Industry News

New Rollover Safety Rules on Hold New Federal mandates for greater roof strengthening efforts on the part of auto manufacturers have been put at a standstill by safety advocates who claim that the proposed rules are as weak as the roofs that some vehicles currently have. The rules would go into effect by 2010 at the earliest but manufacturers claim that isn't enough time for them to comply fully. These are the proposed rules: Would extend strength rules to all vehicles under 10,000 pounds; currently only vehicles up to 6,000 pounds are covered. Would require that a vehicle roof withstand a force equal to 2.5 times the vehicle weight while maintaining sufficient hea…

G. David Felt Staff Writer Alternative Energy - www.CheersandGears.com Self Driving Machines is a battle for your soul and that of Detroit! Wall Street Journal had the following story, Detroit Battles for the Soul of Self-Driving Machines. In reading this I felt it was more about Self Driving Machines and the battle for Detroit and your soul as a driver. The story goes on to follow an engineer who left Caterpillar and went to Ford only to end up at a startup that is doing far more inline with High Tech software companies than auto companies. It made me wonder if the new Detroit is not the west coast now. The amount of technology that is being aimed at the auto…

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…

Electric car startup Lucid Motors has been in process of trying to raise extra cash to move forward with the development of their first model, the Air and a factory in Arizona. But Bloomberg has learned from sources at the startup that Lucid reached out to Ford about a possible sale. Reportedly, Ford said they are not looking for a deal at the moment. Currently, the blue oval is undergoing a 100-day review by new CEO Jim Hackett. Interestingly, a source went on to say that Ford isn't ruling out a deal down the road. For the time being, Lucid has called in Morgan Stanley to help with raising the extra funds. “We don’t have the money in place. That’s why we need t…

(Lockport, NY, November 17, 2005) - - Some employees of the bankrupt Delphi Corporation got a jolt when they checked their pay day bank balances Thursday. News 4's Barbara Pinson explains what happened to some missing direct deposits. A Delphi employee, who asked not to be identified, said, "This morning, people were trying to get money out of ATM machines, and these checks were not there." She didn't want her identity revealed, but this Delphi employee did agree to share her story about receiving her pay stub, but not the actual funds in her direct deposit account. The Delphi employee said, "My bills are scheduled to come out today, becaus…

Listening to the Internet Internet trends: Companies are eavesdropping on online discussion forums to find out what their customers really think about them March 9, 2006 ONE of the things that makes the internet so appealing is that for any subject, no matter how obscure, there is almost guaranteed to be at least one website, blog or discussion forum where people congregate to talk about it. Online discussion forums cover a huge range of topics: it is not just stereotypical geeky bickering about Macs versus PCs, or Windows versus Linux. Worried mothers compare the fat content of different brands of potato crisps; car enthusiasts discuss the merits of forthcoming models…

For the past few years, luxury automakers have been trying to fill every single niche they could think of. It's why we have such models as the BMW 5-Series GT and Mercedes-Benz GLC-Coupe for example. But now, BMW and Mercedes-Benz admit they have too many models and are planning to cut some. “The checkerboard of body styles and segments is rather full, although there are still a few to be finished. We’ve got an X2 and an X7 coming, and there are a few others, but I also know—because we’ve taken decisions—that some body styles will be removed in the future,” said Ian Robertson, BMW’s head of sales and marketing, to Car and Driver. “There’s definitely more of a mo…

Union chief: Plans to Build Chevrolet Orlando in U.S. on Hold It seems the planned Orlando may be in jeopardy for US production. Local United Auto Workers chief George McGregor informed Automotive News that plant management informed him that the Orlando and a planned Opel variant will not be built at the facility later in the year. Follow the jump to learn more. http://www.cheersandgears.com/index.php?showtopic=28920

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 that Ford has the most models on the road compared to any other automaker. That really shouldn't come as a surprise since the Ford F-150 has been the best-selling vehicle in the U…

Pontiac's fate to be decided in 2010 Follow the jump for more details. http://www.cheersandgears.com/index.php?sh...t=0&start=0

NHTSA Gives The Ok To Terrafugia's Flying Car William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com July 12, 2011 The dream of the flying car looks to be coming true. Today, Massachusetts-based Terrafugia, Inc has been granted all the special exemptions it had requested from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for their vehicle, the Transition Roadable Aircraft. Known as the Transition, it's the first flying vehicle to receive such exemptions from the Department of Transportation since the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards came into fruition during the 70's. NHTSA has cleared Terrafugia to use special tires that are rated for highway s…

Most new cars and trucks sitting on dealer lots have fuel economy estimates on their window sticker. The only group of vehicles that don't are heavy-duty trucks. This is due to the EPA not requiring automakers to publish estimates on trucks with gross weight ratings that exceed 8,500 pounds. This makes it difficult for folks to compare the heavy-duty trucks with one another or comparing the diesel variants with the light-duty gas versions. Consumer Reports doesn't believe it should be this way and is working on an effort to change this. Consumer Reports recently tested a Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD, Ford F-250 Super Duty, and Ram 2500 equipped with their optional dies…

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 the highest price increase for that time period out of all vehicle categories. Even at $45,000, it prices a lot of people out," said Ivan Drury, senior analyst at Edmunds to the D…

GM moves one step closer to spinning off or closing Saturn. As expected, GM has started on its plan to close down or sell off the Saturn brand. To get the full story follow the jump. http://www.cheersandgears.com/index.php?sh...c=28407&hl=

There is a war that has just started in the auto industry, and this is the transformation from ICE or internal combustion engine autos to EV or electric vehicles. The battle ground will be as much in the variations of the EVs that come from the global auto companies as will it be the power train and especially the battery packs. Sila the material solutions company spent the last 10 years perfecting their material science to move away from rare earth elements as much as possible and to increase density of today's lithium-ion battery packs. To move into the next decade as a material solutions company, Sila has purchased a 600,000-square-foot warehouse in Moses Lake, Wa…

REPORT: Cadillac Converj Green Lighted Motor Trend is reportinging that GM has given the Converj the green light for production in 2011. Follow the jump to learn more. http://www.cheersandgears.com/index.php?sh...c=30427&hl=

News Ragtops escape roof-crush rules: NHTSA says convertibles can't share standards with fixed-roof vehicles HARRY STOFFER | Automotive News RICK KRANZ | Automotive News Posted Date: 11/9/05 Federal regulators want stronger vehicle roofs to protect people in rollover crashes, but they have no plan to protect occupants of convertibles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it cannot hold convertibles, including retractable hardtops, to the same roof-crush requirements as vehicles with fixed roofs. The agency also has decided against convertible-specific rollover rules, such as requiring roll bars. There has been a sharp increase in convertible…

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 decision in a highly-charged, election year environment. Since Solyndra became politicized last fall, the DOE has failed to make any other loans under the ATVM program, has pulled back on…

By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com May 21, 2013 This maybe somewhat hard to believe, but German luxury models are cheaper than their Korean counterparts in South Korea. For example, a BMW 528i is around $64,000 in South Korea while Kia's flagship K9 is around $76,400. A difference of $12,400. Consumers in South Korea are taking notice of this and are going towards the Germans. Why are the German vehicles much cheaper? Lowered tarrifs. Thanks to a trade pact introduced back in 2011, duties on European products dropped from 8 to 3.2 percent. This means automakers such as BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz have seen an sales increase of 25 percent in the first …

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 cutting corporate tax rates to 15-20 percent, and reduce regulations by 75 percent. “We think we can cut regulations by 75 percent. Maybe more. When you want to expand your plant, …

As consumers brace for another round of gasoline-price increases after Hurricane Rita, car makers are rediscovering fuel economy as a marketing tool. Last week, General Motors Corp. previewed a line of large SUVs due out next year and emphasized improvements in gas mileage as much as their vast interior space and sleek new designs. GM has also focused on fuel economy in its "Only GM" ad campaign, which since February has been running in newspapers, on network TV and other media. In the ads, GM touts the "20 that get 30," meaning 20 of its models get at least 30 miles per gallon, including the Chevy Cobalt and the Pontiac G6. "We wanted peopl…

In less than one year, we've lost David E and Jerry Flint....add in the losses of Beverly Rae Kimes, Fred Roe, Stanley Stephenson, and Taylor Vinson...the worlds of automotive journalists and automotive historians are noticably less well stocked. If you don't know who they are (I assume you know the first two names), look them up and start reading. http://automotivetraveler.com/jump/2994 "Freedom and Whiskey!"

Black Box Brouhaha A new federal rule to standardize minimum requirements for "black boxes" in vehicles wasn't expected to be controversial, but it has ignited a firestorm of protests from groups that largely agree the information collected by the devices improves auto safety. All U.S. and foreign automakers have asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to rewrite the rule because they say it's too vague and will cost too much to implement. Safety advocates say it doesn't go far enough. Read "Black boxes spark uproar" @ The Detroit News

G. David Felt Staff Writer Alternative Energy - www.CheersandGears.com Michelin X Tweel Tires, Future Tire Today! Michelin for the last 10 plus years has been playing with an airless tire. The goal has been a tire that has no air valves, no more need for air compressors at gas stations or any auto dealership or repair place, no more repair kits and no more flats, ever! We have seen many presentations by Michelin at auto shows over the years presenting various proto types but for the most part the story has been the same. With this we went through stories about the Military exploring this as a better way to deal with unknowns in the war zon…

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 en…

Official: Sorry for touting Asian cars September 20, 2007: 07:36 PM EST Sep. 20, 2007 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- WASHINGTON (AP) - A Bush administration official apologized Thursday for a newsletter sent to thousands of government employees that encouraged them to consider fuel-efficient vehicles built by Japanese automakers. 'I deeply regret that our newsletter offended anyone, especially those Americans working in the automobile industry and the millions of people who make American automobile manufacturers successful,' said Joe Ellis, the Department of Health and Human Services' assistant secretary for administration and management. Some dome…

Few are being hired, leaving some students to switch focus. By Ken Bensinger December 15, 2008 On the same night that the Senate was killing legislation to bail out U.S. automakers last week, seniors in vehicle design at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design were putting on what should have been the show of their young lives. Standing in suits beside sleek, carefully constructed models of futuristic-looking cars and video screens with 3-D renderings, they smiled and handed out resumes, hoping to catch the eye of a car company recruiter Almost none were to be found. "Normally there are a lot of designers from the big companies, but with all that's going on, n…

IHS Markit recently published their analysis on how long Americans are holding onto their vehicles. The average according to the firm stands at 11.9 years, the highest amount since they have been tracking this. Also, about one in four vehicles is over sixteen years old. We should note that this data came before COVID-19 started to wreak havoc on the U.S. IHS notes that new cars only made up 6.1 percent of vehicles in operation in 2019, down 0.8 percent when compared to high of 2016. This highlights falling new car sales. But the question lingering over automakers and analysts is will the pandemic cause sales to fall even further as more people hang on to their vehicl…

We're Back! ~October 22, 2008~ We're on the air again. C&G's database crashed yesterday, but the host was able to get us up and running again with no apparent loss of posts. Now that you're all just now getting back into the swing of things, what better time to announce that there'll be some PLANNED downtime after 9:30EST tonight? We'll be upgrading to the latest version of IP Board, which boasts of, among other things, some improvements in speed and reliability. DOWNTIME ANNOUNCEMENT: 10/22/08 @ ~9:30PM EST --- Get Your Orders In ~October 20, 2008~ It's nice to write about something positive - it seems like forever since we've been able to do that. …