auto industry

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Our Car-Buying Ways May Be Changing for Good

Customers are revolting at dealerships, having to pay more than sticker price

(Newser) - Pre-pandemic, if you paid above MSRP for a new car, you probably never admitted it to anyone else. No need to kick yourself now. Last month, per Edmunds.com , 82% of car buyers paid $728 over sticker, or 1.6% on average, and markups over $10,000 are not uncommon...

Yoke Steering Wheel Blamed for Tesla's Rankings Tumble

Electric vehicle maker dropped 7 places in the 'Consumer Reports' list of 32

(Newser) - Tesla has tumbled down the rankings in the latest Consumer Reports list of car brands—and its Model 3 is no longer the top electric vehicle in the magazine's list of top picks. Tesla dropped seven places in the brand rankings to No. 23 out of 32 because of...

Some New-Car Buyers Seeing Real Sticker Shock
Some New-Car Buyers
Seeing Real Sticker Shock
The Rundown

Some New-Car Buyers Seeing Real Sticker Shock

Some luxe brands selling for thousands over MSRP, but overall prices declining from December

(Newser) - While buyers of new higher-end SUVs, sports cars, and pickup trucks have been paying thousands more than the recommended sticker price, the overall price of new vehicles is slowly on the decline, multiple sources report. Classic trends such as leasing are also changing with the times:

Report: Apple Is Working on Fully Self-Driving Car

Sources say company plans to launch by 2025

(Newser) - Apple's secretive "Project Titan" car team has shifted gears, insiders say. Sources tell Bloomberg that the team is now concentrating on creating a fully self-driving vehicle and aims to launch it by 2025. Bloomberg's sources say the company recently reached a "key milestone in developing the...

GM Will Idle Most Plants in North America

Chip shortage will force a slowdown of at least a week at almost all factories

(Newser) - Some GM trucks are being partially built and stored, and some just aren’t getting built at all. The chip shortage that has been affecting electronics of all sorts since the beginning of the year is affecting auto production again, with GM announcing that it will idle almost all of...

A Bizarre Truth About the Vehicle You&#39;re Driving
A Bizarre Truth About
the Vehicle You're Driving
in case you missed it

A Bizarre Truth About the Vehicle You're Driving

It might be worth more now than what you paid for it new

(Newser) - "It just seems like we're in fantasy land." So declares New England auto dealer Abel Toll to the Wall Street Journal . He's referring to his own industry at the moment, which is seeing strange things happen on the sales floor for a variety of reasons. (A...

Average Age of US Cars Hits Record High

It may be a pandemic blip, research firm says

(Newser) - In 2020, the average vehicle on Americans roads was almost a teenager, according to research firm IHS Markit. The company, which produces an annual report on the age of American vehicles, says the average age of cars, light trucks, and SUVs hit a record high of 12.1 years, up...

Electric F-150 Has Unusual Perk: Ability to Power a Home

Ford says it would keep a house going in a blackout for about 3 days

(Newser) - Ford unveiled its electric version of the popular F-150 pickup on Wednesday, and even outlets that don't typically pay much attention to such things have taken notice. The F-150 has long been the bestselling vehicle in America, and the 2022 Lightning is designed to appeal to "everyday truck...

California Plans to Pull the Plug on Gas Vehicles

Sales of new gas-powered cars to end by 2035

(Newser) - California will ban the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks in 15 years, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday, establishing a timeline in the nation's most populous state that could force US automakers to shift their zero-emission efforts into overdrive. The plan won't stop people from owning...

Take Your Guess on Average Age of US Car

It's 12 years, and it may get even older because of the pandemic

(Newser) - The average age of vehicles on US roads has been climbing since the 2008 recession. With new-vehicle sales suppressed by the pandemic, that trend is not slowing, Car and Driver reports. The average age of a car in use now is 11.9 years, IHS Markit found, a one-month increase...

After George Floyd Death, a Big Ask by Ford Workers

Employee letter wants company to stop making police vehicles; that doesn't look likely

(Newser) - Ford Motor Co. makes about two-thirds of America's police vehicles , so a recent ask by some of the automaker's workers in the wake of protests over the death of George Floyd, racism, and police brutality is a significant one: They want the company to consider not making and...

GM Is Pulling Out of 3 Countries
GM Is Pulling Out
of 3 Countries

GM Is Pulling Out of 3 Countries

Firm is withdrawing from Australia, NZ, Thailand

(Newser) - General Motors has decided to pull out of Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand as part of a strategy to exit markets that don't produce adequate returns on investments. The move raised dismay Monday from officials concerned over job losses, the AP reports. The company said in a statement Sunday...

GM Investing $2.2B in 'Vision of All-Electric Future'

Underused Michigan factory is being refurbished

(Newser) - General Motors is spending $2.2 billion to refurbish an underused Detroit factory so it can build a series of electric and self-driving vehicles, eventually employing 2,200 people. GM said in a statement Monday that the factory will start building the company's first electric pickup late in 2021,...

Study of Auto Plant Closures Finds a Double Whammy

Researchers found an association between closure, increased opioid death rate

(Newser) - The closure of an auto plant may do more than just depress an area's economy. A study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine surfaces an association between such closures and a rise in opioid deaths. Specifically, in counties where assembly plants had shuttered five years prior, the opioid overdose...

Elon Musk Unveils &#39;Cybertruck&#39;
Elon Musk Unveils 'Cybertruck'

Elon Musk Unveils 'Cybertruck'

Electric pickup will enter production in 2021

(Newser) - Tesla CEO Elon Musk is taking on the workhorse heavy pickup truck market with his latest electric vehicle. The "cybertruck," an electric pickup truck, will be in production in 2021, Musk said at the Los Angeles Auto Show Thursday. The pickup, which Musk said will cost $39,900...

49K Striking Auto Workers Shut Down 33 Plants

UAW workers strike against GM

(Newser) - More than 49,000 members of the United Auto Workers walked off General Motors factory floors or set up picket lines early Monday as contract talks with the company deteriorated into a strike. Workers shut down 33 manufacturing plants in nine states across the US, as well as 22 parts...

Lee Iacocca Dies at 94
Lee Iacocca Dies at 94
OBITUARY

Lee Iacocca Dies at 94

Auto industry giant turned around Chrysler in the '80s

(Newser) - From the Mustang to the Jeep Grand Cherokee—with the Pinto, K-cars, and the minivan in between—Lee Iacocca left a mark on the American auto industry like few others. The former Ford and Chrysler chief, who became the quintessential tough-talking celebrity CEO after engineering a remarkable turnaround at the...

Tesla Does U-Turn on Closing Stores
Tesla Makes 'Bizarre' Reversal

Tesla Makes 'Bizarre' Reversal

It now says stores will stay open, prices will go up

(Newser) - After announcing earlier this month that it would close most of its stores and lower prices , Tesla has revealed an updated strategy of keeping its stores open and raising prices. Stores that closed around a week ago are already reopening, including outlets in Hawaii and California, Bloomberg reports. "Over...

Here Are 14 Cars That Are Getting the Ax

Say goodbye to the Volkswagen Beetle, the Ford Focus, and a dozen others

(Newser) - If you think you're seeing more SUVs and crossovers on the road, you're not imagining things. That's because automakers are making what USA Today calls a "sweeping shift" into those types of vehicles—which also means they're dumping more-traditional passenger cars from their lineups. The...

A 'Surprise' Among GM's 6 Discontinued Cars

The Cadillac CT6 was the 'tech halo' for the brand

(Newser) - Now that General Motors' big announcement that it will be shuttering five plants in North America and slashing thousands of jobs has started to settle in, more details are emerging on the vehicle production that will be affected. Included in the business restructuring is a shift away from sedans, which...

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