Trade News

DETROIT — KC Crain, group publisher of Automotive News, has been named CEO of Crain Communications Inc., the family-owned media company that is the parent of Automotive News and nearly 20 other trade and business titles.

Crain, 40, had been president and COO. His father, Keith E. Crain, remains chairman of the board.

"We're proud of the 104-year legacy of our company and of the continued leadership from within our family," the elder Crain said. "KC has done a terrific job of steering our company in recent years, including strategic acquisitions. This year in particular has been challenging for many media companies, and KC and his entire team have led us to a successful year."

KC Crain started as a reporter for Automotive News and worked through roles including executive vice president and director of corporate operations.

"Leading the company my grandfather started is a true honor," KC Crain said. "Our audiences have never been stronger, and the…

This week, Americans will pause to reflect on a year that most, frankly, would rather forget.

Indeed, even as families try to figure out how to connect over the Thanksgiving holiday, businesses across the country — especially retailers, restaurants and others that interact with living, breathing customers — are grappling with a sharp increase in the spread of the coronavirus, leading to devastating clusters of absenteeism and a return of stricter government limits.

The pandemic has wreaked havoc across our world, our nation and our industry since the virus was first discovered a little more than a year ago. More than 1.3 million humans have died so far because of the virus, including more than 250,000 Americans. Millions who are considered to have recovered from COVID-19 have been left with serious conditions. And broad swaths of the economy — travel, entertainment, dining — have been badly damaged.

But one need not be a blind optimi…

A Hyundai Motor America lawsuit accusing Napleton Automotive Group of deliberately "blowing" engines to fraudulently collect warranty payments is the latest in a web of lawsuits and legal trouble facing the dealership group and its executives.

The automaker filed the lawsuit last week in federal court in West Palm Beach, Fla., seeking more than $75,000 in damages.

Hyundai alleged that since at least 2016, defendants working at Napleton's Hyundai store in West Palm Beach bought certain Sonata and Santa Fe vehicles from auctions and made fraudulent warranty claims for the vehicles to the automaker. Hyundai would then reimburse the dealership for the repair. In some cases, Hyundai would repurchase the vehicles.

Customer vehicles brought in for service, trade-ins and vehicles returned at the end of leases also were used in the alleged scheme, Hyundai said. The store's service director and current and former service techs "deliberately damaged" engines to ma…

TO THE EDITOR:

Automotive News does a great job with the 100 Leading Women special section (Nov. 9), trying to shake this industry loose from a male-centered mindset. And with its "Project XX" special section in 2017, which examined sexism in the auto industry, I do not see how a publication could get more in the face of the mostly male industry leadership in presenting the case for diversity. And yet, the numbers for women barely move forward at automakers, suppliers and dealers for those in management and leadership.

Perhaps it's time to try some bottom-up notoriety. For two decades, the Leading Women project has focused primarily on women in automaker and supplier positions. Perhaps it is time to recognize the successful women in management and key positions at the retail level who deal with the public every day — general managers, sales, service and finance managers — and who are seldom recognized. After all, those are the most visible staff to the custome…

Rhett Ricart, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association, has a message for dealers and automakers as they prepare their business models for a post-pandemic world: Listen to your customers.

While dealers have been on a "roller coaster of unpredictability" this year — propelled by closed showrooms, government-ordered lockdowns, factory shutdowns and tight inventory — Ricart said the crisis also has pushed the digital world into "hyperdrive," accelerating consumer and dealer adoption of online vehicle sales.

"Digital retailing won't work for every customer and every transaction, but it should be in a dealer's wheelhouse for every potential customer interaction," he said last week during an Automotive Press Association webinar.

Ricart cited a July NADA dealer survey that found 82 percent said the digital process is here to stay. They also said home test drives and home delivery of new vehicles as well as pickup and delivery f…

A coalition launched last week will advocate for national policies to enable 100 percent electric vehicle sales in the U.S. by 2030.

The Zero Emission Transportation Association is pushing for "an accelerated transition to electric vehicles, which will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, secure American global EV manufacturing leadership, dramatically improve public health and significantly reduce carbon pollution," the group said in a statement.

The nonpartisan organization, based in Washington, is backed by 28 corporations representing several industries. Members include EV manufacturers and startups, such as Tesla Inc., Rivian, Lordstown Motors and Lucid Motors, as well as ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies and regional utility providers.

"For the first time in a generation, transportation is the leading emitter of U.S. carbon emissions. By embracing EVs, federal policymakers can help drive innovation, create hundreds of thousands of new job…