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No need to double-check the license plate on these Lyft rides before getting in.

The ride-hailing company surprised some customers in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago last week by picking them up in an Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. The rides included music, neon lights, free shirts, hot dog masks and a souvenir Weenie Whistle.

Customers in those cities received a notification on their phone that they might get to relish such a unique experience by summoning a Lyft XL.

"Oscar Mayer has a legacy of elevating enjoyment from people's plates into pop culture — from our 27-foot-long Wienermobile, to the iconic Weenie Whistle, to the famed 'Oh, I wish' jingle," said Megan Lang, Oscar Mayer associate marketing director. "With the world as our canvas and meat as our medium, we want to do all we can to spark unexpected smiles wherever we go."

The promotion comes after the food brand's newest campaign, "Keep It Oscar," launch…

The Ford brand's strategy when it comes to electrification is simple: Stick with what people know. Executives believe convincing the buying public to switch to battery-powered vehicles will be easier if those vehicles are attached to familiar names with cool features, such as the Mustang Mach-E or the upcoming E-Transit and F-150 Lightning.

Ford plans an electric version of the Explorer as well as hybrid models for the Mustang, Ranger and Bronco over the next five years.

Mustang: Ford's iconic pony car will be reengineered for the 2023 model year. The S650 platform isn't expected to change much from the current S550 Mustang, but the car could get an all-wheel-drive system. The seventh- generation Mustang, which will continue to be built in Flat Rock, Mich., is expected to have an eight-year life cycle. Ford will add a hybrid variant in 2025.

GT: The half-million-dollar supercar will take one last victory lap before production ends sometime next year. A…

DETROIT — The products Ford Motor Co. is rolling out over the next year could make or break the automaker's chances of becoming an electric vehicle leader long term.

After years of buildup — and with the Mustang Mach-E already stealing share from Tesla Inc. — attention now turns to the launch of the E-Transit van, due by year end, and the F-150 Lightning, slated for mid-2022. CEO Jim Farley has called the Lightning a measuring stick that will "show where EV adoption really is."

Ford hopes to persuade customers as well as dealers to buy into EVs by focusing on well-known nameplates in popular segments and stuffing them with compelling features, software capabilities and connected services today's models lack. That targeted strategy begins with the trio of products Ford already has revealed and will continue with an electric version of the Explorer large crossover in 2023, an expansion of the FordPass app and over-the-air updates to improve veh…

Fairfax Assembly, a 34-year-old plant perched on the Kansas side of the Missouri River, has played a major role in keeping General Motors' profits flowing in as the microchip shortage hobbles global auto production.

It's just not the role that the more than 1,800 people who work there want.

The plant, which makes the Chevrolet Malibu sedan and Cadillac XT4 crossover, has built nothing since the first week of February as GM diverts chips to plants that make more profitable vehicles. In the nearly seven months that Fairfax has been dark, GM's full-size SUV plant in Texas hasn't canceled a single scheduled day of production, and four other North American plants have missed less than two weeks.

No automaker has kept an assembly plant offline this year more than Fairfax has been.

"A lot of depression and anxiety has set in. It's a nonstop culture of 'what's next?' " said Anthony Walker, an employee assistance program work-f…

TOKYO — Even as it pushes ahead with big plans for electric vehicles, Hyundai Motor Group is readying a hydrogen blitz.

Hyundai, one of only a handful of auto industry true believers in the potential of hydrogen-powered vehicles, plans to present a vision for the future next week, showing how compressed gas can power everything from cars to freight haulers and all manner of new mobility.

Promo videos for the planned Sept. 7 event tease a high-powered racer tearing up a track, a buslike cross-country cargo mover, and the promise of the ability to "charge hydrogen, wherever you are."

"Join the hydrogen future full of surprises," the clips beseech.

The South Korean carmaker is billing the public proclamation as "Hydrogen Wave."

But the forum is expected to go beyond vehicles of the future by outlining plans for a hydrogen infrastructure that covers next-generation fuel cell systems, fueling networks and other…

TOKYO — After fitful attempts to expand its Nismo performance line, Nissan is taking another step forward with the debut of a tuner-trim version of the Note Aura e-Power compact hatchback for Japan.

But more offerings could be on the way for the U.S. in the pickup or crossover segments.

Takao Katagiri, global CEO of Nismo, conceded that the subbrand's expansion plans have so far been largely focused on Nissan Motor Co.'s home market of Japan. But he said the carmaker is "having lots of discussions" about how to introduce more Nismo offerings geared toward U.S. tastes.

"When we look at the U.S. market and what our competitors are doing there, I think there is a possibility [for Nismo] in the crossover and truck segments going forward," Katagiri said at the unveiling this month of the Note Aura Nismo, a "Formula-E-inspired" revamp of the pedestrian Note Aura.

The Note Aura Nismo, which goes on sale this fall, adds to a d…

Canada will be an interested third party in discussions between the U.S. and Mexico over rules governing cars traded in North America, avoiding direct confrontation with the Biden administration ahead of elections next month while still showing concern about the U.S. position.

Mexico last week requested formal consultations with the U.S. to settle a disagreement over how to measure regional content for cars to trade duty-free. The U.S. insists on a stricter method than Mexico and Canada believe they agreed to for counting the origin of certain core parts including engines, transmissions and steering systems in the overall calculation, people familiar with the matter said last month.

The U.S. position on the rules in the trade deal known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement could push automakers to abandon the region due to cumbersome and costly content requirements, Luz Maria de la Mora, Mexico’s undersecretary of economy for foreign trade, said in an interview…

Since leading the U.S. materials supplier GST AutoLeather out of its bankruptcy three years ago, CEO Randy Johnson has kept his attention focused on three campaigns: improving global operations by instilling the lean-thinking Toyota Production System; being unwavering in the company's commitment to leather as its only material; and exploring new ideas for how cowhides make their way into cars and trucks.

On those first two counts, Johnson reports that GST is back, earning new business at the rate of twice its current market share. And to reflect its changing fortunes, the privately held company this year changed its name to Pangea.

But it is on that third count — innovation — that he says the supplier is really experiencing a heyday.

Pangea has developed a tanning method that improves the appearance of its leather while taking cost out of it. The company has also introduced a patented surface treatment, called 3D Embossing, that wi…