Included in the United Auto Workers latest round of negotiations was language that protected workers at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles from discrimination based on gender identity.

“During this round of bargaining the union expressed the importance of the parties both maintaining and strengthening policies that ensure the equal treatment of all employees,” the union wrote in its white paper to members.

Michigan and Ohio do not protect workers from discrimination based on gender identity, according to the ACLU. Only Illinois, where FCA currently builds the Dodge Dart, Jeep Compass and Patriot at its Belvidere plant, has a law that protects workers from gender-identity discrimination.  (Read More…)

French automaker PSA may be preparing to bring its luxury arm Citroen DS, to the United States within the next few years, Car and Driver reported.

Citing a source within the company, a U.S. market launch would be “necessary” for the brand’s viability and a decision on whether to bring the French luxury cars would be coming within the next few years.

Any return for the French automaker would be fraught with difficulty: no dealer network, no service and their cars are decidedly less-than-American sized. The automaker currently offers a DS3 premium minicar, a DS4 premium subcompact and a DS5 family wagon.  (Read More…)

This is hardly the most severe fallout from Volkswagen admitting that it installed “defeat devices” on some of its diesel models to help pass emission tests, but it’s the first of many.

Consumer Reports announced Friday that it was stripping the models of its “recommended” rating until recall repair work was complete on those cars. The publication had bestowed the ratings on Volkswagen’s Jetta TDI and Passat TDI models.

On Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency said it would force VW to recall nearly 500,000 diesel cars for the illegal “defeat device” that could detect when it was being tested for emissions and reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 10 to 40 times beyond its normal operations. The EPA could fine VW up to $37,500 for each car that violates its standards, which could tally up to $18 billion in fines.

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Mitsubishi is planning to end operations at its Normal, Illinois plant and notify workers at the end of September of their plans to close the facility after failing to find a buyer for the plant, Reuters (via Automotive News) reported.

It’s unclear what may happen to the 900 hourly workers who make Mitsubishi Outlanders if a buyer for the plant isn’t found by November. According to the report, last year the plant churned out nearly 70,000 crossovers.

Mitsubishi and the United Auto Workers union this month were negotiating a contract for the workers that would extend to the original closing date for the plant, which was slated for next spring.

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I like Denver. I grew up here. I moved back here a few years ago to be closer to the mountains I remember and the type of people I love loved to be around.

But Denver, like Austin and Portland, Oregon, has boomed in the past five years, thanks to a variety of factors including marijuana the popularity of John Denver. If you could say one thing about most people in Denver, it’s how painfully nice they could be. Like a lot of cities in the Midwest, doors are held open, apologies exchanged for everything and “pardon me” flows like the salmon of Capistrano.

Now: Here is a woman going all Tiananmen Square on a Land Rover LR2 over a parking spot near Larimer Square (via Denver Post). They aren’t exactly that hard to find, I have to say.

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The Environmental Protection Agency took the rare step of recalling more than 500,000 Volkswagen and Audi cars for using a “defeat device” to force the cars to comply with emissions standards, the New York Times reported.

The California Air Resources Board and EPA slammed the automaker for using the device that can detect when the car is being tested for emissions and implement full pollutant controls to curb nitrogen oxide emissions.

“Using a defeat device in cars to evade clean air standards is illegal and a threat to public health,” Cynthia Giles, the E.P.A.’s assistant administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance, said in a statement. “Working closely with the California Air Resources Board, E.P.A. is committed to making sure that all automakers play by the same rules. E.P.A. will continue to investigate these very serious violations.”

Last month, TTAC reader Stephen reported that his newly ordered 2016 Audi A3 TDI was being held at port for months for months for an EPA hold. We reached out to Audi, and they reported the same, directing us to the EPA who reported that the cars had not yet received a Certificate of Compliance. (Read More…)

Daimler announced Friday that it would spend $1.3 billion in its Tuscaloosa, Alabama factory to upgrade its equipment and technology, and to also add a 1.3 million square-foot body shop.

The investment will also add 300 jobs to the plant, which produces the C-Class and GL-class — and perhaps GLT? — and work is reportedly already underway. The plant has been open since 1997 and has predominantly produced SUVs, although its future products are less clear.

Mercedes is reportedly preparing to make a truck, based on the Nissan Navara, to release in global markets. In Frankfurt, the updated Nissan Navara and related Renault Alaskan made their debuts, although only the Navara will have a life in the U.S. — probably as the next Frontier. Mercedes would need to produce its pickups in the NAFTA zone to avoid a Chicken Tax if they were to sell one here. (Sprinter doesn’t care.)

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Like a bad reality show, the figurative clock is ticking for the Toyota/BMW courtship that may or may not be spawning a sports car.

Reuters reported (via Automotive News Europe) that Toyota spokesman said the companies would make a decision on whether to pursue the joint project further.

“By the end of the year we will approve whether or not we will make it,” a Toyota spokesman told Reuters. “The whole study before that, on what kind of platform, on what kind of architecture, that’s been progressing quite well. We haven’t yet decided to give the green light to the project, but it’s coming up.”

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Andrew Comrie-Picard, also known simply as ACP, is a rally champion and team owner, stunt driver, TV host, former Pikes Peak International Hillclimb record holder and BFGoodrich tire spokesman.

We asked him about his experience in rally, how he sets up cars and how it pertains to road cars. (Read More…)

Daimler AG said Thursday that it would move its North American headquarters, and roughly 30 jobs, to Michigan.

According to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, the move from New Jersey to Michigan would be complete by 2017.

Mercedes announced last year that it would move its headquarters from Montvale, NJ to Atlanta. Daimler’s move would be separate from the Mercedes move.

The move would align Daimler closer to some of its facilities, such as an R&D center and Detroit Diesel, which it owns, according to Autoblog.

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United Auto Workers members working for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles could get a $3,000 bonus to ratify its newest contract in the next few days, Bloomberg reported.

The bonus will be on top of raises for the workers, something that the UAW stressed in its negotiations with the automaker. Tier 1, veteran workers, could see pay raises to bump up hourly wages to $30 an hour. Lower-paid, newly hired Tier 2 workers could get pay raises up to $25 hourly after eight years of employment.

The newest contract with the UAW could eventually end the tiered-pay system. Roughly 45 percent of union workers at FCA were hired as Tier 2 workers.

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Our coverage of the sweet, sweet, sweet deal that is the Nissan Leaf (in Colorado, at least) won’t be overlooked by one blue-oval automaker.

At least for this month, Ford is leasing its 2015 C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid for $159 a month for 36 months with $2,689 down at signing (after $2,750 cash back). The lease covers 10,500 miles a year. That may not be the screaming deal that the Leaf is, especially considering its term, but really — how long would you keep a 2015 electric-ish car anyway?
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Two sources have told Reuters that the government will levy a $900 million fine on General Motors for its failure to recall and subsequent attempts to cover-up of faulty ignition switches linked to at least 124 deaths.

Criminal charges will be filed against GM for its role in hiding the defect from regulators, but will defer prosecution while the automaker complies with its penalty. The agreement is expected to be announced Thursday.

The massive fine is smaller than the $1.2 billion Toyota paid in March 2014 for its role in concealing that its cars could accelerate suddenly.   (Read More…)

Honda broadcasted Wednesday night its all-new, 10th-generation Civic that’s longer, lower and wider than the current model and looks nothing like the cheap car I drove through college.

The 2016 Honda Civic will sport a 2-liter or 1.5-liter turbocharged engine up front, leather seats in the middle and fastback styling at the rear for a full about-face from its current model. Most models will be mated to a continuously variable automatic transmission, although a six-speed manual will be available at the base, LX trim with the naturally aspirated 2-liter mill. Honda will also offer a sportier Civic Si, ahead of a Type R model — which will be the first time that model will be sold in the U.S.

The car is two inches wider, one inch lower and its wheelbase is 1.2 inches longer than the outgoing model. Honda didn’t say how much the car would cost when it goes on sale later this year. (Read More…)

General Motors may use an advanced cylinder deactivation technology, co-developed with Delphi and Silicon Valley startup Tula Technologies, in its SUVs and V-8 cars to shut down up to six cylinders to maximize fuel economy, Automotive News reported.

According to the automaker, GM in 2012 invested in Tula, which specializes in automotive engineering. The automaker announced in January that it would pursue the advanced cylinder deactivation technology for some of its SUVs, which could improve fuel economy by 15 percent in cars with engines with more than four cylinders.

The system, dubbed Dynamic Skip Fire, keeps the throttle open during operation and controls cylinder firing through a special valve that cuts off oil to the deactivated cylinders’ valve lifters. According to the company, the engine computer changes the deactivated cylinders to avoid vibration or noise.

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