Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed into law today a full suite regulations regarding the testing, use and eventual sale of autonomous vehicles in the state.

“By establishing guidelines and standards for self-driving vehicles, we’re continuing that tradition of excellence in a way that protects the public’s safety while at the same time allows the mobility industry to grow without overly burdensome regulations,” said Synder in a statement. 

The new law will allow vehicles without steering wheels or brake pedals to travel on public roads, companies to operate autonomous ride-hailing services, and sell autonomous vehicles of the public once they have been certified and tested. This law also establishes the Michigan Council on Future Mobility. Part of the state's department of transportation, the council will be tasked with developing policies and standards on autonomous vehicles, along with regulating connected vehicle networks and data sharing.

Michigan's autonomous vehicle legislation has fewer restraints than states such as Nevada, Florida, and California.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), The Detroit News, Roadshow

The Environmental Protection Agency has today proposed to keep its vehicle emission targets through 2025, shocking a lot of people and possibly setting up a major fight between regulators and the automotive industry. 

According to Automotive News, the proposal will now enter a 30-day comment period. After this period, the EPA administrator could finalize this proposal and begin enforcing these standards a bit quicker. By 2025, automakers will need to increase their  to 54.5 miles per gallon corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) numbers to 54.5 miles per gallon.

Why move the proposal up now? A proposal was expected next year with a final decision in 2018. The EPA said in a statement their “extensive technical analysis” has shown no reason as to why the timeframe or standards should be changed. Also, automakers will be able to achieve those 2025 standards at “similar or even a lower cost”.

“Due to the industry’s rapid technological advancement, the technical record could arguably support strengthening the 2022-2025 standards. However, the administrator’s judgment is [that] now is not the time to introduce uncertainty by changing the standards. The industry has made huge investments in fuel efficiency and low emissions technologies based on these standards, and any changes now may disrupt those plans,” said Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation on a conference call.

That analysis started back in July and is used to determine whether or not the EPA needs to make adjustments to the regulations or schedule.

But there might be another reason. With President Obama leaving the White House on January 20th and President-elect Donald Trump, there are concerns that Trump's administration could challenge the regulations. By doing this now, it would make the process of undoing these regulations more complicated - notice and comment requirements, possible court battle with environmental groups, etc. McCabe denied this, saying the decision was based on analysis and a “rigorous technical record,”

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)
Pic Credit: William Maley for Cheers & Gears

A record number of consumers are finding themselves 'underwater' when it comes time to trade-in their vehicle - the vehicle is worth less than what they owe on their loan.

The Detroit Free Press cites a study done by Edmunds revealing that in the second quarter of this year, 32 percent or nearly one-third of vehicles being traded in fall into the 'underwater' category. This isn't good news for consumers since the difference is tacked on to the new vehicle they had their eye on.

 To put this in perspective, the previous high was 29.2% in 2006, around the time where the housing market was reaching its cresting point.

“There’s been a lot of water building behind this dam for some time because of higher transaction prices, lower down payments and long-term loans," said Greg McBride, chief analyst with Bankrate.com.

"It’s problematic for the consumer because there’s no foolproof way to eliminate his financial exposure. If the car gets stolen, is totaled or you get new car envy while you’re upside down then it’s a big problem."

• In October, the average transaction price of a new car was $34,663 according to Kelly Blue Book.
• The average length of a new car loan hovers around 68 months according to Experian Automotive. This rises to 72 months if it's a subprime buyer - someone whose credit score is below the low 600s.

Not helping matters is the amount of vehicles being returned from leases, flooding the used car marketplace. This increase is causing dealers not willing to spend a lot of money at auction.

Source: Detroit Free Press

Fisker is beginning to drop information on their new vehicle called EMotion along with some clear images of the model.

The design is.. well... out there. The side profile looks be a Karma that has been squished. There are tall wheel wells and deep cuts in the doors. The front end is something - we're going with the policy if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything. The vehicle is built out of aluminum and carbon fiber.

Fisker is already making some claims about the EMotion such as the vehicle having "superb rear legroom."

"Fisker has taken advantage of the newly developed electric powertrain layout by pushing the vehicle’s entire interior compartment forward and increasing the wheelbase with distinctively short front and rear overhangs, a layout that increases the interior space," the company said in a statement.

Also, the EMotion will have a range of 400 miles and reach a top speed of 161 mph. The company says this range is due to graphene battery technology developed by Fisker Nanotech and Nanotech Energy Inc. Details about this new battery tech are slim. One more thing, the EMotion will feature autonomous driving technologies.

Fisker will fully unveil the EMotion in mid-2017.

Source: Motor1, Roadshow

You're a Volkswagen 2.0L TDI owner who decided to take the buy-back offer. You have a sizeable check in your pocket and decide to go looking for a new car. The folks at Hyundai and Volvo are hoping you buy one of their vehicles and are offering special deals to try and rope you in.

CarsDirect has learned about the offers the two automakers are putting forward to former Volkswagen owners. Hyundai's offer is the Hyundai Circle V-Plan - think Ford's X plan pricing for friends and family. This plan takes 3 percent off the MSRP, plus $1,250 V-Plan cash and current incentives. You'll need to break out the calculator to figure how much you'll save, but it appears to be significant.

As for Volvo, they are offering 5 years of complimentary "Safe + Secure Coverage" - this includes 5  years or 50,000 miles of warranty coverage, free scheduled maintenance, free roadside assistance, and wear and tear coverage for various components. There is also a $750 credit along with a 7-Year/100,000 Mile warranty with free roadside assistance if you go for a Certified Pre-Owned model. On the face of it, the Volvo isn't as generous as the Hyundai one. But Volvo has existing conquest incentives for Volkswagen and Audi owners that switch over. Case in point, the 2016 V60 has $4,500 sitting on the hood.

To qualify for either deal, you'll need to present the Class Settlement letter (Hyundai) or proof of ownership and insurance (Volvo).

Don't be surprised if you begin seeing other automakers offer something similar to draw former Volkswagen 2.0L TDI owners in the near future.

Source: CarsDirect, 2

In 2016, nine brands sold 20 diesel models in the U.S. But in light of the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal, a number from Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche have been sidelined. But there are diesel models from GM, FCA, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, and Land Rover still being offered. But the only 2017 models you can buy at the moment are from Jaguar and Land Rover. Where are the rest? In limbo thanks to a new battery of tests being doing by the EPA.

Automotive News reports that since last October, the EPA has been subjecting diesel models to new tests to determine if other automakers are pulling any sneaky cheats. The EPA hasn't said anything publicly about the tests aside from them keeping the vehicles and testing them in unpredictable ways. So far, the new tests haven't uncovered any cheating.

"It is true that diesel vehicles are getting extra scrutiny and that has extended the certification process longer than normal. In general, manufacturers have been supportive of this additional testing and have adjusted their timing to account for the additional test duration," EPA spokesman Nick Conger said to Automotive News.

Case in point, BMW will not be launching their 2017 3-Series and X3 diesels until the end of the year, with the X5 following in January. Meanwhile, sources at GM tell Automotive News they're awaiting approval for 2017 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon diesels before they start sending them out to dealers. FCA doesn't have any 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee or Ram 1500 EcoDiesels at the moment despite press details saying they would be offered. An FCA spokesman declined to comment to Automotive News - our guess is that FCA is waiting.

Mercedes-Benz could be the big loser with this extensive testing. The German automaker was planning to sell four diesel models; C-Class sedan, GLC, GLE, and GLS. Mercedes-Benz spokesman Robert Moran tells Automotive News in an email that the priority for the moment is getting the certification for the GLS. Moran declined to say if Mercedes is planning to offer diesel versions of the GLC and GLE. However, the C-Class diesel has been taken off the table due to "product strategy reasons." This model was supposed to go on sale at the beginning of this year.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Chinese automaker Geely has introduced a new global brand, Lynk & Co., and their first model, an SUV developed alongside with Volvo in Berlin tonight. Geely's hopes for this new brand is to "disrupt the automobile industry and redesign the process of buying, owning and using a car".

The SUV called the 01 looks like a Porsche Cayenne up front and possibly Volvo along the side. Power will come from a hybrid system comprised of a 1.5L three-cylinder engine and electric motor. Other engines options will be announced at a later time. Transmissions include a manual and dual-clutch automatic. The 01 uses Volvo's CMA (Compact Modular Architecture) platform - something we'll be seeing in the near future with Volvo's upcoming 40-Series.

But the big story with Lynk & Co isn't the 01, it is everything around it. First, Lynk & Co will sell their vehicles either online or at select store locations. A small number of trims will be offered for each to model to help keep costs down. Prices will be fixed in all markets and buyers will have their new vehicle delivered to their home. If servicing needs to take place, Lynk & Co will pick up the vehicle.

Second, Lynk owners can make money by sharing their vehicle. A share button in the infotainment system allows an owner to grant a shared key to others to drive the vehicle. Third, Lynk is giving developers an open application programming interface to develop in-car applications. Lynk says the likes of Microsoft, Ericsson, and Alibaba are helping out with building the infrastructure needed for this.

Geely plans on launching Lynk & Co next year in China, with Europe and the U.S. following in 2018. There will be more models down the line (02, 03, etc) such as a sedan.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), Roadshow

America. The land of opportunity. Various automakers around the world want to get in on this very lucrative marketplace. But as Automotive News notes, trying to break into the U.S. marketplace is close to mission impossible.

Automakers who don't compete in the U.S. see numbers like "16-million-plus sales volume of new cars and trucks" and "average transaction price of $30,665, according to J.D. Power" and want a piece of this. But the U.S. is an unforgiving place.

"People around the world look at the sales volumes going on here, and they look at the fortunes being made here, and they look at what the outlook is in other parts of the world -- and they want to be here," said Charlie Hughes, owner of the brand-consulting firm Brand Rules.

"But the plain truth is that unless you're coming in with something truly unique, it is just not plausible that you're going to get anywhere in this market."

(Author's note: Also, having a bit of luck isn't a bad thing to have either. -WM)

Hughes isn't wrong. Automotive News says there are 42 automotive brands that sell 283 nameplates in various models and configurations. Trying to get the attention of a consumer, let alone a large number is a difficult task. Just ask Alfa Romeo and Fiat who are currently struggling in the U.S.

One only needs to look at the list of automakers that have packed up left in the past 20 years - Daewoo, Isuzu, and Suzuki. Others haven't even made it to the shore - China's Chery and India's Mahindra.

But that isn't deterring a large number of automakers to give it a shot. Here is the current list of automakers that are currently planning entry to the U.S.

• PSA Group - parent company of Citroën, DS, and Peugeot - has announced plans for a U.S. launch. But it will be a slow rollout beginning with ride sharing service. The company will also conduct a research project to see if it is viable for them to make a launch.
• Skoda - a brand under the Volkswagen Group umbrella - is reportedly going to make a decision on whether to come in the U.S. next year.
• Ssangyong Motor Co., a South Korean builder of crossovers has announced that it will enter the U.S. in 2020
• Geely Automobile is planning to launch a new brand known as Lynk & Co with the possibility of entering the U.S. No word on a possible date.
• Alkane Truck Co., a company based in South Carolina plans on building the Dominator, a truck using the chassis of a Brazilian army truck and various components from the U.S. CEO Bob Smith believes this vehicle will fill a niche left by the Hummer H1.

"If all you're going to do is enter this market offering the same thing everyone else is already offering, you might as well save your money. The U.S. auto industry is a very expensive place to do business," said Hughes.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

The current trend in powertrains is to downsize engine displacement to meet emission standards. Paired with a set of turbochargers, three-cylinder and even two-cylinder engines can produce enough power to move large vehicles. But this trend is coming to an end in Europe.

Reuters reports that a number of European automakers are beginning to scrap their small displacement engines for larger displacement ones. With a number of real-world tests showing these engines produce higher CO2 and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions than in the lab, and stricter tests coming in the next few years, automakers are making a costly reversal.

"They might be doing OK in the current European test cycle, but in the real world they are not performing. So there's actually a bit of 'upsizing' going on, particularly in diesel," said Pavan Potluri, an analyst with IHS Automotive.

Industry sources gave Reuters some examples of automakers going bigger in terms of displacement.

• General Motors will ditch the 1.2L diesel in 2019. The smallest engine will be 25-30 percent bigger in displacement
• Renault will be increasing an almost 10 percent increase on the 1.6L diesel engine in the near future
• Volkswagen will replace the 1.4L three-cylinder diesel for a new 1.6L in their Polo subcompact

"The techniques we've used to reduce engine capacities will no longer allow us to meet emissions standards. We're reaching the limits of downsizing." said Alain Raposo, head of powertrain at the Renault-Nissan alliance.

We can't help but wonder if this change will extend into the U.S. There are a small number of three-cylinders engines on offer, but many automakers have been swapping V6s for turbocharged four-cylinders. 

Source: Reuters

Members of Germany's government have passed a resolution that could mean the end of gas and diesel vehicles. German newspaper Der Spiegel reports that the Germany's legislative body, the Bundesrat (represents all sixteen states in the country) passed a resolution to ban the sale of gas and diesel engines in 2030. After that, only zero-emission vehicles will be allowed to be built. 

The resolution also calls on the European Union to follow in their footsteps. But the Bundesrat doesn't have any direct authority over the EU. However, Forbes points out that Germany has the largest government and most powerful economy in the EU. This means any legislation that goes through Germany will in turn influence the EU.

In the resolution, the Bundesrat requests the EU to "review the current practices of taxation and dues with regard to a stimulation of emission-free mobility." Forbes notes this would include possibly scrapping the lower taxes a number of member states employ for diesel. Higher taxes would likely cause people to avoid diesel vehicles.

Source: Der Spiegel, Forbes

One group that has been fighting tooth and nail against Tesla and their direct sales model is the National Automobile Dealers Association. With Tesla filing a federal lawsuit against the state of Michigan over a law banning direct sales, NADA Chairman Jeff Carlson has made some comments as to why Tesla's direct sales model is bad.

The Detroit Free Press reports that Carlson said the direct sales model is bad for consumers because it would lead to higher prices. Competition between dealers is a good thing for consumers. In a study commissioned by NADA and done by Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies, competition between dealers lead to an average of $700 in price reduction.

"Every state has to look to their consumer and decide what’s best for them. Either they can continue to support the franchised dealers' discount of up to $700 ... or, the choice for the policy makers is they can offer the consumer a vertically integrated model that prices vehicles at retail," said Carlson.

"The public policy makers are going to go to the consumers and say which (model) do you want? The discounted product? Or the product at retail?"

Carlson also pointed out a memo that Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent out to all employees saying that they need to abide by the company's “no negotiation and no discount policy.” It should be noted that policy that Carlson used as an example only pertains to new vehicles. Vehicles that were used as floor models, test drives, or were damaged in transit are allowed to be discounted.

We're to jump in here now and bring a little editorial. Carlson's argument of using price to say why the franchise model is better is ok. But there is another part that either Carlson forgot or neglected to mention - service. There is a reason why people don't like to go to dealerships. They don't feel like they are being treated as a person, more of a number for this month. You see in various ways from dealer markups on popular models, pushing rust proofing or extended warranties during the sales process, and we're only scratching the surface. Yes, Tesla may be a more expensive option. But at least you don't feel that you're being pressured to buy something.

Before someone jumps in and says 'not all dealerships are like this' or some variation of it, we know. The problem is those dealers are so few. It's basically trying to find a strand of hay in a bushel of needles. 

Source: Detroit Free Press, Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Henrik Fisker has resurrected his namesake company. Speaking with Bloomberg, Fisker said his new company Fisker Inc. will reveal a "premium, all-electric vehicle in the second half of 2017."

Various about this new vehicle and the underlying electric technologies are currently under lock and key. But Bloomberg was able to glean some information about it. The battery technologies developed by Fisker Nanotech - their battery division - promises over 400 miles of range and feature industry-leading battery life that could "match the life of the vehicle."

“The technology emanates from several professors from UCLA who have been working on energy storage. We have already developed prototypes that you won’t see anywhere else,” said Jack Kavanaugh, chairman of Fisker Nanotech.

Fisker wouldn't say much about the design of the new model except that it would feature some of his own design elements.

“It will definitely be something that when you see it, it will look completely different. It will be sporty and spacious. And you’ve got to make something look beautiful—there is no excuse for making an ugly car, even with new technology—so it will definitely have some of my signature elements.”

The company also plans on launching an affordable model down the road.

Source: Bloomberg

Since the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal came to light, more scrutiny has been put on automakers and emissions standards. Recent real-world tests of European market diesel vehicles have revealed a number were 10 times over the legal limit for emissions. With stricter regulations coming into effect next year, automakers are reconsidering their investment in diesel.

Case in point is Renault. Reuters has learned from sources at the company that it believes diesel engines will disappear from their lineup due to stricter regulations. This comes from an internal meeting before a summer break where Renault went over the costs of meeting these stricter regulations. According to two people who were at the meeting, Renault's Chief Competitiveness Officer Thierry Bollore said the investment in diesel had dimmed significantly due to upcoming regulations.

"He said we were now wondering whether diesel would survive, and that he wouldn't have voiced such doubts even at the start of this year," said one of the people.

"Tougher standards and testing methods will increase technology costs to the point where diesel is forced out of the market."

Next year will see Europe adopting emission standards similar to the ones in the U.S. known as Euro 6b. This will become more stringent as time goes on. Two years after Euro 6b comes into affect, European regulators will begin doing real-world testing of fuel economy and emissions. The combination of these two things means automakers will need to spend more money to make their vehicles meet these standards.

"Everybody is backtracking on diesel because after 2017-18 it becomes more and more expensive," said Pavan Potluri, a powertrain analyst with consulting firm IHS Automotive.

Already, diesel engines have been disappearing from city cars. Sources say Renault predicts that diesel will disappear from all B-Segment and some C-Segment models by 2020.

Source: Reuters

The automotive industry in the U.S. has been enjoying one of the best years in terms of sales. But one segment is seeing a drop in their sales. That segment is the midsize sedan.

Automotive News reports that the demand for midsize sedans is at a five-year low. The numbers tell this sad story. In the first quarter of 2016, sales of midsize sedans dropped 3.4 percent. The second quarter saw sales dropped 13 percent, while the third quarter saw a whopping 21 percent drop. For the month August, all 16 midsize sedans saw an average drop of 27 percent. The Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, and Nissan Altima reported drops of over 30 percent.

Automakers have been throwing money on the hoods of their midsize sedans to try and ignite sales. But this tactic isn't working.

Why are midsize sedan sales down? It comes down to consumers wanting crossovers and SUVs.

"It doesn't matter how deep you discount the leisure suit and bell-bottoms -- nobody's going to buy them if they're not fashionable. I don't think they're ever going to go away, but there's a lot more people who don't consider them anymore," said Eric Lyman, vice president of industry insights at TrueCar. 

The outlook for midsize sedan sales doesn't look good as we enter fall and winter.

"That larger sedan buyer just sees more value in the SUVs or CUVs," said Mike DeSilva, co-owner of Liberty Hyundai in Mahwah, N.J. "That's just where the activity is. And heading into the end of summer and going into winter, we're really going to get into SUV season."

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Sales of new cars have been reaching all-time highs and part of the reason comes down leases. The Detroit News reports that nearly one in three vehicles built for the U.S. is leased. Data from Edmunds shows 2.2 million vehicles were leased in the first half of 2016. Not only is this up 13 percent from the same time year, it is double the volume from 2011. Steven Szakaly, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association tells the Detroit News there is plenty of space for more leases.

“I think this could easily be 40 percent of the market,” said Sazkaly.

Why have leases become popular? It comes down to the monthly payment. Compared with payments for auto loans, lease payments are on average 23 percent less. Leasing is also a popular option for younger folks. Jessica Caldwell, analyst for Edmunds says the reason is leasing is like a cell phone contract; low monthly payments and knowing that you can get into a new car in a few years.

But while leasing is helping new car sales, some analysts are worried this could cause used car prices to go down. Why? A glut of turned in leased vehicles will flood the used car market, causing prices to be slashed to move metal.

“They’ll swamp the market, they’ll force residuals down,” said Sean McAlinden, chief economist for the Center for Automotive Research.

The increase in leasing is already having an effect on used car values. Tom Webb, chief economist for Cox Automotive Inc., said 2.55 million vehicles came off lease last year. That number will increase to 3.1 million this year. Automakers are now figuring out ways to sell this glut of vehicles while keeping values up.

Source: The Detroit News

The EPA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and California Air Resources Board have released their draft Technical Assessment Report on the 'Midterm Evaluation of Light-duty Vehicle GHG Emissions Standards for Model Years 2022-2025'.

Despite the long name, this report is important as the results will help determine if the 54.5 mpg corporate average fuel economy target for 2025 needs to be adjusted or not.

Let's begin with the good news. The report says the industry is “adopting fuel economy technologies at unprecedented rates.” Automakers and suppliers have been hard at work on developing new technologies to improve overall fuel economy and emissions. The report goes on to say with the improvements being made on gas engines, automakers will not need to rely as heavily on electric or hybrid vehicles.

Now for the bad news. According to Automotive News, government officals have taken the 54.5 mpg goal off the table. Low gas prices and the high demand for trucks, SUVs, and crossovers have caused officals to rethink the goal. The government now belives the fleet average for mpgs will land between 50 and 52.6 by 2025.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), EPA

Visit any auto show and you're bound to see a futuristic concept with out any sideview or rearview mirrors. Instead, you'll find cameras that do the same function. This technology will soon be appearing on production vehicles in Japan.

Japan's transport ministry has approved the use of cameras and video screens to take the place of mirrors on production vehicles. This comes after a decision made in November by the United Nations World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations allowing automakers to replace rear and sideview mirrors with cameras.

Proponents of camera systems say it provides a wider field of vision and makes a vehicle more aerodynamic. But switching to a camera does have some pitfalls. One is a mirror is a simple thing and can be fixed quite easily. The same cannot be said for a camera system. Also as Automotive News points out that while a camera system eliminates blind spots due to rear pillars, some drivers rely on those pillars to gauge where an object is.

For now, the transport ministry is requiring automakers to place cameras and screens in the same place as mirrors to help a driver get used to this technology.

“Getting used to (monitors instead of mirrors) is the main factor to ensure drivers’ safety,” said transport ministry official Masaru Miya$h!a.

It is expected that other countries will follow suit in the coming years.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), Japan Times

May was a horrible month for automakers as many reported sales drops. Part of this can be attributed sales of cars (especially sedans) imploding. According to Automotive News, the 15 largest automakers all posted lower car sales. Overall car sales dropped 16 percent.

"We don't get a lot of ups on cars right now, as far as people even wanting a price on them," said Gary Uftring, president of Uftring Auto Group in Peoria, Ill.

"Styling has changed, and what people want to be seen in is a crossover or a sport utility."

Case in point, light-truck sales rose 2.4 percent in May.

Sedans were the hardest hit for May. Here's a rundown of the big losers,

• Toyota Camry and Prius saw a decrease of about 7,000 models when compared to sales last May
• BMW 5-Series, Ford Focus, and Ford Fusion all saw a drop of over 20 percent
• Worst month of any kind for the Chevrolet Impala, down 54 percent.
  

Barclays Capital analyst Brian Johnson says the U.S. has gone into a 'sedan recession,' and could hurt sales down the road.

"Excess supply and weak demand for sedans is likely to yield added price pressures. One trend that may accelerate the sedan recession is weakness in deep subprime credit, which largely supports used car values -- especially for sedans."

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Small SUVs and crossovers are making huge gains in terms of sales. A key part of this success comes down to a single group of buyers, single women.

Data from research company MaritzCX reveals that sales of small SUVs to women rose 34 percent between 2010 and 2015. In the same time, sales of these vehicles to single men only rose 22 percent. Sales of small luxury SUVs saw a large increase of 177 percent to women. Out of the total amount of women buyers, 40 percent are single.

“There’s a group of single, professional females out there that need vehicles, and you need to be attentive to them,” said James Mulcrone, director of research services at MaritzCX to Bloomberg.

“They’re going to make money, they’re going to make their own decisions, and they can be very loyal consumers.”

Case in point, more than two-thirds of women buyers last year said their purchase was “entirely up to me.”

Source: Bloomberg

The long-rumored joint roadster/sports car project that BMW and Toyota are working on has found a home for production. German newspaper Kleine Zeitung reports Magna Steyr - a unit of Magna International based in Canada and specializes in building low-volume models - has been contracted by BMW to build a new model at the Graz, Austria plant starting in 2018. The plan is to have an annual production run of 60,000 vehicles.

BMW has confirmed that it will be contracting Magna Steyr to build a new model next year after deciding it would end production of the Countryman and Paceman at the factory - possibly the next 5-Series sedan. The Paceman will be axed while the Countryman will be moved to the Netherlands to the factory that produces the standard MINI.

Neither BMW or Magna Steyr commented on what the model would be.

Considering the low production numbers in question, many believe that is reserved for the new BMW roadster (possibly named Z5) and the Toyota Supra.

Source: Automotive News Europe (Subscription Required), Kleine Zeitung

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is able to build vehicles in China thanks to a partnership with Chinese automaker Guangzhou Auto. Guangzhou wants FCA to return the favor by helping them enter the U.S.

"Chrysler's development in China required our support. Now for GAC Motor's development in the U.S. we also hope for Chrysler's support and help," said GAC Motor General Manager Wu Song to Reuters at the Beijing auto show.

Guangzhou Auto's subsidiary GAC Motor announced its intentions last year to enter the U.S. by 2017. The company has already been talking with dealerships about selling their vehicles and doing tests on U.S. roads. Song told Reuters the company has also started tests in China on two of its car models against American standards.

What would FCA offer Guangzhou Auto? Song and representatives of GAC Motor didn't elaborate and FCA spokesman declined to comment. Our best guess is FCA knows what interests Americans at the moment and know the various U.S. regulations.

Source: Reuters
Pic Credit: Newspress

The most famous boulevard in Paris, the Champs-Élysées will not see any vehicles for one Sunday every month. The Agence France-Presse reports that the Paris city government will ban vehicles from the Champs-Élysées the first Sunday of every month. The ban will go into effect on May 8th, not the 1st. The reason it is a week later is May 1st is a national holiday and many workers who will be needed to run the scheme will have the day off.

This is part of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo's plan to improve the overall environment in the city. Since she was elected back in 2014, Hidalgo has backed plans to create more pedestrian zones in the city and ban diesel cars by 2020. She also implemented the first "day without cars" last September. Vehicles were banned from some major boulevards in the city. According to Airparif, the agency that monitors air quality for the region said nitrogen oxide levels declined by between 20 and 40 percent during that day. Of course, this is a temporary decrease.

Source: Agence France-Presse via The Guardian, The Verge
Pic Credit: Citroën

A number of German automakers are recalling a number of diesel vehicles to tweak the engine management software to produce less nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. Reuters reports that Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Opel, Porsche, and Volkswagen have agreed to recall 630,000 diesel vehicles to tweak engine management software.

The software in question can turn off emission treatment systems to improve engine performance and increase the services interval. Is it legal? Yes, thanks to a legal loophole that allows automakers to throttle back emission treatment systems in certain situations to protect engines. This was discovered in various European emission tests.

In light of the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal, environmental groups and regulators aren't too pleased with automakers using this loophole. In fact, the German motor transport authority (KBA) has questioned whether this loophole could be fully justified.

Source: Reuters

The good news is that consumers are visiting the gas station less. The bad news is that consumers are spending more at the pump. Wait, those two sentences contradict each other. Which one is true? According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), both of these sentences are correct.

Let us explain. As new fuel economy and emission regulations come into effect, automakers are trying to figure out ways to make that gallon of gas go farther. One method that a number of automakers are using is turbochargers. They allow automakers to use smaller displacement engines to improve fuel economy and retain the power of larger engines. The EIA says the market share of turbo engines has climbed from 3.3 percent in 2009 to 17.6 percent in 2014.

But the problem is that many turbo engines require premium fuel to operate at their full potential, which costs more than regular and midgrade fuel. Yes, you can fill them with regular and not have the issue of knock - premature fuel detonation due to increased cylinder pressure. But you lose some of the power that the turbo is providing.

The EIA says that only 12.5 percent of vehicles recommended premium fuel in 2010. This increased to 14.2 percent in 2013.

With turbo engines projected to be in 83.3 percent of new vehicles by 2025, expect to pay more at the pump despite going there less.

Source: Energy Information Administration

It has been hinted at and rumored for a few years. But today, PSA Peugeot Citroën announced they would be making a return to the U.S.

During a presentation for analysts and investors at PSA's headquarters in Paris, CEO Carlos Tavares unveiled a ten-year plan that could result in the launch of Citroën, DS, and Peugeot vehicles to the U.S. The plan would be split up into three steps.

• Step one: Enter the U.S. as a mobility operator from 2017, possibly with Bollore,” said Tavares. Bollore is a French company that builds batteries and compact EVs that are mainly used by a French car-sharing service, Autolib. Citroën and Bollore are currently working together to bring a concept EV into production.
• Step two: Start up a car-sharing program (i.e. Zipcar, GM's Maven) that would be owned and operated by PSA.
• Step three: If the first two steps are successful, PSA could return “to sell cars in the U.S. supported by regional sourcing when appropriate,” Tavares said.
  

Tavares says PSA has formed a team to study the U.S. market, what customers like and dislike; and the regulatory requirements.

As Automotive News notes, this is wildly different than the plan provided by Yves Bonnefont, CEO of DS back in 2014. Bonnefont explained the strategy was to sell DS vehicles in 200 large cities around the world after 2020 - including the U.S.

“We want to make DS a global premium brand, and you cannot be global without the U.S.,” said Bonnefont.

Why ten years? A possible reason may come down to PSA Peugeot Citroën not having any presence in the U.S. As we noted in our report last month, PSA doesn't have any connections to dealers or manufacturers. Also, PSA closed down their U.S. office in 2013 as a way to cut costs.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

It was only a few years ago that French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroën was on life support due to massive losses and poor sales. But thanks to an infusion of cash from Chinese automaker Dongfeng and the French government, the company was able to right the ship. The past couple of years has seen PSA Peugeot Citroën emerge as a healthy and profitable automaker. Now the company is looking at expanding into new markets, including the U.S.

According to Automobilwoche, officials at PSA say the U.S. and Iran are under consideration as the first markets for expansion.

"Our Back in the Race restructuring program has been successfully completed. Now comes the next step. And this has put the issue of the U.S. on the table," said DS brand chief Yves Bonnefont.

As we reported back in 2014 and last year, PSA Peugeot Citroën has been considering sending the DS brand into U.S. to test the waters.

It is a "natural candidate" for PSA in North America, Bonnefont said.

Citroen spun off DS into its own brand last year and its aimed to take on the likes of Audi and Mercedes. The plan is to have six models by the end of this decade ranging from the DS3 (Mini Cooper competitor) to a possible flagship sedan.

But Richard Lucki says there are a number of problems the company would need to solve before entering the U.S. Lucki should know as he managed PSA Peugeot Citroën's affairs in the U.S. until 2013 when the company closed their office in Detroit. He explained PSA's return would be difficult as the company doesn't have a dealer network or a manufacturing base.

"Pricing is an issue. Everyone else -- Audi, BMW, Mercedes -- has manufacturing here," Lucki said.

We'll find what PSA's plans are on April 5th.

Source: Automobilwoche via Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Back in 2011, the U.S. Transportation Department's Office of Inspector General (OIG) performed an audit into the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) after its handling of the Toyota unintended acceleration crisis. The OIG made ten recommendations on how NHTSA identifies and addresses safety defects such as developing a formal training program and documenting explanations as to why they have missed deadlines. Five years on, NHTSA hasn't put all of those recommendations into practice.

According to Reuters, the OIG released a new audit showing the agency had not implemented all of the recommendations agreed upon in 2011 to help protect drivers. Out of the ten recommendations, NHTSA has only put three into practice.

The audit showed that NHTSA had not implemented any sort of training for their employees to investigate possible defects.

"As a result, (NHTSA's defects investigation) staff may not be sufficiently trained to identify and investigate potential vehicle defects, or ensure that vehicle manufacturers take prompt and effective action," the OIG states in the audit.

The OIG also found NHTSA didn't document reasons as to why they delayed completing investigations in a timely fashion, along with retaining safety records.

NHTSA spokesman Gordon Trowbridge tells Reuters the agency agrees with the recommendations and will apply all of them by June 30th.

Source: Reuters, Office of Inspector General

California and Michigan are currently fighting a chunk of close to $4 billion in federal funding that President Barack Obama proposed last month to develop autonomous vehicles. Both are proposing World War II military sites as the place to test autonomous technologies. But Michigan has an interesting trump card; potholes.

Anyone who has driven the roads in Michigan knows they are quite terrible (and that's being somewhat kind). Due to the harsh weather conditions and difficulty in keeping the roads maintained, potholes spring up and can grow into very frightening sizes.

“California is not the real world -- they don’t have four seasons. We’ve got real potholes. It’s a much more real-world scenario,” said Debbie Dingell, the Democratic congresswoman representing Ypsilanti, MI.

Michigan is proposing to use the run down Willow Run factory site - a former bomber and GM transmission plant - as the test site. Not only does the site offer a wide range of potholes, it is also quite large - 330 acres to be exact. The state has put up $20 million to buy and develop the site from Racer Trust, a holding company set up by GM during the 2009 bankruptcy.

California's proposal is the former Navy base in Concord, California (near San Francisco) that offers 2,100 acres and 20 miles of roads. It is also the home to GoMentum Station, a facility that tests autonomous vehicles.

Both locations have their advantages. California's location is nearby Silicon Valley. Michigan's location is nearby a number auto manufacturer testing and engineering facilities.

Who will take the prize? Supporters believe with pothole-laden roads and the harsh winters could give Michigan the edge.

We'll be watching this fight.

Source: Bloomberg

The current laws and regulations concerning how vehicles are sold are, to put it mildly, a complete mess thanks to states having different versions. Experts can't seem to agree whether the current rules are good or bad. One thing that they can agree on is buying a vehicle is an unpleasant experience due to the current regulations.

The Federal Trade Commission held a workshop yesterday as a possible first step to unravel the mess. The big topic that was covered was in the workshop was direct sales with a variety of people on either side of the argument to make their case.

For Direct Sales:

Tesla Motors is leading the charge for doing direct sales to consumers. Todd Maron, Tesla Motor's lawyer argued the traditional model doesn't work for the company as their electric vehicles compete with gas vehicles and dealers would likely not push electric vehicles since they are dependent on sales of gas vehicles.

Maron went on to say Tesla doesn't offer “insurance products and add-ons” or require regular service work. But the key point Maron said Tesla needs a different store design and location.

“Our stores are small and in high foot-traffic areas such as shopping malls. When new technology comes out, consumers don’t go to it. You need to bring the technology to consumers,” said Maron.

Fiona Scott Morton, a professor at Yale University said the FTC should allow "vertical integration" (another way of saying direct sales from automakers) to improve the buying experience.

For the Franchise System:

Those standing up for the current system of franchised dealers say intrabrand competition gives consumers a fair price on a vehicle.

Automotive analyst Maryann Keller said the direct sales model doesn't offer any savings to consumers.

Peter Welch, the president of the National Automobile Dealers Association said dealership laws help American consumers and only a few states have banned direct sales.

“Empirical research has demonstrated that intense competition among franchised dealers lowers new-car prices by hundreds of dollars. But the benefits to consumers don’t end there -- they extend to service, warranty work, recalls, and the hundreds of millions of dollars that’s invested in local communities,” Welch went on to say.

“Independent dealers add an extra layer of credibility in the auto industry. Imagine how much more difficult the General Motors and Chrysler bankruptcies would have been to resolve had the manufacturers had to bear the high costs of the distribution system, too,” said Paul Norman, a partner at Boardman & Clark law firm.

What Happens Next?

For the time being, the FTC is taking public comment on direct sales and franchise system till March 4th. After that, we might have an idea of what will happen next.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), Autoblog, FTC Comment Form

The past few years have seen studies come out that reveal teenagers are less likely to have a driver's license. But a new study from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) says teens aren't the only group that are passing on a license.

The study which looked at data from 1983 to 2014 reveals that every age group has seen a decrease in carrying a driver;s license.

• 24.5 percent of Americans aged 16 carried a license in 2014. This is down 6.6 percent from 2008 where 27.5 percent carried one.
• 76.7 percent of Americans aged 20 to 24 have a license in 2014, compared to 82 percent in 2008.
• A number of older Americans aren't also carrying licenses either. In the 40 to 59 age bracket, the percentage of those who have a license has dropped 3 percent from 2008 to 2014.
  

Sadly, the study doesn't go into why the amount of people carrying licenses has gone down. But we have a couple possible reasons to it:

• The average price of a vehicle has been increasing over the years. Young Americans don't have the income to purchase one.
• A fair number of people are moving back into the city, meaning they are utilizing public transportation systems or using an alternative form of transportation.
  

Source: UMTRI

Helped by a plethora of CUVs, the hottest selling segment, and the on fire 4-series, BMW managed to stave off Lexus, its German rivals, and Cadillac for the fourth year in a row. BMW(+1.4%) finished 2015 with 346,023 sales. Lexus (+10.7), not far behind with 344,601 sales came in at number two, just 1,422 fewer.

The 4-series, which despite BMW being propelled in terms of growth mostly by CUVs, was the lone stalwart car nameplate to actually show gains. Although the 1/2-series were up 77%, it must be noted that they are, for all intents new entries after the 1-series was discontinued in 2014 and re-pinned the 2-series for 2015. The 3,5,6, and 7-Series, in addition to the Z4, were all down

Buick Motor Co. (-2.6%) came in at 223,055, while the top 5 was rounded off by Audi(11.1%+) , in lieu of VW's diesel debacle managed to pull off a spot as number four with 202,202 sales. Honda's Acura (5.6%+) posted a respectable bump in sales with 177,165.

Special notice goes to American make Cadillac (2.6%+). In a strong effort, and touting six nameplates, two less than it's nearest competitor Acura, and a whopping ten less than the perceived luxury leader Mercedes Benz, came from a dismal 2014, to a rise in sales with 175,267 sales. Cadillac expects growth in 2016 as it introduces the all new XT5 crossover and first ever CT6 large executive class Saloon.

Luxury car sales in the United States in 2015

1) BMW - 346,023 - up 1.8 percent
2) Lexus - 344,601 - up 10.7 percent
3) Mercedes-Benz - 343,088 - up 3.8 percent
4) Buick Motor Co. 223,055- down 2.6 percent
5) Audi - 202,202 - up 11.1 percent
6) Acura - 177,165 - up 5.6 percent
7) Cadillac - 175,267 - up 2.6 percent
8 )Infiniti - 133,498 - up 13.8 percent
9) Lincoln - 101,227 - up 7.1 percent
10) Land Rover - 70,582 - up 37 percent
11) Volvo - 70,047 - up 24.3 percent
12) Porsche - 51,756 - up 10.1 percent
13) Jaguar - 14,466 - down 8 percent
14) Maserati - 11,697 - down 9.6 percent
15) Bentley - 2,686 - down 10.6 percent
16) Rolls-Royce - 1,140 - up 2.6 percent

You can view the complete set of 2015 year end sales figures at our Auto Sales Figure Ticker, or view our archives going back to 2005 in our Auto Sales Figure Archives.

Continental AG's CEO says the diesel scandal that Volkswagen finds itself embroiled in could kill the marketplace for diesel vehicles in China, Japan, and United States.

Elmar Degenhart tells German publication Boersen-Zeitung, "The diesel passenger car could sooner or later disappear from these markets."

Degenhart also revealed that diesel had a market share of only 1 to 3 percent in these countries. This pales in comparison to Europe where diesels make up 53 percent of the market.

Interestingly, the diesel scandal hasn't affected sales of diesel vehicles in Europe or the U.S. according to Continental's finance chief last month.

Source: Boersen-Zeitung via Reuters

The EPA released their annual report on the trends of emissions and fuel economy for light vehicles and the results are a bit mixed.

The average fuel economy of new cars and trucks came to 24.3 mpg for 2014. This was the same fuel economy average for 2013, when the average increased by 0.6 mpg. 2014 was the first year since 2011 where fleet-wide fuel economy didn't increase. Why no increase? The EPA says growing demand for crossovers, SUVs, and trucks along with lower gas prices offset the fleet-wide efficiency gains.

Christopher Grundler, director of the EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality tells Automotive News that he's not worried about the slowdown in fleet-wide mpg improvements.

“The whole policy was designed explicitly to preserve consumer choice. In 2014, the mix shifted a little bit, but overall we are exactly where we expected to be with greenhouse gas reductions,” said Grundler.

There was some good news from the report. The average carbon dioxide emissions from new vehicles were 13 grams per mile lower than 2014 targets. Also, the average fuel economy for trucks climbed 0.6 mpg to 20.4. The EPA says that 0.6 mpg increase in the second-highest gain in 30 years.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), EPA

With more and more companies test autonomous technologies on public roads, there comes a question of safety of other motorists. A new proposal by the California Department of Motor Vehicles would put an outright ban “driverless” cars that travel with no humans onboard.

Automotive News reports the proposal would require all autonomous vehicles to have a steering wheel and pedals when driving on California's public roads. Furthermore, a licensed driver with an “autonomous vehicle operator certificate” will need to be in front of the controls in case something goes wrong.

California DMV Director Jean Shiomoto said in a statement the main concern for the department is “the safety of autonomous vehicles and the safety of the public who will share the road with these vehicles.”

If this proposal goes into effect, it could cause automakers and technology companies to look elsewhere for their first deployment of self-driving vehicles.

Google, one the companies who is hard at work on autonomous technologies decried the proposal, saying it would hold back technology that could prevent crashes and improve mobility for those who can't drive.

“Safety is our highest priority and primary motivator as we do this. We’re gravely disappointed that California is already writing a ceiling on the potential for fully self-driving cars to help all of us who live here,” Google spokesman Johnny Luu wrote in an e-mail.

The proposal also would require autonomous vehicles to meet new performance and safety requirements, with testing and certification done by a third-party auditor. To get a three-year operating permit, manufacturers will need to submit reports on the safety and usage of their autonomous vehicles.

“Given the potential risks associated with deployment of such a new technology, [the] DMV believes that manufacturers need to obtain more experience in testing driverless vehicles on public roads prior to making this technology available to the general public,” the DMV said in a statement.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Automotive News recently reviewed a fair amount of data to answer a question; which automakers are selling more vehicles to rental car companies? Previously, the big three would do "fleet dumping" as a way to prop up sales for the month. But now, Ford and General Motors have actually cut back on selling to rental fleets and number of Asian automakers are picking up the slack.

Automotive News compared sales to rental fleets in 2012 to this year's numbers, and GM has reduced its sales to fleets from 18.6 percent (nearly one-fifth of their total sales) to 13.6 percent. It should be noted that GM is still the top rental car provider with 378,219 vehicles through November. But GM is the only automaker to reduce its rentals this year (down 11 percent through November).

Ford has also seen its share of fleet sales drop from 15.4 in 2012 to 11 percent this year. Automotive News does note that Ford's fleet volume has increased 23 percent through November of this year.

Meanwhile, Asian automakers are increasing their sales with Hyundai and Kia leading the charge. Through November, 22.4 percent of Hyundai's total sales were for rental fleets. Contrast this to just 9.9 percent in 2012. Jessica Caldwell, an analyst for Edmunds.com says a possible reason for this is people are buying up crossovers and trucks, and Hyundai and Kia don't make that many.

"Anytime an automaker is under pressure to protect market share, it's tempting to count on the daily rental business to dial up more volume," said Caldwell.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

By 2050, eight states in the U.S. and five countries will ban the sale gas powered vehicles and only allow zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) to be sold.

Car and Driver reports that eight states (California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont) and five countries (Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Quebec, the United Kingdom) will only allow automakers to sell ZEVs by 2050. The announcement was made against the backdrop of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP21) taking place in Paris. The two groups point that only selling ZEVs allow emissions to be cut by 40 percent, temperatures will stabilize, and a number of other benefits.

But there are some stumbling blocks to this goal. The biggest one is can countries and states ban the sale of gas vehicles. There's also the question of whether people will be interested in buying a ZEV.

Source: Car and Driver

The U.S. Congress is voting on a new highway bill that if passed, would bring some much needed money and changes for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Automotive News reports the new bill, called Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act would be the first long-term highway plan in a decade. If passed, the bill would provide roughly $300 billion for roads, bridges, and mass-transit projects. The bill would also increase NHTSA's budget for defect investigations from $10 million a year to $30 million. But for NHTSA to get the increase in the budget, they would need to implement a number of reforms outlined by Transportation Department’s inspector general.

Along with the increase in the defect investigation budget, FAST would some much-needed changes in how recalls and defects are dealt with.

• The maximum fine for safety violations will increase from $35 million to $105 million
• Employees who report on potentially dangerous safety violations will be rewarded
• If there is a financial penalty put on an automaker or supplier, a whistleblower could get up to 30 percent of the penalty
• Automakers will need to keep safety data for 10 years (up from the current 5) and provide part numbers for defective parts to NHTSA
• Dealers will be required to notify customers of an open recall
• Rental car companies will not be allowed to rent out vehicles that have an open recall
• States would be given funds to notify owners who renew their vehicle registration that a recall is due
  

Currently, the bill has bipartisan support and the White House announced that President Obama would sign the bill if passed.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

While much of the focus of the investigations into Volkswagen diesel emission scandal has been focused on the German automaker, attention is now turning to one of their key suppliers.

Reuters has learned from sources that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into what involvement did German auto supplier Bosch GmbH have in the scandal. Bosch built a number of key components that Volkswagen and its subsidiary brands would use on diesel engines. Now the sources are quick to point out that Bosch isn't charged with anything at the moment.

A key part Bosch provided Volkswagen and a number of other German automakers is the engine control module (known as EDC17), and basic software. This module regulates how a vehicle cleans burned-up diesel fuel before it is expelled as exhaust. Each automaker has their own version of the module and software. Now Volkswagen modified the software to cheat emission tests and Bosch insisting that it had nothing to do with it or knew anything.

But a source tells Car and Driver that the supplier had to know something was going on.

“I’ve had many arguments with Bosch, and they certainly own the dataset software and let their customers tune the curves. Before each dataset is released it goes back to Bosch for its own validation. Bosch is involved in all the development we ever do. They insist on being present at all our physical tests and they log all their own data, so someone somewhere at Bosch will have known what was going on. All software routines have to go through the software verification of Bosch, and they have hundreds of milestones of verification, that’s the structure. The car company is never entitled by Bosch to do something on their own,” said the source.

Source: Reuters, Car and Driver

If there is one thing that we can pull from this latest round of contract negotiations between the Detroit three and the UAW is that amount of car production that will be heading to Mexico.

According to a report from Automotive News, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobile will have moved production of most of their mass-market vehicles from the U.S. to Mexico. General Motors will be the only Detroit automaker who is keeping some sort of production of their compact and midsize cars.

Why the shift to Mexico? It comes down to what vehicles make money for the three automakers. Currently, pickups and SUVs carry a much higher profit margin than cars.

"You can afford to pay a little more when you're making trucks, but the structural change in the industry has been so huge that I was kind of surprised by that -- trucks here and cars in Mexico," said Dave Cole, chairman emeritus of the Center for Automotive Research.

But some point out this change in production could put the Detroit three in a situation they found themselves back in the early 2000's with sales of SUVs dropping due to the increase in gas prices.

Models that will be moving to Mexico include the Chrysler 200, Dodge Dart, and Ford Fusion.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

If there is anything the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal has shown us, it has shown the various regulations used around the world are tricky to enforce and that automakers will take advantage of loopholes. General Motors' powertrain chief wants to change that by unifying emission standards around the world.

Dan Nicholson, GM's powertrain chief tells Automotive News that he plans to use his upcoming presidency of the International Federation of Automotive Engineering Societies (Fisita) to push for the unification of emission standards around the world.

“We want all our engineering resources focused on improving air quality and reducing CO2. With different sets of rules, we have to put our engineering resources into nuanced regulatory differences rather than working on the root problem,” said Nicholson.

Nicholson said the differences between emission standards set by the EPA and those upcoming from the European Union are small. But engineering the same vehicle to meet different standards was costing a large sum across the industry.

Harmonizing the different standards will be difficult, but Nicholson says the benefits will outweigh the negatives.

“There is more overlap in the areas of interest than people think,” said Nicholson.

There's also another reason why Nicholson wants to take this on. China is in the process of setting up their own emission standards.

“With China in discussions right now, we are at a key pivot point. I’m concerned that if we miss our opportunities now they won’t come again for a long time,” explained Nicholson.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

The National Electric Vehicles Sweden (NEVS), the folks who bought up the assets of Saab have licensed the Turkish government to use the aged Saab 9-3 as the basis of a new national vehicle.

"We bought Saab 9-3’s intellectual property rights, but not its name," said Fikri Isik. Turkish Science, Industry and Technology Minister.

"The brand [of the car to be developed] will be a Turkish brand, it will not be Saab. We will develop the technology in Turkey."

Isik told the Turkish government-backed national television network, TRT, that the government had two options: go at it alone and spend $1 Billion dollars on developing their own vehicle or work with someone who has a platform ready to go.

Development of this new vehicle will be handled by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK) which hopes to begin production in 2020. A photo released by TÜBITAK shows three camouflaged prototypes with front ends from the unloved Cadillac BLS. At launch, the new vehicle will come diesel and gas four-cylinder engines. TÜBITAK hopes to launch an electric version down the road.

Source: aa.com.tr

The Environmental Protection Agency is becoming stricter as to how they test for emissions in light of the Volkswagen Diesel scandal. On Friday, the agency's Office of Transportation and Air Quality announced they would be conducting more spot checks of light-duty cars and trucks to make sure that automakers haven’t been cheating on tests. Automakers were notified of the changes via a letter. The EPA wouldn't go into detail about the changes.

“They don’t need to know. They need to know that we will be keeping their cars a little bit longer,” said Christopher Grundler, director of the EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality.

In the letter, the EPA states may test a vehicle “using driving cycles and conditions that may reasonably be expected to be encountered in normal operation and use.”

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), The Detroit News

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple is going forward on building their own vehicle. According to sources, the company recently gave the approval for the project after spending a year investigating the feasibility of it. Codenamed 'Titan', the team behind the vehicle will grow from 600 to around 1,800 people.

Not much is known about the vehicle except for that it will be electric and feature some sort of autonomous technologies. A fully autonomous vehicle isn't expected till later on. The report says Apple has set a 'target ship date for 2019.' Whether that means it will be launched or reaching a major milestone in 2019 is unknown.

Rumors about the Apple car have been flying around for a number of years. But this year has seen a number of people leaving Tesla and other jobs in the automotive industry to work for Apple, causing reports to intensify. Adding on this were reports from last month saying that officials from Apple met with officials from California’s Department of Motor Vehicles.

Source: Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

Last October, we reported that PSA/Peugeot-Citroën was considering a return to the U.S.

“We want to make DS a global premium brand, and you cannot be global without the U.S.,” said DS CEO Yves Bonnefont.

Now a final decision as to whether or not the DS brand would come to the U.S. isn't expected till 2017 at the earliest. But Car and Driver reports that Citroën is leaning towards yes.

Speaking with sources at the french automaker, Car and Driver reports that a move into the U.S. market is “necessary” and that it might take place within the next few years.

But Citroën faces some huge hurdles if they decide to go forward with the DS brand. The French automaker hasn't had a presence in the U.S. since the mid-seventies and most people don't know the importance of the DS name. The original DS introduced in the fifties sent shockwaves in the automotive world. The model set new standards in aerodynamics and comfort. Citroen would produce the DS for twenty years, making it one of the most important models in automotive history.

Source: Car and Driver

A group of ten automakers have agreed to equip all of their new vehicles with an automatic emergency braking (AEB) system in the near future.

Audi, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo announced today they will work together with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on an agreement and timeline to make automatic braking standard on all of their models.

AEB systems work to prevent or lessen the effects of a rear-end collision by detecting an imminent collision and apply the brakes to slow or stop the vehicle. This technology is becoming commonplace in more vehicles, but seemingly always as an optional feature. The IIHS says one percent of 2015 model year vehicle have AEB as standard while 26 percent have it as an option.

“If technologies such as automatic emergency braking are only available as options or on the most expensive models, too few Americans will see the benefits of this new era,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement. These 10 companies are committing to making AEB available to all new-car buyers.”

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

With the average price of new cars on the rise, the price of used cars follows suit. A new study done by Edmunds finds the average price of a used car has hit a new record high in the second quarter. The average price of a used car has climbed to $18,800, up 7.6 percent when compared to the same time last year.

"People are buying more trucks and SUVs, and they're getting them better equipped. More expensive new vehicles means more expensive used vehicles," said Jessica Caldwell, analyst at Edmunds.com.

What is causing the uptick in used car prices? The same items which are causing new car prices to go up; better economic outlook, low unemployment, low-interest rates, and low gas prices.

But also helping the increase is the amount of off-lease vehicles entering into the used car marketplace.

"With inventory finally at a better place, people have a lot more options," Caldwell said.

Source: Chicago Tribune via The Detroit News

Sergio Marchionne isn't taking no for answer from General Motors over merging with FCA. Reuters reports the automakers have brought investment banks for help to deal with this mess. Sources say FCA has brought in UBS, while GM has brought in Goldman Sachs and possibly Morgan Stanley. In the case of GM, the company has signed a letter of engagement with Goldman Sachs on advice with dealing with FCA.

"It would be inconceivable for General Motors not to be talking to any number of advisers about normal business operations, but I'm not going to list the issues one by one," said GM Senior Vice President Tony Cervone.

Cervone didn't confirm if GM had brought in Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley. FCA, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.

Does it mean that a FCA and GM merger is possible? Not at this time. But as Bernstein analyst Max Warburton said "Stranger things have happened, especially in bubbly equity markets."

Source: Reuters

While General Motors has gotten most of the blame in the ignition switch fiasco, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) isn't getting away scot free. The New York Times reports that the Department of Transportation released two internal documents revealing a series of failings by NHTSA.

One of those failings was the administration not paying sufficient attention to a Wisconsin state trooper’s report in 2007 which suggested that the ignition switch played a key role in a fatal accident. The reports go on to say that NHTSA didn't use their full power to hold GM accountable in terms of this problem.

“There needs to be a complete overhaul of this failing agency. The results of this report are long overdue,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

NHTSA has begun to make a number of changes in light of these reports. They include,

• Put manufacturers “on notice” about potential defects as soon they identified any troubling cases.
• Institute a 'Risk Control' program that better aligns different sections of NHTSA and encourage more sharing
• Be monitored by a group of outside experts including former officials of the National Transportation Safety Board and NASA
  

“The G.M. experience changed the culture here. What that means is challenge the information you’re getting, and challenge the assumptions you are pursuing,” said NHTSA administrator Mark R. Rosekind.

Still some people believe NHTSA needs to go farther.

“It still soft-pedals why they have gone from one defect crisis to another,” said Sean E. Kane of the consulting firm Safety Research and Strategies. “What is missing is any mention of the importance of transparency.”

Source: The New York Times

What is the big problem with new cars? According to a new survey, it happens to be the infotainment systems.

A study done by automotive consultants SBD and polling firm Nielsen asked some 14,000 owners about features in their cars and asked which ones were the best and the worst. The ten that scored the lowest in the survey were all related in some form to the infotainment system. These included smart phone integration, built-in apps, customizable instrument panels, and voice recognition.

“It’s sort of an arms race -- who can have the most technology in the vehicle -- and consumers are confused,” said Nielsen Vice President Mike Chadsey at a connected-car symposium yesterday.

The study also showed that 43 percent of participants said automakers are adding too much infotainment tech.

So why are automakers adding all of this tech? Andrew Hart, director of SBD explained that automakers add all sorts of tech to draw in customers and to help boost revenue. But this might backfire as owners might go to another brand because of how bad the infotainment system was.

If you to improve the chances of owner sticking with your brand, just get the infotainment right, getting the right set of features that people actually want to use and making them easy to use,” said Hart.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

There looks to be another automaker who wants to enter the North American market. Korean brand Ssangyong is planning a Wrangler-style high-design SUV sometime in the later half of this decade.

The SUV would be based on the automaker's recently launched Tivoli crossover and have styling that is in line with the Korando, a model that started off as a licensed CJ-7 clone. Power will come from Tivoli as well, which includes 1.6L gas and diesel engines.

So why try entering the North American market now?

“The company has never cracked North America because it requires a huge investment and because the distributor model that we use in other territories wouldn’t really work in the USA. But a Wrangler-style high-design 4x4 could create the waves we’d need in order to make a mark over there. At the same time, it’d work really well for us in the UK and Europe at a time when building profile is absolutely key,” said a source.

Source: Autocar

Prices of new vehicles are climbing to record highs and causing buyers to look at leases for lower monthly payments.

According to CNBC, a new report from Experian Automotive found that 31.46 percent of vehicles sold in the first quarter were leased. This is up from the 24.05 percent who chose to lease five years ago. The report also reveals that that the average monthly payment for a new vehicle loan was $488, up $14. But, the average lease payment was down $7 to $405.

"The difference between a monthly payment for those leasing a new vehicle versus those who buy new is almost $100," said Melinda Zabritski, senior director of Experian Automotive.

"Leasing has become more popular because the price of vehicles continues to go up. Consumers are looking for lower monthly payments, which is why more of them are extending the terms of their loans."

Source: CNBC

While Takata has agreed to declare its airbags in nearly 34 million vehicles defective yesterday, a new report from Bloomberg says the supplier changed the design to reduce the risk of abnormal deployment back in 2008.

Sources tell Bloomberg that Takata changed the propellant mix to help reduce the effect of humidity - what many believe to be the cause of problem - around the same time that Honda announced that it would be replacing airbags in some of their models.

This new information could shine a light on one of the biggest mysteries on Takata's airbags. The company has said time and time again that its current products are safe, but didn't say why. It should be noted many of the vehicles involved in the recall were built before 2008.

The report goes onto say that a select group of people - including government officials - were told about the change.

Source: Bloomberg

After months of pressure from the U.S. Government and a number of recalls from automakers, Japanese supplier Takata agreed to declare that its airbag inflators in nearly 34 million vehicles are defective. The announcement was made today by U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx at a press conference.

“Up until now Takata has refused to acknowledge that their airbags are defective, That changes today,” said Foxx.

The problem with Takata's airbags deals with propellant exploding with too much force and sends dangerous metal fragments flying. This problem has been linked to 6 deaths and more than 100 injuries. Scarily, the root cause of the problem hasn't been found at this time - though officials link the problem to high humidity and moisture exposure.

The Detroit News reports that Takata will announce that it has filed 4 defect reports with U.S. auto safety officials stating that 33.8 million vehicles have defective driver and passenger air bag inflators. This is double the amount vehicles already recalled by automakers since 2013. It could mean that this air bag problem could mark the largest U.S. recall of any consumer product, since the Tylenol poison scare in 1982.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), The Detroit News

The past couple years have seen Tesla and dealer groups fighting over Tesla's decision to sell vehicles direct to consumers. Certain states have passed laws which exclude Tesla from doing this, while in other states, Tesla has triumphed. Now the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) has issued a statement on where they stand.

In a post, the FTC says it supports companies that decide to go with the direct-to-consumer sales model as it gives consumers a choice of which method to go with - direct or with a dealer. The FTC also goes onto say that decision lies in hands of the state government, not federal.

Now this post comes up as the Michigan senate hears a bill creating an exception in state law to allow manufacturers of "autocycles" - enclosed three-wheelers that are more like cars than motorcycles - to do direct sales in the state. One company that will benefit is Elio Motors who is getting ready to sell their three-wheeled vehicle.

"Michigan's consumers would more fully benefit from a complete repeal of the prohibition on direct sales by all automakers," said the commission.

Source: The Detroit News, Federal Trade Commission

Previously, the market for vans was stagnate. Old models paired with poor optimism in the business world made vans appealing as cold liver and onions. But Bloomberg reports that vans are making a comeback.

Data from Edmunds shows that van sales by unit have more than double in the past five years, outpacing the pace set by the auto industry overall. More surprising is that in the first quarter, sales of vans climbed another third. If this growth trend continues, its expected that 475,000 vans will be sold in the year.

So what is causing this explosion in van sales? Two factors. First are new vans arriving in showrooms. Ford. Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Ram have introduced new vans that are more efficient and boast more space.

"The big trend that we’ve seen is customers being able to right-size their vehicle for the job that they need. We had a show where we had the Mustang GT500 and the conversion van, and the van actually drew as much attention,” said Yaro Hetman, the brand manager for the Transit.

Secondly is the resurgent of specific jobs; skill trades, deliveries, and transportation. The National Federation of Independent Business says the optimism in business has been growing in the past few years. With this increased optimism, comes sales.

Source: Bloomberg

With gas prices making a downward trend, sales of SUVs are making an upward climb. In fact, SUVs, pickups, and crossovers when added together make up half of total volume of sales in April. Now with the increase in SUV sales, prices also went up. Edmunds reports that average transaction prices on SUVs have climbed nine percent when compared to last year.

Now when something goes up, something must come down. In this case, it happens to be small cars. Edmunds says that the average timeframe to sell a small car has risen from two and half months to three. The increase in the time to sell has also caused the average transaction price to remain flat.

Source: Edmunds

While Americans are keeping their cars longer (Experian Automotive says the average ownership length is now 7.75 years), there are some models that owners can't wait to get rid off within a year of buying.

iSeeCars.com recently compared new car sales against used-car purchases in 2014 to figure out which vehicles were traded-in the fastest. Their analysis showed that on average, around 2.7 percent of all new vehicles are traded in after only a year’s ownership. More surprising was the vehicles that had the highest amount of trade-ins. The expectation would be that the vehicles with the highest amount of trade-ins would be cheap. Not so fast. iSeeCars.com in their analysis the vehicles with highest trade-ins range from $18,000 to $45,000.

“iSeeCars.com analysts think the fact that consumers are giving more of these cars up than the average is directly linked to quality or perceived quality of the cars,” says Phong Ly, CEO of iSeeCars.com. “Because purchasing a new car is expensive and something most people tend to spend a lot of time on, it stands to reason they would make a change shortly afterward if they felt the quality was lacking.”

Here's the list of the vehicles with the highest trade-in amounts,

1. Buick Regal - 10.7 Percent Traded-In
   
2. Chevrolet Sonic - 8.9 Percent Traded-In
   
3. BMW X1 - 7.8 Percent Traded-In
   
4. Dodge Charger - 7.7 Percent Traded-In
   
5. Mercedes-Benz C-Class - 7.4 Percent Traded-In
   
6. Chevrolet Cruze - 7.2 Percent Traded-In
   
7. Nissan Frontier - 6.9 Percent Traded-In
   

Source: Forbes

One group of automakers that are on the up and up are luxury automakers. Just take a look at April's sales,

• Porsche - Up 28.1% (5,217 Vehicles Sold This Month, 16,647 Vehicles Sold So Far This Year)
  
• Lincoln - Up 19.6% (8,134 Vehicles Sold This Month, 29,612 Vehicles Sold So Far This Year)
  
• Cadillac - Up 13.7% (15,801 Vehicles Sold This Month, 52,976 Vehicles Sold So Far This Year)
  
• Mercedes-Benz - Up 12.8% (29,188 Vehicles Sold This Month, 107,344 Vehicles Sold So Far This Year)
  
• Lexus - Up 11.7% (25,876 Vehicles Sold This Month, 103,056 Vehicles Sold So Far This Year)
  
• Maserati - Up 10% (1,060 Vehicles Sold This Month, 2,989 Vehicles Sold So Far This Year)
  
• Infiniti - Up 8.8% (9,979 Vehicles Sold This Month, 43,821 Vehicles Sold So Far This Year)
  
• BMW - Up 6.9% (26,952 Vehicles Sold This Month, 105,444 Vehicles Sold So Far This Year)
  
• Acura - Up 5.3% (14,874 Vehicles Sold This Month, 54,518 Vehicles Sold So Far This Year)
  
• Jaguar - Up 4.3% (1,079 Vehicles Sold This Month, 5,415 Vehicles Sold So Far This Year)
  

So why the bump? USA Today says for most luxury automakers, it comes down to low-end models.

"Luxury sales have increased as products have become affordable to a wider audience. Of late, luxury car brands have focused on the lower end of the price spectrum, introducing models such as the Lexus NX, Mercedes-Benz GLA, BMW X1 and Porsche Macan, which are slotted below existing popular SUVs on the price spectrum," said Edmunds.com's senior analyst Jessica Caldwell.

Caldwell goes onto say that the majority of luxury vehicles are leased, which makes low-end luxury vehicles very appealing to consumers who have gone with mainstream vehicles before.

Also helping matters is a wide range of consumers who are buying these models.

"Buyers are coming from all over the place, especially as Millennials start to create more wealth for themselves and continue to be as aspirational as ever," said Akshay Anand, ​analyst at Kelley Blue Book.

Source: USA Today

In light of the GM Ignition Switch and Takata airbag recalls, you would think owners would be aware whether or not their vehicle has a notice and take it in to be repaired. Unfortunately, you would be wrong. Bloomberg reports that only two-thirds of vehicles get repaired. Even more worrying is a third of vehicles under a recall notice aren't repaired within 18 months.

“Recalls are only successful, and they only save lives, if they end up getting the cars fixed,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said.

So how do you get owners to repair vehicles? Well that's what NHTSA and automakers will be talking about today at meeting in Washington D.C. with the focus on improving the getting the word to get vehicles fixed.

General Motors has a fair bit of experience on notifying owners in the wake of ignition switch recall. The company tried redesigned mailings, did outreach on a number of online platforms such as YouTube and Twitter; and even offered loaner cars. Yet, there are still a fair number of vehicles needing to be fixed.

“Awareness doesn’t mean action,” said Julie Heisel, GM’s director of customer relationship management.

Source: Bloomberg

One day, a Chinese automaker will finally deliver on their promise of selling vehicles in the U.S. But what will bring customers into the showrooms? Yesterday, we reported on Geely positioning itself maker of affordable, high-tech cars with a new plug-in crossover - due out in 2017 in China, followed by Europe and U.S. Automotive News reports that another Chinese automaker who has dreams of coming to the U.S. is going low prices.

Guangzhou Automobile Group Motor Company (GAC) is planning to be cheaper than its rivals in the U.S. How cheap? Wu Song, general manager of GAC says the 'magic number' is 30 percent cheaper.

"We are confident. It could be popular in the market. Considering the low price, it should be competitive," said Song.

If Song gets his way, GAC could put this price cut theory to the test sometime in 2017 when the company plans on launching the GS4 crossover - a compact crossover going up against the likes of the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V. That is the plan at the moment. Currently, GAC is seeking dealers, importers, and distributors in the U.S. Song tells Automotive News that he is "90 percent confident" GAC will bring the GS4 to the U.S.

But analysts don't fully buy into the price cut. James Chao, managing director for Asia Pacific at IHS Automotive says its difficult for any unknown brand to make it in the U.S. Chao also said 30 percent discount that Song wants to do for U.S. is less than 40 percent markdowns Chinese automakers do to compete with global brands.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Volvo's owner, Geely is planning to enter Europe and U.S. in the coming years.

Reuters reports that Geely will building a new crossover based on the Compact Modular Architecture - a platform that Geely and Volvo have been working together. Along with new engine technology, this car will launch in China in 2017. The crossover will then head into several Europe markets a year later, followed by the U.S. in due time.

"With the CMA car, Li wants to tell the world we're ready for the big time. We're ready to break into Europe and the U.S.," a source told Reuters.

The new crossover was designed with the U.S. market in mind. But before Geely plans on sending it to the U.S., it will sell the crossover in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Britain, and Eastern Europe.

"Those markets, Britain in particular, are open to foreign cars, while northern Europe, France and Germany are not," a source said.

While the Chinese market will get a gasoline variant, Europe and the U.S. will get a alternative-fuel model, possibly a plug-in hybrid. The goal with this is to make Geely seen as a maker of affordable, high-tech cars.

"It's an effort to burnish our brand before we bring out more mainstream gasoline-fueled cars to Europe and eventually to the U.S.,"

Source: Reuters

The U.S. Postal Service are looking for new delivery trucks to replace the current fleet - some which are around 20 years old. The Detroit News reports that there are 15 companies that range from military, mass-transit, specialized transportation, and two automakers. Those two automakers are Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Ford.

Now building a vehicle for the U.S. Postal Service isn't as easy as you might think. Here the requirements the vehicle must meet:

• Last at least 20 years
  
• Carry a minimum payload of 1,500 pounds
  
• Pass safety and emissions requirements
  
• Share similar design characteristics of the current vehicle
  

“We are seeking a larger vehicle that will enable our employees to work safely and efficiently while standing inside of it. Replacing the aging light delivery fleet, much of which is 21 years or older, will also help to reduce operating and repair costs for vehicles, while simultaneously improving overall safety and efficiency of delivery operations,” said Postal Service spokeswoman Sarah Ninivaggi.

Now there a lot of money on the line - the potential contact includes supplying up to 180,000 vehicles at $25,000 to $35,000 per vehicle, or about $4.5 to $6.3 billion total.

Both FCA and Ford declined to comment on this.

Source: The Detroit News

Photo Credit: Untitled by Zena C is licensed under CC BY 2.0

California is one of most stringent states when it comes emissions in vehicles. Case in point is a law that says an estimated 15 percent of vehicles sold in the state must be a zero emission vehicle (ZEV). But this law has created a rift between regulators and automakers. Regulators want automakers to build ZEVs, but automakers worry that if customers aren't willing to buy them, they'll need to offer big incentives.

Four automakers - Ford, General Motors, Honda, and Toyota have issued a complaint to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) asking them to rewrite the formula to allow more credit for plug-in hybrid models. They argue these models address range anxiety with EVs at the moment and are more likely to be accepted by buyers.

The four introduced a new formula based on electric vehicle miles traveled, or e-miles. This would allow the formula to be much fairer as it would rely on real-world performance, not underlying technology.

During the hearing, a member of CARB liked the idea of e-miles.

"I'm willing to make a bet with you. If we provided a more flexible approach, we are likely to get far more e-miles in 2030 than we would with pure EVs. I really don't believe by 2030 we're going to be able to get a really large market penetration with pure EVs," said Dan Sperling, a CARB member and director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California-Davis

However, CARB chairman Mary Nichols disagreed with Sperling, stating that if California was to reach its goal of cutting carbon emissions 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050, the fleet would have to be fully electric. But even Nichols admits that figuring out the best way is tough.

"I don't know where you would find a better example anywhere in the world of a public deliberating body struggling with a really big issue," said Nichols.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Delphi Automotive is undertaking an ambitious cross-country road trip.

The supplier announced that it will be taking an Audi SQ5 fitted with the latest self-driving tech on a trip from San Francisco to New York City. The trip will begin on March 22nd and end during the first week of the New York Auto Show. Delphi is planning to run the vehicle for 6 to 8 hours per day with two engineers in the vehicle to make sure all of the tech is working properly.

"Delphi had great success testing its car in California and on the streets of Las Vegas. Now it’s time to put our vehicle to the ultimate test by broadening the range of driving conditions. This drive will help us collect invaluable data in our quest to deliver the best automotive grade technologies on the market," said Jeff Owens, Delphi’s chief technology officer.

The Audi SQ5 in question mostly looks stock, but features a number of car-to-car communication technologies such as radar, cameras, and lidar laser mapping sensors.

Source: Detroit Free Press

If you are considering buying a used car this year, then we have some good news for you. A new vehicle depreciation report from used car value service, Black Book and Fitch Ratings Inc., says that 2015 will see used car values depreciate 14.5 percent. This is an increase from 2014's deprecation rate of 12.1 percent.

So why the increase in depreciation? It comes down to two key factors; an increased supply in used cars and a larger volume of off-lease vehicles.

“2014 depreciation was defined by pockets of volatility due to seasonality, harsh weather patterns and falling fuel prices impacting smaller cars and trucks of all sizes. Looking ahead, lower consumer demand and CAFÉ-driven model competition will place higher depreciation pressure on smaller car segments particularly, but trucks should have stable retention in 2015 due to balanced production levels and strong housing and service economies,” said Anil Goyal, Vice President of Analytics and Strategic Partnerships for Black Book.

Source: Auto Guide, Kicking Tires

2014 will go down as the year as the recall, but also the year where many glaring issues of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were made evident - mostly due to the GM ignition switch mess. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told reporters on Tuesday couldn’t keep pace at current staffing levels with 75,000 complaints coming in every year.

“It’s no longer reasonable frankly to expect an office with 8 screeners and 16 defects investigators to adequately analyze 75,000 complaints a year,” said Foxx.

Now there appears to be change in the air. The Detroit News reports that President Barrack Obama is proposing to increase NHTSA's budget for its Office of Defects Investigation from $10.7 million to $31 million. The increase would add NHTSA to add add 57 people to a staff of more than 100 and also use stronger data mining and monitoring tools to detect problems faster.

“This is about giving NHTSA the tools it needs,” said Foxx.

However, some folks on the Senate Commerce Committee isn't fully on board with a budget increase.

“We think there are ways too that you could reform and accomplish some things (without higher funding). Clearly, we want to work with them, but it’s going to be tough in this budgetary environment with all the constraints that we’re dealing with to get significant increases in funding for any agency,” said Senator John Thune, R-S.D, chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee.

Others think the increase is a step in the right direction.

NHTSA needs to do something and obviously they are getting a lot of complaints. (NHTSA’s) ability to field all of the complaints has been difficult in the last couple of years — and people paid a price for that,” said Senator Dean Heller, R-Nev.

Source: The Detroit News, 2

FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne is known to speak his mind and tell it like it is. During the Automotive News World Congress, Marchionne questioned the U.S. Government's mandate of 54.5 MPG by 2025.

"There is not a single carmaker that cannot make the 54 number. The question is, at what a price?" said Marchionne.

A possible reason for the CEO of FCA to bring this up is gas prices around the nation are hovering around $2.00. Also, sales of hybrids and electric vehicles have been declining, partly due to gas prices. Now many executives say that low gas prices will pass and that they will continue in investing in newer technologies.

Now Marchionne does agree automakers can meet that deadline, but questions the timeframe of when it will be implemented.

"The question is whether 2025 is a realistic date for which to achieve it," Marchionne said. "Fifty-four will not change. The date of implementation might."

Marchionne also went on to rail the Government's plans for subsidizing electrification technology.

"Let the automotive industry get there. We'll find a way to get there in the most cost-efficient way. Don't tell me that I need to have electrification as the answer. It's improper."

Source: The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press

This year will likely go down as the one with the most recalls for automobiles. From ignition switches that can easily turn to the accessory or off position, to peeling safety labels, automakers in the U.S. have recalled almost 60 million vehicles. With the high number of vehicles being recalled, people are calling for the recall system to be fixed. But no one can agree on how to fix it.

"A recall's a recall, and that's a problem. There needs to be a sophistication of how serious is the recall? And that has to be really clear to a customer. I think the industry is beginning to do that," said Mark Reuss, GM's head of global product development at the LA Auto Show last month.

The issue at hand is defining a severity level for a recall. At the moment, there is really no difference between a recall for a missing sticker or a slipping ignition switch. Now the industry has began to solve this problem by categorizing recalls as "safety" or "noncompliance". But they still fall under the recall umbrella which means an automaker has to send a notice out. The problem with this is that some car owners either mistake it for junk mail or pay no attention to it.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) the, average recall completion rate in the U.S. is about 75 percent each year. But for older vehicles, the number drops. The worry is that with the number of recalls that have been happening this past year could cause less people to get their cars fixed.

"Whether it's an ignition cylinder or a sticker on a door, a recall is a recall. I do worry that that fatigue sets in and consumers may not act as quickly as they should on big safety issues," said Toyota North America CEO Jim Lentz.

The idea has been floated around of classifying recalls by severity. But the idea was shot down by former head of NHTSA David Stickland last year.

"There is one standard for safety that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration follows and enforces. We deal with unreasonable risk to safety. We don't gradate them. If there is a judgment that it is an unreasonable risk, it's an unreasonable risk and it needs to be repaired. The notion that there should be some gradation of unreasonable risk is frankly counter to the policy for safety, and frankly, dangerous," Strickland said to a Senate panel last year.

Another idea that has been floating around is withholding vehicle registrations until outstanding recalls are fixed.

"It clearly is the most effective way to go," said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the advocacy group Center for Auto Safety. Ditlow goes onto say that this method is used in Germany and it achieves 100 percent in recall fixes.

The problem with this idea is that each state controls vehicle registration. That puts the burden of responsibility on the state and not the national government. There's also the problems of tracking the fixes and delays in parts availability.

Source: The Detroit News

Have you gone out and shopped for new vehicle recently? Are you overwhelmed by the variety of vehicles on offer? For example, if you decide to get a Porsche 911, you have the choice of 22 models. No, that isn't a misprint. Meanwhile other automakers have an array of models that carve out new niches and and mix existing body styles. Consider this, Audi sells 50 different variants around the world, a five-fold increase from the 90's when the German luxury automaker only sold 10 different variants. There has to be a point where automakers reach the point of too much and begin cutting back on their lineups, right?

PwC, a consulting firm tells Bloomberg that by 2018, some automakers will begin to level off their lineups. The reason for automakers leveling off their is increased costs in development and production, and better differentiate their offerings to consumers.

How bad is a large lineup for automakers? Detlef Kuhlmey, sales manager at Autohaus Kramm in Berlin tells Bloomberg that not many consumers get to see the full lineup because of how many choices there are.

“Carmakers look for something special to present,” Kuhlmey said. “To most customers it doesn’t really matter.”

Also trying to explain the small differences between the models adds a level confusion for dealers.

A case of automaker shrinking their lineup is PSA Peugeot Citroen. Europe's second-largest automaker is planning to cut back their global lineup from 45 to 26 vehicles by 2024 in a effort to return to profitability.

Others are going the opposite way. Mercedes-Benz is planning to add 11 new models by 2020.

“All these options reduce the likelihood that people will choose any, and reduce satisfaction when people do choose,” Lots of choices are helpful when people know what they’re looking for, but “in general, people don’t know exactly what they want,” said Barry Schwartz, the Swarthmore College social theory professor who wrote “The Paradox of Choice.”

Source: Bloomberg

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

2014 will likely go down as the year of the recall in the automotive industry. General Motors is the champion with the most recalls so far with 70 recalls as of today, but other OEMs have been making their mark with their own recalls.

CNNMoney crunched the numbers on the recalls so far in 2014 and figured out that there has been a total of 544 recalls, about two a day. Those 544 recalls have affected 52 million vehicles in the U.S., or about 1 in 5 vehicles. While that figure is disturbing to say in the least, it's made worse as that number has eclipsed the previous record of 30.8 million vehicles back in 2004. With only a couple months left in the year, there's a good chance that we could see a doubling of the 30.8 million vehicles.

What's the cause for this increase in recalls? Mike Rozembajgier, a vice president at Stericycle said the reason for the increase is twofold. OEMs are putting greater diligence on identifying problems and cars are getting more complex.

"We all want our cars to do far more than they did in the past. It takes a lot of gadgets to make that happen, and that adds to complexity," said Rozembajgier.

Source: CNNMoney

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

With Ford changing over to the next-generation F-150, General Motors and Chrysler see a rare opportunity to grab a bigger slice of the truck marketplace.

"Without question you'll see GM and Ram will continue to play the incentive game to continue to bite into Ford's share," said Bill Rinna, LMC Automotive senior manager of North American forecasts to The Detroit News.

Ford has idled its Dearborn Truck plant for several weeks to to retool for the 2015 F-150, a new model that will utilize aluminum in its construction. That leaves the Kansas City plant to keep producing the current F-150, till it undergoes a retooling early next year. With Ford unable to produce as many F-150s and a number of current buyers waiting for a new model, Ford won't be able to sell as many F-Series trucks. The company said that it expects to lose more than 90,000 sales of F-150 pickups during the changeover.

Because of this, Chrysler and GM are ratcheting up their incentives to take away some of those sales going to Ford. Ram Trucks are offering either 0 percent for 72 months or $2,000 off on certain 2014 models. Chevrolet has expanded their Truck Month sales campaign which includes getting up to $9,500 off a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado All-Star LT Double Cab when someone trades in a 99 model year or newer vehicle. GMC is offering $5,000 off on certain Sierra regular cabs, and 0 percent financing and $1,500 on certain Sierra models.

"The analysts are saying we're going to go after their share. Heck yes, we're going to go after their share," said Ram Trucks CEO and president Bob Hegbloom.

Through September, Ram currently holds 21.3 percent of truck market; up 2.9 percent. Chevrolet saw its share climb 0.1 percent to 25.4 percent, while GMC saw its share climb 0.3 percent to 9 percent. Ford saw its share drop 2.2 percent to 37 percent.

Source: The Detroit News

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

The Environmental Protection Agency released their annual report on industrywide fuel economy this week and says that 2013 model year vehicles achieved an average of 24.1 miles per gallon — up 0.5 mpg from the previous year and almost 5 mpg since 2004.

"We are thrilled to see that manufacturers continue to innovate and are bringing technologies to improve fuel economy online even faster than anticipated," said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.

Mazda was the top automaker in the report with a fleet average of 28.1 MPG, while Nissan was the leader in the full-line automakers with 26.8 MPG. The Detroit automakers made up the bottom with Ford at 22.2 MPG, GM at 22.0 MPG, and Fiat Chrysler at 20.2 MPG.

The EPA also notes in its report more fuel saving technologies are beginning to appear on vehicles. For example, the report notes that five percent of vehicles that aren't hybrids. This up from none back in 2009.

Source: EPA

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached atwilliam.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

Since the recession has ended, the average price of a used car was soared due limited supply. But The Detroit News says with more vehicles coming in due to leases coming to an end, prices are beginning to fall. According to CNW Research, the average transaction price of a used car in September was $10,963. Compared to the same time last year, the average has dropped 2.1 percent.

"During the recession, it almost cost as much to get a used car as it did to get a new car, but now the market is going back to historical norms and it's going to be better every month. From 2008 to 2012, there was a significant growth in the number of leased cars and now they're all coming back to the market. As supply is increasing, auction values are dropping ... making used cars more affordable," said Larry Dominique, vice president of TrueCar.

Used car supplies are on the rise as well, with 9.76 million vehicles sitting on used lots in September. That's an increase of 1.5 percent when compared to the same time last year.

But there are downsides to increase in used car supplies. Analysts say the increase of supplies means it will be harder for dealers to move vehicles. Also expect an increase in lease rates.

Source: The Detroit News

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

Consider this: Citroen pulled out of the U.S. in the eighties, while Peugeot would leave in 1991. But according to Automotive News, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen could be making a return with their DS brand.

“We want to make DS a global premium brand, and you cannot be global without the U.S.,” said DS CEO Yves Bonnefont.

The DS lineup was previously a division of the Citroen brand, providing premium models to compete with likes of MINI Cooper and Audi A3. However, PSA made the decision to make DS a stand alone brand this year.

Bonnefont said a decision on making a return to the U.S. would come in 2017 at the earliest, and sales would not begin sometime after 2020.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

It was three months ago that General Motors published a scathing report on its handling on the ignition switch problem. Now its National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's turn.

This morning, the House Energy and Commerce Committee released a 44 page report on NHTSA's handling of GM's ignition switch problem. The report was based on the review of millions of pages of records and interviews with key NHTSA officials and found that a series of critical mistakes and “ample information” already on hand meant that the agency should have found the problem sooner.

“Both GM and NHTSA had ample information necessary to identify this defect. It was a failure to process, share and utilize that information within each entity that enabled this safety defect to persist,” the report states.

“NHTSA also lacked the focus and rigor expected of a federal safety regulator. The agency’s repeated failure to identify, let alone explore, the potential defect theory related to the ignition switch — even after it was spelled out in a report the agency commissioned — is inexcusable. This was compounded by NHTSA staff’s lack of knowledge and awareness regarding the evolution of vehicle safety systems they regulate."

A key example of this was found by Yahoo's Motoramic. Back in 2006, an accident in Wisconsin that involved a Chevrolet Cobalt claimed the lives of two boys. Wisconsin State Patrol Trooper Keith Young who was investigating the crash looked into the data from vehicle and was able to pull up a dealer bulletin about certain GM models having ignitions that could be bumped into the accessory position. In a report filled in February 2007, Young said the ignition was switched into the 'accessory position', thus leading the Cobalt's airbags not to deploy. The report showed that NHTSA officials had read the report, but didn't do anything there after.

This report also says NHTSA officials didn't fully comprehend how airbags and that investigators believed that the air bag systems were designed not to go off under certain off-road conditions.

"Agency staff were blinded by outdated perceptions about how air bag systems operated. Even as manufacturers began installing advanced air bag systems in response to new federal standards, NHTSA investigators lacked a fundamental understanding of how these new air bag systems functioned. For a decade, ODI investigators evaluated air bag concerns based on their knowledge of first generation air bag systems," the report continued. "They assumed that advanced air bag systems, like their predecessors, operated from an independent energy reserve and were completely unaware of the relationship between power mode and air bag systems. Only after the GM recall, in February 2014, did ODI investigators realize the chasm in their understanding of air bag technology," the report says.

The report also takes mentions how NHTSA employees would defect and blame others, eerily similar to GM's report.

“NHTSA likewise had critical information in its possession which pointed to this defect. Whether the information was not understood, overlooked or lost in organizational stove-pipes, the agency’s failure to followup on this information contributed to NHTSA’s inability to identify this defect. The agency would not tolerate similar conduct from a manufacturer. The NHTSA Shrug: the agency does not hold itself to the same standard of accountability as those it regulates. There is a tendency to deflect blame and point the finger at others rather than accept responsibility and learn from its own failures. It is no different than the “GM salute.”

What happens next for NHTSA is up in the air at moment. Today, federal auto regulators will testify to the Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee to discuss their role in the GM ignition switch recall and what can be done to improve NHTSA's role.

Source: The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, Yahoo Motoramic

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached atwilliam.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

Congratulations America. It seems we now buy more SUVs and crossovers than sedans according to a new study from IHS Automotive. Through May of 2014, IHS says that SUVs and CUVs account for 36.5 percent of new car registrations, compared to the 35.4 percent of registrations for sedans. This is a reversal from five years ago where sedans stood at 36.3 percent of registrations, compared to the 31.4 percent for SUVs and crossovers.

“It’s not that sedans have become unpopular. It’s just that CUVs have really grown. They drive like cars, but they have higher positioning, the option for four-wheel drive and better fuel economy. There’s more space for seating. It’s easy to see why they’ve taken off in popularity,” said Tom Libby, analyst for IHS Automotive.

The one thing we wished the study showed is the breakdown in registration percentages if SUVs and crossovers were separated. Otherwise, the results don't come as surprise.

Source: Bloomberg

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

After a number of automakers having to revise their fuel economy estimates, the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing that automakers run their vehicles in the real world to see if their estimates hold any water.

"Some auto makers already do this, but we are establishing a regulatory requirement for all auto makers," said Chris Grundler, director of the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality.

The EPA's proposal would have automakers run their vehicles on a test track to measure air-resistance and rolling friction. At the moment, most automakers use computer models to generate this data. But if the wrong data is put in, it could cause mileage numbers to inflate, such was the case with Ford in their most recent revision.

The EPA does note that a few OEMs do real world testing, but it hopes that it can make the testing a requirement for all.

Source: Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached atwilliam.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

If you happen to plan on seeing Transformers 4 at the theater, you should pay close attention to the scenes in China as some of those vehicles could be making their way to the U.S.

Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd. (GAC) which has some of their Trumpchi vehicles in the film is planning on sending them to the U.S. as early as next year.

"Our sponsorship of Transformers 4 will help more overseas dealers and consumers know about our cars and over the long run it will greatly contribute to our branding. We want to start exporting to the U.S. as quickly as possible and I am confident that they will find our Trumpchi cars competitive," said Wu Song, chief of the Trumpchi brand.

The first model destined for the U.S. is the Trumpchi GS5 SUV. In China, the model is offered with a 2.0L four-cylinder with 145 horsepower and 138 pound-feet of torque or a 1.8L turbocharged four with 174 horsepower and 175 pound-feet. Either engine can be paired with a five-speed manual or automatic, and either front- or all-wheel drive.

Source: Automotive News China (Subscription Required)

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

While many still think electric vehicles are a niche, a new study from IHS Automotive suggests that EVs are actually catching on more quickly than hybrids when they were first introduced.

The study looked at the cumulative global sales of the first-generation Toyota Prius, Chevrolet Volt, and Nissan Leaf in the first four years. IHS Automotive found that the Toyota Prius moved 52,200 units from 2000 to 2004. However, the Volt and Leaf have sold more vehicles in their respective four-year timeframes. The Chevrolet Volt and all of its derivatives saw sales of 68,507 units, while the Nissan Leaf saw sales of 96,477 units.

It should be noted that while Toyota Prius went on sale in 1997 in Japan, IHS Automotive uses 2000 as the starting point for figuring out sales as that is when Toyota launched the model worldwide.

The IHS Automotive study also points out that early expectations for EVs may have been inflated a lot, causing many to think of early EVs and plug-ins as failures in sales despite the relative success in sales around the world.

Source: Automobile Magazine

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

A new study finds that General Motors is dead last when it comes to relationships with suppliers. Automotive consultant group Planning Perspectives Inc (PPI), released the results of their annual study which asks the biggest suppliers to rate the six automakers who sell more than 85 percent of vehicles in the U.S.

Suppliers rated GM low in many key areas such as communication skills, protection of intellectual property, unwillingness to adjust prices due to unforeseen increases, and overall trustworthiness.

"As a result, GM is now the least preferred customer of suppliers," PPI said.

Source: Reuters

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx wants to increase the maximum fine for automakers who fail to recall vehicles in a timely fashion from the current $35 million fine to a much more painful $300 million fine. The increase is part of a new transportation reauthorization bill whose primary focus is to fund maintenance for highways, bridges, and other infrastructures.

On a conference call with reporters, Foxx said the fines on automakers need to be “more than a rounding error” to act as a deterrent.

The department “wants to make sure there’s an ability to make it count and ensure that there’s enough of an effect across the industry,” Foxx said.

The bill also includes giving the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration the power to require auto manufacturers to remove automobiles from being sold if a defect is discovered. It would also force rental car companies to repair recalled vehicles before they are rented again.

Source: The Detroit News

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

Two U.S. Senators are calling on the U.S. Department of Transportation to urge owners of General Motors vehicles involved in the ignition switch recall to stop driving them until they are fixed.

Senators Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx urging him to ask owners to stop driving their vehicles.

"GM has indicated that it could take until October, 2014, before it can complete all the needed repairs. Every day that unrepaired vehicles remain on the road increases the risk of more injuries, deaths and damage," the two senators wrote.

But there comes a problem with this. Earlier this month, GM began to send out the replacement parts to dealers to fix the affected vehicles. However with 2.6 million vehicles that need to be repaired, it will take months for the company to fix them.

Source: Reuters

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

Last Thursday, Beijing Automotive (BAIC) made an interesting announcement. Reuters reports the company is looking into buying a "mid to high-end brand" in Europe or the United States. If you're wondering, they have a number of companies in mind, but don't give out any names. President Dong Haiyang told reporters at a briefing in Beijing that this would allow them to break into the global marketplace much quicker.

The company already some ties in the automotive world mostly in Europe. First, the company bought the bulk of the technology that underpins the last-generation Saab 9-3 and 9-5 sedans from GM back in 2009. Then last week, the company signed a joint-investment agreement with Diamler to work on doubling production by 2015.

Source: Reuters

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

The past ten years has seen a number of automakers either being folded up or taken into other automakers. But an analyst believes there is more consolidation for the automotive marketplace.

Morgan Stanley auto analyst Adam Jonas said in a research note earlier this month says in the future there will only be five to six automakers in the world. This comes down to such factors as economics and technologies.

“We believe the radically changing landscape of autos requires a commensurate change of thinking in Detroit if the domestic OEMs, as we have traditionally known them, are to remain relevant 15 or 20 years from now. The world has too many car companies: We cover nearly 30 auto assemblers globally across eight countries. In our opinion, the balance of economic, competitive and technological forces will ultimately consolidate this figure to five or six players,” said Jonas.

Jonas' thoughts appears to be have spurned from Tesla Motors as the company has been very successful with their Model S rollout and introduction of new technologies. Last year, GM set up a group to study Tesla and see if they can take anything away from them.

“Tesla could either end up being Detroit’s worst enemy or its salvation. In our opinion, the disruption from Tesla comes early enough to allow an incumbent sufficient time to adapt its culture, capital allocation and recruiting strategy to the changing forces. With proper execution, Detroit may thank Tesla Motors for being that stiff board in the back of the head right when they needed it,” said Jonas.

It should be said that many of these predictions that have been spoken before have not amounted to anything. Will this one be any different? Stay tuned.

Source: The Detroit News

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

In light of GM's massive 1.6 million vehicle recall and Toyota's massive $1.2 billion settlement over the unattended acceleration problem, two U.S. Senators introduced legislation to require automakers to provide more information concerning incidents that involve the loss of human life.

Senators Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut introduced the Early Warning Reporting System Improvement Act yesterday. The bill would require automobile and equipment manufacturers to submit accident reports or other documents automatically to NHTSA’s Early Warning Reporting database. NHTSA cannot access this information unless they request them.

The bill would also require NHTSA to make information it gets from automakers available in a searchable, user-friendly format so drivers and experts can look and evaluate potential defects.

“A massive information breakdown at NHTSA has led to deadly vehicle breakdowns on our roads. The Department of Transportation has the authority to require critical safety information be made publicly available, but it has never used its authority. We need the Early Warning Reporting system to provide actual early warnings to ensure the public is informed and possible defects are fully investigated,” said Markey.

Safety experts say this is a good start, but more needs to be done.

“In light of the problems revealed with Toyota unintended acceleration and Cobalt air bags, we know EWR is broken and needs to be fixed. Auto companies have run millions of defective vehicles through loopholes in EWR, including not having to submit documents on deaths caused by defects when they first learn of them.” said Clarence Ditlow, executive director for the Center for Auto Safety.

Source: The Detroit News

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.