Trade News

At a time when federal officials are scrutinizing the safety of Tesla Autopilot, new research sheds light on how the system is reshaping driver behavior.

When the driver-assist system is enabled, Tesla drivers' eyes stray from the road more frequently and for longer periods of time compared with manual driving, according to researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This is believed to be the first study that uses real-world driving data to measure how attentive Autopilot drivers are behind the wheel, and where they're glancing besides the road ahead.

"This is the first time we can quantify the effects of automation, in this case specifically Tesla Autopilot, on how drivers pay attention," said Pnina Gershon, MIT research scientist and one of the study's authors. "Essentially what it shows is when Autopilot is engaged, we see glances off the road that are longer."

The findings arrive as NHTSA investigat…

General Motors has signed an agreement with car rental giant Hertz Corp. to help funnel more loaner vehicles to dealerships amid the global microchip shortage.

As an enhancement to GM's existing Dealer Courtesy Transportation Program, Hertz will provide loaner vehicles to dealers at the automaker's current rate, a GM spokesperson confirmed to Automotive News. Hertz's primary focus will be providing Chevrolet Bolt customers with loaners during the recall process.

AutoForecast Solutions estimates that the global industry has lost 8.36 million vehicles from planned production because of the chip shortage. About 2.7 million of those vehicles were cut from North America production plans.

GM this month doubled its production loss forecast to 200,000 vehicles in the second half of the year. The automaker continues to pause production at assembly plants, especially those that build crossovers and sedans, to redirect chips elsewhere and has built some vehicl…

DETROIT — Ten months after the Chevrolet Bolt's initial recall, General Motors has outlined two solutions to eliminate fire risk: module replacements starting next month and new diagnostic software that identifies potentially dangerous anomalies or damaged batteries, the automaker said Monday.

GM plans to send battery module replacements to dealers in mid-October and launch its diagnostic software, installed by dealers, in the next 60 days.

The drawn-out Bolt recall has become a black eye for GM and diminished trust among many customers as the automaker aims for an all-electric lineup by 2035 and rolls out a new generation of electric vehicles, starting with the GMC Hummer pickup this fall. The module replacement and diagnostic software mark GM's next try at a fix after a separate software update, announced in April, failed to prevent battery fires.

Battery supplier LG has restarted production at its plants in Holland and Hazel Park, Mich., and the supp…

The U.S.’s top crash investigator urged Tesla Inc. to address safety concerns before expanding its cars’ self-driving features, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“Basic safety issues have to be addressed before they then expand it to other city streets and other areas,” Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said in an interview with the newspaper.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said last week drivers would soon be able to upgrade the so-called full self-driving capability of their vehicles. The move is expected to make driver-assistance tools that were designed mainly for highways usable in city environments too, though it doesn’t make cars completely autonomous.

The term ‘full self-driving’ is “misleading and irresponsible,” Homendy said. The marketing may attract more attention than warnings in car manuals, the WSJ added.

The NTSB investigates crashes and issues safety recommendations but has no regulatory authority.

…

AutoForecast Solutions' Sam Fiorani says the semiconductor supply crunch will likely persist for some time, as chipmakers continue to prioritize electronics customers over automakers.

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WASHINGTON -- U.S. auto safety investigators have opened a new probe into 30 million vehicles built by nearly two dozen automakers with potentially defective Takata airbag inflators, a government document seen by Reuters on Sunday showed.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday opened an engineering analysis into an estimated 30 million U.S. vehicles from the 2001 through 2019 model years. Automakers were alerted to the investigation, which is not yet public.

The new investigation includes vehicles assembled by Honda Motor Co., Ford Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp., General Motors, Subaru, Tesla Inc., Ferrari, Nissan Motor Co., Mazda Motor Corp., Daimler, BMW, Chrysler (now part of Stellantis), Porsche Cars, Jaguar Land Rover (owned by Tata Motors) and others.

The automakers on Sunday either declined to comment before NHTSA's expected public announcement on Monday, or did not immediately respond to requests for comment. NHTSA declined …

LOS ANGELES — American Honda is setting a target of 70,000 in annual sales for the Prologue crossover that it will launch in 2024 on a platform developed by General Motors.

And as the Japanese company develops its own EV platform throughout the decade, Honda expects to reach half a million EV sales in North America by 2030 on its way to becoming an entirely zero-emissions automaker by 2040, the company said Monday.

"Launching our first volume BEV in 2024 is the start of an exciting new direction for Honda," said Dave Gardner, executive vice president of national operations at American Honda. "We are working with our dealers to plan the transition from sales of primarily gasoline-powered vehicles to selling 100 percent electric vehicles by 2040."

Honda said its EV sales goals are dependent on receiving fair and equitable access to state and federal EV incentives in the U.S. Honda and other international automakers have voiced opposition to a proposal by …

Tara Rush might be considered a committed optimist. Though she’s relatively new in her current role as chief marketing officer for Audi of America — she became its first female marketing chief in December — she’s been with the German premium brand since April 2019, when she became head of communications after leaving Heineken.

Whether her job is inside or outside the auto industry, her eye is always trained on the same goal. 

“I’m just always looking at every situation and asking, ‘Where is the biggest opportunity and where can I create a lot of positive energy for change?’ So I’m definitely one of those people who, even in those challenging moments, I’m always kind of looking for the solution, for the positive side of things,” Rush said. 

It’s a driving motivation, one that has been present throughout her career. It was amplified in 2015 during a multiday workshop she attended about defining your personal purpose. The workshop fundamentally ch…

Dealership buy-sell activity, building off a brisk pace that began in late 2020, ramped up in the second quarter and appears primed to reach new heights for the remainder of 2021 thanks to rising dealership profitability, improved access to capital and increased activity from the publicly traded auto retailers.

Haig Partners, a buy-sell firm in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., estimated in its second-quarter Haig Report that 120 dealerships sold during the quarter, nearly triple the 42 stores that changed hands during the comparable period in 2020 when deals slowed during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic. Other dealership advisers also report robust deal-making with many expecting the strength of the market to persist for the balance of 2021 — though headwinds exist further out.

"The number of dealerships being acquired right now has exploded since this time last year, kind of going back to 2019," said Alan Haig, president of Haig Partners. "The stores are m…

Waymo, the autonomous vehicle unit owned by Google parent Alphabet Inc., is taking more office space in San Francisco. The company is subleasing more than 48,000 square feet at 555 Market Street in the city's financial district from Uber Technologies Inc. Waymo already has space in the Bayview neighborhood, while Google has several offices in the city. The new lease for Waymo is a vote of confidence for an office market that has been slower to rebound from the pandemic than other major U.S. cities, with technology employers embracing remote and hybrid work. While Google has maintained its space in San Francisco, many other tech companies have sought to offload millions of square feet they previously leased.

— Bloomberg

Ohio officials last week marked the official opening of what has been dubbed the nation's longest connected highway. The 33 Smart Mobility Corridor, a 35-mile stretch of U.S. Route 33, is outfitte…

General Motors last week committed $50 million toward expanding access to education and employment opportunities for Detroiters and strengthening the city's neighborhoods.

"As the home of our headquarters for more than a century, Detroit has always been a priority for General Motors," CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. "We're invested in supporting a strong future for this community. Our new commitment will help break down barriers and promote growth through education and economic success."

In its first round of funding as part of the larger commitment, GM has made $4 million in grants:

$1.25 million to a comprehensive digital support system that includes Internet connectivity, devices, tech support and digital literacy skills to create greater access to education and employment$1 million to support employment, health and well-being resources coordinated across the city with key agencies$1 million to a mobility initiative that aims to addres…