"Winning is important. [But] the winning part is about serving the customer. It's not about gaining the accolades or 'I sold X amount'; it has nothing to do with that. It has to be about serving the customer. But you'll never make them a customer if they say no to you. If they leave, they're gonna go somewhere else and become someone else's customer. That's why we're passionate about this. I feel like we have to dig in and figure out how to overcome objections. They've been talking about it forever on the variable side, and some of the most talented people in the dealership overcome objections every day as part of their daily ritual. Let's get those people together, and let's start working together and have our sales managers teaching our advisers to overcome objections. Let's talk about our finance managers and finance directors teaching our advisers, working with them." — Michael Barich, service and parts trainer and coach, on the "WTF: What the Fixed Ops?!" podcast,…
2024 Acura Integra Type S delivers 320 hp, sporty styling
The 2024 Acura Integra Type S will go on sale in June offering performance enthusiasts distinct and aggressive styling as well as 320 hp from a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine.
The engine is the same one used in the Honda Civic Type R, but with 5 more horsepower thanks to center-mounted exhaust outlets on the redesigned rear fascia. Both performance variants offer 310 pound-feet of torque and come with a six-speed manual transmission only.
The Integra Type S positions performance and design at the gateway to the Acura brand and, despite significant performance enhancements, does not compromise on daily driving characteristics, said Emile Korkor, assistant vice president of Acura National Sales.
Compared with the standard Integra, the Type S increases output by 120 hp and 118 pound-feet of torque. Its stance is 2.8 inches wider. And it has a reworked front fascia with a larger diamond-shaped grille and vented aluminum hood for improve…
DAILY DRIVE PODCAST: April 12, 2023
The EPA has unveiled its strictest-ever limits on vehicle tailpipe pollution, a move that could spur greater sales of electric vehicles in the U.S. Capital One stops car dealer floorplan lending. And Hyundai Motor North America’s Olabisi Boyle talks about the automaker’s growing service to help customers become more energy independent.
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Tesla’s Q1 sales more than double those of No. 2 BMW in U.S. luxury market
Tesla Inc. has parlayed price cuts into a formidable lead over its luxury competitors in the first quarter of 2023.
The Austin, Texas-based automaker's first-quarter sales volume surged 55 percent from last year, and it sold more than double the volume of No. 2 BMW.
But the segment's historic favorites are fighting back against the new front-runner with their own fleets of electric vehicles.
Mercedes-Benz's EV sales have more than quadrupled in the first three months. The brand's four EQ-branded models accounted for 9.7 percent of sales in the first quarter, including vans.
EV "product is driving momentum," Mercedes-Benz USA sales boss Senol Bayrak told Automotive News on Wednesday. "We have now a full lineup of these cars available — from SUV to sedan."
To boost EV adoption, Mercedes will launch a six-week marketing campaign starting April 22. The Mercedes EQE SUV, which debuted last month, will be the centerpiece of the blitz.
Mea…
Legislators OK $410 million for Ford, Our Next Energy plants; Gotion project still waits
LANSING — Michigan will give companies $410 million to open two electric vehicle battery plants following approval of transfers by a legislative panel on Wednesday.
The Democratic-led Senate Appropriations Committee authorized the subsidies for Ford Motor Co. ($210 million) and Novi-based Our Next Energy Inc. ($200 million) on 15-4 votes.
They did not vote on a $175 million package for Gotion Inc., a Chinese company with a U.S. headquarters in Silicon Valley, and The Right Place, a Grand Rapids-based economic development organization supporting the Gotion project.
Ford's factory will be in Marshall, Mich., ONE's in Wayne County's Van Buren Township.
The Michigan Strategic Fund board previously approved the aid, part of broader incentives packages for the multibillion-dollar plants, but final legislative authorization was needed to transfer money within the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve Fund. The House budget panel gave its blessing, in…
Ourisman Cars adds Ford, Toyota and Stellantis dealerships
Ourisman Cars, led by CEO Robert Ourisman Jr., expanded its Maryland footprint with the purchase of three dealerships in two transactions.
On Feb. 13, Ourisman Cars bought Ramsey Ford in Rising Sun from Steve Ramsey, Ourisman Jr. confirmed to Automotive News.
Ourisman Cars, of Rockville, Md., is a group of dealerships within Ourisman Automotive Group, Ourisman Jr. said.
The dealership was renamed Ourisman Tri-State Ford. Rising Sun is in northeast Maryland, near the Pennsylvania and Delaware borders.
"It's up in Cecil County, which is way north Maryland," Ourisman Jr. said. "So a new county for us and sort of new market representation for us."
It marks the first Ford dealership for Ourisman Cars, said Ourisman Jr., who noted that his group of dealerships has multiple Stellantis and Chevrolet stores.
"This sort of rounds out the domestic offering," Ourisman Jr. said.
Woody Woodward, a managing director of DCG Acquisitions, a …
Kia recalls Carnival minivans after sliding door causes injuries
Kia America Inc. is recalling 51,568 vehicles for power sliding doors that have closed on occupants, resulting in nine reports of injuries. The recall includes all 2022 and certain 2023 Carnival vehicles.
In the summer of 2021, Kia began to identify customer complaints that alleged the power sliding door injured children. As of November 2022, injury reports included one fractured thumb, one broken arm, seven bruises, swelling and minor cuts or scrapes related to the power sliding door.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Defects Investigation opened a preliminary evaluation into the 2022 Kia Carnival on April 10, 2022. The office has received five consumer complaints alleging auto-reverse malfunction since July 2021. Three of the complaints reported arms, hands or shoulders getting "trapped against the door." Consumers also said "excessive force" was needed to reverse the direction of the door.
Kia called the auto-reverse featu…
Auto lenders may need to look beyond leasing to keep business
An industrywide decline in leasing means captive finance companies and other lenders must not only be mindful of lessee satisfaction but find other ways of keeping customers loyal, said Patrick Roosenberg, J.D. Power auto finance director.
J.D. Power la…
Polestar turns to certified pre-owned to offset limited new inventory
LOS ANGELES — Electric vehicle brand Polestar has unveiled a certified pre-owned program to help drive business to its product-starved retailers. The program launches as the first Polestar 2 electric sedans are coming off their 36-month leases.
Polestar North America CEO Gregor Hembrough called the CPO program a "coming of age" moment for the Swedish brand, which launched its first and only mass-market model nearly three years ago.
"We've been in the marketplace long enough that we have lease returns; we have used cars that are coming back," Hembrough told Automotive News on the sidelines of an event here last week.
The remarketing program addresses a significant pain point for Polestar's fledgling retail network. With a new crossover product delayed by nearly a year and just one model — a sedan — to sell, some dealers say they lack enough throughput to justify their high-rent shopping center-based stores.
"Dealers are struggling to cover their e…
Waymo vehicles pull over in California due to fog
Google self-driving technology unit Waymo said on Wednesday that some of its vehicles in San Francisco encountered dense fog and briefly pulled over to the side of the road.
The incident, which occurred at around 6.00 a.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday, impeded some traffic movement before the cars moved out of the area as the fog began to clear, Waymo said.
"We have software updates planned to improve our fog and parking performance to address such situations in the future," the company said in a statement to Reuters.
The company's cars use a system consisting of lidar sensors, cameras and radar sensors to perceive their surroundings.
Waymo in December said it was expanding its testing area to all of San Francisco city, after applying for a final permit it needs in California before it can sell fully autonomous rides.
Last week, General Motors' robotaxi unit Cruise said it is recalling self-driving software in 300 vehicles after one of its drive…
In wake of federal scrutiny, Zoox details process it used for self-certifying its robotaxi
Self-driving tech company Zoox Inc. may have created a robotaxi that looks like nothing else on the road today. But the Amazon-owned company says the process it used to ensure its toaster-shaped vehicles met federal safety standards is a conventional one used by other manufacturers.
"People look at it and go, 'How is this possible?' and 'How can you do this?' " Amanda Prescott, director of homologation at Zoox, told Automotive News. "They don't understand the certification process. We've done the same thing as everybody else."
Zoox disclosed more information Wednesday about its self-certification and occupant-protection efforts in the wake of fresh scrutiny from federal regulators.
The company released a video compilation that showed its crash-testing efforts and described the battery of tests it used to determine its purpose-built electric robotaxi met or exceeded the crash-test performance requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Read more
Obituary: Former Hendrick CEO Edward Brown III dies at 74
Edward Brown III, a former banking executive who spent the last decade of his career leading Hendrick Automotive Group as CEO, died April 3 at age 74.
Brown had non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to an obituary published by the Charlotte Observer.
Brown joined Hendrick Automotive, one of the country's largest dealership groups, in 2010 as its CFO, and company officials said at that time that he would become CEO in January 2011. Brown had retired six years earlier from a long career as an executive at Bank of America and banks it had acquired.
Rick Hendrick, chairman of the dealership group, said at the time of Brown's appointment that he was chosen for his financial management experience and community involvement. Brown replaced Jim Huzl as CEO in 2011. He retired from Hendrick at the end of 2019, and Rick Hendrick assumed CEO duties for the group at that time.
Brown's obituary named Rick Hendrick as one of six mentors in the former executive's life …