Next VW Tiguan to move further upmarket

Spy photographers captured undisguised shots of the next-generation Volkswagen Tiguan as the crossover was testing in the Austrian Alps, showing the redesigned version of the German brand's top seller due to arrive in the U.S. in 2025.

Photos indicate the third-generation Tiguan — likely to be the last generation powered by an internal combustion engine — will receive a new front fascia and lighting while retaining much of its shape and dimensions, along with more rounded styling.

No images of the test model's interior are available, but VW has been attempting to move the Tiguan upmarket, especially after the introduction of the Taos in 2021 in the same segment. That means the next-generation Tiguan is likely to feature the brand's top-of-the-line driver-assist, infotainment and safety technology.

Through the first half of the year, Tiguan remains VW's top-selling nameplate in the U.S. despite a 41 percent sales decline to 38,728 units behind supply con…

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NADA video: New FTC rules could bog down online car sales with documents

A new National Automobile Dealers Association video portrays the Federal Trade Commission's proposed dealership regulations as something that would bog down physical and digital car sales.

The video, posted on NADA's website Thursday, opposes the proposed FTC rules and urges viewers to tell the agency that the changes aren't needed.

"New regulations would make the transaction even more complicated and confusing, if bureaucrats in Washington have their way," the narrator states.

The video argues the proposed changes would result in three new forms being added to a transaction should a customer take out a loan and buy finance and insurance products such as extended service contracts.

The FTC also would require a new form "each time you ask about a different vehicle," the narrator says. Any inquiry about a vehicle or its financing triggers new disclosures, and any question about monthly payments on different vehicles calls for new documents signed "o…

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Harman acquires Caaresys for its car-occupant monitoring system

Harman International acquired Israeli startup Caaresys for its car-occupant monitoring system.

Caaresys' technology uses low-emission radar to monitor adults and children in a vehicle cabin, marking the locations of passengers and measuring their vital signs, such as respiration and heart rate.

Harman said the company is working with major automakers to provide a production-ready system that detects pets left in vehicles, as well.

The Caaresys technology consists of small-millimeter radar sensors using signal-processing algorithms that can be integrated into a vehicle cabin.

"The low-emission radar transmits power at levels similar to and often lower than Bluetooth, much like headphones and other smart devices," Caaresys co-founder and CEO Ilya Sloushch told Automotive News.

Unlike in-car cameras, Sloushch said a primary benefit of the system is that seats, passengers and other objects do not block the radar signals.

The technology i…

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Mazda Financial Services President Pete Carey to retire

Mazda Financial Services President and Toyota Financial Services private label Group Vice President Pete Carey will retire Sept. 30 after nearly 30 years with Toyota.

He will be succeeded by Toyota Financial Savings Bank COO Brock Bayles, who was named Toyota Financial vice president of private label on Aug. 29. Bayles has been handling Carey's private label role and helming Mazda Financial, though Carey, who is working on special projects the rest of his tenure, retains his titles.

Bayles also has served as vice president of sales for Mazda Financial. Toyota spokesman Vincent Bray called him "instrumental" in establishing the captive finance company.

Carey created the Toyota Financial private label finance company business, which serves Bass Pro Shops as well as Mazda. In 2019, he and Toyota Financial marketing Group Vice President Karen Ideno won Mazda's captive finance business away from JPMorgan Chase. Two and a half years later, Mazda Financial's pe…

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Retail chains filling role of gas stations for EV drivers

Electric vehicle owners are turning to retail chains to play the role gasoline stations have long fulfilled for drivers — a place to recharge the car and the body.

Both Starbucks and Ikea recently announced deals with charging networks to install banks of chargers. They are looking to attract customers who need something to do while their vehicles recharge.

"Get a little coffee, hang out, listen to music," said Gary Silberg, KPMG's global automotive sector leader. "If you can charge your car at the same time, why not?"

Tesla pioneered the trend by locating much of its proprietary Supercharger network near chain restaurants and retail centers. But as the number of EV owners from other brands grows, drivers are looking for charging stations that work with their vehicles.

Charging infrastructure is among the most significant issues facing the burgeoning EV sector, a pair of studies from J.D. Power and CDK Global Inc. recently found. Not only are cha…

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Board sides with Subaru dealership in sale dispute

Subaru's New England distributor "unreasonably withheld consent of the sale" of Prime Subaru Manchester to Group 1 Automotive Inc. last year, New Hampshire's Motor Vehicle Industry Board has ruled.

The fate of the store — the lone dealership left in the once-sprawling Prime Automotive Group owned by troubled alternative asset management firm GPB Capital Holdings — has been in limbo for nearly a year. Despite the board's Aug. 12 ruling, a conclusion doesn't appear imminent. Distributor Subaru of New England, which is blocking the sale over what it calls poor performance by Group 1 at another Subaru dealership, plans to appeal the decision. Most of Prime's dealerships were sold to Group 1 last November.

In the order siding with Prime Subaru, the board wrote it believes Subaru of New England "preferred another buyer for Prime" over Group 1, rejecting the distributor's rationale that an existing Group 1-owned Subaru store, Ira Subaru in Danvers, Ma…

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McLaren is open to an SUV, with the right DNA

McLaren Automotive, a holdout among exotic and supercar makers in the stampede to field high-performance SUVs, is inching closer to rivaling the Aston Martin DBX and others after all.

New McLaren CEO Michael Leiters has told Autocar that the British brand is open to launching an SUV and is actively exploring what form such a model would take.

Leiters, who became CEO on July 1 after stints as chief technology officer at Ferrari and a product line director at Porsche, has steered two high-profile utility vehicles to market: the Porsche Cayenne and most recently the forthcoming Ferrari Purosangue.

He told the publication he is eager to move McLaren's lineup beyond midengine supercars.

"I developed an SUV at Ferrari," Leiters said. "I developed an SUV at Porsche, so I love SUVs. But we won't do it for me. Yet I think it's a really important market. It still is, and it continues to grow. It's very attractive as a market segment."

Autocar repor…

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Amazon aside, Zoox expects no movement on goods delivery

Nearly every autonomous driving developer envisions transporting food or other goods in its deployment plans. Despite being a subsidiary of Amazon, Zoox has only one thought: carrying passengers.

"We're really focused on moving people around cities," Zoox co-founder Jesse Levinson told Automotive News. Package delivery is "not in the immediate roadmap," he said.

While they establish ride-hailing plans, competitors such as Cruise, Argo AI and Waymo all have deals to deliver groceries and other goods for Walmart. Motional will do food delivery for Uber Eats.

Zoox's technology would work for automated delivery, but Levinson said ride-hailing offers a faster return on investment.

"People pay more to move themselves around cities than to move packages," he said.

Zoox is running autonomous vehicle pilots in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Seattle and near its headquarters in Foster City, Calif. The company has said it plans to launch a robotaxi servi…

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2023 Civic Type R to pack 315 hp

Honda's 2023 Civic Type R will be the second-ever Type R sold in the U.S., and it's bringing more power to the game.

The latest Type R's turbocharged 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine will crank out 315 hp and 310 pound-feet of torque, Honda said, an improvement of 9 hp and 15 pound-feet over the previous edition.

When paired with a six-speed manual transmission and rev-matching system for smoother gear shifts, it will be the most powerful Honda vehicle ever released in the U.S. and one of the most powerful models ever under the brand.

To add to the sense of power, an active exhaust valve will open at higher rpms, allowing for a more enhanced engine sound.

With more power comes a bigger vehicle, and nearly every facet of the Civic Type R has grown over the previous edition. The wheelbase has been extended by 1.4 inches, becoming the longest wheelbase in its class, according to Honda.

It is also 0.8 inch longer, 0.5 inch lowe…

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The Intersection 9-4-22

Storm clouds gathering for auto lenders?

Things continue to be sunny for auto lending — at least for now.

Despite a few storm clouds on the horizon, it's not time to put away the sunglasses yet. Lenders and F&I offices have shown they can be resilient. They weathered the pandemic so far and are managing inflation in labor and parts and rising interest rates. While the occasional bad publicity may amplify calls for more government oversight, the consequences thus far have been minimal.

For the second quarter, all six publicly traded car dealers reported double-digit increases in revenue from car loans and finance-and-insurance products compared with a year ago. And five of the six topped $2,000 gross profit per vehicle. And younger buyers who are concerned about sustainability could be good candidates for service contracts.

There are concerns, however, about some proposed changes to how lenders and F&I offices currently operate and how th…

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Author Patrick McGinty keeps self-driving cars alive in science fiction (Episode 164)

The Slippery Rock University English professor recently wrote his debut novel, Test Drive, about an autonomous-vehicle safety driver in Pittsburgh. He discusses the book and explores the muddled language so often used to describe self-driving tech.

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2 publics going captive route, but 2 others hold off for now

AutoNation announced along with its second-quarter earnings it had struck a deal to buy captive finance company CIG Financial, and Lithia hailed the progress of its captive Driveway Finance Co. in its quarterly discussion of results.

However, the earnings season also saw major publicly traded rivals Penske and Group 1 refusing to follow suit.

AutoNation announced in July it will buy indirect lender CIG Financial for $85 million and convert it into a captive finance company. The deal was expected to close in 90 days, AutoNation said.

CFO Joe Lower called CIG "complementary to an already strong piece of business." It originated $195 million across 12,000 loans last year.

CEO Mike Manley said he sees the acquisition providing "significant upside" over time to the group's strong finance-and-insurance revenue.

AutoNation, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., ranks No. 1 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership gr…

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