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Hurricane Sandy cost automakers 15,000 vehicles, may have ruined up to 200k

Hurricane Sandy was the largest Atlantic storm in US history, and its total economic impact is just now coming into view. According to Automotive News, Toyota, Chrysler, Nissan and Honda are set to scrap around 15,000 new vehicles ruined by the storm. Nissan alone accounts for about 40 percent of those, with 6,000 Nissan and Infiniti models deeded "un-saleable" due to damage. The company saw 56 dealerships shuttered due to the storm, but 51 of those have since reopened.
Toyota, meanwhile, had some 4,000 vehicles at its Newark port facility, and of those, 3,000 may be scrapped. An additional 825 were dealer inventory when they were ruined. Honda and Acura dealers are reportedly sending 3,440 vehicles to the salvage yard. By comparison, Chrysler weathered the storm fairly well with 825 units destroyed, while Hyundai suffered only 400 lost units and Kia scrapped around 200.
As you may recall, Fisker also suffered some losses, and Automotive News reports the manufacturer saw 320 Karma models damaged beyond repair. Ford and General Motors have yet to come up with estimates, and no automaker has commented on the full cost of replacing the vehicles.

Toyota to boost its Subaru stake to more than 20%

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp plans to raise its stake in Subaru Corp to more than 20% from around 17% now, a deal that would also see the smaller firm invest in Japan's top automaker, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday. The deal is due to be approved at a Toyota board meeting on Friday, the people said, declining to be identified because the information has not been made public. The investment would come a month after Toyota and another smaller Japanese automaker, Suzuki, said they would take small equity stakes in each other. Such tie-ups highlight how automakers are scrambling to chase scale, manage costs and boost development. Traditional car makers, especially smaller ones like Subaru and Suzuki, are struggling to meet the fast pace of change in an industry being transformed by the rise of electric vehicles, ride hailing and autonomous driving. Toyota's investment is likely to cost more than 70 billion yen ($650 million) based on Subaru's stock market value, said the Nikkei business daily, which first reported the news. Subaru is likely to reciprocate with a stake in Toyota that would roughly equal the value of Toyota's additional investment, one of the people told Reuters. The companies have long worked together on projects such as the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ twins. At one time, Subaru built Toyota Camrys in its Indiana plant. Representatives for both Toyota and Subaru said the news was not something that had been announced by their companies. "The plan appears to be to ultimately make Subaru a fully owned subsidiary, to help create a 'mega Toyota.' This is the first step towards that," said Takeshi Miyao, managing director of Carnorama, a consultancy. "It's all about building scale." Subaru is particularly strong in sport-utility vehicles (SUV) and all-wheel-drive technology. The two automakers in June said they planned to jointly develop an electric sport-utility vehicle on a platform produced together, to split costs. Car markers around the world have been joining forces to slash development and manufacturing costs of new technology. Ford Motor Co and Volkswagen AG have said they will spend billions of dollars to jointly develop electric and self-driving vehicles. Toyota seems to be particularly keen to build scale now by investing in smaller, domestic automakers, rather than forging cross-border tie-ups like some of its rivals.

2022 Toyota Tundra Capstone and Jaguar F-Pace SVR | Autoblog Podcast #719

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski. First they talk about driving the Jaguar F-Pace SVR and the Toyota Tundra Capstone. In news, they discuss the sinking of the Felicity Ace cargo ship with thousands of cars aboard, including VWs, Porsches and Lamborghinis, and the launch of the new Ford Mondeo in China. They also talk about the pros and cons of buying a used Cadillac ELR before digging into Jeremy's opinion on aggressive drivers. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #719 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2022 Jaguar F-Pace SVR 2022 Toyota Tundra Capstone Felicity Ace car carrier sinks Fifth-generation Ford Mondeo arrives at dealers in China Cadillac ELR used vehicle spotlight Opinion: Stop driving like there's a trophy at your destination Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video:   2022 Toyota Tundra Capstone revealed