Editorial: Automated tech can save lives — if done right

There has been consternation recently over how long it will take to solve the puzzle of full vehicle automation. But do not overlook how technologies are bridging the gap until that far-off day and preventing crashes and saving lives — now.

A pair of reports last week show how two increasingly common safety technologies can make a difference.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that the rear-end crash rate of pickups equipped with automatic emergency braking was 43 percent lower than those without it. Given that modern full-size pickups have curb weights that tip the scales at 2 or even 3 tons, plus the weight of passengers, cargo and maybe a trailer, they can do extensive and deadly damage in a collision with other vehicles and pedestrians. That's a lot of tonnage to stop, and the braking tech can mitigate some of the damage from human error — or prevent it.

The second study, a collaborative effort between government and automakers, found …

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Car lot thefts escalate to chaos

Police in Michigan said a group of more than 20 people broke into a vehicle holding lot last week, had a shootout with a security guard before making off with 13 vehicles and led officers on a lengthy high-speed chase.

One of the thieves died after crashing a 2022 Ford Mustang he had taken, according to TV station Fox 2 in Detroit, and students at Oakland University were told to shelter in place for five hours after police found another stolen vehicle abandoned on campus and assumed the suspects were still armed.

It wasn't clear whether the lot where the vehicles were stolen was affiliated with a dealership or an auto auction. The vehicles taken were expensive, high-powered models from multiple brands.

Police recovered seven of the 13 vehicles but had located only one suspect, aside from the Mustang driver who died, ABC 12 in Flint reported. They said large-scale vehicle thefts have become increasingly common in the area, but that…

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Rules alone won’t stop bad behavior

TO THE EDITOR:

Regarding "FTC's new rules would only punish honest car dealers," Rob Cohen, autonews.com, Oct. 23: I couldn't agree with Mr. Cohen more when he writes of the Federal Trade Commission's proposals, "Every time the agency does this, lawyers like me make money, and lots of it."

We must recognize that passing laws and regulations does not necessarily solve problems. We need education and increased moral standards by engaging each other with love and respect.

I wish legislatures would abolish laws rather than write more of them. We are humans with feelings and emotions. What can a law do to make people really care for each other?

NAI NAN KO, President, Ko Automotive Group, Wellesley, Mass.

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GM expects EV revenue of $50B in 3 years

General Motors says it will generate more revenue from electric vehicles in 2025 than crosstown rival Ford Motor Co. brought in from its F-Series pickup line last year.

More importantly, those EVs will be "solidly profitable" by then, GM says, with margins nearly matching those of its internal combustion vehicles. And it plans to build a lot of EVs — 1 million a year at five North American assembly plants, a pace that will require at least three U.S. battery plants to build a total of 1.2 million cells a day.

GM is projecting low- to mid-single-digit margins on EVs by mid-decade, when emissions credits and software and aftersales revenue are included. It expects to generate more than $50 billion in revenue from EVs and $225 billion in total revenue in 2025.

That compares with global revenue of $127 billion for GM in 2021. Ford has said it generated nearly $40 billion from selling about 850,000 F-Series in North America last year.<…

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The latest numbers on the microchip shortage: North America loses 79,000 more vehicles

North American factories were forced to eliminate another 79,000 vehicles from their production plans this week because of ongoing shortages of microchips, according to AutoForecast Solutions.

As the industry nears the end of a second full year of the shortages worldwide, automakers still face more schedule changes to deal with the problem.

According to AFS’ latest forecast, microchip shortages will have knocked 4.4 million vehicles out of global production plans by the end of  2022. That is nearly 400,000 more vehicles than already have been eliminated this year — and with barely a month left in the 2022 calendar.

AFS indicates that China’s auto factories have been relatively spared from the chip crisis this year.

Source: AutoForecast Solutions Inc. autoforecastsolutions.com

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Highlights from the latest ‘Daily Drive’ podcasts, Nov. 14-16

Here are highlights from the latest episodes of 'Daily Drive', Automotive News' weekday podcast, Nov. 14-16, hosted by Jamie Butters with Kellen Walker.

“It’s not about ratting you out to your boss. It’s really about warning you in real time as you’re about to fall asleep or as you’re looking at your phone and something dangerous comes up.” - Stefan Heck, CEO of Nauto, on how the company’s AI cloud data platform can be used to crack down on drowsy driving for fleets

“We’ve got more automakers back, we’ve got more activations, more street drives, indoor rides, than really in the history of our show. And this year is going to really set the precedent for auto shows to come for us.” - David Fortin, vice president of marketing for the Los Angeles Auto Show

“We’re going back to our model on the Model A and the Rouge, where we insource motors and gearboxes and … [the EV] equivalent to axles. … We’re going back to where we were at the beginning of the century. …

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Hyundai N.A. CEO Muñoz: EVs are the future, but hybrids provide a transition

Hyundai Motor Co. is showing its EV prowess at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week with the debuts of the Hyundai Ioniq 6 sedan and Genesis X Convertible concept, but the automaker's rapid U.S. growth is also driven by transitional vehicles such as hybrids, said Jose Muñoz, the automaker's global COO.

Hyundai Motor Group, including Kia, is the No. 2 electric vehicle seller in the U.S. behind Tesla, but it's also rapidly growing market share and delivering record profit to dealers by providing a wide range of future-forward vehicles, Muñoz said.

"We at Hyundai thought about how we navigate the transition," Muñoz said Friday at the Automotive News Congress in Los Angeles. "Based on the information we get from our customers, not all are ready to transition to an EV in just one shot."

In addition to his global role, Muñoz is CEO of Hyundai and Genesis Motor North America.

"We decided to invest in hybrid, hybrid plug-in and electric at the same time,"…

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Buick Electra E5 crossover breaks cover in China

Buick's next electric vehicle to be sold in China will be a crossover.

The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published photos of the Buick Electra E5 online this week as part of a public comment period. The Electra E5 will be produced and marketed in China by General Motors' joint venture with Chinese automaker SAIC, according to reports.

The five-seat crossover is 192.6 inches long, 75 inches wide and about 66.2 inches tall, with a 116.3-inch wheelbase, according to reports. In June, Buick unveiled the Electra-X SUV concept in China, noting at the time that future production vehicles in the country would carry some of the concept's design features.

"It is common practice in China to submit potential future vehicles to governing bodies for awareness," a Buick spokesman told Automotive News in a statement. "Following the debut of the Electra-X concept SUV in June, the Electra E5 will be the first Ultium-based …

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Innovation, new business models take center stage at Automotive News L.A. Congress

Top executives in automotive, mobility venture capital and energy focused on emerging business models, startups and innovation at the Automotive News L.A. Congress Nov. 18.

Automotive News Publisher KC Crain welcomes one of the keynote speakers, Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson.

Executive Editor Jamie Butters moderates a panel on venture capital partnerships with Angel Gambino, principal, startups at Amazon Web Services and Quin Garcia, managing director of Autotech Ventures.

Jose Muñoz, global president and COO of Hyundai Motor Co., talks about the automaker's innovation, dealer network, and products.

Automotive News Publisher KC Crain inteviews Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson.

Automotive News' Jerry Hirsch, news editor for mobility, moderates a panel on new business models and autonomous trucking with Sam Abidi, chief commercial officer of Embark; Henrik Holland, senior vice President and global head of mobility …

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Automotive supplier trade association condenses into two groups

WASHINGTON — The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association said it is condensing its business structure under the MEMA umbrella and representing suppliers with two groups: MEMA Aftermarket Suppliers Group and MEMA Original Equipment Suppliers Group.

MEMA, which represents original equipment and aftermarket automotive parts suppliers in the U.S., said Friday the new brand and organizational structure will launch in January.

"Today, rapid changes are impacting our industry, and we must be more adaptive and agile to respond," MEMA CEO Bill Long said in a statement. "These industry challenges are not unique to one market segment but affect the entire membership. We must position MEMA for the future in a way that supports our vision of a growing, profitable and influential supplier community."

Over the years, MEMA expanded into four divisions: the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association, Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association, Association for Sustain…

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Lucid CEO Rawlinson: EV efficiency is the key to lower costs, lower prices

Lucid Group's first vehicle, the Air sedan, has broken records for EV range and efficiency and that's by design, said CEO Peter Rawlinson on Friday at the Automotive News Congress in Los Angeles.

Extracting more miles per battery pack will allow the California-based startup to produce more affordable vehicles in the near future and share its technology advantage with other automakers, Rawlinson said.

"Lucid's mission is not just to do EVs and jump on this EV bandwagon," said Rawlinson, who was chief engineer for the Tesla Model S a decade ago.

"Our mission is to advance the state of the art of the possible of the EV," he said in a question-and-answer session with Automotive News Publisher KC Crain.

"We've done that with ultrahigh-voltage, 920-volt architecture; faster charging, 300 miles in 21 minutes; the longest range, 520 miles; the most space in the interior for the exterior [size]; the largest frunk in the world [for a sedan]," Rawlinson sai…

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Audi, VW, Stellantis, Buick-GMC and Hyundai dealerships change hands in Q3 deals

A general manager and a family running a used-car store each bought their first new-vehicle dealerships while two regional auto retailers continued expansions in separate third-quarter transactions.

Here's a look at the deals involving domestic, import and luxury dealerships in Vermont, New York and Pennsylvania.

General manager buys first store, dealership group expands in Vermont

A general manager said he achieved his "American dream" and a company nearly doubled its franchised dealership count when retiring Stephan Maeder of Rutland Auto Group, formerly known as Kinney Motors, sold his three Rutland, Vt., stores to two buyers Sept. 29.

Maeder, in one transaction, sold Audi Rutland/Rutland Volkswagen and Rutland Dodge-Ram to brothers Barry and Patrick Lundgren of Lundgren Automotive Group, a family-owned business in Auburn, Mass. Rutland is east of the New York state line.

The Audi-Volkswagen store kept its name, while the Stellantis sto…

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