Trade News

WASHINGTON — The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to advance key parts of President Joe Biden's agenda, after moderates and progressives reached a compromise allowing them to move forward on the multitrillion-dollar plans.

In a party-line 220-212 vote, it approved a $3.5 trillion budget framework to advance progressives' ambitious plans to expand child care and other social programs, and agreed to vote by Sept. 27 on a$1 trillion Senate-passed infrastructure bill that is a top priority for moderate Democrats.

Portions of the Senate’s infrastructure bill have direct ramifications for the automotive industry. It sets deadlines for the U.S. Department of Transportation to issue rules on automatic shutoff for keyless ignition systems, updated headlamp standards and a requirement for new vehicles to be equipped with drunken and impaired driving prevention technology.

The Senate bill also calls for a rule that sets minimum…

Mazda's first battery-electric production vehicle for North America, the MX-30 crossover, will arrive at California dealerships this fall starting at $34,645, including shipping.

The MX-30's 100-mile range between charges could be a tough sell against vehicles that are priced similarly and can go at least twice as far on a charge, such as the Chevrolet Bolt EUV, which starts at $33,995 and has a 250-mile range.

To help offset the limited driving range, Mazda will put MX-30 owners in a loaner vehicle whenever they need to drive long distances. Mazda says the offer is good for up to 10 days per year.

Mazda plans to eventually offer the vehicle outside of California, but it's unclear when that will happen.

The MX-30 is equipped with Mazda's e-Skyactiv EV technology that features a 35.5-kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery pack mounted under the floor and a front-wheel-drive electric motor rated at 143 hp.

BMW's Mini brand has found success with t…

Google affiliate Waymo will offer rides in its autonomous vehicles to select passengers in San Francisco, marking its second launch of a taxi service and a hint of the company’s commercial ambitions.

Waymo began ferrying passengers last fall in suburban Phoenix in fully driverless cars -- a landmark achievement for a technology that’s long been hyped in Silicon Valley and Detroit. The company said it has provided “tens of thousands” of rides there.

Unlike in Arizona, however, Waymo riders in San Francisco will have a safety driver behind the wheel, according to a company spokeswoman. San Francisco’s hilly, dense streets are notoriously difficult for autonomous cars. Waymo has been running its vehicles around the city since 2019, without passengers, to map and learn routes and traffic situations.

Long considered the technical leader in making self-driving cars, Waymo recently lost a number of executives. Some former staff complained about overly cautious …

Jeep, with an eye on the upper echelons of the luxury SUV market, has revived a storied nameplate for two all-new, full-size utes: the Wagoneer and the more opulent Grand Wagoneer.

They are the same vehicle, differentiated by powertrain, equipment and trim details, and drawn from the newest body-on-frame platform from Stellantis that underpins the latest Ram 1500. The two SUVs are equipped with an independent rear suspension. They each measure slightly longer than a Chevrolet Tahoe. Rear-wheel drive is standard and three different four-wheel-drive systems with varying degrees of capability are available.

The powertrain lineup is simple: The Wagoneer features a 392-hp, 5.7-liter V-8 engine and eight-speed automatic transmission with rear-wheel drive. The Grand Wagoneer packs a 471-hp, 6.4-liter V-8 engine bolted to an eight-speed automatic transmission with four-wheel drive. We've scoured the Web for the earliest reviews from the automotive pres…

Majority shareholder Santander Holdings will take the prominent subprime auto lender Santander Consumer USA private in a $2.5 billion deal, both companies announced Tuesday.

Santander Holdings will pay $41.50 per share in cash under a deal unanimously approved by its board of directors. Shareholders will receive about 14 percent premium on the stock price July 1. Santander Holdings announced its initial nonbinding proposal to buy up the rest of Santander Consumer's stock on July 2.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

Santander Holdings had originally offered $39 per share on July 2. At that time, it already owned about 80 percent of Santander Consumer's stock. Based on the more than 306 million shares outstanding at the end of July, acquiring the remaining 20 percent of shares would cost Santander Holdings about $2.54 billion.

"We believe that our proposal reflects an attractive value to SC's public shareholders," Santander Holdin…

American Motors Corp. announces on Aug. 22, 1967, plans to introduce the 1968 Javelin, joining Detroit's pony car wars dominated by the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro.

The Javelin and its short-wheelbase, two-seat offshoot, the AMX, were designed by Richard Teague using underpinnings from AMC's compact Rambler American car. The vehicle was created to help AMC shed its reputation as a commuter-car maker.

It went on sale Sept. 26, 1967, in standard and SST trims, with a starting price of $2,743 and multiple engine options, ranging from the standard 232 inline-six up to a 280-hp 343 Typhoon V-8. A 390 V-8 that produced 315 hp became available midway through the 1968 model year.

Convertible sales were dropping and AMC lacked financial and engineering resources to design separate fastback and notchback hardtops that were available on the Mustang and Plymouth Barracuda. Instead, Teague and his design team created a single body style with a smooth semi-fastb…

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. has doubled its production target for the F-150 Lightning because of strong early demand for the full-sized electric pickup truck ahead of its 2022 launch and plans to spend an additional $850 million to meet that target, several people and suppliers familiar with the plans said.

The No. 2 U.S. automaker is targeting annual production of more than 80,000 in 2024, up from its prior target of more than 40,000, according to the people, who asked not to be identified.

"They were pleasantly surprised by the demand for the Lightning," one of the people said of Ford officials.

Industry observers have questioned whether individual buyers will give up their gas-powered pickups for electric models, but commercial customers are pushing for electric trucks and vans to reduce their carbon footprints.

The ramp to the new production target includes plans to build about 15,000 next year after the electric truck's spring launch and 55,0…

In June 2017, months after General Motors beat Tesla Inc. to market with an affordable, long-range electric vehicle, it took out full-page newspaper ads touting how long its Chevrolet Bolt could travel between charges. The tagline: “Begin a long-distance relationship, now.”

Four years later, the long-distance relationship between GM and its battery partner, LG Energy Solution, is being tested like never before. At issue: who will pick up a roughly $1 billion tab.

GM last week recalled Bolt EVs for the third time in nine months because of risk their batteries could catch fire. The Detroit-based company will replace modules in more than 73,000 additional vehicles and said it’s trying to get LG to pay for the fix. LG, headquartered some 6,600 miles away in Seoul, said the expense will be divvied up depending on the results from a joint investigation into the root cause of the problem.

At stake is what has looked like one of the most promising partnerships…

BorgWarner Inc. has taken a minority stake in a Tennessee-based company that converts plastic waste into thermal energy.

The supplier of turbochargers and electric motors announced Monday the $10 million investment in Enexor BioEnergy LLC as part of its plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035 and as it gradually reconfigures its business around automotive electrification.

Investing in the eco-friendly company, founded in 2015, was a "natural extension" of BorgWarner's technology portfolio, Joseph Fadool, vice president of BorgWarner, said in a news release. Enexor's marquee product, the Bio-CHP system, is powered by BorgWarner components.

"We see immense opportunity for our collaboration with Enexor and are excited to see the impact its solutions, and our investment, will have on the future of renewable power generation and the Earth's carbon footprint," Fadool said.

The companies declined to say what ownership percentage came with the investm…

Carl Beck, the founder of a group of five new-car dealerships in Florida, died on Aug. 11 while hospitalized for complications from COVID-19. He was 81.

Beck founded Beck Automotive Group in Palatka, Fla., in 1978.The group's stores, located throughout the Putnam County region, sell Buick, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Nissan vehicles.

Beck was fully vaccinated before he contracted COVID-19.

He was born in 1940 in Indianapolis to Marie Eckstein Beck and Carl Beck Sr. He attended elementary school and high school in the city and later attended Xavier University in Cincinnati, where he studied science, business, management and marketing. He also served for a short time in the U.S. Navy.

According to his official obituary, Beck was predeceased by his parents; his life partner, Daryl Younker; and by his nephew and godson, David Beck Jr.

He has three surviving siblings: a sister, Janice, and two brothers, …