News

It appealed to a generation of American outdoor enthusiasts, from Maine to Southern California, who coveted it for its well-appointed interior, six-passenger seating, World War II Jeep pedigree and fake wood veneers.

But after the Jeep Grand Wagoneer's amazing run, Chrysler Corp. ended output of the grandfather of large, plush SUVs on June 20, 1991, at a plant in Toledo, Ohio.

The hulking four-wheel-drive SUV, Jeep's flagship, fell victim to competition from the Ford Explorer and Range Rover as well as more stringent government regulations. Fewer buyers were willing to pay $30,000 for the leather seats and power windows that had once made the Grand Wagoneer a favorite among affluent households.

The Grand Wagoneer, one of the last remaining gas-guzzlers of its generation, would have required extensive reengineering to meet new U.S. safety standards by 1993. It was replaced by the Grand Cherokee.

Toledo's Willys Motors Inc.…

Billy Fuccillo Sr., a longtime New York and Florida auto dealer known for his "It's huge!" advertising slogan and splashy marketing efforts, has died.

Fuccillo, CEO of Fuccillo Automotive Group, died Thursday at his home in Sarasota, Fla., according to his obituary. He was 65.

"The entire Fuccillo family mourns the loss of Billy Fuccillo Sr.," reads a Friday statement on the Fuccillo Chevrolet Grand Island Facebook page. "Known for his legendary generosity and larger-than-life personality, Billy was thoroughly committed to the communities he served and to the people who knew him as a friend, a father, a husband and a colleague."

Fuccillo was born in 1956 in Greenport, N.Y., and graduated from Syracuse University, where he played tight end on the football team from 1974 to 1978, according to his obit.

Fuccillo got into auto retail after college. He landed a job in sales at a Chevrolet dealership in Buffalo, N.Y., and later bought a wholesale car bu…

Electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors is "evaluating strategic partners" as part of its search for funding needed to stay in operation, the company's executive chair, Angela Strand, said Monday.

Lordstown Motors has warned it may not be able to continue as a "going concern" if it cannot raise more money to retool its factory in Lordstown, Ohio, for high-volume production.

Strand is acting as the company's CEO while a search is underway to replace Steve Burns, who left the company earlier this month.

Since the "going concern" warning, the company has tried to allay worries by saying it was in talks with multiple parties to raise funds. Before his exit, Burns said on a conference call that Lordstown needed more capital and that production of the Endurance truck this year would be half of prior expectations of 2,200 vehicles.

Lordstown Motors executives opened their assembly plant -- a former General Motors facility that made smaller sedans -- to…

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. on Monday said it has hired Franck Louis-Victor from French automaker Renault to lead its New Business unit as CEO Jim Farley reshapes his leadership team to carry out his Ford+ growth plan unveiled last month.

Louis-Victor, 48, will oversee the company's autonomous vehicle and mobility services teams as well as its Ford X incubator. The move is effective July 1.

"We're accelerating development of disruptive technologies and focusing on being a leader in areas that enhance always-on relationships with customers and give them increasing freedom of movement," Farley said in a statement. "Franck's got great experience that will help his team and Ford nurture new ideas through the start-up phase, with the best opportunities launched on their own or integrated into our business units."

Farley was Ford's president of New Business, Technology and Strategy for about a year before being named COO in 2020 and, later that year, CEO. Scott G…

The shift to electric vehicles. Capital gains tax concerns. And digital retailing challenges. Buy-sell consultant Mark Johnson weighs whether now is the right time for dealers to buy or sell.

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"

TOKYO -- Subaru Corp. said on Friday it will cut production at Japan’s Gunma plants in July due to a global shortage of semiconductors.

"It is part of the production adjustment due to shortage of semiconductors," a Subaru spokesperson said.

The plants, located in Gunma prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, will be idled on July 16.

The operations produce several key Subaru vehicles exported to the U.S., including the Forester, Crosstrek, BRZ and WRX.

At the end of May, Subaru's U.S. inventory was down to a mere nine days of supply.

Swedish auto startup Polestar's decision to build a midsize electric crossover in South Carolina illustrates a new truth about vehicle manufacturing in the coming decade: Electric vehicles are changing the rulebook on how automakers think about sourcing products for the U.S.

EVs are transformative, say many analysts. And the transition to battery-electric vehicles could redefine the industry's footprint, says Michael Robinet, executive director of IHS Markit.

Electrification is no longer "some sort of fantasy," he said, as several EV-related announcements, including Polestar's decision, came from the industry last week. "The industry is moving in this direction — full stop."

Polestar's move to build in the U.S. shows why.

The company, which is affiliated with Volvo Cars and its Chinese parent company Geely, has barely begun to establish a sales foothold in the U.S. But it will produce the coming Polestar 3 crossover at Volvo's plant in Ridgeville…

Ola Källenius, the first non-German CEO of Daimler and its Mercedes-Benz brand, has been tested by a range of unforeseen challenges, from the coronavirus pandemic to the global semiconductor shortage, during his first two years in charge. Källenius, 51, a native of Sweden, also has presided over the launch of Mercedes' first electric vehicle in the luxury class, the EQS, and is pushing the automaker further into the digital realm with plans to digitalize the entire sales and distribution network. At the same time, he is aiming to lower the company's break-even point, trim fixed costs and broaden Daimler's lineup and customer base. He discussed these topics and more with Automotive News Europe Associate Publisher and Editor Luca Ciferri and Correspondent Nathan Eddy. Here are edited excerpts.

Q: Since taking over from Dieter Zetsche in 2019, you have undertaken a radical overhaul of Daimler. Where do you stand in this process?

A: The transformation of the auto …

John Oliver says he has a great script for a car dealer to use in a commercial, and he's willing to offer it for free.

But only on the condition that the dealer signs a contract to produce and air the ad before ever reading the script. The comedian made the offer on the Sunday, June 13, episode of his weekly HBO show, "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver," as part of a segment complaining that many of the zany ads dealers make are no longer unique because they're written by marketing agencies that sell the same concept to dozens of clients.

He showed clips of six different dealers dressed as a pickle in ads with nearly identical wording.

"It ruins the magic of these bizarre local ads to learn that many are just scripts that someone bought," Oliver said. "The joy of local car commercials is when they pop up in the middle of 'Wheel of Fortune' and you think, 'Wow, this is completely deranged, but at least our local car dealer is trying to be creative.' "<…

The owner of a used-vehicle store in Georgia decided he would rather pay up to $19,000 in damages than have the thieves who stole a Mercedes-Benz from his lot prosecuted.

That's because the thieves turned out to be three girls — ages 12, 13 and 14 — and he wants to give them a second chance just as a teacher did when he was a troubled youth.

"Yes, they were completely in the wrong," Matthew Collins of Click It Automotive told TV station WGXA in Macon. "But just throwing them in a detention center at that age, I feel that ... maybe there's a way to change them."

Collins and his staff came in one morning this month to find that a Mercedes E350 delivered overnight was missing and two vehicles parked to block the driveway were damaged. Surveillance video showed that the E350's keys had mistakenly been left in the cupholder instead of the after-hours drop box.

The cameras captured the teens pulling door handles on every vehicl…

Bobbie Herron says that as a young single parent who didn't finish college and lived in a small Michigan town, she easily could've been what she calls "a statistic," stuck with a dead-end job.

Instead, Herron forged a dynamic career in auto retailing. As founder and CEO of Bees Knees Auto Agency based in Holt, Mich., Herron is a well-known dealership consultant, a nationally recognized speaker at industry conferences and an advocate for women's advancement in the field.

The secret sauce behind her unlikely career arc? A stirring combination of confidence, inner drive, a love for learning new things and a valuable network of mentors. Being named an Automotive News 40 Under 40 honoree didn't hurt, either.

"That 100 percent helped my career," said Herron, 39, who earned the honor in 2014. "It gave me more confidence to start my business — and gave this small-town girl some leverage. I like to network, but some doors just wouldn't open. But that changed af…