driving safer and more convenient, obstacles to widespread adoption still remain. How will OEMs and suppliers need to collaborate? How can OEMs encourage consumers to trust autonomous vehicles? And can government regulations help speed adoption? Here automotive insiders Robin Milavec from Nexteer Automotive and Dr. Massimo Venturi from Eberspaecher provide some answers.

Q: As ADAS technologies continue to advance, we’ve seen shifts in the traditional automaker-supplier collaboration model. What types of collaboration are needed to bring new advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) technology to market?

Dr. Massimo Venturi: Technology is advancing at a rate never before experienced in the automotive industry. In particular, as a vehicle’s electrical systems become increasingly …

Carlock Automotive Group of Nashville has expanded its presence in Alabama, buying three dealerships in Mobile from Rogelio Tovar of Gulf Coast Auto Group.

Eric Shepherd, vice president of operations for Carlock Automotive Group, said owner Clay Carlock bought Audi Mobile, Porsche Mobile and Volkswagen-Volvo Cars Mobile Sept. 1. The store names remain, he said.

"We're really excited about the entire Alabama-Tennessee market, from Nashville down to Mobile," Shepherd told Automotive News, adding that the transaction "made perfect sense" for the group.

With the acquisition, Carlock now has its first Audi dealership and expands its holdings to three Volkswagen, two Volvo and two Porsche stores, Shepherd said. The group plans to remodel the Volkswagen showroom in 2023, he added.

The acquisition follows Carlock's May purchase of Freedom Honda in Birmingham, Ala., from Victory Automotive Group, a store it renamed Carlock Honda.

With the Mobile a…

DETROIT – Lincoln Motor Co. is updating its Corsair compact crossover with new technology, a larger touch screen and exterior design tweaks in a bid to continue drawing new buyers to the brand.

The 2023 Corsair, scheduled to hit showrooms early next year, will come available with Lincoln's ActiveGlide hands-free driver-assist technology. While the feature debuted this year on the freshened Navigator large SUV, the Corsair will be the first vehicle to come with an updated version that includes lane-change assist and other capabilities.

The small crossover will also be upgraded with the Navigator's 13.2-inch center touch screen as well as a 12.3-inch LCD cluster. Outside, it will be the first nameplate to wear the latest iteration of the brand's mesh grille.

U.S. sales of the Corsair totaled 18,139 through August — making it the brand's bestseller so far this year — with Lincoln saying more than half of those deliveries came from conquests.

…

The nation's largest dealer groups are pulling ahead of the pack in online customer service, a report out Monday from retail service tracker Pied Piper found.

Pied Piper used 20 best-practice behaviors to measure the internet lead effectiveness of 15 of the nation's largest dealership groups. These include speed and quality categories, making up 25 percent and 75 percent of a group's score, respectively.

The firm evaluated every dealership in every group represented, with the exception of automotive management services, where a sample of 50 stores was used.

Practices measured include how quickly a customer's text or email is responded to and if a "human" responds to customers when using chat functions on dealer websites.

In Pied Piper's survey, 12 out of 15 groups scored higher than the industry average. Napleton Automotive Group, which ranks No. 13 on the Automotive News list of top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., earned the highest mark…

Tesla is sitting on a hoard of environmental credits that rival automakers may covet if they can't adjust quickly to the new rules dictating which electric vehicles are eligible for the $7,500 federal tax credit.

The Inflation Reduction Act passed in August requires automakers to assemble EVs and plug-in hybrids in North America to qualify for tax credit eligibility.

Beginning in January, the law also will require many to set up new battery and manufacturing supply chains in North America or a handful of approved free trade countries for their zero-emission vehicles to qualify for the tax credit incentive. The restrictions become increasingly stringent over the next decade.

In the near term, automakers such as Hyundai and Kia won't have vehicles that qualify for the tax credit, which partially offsets the higher price of electric cars and encourages sales.

That's expected to change over several years as the automakers…

DETROIT — Jeep CEO Christian Meunier says he wants the rugged SUV brand to be viewed as "the antidote to boredom." And electric Jeeps, he contends, are even more effective medicine.

The first of the brand's fully electric vehicles — the trail-ready, Wrangler-inspired Recon and the posh, stylish Wagoneer S — will reach North American dealerships in 2024, Meunier said last week, with two more nameplates slated by 2025. Jeep also has a small EV, the Avenger, planned for Europe and parts of Asia starting next year, though executives have deemed it unsuitable for U.S. consumers.

By 2030, Jeep projects that half of its U.S. sales and all of its European sales will be made up of emission-free models such as these. To get there, it's building a toolbox of electrified options melding off-road prowess with eco-friendly 4xe powertrains.

"I think we found a formula to make Jeep even more exciting while respecting the planet," Meunier told Automoti…

Duck, duck, Detroit

The last time Detroit held an auto show, Kelley Blue Book said the average transaction price for a new vehicle was about $37,000.

Heading into the 2022 Detroit show this week, it's now more than $48,000.

And that only captures a fraction of the revolution this industry has gone through in the 1,300-plus days that have elapsed without a motor show in the Motor City.

This year's show will look a lot different, too, as reporter Michael Martinez writes in this week's issue of Automotive News. Organizers already were planning to retool the show before COVID-19 arrived; the end product, after multiple postponements and an accelerating trend of manufacturers skipping such events, is a "complete reboot," as Detroit Auto Dealers Association President Thad Szott told us.

The hometown automakers are still here, of course, but even General Motors chose to reveal the Chevrolet Equinox EV — a real "game changer" thanks to its $30,00…

More than 1,000 union members at Stellantis' castings plant in Kokomo, Ind., went on strike Saturday after contract negotiations broke down, putting pressure on a key link in the automaker’s production of engines and transmissions for vehicles sold in North America.

Members of UAW Local 1166 said the company has deprived them of a “safe and comfortable workplace” by neglecting to repair HVAC systems and address other health and safety issues, according to a UAW statement. The Stellantis website said the plant is the largest die-cast facility in the world and makes engines and transmission parts.

“Stellantis claims it has no money to meet the basic needs of UAW Local 1166 members while, at the same time, it is making record profits and investing billions in a new battery plant across the street,” UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada said in the statement. “Enough is enough.”

The walkout is a early sign of the tension between automakers and the union as the i…

The president and CEO of ITS America details the life-saving potential of V2X technology, explains why it’s taking so long to bring connected-car tech to the market, and urges a fresh mindset on the concept of infrastructure.

How do I subscribe?

Apple Podcasts: “Shift: A podcast about mobility” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe.

Spotify: "Shift: A podcast about mobility" can be streamed through Spotify on your desktop, tablet or mobile device. Click here to subscribe.

Google Play: "Shift: A podcast about mobility" is available on Android devices through the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe.

Editor's note: President Joe Biden is scheduled to walk the floor of the 2022 Detroit auto show Sept. 14.

Dear Mr. President,

Welcome back to the Detroit auto show. We've missed you and every other self-professed auto enthusiast who still garners a visceral thrill just seeing and sitting in the latest and greatest from global automakers.

It's been a while — almost the length of a presidential term — since we've had an auto show in the Motor City.

So as long as you're here, I'd like to take this opportunity to get you up to speed on our industry — beyond just 0-to-60 in the Ford F-150 Lightning or a quarter-mile in a mid-engine 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06. Trust me, you're going to need a deeper understanding of what this transition to electrification means beyond just "This sucker's quick!"

You see, Mr. President, this huge, multitiered trillion-dollar industry is in kind of a weird place right now. Parts of it have never been financially healt…

DETROIT — The 2022 Detroit auto show, which returns this week after a 44-month hiatus, won't be the media-centric news extravaganza of years past.

Only about 10 new vehicles are slated to be unveiled, fewer than half the usual number of journalists are registered to attend, and many major automakers are skipping it altogether.

And that's OK, show organizers say.

Instead, they're focused on improving the consumer experience with a new indoor-outdoor layout featuring numerous ride-and-drive opportunities going well beyond the stodgy, static displays that defined the show for decades.

"The days of 60 reveals happening at our show are probably behind us," Thad Szott, president of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, which runs the show, told Automotive News. "This is a complete reboot. This is not the cars-on-carpet show you've been to in the past. It's a completely different, re-imagined show."

To be sure…