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Auto sales in March and first quarter down nearly across the board

Nearly every major automaker reported weak U.S. sales for March and the first quarter of 2019, citing a rough start to the year, but said a robust economy and strong labor market should encourage consumers to buy more vehicles as 2019 rolls on. GM, which no longer releases monthly sales figures, saw first-quarter sales fall 7 percent, with declines across all brands. Sales of Silverado pickup trucks fell nearly 16 percent and the high-margin Chevy Suburban large SUV dropped 25 percent. Ford also no longer releases monthly sales numbers, but is due to release its first-quarter sales figures on Thursday. According to industry data, Ford's sales fell 2 percent in the quarter and 5 percent in March. Ford representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. FCA reported a 7 percent fall in U.S. sales in March and a 3 percent drop for the first quarter. All of FCA's brands dropped in March, except for Ram, which saw a 15 percent increase in pickup truck sales. "The industry had a tough first quarter, but with spring finally starting to show its face and continued strong economic indicators ... we are confident that new vehicle sales demand will strengthen going forward," FCA's U.S. head of sales, Reid Bigland, said in a statement. Toyota reported a 3.5 percent fall in U.S. sales in March and 5 percent for the first quarter, hurt by declining demand for its Corolla sedans and Camry vehicles. "While some of our competitors are abandoning sedans, we remain optimistic about the future of the segment," Toyota said in a statement. Nissan posted a 5.3 percent drop in sales in March, and its first-quarter sales were down 11.6 percent. Honda and Hyundai bucked the trend. Honda's U.S. sales rose 4.3 percent in March and 2 percent in the quarter, while Hyundai's were up 1.7 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively. Passenger-car sales suffered throughout the January-March quarter compared with the same period in 2018 as Americans continued to abandon them in favor of larger, more comfortable pickup trucks and SUVs, which are far more profitable for automakers. The battle for market share in the particularly lucrative large-pickup truck market intensified in the quarter, as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Ram brand outsold the U.S.' No. 1 automaker General Motors' Chevrolet-brand trucks. The two automakers have both launched redesigned pickup trucks.

That time when VW thought its diesels were holier than hybrids

When it comes to its diesel engines, Volkswagen was publicly trying to work the regulation system as far back as 2011. That's when the Obama Administration announced stricter US greenhouse-gas emissions standards for 2025. At the time, VW was saying its diesel engines were as clean or even cleaner than hybrids and some plug-in vehicles, The New York Times says, citing former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officer Margo Oge. VW did indeed boycott Obama's announcement of the 2025 Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards four years ago. The reason given at the time was that VW's attempt for its diesel engines to get special consideration and extra credits for fulfilling the emissions mandate was ultimately rejected by the EPA. Oge said VW's US executives were conciliatory but the automaker's German officials were "arrogant" in their belief that diesel technology was far superior, from an emissions standpoint, than hybrids or plug-ins. As we know now, that was not the case. Last month, we learned that VW fitted as many as 11 million vehicles around the world with software that programmed its diesel engines to show artificially low emissions levels during testing. In the ongoing fallout, VW has set aside $7.3 billion to address the scandal and the CEO resigned. New VW CEO Matthias Muller says recalls on the diesels in question may go into effect as soon as January in Europe. Meanwhile, among other indignities, Green Car Journal rescinded Green Car of the Year Awards it had bestowed on the 2009 Jetta TDI and 2010 Audi A3 TDI, while Volkswagen's Stock was delisted from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. News Source: New York TimesImage Credit: Matt Cardy / Getty Images Government/Legal Green Read This Volkswagen Emissions Diesel Vehicles CAFE standards vw diesel scandal Barack Obama

Jalopnik and Consumer Reports see who can pull off the best snow drift

The weather throughout much of the United States is pretty awful at the moment with some combination of extremely low temperatures, inches of snow and maybe some ice underneath it all. The folks at Jalopnik and Consumer Reports are making the absolute best out of a difficult situation by heading to CR's snow-covered test track and attempting to make the longest drift in a quartet of very different performance vehicles. Jalopnik brought along a Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S Wagon, a Subaru WRX STI, a BMW 228i and a 1973 Volkswagen Baja Bug (heck yeah!) for the challenge. Also, the track was perfect for this group, with a mix of packed snow in places and still a few inches of unsullied powder in spots too. Ostensibly the goal was to get the tail to step out through a particular corner, but in reality this was more about having hilarious fun in the snow with fast cars. The result just looks like the best time humanly possible in this weather.