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DETROIT — While automakers and dealers were showing off new electric vehicle offerings 30 miles down the road at the Detroit auto show, thousands of executives, engineers, salespeople and journalists gathered in Novi, Mich., at the Battery Show this week to discuss how the EVs of the future will be powered.

It's an urgent topic. Automakers are setting aggressive EV sales targets, and the federal government is pressing for 50 percent of new-vehicle sales to be zero-emission by 2030. California is moving to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles beginning in 2035.

But the battery supply chain to make it all possible remains fragile. Automakers and battery companies are largely reliant on materials that are sourced and processed overseas. And even there, the amount of mining taking place only scratches the surface of what will be needed in the near future.

Executives, analysts and economists at the Battery Show discussed how to address those challen…

DETROIT — A shade reminiscent of a volcanic explosion represents North America's latest car color trend, auto coatings supplier BASF said at the Detroit auto show.

BASF showcased the shade Lava at the show Wednesday. The color represents a crossroads of high technology and sustainability, BASF designers said.

Lava, a charcoal gray with red undertones, is one of several key colors assigned to global regions, including a coppery beige for South America, a pearl-like ivory for Asia Pacific, a rich yellow for China, and a metallic gold for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

BASF's Automotive Color Trends team creates an annual palette to stir creativity in the auto industry.

The latest collection, called New Array, is meant to inspire automotive designers' future mass-production plans. BASF estimates the 2022-23 palette could be "on the road or in your driveway" in three to five model years.

BASF customers can expect to sample more than 50 s…

While the federal government hurries to approve state plans to support an electric vehicle charging network across the country, President Joe Biden is busy visualizing the end goal.

"The great American road trip is going to be fully electrified," Biden said Wednesday in a speech at the Detroit auto show, his first visit to the event since he was vice president in the Obama administration. "Whether you're driving coast to coast along the I-10 or on I-75 here in Michigan, charging stations will be up and as easy to find as gas stations are now."

The president last year set an ambitious target for battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel cells to make up 50 percent of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2030. And, to speed up EV adoption, his administration is working with states to build 500,000 EV charging stations with funding from the $1 trillion infrastructure law.

As of Wednesday, the Biden administration has approved 35 of the 52 EV infrastructur…

Automakers have us wondering lately what in the world their designers might do with the front ends and hoods of vehicles once engine compartments are rendered obsolete by EV batteries. But that's a styling challenge for the future.

At last week's Detroit auto show, we were struck by a more immediate design changewith vehicle portals. Doors and rear hatches are suddenly showing new expressiveness, for no particular reason. Those simple old rectangles of the past — perfunctory vertical passageways in and out of cars and trucks — appear to be a new object of loving attention among stylists and concept artists, brand strategists and mobility disruptors.

Is it in any way related to the shift to EVs? Doesn't seem to be. What it really looks like is just good old-fashioned artistic expression. It's what those people are paid to do.

Cadillac Lyriq: The rear door evokes the glory of Cadillac.

Lexus BEV Sport concept: A door t…

Jamie Butters and Kellen Walker bring you news from Day Two of the Detroit auto show. Ford’s new pony car comes out of the gate. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg hypes up EVs. And the industry breathes a sigh of relief as rail companies avert a strike. Plus, J.D. Power’s Tyson Jominy talks about whether new tax incentives will help or hurt EV adoption.

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President Joe Biden unveiled the latest developments in his efforts to deploy 500,000 electric-vehicle chargers Wednesday. Automakers unveiled EVs such as the Chevrolet Equinox and Cadillac Lyriq in the days heading into the Detroit auto show.

Not to be overlooked: EV charging companies themselves.

Autel Energy, the U.S. subsidiary of China-based Autel Intelligent Technology Corp., unveiled a charging unit that will allow customers to both charge their vehicles and power their houses. Plug Zen, headquartered in Detroit, showcased a manufacturing partnership and plans to produce an in-vehicle charger in late 2023.

WiTriCity, a Massachusetts company developing wireless charging tech, showed a Ford Mustang Mach-E outfitted with its Halo charger.

Together, the three showed a varied look at approaches to charging at a time when EVs are proliferating and, as Biden's presence underscored, the need to power those vehicles is growing.

Here's a clos…

Queen Elizabeth II, who died September 8, was a keen consumer of the more specialist output of the British car industry and would today be described as a key influencer for brands such as Land Rover and Jaguar. She was often pictured at the wheel of their products.

However, she didn't always oblige them by driving their latest model.

The queen was Britain's longest-reigning monarch and the first to reach seven decades on the throne before her death at age 96. She learned to drive in the way many women did during World War II. She joined the female division of the British army, the Auxiliary Territorial Service.

There, she was also taught how to service vehicles and undoubtedly developed a taste for driving herself that would continue throughout her long life.

A story that probably best illustrates her driving enthusiasm as well as her sometimes impish humor puts her at the wheel of the Land Rover Defender, the vehicle that would probably become m…

Honda dropped out of the top five brands ranked in the latest National Automobile Dealers Association Dealer Attitude Survey after struggling with low vehicle supplies. This marks the first time Honda is out of the top five since 2015.

Honda had moved around between the No. 5 and No. 3 slots over the six previous years before slipping to the No. 6 slot in NADA's 2022 winter survey. It ranked No. 3 in the 2021 summer survey.

NADA surveys its dealer members twice a year on how they're feeling about the brands they represent to produce a scorecard of sorts on the relationship between brands and their respective dealer bodies. It typically asks dealers to rate their satisfaction with overall automaker performance, as well as with a brand's willingness to consider and incorporate their feedback into business decisions.

In the 2022 winter survey, traditionally conducted in January and February, Lexus and Toyota came in at No. 1 and No. 2, continuing the sibli…

Nissan North America is recalling 203,223 trucks after the discovery of a pair of potentially faulty parts in the transmission that could lead to vehicles slipping out of "park."

NHTSA said the recalls affect the following models:

2020-23 Nissan Titan full-size pickups produced Dec. 13, 2019, to Aug. 25, 2022. 2020-21 Nissan Frontier midsize pickups produced June 10, 2020, to June 25, 2021. 2022-23 Frontiers produced July 13, 2021, to Aug. 25, 2022.

*The resistance between the parking rod and wedge inside the transmission could allow for the shifter to move, in turn allowing the vehicle to slip out of "park" and potentially roll away.

A remedy plan has not been released, with Nissan saying one is under development.

Nissan also is recalling vehicles in Canada and Mexico in relation to the defect.

No accidents have been reported to Nissan, a spokesperson told Automotive News. There have been four allegations of minor injuries, the company sai…

In the automotive industry, ECAD-MCAD co-design has long been recognized as a potential enabler to increasing productivity and ensuring a robust design. With modern CAD tools, designers can directly synchronize their data. This ensures data integrity and more efficient, effective collaboration on critical designs between domains. The Challenge: first pass success ECAD MCAD co design XML limitations Change management Looking ahead: all electric vehicles and autonomous drive

General Motors said on Thursday it would invest $491 million at its Marion, Ind., metal stamping operations to prepare the facility to produce steel and aluminum stamped parts for future products, including electric vehicles, built at multiple GM assembly plants.

The investment will be used to purchase and install two new press lines, complete press and die upgrades, renovations and construct a 6,000-square-foot addition, GM said in a statement.

The automaker said that work on the facility will begin later this year.

GM's Marion Metal Center, which started in 1956, produces sheet metal parts for multiple GM assembly plants to support production of Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles. The center currently employs more than 750 workers.

From the floor of the North American International Detroit Auto Show, Jamie Butters and Kellen Walker talk about the event's return, President Joe Biden's EV charging announcement, and more news from around the automotive industry. Plus, Jessica Caldwell of Edmunds and Automotive News reporter Michael Martinez discuss the auto show and Ford's new dealership EV certification requirements.

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. 

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“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

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