2013 Ford F150 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Trucks, SUVs drive U.S. October new vehicle sales

DETROIT — Major automakers posted mixed U.S. new vehicle sales in October on Wednesday, though America's love affair with high-margin pickup trucks and SUVs remained in full bloom as larger, pricier vehicles fared better than passenger cars. Auto industry publication WardsAuto put the seasonally-adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) for light vehicle sales in October at a robust level of 18 million units. But after a long boom cycle, carmakers are still ill-prepared for the slight decline in sales anticipated for full-year 2017 and have taken too few steps to trim production, said Doug Mehl, a partner in consultancy A.T. Kearney's automotive practice. "When you make a new vehicle, you have volume assumptions tagged to it, and who wants to be the guy who says, 'I'm going to make less of this really cool model'?" Mehl said. "But eventually the market is the reality, and it's going to force companies one way or other here." General Motors GM reported a sales drop of 2.2 percent for the month, with consumer sales down 6.6 percent. But sales of high-margin pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and crossovers all rose. GM also cut its inventory of unsold vehicles — a source of concern for the market — slightly. The automaker has worked to reduce its volume of excess inventory, including through significant production shutdowns in the third quarter. GM had said its inventory would rise in October. "We are heading into the fourth quarter with good momentum, thanks to a strong U.S. economy and very strong pickup and crossover sales," said Kurt McNeil, GM vice president for U.S. sales operations. GM slightly reduced consumer discounts as a percentage of average transaction prices to 13.5 percent, from 13.7 percent in the third quarter. Industry experts believe consumer discounts above 10 percent of the average transaction price are unhealthy as they erode resale values and are unsustainable in the long term. Consultants J.D. Power and LMC said last week that based on preliminary October sales numbers, discounts have exceeded 10 percent in 15 of the past 16 months. Ford The U.S. auto industry posted record sales of 17.55 million vehicles in 2016. New sales received a strong boost in September as consumers replaced vehicles damaged in southeast Texas by Hurricane Harvey the previous month. Full-year 2017 sales are expected to be slightly lower than 2016.

UAW prepares for more strikes in the U.S. as Ford Canada talks extend

DETROIT — The United Auto Workers union said it would announce on Friday more U.S. plants to strike if no serious progress was made in talks with the Detroit 3 automakers, as a Canadian union held off on an immediate walkout at Ford's operations in Canada. The UAW last week launched a strike against Ford, General Motors and Chrysler parent Stellantis, targeting one U.S. assembly plant at each company. "We're not going to keep waiting around forever while they drag this out," UAW President Shawn Fain said in a video message late on Monday setting the new deadline after complaining about a lack of progress in recent talks. "We're not messing around." Ford's contract with Canadian union Unifor, which represents about 5,600 workers at three plants in Canada, expired at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Monday (0359 GMT on Tuesday). The union said early on Tuesday that negotiations had been extended for 24 hours after it received a "substantive offer" from Ford. "Unifor members should continue to maintain strike readiness," it added. Ford said in a statement it had agreed to continue negotiations beyond the contract deadline in hopes of reaching a tentative agreement. The company has two engine plants in Canada that build V8 engines for F-Series and Super Duty pickups assembled in the United States. It also has an assembly plant in Ontario. Any walkout by Canadian workers that would shut down those engine plants could cripple U.S. production of Ford's most profitable vehicles, even if the UAW decides not to order walkouts at truck plants in Kentucky; Dearborn, Michigan; and Kansas City, Missouri. "Ours is a small but highly consequential footprint for Ford operations in North America and this is our leverage, and we will use it," Unifor National President Lana Payne said in a video message earlier on Monday. Unifor has been seeking improved wages and pensions, as well as support in the transition to electric vehicles and additional investment commitments by Ford. Once the Ford deal is completed, Unifor will turn to getting agreements with GM and Stellantis, whose deadlines were extended during the talks with Ford. U.S. NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE Talks between the UAW and the Detroit automakers continued on Monday as the U.S. strike dragged on for a fourth day with little sign of progress toward a deal. Some 12,700 workers are striking at the three U.S. plants. The union and companies are at loggerheads over pay and benefits for workers.

Ford, Volvo top 2014 EyesOn Design awards

Each year at the Detroit Auto Show, the top vehicle designs are recognized with the prestigious EyesOn Design award for production and concept vehicles. This year, the 32 EyesOn Design judges (comprised of current and former vehicle designers including Chrysler designer and SRT president Ralph Gilles, Kia designer Peter Schreyer and retired General Motors designer Wayne Cherry) handed out three awards for the Best Concept Vehicle, Best Production Vehicle and Innovative Use of Color, Graphics, and Materials.
Beating out the Mercedes C-Class and Ford F-150, the 2015 Ford Mustang was named the Best Production Vehicle as the top auto show debut at this year's Detroit show. The 2014 Volvo Concept XC Coupe took home awards as the Best Concept Vehicle and for its Innovative Use of Color, Graphics and Materials.
Considering the Volvo's primer grey hue and subtle orange accents, it was a rather surprising winner for Innovative Use of Color, Graphics, and Materials over flashier concepts like the Toyota FT-1 and our Editors' Choice top pick, the Kia GT4 Stinger. Other vehicles in the running for the concept car award include the GT4 Stinger and Audi Allroad Shooting Brake