Nutson's Weekly Auto News Review July 31- August 6, 2022
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Nutson's Automotive Weekly Auto News Wrap-up - Week Ending August 6, 2022 Below are 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.
* July auto sales show very little change from June’s results, as a lack of supply continues to batter the new-vehicle market. Of automakers who report monthly sales, every brand has double-digit sales declines. However, Ford and Lincoln bucked the trend and had increases from a year ago when they were severely impacted by a fire at a supplier's plant. Genesis is also up slightly. Overall the industry is down 10+%. The new-vehicle SAAR in July is estimated at 13.3 million.* In the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s updated side impact crash test only 3 out of 7 midsize cars earned a Good or Acceptable rating. The Subaru Outback was the only model to receive the highest mark, a Good rating. An Acceptable rating was given to the Hyundai Sonata and Volkswagen Jetta. The Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, and Chevrolet Malibu received Poor rating. These cars didn’t perform as well as the previous groups of utility vehicles. According to the IIHS, their lower ride height could be a key factor.
* AAA reports the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has declined eight cents to $4.13. According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand dropped from 9.25 million barrels/day (b/d) to 8.54 million b/d last week. The rate is 1.24 million b/d lower than last year and is in line with demand at the end of July 2020, when COVID-19 restrictions were in place and fewer drivers hit the road.
* Automotive New reports Steve Carlisle, president of GM North America, sent a letter to dealers requesting their help to prevent customers from quickly flipping high-demand vehicles and adding exorbitant markups. The automaker is barring customers who resell certain high-demand vehicles within 12 months from placing future reservations and orders. GM also is limiting the transfer of certain warranties. For now, GM considers the 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V, Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and GMC Hummer EV pickup and SUV "high demand" models that the requirement would affect.
* Stellantis' U.S. unit, the former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, was sentenced after pleading guilty in June to criminal conspiracy and will pay nearly $300 million to resolve a multi-year U.S. Justice Department diesel-emissions fraud probe. The Justice Department said FCA US installed deceptive software features intended to avoid regulatory scrutiny and fraudulently help the diesel vehicles meet required emissions standards. Three FCA US employees have been indicted for conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and violate the Clean Air Act and are awaiting trial. The plea deal comes five years after Volkswagen pleaded guilty to criminal charges to resolve its own emissions crisis.
* Ford is expanding its compact truck lineup with the new 2023 Maverick Tremor Off-Road Package. The new Tremor package is available on XLT and Lariat series trucks and includes a 1-inch lift for greater ground clearance, exclusive Trail Control, unique off-road-tailored front and rear suspension, advanced all-wheel drive with four-wheel-drive lock and 2.0-liter EcoBoost® engine. Design cues include blacked-out Ford logos, headlamps and taillamps, signature Tremor Orange tow hooks, updated fender vent and new grille. Ford announced its retail order banks will be re-opening for Bronco Sport, Edge, Explorer and Ranger, on Aug. 2, and Maverick and Maverick Tremor will be available for retail order in September.
* General Motors announced that it is doubling the number of miles drivers can use its Super Cruise hands-free driver assistance technology. Super Cruise currently works on mapped divided highways, known as interstates. This expansion will enable Super Cruise to work on many additional state and federal routes, a combination of undivided and divided highway roads. A few notable routes with large sections coming online with this expansion include: The Mother Road – U.S. Route 66, Pacific Coast Highway – CA Route 1, Overseas Highway – U.S. Route 1 and the Trans-Canada Highway.
* From Autoweek we get this news about Toyota's bZ4X and Subaru's Solterra that were recalled in June for loosening wheel hub bolts, with the manufacturers urging owners to stop driving the models due to a risk that the wheels could fall off. In a letter posted to Reddit by a current bZ4X owner, Toyota USA will offer owners one of two options to remedy the issue. One solution involves a loaner vehicle, $5000 in loan payment or cash credit, gas reimbursement, and free EV charging through 2024, and an extended warranty amounting to the time from the start of the recall to the time a remedy is announced. Alternatively, Toyota is offering to buy back the car completely. The buybacks will vary per person due to state financial regulations but will likely be a paid-in-full buyback for owners. Toyota representatives have confirmed the authenticity of the letter to Autoweek.
* The Wall Street Journal reports the California Department of Motor Vehicles accused Tesla Inc. of falsely advertising its vehicles as autonomous. The state agency, in a pair of complaints filed last week, said the electric-vehicle maker has made inaccurate statements that represent its vehicles as capable of operating autonomously. Teslas come equipped with an advanced driver-assistance system, or ADAS, that can aid drivers. Tesla’s system, known as Autopilot, helps with tasks such as steering within a lane on the highway. Customers can also pay $12,000 for an enhanced set of features dubbed “Full Self-Driving.”
* Reuters tells us in Shenzhen, a city of 18 million adjacent to Hong Kong, automated vehicle deployment is expanding in part because officials have come up with a framework for sorting out liability in accidents where a robot-driven vehicle is involved. If the AV has a human driver behind the wheel when an accident happens, the driver is responsible. If only the robot is driving, the vehicle owner is liable. If a defect causes an accident, the owner can seek compensation from the manufacturer. Americans and Europeans worried about China taking a lead in AV development should be.
* Autoweek did an analysis on manual transmissions being equipped in new vehicles. Overall, manual transmission take-rates continue falling. For model year 2021, Wards Intelligence Data estimated a take-rate of 1.4%. Manual take-rate of 0.9% is estimated for the entire industry in the first-half of 2022. https://www.autoweek.com/news/technology/a40800136/subaru-porsche-manual-transmission-take-rates/
* Established in 1927 as a speed race, the 1000 Miglia is today a regularity race for historic cars that passes through the unique landscapes of the most beautiful parts of Italy. The 1000 Miglia Warm Up is a format designed to better prepare foreign crews to face the sporting part of the Race that takes place in Italy: training days, tests and a final race in perfect 1000 Miglia style. 1000 Miglia Warm Up USA 2022 will take place in and around Middleburg, Virginia and Washington, D.C. from 18 to 23 October: after a first day - spent on the Summit Point circuit - dedicated to training on the techniques that characterize regularity races, three racing days will follow with the second edition of the CoppaUSA, a competition of over 500 miles in true 1000 Miglia style, will get underway, finishing at the Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C. https://1000miglia.it/en/events/1000-miglia-warm-up-en/1000-miglia-warm-up-usa-2022/
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