Nutson's Weekly Automotive News Wrap-up August 11-17, 2024: Recalls; EV's; Speed; Cruis'n; Car Seats; MORE

Auto Central August 18 2024 Every Sunday Larry Nutson, The Chicago Car Guy and Auto Channel Executive Producer, with able assistance from senior Detroit editor Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau, compile The Auto Channel's "take" on this past week's automotive news, condensed into easy to digest news Nuggets.

LEARN MORE: Complete versions of today's news nuggets, along with hundreds of thousands of pages of relevant news, information and opinions, are stored in a million-page library published and indexed on The Auto Channel during the past 25 years. Complete information can be found by copying a headline and inserting it into any Site Search Box.

Here are Larry's top 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.

Nutson's Auto News Wrap-up Week Of August 11-17, August 10, 2024

* July vehicle prices. New-vehicle prices were lower year over year for the 10th consecutive month in July. Higher inventory levels and higher incentives have shifted the U.S. auto market to favor buyers, but high loan rates and tight credit conditions continue to hold industry sales below potential. In July, according to data released by Kelley Blue Book, the average transaction price (ATP) for a new vehicle in the U.S. was $48,401.  Only one new vehicle in July posted an ATP below $20,000, the Mitsubishi Mirage, which will be discontinued at the end of the year. Affordable vehicles from the Compact and Subcompact SUV segments are very popular in today’s market, accounting for approximately 1 in 4 sales in July. The average transaction price for an EV in July, at $56,520, was higher than in June but lower year over year by 1.5%. 

* EV sales increase. Sales of battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles rose 21% in July across the world, boosted by China's rapid adoption of BEVs and PHEVs (up 31% in July compared to July 2023), Rho Motion reports. Last month, 1.35 million BEVs and PHEVs were sold globally. Total EV sales in July were up 7.1% in Canada and the US while down 7.8% in Europe. Full story:  HERE

* US DoE factoid of the week. A driver can easily get more miles from an hour of level 2 charging while their light-duty EV is parked and plugged into a charger than the average person drives in a day. Most EV charging is Level 2 which provides about 25 miles of range per hour of charging. According to the 2021 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), the national average driving distance is 19.9 miles per day. This holds true both for drivers living in rural areas, who drive an average of 24.3 miles per day, and those in densely populated urban areas who drive 17.8 miles per day. The speed of modern DC fast charging (350 kW+) provides approximately 100-200+ miles of range per 30 minutes of charging.

*  EV fees to offset gas tax decline. States are looking for ways to adjust to electric vehicles, with 39 states levying fees for fully-electric and hybrid vehicles to offset revenue lost by gas taxes. Meanwhile, some states also offer incentives to customers who purchase EVs, with New Jersey offering a limited number of $2,000 subsidies plus an additional $2,000 for low-income buyers. HERE

* Not an EV nor an SUV. 2025 Kia K4 sedan has a starting MSRP of $21,990. K4 offers class-leading rear legroom within the compact sedan segment, available segment-above multi-segment digital cockpit display, 11 standard ADAS features, advanced connectivity and OTA capabilities, available ultrawideband Digital Key 2.0. Standard 147-hp, 2.0-liter and optional turbocharged 190-hp, 1.6-liter four-cylinder engines deliver robust performance. Core K4 models expected to arrive at Kia retailers beginning in September 2024, followed later by K4 GT-Line and K4 GT-Line Turbo

* GM sued by Texas. Texas Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton is suing Gen­er­al Motors for unlaw­ful­ly col­lect­ing over 1.5 million Texans’ dri­vers’ pri­vate data and sell­ing it to sev­er­al com­pa­nies, includ­ing insur­ance companies. Read the details: HERE

*  About Intelligent Speed Assistance. A researcher from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) shared his experience driving a vehicle equipped with this system. With the right mindset, speed-limiting technology can be liberating. Read the full story:  HERE  

* 2028 Summer Olympics to be car-free. Renowned journalist Miicheline Maynard writes in her "Intersection: Everything That Moves"  newsletter about the old promise from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. At a news conference in Paris, Bass vowed to hold a car-free Olympics four years from now. Spectators will be able to get to competition sites around the sprawling region without relying on personal transportation. Public transportation, especially buses, will be the only way to reach the games. Bass expects to borrow 3,000 buses from around the country, and she wants businesses to let employees work from home during the Olympics, rather than clog the roads.

*  Best cars for toddlers. Cars.com has launched its 2024 Best Cars for Car Seats Report, a hands-on look at the best vehicles that easily and safely accommodate cars seats for growing families. This year, Cars.com tested 52 vehicles — and only six earned perfect scores. And all were SUVs. See the report:  HERE

*  Get back in love with smaller vehicles. At the Aspen Ideas Festival, Ford CEO Jim Farley underscored the need for the U.S. auto industry to pivot towards smaller, more affordable electric vehicles (EVs), a significant departure from the large SUVs and trucks that Ford has become notable for building. This means consumers will need to also switch. Ford expects to introduce a $30,000 all-electric vehicle within the next two and a half years. Read the story:  HERE

*  Honking for no reason. Automotive News reports the self-driving revolution has turned out to involve more sleep deprivation than residents of one San Francisco neighborhood imagined. Waymo robotaxis are waking San Francisco neighbors with nightly horn honking. People who live near a San Francisco parking lot that Waymo uses as a robotaxi depot say the cars won't stop honking at each other, even though no one is inside them. Sophia Tung, whose bedroom overlooks Waymo's lot, has set up an around-the-clock livestream. Her YouTube channel also has clips showing some of the driverless gridlock. 

*  Cadillac recall. General Motors is recalling 2023 and 2024 Cadillac Lyriq battery-electric midsize crossovers in North America because of a software fault that causes the antilock braking system to falsely activate. The recall involves 21,469 vehicles.

*  Ford recall. Ford Motor Company is recalling select 2023-2024 Ford Maverick, 2023 Ford Bronco Sport, and 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E models over an issue with the windshield wiper motor. In affected vehicles, the front windshield wiper motor may become inoperative, causing the wipers to fail. The recall involves 37,371 vehicles.

*  Do-not-drive. New announcement by Ford, Mazda & NHTSA spikes the number under this kind of order by nearly 80%, to 770,000 nationwide. This is about dangerous Takata air bag inflators that have not been replaced. The inflators can explode with too much force in a crash, blowing apart a metal canister and shooting fragments that can severely injure or kill people. The government says 27 people have been killed in the U.S. by faulty Takata inflators, which used volatile ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate air bags in a crash. The chemical can deteriorate over time when exposed to high temperatures and humidity. More than 400 people in the country have been injured. Here are the details from Carfax:  HERE

*  Isky 200 MPH club. At last week's Bonneville Salt Flats Speed Week, Alex Taylor Racing joined the elite club of Isky Land Speed Record holders such as The Summers Bros, Mickey Thompson, Al Teague, Burt Munro and Don Garlits by earning her 200mph Club Red Hat driving her Camaro to a C/CBGALT record setting 235mph average!  HERE

*  Roadkill Nights. Back for its ninth year, MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge brought an adrenaline-filled weekend to M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Michigan, on Saturday, August 10, 2024. The 2024 Roadkill Nights main event drew a crowd of more than 40,000 drag-racing enthusiasts for the festival of all things automotive. Attractions inside M1 Concourse included adrenaline-fueled drag racing in Big Tire and Small Tire classes and the Direct Connection Grudge Race, the worldwide public debut of the all-new Dodge Charger Daytona, Dodge Drift Rides, first-ever Dodge Hornet Rally Rides, Roadkill stunts and talent appearances, exclusive merchandise, food trucks, music, entertainment and more.

*  Cruisin' Woodward. The 2024 Woodward Dream Cruise rolled along the 16 miles of Michigan M-1 jammed with Motown classics from years gone by. The world’s largest one-day automotive event, drawing over 1-million people and 40,000 classic cars each year from around the globe, celebrates the love of the open road. Proud owners of muscle cars, street rods, custom builds, collector cars, and special edition models didn't let a bit of rain put a damper on the 29th year of this Detroit-area summer classic.

Stay safe. Be Well.