Nutson's Weekly Auto News Wrap-up February 25-March 2, 2024
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Here are Larry's story picks from this past week's important to you, relevant, semi-secret, or snappy automotive news, opinions and insider back stories presented as expertly crafted easy-to-understand automotive news nuggets. for Nutson's Auto News Weekly Wrap-up February 25-March 2,2024.
* Safety Improves. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is making it harder to earn its TOP SAFETY PICK and TOP SAFETY PICK+ awards in 2024, challenging manufacturers to offer better protection for back seat passengers and improve their pedestrian crash avoidance systems. Despite the more stringent requirements, 71 models qualify for 2024 awards. Of those, 22 earn TOP SAFETY PICK+, and 49 earn TOP SAFETY PICK. Hyundai Motor Group, which includes the Genesis, Hyundai and Kia brands, has the most 2024 awards overall — six TOP SAFETY PICK+ and 10 TOP SAFETY PICK awards for a total of 16. Toyota Motor Corp., which includes the Toyota and Lexus brands, has the next highest total with one TOP SAFETY PICK+ and 12 TOP SAFETY PICK awards. Mazda earns the most TOP SAFETY PICK+ awards of any single brand, with five, as well as one TOP SAFETY PICK. https://www.iihs.org/
* Repeat buyers. S&P Global Mobility today announced the winners of its 28th annual Automotive Loyalty Awards, recognizing General Motors as the winner of its 'Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer' award and Tesla for 'Overall Loyalty to Make.' In a new addition to the awards for 2024, the Lincoln Nautilus was recognized in the 'Overall Loyalty to Model' category. Steady increases in inventory levels yielded a positive impact to industry loyalty levels for the first time since 2019, according to the S&P Global Mobility analysis. Overall brand loyalty was at 51.0% in 2023, an increase of 0.8 percentage points (PPTs) compared to 2022 levels of 50.2%. https://www.spglobal.
* Cheaper used cars. Carfax reports in its Used Car Index that most categories are now 10%+ down from peak. May was the high point for used-car prices in 2023. Fed by reduced inventory, limited availability of new cars and climbing interest rates, used cars were harder to afford. Now, 9 months later, used-car prices are in retreat, and as of February, they have fallen at least 10% in all but two categories. More to see hare.
https://www.carfax.com/blog/
* First hydrogen fuel cell car. Honda revealed America’s first production plug-in hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle, the 2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV. A compact CUV that received a 270-mile EPA driving range rating, CR-V e:FCEV combines an all-new U.S.-made fuel cell system along with plug-in charging capability designed to provide up to 29 miles of EV driving around town with the flexibility of fast hydrogen refueling for longer trips. The 2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV will be available for customer leasing in California beginning later this year.
* Top ten. New-car shoppers in 2024 have more than 260 models to choose from. Consumer Reports selects 10 Top Picks each year, based on road-test performance, predicted reliability, owner satisfaction, and safety. This year’s picks include four hybrids (HEV), three plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and one electric vehicle (BEV), confirming that models with fully or partly electrified powertrains can best their gas-only rivals. See the picks here.
* No car from Apple. Apple has announced that its Project Titan plan to build an electric vehicle has been terminated after years of work on the project. The company will divert resources to its investment in artificial intelligence and some Project Titan personnel will be transferred to Apple's AI group. The decision to kill the project comes at a time when major automakers are reevaluating their investments in electric vehicles, and amid increased scrutiny on autonomous vehicle projects.
* Green Cars. Electric vehicles continue to lead the way in the annual American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) GreenerCars ratings of the most environmentally friendly cars. Of the six best-scoring 2024 cars, all are electric, with four fully electric vehicles (BEV) and two plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) models. The Toyota Prius Prime was the top scorer in the 2024 GreenerCars rankings, followed by the Lexus RZ 300e, Mini Cooper SE, Nissan Leaf, Toyota bZ4X, and Toyota RAV4 Prime. Rounding out the top 12 on the Greenest List are three EVs and three gasoline hybrid cars from Hyundai, Toyota, and Kia. The Meanest List of the worst-performing mass market automobiles consists of primarily large, inefficient gas guzzlers, with seven SUVs, three trucks, one sports car, and one sedan. The Meanest List includes an EV for the first time. The 9,000-pound electric GMC Hummer ranks #9 on the Meanest List.
https://www.aceee.org/press-
* Public EV charging gets worse. As more car buyers make the switch to battery electric vehicles (BEVs), traditional factors that are also important to buyers of gas-powered vehicles are becoming critical to satisfaction among BEV owners. Quality and cost of ownership have emerged as the top factors influencing satisfaction, according to the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Ownership Study. The study also reveals that public charger availability not only remains the least satisfying aspect of owning a BEV, but also that the experience has become notably worse.
https://www.jdpower.com/
* No driver behind the wheel. The Washington Post reports California regulators granted Alphabet’s self-driving car division Waymo permission to expand its robotaxi service to include highways in several Bay Area cities and large swaths of Los Angeles, a massive expansion that comes amid concerns about the impact more driverless cars will have on city streets. The decision by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) allows the company to deploy its robotaxis on local roads and freeways at speeds up to 65 mph. But Julia Ilina, a Waymo spokesperson, said in a statement that the company plans to take a “careful and incremental approach to expansion” and has “no immediate plans” to expand its robotaxi service to highways.
* US DoE factoid of the week. Seventy-three percent of all Light-Duty Vehicles produced in 2023 came with gasoline direct injection. Manufacturers have been adopting a wide array of technologies to improve the efficiency of light-duty vehicles. Gasoline direct injection (GDI), a system that injects the gasoline directly into the combustion chamber, has seen the highest level of adoption, reaching 73% of vehicles produced for the 2023 model year. Turbo charging, which forces air into the engine to boost power, is often paired with GDI to maximize engine output from smaller displacement engines, reached 37% in 2023. Fifty-nine percent of vehicles produced had transmissions with 7 or more gears while 26% were fitted with continuously variable transmissions. Gasoline hybrid vehicles accounted for 10% of light-duty vehicles, while plug-in hybrid, all-electric, and fuel cell vehicles accounted for a combined total of 7% of light-duty vehicle production.
* Auto shows are changing. After three covid-pandemic cancellations and a one-time show in Qatar, the Geneva International Motor Show, or GIMS, is back this year. Reports say this year 200,000 visitors were expected to attend the show between February 27 and March 3. In years past over 600,000 would attend this renowned international show. This year all the legacy automakers have decided not to attend. Fiat previewed a new family of Panda-inspired concepts. Two major Chinese manufacturers, BYD and MG Motor, were at the show. In 1947 the Geneva “Salon d’Auto” was the first international car show to be held after the Second World War. Manufacturers now have more effective and less costly ways to approach the car buying public. What does this mean for the future of the Geneva International Motor Show?
* Classic cars. “The Amelia,” Concours d’Elegance was held this weekend, from February 29th to March 3rd in northeast Florida. The centerpiece Sunday show, its 29th, presented a dazzling array of vehicles considered to be the “best-of-the-best from automotive history.” According to Hagerty, 275 historically-significant vehicles in 35 car classes were featured this year. Also known as “the racers’ concours,” the 2024 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance featured Honoree Rick Hendrick, the 14-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and Chairman/CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group. The Chrysler Halcyon Concept was on display providing a look into the future.
* VW Recall. Volkswagen is recalling more than 261,000 cars in the U.S. to fix a potential fuel leak that can increase the risk of fires. The recall covers certain Audi A3s and VW Golfs and GTIs from the 2015 through 2020 model years. Also included are 2015 through 2019 Golf Sportwagens, and 2019 and 2020 VW Jettas. All the recalled cars have front-wheel drive.
* Jeep Recall. Stellantis NA is recalling more than 330,00 Jeep Grand Cherokees because of a steering issue that may cause drivers to lose control of their vehicles. The recall is for 338,238 of Chrysler’s 2021-2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee L and 2022-2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles. The automaker says in documents that the upper control arm ball joint and steering knuckle may separate and cause the wheel to fall outward, which could result in losing control of the vehicle and increasing the risk of a crash.
* Toyota Recall. Toyota announced that it will recall about 381,000 Toyota Tacoma pickup trucks to address an issue with parts falling off the rear axle that can impact the vehicle's performance and raise the risk of a crash. The recall applies to certain model year 2022 and 2023 Toyota Tacoma trucks sold in the US.
* RIP. Alex L. Taylor III, a longtime reporter with Time and Fortune magazine who covered the auto industry with understated and unsurpassed flair for nearly three decades, died on February 8 in Lakeville, Conn., where he lived. The cause was complications from Parkinson's disease. Born on January 1, 1945, Alex grew up in Old Greenwich, Conn., the oldest of five siblings.
