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Ford extends shutdown, Stellantis confirms layoffs due to chip shortage

Ford and Stellantis this week announced new production cuts due to the global semiconductor shortage, with popular models including the Ford F-150 and Jeep Grand Cherokee facing cuts. Stellantis plans to temporarily lay off workers at one facility as production is curtailed.  According to Automotive News, Ford is extending shutdowns at some of its North American facilities into May. The Blue Oval has been forced to reduce or idle production of both its redesigned F-150 pickup and the popular Explorer due to the chip shortage. The Mustang, Transit, Edge, Lincoln Nautilus and Aviator will also continue to be affected. Stellantis is planning to temporarily lay off workers at a Jeep plant in Detroit during April and May due to a shortage of semiconductor chips. The company will cut two work crews at its Jefferson North plant in Detroit for three weeks starting April 26, then call them back and lay off a third crew from May 17 through the week of May 31, according to a schedule obtained by Bloomberg News. The plant on Detroit’s east side normally operates two shifts with three work crews six days a week to keep it running 20 hours a day. “Stellantis continues to work closely with our suppliers to mitigate the manufacturing impacts caused by the various supply chain issues facing our industry,” company spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said in a statement. “Due to the unprecedented global microchip shortage, Jefferson North will adjust its production schedule through the end of May.” Jefferson North employs about 4,800 hourly workers and makes the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the top-selling Jeep model last year, and the Dodge Durango SUV. A redesigned version of the Grand Cherokee is scheduled to start production in August, according to researcher AutoForecast Solutions. This article contains reporting from Bloomberg. Plants/Manufacturing Ford Jeep Lincoln Technology chip shortage

Junkyard Gem: 1982 Lincoln Continental Mark VI Bill Blass Edition

From the 1976 through 1992 model years, Lincoln sold Designer Edition members of the Mark Series personal luxury cars. At one time or another, the Givenchy, Versace, Pucci, Cartier, and Bill Blass brands partnered with Lincoln to make snazzed-up Marks IV, V, VI, and VII. I'm always on the lookout for these blinged-out land yachts as I patrol for Junkyard Gems, and I've managed to find a handful over the years. Today, we've got a tattered-but-still-glorious Bill Blass Mark VI from the waning days of the Late Disco Period. Bill Blass got his start in the United States Army, designing phony inflatable tanks to fool the Nazis prior to the D-Day invasion in World War II. After that, his company became a major player in the fashion world, and Ford put the BB anchor design on plenty of Lincoln Marks. This Bill Blass Mark VI got red body pinstripes and red decorative belting on the leather-upholstered seats. A faux-convertible "diamond grain carriage roof" went on the Designer Edition Mark VI coupes (you could buy the '82 Mark VI Pucci Edition as a sedan). This roof is on the tattered side, but you get the idea. The "wire spoke" aluminum wheels on the Designer Edition cars look much nicer than the wire-wheel-influenced hubcaps that went on lesser Mark VIs. The Mark III through Mark V were siblings of the Ford Thunderbird, but the 1980-1983 Mark VI lived on the new Panther platform and its closest relatives were the regular Continental and Town Car. Yes, this car is a not-so-distant cousin to the Crown Victoria P71 Police Interceptors that stayed in production through 2011. Under the hood, we see the good old Ford Windsor 302 engine, also known as the 5.0 V8. Power wasn't so great— 140 horsepower and 231 lb-ft— but the curb weight of the Mark VI came in at well under two tons, a 700-pound weight reduction compared to the vast Mark V. The Mark VI seems to be the forgotten Mark, overlooked between the rococo V and the speedy Fox-based VI. A digital-tuner AM/FM radio with four speakers and cassette player was heavy-duty audio stuff in 1982. A digital instrument cluster showed the world that you were ready for… the future.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. What's not to love about the Mark VI?

May 2016: FCA wins, Ford and GM stumble on weak car volumes

The May 2016 sales numbers are in, and it looks as though FCA is getting some vindication for boldly cancelling two slow-selling car models. Meanwhile, Ford saw overall sales dip and GM's May volume took a big dive versus the same month in 2015. While Marchionne's decision to axe the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart has drawn criticism as being short-sighted, it's working for FCA so far. Although the Dart and 200 aren't out of production yet and no capacity has been shifted to crossover or trucks, May's numbers show that the emphasis on Jeep and Ram models makes sense right now. FCA's US sales rose 1 percent last month compared to May 2015, putting the year-to-date total at 955,186 vehicles, an increase of 6 percent compared to the same period last year. Standouts included the Jeep Renegade, Compass, and Patriot, and the Fiat 500X. Ram pickup sales were down 3 percent. And your fun fact is that Alfa Romeo sales were up precisely 10 percent, for a total of 44 4Cs sold versus 40 in the same month last year. At FoMoCo, the Ford brand took a hit to the tune of 6.4 percent from May 2015 to 2016, registering 226,190 sales last month. Lincoln showed improvement on its modest numbers, going from 9,174 to 9,807, a 6.9 percent increase. Overall, Ford was down 5.9 percent for the month to 235,997; despite the slump, year-to-date total Ford sales are up 4.2 percent to 1,112,939. Strong sellers included Escape, Expedition, F-Series, and Transit - big stuff. Most small and/or efficient models (Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, C-Max) saw sales slides. Fusion sales were also down, likely due to effects of model changeover to the freshened 2017 model. Ford has promised four new crossovers and SUVs by 2020 and if things keep trending this way the company will be able to sell them, but things could change in the next four years. GM saw the worst of it for domestic brands. Retail and fleet sales were down for each of the four divisions, with the May 2016 total dropping 18 percent to 240,450 vehicles. GM's year-to-date sales are down 5.0 percent in 2016 to 1,183,705. Both the Sierra and Silverado were down significantly, and the majority of Chevy, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac nameplates saw sales decreases, with both small cars and larger utilities included. Not even big stuff could help GM this month, it seems. We'll have more on the rest of the industry's May sales as those figures trickle in.