Trade News

Ford's flashy introduction of its F-150 Lightning and the events surrounding it displayed a mastery of showmanship, ginning up excitement for the first all-electric edition of the nation's top-selling model line.

From President Joe Biden's glowing three-word review — "That sucker's quick!" — to the carnival-like atmosphere of the automaker's nighttime reveal at its headquarters, the F-150 Lightning got a huge jolt of attention right out of the gate. That was appropriate, given the King Ranch-size expectations that the Lightning will carry both for Ford and for electric vehicles in general when the battery-powered pickup arrives in showrooms. It's with this in mind that caution is warranted by automotive marketers as they hype the capabilities of their new EVs.

Unlike most electric models, the F-150 Lightning will be expected to do much more than just ferry passengers and the detritus of everyday living. Because it wears the F-150 badge, buyers will expect the …

A lawsuit filed by a former Tesla employee claims he was fired from an $18,000-a-month job to help keep investors and the media from learning that thieves were stealing millions of dollars worth of copper wire from its Nevada battery plant.

Lynn Thompson said in the suit that he saw huge amounts of copper being measured, cut, loaded onto pallets and hauled away. The suit said he reported the thefts on multiple occasions to senior management, including CEO Elon Musk, and contractor ONQ Global starting in April 2018.

In June 2018, Thompson said he witnessed copper being loaded onto a truck and contacted Tesla security, who called police. Several days later, management told Thompson that he wasn't allowed back inside the Gigafactory, the complaint said.

"Since this time, Mr. Thompson has learned that Tesla and Musk pressured ONQ GLOBAL to stop allowing him on the work site and subsequently end his work at Tesla because of the outside…

As the industry revels in new ideas to support vehicle electrification, power management supplier Eaton Corp. has focused its most recent innovation on gasoline-powered vehicles.

Eaton is introducing a new generation of hollow-head valves intended to improve fuel economy, reduce emissions and increase performance, primarily in internal combustion engines. The technology can also support hybrid vehicles.

The gains of the sodium-filled valve come largely from its new design.

By welding together two separate sections of the valve's head portion, Eaton has achieved more flexibility in the sodium cavity design. This increases volume and creates better sodium flow compared with other hollow valves, said Pawel Wolski, valvetrain business unit director for Eaton's Vehicle Group.

The resulting valves are able to cool down the combustion face and lower the chamber temperature, which increases the spark advance and air-to-fue…

Rolls Royce's 2017 Sweptail, a gigantic $12.8 million Phantom-based coupe with an all-custom, coach-built body and commissioned by a yacht and aircraft specialist, was the first of its kind from the House of Rolls.

Its debut at Italy's Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este proved so popular, a number of Rolls-Royce customers asked for custom cars of their own, leading the company to now spin off Coachbuild into a brand division. Rolls Royce describes the division as a "true commission model," where the company and clients collaboratively explore luxury, design and culture.

In particular, three customers with a passion for contemporary nautical design wanted something never seen before. The result, after four years of development, is the hand-built Boat Tail, another automotive equivalent of haute couture. It is based on Rolls-Royce's own Architecture of Luxury, a modular platform that underpins the Phantom, Cullinan and Ghost.

Three B…

It’s the end of the school year. Time for the first "Intersection" exam. Match the automaker leader with his quote. Scroll down to the bottom of this newsletter for the answers. No cheating!

1. Product “is the foundational landscape piece. It’s what you build the house on.”

2. “We have a very strong dealer network – this is our strength.”

3. The goal is to “put more connected fleets on the road than any of our competitors.”

4. “I wouldn’t want anybody to think that we’re turning our back on ICE during the transition.”

5. “We do what we can do, and we do not do what we cannot control.”

A. Toyota’s Ted Ogawa

B. Nissan’s Michael Colleran

C. Ford’s Jim Farley

D. Mercedes-Benz’s Dimitris Psillakis

E. GM’s Steve Carlisle

You’ll find stories or Q&As with all five of these quotes in Monday’s issue.

Read more about Intersection quiz: Who said what?

The National Transportation Safety Board member and President Biden’s nominee to become the board’s new chair discusses increased traffic fatalities, ongoing examinations of new automotive technology and the NTSB’s “Most Wanted List” of safety improvements.

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Volkswagen Group plans to create two new top posts to supervise its brands more closely, according to company sources.

The automaker will install two new COOs to oversee its premium brands and volume brands, the sources told Automobilwoche, the German affiliate of  Automotive News.

The group's 12 brands include luxury marques Audi, Porsche, Bentley and mass-market brands VW, Skoda and Seat.

The new COOs will be appointed directly below the management board level.

Two long-serving managers  are envisaged for the new roles, according to people familiar with the automaker's plans.

VW Group CEO Herbert Diess aims to reduce overlap between brands and find more synergies as he pushes to improve profitability at the automaker.

In particular, Diess wants to boost the VW brand by reducing competition with sister brands Skoda and Seat, reports in the German press have said.

VW Group has been increasing joint development activi…

OYAMA, Japan — It is a familiar racetrack scene. But this time, Toyota has a new twist.

The automaker's petrol- head president, Akio Toyoda, is barreling down the straight at Fuji Speedway in a souped-up Toyota racer, clocking 140 mph with thunderous engine growls and bone-rattling vibrations before slamming on the brakes to tuck into the corner.

His tire-smoking No. 32 race-spec Corolla looks, sounds and drives like any other car in the field. But there is one important, invisible difference. While the rival racers are all burning gasoline, Toyoda's engine is powered by hydrogen — and it is churning out virtually no carbon dioxide.

Note the distinction: It's not a silent hydrogen "fuel cell" under the hood, but a freshly minted "hydrogen-burning" three- banger.

The engine is still just a prototype, but Toyoda believes it holds big promise for his company, for the industry and for carbon neutrality in a world seemingl…

Elon Musk's disdain for lidar has been well documented. Now the Tesla CEO has cooled on another sensor most automakers deem essential for underpinning certain safety features.

Tesla said last week it stopped equipping Model 3 and Model Y vehicles with radar sensors in April. The change sparked a swift response. Three leading automotive safety organizations stripped the vehicles of their safety designations.

NHTSA, the federal regulatory agency charged with ensuring vehicle safety, revised its five-star crash safety ratings. It removed checkmarks the vehicles had earned for offering features such as forward collision warning, lane departure warning, crash avoidance braking and dynamic brake support.

Consumer Reports and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety followed by revoking the "Top Pick" and "Top Safety Pick+" designations, respectively, for the Model 3.

"If a driver thinks their vehicle has a safety feature …