1985 Cadillac Seville on 2040-cars

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GM might lose 90-year U.S. sales crown over chip shortage

Automotive News editor Nick Bunkley tweeted on October 1 that according to AutoNews data, General Motors "has been the largest seller of vehicles in the U.S. every year since passing Ford in 1931." With automakers having turned in light car and truck sales data for the first three quarters of 2021, GM's 90-year-run might not reach 91. According to AN figures, Toyota was 80,401 vehicles ahead when the October workday started. Worse, GM is so far behind its historic pace that it might only sell enough light vehicles in the U.S. to match its numbers from 1958.  Meanwhile, the New York Times put a few more salient numbers to the pain GM and Toyota are enduring alongside the the rest of the industry. GM sold 33% fewer cars in Q3 2021 than it did in Q3 2019 during the dark days of the pandemic, 446,997 units this year as opposed to 665,192 last year. GM's Q3 2020 was only down 13% on Q3 2019. Over at Toyota, the bottom line showed a 1% gain in Q3 2021 compared to 2020, with 566,005 units moved off dealer lots. The finer numbers show two steps forward and one step back, though; Toyota's September sales were down 22% compared to last year.  GM remains optimistic about what's ahead, GM's president of North American operations telling the NYT, "We look forward to a more stable operating environment through the fall." We'd like to see that happen, but we don't know how it happens. The chip shortage said to have been the inciting incident for the current woes isn't over, and not only can no one agree when it will be over, the automakers, chip producers, and U.S. government still can't get on the same page about who needs what and when. Looking away from that for a second shows articles about "No End In Sight" for supply chain disruptions in early September, before China had to start working through power supply constraints, global supply chain workers started warning of a "system collapse," and roughly 500,000 containers sat waiting to be unloaded at Southern California ports — a record number seemingly broken every week. And back to chips, we're told just a few days ago the chip shortage is "worse than we thought."   For now, the NYT wrote that GM dealer inventory is down 40% from June to roughly 129,000 vehicles, and down 84% from the days when dealers would cumulatively keep about 800,000 light vehicles in stock. However, GM just announced it would have almost all of its U.S. facilities back online next week, although some would run at partial capacity.

Cadillac SRX and Saab 9-4X recalled for suspension defect

General Motors has recalled 380,498 vehicles due to rear suspension toe link adjusters that may not have been tightened properly, which could result in a loose toe link. The vehicles affected by the recall are Cadillac SRX crossovers built between 2010 and 2016, and Saab 9-4X crossovers built in 2011 and 2012. A loose toe link could cause instability while driving, especially at highway speeds. This recall follows up an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after it received complaints from SRX drivers of uncontrolled swaying while driving. According to the agency, two incidents led to a crash. It's possible that improper procedures for tightening a toe link nut during four-wheel alignments may have resulted in corrosion and thread wear on the adjustable portion of the link. Owners of affected vehicles are advised to park their crossovers if they experience certain Malfunction Indicator Lamp warnings on the dashboard or if they feel unusual steering behavior while driving. According to the official NHTSA recall notice, dealers will replace the adjustable toe link with a non-adjustable one at no charge. Letters are expected to be mailed to owners of affected vehicles on August 9, 2021. Alternatively, owners can call Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006 or Saab customer service at 1-800-955-9007 and reference recall number N212340980. This is the second time many of these vehicles have been recalled for problems with the rear toe links. Back in September of 2014, GM announced that it would recall 290,241 vehicles that included SRX and 9-4X models because a "nut in the rear suspension toe adjuster link may not be torqued to the proper specification." 

Autoblog Podcast #326

Easter Jeep Safari concepts, Shelby 1000, 2014 Cadillac CTS and Mercedes CLA45 AMG leaks
Episode #326 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth and Zach Bowman talk about this year's Easter Jeep Safari concepts, the 1,200-horsepower Shelby 1000 and leaked images of the 2014 Cadillac CTS and Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG. We wrap with your questions and emails, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Keep reading for our Q&A module for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #326: