Automotive Industry
News covering the Automotive Industry at large.
508 articles in this category
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Prices on new pickup trucks have been steadily increasing as more people are choosing them as their family vehicle and in turn are wanting more luxury features. But this rise in prices has been making it harder for the average buyer to afford one. Data from Edmunds shows through September, the average transaction price for a full-size pickup is $48,377; a 48 percent increase when compared to 10 years ago and 19 percent increased when compared to 2013. "A 48-percent increase in price is
All of those luxury touches are causing prices to climb
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There has been a lot of talk about driverless cars with companies (both automotive and tech) promising a safe and grandiose future and a number of high-profile crashes that have resulted in fatalities. This got us wondering how the general public feels about them. Recently, two studies came asking this and their results are very interesting. First up is CarGurus which asked 1,873 vehicle owners in the U.S. between the ages of 18 to 65 about self-driving vehicles. 79 percent of participants s
Both have some interesting results
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Fiat Chrysler Automobile has abruptly pulled back on their merger offer with Renault after the second day of negotiations came to a close. The Wall Street Journal reports that Renault's partner, Nissan declined to support the deal according to sources. During a vote today on the Renault board, the two Nissan representative abstained, raising concerns for both FCA and Renault that Nissan would back out of the alliance. This, in turn, caused the French Government (major stakeholder in Renault
...That was abrupt...
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com June 7, 2012 Tesla's sales and financials have been taking a plunge since the company pulled the plug on their only model, the Roadster last year. However, the company has great hopes for improvement when the new Model S is launched. Tesla CEO Elon Musk told shareholders yesterday that he is “highly confident” that the company will achieve sales of 20,000 vehicles in 2013. The Model S, which will start at $57,400 (before a $7,500 federal ta
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A new report from IHS Automotive says the average age of a vehicle on the road stands at 11.4 years, the same age as last year. This is change from the past few years where the age was climbing steadily. "In our history of tracking, we have seen a gradual increase in the average age of vehicles on the road. This year, we're seeing somewhat of a plateau in the market, and expect it to remain over the next few years, without a major change in either direction. We attribute this to a number of fa
The Average Age of a Vehicle in the U.S. Stands Still
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Automakers already have enough of a headache with the current administration in the white house, but news that broke today is only going to make it even worse. Wilbur Ross, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce has announced that President Donald ordered an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to determine "whether imports of automobiles, including SUVs, vans and light trucks, and automotive parts into the United States threaten to impair the national security." "T
May lead to tariffs and other issues
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On the surface, Faraday Future appears to been having a run of good luck. It had gotten a major investment from healthcare division of Chinese real estate group Evergrande; testing is continuing on their first EV, the FF 91; and the company has started building pre-production vehicles at its US plant. But trouble always seems to be looming and it has struck once again for the start-up automaker. Yesterday, Reuters reported on a filing made by Evergrande Health for the Hong Kong stock exchan
Did we mention the fire that involved FF's only pre-production FF91?
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Consumer reports has had individual reports in the past on various specific models of electric vehicles, but they now publish the following report on the current state of EVs and the reliability of what is out there. Consumer-Reports-Insights-for-More-Reliable-Electric-Vehicles-Jan-2022.pdf Per the attached report above, we start looking at the latest overview they have put together: Per an Executive Order
Consumer reports has released their latest reliable electric vehicle report. This report can be taken in many ways, but the data is great info for all auto companies as they make the move to EVs.
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com March 8, 2012 Yesterday, President Barack Obama announced a new proposal that would make alternative-energy cars and trucks more attractive to buyers. Part of his proposal calls on Congress to change the current tax credit for plug-in vehicles into a point-of-sale rebate. Also he is calling for an increase in the maximum credit from $7,500 to $10,000. But plug-ins won't be the only vehicles getting a tax credit. Obama said he would like to
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January 2, 2013 By Drew Dowdell Managing Editor - CheersandGears.com Avis Budget Group and Zipcar, Inc. have announced an agreement where Avis Budget will aquire Zipcar for $12.25 a share or about $500 million total. Zipcar has about 760,000 members (including yours truly) across 20 metro markets in the U.S., Canada and Europe with locations at over 300 university campuses. Car sharing is now a $400 million per year business in the U.S. market alone. Avis Budget expects to gain $50 million t
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com March 8, 2012 Carbon Motors, the company behind the purpose-built E7 police vehicle will not be getting any of the $310 million in U.S. Department of Energy loans under the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program that it applied for almost three years ago. Carbon Motors CEO William Santana Li says the company is a victim of politics. “We are outraged by the actions of the DOE and it is clear that this was a political decisio
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com June 8, 2012 Transportation secretary Ray LaHood has made it his mission to end distracted driving, calling it an “epidemic.” To help end it, LaHood and Department of Transportation has unveiled their Blueprint for Ending Distracted Driving. The blueprint calls for: Get the last eleven holdout states to pass laws banning distracted driving. Challenge the auto industry to not provide vehicle content that the government considers distracti
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The New York Times dropped a bombshell of a report last week saying that German automakers funded an experiment that had 10 monkeys in airtight chambers, inhaling diesel fumes from a Volkswagen Beetle TDI. The experiment took place back at an Albuquerque, New Mexico laboratory in an effort to prove newer diesel vehicles were cleaner than older models. But researchers were unaware that the Beetle used in the experiment was equipped with a defeat device that allowed it produce fewer emissions in t
No, we are not making this up
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The tariffs that Trump had threatened to impose on Mexico starting June 10th will not be going on to effect. Trump tweeted out that Mexico had made concessions to deploy their newly formed Nation Guard to their own southern border and that it only took two days for Mexico to bend to Trump's demands.  This is false. The truth, according to a report in the New York Times is that Mexico had already agreed to do that back in March 2019 during secret talks between the (at the time) Director of
...the "deal" was made months ago...
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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. mark
The DS family from Citroën Is More Likely Coming to the U.S.
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com August 26, 2013 The past couple of years has seen the rise of diesel powered vehicles in the U.S. Automakers like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Chevrolet have introduced diesel vehicles to acclaim. Other automakers such as Mazda and Audi are readying vehicles to join in the fun. But there are still a number of roadblocks for automakers to bring diesel vehicles into the marketplace. To fight this, The Detroit News reports that Volkswagen is
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If you're looking a vehicle that has the best value in the marketplace, then according to Consumer Reports, you should be looking at the Toyota Prius. The publication announced the results of their annual Best New-Car Value analysis. The analysis looks at the five-year cost for a vehicle to an owner which includes such factors as maintenance, insurance, and depreciation. That cost is factored in with Consumer Reports’ road-test score and reliability rating for each vehicle. This is the second y
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The State Fair of Texas began last week and truck manufacturers were out in force with new models to tempt consumers in the largest truck market in the U.S. Both Ford and Ram Trucks rolled out new luxury trims of their pickups - Ford with the Limited and Ram with the Longhorn Southfork. Both trims can easily reach $100,000 which to some is pushing it. But marketers at the truck manufacturers tell Automotive News they don't know where the ceiling is on how much consumers are willing to spend.
And automakers don't know where the breaking point is
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com August 26, 2013 When Ford announced that it was lowering the fuel economy numbers of the C-Max Hybrid a couple of weeks ago, they said the EPA's fuel economy testing was unrealistic for hybrid vehicles. The EPA has come back this week and gave a clear message: "The problem here is really not how the testing is done." Christopher Grundler, the EPA's top auto industry regulator told Automotive News that the EPA's own engineers weren't sure if the
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Affective January 1st, 2022, Rimac Automobili became two companies, Rimac Group which is a majority shareholder in the Bugatti Rimac with a 55% stake and Porsche owning the remaining 45%. Rimac Technology is a sister company 100% owned by Rimac Group. rimac_technology_video.mp4 Â Â Rimac found themselves working with multiple auto companies to engineer, develop, produce and supply high-performa
Rimac Automobili, an EV Hyper Auto builder has become two companies expanding their ability to deliver superior electrification technologies to the auto industry.
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com June 11, 2012 Apple's 2012 Worldwide Developer's Conference keynote is coming to a close as you're reading this, and among the announcements of iOS6 and new laptops, Apple is making their way into the vehicle once again via a button. Called Eyes Free, its a button on the steering wheel that will activate Siri on your iPhone or iPad in the vehicle. Most likely paired with Bluetooth, Eyes Free will let you talk to Siri through the car, giving
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 4, 2013 The Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association lost again in court this week against Tesla. On Monday, Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Fishman dismissed the dealers association's case on the grounds of lacking a standing to bring a case forth. This is the latest blow to the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association efforts to stop Tesla from running a store in Boston. Back in November, the Massachus
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com January 4, 2012 At next week's Detroit Auto Show, Volvo will show of a XC60 Plug-In Hybrid Concept. The XC60 Plug-In Hybrid Concept will sport a brand new 2.0L turbo-four producing 280 HP. The gas engine is mated to a 70 HP electric motor giving a combined power output of 350 HP. 0-60 takes around 5.8 seconds and can get 50 MPG. Drivers can choose from three different modes how much of the available power from the gas and electric motor are
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China is the world's largest EV market with sales of electric auto's reaching 2.61 million up 70% in 2018 over 2017. This constitutes 4% of the total Chinese market today. China is requiring 10% of total sales to be EV in 2019 and raised to 12% for 2020. In comparison, the US saw EV sales jump 81% for 2018 to a total of 360,000 EVs sold out of a total of 17.2 million auto's sold. Yet the US has only 1 million EVs on the road and the auto industry is projected to spend a mind blowing $255 billio
Automakers are planning to bring to market 100's of electric automobiles by 2025 and a german research company may have solved one of the biggest problems surrounding making them profitable.
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G.Noble Editor/Reporter CheersandGears.com March 10, 2012 Life hasn’t exactly been easy for the Chevrolet Volt. Although it was just recently named 2012 European Car of the Year in Opel Ampera guise, GM announced previous to the awarding they were suspending production for little over a month because of slow sales and dealers rejecting further allotments. On top of that, the Volt has had some image issues stemming from the NHTSA’s disclosure late last year about how an example they t-boned c
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com September 16, 2012 File this under the 'what are they thinking' file. According to Automotive News Europe, the Italian Industry Ministry is in continuing discussions with different potential buyers in the assets of De Tomaso. Yes, the same company name who brought you the Pantera back in the seventies. Back in 2011, the revitalized company showed a concept called the SLS, which looked like to be a BMW 5-Series GT with a bit of Italian flair. Pr
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com September 16, 2012 This year saw the average price of the used car reach an all-time high due to severe shortage of used vehicles. “The supply right now is so low, that is controlling everything in the used-market values. There just aren’t enough vehicles out there relative to used-car demand,” said Eric Lyman, ALG’s vice president of residual value solutions. However the supply is beginning to increase slowly thanks in part turn-around in new
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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. Â 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
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The Apple Car Could Be Real
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President Donald Trump is no fan of German automakers. Take for instance this quote from last January, He has also made comments about BMW in the past few months in light of possible tariffs (which appear to be going into effect today). Now, new comments have been brought to light where the president wants to try and ban German cars from the U.S. German magazine Wirtschaftswoche reports that during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to the U.S. in April, Trump said that he will
Because automakers really want more uncertainty
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Between now and 2022, at least 50 electric vehicles will be launched. They'll be coming from the likes of Volkswagen, Diamler, and General Motors. Heck, even Dyson is getting into the game. But why this rush to get EVs on the road? It comes down to two things, Tesla and upcoming regulations. “Nobody doubts that the future will be electric. The car companies dragged their feet with electric. Now they are being dragged into it by Tesla and by regulations,”  said Erich Joachimsthaler, founder
But will anyone buy them?
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Car dealers have more cars in stock as of December since the spring of 2021. The metric car dealers use to measure their supplies is "days of inventory". This measures how long it would take to sell a new car at today's sales price. The age-old industry guideline is 60 days on a car lot. According to Cox Automotive, the average dealer has a 71-day supply. When you have an oversupply, prices start to lower. KBB states that the average for new car prices dropped from November 2022 to November
New car prices are on the decrease and factories are cutting shifts.Â
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com September 16, 2012 If you're in the market for a pickup truck, there is some very good news for you. Truck manufacturers are offering rebates ranging from $1,500 to $4,500. So why the large rebates? Well, part of it is to make room for the 2013 models. The other part is due in part to GM. GM's supply of pickup trucks has been growing and growing due in part to the company making sure they have enough supply when they shut down their plants to r
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Reporting through December 20th, 2023, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has data about manufacturer recalls for the year. Ford has issued 54 recalls affecting 5,692,135 vehicles. Not only is this the highest of any automaker, but it marks the third year in a row that Ford is at the top spot for recalls. Ford had almost twice as many Kia vehicles at 3 million. This was related to leaking brake fluid which is a fire risk. Stellantis came second with 45 recalls and 2.
One automaker dominates the number of total recalls.
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Automakers are trying to achieve price parity between EV and ICE vehicles. This is a key objective so EVs become more attainable to buy. Price parity would help consumers who are interested in EVs. Kelly Blue Book's (KBB) November average transaction price data for new vehicles shows that we are moving slightly in the right direction. In 2024, certain EVs will lose the federal tax credit. The industry average transaction price (ATP) for every type of vehicle was $48,247. The new EV average
While ICE vehicle's average transaction was $48,247, EV average transactions were 8.5% higher, at $52,345.
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January is usually not a strong month for car sales as it just after the holidays and people don't have the money to buy a new car. This is reflected in our January sales figure ticker where most automakers post small increases and decreases. There were some automakers that posted some surprising numbers. Nissan reported a 10 percent increase and Toyota noted an impressive 16.8 percent rise. The two automakers credit their utility as a key reason for the rise. But Bloomberg reports there is anot
How do you explain a noticeable increase in January sales?
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Short and sweet, what is not to love about the Superbowl ads. Tell us what you like, as more are released, hopefully we get them all posted here. Â Â Â Â Â Â Seems there is a whole series of Dr. EV-il commercials at the GM Youtube channel. General Motors - YouTube GMC has released a whole series of Declassified videos on new technology. G
Not much more can be said other than another year, another round of fun filled commercials. Here we are posting all the Auto ones to watch, discuss and enjoy.
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Cummins Inc., the manufacturer of diesel engines, has reached an agreement with the United States and the State of California. The $1.675 billion settlement would be the largest penalty for Clean Air Act Violations. Hundreds of thousands of engines were found with an emission-cheating defeat device. There were 630,000 defeat devices from 2013 to 2019 RAM 2500 and 3500 trucks. The Clean Air Act requires automakers and engine manufacturers to comply with emission limits. Defeat devices can b
This agreement costs Cummins $1.67 billion
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com September 18, 2012 McLaren has just dropped the first official images of its P1 design study that will be shown at the Paris Motor Show next week. Called the company's "next generation ultimate supercar", the P1 appears to take the proportions of the F1 supercar and the design of the current MP4-12C. "Our aim is not necessarily to be the fastest in absolute top speed but to be the quickest and most rewarding series production road car on a ci
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 8, 2013 Eight months after Google became the first company to be licensed by the state of Nevada to test autonomous vehicles on public roads, Audi becomes the first automaker to be licensed. The German automaker is no stranger to autonomous vehicles. In 2010, a specially-built TTS took on the Pikes Peak Climb, finishing the course in 27 minutes. Audi will use its license to continue developing and refining its autonomous system, whi
Audi becomes the first automaker to get a license to operate autonomous vehicles in Nevada.
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Automakers have been struggling since 2020 to launch their new vehicles on time. Shifts to creating electric vehicles and the COVID-19 pandemic created large supply chain issues. These issues have increased delays for new vehicles to be launched. PwC Consulting discovered in a report that 34% of vehicle launches 2023 had production delays. An additional 21% of delays were "due to other factors". PwC did a calculation of production delays with issues such as quality standards, supply chain
These setbacks are due to software issues, more advanced safety systems, and a large lean toward EVs.Â
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com August 31, 2013 The Advance Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program could be making a comeback. First introduced back in 2008 by then President George Bush, the ATVM program set aside $25 billion to fund advancements in green vehicle technology. However the program was suspended three years after due to two companies who took loans weren't able to pay them back. When the program was suspended, the Energy Department only gave out ab
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Buying and selling vehicles in Cuba is an interesting proposition. If you own or want to buy a vehicle before 1959 (the year when Cuba underwent a revolution and became a communist nation), you don't have to ask the government for permission. If the vehicle built after 1959, then you would have to obtain a special permit from the government which allows you to buy that vehicle. But buying a vehicle in Cuba in the near future will become a much easier affair. The Cuban Government announced last
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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 mini
- Mail Trucks
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Two automakers join the competition for the next mail truck
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com March 13, 2012 Even after its release, Fisker has been having their share of problems with the new Karma; battery defects, software problems, and Consumer Reports having their Karma die during their testing. A former Fisker employee isn't surprised. The employee told GigaOM that Fisker pushed the Karma before it was production ready to try and meet its milestones from the Department of Energy for its $529 million loan. Unfortunately, the re
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com September 3, 2013 In not surprising news, California is the place where most electric vehicles are being sold. New data from Polk says that more than more than 35 percent of electric vehicles registrations come from two California cities: San Francisco and Los Angeles. The California New Car Dealers Association says in the first half of this year, 9,700 electric vehicles were registered and represented 1.1 percent of the state’s auto sales. “A
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Infotainment systems are one the banes of the automotive world. From confusing interfaces and controls, to issues with crashing and features not working. Add distracting drivers to this list. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety worked together with researchers at the University of Utah to measure the time it took to complete the task, and the visual and mental demand on the driver. 120 drivers were asked to perform various tasks such as operating the stereo and putting in information for n
30 vehicles and their infotainment systems are put under the microscope
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Kelly Blue Book has listed the ten vehicles that deprecate at alarming rate and top three happen to be electric vehicles. The Nissan Leaf according to KBB is projected to only retain 18 percent of its new-car price after five years. Behind the Leaf is the Fiat 500e which is expected to retain 21 percent and the Smart ForTwo EV which is expected to retain 21.5 percent. Few key items to keep in mind: Fiat 500e is only available to lease in California A number of automakers, like Nissan have
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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
The EPA Is Introducing New, Stricter Guidelines In Their Emission Tests
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While car sales are down, the number of people opting for loan lengths from 73 to 84 months is going up. Â Karl Kruppa, senior automotive solutions consultant for Experian said at a conference last week that the share of 73 to 84 months car loans has been rising over the past eight years. Through February of this year, 33.8 percent of loans were for terms longer than 73 months. Other numbers to take into consideration, In the fourth quarter of 2010, three-fourths of new-car loans
Long-term loans for new and used cars are increasing
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com January 4, 2012 It's not any news that cars are getting heavier by the moment due to new safety reguations and luxuries like power windows and sound proofing. A new report shows how both have been detrimental to fuel economy gains. Christopher Knittel, a professor of applied economics at the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management published a paper in the American Economic Review stating that if weight, horsepower, and torque were held to levels i
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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. Â 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 wh
It Isn't Only Teens
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 19, 2012 The internet is a wonderful place for things to leak out before their official debut. The latest leak comes from Aston Martin as their new flagship, the Vanquish was revealed before its official debut. From the few pictures that were leaked, the Vanquish appears to be mix of the current DB9 and some new designs. Under the body lies a heavily revised version of Aston Martin’s VH platform. Power will come from a revised 6.0L V12 en
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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. Â BMW has confirmed that it will be contracting Magna Steyr to build a ne
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A possible production has been picked for the joint BMW and Toyota sports car
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The Pandemic had at the start made investors fearful that companies would be hurt, and profits and stock payouts would fall if not be stopped right out as companies looked to find ways to save cash as people stayed home due to Covid-19. Yes, some companies did stop many things and some companies even closed due to the global pandemic, yet Auto companies found that having control of a tight inventory actually pushed up record profits and in this their workers have also prospered along with
The days of yearly reviews, raises and maximum auto production might be coming to an end as OEM auto companies find bigger profits in controlling production.
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com March 14, 2012 Back in 2008, then Presidential candidate Barack Obama made a pledge to have a million electric vehicles on the nation’s roadways by 2015. Obama reiterated that pledge during his 2011 State of Union address. But a new report from the White House called the “One Year Progress Report” of the President’s “Blueprint For A Secure Energy Agenda” shows the goal won't be reached. President Obama stated last year that “with more resea
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Towards the end of Obama presidency, the administration unveiled guidelines for testing and deployment of self-driving cars in the US. But there is a new presidency in the White House and that means things will be changing - although details are scarce as to how. U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said in Detroit yesterday the Department of Transportation would revisit and revise the guidelines put forth by the previous administration within the next few months. "The pressure is
A New Presidency Means Changes, Including Guidelines for Self-Driving Vehicles
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The bad news keeps hitting Faraday Future. Earlier this month, we reported on the fight between the automaker and its latest backer, Evergrande Health Industry Group. Faraday claims that Evergrande failed to provide additional funds as part of an investment deal. Evergrande has denied this claim and has brought in lawyers to fight this charge. But this row has caused the electric car start-up to make some difficult decisions. The Verge obtained an email sent to Faraday Future staff on Sunda
20 percent cut in salaries and an unknown number of people will be laid off
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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. Â 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
FTC Looks At the Dealership Regulations and Direct Sales
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com March 15, 2012 The hopes and dreams of having a small diesel Indian pickup in the U.S. are now put to rest. A British arbitration panel ruled in favor of Mahindra, the pickup truck maker in question in a lawsuit with their U.S. distributor, Global Vehicles. The panel said in their verdict the contract between the two companies had expired and that Mahindra had not violated the terms of the contract or any U.S. laws. This verdict ends a six y
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Consumer Reports' has unveiled the results of their 2018 Auto Reliability Survey and it was not a good showing for the domestics. Only two domestic brands finished in the top 20 - Ford which came in 18th and Buick who placed 19th. The latter dropping 11 spots in this year's survey. The rest of the domestic brands finished in the bottom half with Ram, Tesla, and Cadillac finishing 26th to 28th. Finishing last was Volvo with CR saying the brand's Sensus Connect infotainment system being the reason
Not a pleasant showing for the domestics
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has submitted revised rule to the White House and missed two self imposed deadlines. We'll start with the revised rule. On December 25th, NHTSA submitted a revised rule which could cause automakers to make backup cameras standard on vehicles. The regulation would set new rear visibility standards for light vehicles sold in the United States. Details on the regulation were not given. This is aimed at reducing the number of kids being run over a
- NHTSA
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NHTSA Goes One For Three On Safety Regulation Deadlines.
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 21, 2012 Despite an early showing yesterday, Aston Martin has officially revealed the new Vanquish. The Vanquish will take the place of the DBS when it goes on sale in 2013. The Vanquish’s exterior design is a blend of the current DBS and Aston’s One-77 super car. Underneath the sleek design, the Vanquish’s body is comprised mostly of carbon fiber. As we reported on Tuesday, the new Vanquish will ride on Aston Martin’s venerable VH plat
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com September 26, 2012 On the surface, everything seems bright and sunny at Tesla. The company has begun production of the new Model S sedan, introduced a new charging network for Model S drivers that uses solar energy, and is in the process of planning new models. But, Tesla is showing some signs of setbacks of becoming an automaker. In a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Tesla has downgraded their full-year revenue forecast from $
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The past few years in the automotive industry has seen an explosion in technologies - whether its dealing improving the overall safety of a vehicle or figuring out a way to hook up your smartphone. Some of the tech makes the driving experience better, while others don't. So what do consumers think about the new technologies coming into vehicles? J.D. Power decided to find out. In their 2015 US Tech Choice Study, the company asked 5,300 consumers who either bought or leased a new vehicle within
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J.D. Power's Recent Car Technology Shows What People Want and Don't Want In Their Cars
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The CEOs of Detroit's three automakers met with President Donald Trump this morning to talk about investments. Specifically, investments into U.S. manufacturing. "We have a very big push on to have auto plants and other plants -- many other plants," Trump told reporters at the meeting. “We’re going to make the process much more simple for the oil companies and everybody else that wants to do business in the United States.” During the meeting, Trump told the CEOs that he plans on cutti
What did the three Detroit automakers talk about with the new president?
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com January 5, 2012 A study done by consulting firm KPMG found out two-thirds of auto execs that combined hybrid and EV sales will account for as little as 6% of the market in the United States and Western Europe as late as 2025. However, the execs say they will still invest in the technology. "They are hedging their bets. They are saying that we don't know yet what the winning vehicle technology will be for the future, and so they are going to
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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 br
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Transformers 4 Appearance to Selling Vehicles In The U.S.? Ok...
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If the Trump administration goes forward with placing a 25 percent tariff on new cars, it could cost automakers between one to two million sales. Analysis done by researcher LMC Automotive said if automakers pass on the full 25 percent tariff to customers, it could cut sales by about two million - about 10 percent of annual U.S. sales. If automakers absorb some some of tariff, the sales drop would reduce to just a million. Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for LMC Aut
The possible 25 percent tariffs could do some serious damage to car sales
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) created a rule last year to help consumers against unfair practices and fees. Known as the Combating Auto Retail Scams (CARS), this was supposed to take effect on July 30th, 2024. Now, lobbyists were able to get this paused indefinitely. This new development of CARS was fought by the National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA) and the Texas Automobile Dealers Association. They filed a petition with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and challenged the
This ban on upcharges and shady tactics went from taking effect on July 30th to an infinite delay.
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 21, 2012 The EPA gave its ratings for the Tesla Model S are they are very good. The EPA rates the new Model S at 88 MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent) in the City, 90 MPGe on the Highway, and 89 MPGe combined. Range is estimated to be 265 Miles, a 12% decrease from Tesla’s original estimate. (Note, these EPA ratings are for the the top of the line Model S. We’ll learn what the ratings for the other Model Ss in time.) So where does the M
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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?
The recall system in the U.S. needs to be fixed.... It's just that no one can agree on a solution.
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com March 16, 2012 This week, Senators on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee criticized the Energy Department on their handling of the $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing initiative. Created in 2007, the Energy Department has only given out less than half of the funds during the four years of existence. Only four companies have gotten their loans; Ford, Nissan, Fisker Automotive, and Tesla. The Energy Department hasn’t
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 13, 2013 We're just a day away from the Detroit Auto Show starting and the leaks have been pouring out. Four automakers: Honda, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen have had their showings prematurely revealed within the past week. We'll start with Honda and their Urban SUV Concept. The concept is based on the Fit and has a sporty and dynamic SUV profile. Next is the Infinti Q50 (Yes, the successor to the G Sedan) which was leak
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com April 10, 2013 Ford, General Motors, and Ram are continuing their stance on ignoring the SAE testing procedure for towing ratings according to Automotive News. The procedure, named J2807, is designed to reflect how the pickups are really used, and are supposed to be more accurate than the non-SAE numbers, which manufacturers supply. The procedure tests a pickup’s structure, propulsion, handling, braking, and thermal-handling ability, in a se
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Google, Audi, GM, Honda, Hyundai, and NVIDIA announced at the Consumer Electronics Show today a new partnership called the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA). The overall goal of the alliance is to help speed up the development of technological innovation in the auto industry by openness, customization, and scale. The alliance will work on bringing the Android operating system from phones and tablets to vehicles, giving automakers a degree of technological development expertise that they haven't ha
Complained about infotainment systems in cars? A new alliance hopes to change that.
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Premium battery manufacture of Germany, AKASOL has announced that they will open a battery system production plant in Detroit Michigan USA. This dedicated operations in North America will ensure that AKASOL's customers comply with the Buy America Act Regulations and is in response to demand for their high energy battery modules from various OEM manufacturer of Trucks, Buses and auto's. This considerable investment will create over 200 jobs within the next 5 years. State of Michigan awarded
Detroit Michigan has been chosen to ensure that AKASOL's customers comply with Buy America Act regulations, which dictate that they must purchase locally-produced battery systems.
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com September 26, 2012 The calm before the storm that is the auto show season. The beginning point is the Paris Motor Show which begins tomorrow. However, some automaker have made the decision to reveal some of their products and concepts a day earlier. The automakers include Jaguar, Bentley, and Porsche. Lets dive in Next: Jaguar Jaguar's showing for Paris was the new F-Type. Rumored for many years, Jaguar has finally brought a small, two-se
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com January 6, 2012 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today released their numbers of recalls done by automakers in 2011. The total for 2011 stands at 15.5 million vehicles and 593 recall campaigns. The numbers are less than 2010 totals of 20.1 million vehicles and 648 campaigns. Honda was the top automaker in recalls with 3.9 million vehicles recalled during 2011. Honda initially disputed the number put out by NHTSA, but later
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G. David Felt Staff Writer Alternative Energy - CheersandGears.com & Black-Knight It seems that just yesterday Japanese automakers and their vehicles were seemingly and unanimously praised for their quality and reliability. However, today a new series of recalls out of the land of the rising sun herald a stark reminder that not every automaker is perfect. Today, might finally be a major wake up call for some that these companies are not bullet proof. Today Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mazd
It would seem the other shoe has dropped and the Japan auto companies which consumers have always said built bullet proof auto's are now on the receiving end of millions of recalls for poor quality parts. Check out how many auto's affect which manufactures.
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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'r
A new crossover will kick off the push
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With more people trending towards trucks and utility vehicles, it would be expected that prices on cars would be falling. But not on used cars according to Edmunds. In their latest Used Car Report, Edmunds says the average price for a used subcompact rose 3 percent in the first quarter. Compacts saw their average price increase by 3.9 percent. The reason according to the report is due to the increasing cost for a gallon of gas. "Used-car shoppers are typically more price-sensitive to
Thank you high gas prices
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 1, 2012 Automotive News is reporting that Ford and General Motors have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop next-generation nine and ten-speed automatic transmissions. Sources say that General Motors will take the lead on developing the nine-speed transmission for front-wheel drive and transverse applications. Ford will take on the ten-speed for rear-wheel drive applications. This isn't the first time that Ford and G
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BYD, the Chinese automaker who is backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., announced plans to launch in the U.S. by the end of 2015. The automaker which had an aborted U.S. launch in 2010 and a restructure that lasted three years believes that they are more prepared now. “Back then, we had passion, but we had no brand, no history, no capital and no competitive advantage. BYD has become more fashionable and we have improved our design and safety. We don’t want to compete on price any
BYD Announces Plans For The U.S. We're Wondering If They Will.
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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
One Chinese Automaker goes with the price leader route for the U.S.
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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-lead
Fisker is making a comeback. No, we're not in the Twilight Zone.
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com April 15, 2013 Back in October, we reported that Ford and General Motors signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop next-generation nine and ten-speed automatic transmissions. Today, both auto manufacturers have gone on the record and confirmed this joint operation. The two automakers aren't saying which specific vehicles will get the nine and ten-speed transmissions, but did say the transmissions are designed for front- and rea
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Since President Donald Trump was elected, automakers have been pushing for him to relax the stricter fuel economy and emission regulations coming into effect by 2025. Now there is another group calling for this. At the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) annual conference, dealers voiced support for the new president ease the upcoming regulations. "You inflate the price of the vehicle and a car that was maybe within reach of being affordable now may not be," said NADA's new
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It isn't automakers who want the stricter fuel economy and emission regulations for 2025 to be relaxed
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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 An
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How Do You Get More Consumers to Fix Their Vehicles?
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Dolder, Falco and Reese Partners LLC, the company behind an aftermarket device called the Autopilot Buddy. Autopilot Buddy is a small, weighted device that clips onto either side of the wheel to place minor amounts of torque. This fools the Autopilot system into thinking that a driver has their hands on the wheel. The company markets the device as "nag reduction device", reducing the amount of warnings
This was bound to happen sooner or later
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The future of Faraday Future is becoming dimmer. The Verge reported yesterday that the automaker has decided to shut down some operations this week at their headquarters in Gardena, California, and at its factory in Hanford, California. Workers who started after May 1st of this year “must take a furlough,” according to an email sent by FF CEO Jia Yueting. Those working before "will have the option to remain on board with a reduced salary of $50,000 per year," employees told The Verge. Yueting sa
The lights are dimming at Faraday Future
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BMW Group and Daimler AG are combining forces to take on rideshare and mobility services like Uber and Lyft. They will invest a combined 1 billion euro to build a new company with a multiprong approach. The new company will offer five services in a single portfolio. Eventually, they will offer an all-electric, self-driving fleet of vehicles that charge, park, and drive autonomously and interconnect with other forms of transport. The five apps include: Reach Now: Offers a range of op
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1B € combined investment
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com April 16, 2013 With gas prices on the rise, you would think sales of subcompact vehicles would also be rising? No. Wards Auto reports that subcompact sales are off since October, even though the price of a gallon of gas is rising and holding steady at $3.50 to $4.00 across the country. So why the drop off in subcompacts? Wards has a couple ideas to explain this. For one, the reason might lie in the boom/bust cycle that comes as a result of n
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If you have been following auto sales for the past few years, then you know that SUVs and trucks currently dominate the sales charts partly due to the low gas prices. This is especially true when it comes to the luxury segment, where utility models are eating sedans. But a new report from The New York Times reveals that American automakers are eating the lunches of luxury car manufacturers. According to data from Edmunds, the likes of Ford, Chevrolet, and GMC have seen their share of domes
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American automakers are cleaning up here.
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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 i
NADA's chairman says the direct sales model are bad because vehicles would get more expensive
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A new report from the German publication Handelsblatt says that Ford and Volkswagen are considering expanding their partnership "that stands to change the German industry.” The two are reportedly looking into working together on autonomous tech and electric vehicle development. There are a number of ideas under consideration between two. One example is for Volkswagem's Moia self-driving subsidiary to take a 50 percent stake into Ford’s Autonomous Vehicles LLC. In return, Volkswagen could sh
May include autonomous vehicles
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The project of a trade war between the U.S. and China (along with the European Union) has many automakers on edge. Some are beginning to speak out about the possible dangers it may bring. Mercedes-Benz's parent company, Diamler AG announced yesterday that its full-year earnings will be slightly lower than last year. Their reasoning comes down to consumers in China buying fewer SUVs that are imported from the U.S. Most of Mercedes-Benz SUVs are built in Alabama. “Remember, for those fol
One Predicts a Hit on Profits, While the Other Says it will threaten jobs
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 28, 2012 The average age of a vehicle in the U.S. has hit a record high. According to Experian Automotive, the average age of the 245 million vehicles registered in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2012 was 11 years. That's an increase of just over 2 months when compared to last year. Experian Automotive goes onto say that more than 52 million cars and trucks in the U.S. are 16 years or older. Experian Automotive's analysis also found
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Another wave of fallout from the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal could be coming later this week in a German court. Reuters reports that Germany’s federal administrative court will be ruling whether or not local governments could ban diesel vehicles. Environmental group DUH sued the Stuttgart and Duesseldorf governments for over levels of diesel particulate matter exceeding European Union limits after Volkswagen admitted to cheating on emission tests. Local courts ordered the government
Could cause serious issues in terms of resale values
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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) Lexu
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Entry-Level Models Boost Sales of Luxury Brands
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 29, 2012 Today, BMW and Toyota unveiled more of their plans from their partnership announced last December. The plans include development of a hydrogen fuel-cell system, collaboration on electric powertrains, work on lightweight technologies, and development of a new sports car. "Toyota and the BMW Group share the same strategic vision of sustainable individual future mobility. Together we have a great opportunity to continue leading our i
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