Trade News – FYL

Velodyne touts lidar to improve pedestrians’ safety at night

Even as vehicles are equipped with more advanced driver-assistance systems and detection technologies, pedestrian fatalities are growing exponentially, particularly in the dark.

From 2010 to 2019, nighttime pedestrian fatalities increased by 54 percent, compared with a 16 percent increase in daytime pedestrian fatalities, according to a report last month from the Governors Highway Safety Association.

Technologies such as pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking are designed to help prevent such tragedies, but current systems can only go so far. Most of them still rely on cameras to determine if there is something in front of the vehicle, said David Aylor, manager of active safety testing at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

"In low-light situations, those cameras — just like our eyes — really struggle," Aylor said. "AEB systems do well during the day; they don't do as well at night.

"On top of that, headlights aren't as good…

Industry is now hurting for supply, not demand

The U.S. auto industry has roared back from the pandemic, notching its strongest March sales in more than 20 years. But the widening microchip shortage now threatens to pinch supplies of many highly profitable and popular vehicles at a time when consumer demand is surging.

First-quarter retail sales climbed 26 percent, according to J.D. Power, and total light-vehicle sales reported rose 12 percent from the year- earlier period that included the dismal first few weeks of the pandemic. Fleet deliveries are well below normal so far this year but could begin rising as the travel business rebounds in the months ahead.

"March is the month that we can really say, at least in the retail part of the vehicle market, we are now fully recovered. I couldn't imagine saying that just a couple of months ago," Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for Cox Automotive, said on Automotive News' "Daily Drive" podcast. But, he added, "we're probably going to see more acute problems with …

After EV research, I-Pace ticks all the boxes

Tim Kip is whipping north up Interstate 75 at 80 mph in the 2021 I-Pace he just bought at Jaguar Naples, about 165 miles from home. It's his first drive in his first electric vehicle. Kip loves the way the electric Jag accelerates, the stylish interior with its luxurious materials and the athletic way the I-Pace handles.

But Kip's eyes keep darting from the road to the screen that shows the miles melting away at an alarming rate. Kip, good at crunching numbers, is getting worried.

"That was my first experience with range anxiety," he says with a chuckle. "We made a mistake. The I-Pace has multiple [drive] modes. The economy mode actually makes a difference. We just bought it. We didn't know. And we made the mistake of not putting it in the economy mode. So, instead of getting the 234 miles of range, we got like 190," he said. Kip rolled the silver Jag into the parking lot of his condo with just 26 miles left in the batteries. "And so you learn," he says.

…

Retailer’s lawsuit over pandemic losses dismissed

A second federal judge in New Jersey has rejected a dealership's effort to hold an insurer liable for business interruption losses incurred because of a 2020 state-ordered shutdown related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

U.S. District Judge Brian Martinotti dismissed a suit by Downs Ford in Toms River, N.J., because the store's commercial policy from Zurich American Insurance Co. excludes losses caused by a virus.

In a March 25 decision, Martinotti said the pandemic, not Gov. Phil Murphy's executive order that closed nonessential brick-and-mortar retailers, was responsible for Downs Ford's losses. He ruled that the exclusion is unambiguous and does not violate public policy.

In February, U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson dismissed a similar suit against Zurich American Insurance by Causeway Automotive, a dealership group in Manahawkin, N.J.

Dealership lawyer Gary Ahladianakis, of Toms River, who represents both Downs Ford and Causeway, called it "impera…

Joke Is On You

VW claims its press release announcing a name change to "Voltswagen" was just a harmless joke "in the spirit of April Fools' Day."

Ford’s Big Red lives — parked in a garage

Big Red has been found.

The nearly 100-foot-long experimental gas-turbine semitruck created for the 1964 World's Fair by Ford Motor Co. has been out of public view for nearly 40 years.

Ford took the 13-foot-tall behemoth on a cross-country tour after the fair but couldn't make the technology viable and lost track of the semitruck's whereabouts after several changes of ownership.

But the truck still exists — its tandem trailers remain unaccounted for, however — and belongs to a publicity-shy owner who spent two years fully restoring it, The Drive reported last week.

"I spent a lot of time and money getting the right color and paint process to match the original Ford color," the owner, who asked to remain anonymous, told the website.

Big Red is in a custom-built garage and hasn't been driven in about 20 years. Although its size and antiquated powertrain make moving it difficult, the owner said he doesn't inten…

Top 5 dealer groups keep spots but next 5 shuffle

The five biggest dealership groups in the U.S. maintained their spots on Automotive News' annual ranking of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S.

Topping the list for 2020 was AutoNation, followed by Penske Automotive Group, Lithia Motors, Group 1 Automotive and Hendrick Automotive Group. The groups were ranked using 2020 retail new-vehicle sales.

Then the changes began. Asbury Automotive Group, which acquired several Park Place Dealerships stores in Texas in 2020, moved up to No. 6. Sonic Automotive dropped to No. 7.

Larry H. Miller Dealerships stayed at the No. 8 spot, while Ken Garff Automotive Group moved up one spot to No. 9. David Wilson Automotive Group came in at No. 10, up two places from a year ago. Falling out of the top 10 was Staluppi Auto Group, which dropped three places to No. 12.

The top 10 retailers collectively sold 1,231,944 new vehicles, including fleet vehicles. That accounted for 36.4 percent of the top 150's tot…

The latest numbers on the microchip shortage: Ford hit hard

Ford Motor Co. factories absorbed the biggest blows in North America last week from the global shortage of microchips.

Ford accounted for nearly 44,000 vehicles in AutoForecast Solutions’ latest tally of cars and trucks that have been removed from production schedules. That included more than 24,000 F-Series pickups, the bestselling vehicle in the United States.

Here are highlights for the week through April 2:

Ford:

Dearborn, Mich. (F-Series): 13,700 Louisville, Ky. (Escape, Corsair): 11,700 Kansas City 2 (F-Series): 10,400 Oakville, Ontario (Edge, MKX, Nautilus): 7,000 Kansas City 1 (Transit): 700 Chicago (Explorer, Aviator): 500 Ohio Assembly (E-Series, F-Series Super Duty): 300

Subaru: 9,000 vehicles, Lafayette, Ind. (Impreza, Legacy, Outback, Ascent)

Stellantis: 6,000 vehicles, Brampton, Ontario (Charger, Challenger, 300, 300C)

Nissan: 5,900 vehicles, Aguascalientes, Mexico (Micra, Marc…

There goes VW recycling again

TO THE EDITOR:

The Voltswagen debacle is not the first time the company "played" with the corporate name. In the late 1960s, to encourage voter turnout, the company encouraged dealers to lend VW vans to local League of Women Voters to transport people to the polls. The company provided banners and bumper stickers which read "VOTESWAGEN."

There are no new ideas, just reworked old ones.

TOM MCDONALD, Former head of Volkswagen of America public relations

Inside the minds of 3 EV buyers who did not choose Tesla

Now that legacy automakers are delivering credible competitors to Tesla's lineup of upscale performance-oriented electric vehicles, one of the auto industry's biggest unanswered questions is now being addressed: Who can lure customers away from the allure of Elon Musk's juggernaut?

It won't be easy. Against stiffening competition, Tesla continues to dominate the EV market in the U.S. with a lineup that is arguably three-quarters ancient by normal industry standards. In January, new Teslas registered with state governments rose 18 percent to 23,974, according to Experian. The new Model Y made up almost half of the volume.

Enter Tim Kip, Dr. Anthony Wehbe and Al Kammerer. They're among consumers who chose to buy their EVs from legacy auto companies. Each cited several common reasons for choosing their vehicles over a Tesla. Having a dealership close by, they said, is important. Brand loyalty also drove their decisions, as did the vehicle's style and a concern fo…