News

Constellium, one of the world's biggest aluminum suppliers, has a message for the auto industry that it's prepared to support the shift to electric vehicles with lighter-weight metal for vehicle production. But it's not enough to simply be lighter anymore, the aluminum industry recognizes. Automakers now want their supply chains to show how they will achieve carbon footprint reductions. Andreas Afseth, 51, technical director for Constellium's North American automotive sheet metal business, spoke with Senior Editor Lindsay Chappell about how it is innovating that effort. Here are edited excerpts.

Q: Constellium's rivals in the steel industry make a point of saying that aluminum production has a bigger carbon footprint than steel. How do you counter that?

A: When you produce primary aluminum, made from bauxite aluminum oxide through electrolysis, it consumes a lot of electricity. And your carbon footprint is linked to that electricity generation. But when you re…

<!--*/ */ /*-->*/ Waymo to expand robotaxis to Los Angeles

Waymo, the driverless-vehicle unit of Alphabet, plans to expand its robotaxi service to Los Angeles, the third region where it will be offered.

The company will follow the same playbook for the service, called Waymo One, that it has elsewhere, according to an announcement Wednesday. Local employees will try the program first, followed by "trusted testers" who sign nondisclosure agreements, followed by unaccompanied, paying members of the public. Waymo One is already open to the general public in the Phoenix metro area and is in the advanced testing stage in the more crowded downtown areas of Phoenix and San Francisco.

Robotaxi services are gradually debuting in more U.S. cities, though adoption remains far from mainstream. Waymo's chief rival, Cruise, the self-driving car startup majority-owned by General Motors, said in September that it plans to expand its robotaxi business to Phoenix …

DETROIT — The exclusive club of pickup trucks sporting six-figure price tags is getting a new member. The $107,000 GMC Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 arrives just over a year from now.

The first of three planned trim levels, the Sierra EV Edition 1 is powered by a pair of electric motors, for a rating of 754 hp. The pickup will have a range of 400 miles, towing capability of 9,500 pounds and a brisk 0-to-60 mph time of just 4.5 seconds, GMC says.

And like the GMC Hummer EV, the Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 will be able to do the crabwalk.

The top-of-the-line Denali brings a laundry list of luxury, safety and convenience features, including quilted seats, real wood trim and three screens, including one for the heads-up display. The Super Cruise hands-free driving system will be configured for trailer towing.

The truck can power a house or recharge another vehicle, such as a Chevrolet Bolt. Its 350-kilowatt charging system can inject 100 miles of range …

Federal government data show 10 fatal crashes, each involving Tesla Inc. vehicles, were reported between June and September involving models equipped with advanced driver-assist systems.

NHTSA has reported 16 fatal crashes involving vehicles with Level 2 ADAS systems since the agency in June 2021 ordered vehicle, equipment and software manufacturers to report them. The agency and safety experts have said the data are preliminary and lack context but are still useful for transparency.

Vehicles with Level 2 systems are widely available and feature common driver assistance such as lane-centering, while fully automated Level 3-5 systems are unavailable to consumers but are being tested and deployed on a limited scale on public roads.

No fatal crashes involving fully automated vehicles have been reported since NHTSA began collecting the data.

NHTSA issued the general order to identify flaws and driver misuse and to understand how crashes occur.

Read more

Tesla Inc's advanced driver assistant software will not gain regulatory approval in 2022, Chief Executive Elon Musk said, signaling that the company is not yet able to satisfy authorities that its cars can be driven without someone behind the wheel.

Tesla sells a $15,000 software add-on called "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) which enables its vehicles to change lanes and park autonomously. That complements its standard "Autopilot" feature, enabling cars to steer, accelerate and brake within their lanes without driver intervention.

However, Tesla says the cars still need to be driven with human oversight. A highly autonomous vehicle would require regulatory approval in California, for example.

On a call on Wednesday to discuss quarterly results, Musk said he expects to release upgraded FSD software at the end of the year, adding that while its cars are not ready to have no one behind the wheel, drivers would rarely have to touch the contro…

Baxter Auto Group of Omaha, Neb., spearheaded a multistore deal that ultimately moved its four Stellantis outlets to new ownership with three dealership groups.

In the first transaction, on Monday, Baxter sold Baxter Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram Bellevue, Baxter Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram-Fiat Omaha, Baxter Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram Papillion in Omaha and Baxter Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram-Fiat Lincoln, to Edwards Auto Group of Council Bluffs, Iowa, Courtney Goldenberg, Baxter's vice president of marketing, confirmed to Automotive News. All of the stores are in Nebraska.

But Edwards Auto only kept two of the four dealerships. Just after acquiring the stores, Edwards Auto simultaneously sold single stores to H&H Automotive and Sid Dillon Auto Group.

Edwards Auto kept the Bellevue store and the Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram-Fiat dealership in Omaha, according to co-owner Todd Edwards. Those dealerships were renamed Edwards Bellevue Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram and Edwards Vill…

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the automaker is not facing demand problems despite economic headwinds. Waymo robotaxis are coming to LA. Volkswagen considers selling its Russian factory. Plus, Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke talks about what used vehicle price declines might signal for the rest of the industry.

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 Drive"

Spotify

"Daily Drive" is available on Spotify. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Key Takeaways: Only about two in five car buyers recall being offered a connected services free trial, though new vehicle owners are twice as likely to be offered a free trial compared to used vehicle owners. 71% of new and used car buyers who were not offered a free trial expressed interest in enrolling if they had been offered. Used vehicle owners are just as likely to convert from a free trial to a paid connected services subscription as new vehicle owners.

Whether you’re responsible for selling new or used vehicles, Claritas and eBay Motors can help you reach the right audiences and sell your vehicles fast. In this webinar, Claritas, a data-driven marketing company, will provide the latest insights into the fast-growing segment of electric vehicle (EV) consumers. Whether you run a dealership or are in marketing you will gain insights that will help you drive your marketing forward with data-driven strategies based on real consumer behaviors and preferences.

A Michigan court denied Carvana Co.'s request to block the state's Oct. 7 suspension of its operating license over titling and registration issues.

In an opinion filed Wednesday, state Court of Claims Judge Thomas Cameron wrote Carvana's bid for a temporary restraining order against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson failed to demonstrate "sufficient danger" of the suspension causing irreparable harm to its reputation and operations. Cameron wrote it was unlikely Carvana would lose its market foothold or see its competitors attempt to "replicate" its purchasing process in the short time span covered by a temporary restraining order.

He also concluded the state did not deny Carvana due process in the matter. Because the Michigan Department of State found Carvana's purported violations of the Michigan Vehicle Code to be a risk to public safety, it was "statutorily permitted" to suspend the company's license without a hearing, Cameron wrote in his opinion…

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the electric automaker is not facing demand problems despite economic headwinds, and the company expects to sell every vehicle it can produce in the current quarter from its factories in California, Texas, Germany and China.

"There's been a lot of questions about demand in recent weeks," Musk said on the third-quarter earnings call Wednesday. "I can't emphasize enough we have excellent demand for Q4 and we expect to sell every car that we make for as far into the future as we can see."

Tesla said it expects to grow production by 50 percent annually for the foreseeable future, but deliveries might fall below that number as the company faces transportation challenges as it grows beyond a million units a year.

The automaker is ramping production at its new factories in Austin, Texas and Berlin, Germany. Its original factory in Fremont, Calif. is running at a record pace and its Shanghai factory has undergone a recent expansion.

…