William Maley

Days after the news came out that Volkswagen had outfitted a number of diesel vehicles with illegal software, the company set aside 6.5 billion Euros (about $7.2 billion) to deal with lawsuits and fines. But Volkswagen Group CEO Matthias Müller says that isn't enough. Speaking to reporters at Volkswagen's HQ, Müller said the 6.5 billion is just for the recall. "I can only speculate about any further provisions. Should there be a change in sales volumes, we would react rapidly," said Müller. So how much more could Volkswagen be in for? According to a report done by Credit Suisse, the worst-case scenario could see Volkswagen spending 78 billion Euros (about $84 billion). The best-case scenario has Volkswagen spending 23 billion Euros (about $25 billion). The biggest cost according to the report is owner reimbursement for the lost value of their vehicles. "The market does not appear to be discounting negative knock-on effects," said Credit Suisse analysts in the report. "The outcome for recall costs and fines is unclear and largely depends on the engine performance post repair." Source: Reuters, CNNMoney View full article

That's for certain. But I think its good that we have an idea of how much this is affecting prices of used TDI models. Great if you are buying, bad if you are selling.

$100 going towards a 'buying a vehicle one of these days' fund.

Minutes before an imposed deadline that could have led union workers to walk out and possibly lead to strike, General Motors and the UAW reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year labor contract. Now specific details of the contract are still under wraps as the UAW's leadership will need to approve the deal before sending out to members for ratification. In a statement released by the UAW, the bargaining committee “secured significant gains and job security protections” in its negotiations with GM. “We believe that this agreement will present stable long-term significant wage gains and job security commitments to UAW members now and in the future. We look forward to presenting the details of these gains to local union leaders and the membership,” said UAW President Dennis Williams. "The new UAW-GM national agreement is good for employees and the business. Working with our UAW partners, we developed constructive solutions that benefit employees and provide flexibility for the company to respond to the needs of the marketplace,” said Cathy Clegg, GM North America Manufacturing and Labor Relations vice president. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), Detroit News, General Motors, UAW Press Release is on Page 2 UAW-GM BARGAINING COMMITTEE VOTES ON PROPOSED TENTATIVE AGREEMENT UAW-GM Bargaining Committee Votes on Proposed Tentative Agreement UAW National GM Council Leaders to Convene for Vote on Wednesday Terms to be announced following Wednesday vote Detroit, Mich. – The UAW-GM Bargaining committee announced at 11:43 p.m.Sunday that they have secured significant gains and job security protections in a proposed Tentative Agreement with General Motors. The bargaining committee unanimously voted to send the proposed Tentative Agreement to local union leaders who make up the union’s UAW National GM Council. The Council will meet in Detroit on Wednesday to discuss and vote on the agreement. “We believe that this agreement will present stable long-term significant wage gains and job security commitments to UAW members now and in the future,” said UAW President Dennis Williams. “We look forward to presenting the details of these gains to local union leaders and the membership.” UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada called the agreement transformative as it gives our members a clear path. “The significant gains in this agreement are structured in a way that will provide certainty to our members and create a clear path for all GM employees now and in the future. The agreement not only rewards UAW-GM members for their accomplishments, but it protects them with significant job security commitments.” Until the UAW National GM Council votes to approve the deal, it is classified as a Proposed Tentative Agreement. The contract language becomes a Tentative Agreement once the Council votes and they have requested details to be held until they review and vote on the proposal. Following Council approval, the UAW will release details of the Tentative Agreement to its membership and the ratification process will begin. A vote of the UAW-GM membership will decide whether or not the deal is finalized. The union plans to make the details of the agreement available immediately after the UAW National GM Council votes on the tentative agreement Wednesday and will have no comment until that time. GENERAL MOTORS STATEMENT REGARDING A TENTATIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN GM AND THE UAW DETROIT – General Motors and the United Auto Workers reached a tentative agreement at approximately 11:43 p.m. EDT on October 25, 2015. "The new UAW-GM national agreement is good for employees and the business,” said Cathy Clegg, GM North America Manufacturing and Labor Relations vice president. “Working with our UAW partners, we developed constructive solutions that benefit employees and provide flexibility for the company to respond to the needs of the marketplace.” Terms of the four-year agreement are not being shared publicly to allow the International UAW to inform their membership about the agreement and conduct a ratification vote. If ratified, the agreement would cover about 52,600 GM employees in the United States who are represented by the UAW. GM won’t comment further until the contract is ratified. View full article

The past year has seen autonomous vehicles making headlines with a number of technology companies such as Google and Apple working on their own vehicles. But Cadillac CEO Johan de Nysschen says autonomous vehicles shouldn't take away the act of driving to those who enjoy it. “Autonomous driving and driving passion must co-exist,” de Nysschen said to a group at the 10th annual J.D Power Automotive Marketing Roundtable in Las Vegas last week. “We’re after balance.” Standing in front of a picture of Google's autonomous prototype, de Nysschen said, “Many autonomous car (prototypes) emphasize sheer functionality. It would be a mind-numbing experience going from point A to B. My goodness, you might as well take the bus.” GM's plan with autonomous vehicles is to develop ones “enhance the joy of driving, but eliminate the tedious parts," such as the hassle of stop-and-go rush hour explain de Nysschen. An example brought was the upcoming semi-autonomous Super Cruise system that will debut on the 2017 CT6 and CTS. “The difference between Super Cruise and fully autonomous lies more in the legal than the technical arena. I’ll leave it at that,” said de Nysschen. Source: Wards Auto View full article

Another week has passed and some new information has come to light in the Volkswagen diesel scandal. First off, Volkswagen has confirmed one of their diesel engines doesn't have the cheat. The EA 288 TDI engine used in vehicles for the European-market has been checked out to see if it had the illegal software. In a statement issued by Volkswagen, the engine did not have “software constituting an improper defeat device as defined in laws is installed in vehicles with EA288 EU5 as well as EU6 engines in the European Union with those engines comply with legal requirements and environmental standards." Also, one of the questions that have been up in the air is how would the scandal affect the prices of used Volkswagen TDI models. Kelly Blue Book looked at data from auto auctions before and after the scandal broke. According to their research, the average price of diesel models dropped 16 percent. Average prices of gas models dropped 2.9 percent in the same time. "According to Kelley Blue Book Field Analysts, some auctions are still holding off on selling the affected Volkswagen inventory. While Volkswagen diesel auction prices are in decline, we could see larger fluctuations depending on how this inventory is handled," said Tim Fleming, analyst for Kelley Blue Book. Source: Volkswagen, Kelly Blue Book Press Releases are on Page 2 Volkswagen confirms: EA288 engines designed for EU5 and EU6 are not affected Thorough appraisal of the Diesel emissions issue Volkswagen confirms today that no software constituting an improper defeat device as defined in law is installed in vehicles with EA 288 EU5 as well as EU6-engines in the European Union. Consequently, new vehicles of the Volkswagen Group offered within the European Union with those engines comply with legal requirements and environmental standards. Volkswagen AG is systematically reviewing this issue worldwide. The group strives for a holistic solution for complying with the respective valid standards. After thorough examination it is now confirmed that no software constituting an improper defeat device as defined in law is installed in vehicles with EA 288 EU5-engines. Before, Volkswagen Group has confirmed that new EU6-compliant vehicles offered within the European Union fulfil all legal requirements and environmental standards. Volkswagen customers can visit the corporate websites such as www.volkswagen.de/info, which was set up on October 2, 2015 and enter the chassis number of their vehicle to find out straight away whether their vehicles are affected. Similar customer websites are active in the other EU countries and for the Audi, SEAT and Škoda brands. Work on the technical solutions detailed in the plan of measures is currently proceeding at full speed. Remedial action on the vehicles will begin in January 2016 – at no cost to customers. The measures are currently being developed for each affected series and each affected model year and will first be presented to the responsible authorities. Volkswagen will subsequently inform the owners of these vehicles over the next weeks and months. VOLKSWAGEN DIESEL VEHICLE PRICES DECLINE NEARLY 16 PERCENT, ACCORDING TO KELLEY BLUE BOOK DATA New-Car Shopping Activity Also Impacted by Recent Emissions Issue IRVINE, Calif., October 21, 2015 – Kelley Blue Book www.kbb.com, the only vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry, today reports that average auction prices, along with new-car shopping activity on KBB.com, for Volkswagen diesel vehicles have declined four weeks after the diesel emissions issue was announced. The average auction price for Volkswagen diesel models dropped by nearly 16 percent since the news broke of the emissions crisis.[1] The average auction price for the brand's gasoline-powered vehicles declined by 2.9 percent.1 On KBB.com, Volkswagen new-car shopping activity for affected TDI models has decreased on average by 2.4 percent. "According to Kelley Blue Book Field Analysts, some auctions are still holding off on selling the affected Volkswagen inventory," said Tim Fleming, analyst for Kelley Blue Book. "While Volkswagen diesel auction prices are in decline, we could see larger fluctuations depending on how this inventory is handled." Volkswagen Site Metrics from Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com* The Volkswagen Golf SportWagen and Golf have seen the most significant declines in shopping activity, with decreases of 6.2 percent and 3.7 percent respectively. The Audi A3 and Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen are the only TDI models seeing increases in activity, at 1.6 and 3 percent respectively, which is consistent with segment-level traffic on KBB.com. Audi A3 shoppers are increasingly cross-shopping competing luxury models following the announcement. The most highly cross-shopped vehicles are the Lexus NX, BMW 2-Series and Mercedes-Benz CLA. ** * Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com Site Traffic, Comparing September Pre- (Weeks of August 31-September 13) and Post- (Weeks of September 14-October 18) Announcement Data. Please note: Data is compiled weekly (Monday-Sunday). ** Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com Cross-Shopping Data for Week of October 12-18, 2015 "During the past four weeks following the emissions announcement, traffic to KBB.com has generally decreased after an initial surge in interest for Volkswagen diesel models, likely because of the stop-sell and negative press," said Arthur Henry, senior manager of Strategic Insights for Kelley Blue Book. "Interestingly, with regard to cross-shopping data, consumers are not looking at fuel-efficient or hybrid vehicles. For example, shoppers interested in the Jetta TDI are looking to the Honda Civic, Mazda3 and Ford Fusion as alternatives, according to cross-shopping data from KBB.com." View full article

That would have been mine... If I wasn't born two years late.

One thing you cannot call Elon Musk is a shrinking violet. The CEO of Tesla has taken to Twitter once again to defend the company. This time it deals with the results of Consumer Reports' annual reliability survey where the Model S, a vehicle which had earned the coveted Recommended rating, lost it this year due to a number of problems reported by owners. CR says the Model S likely to face a "worse-than-average" overall problem rate. Musk said in his tweets that problems outlined in CR's survey were because of early production models and that new models have these issues ironed out. Musk goes on to say "Most important, CR says 97% of owners expect their next car to be a Tesla (the acid test)." Source: Elon Musk Twitter, (2) View full article

Automobile magazine has a couple of juicy rumors concerning Jaguar. First is Jaguar and its sister brand Land Rover working on a new inline-six to take the place of the somewhat old V6 the two brand use. The new six-cylinder will be derived from the new Ingenium engine family. The inline-six will be 3.0L, feature turbocharging, and come in diesel and gasoline forms. Power is expected to range from 275 to 500 horsepower. Expect to see this new engine in late 2017. The other rumor deals with an electric crossover. Possibly named E-Pace, the electric crossover will be slightly smaller the F-Pace and feature a number of aerodynamic aids to cut through the wind. No information was provided on power figures. Source: Automobile View full article

It is now official; the UAW and FCA have a new contract. This morning the UAW announced the 77 percent of its members at FCA approved a new four-year labor contract. This comes three weeks after a majority of UAW workers voted down the first agreement reached by the two parties. “The recent bargaining process that took place on behalf of our members at FCA is a testament to the UAW’s democratic values and commitment to our members. The resolve of our membership and the dedication of our negotiating team has produced an agreement that affords UAW members a strong wage package and job security while still allowing the company to competitively produce high quality vehicles for our customers," said UAW President Dennis Williams in a statement. So what does the new contract entail? According to the Detroit News, the new contact features a plan to end the two-tier wage program, a larger signing bonus, and cutting the proposed health care co-op. "I think this contract was presented much more clearly. It included larger raises for the people who were considered tier two before and are now called 'in progression workers,' and it was much more clear about what changes were being made to health care," said Kristin Dziczek, director of the labor and industry group for the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor. So with FCA all done, the UAW turns its attention to the next automaker. Who is that lucky automaker? According to Automotive News, that happens to be General Motors Source: Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article

Let's see, 1989. What could I choose from this year...

CR is well know for their love of all things Asian first, then Tesla, German and last has always been it's home team the USA. I think you mean their readers since they provide the responses to the survey.

Alright since I'm the person here at Cheers & Gears who does most of the road tests (that's a scary thought), here is what I would pick for each of the segments. B-Segment (subcompacts, super mini, city car) - Honda Fit, Ford Fiesta ST for hot hatch C-Segment (compacts) - Mazda3, Volkswagen GTI for hot hatch C-Segment (Luxury Compact) - Mercedes-Benz C-Class D-Segment (mid-size) - Hyundai Sonata Eco D-Segment (Luxury Mid-size) - Cadillac CTS VSport, Audi A7 E-Segment (full size, non-luxury) - Hyundai Genesis 3.8, Chrysler 300C V8 F-Segment (full size, luxury) - Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Kia K900 if I want to fill the trunk with the savings. S-Segment (sport coupes) - Dodge Challenger (Yes, I know it weighs as much as barge, but it's so much fun with the 6.4L V8!) Crossovers/trucks/mpvs: M-Segment (Minivan) - Kia Sedona J-Segment (Subcompact) - N/A (Haven't driven any yet. Will be checking out Renegade in December) J-Segment (Compact) - Hyundai Tucson J-Segment (Mid-size) - Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Durango if I need to carry seven in a pinch. (Honda Pilot could challenge this) J-Segment (Full Size) - GMC Yukon J-Segment (Small Luxury) - N/A J-Segment (Mid-size Luxury) - N/A J-Segment (Full Size Luxury) - GMC Yukon Denali XL, Infiniti QX80 if I want to be ridiculous. Pickup Trucks (Full Size) - Ram 1500 Pickup Trucks (Mid Size) - N/A (GMs need a better V6 and a slight price cut. Nissan is getting too old. New Tacoma might be pick but I need to drive it) On commercial vehicles, I need to spend some time with the Promaster and Transit lineups before making a call on this.

Along with telling us that electric vehicles are horrible.

A couple months back, we reported that Aston Martin is working on electric version of the Rapide to deal with stricter emission standards and increased competition from the Tesla Model S. Today, we get our first glimpse at what that might look like. The RapidE concept may look like your standard Rapide on the outside - aside from the somewhat goofy graphics. But underneath is where a new electric powertrain developed with Williams Advanced Engineering. Now technical details on the RapidE concept are non-existent. But Autocar was able to gleam some powertrain information on a possible production model from CEO Andy Palmer. The first model will produce around 550 horsepower - a similar number to the current Rapide - and have an overall range of 200 Miles. The second model will be super-performance version with an electric motor on each wheel. Total output is expected to be around 800 to 1000 horsepower. Along with the debut of the RapidE concept, Aston Martin announced a new deal with Chinese investment firm ChinaEquity to explore the possibility of putting the RapidE concept into production. If its given the green light, we could be seeing a production model in about two years time. “We see luxury electric vehicles as an intrinsic part of our future product portfolio and welcome ChinaEquity into the next phase of study for the project development. The exciting RapidE concept tangibly demonstrates the capability and ambition of Aston Martin towards developing low- and zero-emission sports cars," said Palmer in a statement. Source: Aston Martin, Autocar http://youtu.be/uPHWfahHRi8 Press Release is on Page 2 Aston Martin Unveils Electric Concept Rapide During State Visit World debut of Aston Martin full electric RapidE concept Chinese investors engaged in study towards first all-electric Aston Martin Aston Martin and ChinaEquity to explore concept’s production potential 21 October 2015, Gaydon: Aston Martin is today showcasing a fully electric concept of its Rapide S four-door sports saloon outside Lancaster House in London – the venue for a meeting between Their Royal Highnesses Prince William, Duke of Cambridge; Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and President of The People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping. The new RapidE concept has been developed in collaboration with Williams Advanced Engineering at its facility in Grove, Oxfordshire. It is on display today in support of a creative summit organised by the British government’s successful GREAT campaign to showcase the best of what the UK has to offer and encourage people to visit, do business, invest and study in this country. Aston Martin CEO, Dr Andy Palmer, said: “We see luxury electric vehicles as an intrinsic part of our future product portfolio and welcome ChinaEquity into the next phase of study for the project development. “The exciting RapidE concept tangibly demonstrates the capability and ambition of Aston Martin towards developing low- and zero-emission sports cars.” During the Lancaster House event, Aston Martin and Chinese investment group, ChinaEquity, announced an agreement to explore the development of a production version of the RapidE concept. If successful, the new luxury sports car would be constructed at Aston Martin’s global HQ in Gaydon, Warwickshire, and could be brought to market in around two years. On the signing of this agreement, Chairman Chaoyong Wang of ChinaEquity said, "We are delighted that Aston Martin not only provides a high performance driving experience to customers, but also show’s their social responsibility by showcasing a new generation of electric car with zero emissions. We are excited to participate in the development of the RapidE and to make a contribution to Sino-British clean energy and green environmental strategy. We feel confident that there are significant opportunities for electric cars in China and the world." Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Rt Hon Oliver Letwin MP who has supported the development of the project said: “Aston Martin is an iconic British brand, and I welcome their agreement today with ChinaEquity. It is a great example of British and Chinese businesses working together to develop links and bring benefits to the UK economy. It also demonstrates how a collaboration between the UK and China can develop the innovative low emission solutions needed to tackle the pressing global issue of air quality.” View full article