A new report indicates that BAIC Motor Corp, Daimler’s primary Chinese joint-venture partner, wants to increase its stake in the company. Currently, BAIC owns 5 percent of the German automaker (purchased in July) with rumors swirling in October that the firm wanted to increase its investment. There were also claims that Geely was attempting to stand in the way of the prospective deal.

While not Daimler’s main squeeze in Asia from a production perspective, Geely actually owns 9.7 percent of the company — giving it quite a bit of leverage. As such, there were murmurings that Geely put the kibosh on any ideas BAIC had on investing further. Geely has rebuffed the accusation. “We are a long-term investor in Daimler. We do not react spontaneously to any volatility and we support Daimler’s management and their strategy,” the firm explained.

Be that as it may, there appears to be a minor power struggle between the two Chinese companies. Both seem interested in strengthening their influence and happen to find themselves in each other’s way.  Read More >

Roger Penske, the business magnate whose Penske Automotive Group operates more than 150 dealers across the U.S., isn’t very excited about electric vehicles, as he’s seen how easily they sell.

Which is to say, he’s seen how difficult it can be to unload an EV.

While Tesla chooses to go its own way in the retailing space, established OEMs with a strong dealer presence must consider other financial realities in deciding how they offer a new EV. Unlike Tesla, these new EVs often look like the ICE-powered vehicles they share a stable with. However, their price might not have much in common with similar-sized vehicles sitting just across the showroom or lot. Read More >

While the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) job isn’t to establish new regulations, it is obligated to enforce the country’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards while conducting crash investigations and making recommendations to other agencies on ways to improve vehicular safety.

Lately, that job involves telling the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an agency that does write those rules, to step up its game on autonomous vehicles.

Last week, the NTSB held a board meeting in Washington D.C. to determine the probable cause of a fatal collision between a self-driving Uber prototype and a pedestrian in March of 2018. While Uber took plenty of heat, the NHTSA also came under fire for prioritizing the advancement of advanced driving technologies over public safety. Read More >

Following the resignation of scandal-tainted UAW President Gary Jones late last week, UAW Region 5 Director Vance Pearson took the cue and followed him out the door. Pearson, charged with embezzlement and money laundering in an ongoing federal corruption probe, was, like Jones, on a paid leave of absence.

Both men headed for the exit after the UAW, newly infused with an reformist attitude, moved to oust the officials.

There was no thanking Pearson for his service. Read More >

While last week’s Internet-breaking debut of the Ford Mustang Mach-E was eventually overshadowed by the glass-shattering introduction of the Tesla Cybertruck, the echoes of that reveal still linger in the air.

A flurry of Change.org petitions quickly sprung up, with signees hoping to reverse this apparently abominable decision by Ford brass. Dream on. As a friend is fond of saying, signing a petition has never, ever stopped anything from happening. You’d have the same impact if you just stayed at home and munched celery in the dark.

Perhaps cognizant of the backlash, Ford released a film in which company bigwigs sitting on invisible chairs lob derision at the vehicle the Mach-E replaced. Read More >

The internet collectively lost its mind when Elon Musk rolled out his Cybertruck last week in California. More polarizing than the ends of two magnets, people either loved or hated the thing. But — and this is key — regardless on which side of the fence a person stood, it seemed that everyone was surprised by how the thing looked.

Today’s QOTD is easy: what other vehicle debuts caught you off-guard?

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Maserati has something cooking in the kitchen and we’re now getting “spy shots” of its new test mule, though the images were released by the manufacturer’s PR department. While we don’t mind automakers showing a little leg, framing corporate marketing materials as covert information is a trend we wouldn’t mind seeing scaled back. It’s not that we don’t want to see vehicles ahead of their official release — it’s just not a terribly effective ruse.

It did, however, whet our appetite. The camouflaged mule represents a major departure from the brand, looking like a cross between Alfa Romeo’s 4C and the Noble M400. In fact, we’re already presuming the model shares plenty of its DNA with Alfa, as that’s been Fiat Chrysler’s modus operandi for a while. Maserati claims the engine (at least) will be totally new and entirely unique to the brand.  Read More >

Lexus’ first production electric vehicle carries a name that should spur fond memories of a boxy Mercedes-Benz sedan. Yes, the 300E was a desirable German car. Even today, the E 300e is a compelling electrified midsize alternative to those other sedans on the market.

But we’re not here to talk about Mercedes-Benz, even though it’s hard not to when you name a new vehicle the 300e. In this case, it’s the Lexus UX 300e… and it’s not for you, as Corey would say. Read More >

Carlos Ghosn, former head of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, has been allowed to see his wife Carole for the first time in seven months. Fortunately for Ghosn, the pair actually wanted to speak and had been complaining about this throughout their time apart. Indicted on various charges we’ve covered to death, Japanese courts decided last April that it was too big of a risk to let the couple interact. The fear was that the duo would somehow conspire or possibly tamper with evidence.

The suspension of their separation appears to be limited event, however. The Tokyo District Court only agreed to allow a single meeting after Ghosn’s legal council began pushing for softer bail conditions over the summer.  Read More >

From the Mustang Mach-E to the Cybertruck in a matter of days. What a week it’s been. While the verdict is still coming in on Tesla’s, um, interesting take on an electric pickup, an auto giant and an upstart automaker that just bought a big assembly plant are happy to offer an alternative.

Of course, neither General Motors nor Lordstown Motors have a physical, production-ready pickup to show you, but many would argue Tesla doesn’t, either. Yet both rival EV pickups are on the way, the companies claim. One’s already taking pre-orders. Read More >

At the Los Angeles Auto Show this week, Chevrolet announced the rebirth of the Trailblazer (note the spelling) for the 2021 model year. However, unlike its predecessor, it’s now a compact, three-cylinder CUV. The comments got a bit heated, pitting the GMT 360 version against its contemporary competition.

So let’s settle this. It’s time for a Buy/Drive/Burn in 2005.

Read More >

Given what Tesla revealed last night, it seemed appropriate to reference a movie from the early ’80s — an era from which the automaker’s “futuristic” Cybertruck appears to have emerged. Looking like a stainless steel pup tent with a delicatessen counter serving as a dash, the Cybertruck’s Thursday night reveal generated a critical mass of hot takes, resulting in an megaton-level explosion of ridicule heard to the farthest reaches of space.

Perhaps even on Mars.

While the term “half baked” appeared to be one of the more popular descriptors for the vehicle (and may be a contributing factor to the vehicle’s design), market analysts are a sober-minded crowd. Friday morning, they let loose. Read More >

Shelby has been synonymous with the Mustang since Ford started manufacturing the GT350 in 1965 — cementing the model’s role as a certified performance machine. While Shelby Mustangs haven’t been available every year, Ford has lately been careful to include them in the lineup (if you haven’t noticed, there’s a horsepower war raging between domestic manufacturers, and the 760-hp Shelby GT500 is one of the main combatants).

But what happens as automakers transition into electrification? With a greener mindset spurring the change, these companies don’t seriously intend on delivering unnecessary high-performance models — do they?

You bet your ass they are. We’re already seeing them entering production, and Ford is now tentatively planning a Shelby variant of its all-electric Mach-E. Given its transition from “Mustang inspired” to “part of the Mustang family,” it’s now fair game. Read More >

TTAC Commentator ect writes:

Hi Sajeev,

I don’t know if this is strictly within your purview or not, but here goes. I am a dual citizen (U.S. and Canada) currently living in Canada. I will be retiring and moving back to the U.S. within the next (hopefully) few months. My current car (Mercedes B250) is 5 years old, is a model that isn’t/wasn’t sold in the U.S., and has exclusively metric instrumentation, so I plan to sell it in Canada and buy new in the U.S.

The last time I bought a new car in the U.S. was in 1995, and I gather that the world has changed since then. In particular, I understand there are internet-based resources that available to vehicle buyers that help arm them for the “dealer engagement” process. From reading TTAC, I also understand that one pioneer in this area (TrueCar) has gone over to the Dark Side. So, I’m left to wonder what sources I should be consulting for information on how to avoid getting totally shafted.

I also see that companies and groups like Costco and AARP have vehicle buying programs for their members, and wonder how useful these programs actually are.

I’d appreciate your thoughts on the subject, and of course any that the B&B have to offer. Read More >