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After a nearly 75-year run, Plymouth, Chrysler's entry-level brand, bids farewell when a silver Neon LX with a 2.0-liter engine and five-speed manual transmission, rolls off the assembly line in Belvidere, Ill., on June 28, 2001.

Darrell Davis, Chrysler's vice president for parts and service operations, purchased the $18,210 Neon for his vintage automobile collection.

Walter P. Chrysler created the Plymouth brand in 1928 to draw entry-level customers and compete with Chevrolet and Ford.

The name was inspired by Plymouth Rock and the first Pilgrim colony in the U.S., and the Mayflower ship was stamped on the radiator.

The first Plymouth, the Model Q, was publicly shown at Madison Square Garden in New York. It offered many features of more expensive Chrysler models, including available four-wheel hydraulic brakes and full-pressure engine lubrication.

The year 1928 proved monumental for the company and founder W…

AUSTIN, Texas — The inspiration for a novel feature on the 2021 Ford Bronco — and key differentiator from archrival Jeep — came from an unlikely source.

For Ford designers, the proverbial lightbulb came on after talking with a 21-year-old nanny from Los Angeles named Bianca. (Ford didn't disclose her last name.)

She owned a Wrangler and liked to take advantage of the West Coast's warm climate when she got off work but spent virtually all day at someone else's house and had nowhere to store the vehicle's removable doors.

"For her, the difficulty of taking the doors off a regular truck and lack of anywhere to put them seemed like an inhibiting factor," said Paul Wraith, the Bronco's chief designer and 2020 Automotive News All-Star. "It led to a good idea."

Specifically, that idea was a set of frameless, mirrorless doors that could be easily taken off and stored inside the vehicle (at least on the four-door model).

American Honda's Dave Gardner talks about the automaker's plans to phase out internal combustion engine vehicles by 2040 and launch the GM-based Prologue EV in 2024.

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Spy photographers in Germany caught the latest version of the Volkswagen ID Buzz testing on public roads.

At first glance, the van in the photo doesn't look anything like the full-on retro concept vehicle that debuted at the North American International Auto Show in 2017. But a closer look reveals the body is wearing plenty of tape and appears to be camouflaged with fake add-on panels.

What is clear is that Volkswagen did tone down the retro styling touches on what it hopes will be the microbus of the 21st century. The all-electric ID Buzz, to be built on VW's MEB platform, looks as if it will have a flatter nose than the concept and a slightly smaller VW logo, but the huge backward sloping windshield remains.

VW plans to roll out the ID Buzz late next year in Europe and in the U.S. in 2024. Two versions are planned — a cargo van, likely the model shown here, and a passenger model with conventional side windows and two or three rows …

DETROIT — Ford Credit said Monday it would cease operations in Brazil and Argentina by the end of 2021, a move that will cost the company $375 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The special charge, a majority of which will be booked this year and come from foreign currency translation losses, is in addition to the $4.1 billion hit Ford Motor Co. said in January it would take to end production in Brazil as it focuses on more profitable markets.

"To enhance Ford's new business model in South America, including improving competitiveness and best serving customers and dealers, Ford Credit has been assessing models under a variety of scenarios to provide optimal support. The transition of Ford dealer wholesale financing to preferred bank providers in Brazil and Argentina is a result of that assessment," a Ford Credit spokeswoman said in a statement. "Retail customers are served already through preferred prov…

Asbury Automotive Group Inc. CFO Patrick Guido has stepped away from his role due to personal reasons, the auto retailer said Monday. The change was effective June 24.

William Stax, Asbury's corporate controller and chief accounting officer, was appointed interim principal financial officer effective June 25. The public dealership group will conduct a national search for Guido's replacement.

A former executive at athletic apparel company Lululemon Athletica Inc., Guido held his position at one of the nation's largest auto retailers for about one year.

Asbury CEO David Hult issued a statement thanking Guido for his service to the company.

Prior to his role at Lululemon, Guido spent seven years at VF Corp., a lifestyle company that includes brands The North Face, Timberland and Icebreaker, serving as treasurer and vice president of corporate development.

This is Asbury's third CFO change in three years. In May 2020 Guido replaced Sean Goodman…

DETROIT — General Motors has extended planned downtime at Fairfax Assembly in Kansas City, Kan., through Aug. 16.

The plant has been down since Feb. 8 because of the global microchip shortage. Employees were informed of the extension June 17.

"The global semiconductor shortage remains complex and very fluid," said GM spokesman David Barnas in a statement, "but GM's supply chain, engineering and manufacturing teams continue to find creative solutions and make strides working with the supply base to maximize production of high-demand and capacity-constrained vehicles.

"This includes leveraging every available semiconductor to build and ship our highly-profitable full-size trucks and SUVs for our customers."

Fairfax, which builds the Cadillac XT4 crossover and Chevrolet Malibu sedan, was previously planned to be idled through July 5.

"For years and years, we've made good cars, and that's what we do," UAW Local 31 President Clarence Brown said.…

A Wayne County Circuit Court judge temporarily restored the minority business status of Piston Group.

Judge David Groner on Monday issued a restraining order for the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council to give the lucrative certification back to the auto supplier as litigation continues.

Piston Group, owned by former Detroit Pistons guard Vinnie Johnson, sued the Council in May to restore the certification after months of battling. The Council pulled Piston Group's certification in February and questions whether Johnson runs the day-to-day operations of his large supplier, which operates four subsidiaries — Piston Automotive, Irvin Automotive, the Detroit Thermal Systems joint venture with Valeo and office furniture unit Airea.

To be certified, a company must be 51 percent majority-owned by a person of color, actively managed in the day-to-day operations by a person of color and operate independently, according to the organization.

The …

DETROIT — The UAW's International Executive Board on Monday named Secretary-Treasurer Ray Curry as its next president, effective July 1, following the early retirement of Rory Gamble.

Curry, 55, will become the union's fourth president in the past three years but could become a long-term fixture as a multiple-term leader.

"It is a great honor for me to serve this historic union and the more than 1 million active and retired members," Curry said in a statement.

"As president, I pledge to continue to build upon our commitment to a culture of transparency, reforms and checks and balances. I want to also say that I will be embracing the model that has been set forth by my brother and friend, Rory L. Gamble, to be accessible and accountable to our members, to keep them informed and engaged. Rory has led us through the storm, and we are so grateful for his leadership."

Gamble, who announced his early retirement last week, noted that he hoped the union…

One of the first things visitors to the southern Chinese city of Liuzhou notice is the quiet. Missing is the incessant noise of throbbing engines and clashing gears that provides the backdrop to daily life in most metropolises around the globe.

The reason: almost 30 percent of the cars sold in Liuzhou last year were electric, according to WAYS Information Technology, a Guangzhou-based consulting firm, more than five times China’s average — making the city of 4 million the effective capital of the biggest EV market in the world. Globally, it trails only Oslo for electric-vehicle penetration. Not only that, but Liuzhou’s air and water quality is among the best in a nation synonymous with choking pollution.

This green dividend is an unexpected bonus of a push by city authorities to make Liuzhou an EV manufacturing hub, and a concerted effort to overcome concerns over range, reliability and battery safety that have held back electric car take-up globally. Working w…

COO Joe Tautges says the DMS giant's acquisition of digital retailing provider Roadster will give dealers the ability to deliver a more seamless shopping journey for customers.

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