Defective airbags linked to at least 10 U.S. deaths are still rolling off dealer lots, despite a massive safety recall.
Four automakers admit to selling new vehicles equipped with faulty Takata airbags, but it’s all legal as long as those cars are fixed within two years. The companies were revealed in a report tabled today by U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Democrats. Read More >
Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk plans to turn off the free electricity taps at his company’s Supercharger stations for owners of the upcoming Model 3.
Musk made the announcement last night during a question and answer session at the company’s annual shareholders meeting.
Paying to use the Tesla-financed recharging network isn’t something the roughly 373,000 reservation holders want, but the decision comes down to basic economics, said Musk. Read More >
If you’re a Tesla owner who spent the past year diligently convincing your friends and family to join the club, clear your schedule for July 29.
The electric automaker recently mailed out invites to a grand opening party for its battery-producing Gigafactory, located (like a Bond villain’s lair) in the desert outside Reno, Nevada. The chances of guests being wowed by a fully operational factory humming with workers busily cranking out EV batteries is doubtful, though. Read More >
It’s official. The little sedan that carried the entry-level luxury flag for Buick has fallen in battle.
Its assailant? The crossover, and changing consumer preferences.
General Motors sent a memo to Canadian dealers today stating the compact Verano sedan will cease production at the Orion Assembly plant in Michigan on Oct. 2016, according to a report in The Globe and Mail.
Once they’re behind the wheel of an SUV or crossover, it seems drivers stop wanting anything else.
That’s the gist of a report by IHS Automotive, which found that SUVs and crossovers have the highest owner loyalty rates of any body style in the industry.
Once you go big (and boxy), you never go back. Read More >
The company behind one of the largest safety recalls in automotive history might have a lifeline thrown its way.
Takata, the manufacturer at the heart of the exploding airbag scandal, is being courted by private equity firms, Bloomberg reports, with at least one high-profile company already in close talks. Read More >
A company whose name is synonymous with performance wants to put down roots in Big Three territory.
Cosworth, the British manufacturer of specialized engine parts and electronics, aims to open a $30 million plant in the northern suburbs of Detroit by 2018, Automotive News reports. Read More >
Not wanting to be left out of the mobility party, Toyota and Volkswagen recently invested in two ride-sharing companies, becoming the latest automakers to sink cash into the sharing economy.
Toyota invested a rumored $100 million in the ubiquitous ride-sharing company Uber, while Volkswagen, which has to meter out its dough carefully (thanks to a pesky little scandal), dropped $300 million on Uber’s taxi-hailing rival Gett. Read More >
A top Nissan executive is packing his bags and getting ready to take on Mitsubishi’s shadowy and scandal-prone technology arm.
Yesterday’s reports proved true, with Mitsuhiko Yamashita, Nissan’s chief technology adviser, announced today as Mitsubishi’s new head of research and development. He will take on the position starting June 24.
There’s a tough job waiting for Yamashita. Read More >
In this play, Nissan is President Jimmy Carter and Mitsubishi is a bankrupt New York City.
Now that it has control of Mitsubishi, Nissan wants the scandal-plagued automaker to “heal thyself,” but it’s sending a guy over to make sure it happens, sources tell Reuters. Read More >
Do investors trust Volkswagen to investigate itself and lay the appropriate blame? Not these three groups.
With the financial damage of the diesel emissions scandal now clear, three large investor groups are calling for accountability and the launch of an independent investigation, Reuters reports. Read More >
The first name that comes to mind when anyone says “Buick two-door” could make a comeback.
General Motors wants to use the storied Riviera nameplate on a future vehicle, and it now has the trademark application to prove it, GM Authority reports. Read More >
The folks at United Auto Workers are eyeing Tesla’s production targets and making plans.
The electric automaker wants to manufacture 500,000 vehicles per year in 2018, and the union wants the workers behind those EVs in its fold, according to USA Today (via Left Lane News).
Though it hasn’t announced anything officially, UAW boss Dennis Williams recently expressed interest in unionizing Elon Musk’s California assembly plant employees. Read More >
It’s easy to understand Toyota’s enthusiasm for selling 9 million hybrids worldwide since 1997. (Well, 9.014 million, but who’s counting?)
After all, have you sold 9.014 million hybrids? Don’t lie. You haven’t.
Toyota’s announcement comes as the world’s largest automaker accepts a challenge (from itself) to bring the total number of hybrid models sold to 15 million by 2020. It will do that by introducing more hybrid versions of its vehicles, then selling — it hopes — 1.5 million of them each year. Read More >
It looks like the fling between Google and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will end up being a brief affair.
Despite partnering with FCA to test autonomous technology on a fleet of Chrysler Pacifica Hybrids, the tech giant says it has no plans to take it further with the automaker, according to Reuters.
Really, it doesn’t mean anything, Google wants other companies to know. Just two self-driving Pacificas passing in the night. Read More >
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