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FCA, Ford idle plants due to semiconductor shortage

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford and FCA will become the latest automakers to idle production facilities due to a semiconductor shortage. Ford's Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky will idle for a week, borrowing a down period from later in the year to compensate. Per Automotive News, FCA is idling its Brampton facility in Ontario, Canada, and one other site which has not yet been identified.  Louisville Assembly is the production site for the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair SUVs; Brampton Assembly produces the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger for FCA.  A Ford spokeswoman, who declined to identify the semiconductor supplier, confirmed the temporary shutdown to Reuters. In this, FCA and Ford join Nissan and potentially Honda in idling production in the wake of the shortage, which also hit Volkswagen late last year. The shortages are being blamed on consumer demand for silicon after production slowdowns resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Volkswagen said it had to adjust production schedules in China, Europe and North America to compensate.  Nissan said it planned to reduce production of the Note, a hybrid electric car, at its Oppama Plant in Kanagawa prefecture, Japan, but did not give details of the scale of the output cut. The Nikkei newspaper reported that Nissan would slash its Note production at Oppama to about 5,000 units in January, from an initially planned 15,000 units. "A global shortage of semiconductors has affected parts procurement in the auto sector. As a result of this shortage, the Oppama Plant in Japan will adjust production in January, reducing production of the Nissan NOTE," Nissan said in a statement. (This article contains reporting from Reuters.)     Auto News Plants/Manufacturing UAW/Unions Chrysler Dodge Ford

Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R named Road & Track Performance Car of the Year

With a 526-horsepower, 5.2-liter V8 that roars to 8,250 rpm, it's really hard to consider the 2016 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350R an underdog in any fight. However, the Shelby held the lowest as-tested price and was only middle of the pack in terms of power in Road & Track's 2016 Performance Car of the Year challenge. The 'Stang's numbers clearly didn't tell the whole story about the potent coupe because Ford's muscle car grabbed the title in this year's test. A model needs to be new or significantly updated to be eligible for the honor, and R&T found an impressive slate of eight candidates this year. The challengers included the Bentley Continental GT3-R, Cadillac ATS-V Coupe, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Dodge Viper ACR, Mercedes-AMG GT S, and Porsche Cayman GT4. The Ferrari 488 GTB was the most expensive of the bunch with an as-tested price of $347,942, which is five times more than the Shelby. Once the group was together, R&T hustled them over curving roads and on the National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park. There was a lot to love about the Shelby, even in this impressive crew. "With a flat-plane crank and Sport Cup 2 tires, the GT350R is a Mustang turned up to 11," editor-in-chief Larry Webster said in the announcement of the results. The GT350R joins some great company. Past winners include the Porsche 911 GT3 last year and the Corvette in 2013. For some fantastic photography and the complete appraisal of these performance machines check out R&T's website for the full story. Related Video: ROAD & TRACK NAMES THE FORD MUSTANG SHELBY GT350R THE 2016 PERFORMANCE CAR OF THE YEAR New York, NY (November 9, 2015) – Road & Track today named the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R the 2016 Performance Car of the Year, beating out seven of the world's best new sports cars. The article appears in the December/January issue, on newsstands November 17, and on RoadandTrack.com. "With a flat-plane crank and Sport Cup 2 tires, the GT350R is a Mustang turned up to 11," said Larry Webster, editor-in-chief of Road & Track. "Not only does the car have soul and harness so much firepower with such ease, but the real achievement here is that it's so approachable. It's a car you can't help but love." The Mustang Shelby GT350R was the winner by a runaway vote.

Dodge brings Charger Widebody 'concept' to Spring Fest

Last week we asked if an Instagram user had really seen a Dodge Charger Widebody cruising suburban Detroit. The answer is yes, he had. Dodge brought its Charger Widebody concept to Spring Fest 14, a celebration of everything built on Chrysler's LX platform. Note the use of the word "concept," and a Fiat Chrysler spokesperson telling journos, "We are taking a Charger design concept to Spring Fest to gauge feedback from the huge Dodge Charger, Challenger, and Chrysler 300 enthusiast base that attends the California event each year." Mark Trostle, head of design for Dodge and SRT, shared a few snaps of the Charger Widebody to Instagram. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Now ignore the word "concept." Of course a thing isn't done until it's done, but two years ago a thread on Charger Forums mused on a Photoshop of the sedan as a widebody. User ResumeSpeed chimed in to say, "Rear is not accurate as it's being revised. 2020 model year. Two Charger WB models: Hellcat and 392 Scat Pack." Fast forward to February of this year when Mopar Insider said its sources confirmed a thick-hipped Charger R/T Scat Pack and Hellcat with "drastically different looking front and rear fascias." Then, earlier this month, Allpar received a slide from what looks like an internal Dodge presentation explaining the "2020 Dodge Charger Hellcat Wide Body." The sedan in the slide looks almost exactly like the "concept." And now this. They even designed it with the Dodge Durango SRT grille treatment, which seems like a logical part of that 2020 revision. Giving the Charger a nip and tuck, a little more tire, and a $6,000 surcharge similar to the Challenger Widebody makes too much sense to merely toy with and then file away. Check out this video for a complete walkaround, and stay tuned.