2024 Chrysler Pacifica Limited Fwd on 2040-cars

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Detroit 3 and UAW could create healthcare pool

Healthcare costs continue to multiply in the US with no clear end in sight, but the United Auto Workers and the Big Three are negotiating a way to rapid growth under control. As part of the latest contract talks, the union has an idea to create a healthcare pool across all of its members at Ford, General Motors, and FCA US. If accepted, the company-wide integration would spread out the expenses and create a massive member base for bargaining with insurance companies. Both Ford and GM are at least considering the proposal, according to The Detroit News, and FCA US might be on board, as well. The idea is the work of current UAW president Dennis Williams and is based on the similar pool for the Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association for retirees. "I've walked through this several ways; I just don't have any other answer," Williams said to The Detroit News. "I do believe this will work. It's worked with the VEBA." Williams was elected UAW president last year and won by an overwhelming margin. He vowed no more concessions to automakers. In addition to healthcare, the two-tier wage system is another major talking point in the contract negotiation because it gives fewer benefits to entry-level workers. Higher wages are also a request. Healthcare costs are a massive expense for automakers and are expected to reach over $2 billion this year, according to The Detroit News. The payments are up nearly 50 percent or more in just the last four years.

FCA to skip summer shutdowns as automakers rev up U.S. assembly lines

DETROIT — Several of FCA's facilities will skip their usual summer shutdowns to get a jump on rebuilding inventory, the company confirmed early Wednesday.  The plants that will remain open include three in the United States (Jefferson North in Detroit, Toledo Assembly in Ohio, and Sterling Heights Assembly in suburban Detroit), one in Canada (Brampton Assembly in Ontario) and two in Mexico (Saltillo Truck Assembly and Saltillo Van Assembly).  This will allow dealers to address depleted inventory of popular trucks and muscle cars, Automotive News reports. Other facilities not named will observe their normal one- and two-week breaks.  Automakers are speeding up U.S. assembly lines to meet recovering demand, increasingly confident coronavirus safety protocols are working to prevent outbreaks in their plants but wary of the challenges workers face outside. Screening workers for COVID-19 using temperature scans and questionnaires, the automakers have detected some people who reported for work despite being sick. Some plants have been briefly shut down for disinfection, but so far, there has not been a major outbreak within a U.S. auto plant since most reopened May 18, company and United Auto Workers union officials said. The risk of an infection picked up outside a plant spreading along assembly lines remains a prime concern, however. An outbreak could shut down a factory costing a manufacturer millions of dollars a day. The disruption caused by the pandemic is creating other challenges as well. At Ford Motor Co's F-series pickup truck plant in Louisville, Kentucky, the company has given more than 1,000 workers leave related to COVID-19 concerns. It hired temporary workers to fill their jobs as the plant accelerates production of trucks critical to Ford's financial recovery. Demand for pickup trucks helped boost U.S. auto sales in May, and contributed to stronger than expected overall U.S. retail sales for the month. Officials of UAW Local 862, which represents workers at the Louisville plant, said a lack of child care was a significant issue for members. It had led many to stay away from the plant and collect increased unemployment benefits provided under the federal CARES coronavirus relief act. Ford has now begun arranging subsidized child care for UAW workers, Gary Johnson, the automaker's head of manufacturing told Reuters.

Taking a truly driverless ride in Waymo's Chrysler Pacifica

Today was a first for me: I drove in a fully autonomous vehicle on roads without anyone behind the wheel. They weren't public roads, but they did have intersections, other vehicles, pedestrian traffic, cyclists and more, and the car managed a fairly long route without any human intervention — and without any cause for concern on my part. I've done a lot of self-driving vehicle demos, including in Waymo's own previous-generation Lexus test vehicles, so I wasn't apprehensive about being ferried around in Waymo's Chrysler Pacifica minivan to begin with. But the experience still took me by surprise, in terms of just how freeing it was once it became apparent that the car was handling things all on its own, and would continue to do so safely regardless of what else was going on around it. Waymo's test track at Castle (more on that facility here) included multiple intersections with traffic lights, a roundabout, cars stopped on the shoulder, crossing foot band cycle traffic and more. Even if these were staged, they'd be hard to replicate in exact detail every time, so despite the fact that Waymo clearly had more control here than they would out in the real world, the driving experience was still impressive. In particular, one event stuck with me: A squirrel (or other small rodent, I'm no expert on the fauna of Northern California) darted out quickly in front of the car, before turning back off the road – but the vehicle perceptibly slowed in case it needed to avoid it. Barring an incredibly lifelike animatronic, this isn't something Waymo could've planned for. Regarding how it actually works, once in the vehicle and buckled up, a rider taps a button to start the ride, and then displays mounted on the backs of the front seats show a visualization of what the car's sensors see, but selectively simplified and redesigned to draw focus to things that riders find important, and to reassure them about the system's competence and ability to spot all the key variables on the road. This is essentially the same car driving riders around Chandler, in Phoenix, where the current Waymo pilot is operating. It's still essentially a stock Pacifica van, with a premium trim upgrade, but included features in that vehicle, including the many USB ports for charging located throughout, the dual screens mentioned above on the seat backs, and the rear cabin AC and climate controls all make it particularly well suited to the task of putting the rider first.