Trade News – FYL

Weight watchers: Ford isn’t talking about pounds with F-150 Lightning

Ford really knows how to put on a show.

The introduction last month of the battery-electric F-150 Lightning pickup was a slick Hollywood-quality production that smashed it out of the ballpark as far as new vehicle debuts go. With Ford's classic "glass house" Dearborn, Mich., headquarters doubling as a giant screen, company officials made it clear to Tesla, Rivian and others that it intends to dominate the electric pickup segment.

And Ford probably will. The F-Series has been America's top-selling pickup for 44 straight years.

And yet, curiously, one word — aluminum — was not mentioned by any of the key presenters: Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford, CEO Jim Farley and the truck's chief engineer, Linda Zhang. As with the rest of the F-150 and Super Duty lineup, the Lightning will have a body made of weight-saving aluminum.

You may recall it was less than a decade ago that Ford spent more than $1 billion to retool two of its assembly plants when it d…

7-Eleven to install EV fast chargers at 250 N.A. stores

Convenience retailer 7-Eleven plans to put at least 500 electric vehicle fast chargers at 250 stores across the U.S. and Canada by the end of 2022.

That's up from 22 existing charging stations the chain currently operates at 14 stores in four states.

The plan to install the fast chargers comes as 7-Eleven says it is working on a goal to reduce its carbon emissions 50 percent by 2030. The convenience chain's plans underscore the ongoing market challenge in the transition to EVs in North America: range anxiety among potential buyers.

"Adding 500 charging ports at 250 7‑Eleven stores will make EV charging more convenient and help accelerate broader adoption of EVs and alternative fuels," 7‑Eleven CEO Joe DePinto said in a news release on Tuesday.

The company also says it has previously made investments in other renewable energy: wind energy for more than 800 stores in Texas and more than 300 stores in Illinois, hydropower for 150 stores in Virginia a…

Downtime lingers for some Stellantis plants

DETROIT — Downtime will continue in June for several Stellantis factories due to the global chip shortage, but the Warren Truck Assembly Plant in Michigan is back online this week after being idled since late March, the automaker said.

The Warren factory returns ahead of the planned June 7 production launch for the upscale Wagoneer SUV, according to AutoForecast Solutions. It's unclear if production for the higher-priced Grand Wagoneer will begin at the same time.

The Warren site also produces the Ram 1500 Classic pickup.

The Wagoneer, with a starting price of $59,995 for the Series I, will compete in what Jeep calls the heart of the large SUV market. The Grand Wagoneer, opening at $88,995, will reach higher into the luxury market and square off with models such as the Lincoln Navigator and Cadillac Escalade. A fully loaded Grand Wagoneer will cross $111,000.

Detroit's Jefferson North Assembly Plant, which builds the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodg…

2022 VW Taos: A Golf in a crossover wrapper

Volkswagen, like other automakers, is doubling down on small crossovers with the 2022 Taos, a complement to the Tiguan. The Taos is powered by a 1.5-liter turbocharged inline-four engine — the same as in the Jetta sedan — that produces 158 hp and 184 pound-feet of torque. It is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission in front-wheel-drive versions or a seven-speed automatic when equipped with available all-wheel drive. Taos pricing starts at $24,190, including shipping — at least $2,500 cheaper than the 2022 Tiguan. We've collected some early reviews of the Taos from the automotive press.

"The Taos' exterior is a tidy balance of the current Tiguan mixed with the more rounded styling of the ID.4 electric crossover. The fascia adopts squarish headlights and Volkswagen's latest grille, which high-end models, like our all-wheel-drive SEL tester, highlight with an LED strip. The back is attractive, but simple, drawing heavier inspiration from the Ti…

How EV designers are reimagining classic grilles

When BMW unveiled its next generation of electric vehicles — the i4 and the iX SUV — in March, their faces generated at least as much chatter as their electric guts. There on the front of both was BMW’s design hallmark: two kidney-shaped grilles.

But these were far bigger than the kidneys on the automaker’s gas-burning models and seemingly turned upright, with a glossy black lattice in place of the trademark vertical bars. They seemed like an anachronism. With no engine sitting behind them, and no radiator pulling in air, why bother?

“The kidney is not just an air-cooling system,” explains BMW design lead Domagoj Dukec. “It’s the strongest differentiator between us and our competitors.”

BMW is not alone. As legacy automakers move to electric powertrains, they’re re-inventing the grille in ways both familiar and strange. GMC’s new Hummer EV, set to begin production in the fall, features a reinterpretation of the SUV’s famous seven-slot grille. Two decade…

DAILY DRIVE PODCAST: June 1, 2021 | How simulated tests are getting AVs road-ready

NI's Chad Chesney explains how the former National Instruments is using simulation software to test advanced driver-assist features and autonomous vehicle systems in virtual environments.

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GPB sold many Prime dealerships for a loss

The holding company that owns the majority of Prime Automotive Group's assets reaped more than $57 million from the sale of five Prime dealerships and related real estate this year, new public financial documents show.

But some previous dealership divestitures by GPB Automotive Portfolio limited partnership, the holding company, during the past few years have been money-losers.

GPB Capital Holdings, the partnership's general partner and majority owner of Prime Automotive, one of the largest dealership groups in the country, this month filed three years of overdue audited financial statements for GPB Automotive Portfolio with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as part of a required registration statement.

The partnership includes thousands of investors who raised $682.9 million, the regulatory filing shows. GPB used money raised from the investors to buy dealerships. Investors were promised 8 percent annual returns, but distributions stopped in …

Push for tax credits comes off arrogant

TO THE EDITOR:

I couldn't help but note the arrogance in automaker comments in the May 10 edition.

In Hannah Lutz's "GM seeks to restore EV tax credit," both CEO Mary Barra and Steve Carlisle, president of GM North America, seem to be begging to have taxpayers provide the incentives necessary to move electric vehicles out of showrooms; to achieve a "level playing field," in Carlisle's words. GM — Government Motors, indeed.

Given the pricing structure necessary to (partially) cover the costs of building EVs, these high-priced cars are finding early adopter homes while the mass market generally ignores them. With GMC EVs slated to roll out starting late this year, with six-figure retail prices, this formula seems flawed.

The point is really driven home in Larry P. Vellequette's "What's standing between VW's ID4 and profits? It's the battery."

CarLab's Eric Noble is quoted as saying, "VW shareholders, or German taxpayers, had better be prepare…

How will EPA answer California?

With the EPA expected to propose in July fuel-efficiency rules that are likely tougher than the Trump administration's standards, automakers could have the opportunity once again to unite behind a single national program that includes California.

After a handful of automakers — Ford Motor Co., BMW, Honda, Volkswagen and Volvo — sided with the state to meet stricter vehicle emissions standards through the 2026 model year, recent actions by two federal agencies and the Biden administration's forthcoming near-term standards could put the whole country on one playing field again.

Key questions for the industry are whether the standards proposed in July will be tougher than those that the five automakers negotiated with California regulators and whether they will include requirements for zero-emission vehicles.

NHTSA and the EPA in April took the first steps toward reversing the Trump administration's 2019 decision to revoke Califor…

Highlights from the “Daily Drive,” Automotive News’ weekday podcast, May 21-27

Here are edited highlights from the latest episodes of the "Daily Drive," Automotive News' weekday podcast, May 21-27, hosted by Jason Stein and Steve Schmith.

"In many ways, subscription is just a variation of what leasing is in taking a lot of the pain points away from the consumer."--Georg Bauer, co-founder, NextCar

"To take the icons and make them electric was obviously for many a difficult challenge because there is a conception of what those products were and need to have to be something new and different."--Ted Cannis, head of North America commercial vehicles, Ford Motor Co.

"There is a bigger demand for specialty vehicles — the minivan, the larger SUVs, pickup trucks — because people are using those to travel." --Chrissy Taylor, CEO, Enterprise Holdings

"There is a lot of activity on the private side that is either going unreported or not as widely reported on a national scale. The public folks are also very aggressively looking at vario…