Trade News

Personal vehicle ownership has never been more desirable to Americans. Whether it be long drives to clear one's head, driving to vacation spots instead of flying or a fear of public transportation because of COVID-19 concerns, consumers consider their vehicle a haven in a perilous world.

As personal ownership desirability increases, so do opportunities for dealerships to sell finance-and-insurance products. Wary of the various expenses that come with vehicle ownership, consumers are seeing value in protection products, an Ally Financial survey published this month found.

Public retailers have provided evidence to support the theory, as companies such as Penske Automotive Group and AutoNation Inc. reported a "significant shift toward individual mobility" among the reasons for record-high third-quarter earnings. All six retailers also grew F&I profit per vehicle by more than $100 each in the quarter.

The survey, conducted Sept. …

WASHINGTON -- Tesla Inc. is issuing two recalls covering about 9,500 vehicles for roof trim that may separate and bolts that may not have been properly tightened.

The larger recall covers 9,136 Model X cars from the 2016 model year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Wednesday.

NHTSA said the front and spine cosmetic roof trim may have been adhered without first using primer, and one or both pieces of trim may separate from the vehicle while it is being driven.

Tesla said in documents filed with the agency it learned in September of an event involving a 2016 Model X that prompted a company investigation into the root cause and frequency of the condition that could create a road hazard for motorists behind the vehicle.

Tesla will inspect the recalled vehicles and apply a retention test. If they fail, Tesla will apply primer to remedy the condition.

The other recall covers 401 2020 model year Tesla Model Y vehicles wit…

Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess is struggling to win support for his picks to fill top executive posts and is pushing the automaker's board to back more significant reforms, according to people familiar with the matter.

The automaker’s works council is opposing Diess's candidates to succeed CFO Frank Witter and fill the vacant purchasing chief position, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are confidential.

The two roles are key to Diess's efforts to cut costs and boost efficiency at VW, which just approved a 150-billion euro ($178 billion) investment plan.

Diess, 62, is running into fresh internal resistance after making slow progress untangling the company’s unwieldy conglomerate structure and focusing on its main car operations.

In talks with key stakeholders, Diess has raised the prospect of lengthening his contract past 2023, but winning support for a required two-thirds voting majority from VW’s supervi…

Bentley's new Flying Spur comes with the option of a large upright Flying B mascot on the hood. This is the first time that this style of B, which rises electronically to view from underneath a modern Bentley badge, is featured on a modern-day edition of a four-door Grand Tourer. The last time the B appeared, the year was 1930 and the car was a Bentley Model 8-Liter.

The reputation of that winged B long precedes it, though. It comes from a history that winds through virtually all other ultraluxury automakers of the day -- and since.

British sculptor Charles Sykes first developed the Flying B for company founder W.O. Bentley in 1919. But for years, Bentley cars had varying hood ornaments commissioned by the owners themselves, or none at all.

Many, once attached, did not allow the hood to open. It was not until the 1930s that a standardized Flying B became prominent -- and asymmetrical.

British painter F. Gordon Crosby designed that one, a flat ve…

LONDON -- Britain's car industry body called on Brexit negotiators to agree to a deal by the end of 2020, saying failure to do so could cost the sector 55.4 billion pounds ($74 billion) in tariffs by 2025 and undercut its ability to develop the next generation of zero-emissions vehicles.

A "no deal" Brexit would cut UK vehicle production by two million units over the next five years, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.

"With scant time left for businesses to prepare for new trading terms, the sooner a deal is done and detail communicated, the less harmful it will be for the sector and its workers," the SMMT said in a statement on Tuesday.

"We have already spent nigh on a billion pounds preparing for the unknown of Brexit and lost 28 times that to COVID," George Gillespie, the president of the SMMT, said on a webinar. "We need a future trading relationship that works for automotive."

British and EU negotiators are working …

Regulators receive a roadmap toward smart self-driving vehicle policies

Driverless deployments are happening. Waymo has expanded its rider-only operations in metro Phoenix.

Cruise says its driverless vehicles will be in San Francisco by the end of the year. Motional, the consumer-facing brand created by the Aptiv-Hyundai joint venture, has received a permit to conduct driverless trips in Las Vegas.

While the self-driving industry has shown readiness to begin an era of transportation that no longer includes human safety drivers behind the wheel, regulators have not been moving as fast.

Lawmakers at every level of government are still sorting the new rules of the road. The World Economic Forum wants to provide a map for officials to implement policies.

In a report issued this month, the WEF, an international organization that aims to enhance public-private collaboration, lays out ways in which regulators who lack technical expertise can mov…

The second-generation Plymouth Barracuda, Chrysler's latest entry in Detroit's pony car wars, is introduced on Nov. 25, 1966, for the 1967 model year.

Plymouth beat the Ford Mustang to market in 1964 by more than two weeks with the compact Barracuda. Based on the Plymouth Valiant economy car — much like the Mustang's DNA derived from the Falcon — the Barracuda offered just one body style, a fastback with the industry's largest rear window at the time. Many of the Barracuda's body parts were shared with the Valiant; Mustang shared no sheet metal with the Falcon.

The second-generation Barracuda, still based heavily on the Valiant's underpinnings, was largely designed by John Herlitz, who later became head of design at Chrysler Corp., and John Samsen.

The 1967 Barracuda, with more power and three body styles — hardtop, fastback and convertible — was less rectilinear than the Valiant, with Coke-bottle side contours and revised front and…

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. said on Tuesday it has ordered a dozen ultra-cold freezers that can safely store Pfizer Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine, a move aimed at ensuring the U.S. automaker's workers have access to vaccines when they are rolled out nationally.

Ford's purchase mirrors efforts by U.S. states and cities to buy equipment to store millions of doses of Pfizer's vaccine at temperatures of minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit), significantly below the standard for vaccines of 2-8 degrees C (36-46 degrees F).

Health care providers and states are preparing for a new type of vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna Inc. that require lower temperatures for storage.

"We're doing this so that we can make the vaccine available to our employees on a voluntary basis," Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker said.

Details of how Ford will use the freezers, which are expected to be delivered by year end, are still being worked out, she said.

Assembly w…

One of the most important product redesigns for 2020 is the 14th-generation Ford F-150. The 2021 pickup sports a similar exterior design compared with the outgoing model but now has a wider stance.

One of the biggest changes for the pickup is the addition of a 3.5-liter hybrid V-6, which Ford has named PowerBoost. The powertrain, mated to a 10-speed transmission, includes a 35-kilowatt-hour electric motor near the engine and a 1.5-kWh lithium ion battery in the rear.

We've compiled select F-150 PowerBoost reviews from the automotive media.

"Running on electrons definitely enhances the 2021 F-150 PowerBoost's sense of inner calm, but you needn't be in electric-only mode to understand that this new F-150 feels appreciably quieter than before. Wind and road noise are well controlled, and whether the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 is pumping its red-hot fists in the air or not, the cabin of this F-Series is a surprisingly serene place to be. I even made a point to d…

Elon Musk briefed a European battery conference on Tesla's efforts to bring longer-range electric cars to market in the coming years, though he broke little new ground with regard to timing or other specifics.

The factory Tesla is building near Berlin will make cars tailored for European buyers, including smaller models that can park in dense urban environments, Musk said. He hinted earlier this year that the company might engineer a hatchback from Germany.

"In Europe, it would make sense to do a compact car, perhaps a hatchback," Musk said during the event hosted by Germany as part of its European Union Council presidency. "I'm sure there will be others as well."

Tesla will debut improved versions of existing models that approach 700 km (435 miles) of range and has cars under development for the long term that could reach 1,000 km, the CEO said Tuesday. Musk has tweeted before that the revived Roadster model will cross that threshold, but the car is ye…

Join Automotive News Publisher Jason Stein for a daily podcast series about the coronavirus crisis. He’ll speak with industry experts, insiders and Automotive News reporters about how the virus is impacting and reshaping the automotive industry.

Dealership buy-sell expert Mark Johnson says the outcome of January's U.S. Senate runoff races in Georgia could accelerate acquisitions and have significant tax implications for retailers. 

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Daily Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

iPhone / iPad

“Daily Drive” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Android

“Daily Drive” is available on the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Dr…