Nutson's Weekly Auto News Wrap-up April 9-15, 2023
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Here are Larry's picks among the past week's important, relevant, semi-secret, or snappy automotive news, opinions and insider back stories presented as expertly crafted easy-to-understand automotive universe news nuggets.Nutson's Weekly Auto News Wrap-up Week April 9-15, 2023.
* The Biden Administration officially unveiled its proposal to ratchet down the carbon dioxide pumped out by petrol-burning cars and trucks through 2032 and boost electric vehicles towards a two-thirds share of the U.S. new vehicle market by 2032. As Joe White for Reuters wrote: "If this proposal is adopted, the changes in the U.S. auto sector – from factory floor to showroom – will be profound." The proposal’s overall target of reducing CO2 emissions from new vehicles 56% by 2032 amounts to a requirement for the industry to sell a lot more electric vehicles. The administration plan foresees the electric vehicle share of the U.S. new light vehicle market rising to 67% by 2032 from 7% last year.
* A proposal by the Department of Energy is to sharply reduce the Miles Per Gallon equivalent, or MPGe, ratings for EVs. That would give automakers less credit under the government’s emissions scorekeeping systems for EVs they sell, effectively compelling them to deliver more EVs to offset big, fossil-fuel burning trucks and SUVs.
* US DoE factoid of the week: Vehicle miles traveled in 2021 and 2022 followed a similar monthly pattern as the years preceding the pandemic. Total vehicle miles traveled (VMT) typically follows a monthly pattern where VMT is lower at the beginning of each year and then peaks around July before declining towards year-end. February is normally the month with the lowest total VMT due to less travel and fewer calendar days. The pandemic disrupted the monthly VMT trend for 2020, but 2021 and 2022 VMT trends were similar to pre-pandemic years despite the increase in the number of people working from home. Likely, increased VMT from home delivery (Amazon, UPS, etc.) and separate errands that would previously have been done on the way to or from work offset much of the lost VMT from reduced work trips.
* Cox Automotive is forecasting sales of new EVs in the U.S. will surpass 1 million units for the first time in 2023. In Q1, EV share of the new-vehicle sales is expected to reach close to 7%, a record high. The market for used electric vehicles (EVs) in the U.S. is beginning to accelerate rapidly as more used EVs become available and buyers snap them up. Sales of used electric vehicles increase by 32% in Q1. Last quarter, the average retail listing price for a used EV was around $43,400, a decrease of approximately 4% from Q1 2022 and well below the average new EV price, which is closer to $59,000. The lower average listing price at retail is likely the result of aggressive price cuts at Tesla, the EV market share leader.
* From CNBC: Nearly half of Americans in a new poll say it’s unlikely they would purchase an electric vehicle as their next car, citing the lack of charging options and the high costs. Only 19% of respondents to the poll, by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, said it’s “very” or “extremely” likely they would buy an EV as their next car. Nearly 80% of the public cite the lack of charging infrastructure as a primary reason for not buying an EV, a concern that was consistent among residents from cities, suburbs and rural areas, according to the poll. Some Americans would choose an EV because of climate change, with 35% saying that curbing their personal carbon footprint is a major reason and 31% saying it’s a minor reason. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/11/nearly-half-of-americans-say-its-unlikely-theyll-buy-an-ev-next-poll.html?__source=sharebar%7Ctwitter&par=sharebar
* Kelley Blue Book just released its March new vehicle average transaction price (ATP) report with record-breaking data, as prices have fallen below the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) for the first time in 20 months. The average price of a new vehicle declined in March to $48,008, a month-over-month decrease of 1.1% ($550) from a downwardly revised February reading of $48,558. The average price paid for a new non-luxury vehicle in March was $44,182, a decline of $505 compared to February. In March, the average luxury buyer paid $65,202 for a new vehicle, down just $9 from February. The average price paid for a new EV went up to $58,940 in March.
* SUVs cause more severe injuries than cars when they hit bicyclists likely because the vehicles’ tall front ends strike the bicyclists higher on their bodies, a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows. “SUVs tend to knock riders down, where they can also be run over, rather than vaulting them onto the hood of the vehicle,” said IIHS Statistician Sam Monfort, the lead author of the study. “That’s probably because the higher front end of an SUV strikes the cyclist above their center of gravity.” Ground-impact injuries — a frequent cause of head injuries — were more than twice as common in SUV crashes than those involving cars, the study showed. The findings follow earlier IIHS research that showed SUVs are more lethal than cars to pedestrians despite design changes that have made them less dangerous to other vehicles. That study also traced the increased risk to the height of SUVs’ (and by inference, pickups) front ends. https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/higher-point-of-impact-makes-suv-crashes-more-dangerous-for-cyclists
* Ford Motor Co. is the industry leader in U.S. production volume, exports and U.S. hourly autoworker employment for the fifth straight year, according to 2022 data from the independent analytics firm S&P Global Mobility. Nearly 80% of the vehicles Ford sells in the U.S. are assembled by its estimated 57,000 manufacturing workers in the U.S. In 2022, Ford exported 260,000 U.S.-assembled vehicles including the F-150, Explorer and Mustang to other countries — or 65,000 more than the next closest competitor.
* From the Wall Street Journal we read fully autonomous vehicles might never become a reality or are at least many years or decades away, () SEE ALSO: Martha Hindes' Transit Future, "Dream or Nightmare"." said Raj Rajkumar, a professor in Carnegie Mellon University's electrical and computer engineering department. Also, while artificial intelligence "is a key prerequisite for automating driving functions," it is unable to handle every "edge case," such as a traffic-pattern shift at a construction site, said Juergen Reers, a senior managing director at Accenture. Complete Article HERE
* Several truckmakers unveiled new models during NTEA's 2023 Work Truck Week to meet the rising demand for Class 5, 6 and 7 electric vehicles. SAE Media's Matt Wolfe looked at the news from Hino Trucks, Isuzu Commercial Truck, the Shyft Group's Blue Arc operations and Mack Trucks. https://www.sae.org/news/2023/04/medium-duty-electric-trucks-dominate-at-ntea-show
* Alphabet Inc's self-driving technology unit Waymo said that some of its vehicles in San Francisco encountered dense fog and briefly pulled over to the side of the road. The incident, which occurred at around 6.00 a.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday, impeded some traffic movement before the cars moved out of the area as the fog began to clear, Waymo said. “We have software updates planned to improve our fog and parking performance to address such situations in the future,” the company said in a statement to Reuters.
* Most school buses today run on diesel. The climate footprint of a diesel school bus is about 3.3 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per mile, more than double the per-mile footprint (roughly 1.5 pounds of CO2e) for a bus powered on the average US electric grid, according to Argonne National Laboratory. If a large share of the American school bus fleet — the largest mass transportation system in the country — electrifies, that would translate to a significant emissions cut. Some find the recent push for schools to transition to electric school buses a no-brainer--like protecting students' (and drivers') lungs by keeping diesel exhaust out of the air inside and outside of the buses. Some find it difficult to keep up with from a monetary standpoint. https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2023-electric-school-bus-battery-power/?srnd=graphics-v2&sref=OEit7NEw
* Tesla was hit with federal lawsuit over alleged privacy intrusion. The lawsuit seeking class-action status follows a Reuters report that Tesla employees privately shared sometimes highly invasive videos and images recorded by customers’ car cameras. It is alleged in the suit that Tesla employees violated customers’ privacy by accessing and sharing the images and videos for their "tasteless and tortious entertainment," which resulted in "the humiliation of those surreptitiously recorded." The suit says Tesla’s conduct is "particularly egregious" and "highly offensive."
* Porsche is recalling 489 2004–2005 Carrera GTs to inspect the spherical joints that connect the wishbone suspension components on the front and rear axles, accordiojng to NHTSA. The joints may be affected by salt-related corrosion and mechanical stress that could cause failure. Porsche has no replacement joints available. Cars will be inspected and those with no damage will be cleared for driving, and if any are found with damage, owners will be advised to not drive the cars until replacement parts become available. Porsche produced fewer than 1300 Carrera GTs which sold new for around $450,000.
* Automotive trivia: Visionary 1960s fashion designer Mary Quant died this week at age 93. Quant helped popularize the miniskirt, some crediting her with inventoing it. Quant named her skirt after her favorite make of car, the MINI, since it offered a "feeling of freedom and liberation."
* Ford Performance unveiled the continued evolution of its electric-powered motorsports efforts with the Mustang Super Cobra Jet 1800, an aggressive revision to the NHRA world record-holding Mustang Cobra Jet 1400. It is targeted to best the Cobra Jet 1400’s standing world record for full-bodied electric vehicles in the quarter-mile, 8.128 seconds at 171.97 miles per hour. In June of 2021, Bob Tasca III drove the Cobra Jet 1400 to its reigning time in Norwalk, Ohio. Along with its 1800-horspeower, the improved electric drag racer features a new transmission, redone battery system, revised rear end setup and fresh control and data gathering systems. MLe Racecar’s Pat McCue is planned to be in the driver’s seat for the record-setting attempts at an NHRA event later this season.
* Autoweek reports NASCAR Cup Series driver Cody Ware has been suspended indefinitely following an arrest in Iredell County, North Carolina. TV station WSOC Channel 9 in Charlotte is reporting that Ware was booked into custody or charges of assault on a female and assault by strangulation, inflicting serious injury. The station reported that Ware's bond was set at $3,000. In his place, Matt Crafton drove the No. 51 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing in the dirt race at Bristol. Crafton finished 34th.
* Justin Owen, a veteran sprint car racer from Ohio, died from injuries he sustained in a massive crash during USAC's AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship event at Lawrenceburg Speedway in Lawrenceburg, Ind. He was 26. The Harrison, Ohio-native was in the midst of his qualifying run for the event when he drifted high into Turn 3, lost control and then slammed into the wall. His car then went airborne and flipped several times before coming to rest in the middle of the track. According to a release from USAC, Owen's greatest on-track achievements included a victory in the season-ending Dick Gaines Memorial a year ago during his Lawrenceburg title-winning season.
* WRC star Craig Breen has died aged 33, following a testing crash in Croatia. He had been a mainstay in the top level of rallying since 2014, most recently driving for the Hyundai team in 2023 and made his Goodwood racing debut in 2022. The Irishman began his racing career in karts before making the switch to rallying in 2007. He made his debut at a WRC event at the 2009 Rally Portugal in a Ford Fiesta ST, appearing sporadically for the next few years, rallying at the top level for Citroën and then Hyundai for several seasons. Outside of his WRC exploits, Breen was active in historic racing and rallying, and enjoyed spending time in his own collection of classic rally cars. He raced at the Goodwood Revival in 2022, taking the wheel of a Lotus Cortina in the St. Mary’s Trophy.
Stay safe. Be Well.
