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Foreign automakers pay from $38 to $65 per hour to non-union workers

As leaders for the United Auto Workers gather in Detroit for their Special Convention on Collective Bargaining to work out the negotiating stance for this year's new labor agreements with the Detroit 3 automakers, what they most want to do is figure out how to eliminate the two-tier wage scale. However, the lower Tier 2 wage has allowed the domestic automakers to reduce their labor costs, hire more workers, and compete better with their import competition. As it stands, per-hour labor rates including benefits are $58 at General Motors, $57 at Ford, and $48 at Fiat-Chrysler – a reflection of FCA's much greater number of Tier 2 workers. The Center for Automotive Research released a study of labor rates (including benefits) that put numbers to what the imports pay: Mercedes-Benz pays the most, at an average of $65 per hour, Volkswagen pays the least, at $38 per hour, and BMW is just a hair above that at $39 per hour. Among the Detroit competitors, Honda workers earn an average of $49 per hour, at Toyota it's $48 per hour, Nissan is $42 per hour, and Hyundai-Kia pays $41 per hour. The lower import wages are aided by their greater use of temporary workers compared to the domestics. Automotive News says the ten-dollar gap between those foreign camakers and the domestics turns out to about an extra $250 per car in labor, which adds up quickly when you're pumping out many millions of cars. That $250-per-car number is one that, come negotiating time, the Detroit 3 will want to reduce, as the UAW is trying to raise both Tier 1 and Tier 2 wages. Another wrinkle is that the domestic carmakers are considering the wide adoption of a third wage level lower than Tier 2. Some workers who do minor tasks like assembling parts trays kits and battery packs already make less than Tier 2, but the UAW will be quite wary about cementing yet another wage scale at the bottom of the system while it's trying to fight a bigger battle at the top. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req., BloombergImage Credit: AP Photo/Erik Schelzig Earnings/Financials UAW/Unions BMW Chevrolet Fiat Ford GM Honda Hyundai Kia Mercedes-Benz Nissan Toyota Volkswagen labor wages collective bargaining labor costs

Kia Sorento Plug-In Hybrid breaks cover, but will U.S. get it?

Kia teased a Sorento PHEV earlier this year when it revealed what powertrains would be available for the redesigned crossover. Today, we have the details on this forthcoming plug-in hybrid variant. The only catch is the lack of U.S. market information. Kia has revealed the Sorento PHEV for Europe, but there’s no word on whether it will come here, too. After seeing the powertrain details, though, we think thereÂ’s a very good chance it could succeed in America. For starters, the plug-in Sorento is powerful. It uses a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and a single electric motor for forward motion, resulting in 261 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque combined. The 1.6-liter engine takes advantage of HyundaiÂ’s new CVVD technology to boost efficiency and power. And the electric motor is new and improved for this model, benefiting from a new two-stage lamination process to reduce noise and vibration levels. A six-speed automatic transmission handles shifting duties. Kia is packing a 13.8 kWh lithium-ion battery pack underneath. Range estimates are not yet available, but Kia says its “all-electric range will be sufficient to enable drivers to complete most short drives on electric power alone.” WeÂ’re guessing it will be something around 25 miles in EPA testing, assuming we ever see EPA estimated figures. Kia is introducing new battery tech with this model, too. The Sorento Plug-In Hybrid will be the first Kia to use an independent battery pack water-cooling system. Kia says it ensures optimal heat management and efficiency of the battery pack. Luggage capacity is essentially unaffected, losing just 0.14 cubic-foot of space versus the standard Hybrid. Everything remains the same visually except for “eco plug-in” badges and the presence of a charge port. The 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster is reprogrammed to display pertinent information for the new powertrain, and the 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system will feature charge port finder functionality. Kia says Sorento Plug-In Hybrid sales will start in early 2021 in select markets. No official U.S. information is available at this time, but weÂ’ve asked Kia to tell us what it can and will update this post when we hear back. Related Video:

Best cheap SUVs: You don't have to pay a lot to get a lot

Here's a news flash: Everything is a lot more expensive now! And that definitely goes for new SUVs, with prices that keep nudging higher and higher. Actually "nudging" might be too soft of a description for their motion. "Skyrocketing" is probably more accurate.  While higher prices and hefty interest rates have likely knocked a lot of people out of the new car market entirely, there are still quite a few cheap SUV choices. Better still, they're not terrible! Far from it, in fact. While the lowest price SUVs used to be drab, sorry affairs best left to the lots of Avis and Budget, that is definitely not the case today. Not only are there legitimately appealing cheap SUV choices, they offer genuine differences in character, capability and design. It's not just a series of anonymous boxes with different badges. Below you won't just find a simple list of the cheapest SUVs available. We are actually pointing out the best ones. They are listed from least expensive to most expensive, with none exceeding a starting price of $30,000. Most are subcompacts, but a few of our top choices in the compact SUV segment snuck on. Finally, please excuse the crummy photo quality. We sought out representative trim levels of the prices in question rather than just reusing pretty carmaker-provided photos of the most expensive trim levels. This is what the cars will actually look like. Kia Soul Why it stands out: Ample space and abundant features for the money; unique style; strong turbo engine upgrade Could be better: All-wheel drive is not available Starting Price: $21,315 Read our most recent Kia Soul Review The Kia Soul definitely didn't start off as a small SUV, and the term "crossover" is probably better applied to it. Still, what started life as an undefinable funky tall hatchback now finds itself in its third generation with numerous vehicles of similar shape and size that are dubbed "small SUV" or "small crossover." If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck ... Call it what you will, but the Soul delivers the goods with tons of equipment and space for its price and size, an agreeable driving demeanor, and an even more powerful engine upgrade than the Kona's. We also think it's pretty cool. All of the above helped it win our subcompact SUV comparison test. Now, if there's one area where the Soul does not satisfy a typical SUV requirement, it's the lack of available all-wheel drive.