Trade News

NEW YORK — After a foray into the countryside to test the off-road prowess of the Jeep Wagoneer, I was on a freeway heading back to Manhattan in its swankier counterpart, the Grand Wagoneer.

The massaging seats were hard at work, the McIntosh sound system was blaring, and the tri-pane sunroof let plenty of natural light into the expansive interior as I maneuvered through a construction zone that temporarily cut traffic to one lane.

The hefty Grand Wagoneer, with a smooth ride that belied its size, felt like a rolling living room. And it happened to be driving itself.

My hands were on the wheel, but the active driving-assist technology was doing all of the work. The vehicle features Level 2 automation that combines lane-centering with adaptive cruise control. The system, which uses sensors, radar and cameras, "dictates the appropriate roads for the technology" to engage on, Jeep says.

Jeep eventually plans to offer a hands-free version.

The…

First created to usher in a fully autonomous era of driving, lidar technology is now a cornerstone of the emerging driver-assist market. And lidar companies are drawing the attention of customers — and perhaps equally importantly, investors — as they race to make their systems better and less expensive.

Old stalwarts and newcomers to the field alike are benefiting from the industry's embrace of lidar sensors for driver-assist systems. The near-term plans for lidar to reach mass production for assist systems should give lidar companies the revenue they need while waiting for the self-driving era that's still years in the future.

"We're seeing a lot of these lidars getting down into designs intended for volume production, where they can get a price point at less than $500 per unit in the next few years," said Sam Abuelsamid, principal research analyst at Guidehouse Insights. "We're seeing those being adopted in sub- robotaxi applications."

In March, Honda…

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico sought formal consultation with the United States on Friday over the interpretation and application of tougher content rules for vehicles set out in the USMCA trade pact.

In May, Mexico voiced disagreement over the issue in a three-way online virtual meeting when it cited differences with the United States' methods. Canada and Mexico use more flexible interpretations.

"Mexico has identified a divergent position between our governments on the interpretation of ... provisions on rules of origin for the automotive sector," Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier said in a letter.

In her letter on Friday to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Clouthier said Mexico wanted to avoid or resolve a possible dispute.

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the successor to the North American Free Trade Agreement, requires 75 percent North American content for a vehicle to be considered as being from North America.

The same p…

As her headlamps brighten, Poppy awakes, a hand unplugs her charger, and she cautiously hits the road.

Poppy is one of 200 self-driving vehicles in the test fleet of Cruise, the autonomous technology company majority-owned by General Motors. In a Pixar-esque short film that debuted this month, Cruise shows Poppy's blossoming relationship over several years with the roads of San Francisco.

It's one way Cruise is trying to earn consumers' trust and educate them about the technology as it moves closer to reality on the roads. It's a process that requires more than just facts, figures and diagrams, said Tom Parker, Cruise's head of creative and content.

"There's a trust that we have to build and develop," Parker said. "And that involves the heart."

Cruise's creative team was inspired by beloved robotic characters R2-D2 from Star Wars and Disney and Pixar's Wall-E, Parker said.

"What was so great about those ch…

DETROIT — Dodge's move into electrification could broaden its consumer base, but executives know the success of that shift also will depend on their ability to retain buyers who have been drawn to its high-octane Hellcats and Scat Packs over the years.

Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis said the automaker understands that some are leery about its plans, so the performance brand will be laying out its vision in the months ahead to give enthusiasts an idea of what to expect from its electrified products.

Dodge will present its electrification plans in the fourth quarter as it prepares to launch a plug-in hybrid model in 2022 and a battery-electric muscle car in 2024, Kuniskis said. The brand also will provide a glimpse into the future next year with an electric concept car.

"We hope that we draw a different type of consumer, and keep the consumer that we have today," Kuniskis told Automotive News during a media preview for the Roadkill Nights …

Delivery of goods is commercializing autonomous vehicle technology much faster than transportation of people is, and that gives Walmart a pole position in the race to use driverless vehicles.

America's largest retailer already revolutionized logistics once, beginning a half-century ago, with the industry's first major distribution centers and its launch of "continuous replenishment" of goods in stores. Now, the iconic chain of 4,700 U.S. stores, based in Bentonville, Ark., has deployed a series of autonomous test vehicles, applying lessons learned during the curbside-pickup craze sparked by the coronavirus pandemic while leveraging Walmart's legendary ability to optimize supply chains continuously.

Walmart recently invested in DroneUp, a drone-services provider. Last year, the companies partnered with Quest Diagnostics to conduct trial deliveries of at-home COVID-19 testing kits. That followed Walmart's investment in Cruise, the AV outfit star…

DETROIT-- General Motors is expanding its Chevrolet Bolt recall to include all model years, including the new 2022 Bolt EUV and the redesigned 2022 Bolt EV.

The automaker will spend about $1 billion on the recall, on top of the $800 million it spent last quarter. Dealers are not permitted to sell the Bolts until they have applied the recall repair, which varies by model year.

"Our focus on safety and doing the right thing for our customers guides every decision we make at GM," Doug Parks, GM executive vice president, global product development, purchasing and supply chain, said in a statement Friday. "As leaders in the transition to an all-electric future, we know that building and maintaining trust is critical. GM customers can be confident in our commitment to taking the steps to ensure the safety of these vehicles."

The new recall includes 9,335 Bolt EVs from the 2019 model year that were not included in the previous recall (6,989 were sold in t…

Sonic Automotive Inc., which is rapidly expanding its EchoPark brand of used-vehicle-only stores in a tightening labor market, will implement a $15 minimum wage for all hourly employees on Sept. 1.

Sonic, a publicly traded dealership group, has 8,500 employees nationwide. It's unclear how many of them will be affected by the move, which was announced Thursday.

A Sonic spokeswoman did not share how many company employees are paid by the hour, what job categories come with hourly pay or what the retailer's previous minimum wage was.

She did note that the average increase in annual pay per affected employee will be $3,250.

The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, though a little more than half of U.S. states already have a higher minimum wage, according to the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor.

While minimum hourly wages of at least $15 are becoming more commonplace across various industries, the Sonic spokesw…

The global shortage of microchips continues to bedevil the auto industry, with several companies announcing production cuts this week. Included in that group this time is Toyota Motor Corp., which previously had weathered the crisis without major setbacks.

Here are the latest developments:

The Japanese automaker said it will slash global output by about 40 percent in September. In North America, Toyota said its factories will lose up to 170,000 vehicles through September.

General Motors will idle its plant that builds the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV and added downtime at crossover and sedan plants.

The Kansas City assembly plant will be down for a week and the automaker’s plant in Cologne, Germany, will temporarily suspend output.

Volkswagen will restart its plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, with just one shift next week as it resumes following the traditional summer break. In addition, Audi will extend its summer break by one week at its two…

Four dealership groups — two in the Midwest and two in the South — expanded in the third quarter with single-store or two-store acquisitions.

Here's a quick look at deals involving import- and domestic-brand stores. Two transactions involved an Automotive News' top 150 dealership group.

LaFontaine Automotive Group last month purchased its first Lincoln dealership — one it plans to relocate to a new facility about 25 miles away.

LaFontaine, of Highland, Mich., on July 30 bought Signature Lincoln in Owosso, Mich., from the Joe Falzon-owned Signature Auto Group. LaFontaine has temporarily moved the Lincoln franchise to its Ford store in nearby Flushing, Mich., while it builds a new store for the Lincoln outlet in nearby Genesee County's Mundy Township.

"Lincoln has long been a brand we have been looking to add to our portfolio and are eager to capture the significant potential that exists with this acclaimed luxury brand," LaFontaine CEO Ryan LaFont…

The nation’s new chief accident investigator wants to send a message: Growing public confusion over automated driving systems in the U.S. is threatening to undermine the potential safety benefits of the technology.

Jennifer Homendy took the reins as chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board one week ago, just as controversy erupted over Tesla Inc.’s so-called Autopilot. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Monday opened an investigation into car accidents involving the use of Autopilot. 

“Whether it’s Tesla or anyone else, it is incumbent on these manufacturers to be honest in what their technology does and does not do,” Homendy told Bloomberg News in her first interview since she was sworn in on Aug. 13. 

Homendy, 49, a former Capitol Hill staffer who has served as an NTSB board member since 2018, went on to praise Tesla’s cooperation during multiple previous NTSB investigations and said she didn’t want to single…

Stellantis is recalling 212,373 Ram vehicles from the 2015-20 model years because inflator end caps in the vehicles' airbags can detach or the inflator sidewall may rupture.

In either situation, compressed gas can escape, which might send the end cap or other parts flying into the vehicle interior and cause an injury or crash, according to documents filed with NHTSA.

The recall covers certain 2015-20 Ram 1500 Classic, 2015-16 Ram 3500 and Ram 2500 and 2016 Ram 3500 Cab Chassis vehicles.

The company opened an investigation in December 2020 after discovering that some of the vehicle models in question may have been built with side airbag inflatable curtains with inflators contaminated with moisture. The suspect inflators were built between March 2015 and September 2015.

FCA U.S., a North American arm of Stellantis, said moisture introduced during the manufacturing process could lead to corrosion and subsequent cracking inside the airbag over time. Read more