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November 29, 2022

Nutson’s Weekly Auto News Wrap-up November 20-26, 2022

Every Sunday Larry Nutson, The Chicago Car Guy and Auto Channel Executive Producer, with able assistance from senior 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 thousands of pages of relevant news and opinions, information 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.

Nutson’s Auto News Weekly-Wrap-up November 20-26, 2022

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.

* Consumer demand for new cars and trucks is cooling down in the United States, J.D. Power and LMC Automotive conclude in their forecast for November sales. Factoring out rising sales to fleets, Power-LMC forecast that U.S. retail car and truck sales will fall by 0.3{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} for November compared to a year ago. Average vehicle transaction prices are rising, but at a slower pace. In November, Power-LMC estimated 41{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of vehicles will sell for more than the factory sticker price, down from 50{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} sold over sticker price in July. New-vehicle transaction prices continue to rise but at slower pace than earlier this year. The average price in November will set a record for the month of $45,872, an increase of 3.1{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} from a year ago.

* For the second straight week, the nation’s average gas price has declined, falling 11.9 cents from a week ago to $3.64 per gallon early thsi week according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country. The national average is down 16.4 cents from a month ago and 24.5 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 6.7 cents in the last week and stands at $5.28 per gallon.

* US DoE factoid of the week: In 2021, 73{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of all plug-in vehicles on the road were assembled in North America, with 65{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of them built in the United States. Japan was a distant second at 12{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}, followed by Germany at 6{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}. Since 2011—the first full year of mass market plug-in vehicle sales in the U.S.— a greater share of plug-in vehicles has been assembled domestically than conventional internal combustion-powered vehicles.

* How’s your vehicle’s resale value? The J.D. Power 2023 ALG Residual Value Awards have increased importance in today’s market for both automakers and consumers, given the recent increases in the cost of new and used vehicles. For a third consecutive year, Lexus received the brand award for best premium brand. For a second consecutive year, Honda received the brand award for best mass market brand. Kia received the most model awards overall and is the most improved mass market brand year over year, moving up three places. Porsche is the most improved premium brand, moving up four places. Learn more right here. https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2023-us-alg-residual-value-awards

* Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Domino’s Pizza Inc. is moving to electrify its pizza delivery with the acquisition of more than 800 custom-branded 2023 Chevy Bolt EVs. More than 100 of the General Motors electric cars are arriving at select franchise and corporate stores throughout the United States this month. An additional 700 will arrive in coming months, the company said, giving Domino’s the largest electric pizza delivery fleet in the country.

* Joe White at Reuters informs: People who buy electric vehicles tend to drive them less and keep them longer than combustion vehicles, according to new research from the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank. The result is relatively fewer, affordable used EVs on the market, which in turn could mean the U.S. vehicle fleet takes longer to convert to battery power from fossil fuels. The average new electric vehicle costs $66,000 – out of reach for many families. “The used vehicle channel has not nearly been as relevant for popularizing BEVs as it could be,” the Fed researchers write. By the time the average combustion vehicle is five years old, 55{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} have changed hands and been registered as used vehicles. But only 14{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of five year old electric vehicles are registered as used, based on registration and vehicle powertrain data from model year 2010 through 2021. BEV owners drive their electric cars a lot less, too. The average ten-year old electric vehicle has 50,000 miles on it, less than half the miles on the average ten-year old combustion car or truck.

* We read in Autoweek the AM radio band in particular is subject to electromagnetic interference from electric motors, which generate frequencies comparable in wavelength to AM radio signals. Many EVs have abandoned the radio band, while others—like the Ford F-150 Lightning—did include it but will soon cease to. A global radio aggregator and streaming service called TuneIn offers a solution, by delivering feeds from some 100,000 stations over a vehicle’s 5G wireless network access.

* Ford is recalling over 634,000 utility vehicles worldwide because a cracked fuel injector can spill fuel or leak vapors onto a hot engine and cause fires. The recall covers Bronco Sport and Escape models from the 2020 through 2023 model years. All have 1.5-liter, three-cylinder engines.

* Bond, James Bond! Bond In Motion: The Official Collection of Original James Bond Vehicles exhibition is at the Saratoga Auto Museum. Featured are 25 official vehicles from the longest-running film franchise in movie history. Bond In Motion runs through November 2023 at the Saratoga Automobile Museum in Saratoga Springs, New York. https://saratogaautomuseum.squarespace.com

* Comedian Jay Leno was released from the hospital after suffering burns to his face, according to multiple reports. Leno stayed at the Grossman Burn Center for 10 days after he was injured when flames erupted while working on his 1907 White Steam Car on Nov. 12. While he suffered third-degree burns, he should recover. “I am pleased with Jay’s progress, and I am optimistic that he will make a full recovery,” Dr. Peter Grossman, Leno’s doctor, said in a statement released by the Burn Center.

* Starting in 2023, Formula 1 is set to launch an all-female driver category, the F1 Academy, to develop and prepare young female drivers to progress to higher levels of competition – including W Series, Formula 1, Formula 2, and Formula 3. The series will consist of five teams run by current F2 and F3 teams, each entering three cars to make up a 15-car grid. The first season will comprise of seven events with three races each – amounting to a total of 21 races – plus 15 days of official testing, with the 2023 calendar set to be released in due course. The drivers will be getting behind the wheel of Tatuus T421 chassis, with Autotecnica supplying turbocharged engines that will deliver 165 horsepower, while Formula 1’s Global Partner Pirelli will provide the tires.

* A total of 277 vehicles officially entered last weekend’s internationally televised BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts. The season-finale of the four-race 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship was held over a technical, rugged race course around Baja California Norte on Mexico’s magnificent and majestic Baja California peninsula. Race course distance is 828.25 miles. The Honda Off-Road Racing Team with its Honda Ridgeline Baja Race Truck took Class 7 honors for the second consecutive year in the 55th running of the iconic Baja 1000.

* A next-generation race-prepped, stock Ford Ranger Raptor finished the SCORE-International Baja 1000 atop the stock mid-size class, then drove on public roads back to its base in Riverside, California after the race. The nearly-flawless Ford Performance global effort was powered by a low-carbon biofuel (Ethanol and Bionaptha) from Shell, demonstrating that commitment to sustainability does not require compromising performance (or Rocket Science Electric) .

* We hope you all had a safe and happy Thanksgiving. AAA predicted 54.6 million people would travel 50 miles or more from home this Thanksgiving. That’s a 1.5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} increase over 2021 and 98{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of pre-pandemic volumes. This year is projected to be the third busiest for Thanksgiving travel since AAA started tracking in 2000.

Stay safe. Be Well.

November 28, 2022

Renault gives van unit more independence, new electric model

PARIS – Renault will give operative independence to its remarkably successful industrial van unit and is planning a new electric powered modular motor vehicle in cooperation with an additional, unnamed enterprise.

CEO Luca de Meo claimed Tuesday in an update of his Renaulution strategic program that a standalone device will be equipped to unlock far more benefit from a sector that plays a key job in Renault Group’s profitability.

“LCV has generally been a profitable phase for us, accounting traditionally for around 20 p.c of our earnings,” de Meo claimed.

Vans ended up a cross-business device at the Renault-Nissan Alliance beneath previous Chairman Carlos Ghosn but did not have their own gain and reduction statement.

Rival automaker Stellantis in March introduced it was heading to develop a fully independent world-wide professional automobiles small business unit.

Vans have historically been a separate device also for the Volkswagen model and, extra not too long ago, at Ford of Europe.

Study much more: 9 things to know about Renault’s new strategy

Renault, which says it has a 14 p.c industry share in a European van marketplace really worth an approximated 60 billion euros in earnings this calendar year according to S&P Global Mobility, says it hopes to benefit from two sector trends.

The very first is an once-a-year expansion of 10 percent per 12 months in “last mile” shipping vans since of a surge in on the internet retailing, and the 2nd is new emissions and air pollution polices that de Meo suggests will involve the substitute of about 30 {cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of the present fleet by 2030. The huge vast majority of vans on the highway these days are diesel driven.

On Tuesday, de Meo announcd that Renault would start in 2026 an electric powered, modular design named FlexEVan. It will be centered on a “skateboard” platform developed to enhance flexibility and personalization, and can could be upgraded with new batteries and offer you software program-defined functions.

The FlexEVan will have the measurement of a Kangoo compact van but a cargo place equivalent to a greater Trafic medium van, de Meo reported. It will be produced by a new, committed corporation named Flexis and will be designed in cooperation with yet another, unnamed “OEM.” De Meo did not recognize the corporation but stated it would not be a further automaker.

He said that FlexEVan would have a overall value of possession (TCO) that is 30 {cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} fewer than existing designs. He believed TCO at about 100,000 euros for the lifestyle cycle of a van, of which 20- 30,000 euros is the acquire selling price. Just one variation of the FlexEVan has by now been unveiled in thought sort: The Hippo, from Renault’s Mobilize mobility solutions device.

The Hippo is centered on the previously EZ Flex concept, which is already undergoing early assessments with probable customers.

November 27, 2022

Cases: Once owners of world’s largest Honda dealership

In 2002, Rick and Rita Case opened the world’s greatest Honda dealership, in Davie, Fla., which before long offered a document 1,222 new Hondas in a one thirty day period.

“We desired to be a greater dealer,” Rita Circumstance advised Automotive News. “We required to pioneer new brands. We wanted to take models as open up factors as opposed to buying dealerships.”

In 1985, the couple offered their 14 motorbike dealerships in Ohio and financed the development of the Florida stores that would be the initially in the country to offer Hyundai and Acura motor vehicles.

“Concerning 1986 and 1988, Hyundai was the speediest-rising new motor vehicle launched in The usa, but it was a hazard mainly because no one experienced ever heard of a Korean car,” Rita Scenario claimed. “With Acura, the possibility was it was the 1st luxury Japanese motor vehicle bought in The us.”

Inside of their initially thirty day period of small business offering Hyundai and Acura, the Conditions became these brands’ largest sellers in the state by profits quantity, according to Rita Scenario. The group established other profits data above the many years and however vies for volume bragging legal rights for the brands it signifies.

The pair utilised Rick’s ground breaking advertising suggestions to draw in consumers and make profits. They borrowed from airlines’ repeated flier applications, supplying clients Rick Situation Benefits playing cards for discount rates on areas and assistance, free of charge auto washes for daily life and price reduction gasoline at their dealerships. People systems proceed these days.

In 2004, the few transformed their supersized Honda store in Davie so the county clerk of courts could create places of work there. They even created a chapel in the dealership for couples obtaining relationship licenses. The clerk’s place of work and chapel are long gone now, but the six-story dealership however is a polling station for elections.

And the Instances lent thoughts to their automaker partners.

When the Hyundai brand was having difficulties in the U.S. in the 1990s, Rick questioned Hyundai to celebrate its 10th anniversary in 1996 with a 10-12 months, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty to get buyers to contemplate the brand once more.

“We assumed, ‘Let’s do anything definitely outrageous,’ given that other models had a lot shorter warranties,” Rita Circumstance mentioned. “Hyundai explained, ‘No, we do not know how significantly this is going to price tag. We won’t be able to do this.’ ”

So Rick and Rita joined with other South Florida Hyundai dealers, acquired an insurance plan plan for the hazard and advertised a 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty, in accordance to Scenario. Profits for the South Florida dealerships boomed, and in 1998, Hyundai released a 10-12 months, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty nationwide. The automaker improved its quality to again the warranty, and sales shot up.

November 26, 2022

Fiat 500e returning to U.S. amid EV revolution

Stellantis is breathing a small far more daily life into Fiat, the Italian brand which is been minimized to a solitary nameplate in North The united states.

It is really bringing the electric 500e back to the U.S. to choose edge of the industry’s ongoing electrical “revolution,” manufacturer CEO Olivier Francois claimed. But soon after several years of learning tricky lessons about American customer preferences, it does not have grand quantity ambitions for the motor vehicle, he stated, and there are no plans to grow the portfolio further more.

Fiat, Francois told Automotive News, is just not going to check out to be all the things to most people.

“The lesson figured out is humility,” he claimed of Fiat’s encounter in the U.S. in excess of the previous ten years. “The usa would not want an additional model, will not want Fiat, would not will need an typical mainstream car or truck brand performing mainstream automobiles. We are not bringing anything actually new to the get together, but in which The us requires us is to make this polarizing, area of interest, special statement, and which is in which the 500 and, currently, this new 500 electric are participating in. That’s our room, so we will stick to that house.”

The 500e is scheduled to access the U.S. in the 1st quarter of 2024. The official reveal of the North American 500e will take spot a yr from now.

The most thrilling aspect about the start, Francois stated at the Los Angeles Auto Exhibit last 7 days, is that Fiat is bringing the 500e to North The united states because it wants to — not since it feels a will need to.

The brand’s ambition, he mentioned, is “to feed America’s appetite for alter, [and] in 2022, change begins with sustainable mobility.”

Fiat stopped providing the 500e — and the common gasoline-powered 500 — stateside in 2019, leaving sellers with only the 500X right now.

Randy Dye, chairman of the Stellantis National Seller Council, sights the 500e as a new lease on lifetime for Fiat in the U.S. after many years of small product or service help.

“The Fiat shopper is incredibly loyal,” Dye said in an job interview. “They adore their vehicle, and so I imagine it’s interesting for the Fiat purchaser — the Fiat devoted, if you will — to be equipped to have an electric powered car or truck.”

As tiny as it is in North America, Fiat is the volume leader for Stellantis globally, and the European variant of the 500e, referred to as the New 500, is between the top-advertising electric autos in Europe.

The brand name has not arrive shut to duplicating that accomplishment in the U.S. It returned in 2011 just after a 27-12 months hiatus, pushing a youthful vitality that drove it to more than 40,000 yearly sales from 2012 to 2015. Fiat had focused U.S. profits of 50,000 automobiles in 2011 and 78,000 in 2013 but peaked at 46,121 in 2014 prior to a steep dropoff commencing in 2016.

The 500e nameplate contributed minimally to those people numbers, with previous Fiat Chrysler Vehicles CEO Sergio Marchionne in fact urging customers in 2014 not to acquire it. Just about every sale value the company $14,000, he mentioned. Marchionne, who wasn’t a enthusiast of U.S. insurance policies pushing automakers to construct EVs, claimed at the time that he would market the least range he required to and “not one a lot more.” He died in 2018, and in 2021 FCA merged with PSA Team to kind Stellantis.

“The first era electrical 500 was a compliance motor vehicle, costing the company hundreds of dollars per unit,” Sam Fiorani, vice president worldwide car forecasting for AutoForecast Remedies, reported in electronic mail. “This new design has been formulated from the ground up to be electrical, producing it much more very affordable to make and much more successful to market. However, the new 500e has the same challenges as the aged one: People in america do not want compact vehicles. Even with significant gas selling prices and an enhanced drivetrain, the 500e will find it incredibly challenging to attraction to American prospective buyers.”

But Fiat just isn’t on the lookout for mass attraction. Francois isn’t going to plan to dump a ton of promoting dollars into the 500e to persuade folks to obtain a motor vehicle that isn’t for them. He said there is however a foundation of buyers out there in places these kinds of as Miami who are passionate about the brand name and would contemplate shopping for a new product.

Francois said: “We never actually want to reach any targets. We are currently at major manufacturing capacity, so we are capped.”

November 24, 2022

Audi, VW, Stellantis, GM, Hyundai dealerships change hands

Nimey family acquires new-car or truck dealership in New York

Lee Buick-GMC Vans grew to become Matt Nimey Buick-GMC on Sept. 19, with the Nimey relatives getting the Boonville, N.Y., dealership from the Lee family members.

This is the Nimey family’s initially new-auto dealership, owner Matt Nimey mentioned. The family’s automotive ties commenced in 1964 with a Utica, N.Y., employed-car or truck dealership that Matt started to run along with his moms and dads in 1999. Boonville is north of Utica.

The new-automobile retail store is a next move in the Nimeys’ growth programs, Matt said, adding he had previously bought a car from the Lee spouse and children and was acquainted with the dealership. Most staff remained next the ownership transition.

“We are going to try out to fantastic what we have and carry on to mature and scale,” he advised Automotive News. “And with the staff that we have at present, I do not see any boundaries.”

The Nimeys will give an expanded employed-automobile selection at the Buick-GMC retail store.

The loved ones also wants to continue to keep the hometown, household-business sense at the new dealership, stated Cindy Nimey, Matt’s mom. The two operate both dealerships together.

“We’re not a big conglomerate coming in and getting about and transforming points and building it a lot more [of] a corporate entire world,” Cindy claimed. “We like dealing with our personnel like spouse and children, and we want to retain that truly feel below.”

The Buick-GMC dealership’s previous possession also has prolonged-standing relatives ties. The Lee family joined the Boonville automotive retail landscape in 1953.

“Matt and Cindy are all about spouse and children, and we know they’re going to take care of our workforce and our prospects with the exact treatment we usually have,” Randy Lee, previous vice president at Lee Buick-GMC Vans, explained in a statement. “They have the similar values we do.”

Timbrook Automotive provides initial Hyundai dealership

Timbrook Automotive on Sept. 30 acquired Hamilton Hyundai in Chambersburg, Pa., marking the group’s initial Hyundai dealership, claimed Dave Ainsworth, companion and Pennsylvania platform manager at Timbrook.

The Cumberland, Md., group desired to perform with the Hyundai brand simply because it has handled stock scarcity issues properly and has successfully introduced quite a few electric powered motor vehicles, Ainsworth mentioned.

The dealership was renamed Chambersburg Hyundai and is Timbrook Automotive’s 3rd Pennsylvania dealership. Chambersburg is in south-central Pennsylvania.

The group operates 12 new-car or truck dealerships, with spots also in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. It also sells Kia, Ford, Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Honda and Nissan motor vehicles. And it has two powersports shops.

The sellers, Rick Hamilton and Ken Shreve, share a lot of of the identical missions and values as Timbrook, Ainsworth stated.

The retail outlet “had a good core foundation, and we will construct upon it and increase,” Ainsworth mentioned.

Timbrook Automotive, headed by President Fred Timbrook, also plans next year to start a revamp and expansion of the dealership below Hyundai’s facility impression plan, Ainsworth said. The enhancements will involve EV infrastructure and a new showroom.

In May possibly 2021, Fred Timbrook, Ainsworth and Lee Wilson of Timbrook Automotive purchased Hazleton Honda in Hazle Township, Pa., from Lithia Motors Inc.

Rob Lee, director of the Northeast region for invest in-market business Tim Lamb Group in Columbus, Ohio, represented the vendor in the Hyundai dealership transaction.

November 23, 2022

Ready for their close-up? EVs take center stage at LA Auto Show

The LA Vehicle show operates by means of Sunday, and with California mandates and superior gasoline costs, the big emphasis is on electric motor vehicles (EVs), like amid standard car or truck makes. EVs have much less shifting parts than a gas-run car. That is supposed to make them extra reputable. But it’s nevertheless comparatively new technology, and according to a new study of house owners by Client Experiences, EVs are really significantly less trustworthy than most of their combustion motor counterparts.

“I wager if Buyer Reviews existed 100 yrs in the past, we would be telling you, ‘Go invest in an electric powered vehicle proper now since there’s considerably less to go completely wrong,’” claims Jake Fisher, senior director of auto tests at Shopper Experiences. “But today, we have automakers that have pretty much above 100 years of experience making interior combustion engines … and they’re new to EVs. So you can find going to be expanding pains.”

Fisher claims the major difficulties new entrants to the electric automobile industry have confronted are in the batteries, the motor, and the chargers. “What we uncover is that numerous EV homeowners are exceptionally happy with their obtain,” Fisher states. “But to be genuine, it is really not for anyone suitable now. It is really not going to be as straightforward an expertise than it is with a typical gasoline auto.”

A male in a space accommodate shows off the Southern California-designed Hyperion hydrogen electrical 2000 horsepower auto at this year’s LA Car Demonstrate. Image by Tod Mesirow.

Regardless of remaining new to EVs, “Big Three” automakers like GM and Ford are competing versus newcomers like Tesla and Rivian. This 12 months, GM is showcasing their new Chevy Equinox, an SUV that will be available in 2024 with a starting off MSRP of $30,000. Ford has already had achievement with both of those their F-150 Lightning pick-up and the Mustang Mach-e, which are each previously on the highway. Even Porsche, recognised for sports activities automobiles with effective gas engines, has attracted potential buyers with their EV, the Taycan.

“We are observing a great deal of new customers to the brand, many thanks to the Taycan,” says Porsche’s Frank Weismann. “It’s most likely just one of the automobiles with the greatest conquest level,” a time period employed to describe people who swap brands.

One more variable would-be car shoppers are involved about is range: how much can the auto go right before it needs a fresh charge. Also, how extended will that charge take and will there be a charging station in which and when they need to have it. The Federal Freeway Administration (FHA), nonetheless, says the regular driver only covers about 35 miles for each working day. So Angelenos seeking for an day-to-day car or truck may not need to have 300-500 miles of battery selection, apart from for extended trips.