Trade News

Steve Pitt, the longtime organizer of the convention held annually by the National Automobile Dealers Association, died Saturday of a brain hemorrhage just days before his 76th birthday, an NADA spokeswoman confirmed to Automotive News.

Pitt joined NADA in 1974 and planned 48 conventions for the dealer association before retiring this year. As senior vice president of NADA's conventions and expositions group, he directed the annual NADA Show, where he booked and stage-managed speakers such as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former U.S. presidents including George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, among other famous celebrities, politicians and business executives.

Pitt was an Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam and then worked in the hotel industry. In 1974, while working at ITT Sheraton's national sales office in Washington, D.C., he received a job pitch from NADA. Pitt rejected the offer twice before ultimately deciding to go for it.

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General Motors is recalling 484,155 SUVs in the U.S. after the discovery of an improperly riveted seat belt assembly in the third row.

NHTSA said the recalls affect the following 2021-22 models:

Only vehicles with third-row seating are subject to the recall.

Improper forming in the third-row seat belt assembly could lead to the belt not properly restraining occupants and increasing the risk of injury, according to the NHTSA report.

The company was alerted to the defect after a customer report of a separated seat belt buckle assembly in May.

"Operators at the supplier's manufacturing plant may have not properly followed manufacturing processes and inadvertently missed the rivet forming operation," the report said.

GM's supplier added an optical scan of the rivet head formation to its manufacturing process in July to prevent further defects.

The defect has not resulted in any reported injuries or fatalities, a GM spokesman told …

Fast-growing Morgan Automotive Group further bolstered its Florida presence this week with the acquisition of three stores, including its first Lexus dealership.

The group on Tuesday bought Wilde Honda Sarasota, Wilde Lexus Sarasota and Wilde Jaguar-Land Rover Sarasota from Wilde Automotive Family, Morgan Automotive CEO Brett Morgan confirmed in an email to Automotive News.

The affiliated Wilde Automotive Group also has dealerships in Wisconsin, but those were not part of the sale, Morgan said.

The three dealerships will be renamed Honda of Sarasota, Lexus of Sarasota and Jaguar-Land Rover Sarasota. Sarasota is south of Tampa.

"We have been doing business in the Sarasota market now for over a decade with our BMW and Lamborghini stores," Brett Morgan said in a statement. "We are thrilled to add Lexus, Jaguar, Land Rover and Honda to that market offering. The Wilde family has a great reputation and we look forward to carrying their legacy forward."…

Annual vehicle exports by automakers producing in China are on track to jump 19 percent year on year to a record high of more than 2.4 million this year, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers predicted this week. 

The trade group made the forecast after data show China’s vehicle exports kept picking up in the first seven months. 

In July, vehicle shipments from China to other markets rallied 67 percent to top 290,000 vehicles, with year-to-date volume rising 51 percent to exceed 1.5 million, according to the trade group’s tally.

Last month, exports of light vehicles ranging from sedans, crossovers, SUVs, multi-purpose vehicles and minibuses spiked 73 percent to some 242,000.

In the same month, exports of commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks also advanced 42 percent to about 49,000.

For the first seven months, automakers shipped some 1.18 million light vehicles and 322,000 commercial vehicles overseas, surging 5…

Amy Sudik, senior director of marketing for Ally discuss methods of encouraging repeat business for sales and service offers, including ways dealers might employ targeted digital ads as part of their communications with customers.

Advertisement: It's time to take your dealership from 0 to 100 from dedicated underwriter and account executive teams to comprehensive training courses. Ally has the resources needed to help you take your business to the next level. Contact your local account executive today.

Jackie Charniga: Hi, everyone. This is Jackie Charniga with Automotive News and welcome to the All Ears podcast. This podcast is sponsored by Ally Financial and is produced by the Automotive News Content Studio. In each episode, we delve into topics important to executives in automotive retailing. We tap Ally's leaders to offer actionable solutions for dealers and others to successfully navigate transformational changes in the industry. Today, we catch up with Am…

The track-focused 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS debuts a motorsports-inspired central radiator and a large carbon wing that delivers greater downforce.

The redesigned GT car arrives in the spring with a starting price of $225,250, including shipping.

Under the hood sits a high-revving 4.0-liter six-cylinder boxer engine that delivers 518 hp and a 0-to-60-mph time of three seconds.

Adjustable wing elements on the front and on the two-part rear wing help provide more than 900 pounds of downforce at about 124 mph — three times as much as a current 911 GT3.

To boost performance, the GT3 RS uses a central radiator concept — first used in the Le Mans class-winning 911 RSR.

Instead of the three-radiator layout seen in previous cars, the GT3 RS relies on a large, angled center radiator in the car's nose, positioned where the luggage compartment is located on other 911 models. The freed-up space on the sides allowed engineers to integrate active aerodyna…

Tesla Inc. has parted ways with the law department leader heading an internal inquiry into purchase orders at the electric vehicle maker.

David Searle left his position as Tesla’s head of legal less than a month ago, according to three people familiar with the matter. His LinkedIn profile has not been updated to show his departure.

Dinna Eskin, a deputy general counsel at the company, has taken over the role, the people said.

Searle had been overseeing an internal investigation involving Omead Afshar, a key lieutenant to Tesla’s top executive, Elon Musk, who was tasked with navigating a tangled global supply chain to obtain critical construction materials. The probe over a hard-to-get glass order has led to some Tesla employees being fired, according to Bloomberg.

Searle is a former federal prosecutor who was initially hired by Tesla in 2021 to be its head of compliance. His title at Tesla was acting head of legal and corporate secretary.

T…

Electric vehicle owners are dealing with a large number of inoperable charging stations and a slow rollout of public charging infrastructure, hurdles that could hamper adoption even as the technology looks to be gaining momentum.

EVs accounted for about 5 percent of U.S. new light-vehicle registrations during the first half of this year, up from 2.5 percent during the same period of 2021.

"Not only is the availability of public charging still an obstacle, but EV owners continue to be faced with charging station equipment that is inoperable," said Brent Gruber, executive director of global automotive at J.D. Power.

Driver satisfaction with Level 2 public chargers is falling, according to J.D. Power's annual U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience Public Charging Study, released Wednesday.

Its survey of more than 11,000 EV and plug-in hybrid owners found satisfaction declined to 633 from 643 last year on a 1,000-point scale. Satisfaction with DC fast charg…

A lawsuit filed against Ford Motor Co. by New York dealer Kitty Van Bortel surrounding reneged plans to purchase a dealership has been dismissed.

Last September, Van Bortel, a dealer based in western New York, entered into an oral agreement with a Ford representative to purchase Henderson Ford in Webster, N.Y., according to the suit.

The representative told her that if another buyer arose, Ford would exercise its right to refusal and give her the deal, according to the complaint. Ford told Van Bortel on Oct. 25 that the company planned to sell Henderson Ford to West Herr Auto Group.

Van Bortel filed the complaint in U.S. District Court on Nov. 15, claiming breach of contract and that Ford discriminated against her based on her sex, violating the state's Human Rights Law.

But U.S. District Judge David Larimer dismissed the lawsuit Aug. 10, saying an oral agreement between Van Bortel and Ford did not constitute a valid, legal contract.

In hi…

The Inflation Reduction Act is now law, leaving about 20 EV models eligible for tax credits. BMW is getting Tesla-like cylindrical batteries from a Chinese supplier. The revived DeLorean Motors faces claims of stolen intellectual property. Plus, a look at the rise and decline of LMP Automotive.

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The IRS issued guidance clarifying the electric vehicle tax credit rules outlined by the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law on Tuesday.

Here are edited excerpts.

EVs purchased before Aug. 16

» If you entered into a written binding contract to purchase a new qualifying electric vehicle before Aug. 16, but do not take possession of the vehicle until on or after Aug. 16 (for example, because the vehicle has not been delivered), you may claim the EV credit based on the rules that were in effect before August 16. The final assembly requirement does not apply before August 16.

EVs purchased and delivered Aug. 16-Dec. 31

» If you purchase and take possession of a qualifying EV after Aug. 16 and before Jan. 1, aside from the final assembly requirement, the rules in effect before the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act for the EV credit apply (including …

OURAY, Colo. — The Telluride has carved successful new paths for Kia since the crossover was launched in 2019.

The large ute draws a steady wave of new, younger and more affluent buyers to the brand. Average transaction prices have hovered above sticker since it went on sale.

It was the fifth-bestselling large crossover in the U.S. last year behind the Toyota Highlander, Ford Explorer, Chevrolet Traverse and Volkswagen Atlas; it moved ahead of the Traverse in the first half of this year to take the No. 3 spot. The Telluride ranked second among vehicles in the three-row crossover segment in J.D. Power's latest survey of initial quality, behind the Highlander and ahead of the GMC Acadia, after placing first in 2021.

And it consistently scores among the most satisfying and appealing crossovers in its segment, again rated by owners, based on a separate J.D. Power survey.

But it is still missing some true off-road chops that cater to families and outd…