Trade News

The 2021 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 — the first Wrangler in 40 years to pack a V-8 engine under its air-scooped hood — is also the fastest and most powerful Wrangler ever. It also checks off another box on the Jeep fan wish list, joining the diesel Wrangler, the Gladiator pickup and the upscale Grand Wagoneer that comes this year. With 470 hp and 470 pound-feet of torque, the Rubicon 392 is three times as powerful as the last Wrangler equipped with a V-8 and 40 percent faster than the modern Wrangler Rubicons with V-6 engines. Under the hood is a 6.4-liter V-8 paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission — no manual gearbox is available — with steering wheel-mounted paddles shifters, a first for the Wrangler. We've collected a few early reviews.

"At the push of a button, the engine barks from the aggressive dual quad-tip exhaust and you can't help but smile. We were just a tad disappointed our test vehicles had full doors installed, so we made sure to …

Chief Automotive Group, a Southern dealership group formed less than two years ago, doubled its dealership count last month with the acquisition of Bay Cars, currently a three-store complex consisting of Hyundai-Lincoln, Mitsubishi and Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram stores in Panama City, Fla.

The group bought the stores from Florida State Sen. George Gainer.

The deal closed on March 1, and terms were not disclosed, though Chief Automotive will retain the Bays Cars name, said Gary Dodson, the group's president.

"We like the coast," Dodson told Automotive News, referring to Bay Cars' location in the Gulf Coast town in the Florida Panhandle. "The car business is really good along there."

Chief Automotive, based in Franklin, Tenn., acquired its first store in July 2019 when it bought Barksdale Cadillac in Ridgeland, Miss., from Jim Barksdale and renamed it Cadillac of Jackson.

Last September, it bought Petro Chevrolet in Pascagoula, Miss., from Ton…

Intel Corp. CEO Pat Gelsinger will virtually attend a meeting being put together by President Joe Biden's administration for April 12 to discuss the semiconductor supply chain issues disrupting U.S. automotive factories, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Reuters previously reported the meeting will include Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and a top economic aide, Brian Deese, as well as chipmakers and automakers.

Gelsinger last month said Intel will spend $20 billion to build two new chip factories in Arizona.

A chip shortage has been disrupting U.S. automobile production since late last year.

Ford Motor Co., which has had to cut production of its best-selling F-150 because of the shortage, last week said that it will provide investors an update on the hit to its operating profit on April 28. The U.S. automaker previously said its operating profit this year would be reduced by $1 billion to $2.5 billion. The update t…

Hyundai Auto Canada has become the first Canadian automaker to sign on to the BlackNorth Initiative, which in part will see the company recruit dealer principals of color.

CEO Don Romano said that as some veteran dealers are retiring and looking to sell their businesses, Hyundai Canada is planning to seek out people of color, and specifically Black candidates, to purchase those dealerships.

“No one is going to tell me that there aren’t aspiring young Black entrepreneurs that would be phenomenal dealers to help us move into the future,” Romano said.

The BlackNorth Initiative encourages commitment from Canadian business leaders to ending anti-Black racism within their organizations and in society.

Romano said adding his name to the list of signatories reflects his acknowledgement of the need to increase equity and opportunities for Black Canadians.

“[Black] representation on boards, in corporation executive positions, is not adequate … and if…

TOKYO -- Japan's Subaru Corp. said it will idle its Yajima plant between April 10 and 27 due to a chip shortage, affecting 10,000 vehicles.

Subaru will restart all production lines at the Yajima plant in Gunma Prefecture from May 10, it said in a statement on Monday. It added that the impact on the group's financial results is uncertain. Some operations will resume April 21, the company said, adding that April 28-May 9 is a previously scheduled holiday break for the plant.

The production halt is caused by a global shortage of semiconductors and is not linked to a fire that hit chipmaker Renesas Electronics Corp, a Subaru spokeswoman said.

The Yajima plant manufactures some of the automaker's popular models, such as the Legacy sedan and Forester crossover.

George Carr, owner of a car dealership in Vicksburg, Miss., died March 29 after a long battle with COVID-19. He was 65.

He made his mark in the automotive industry in 1989, when he visited the Vicksburg area and bought the dealership then called Heritage Motors.

It became George Carr Buick-Cadillac-GMC, and he operated it for more than 30 years.

Carr was born in Nashville in 1955 and raised there, according to his obituary. He received his political science degree from Lipscomb University, a private liberal arts college in the city.

He is survived by his wife, Debbie, and parents, Rea and Neada Carr, as well as two children and several grandchildren.

There will be a service at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Crossway Church in Vicksburg.

Instead of flowers, the family is asking for donations to the Vicksburg Warren Humane Society or the Vicksburg Kiwanis Club, of which Carr was a member for 32 years.

We Predict CEO James Davies discusses how predictive data analytics is helping automakers and suppliers detect faulty components, improve manufacturing processes and unlock new revenue streams.

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TOKYO – Toyota has pulled the wraps off its next-generation 86 coupe, giving the redesigned sporty car a boost in power to answer customers clamoring for more oomph.

Toyota also rechristened the nameplate, in the Japan market at least, as the GR 86, in a nod to the brand’s Gazoo Racing tuner line. The overhauled GR 86 launches in Japan this autumn.

The entry-level driver’s car was jointly developed by Toyota Motor Corp. and Subaru Corp., with Subaru providing the engine and manufacturing and Toyota doing the design. Subaru said it had a bigger hand in this redesign, helping envision the front fender lines and other tweaks.

The first generation went on sale in 2012, with Subaru calling its version the BRZ. Subaru unveiled the second-generation BRZ last fall, saying it would go on sale as a 2022 model.

Toyota presented the GR 86 on Monday in an online event that also featured the overhauled BRZ under the banner “Let’s make ever-better car…

Scott Keogh, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, spoke with Automotive News Publisher Jason Stein for the "Daily Drive" podcast after the Voltswagen prank. Here are edited excerpts.

Q: A number of reporters came to your company after the release was posted briefly on your website and then taken down and story after story, including our own Automotive News story, said the change to Voltswagen was true, attributing it to a source. Your people had an opportunity to knock the story down, yet didn't. Give me your side of that.

A: This is an idea that came up from the marketing side. We could do two things. Let's do something cheeky, a little bit of a gag. Here we are at April Fools' to say we are so fanatical about electrification that we're going to change the very name of the company.

I think clearly, without a doubt, there was zero point zero intent to deceive and mislead. The intent was to get people to bite on the joke.

One respected national re…

<!--*/ */ /*-->*/ Said the dealer, 'You call this a crisis?'

We're starting to get used to this new normal in the auto industry — the reality that no matter what goes wrong out there, or how wrong it goes, auto dealers are going to make out just fine.

A pandemic darkened the world a year ago — and yet auto dealers burst through it like a squadron of Navy fighter pilots. The U.S. economy crashed — and yet retailers rallied for one of their best years ever.

Last week, it was true once more: Despite months of a confounding global shortage of microchips that shut down factory production of some of America's most popular vehicles, auto retailers delivered pretty much a bang-up first quarter of sales. Several brands excelled during the quarter, even as they feared chip-related interruptions at their factories, we report.

And as it happens, those thinning inventories of products around the industry are actually goosing dealer profitability. S…