GM recognizes California’s authority to set vehicle emissions rules

WASHINGTON -- General Motors on Sunday said it had agreed to recognize California’s authority to set vehicle emission standards under the Clean Air Act.

The move will make the automaker eligible for government fleet purchases by the state of California, GM said.

The automaker made the commitment to recognize California's authority in a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom. GM said in the letter it is "committed to complying with California's regulations."

Soon after Joe Biden was elected president, GM in November 2020 reversed itself and no longer backed an effort by the then-Trump administration to bar California from setting its own emissions rules.

"GM is joining California in our fight for clean air and emission reduction as part of the company's pursuit of a zero-emissions future," Newsom said. "This agreement will help accelerate California's nation-leading commitment to tackling the climate crisis."

GM said in January it plans to e…

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A rich CES experience, miles away from Vegas

A rich CES experience, miles away from Vegas

I couldn't help but be impressed with Veoneer's booth at CES.

At the entrance, there stood the company's name spelled out in large, bright white letters neatly planted in artificial grass, across from a row of benches, flanked by company banners fluttering gently in the breeze.

I ventured inside to see people milling around, checking out the interactive displays, including vehicles running Arriver advanced-driver assistance software. There was a welcome desk to pick up information, plus a little theater and a lounge.

Impressive indeed, when you consider that this showroom, and the people inside, were virtual.

To me, some of the unsung heroes of CES 2022 were the IT experts who brought the show to people such as myself who were unwilling or unable to make the trip to Las Vegas.

Seven people from the Automotive News newsroom made plans a few weeks ago to travel to CES. As appointment afte…

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John Deere’s Deanna Kovar on revolutionizing farming through automation (Episode 130)

After a groundbreaking CES, John Deere's VP of production and precision AG production systems explains why the company's fully autonomous tractor could have the same impact on farming as moving beyond horses 100 years ago, and why the new technology is critical to feeding a growing population.

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In search for new hires, Suburban Collection takes to TV

The Suburban Collection, a group of 34 Michigan dealerships owned by Lithia Motors Inc., for the first time is using TV commercials to look for employees.

The recruitment campaign, which began in October and features ads on broadcast and streaming TV and social media, is already helping Suburban's hiring efforts in this tight labor market, a Suburban executive said.

Suburban has not run recruitment advertising like it before, and it's also the first consistent campaign of that nature for Lithia, executives said.

Hiring is "a challenge for everybody in the industry," said Tom Dobry, vice president of marketing for Lithia, which acquired Suburban last April. "We're still losing a lot of front-line people to other industries. As other industries promise higher wages, we've got to compete with that. I would say [for] all of our stores, I think finding good people in every department is an ongoing challenge."

The Suburban a…

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J.B. Poindexter: Electric fleets are inevitable — in due time

The move to electrification is affecting every facet of the auto industry, including the contract manufacturers that marry chassis produced by automakers with their own proprietary bodies.

One of the largest upfitters is J.B. Poindexter & Co., a company headquartered in Houston whose roots trace back to the early 1980s. It posted revenue of $2 billion in 2020 through eight business units that build everything from hearses to box trucks.

In late fall last year, the company added EAVX to its portfolio. The Ann Arbor, Mich., unit will work exclusively with electric vehicle chassis manufacturers.

CEO John Poindexter spoke with Staff Reporter Richard Truett. Here are edited excerpts.

Q: Did Amazon's order for 100,000 Rivian vans validate the electric powertrain for commercial fleet vehicles? Did it kick-start this move we are seeing away from internal combustion engines in fleets?

A: I don't believe it kick- started anything. It…

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A traveler’s Japan quarantine ordeal: Toyota’s hyperefficiency meets ‘Squid Game’

TOKYO — Auto executives traveling to Japan might want to reconsider, if the business trip can wait. In the age of the rampaging COVID-19 omicron variant, Japan's gauntlet of quarantine controls is a mind-boggling mix between the Toyota Production System and "Squid Game."

I recently returned to Tokyo from a work and family trip to Detroit. What awaited us at the capital's Haneda airport was as amazing for its overengineered, hyperefficient logistics as it was exasperating in its unyielding robotic bureaucracy. In a word: The ordeal was uniquely Japanese.

It entailed four hours of navigating checkpoints, installing tracking software on smartphones, taking yet another PCR test, signing a 14-day quarantine pledge and enduring immigration scrutiny unlike anything I've seen in my decade living here under "permanent residence" status. After finally being admitted to Japan, we were then hustled onto a rendition-like dark-of-night bus trip to a government-appointed hot…

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How a Florida Audi store used personalized videos to boost its business

Audi Lakeland incorporated personalized videos into its sales and service strategy in May 2019, well before the coronavirus pandemic forced dealerships nationwide to take more of their customer interactions online.

It was fortuitous timing.

The videos have proved to be a vital tool, especially during the pandemic, because they jump-start the sales process and help sales employees capitalize on leads by almost immediately connecting consumers regardless of their location to vehicles they desire, said Paul Gomez, general manager of the Qvale Auto Group dealership in Lakeland, Fla. The videos have boosted dealership traffic and revenue.

"It has become probably the most important part of our process, because what it does is introduce the customer to exactly what they're shopping for online," Gomez told Automotive News.

Audi Lakeland made 9,597 sales-related videos between May 2019 and Dec. 21, 2021, he said. If a customer clicks out of a video, they'…

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The new abnormal: Auto sales had wild ride in 2021

It took unprecedented supply interruptions and a global pandemic to do it, but 2021 will go down in history as the U.S. auto industry's Great Jostling.

Things that seemed as if they would always stay true fell by the wayside. Former industry upstarts hit their strides and rocked the status quo. Unmet demand for new and used vehicles jacked up prices to record highs and dragged down incentives to previously unthinkable levels.

Last year's U.S. sales largely came down to just one thing: who still had vehicles to sell.

Toyota Motor North America finished 2021 as the top-selling automaker, ending a General Motors streak that began in 1931. Hyundai-Kia outperformed American Honda to move into fifth place for the first time, still trailing No. 3 Ford Motor Co. and No. 4 Stellantis, both of which, like GM, saw their sales decline in a year in which demand outstripped supply by a significant margin. Despite a difficult fourth quarter for most automakers, BMW of No…
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Behind the scenes of this past year’s Malaysian microchip crisis

Hani Bin Sha'ari spent more than two decades rising through the ranks at STMicroelectronics NV's facility in Malaysia. He prided himself on working hard to provide for his wife and four children. So when the chip plant remained open through a spike in COVID-19 infections last year, he kept doing his job.

Then one morning in July, the 43-year-old woke up with a fever. His wife, Nancy, took him to a local clinic, requesting a coronavirus test because of infections at the plant. The results came back positive. Hani was soon quarantined in a hospital. He lost so much weight he started avoiding video calls so as not to alarm his family. When the couple spoke by phone later, Hani was out of breath and she urged him to rest. It was their last conversation.

Hani was one of at least 20 workers at STMicro's facility in the Malaysian district of Muar who died from COVID-19 after the delta variant raged through the country last year. That spike in cases in Malaysia crimpe…

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Wholesale used-vehicle prices grew more slowly in December, might rise more in the spring

Even as their pace of growth slowed in the final weeks of 2021, wholesale used-vehicle prices again increased in December, hitting new record highs, and analysts expect prices to rise more in the spring.

Cox Automotive said Friday that its Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, which tracks vehicles sold at Manheim's U.S. auctions, rose 1.6 percent in December compared with November. The index soared for all of 2021, with its December number 47 percent higher than the same month in 2020. Those numbers were adjusted for mix, mileage and seasonality.

Manheim said the December number slipped 1.1 percent compared with November on a nonadjusted basis. The index rose 43 percent on a nonadjusted basis for all of 2021.

Average 2018 model year wholesale prices softened in the last five to six weeks of 2021, while retail prices increased, Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke said during a Friday call. 

Cox Automotive predicted last month that…

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Aston Martin said to gauge Ford executive’s interest in becoming CEO

Aston Martin Chairman Lawrence Stroll has approached Steven Armstrong, a senior Ford Motor executive, to gauge his interest in becoming CEO of the British automaker, according to people familiar with the matter

Stroll reached out to Armstrong, a former chairman of Ford Europe, twice last month, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were preliminary.

No offers were made and Armstrong, 57, has made no decision to leave Ford, where he has worked for more than 25 years and currently serves as transformation officer over South America and India.

The outreach by Stroll raises further questions about the future of Aston CEO Tobias Moers, the former head of Mercedes-Benz's AMG performance division whom Stroll hired months after leading an investment consortium's rescue of Aston in early 2020.

Stroll, 62, denied a report by motoring publication Autocar on Friday that Moers' future at Aston was in doubt, tell…

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Cox Automotive retail products leader to retire

Cox Automotive leaders this week said Keith Jezek, Retail Solutions Group president, will retire from the Atlanta-based dealership technology company this year.

Jezek will stay on through the end of March to help with the leadership transition, Cox Automotive President Steve Rowley said Thursday in an email to employees and shared with Automotive News.

Amy Mills, senior vice president and chief strategy officer, will lead the retail products group on an interim basis while Cox conducts a search for Jezek's permanent replacement, Rowley said in the email.

Jezek joined Cox with the 2010 acquisition of inventory management tool vAuto, which Cox said he was involved in launching with founder Dale Pollak. Jezek led a retail products team that included such brands as Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, Dealer.com and Dealertrack. Rowley said the retail products team under Jezek broke records in 2021, including customer bookings, installations, retention and satisfac…

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