2005 Ford F-550 on 2040-cars

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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.

Get a taste of Ford GT ownership from Dust Devils

It seems that the automotive world might be right on the cusp of getting some kind of follow-up to the Ford GT. It might not be called the GT or even use the coupe's retro look, but rumors point to such a beast being on the way. If the future halo model can inspire as much adoration among fans as the previous ones, then the Blue Oval is sure to have another winner on its hands. To get idea just how closely GT owners are bonded to their cars, take a ride with the participants in the ninth Ford GT National Rally in this short documentary titled Dust Devils. The owners convened with over 80 of the retro supercars in Las Vegas, NV, to admire the coupes and give them a workout on the desert roads. It's especially nice to see the drivers of these limited production Fords unafraid to take their cars to the track and stretch their legs a little. Related Gallery 2016 Honda Accord Coupe V6: Quick Spin View 25 Photos There's just something about the shape of the GT and the GT40 before it that gets everything right aesthetically. The long, low-slung look is simultaneously menacing and lithe, and the growl from the latest model's supercharged V8 is nothing to complain about either. Get just the slightest taste of what it's like to have one of these halo Fords in this clip, from the people that love them the most. News Source: Lets Make Media via Vimeo Ford Ownership Coupe Performance Supercars Videos

At meeting with automakers, Trump launches new attack on NAFTA

WASHINGTON — Ten American and foreign automakers went to the White House on Friday to push for a weakening of U.S. fuel efficiency standards through 2025, while President Donald Trump used the occasion to launch a fresh attack on the North American Free Trade Agreement that has benefited the companies. A draft proposal circulated by the U.S. Transportation Department would freeze fuel efficiency requirements at 2020 levels through 2026, rather than allowing them to increase as previously planned. Trump's administration is expected to formally unveil the proposal later this month or in June. "We're working on CAFE standards, environmental controls," Trump told reporters at the top of the meeting, referring to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for cars and light trucks in the United States. Trump said he wants automakers to build more vehicles in the United States and export more vehicles. But much of the hour-long meeting focused on NAFTA. Trump blasted the pact involving the United States, Canada and Mexico as "terrible" and noted that negotiations to make changes sought by his administration were ongoing. "NAFTA has been a horrible, horrible disaster for this country and we'll see if we can make it reasonable," Trump said. Automakers have called NAFTA a success, allowing them to integrate production throughout North America and make production competitive with Asia and Europe, and have noted the increase in auto production over the past two decades with the deal in place. They have warned that changing NAFTA too much could prompt some companies to move production out of the United States. The chief executives of General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co, Fiat Chrysler, along with senior U.S. executives from Toyota Motor Corp, Volkswagen AG, Hyundai Motor Co, Nissan Motor Co, Honda Motor Co , BMW AG and Daimler AG met with Trump, as did the chief executives of two auto trade groups. Major automakers reiterated this week they do not support freezing fuel efficiency requirements but said they want new flexibility and rule changes to address lower gasoline prices and the shift in U.S. consumer preferences to bigger, less fuel-efficient vehicles.