Motor News

The United Auto Workers union is poised to go on strike against Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis—the traditional “Big Three”—later this week.The strike deadline is 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday, September 14.The first impact on consumers could be an end to incentives, with inventory shortages and rising used-car prices following soon after.It’s been four years almost to the day since the last United Auto Workers strike, when nearly 50,000 General Motors workers walked out for a period of six weeks. Today another impasse is looming, one that’s shaping up to be broader in scope and lengthier in duration.The UAW’s current contract with Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis expires on September 14. The UAW has demanded numerous changes, including a 40-plus-percent wage hike over the next four years and a shortened, 32-hour work week. Ford, GM, and Stellantis have made counteroffers, but in an online broadcast, UAW president Shawn Fain characterized all three as literal garbage.”There is almost a certainty that a strike will occur at this point,” Ambrose Conroy said. He’s an auto supply chain expert and founder of Seraph Consulting. “The big questions are which OEMs will be impacted, and will it be a limited tactical strike to extend the UAW strike fund.”Brandon Bell|Getty ImagesConroy says that the UAW’s $825 million strike fund could last approximately 90 days. However, if the UAW takes the “tactical” approach, only closing key factories like those that build engines and transmissions, a strike could extend far longer. This potential action comes at a time when manufacturers are just beginning to get momentum around dealer inventory and production. Though some supply-chain issues linger, used-car prices are returning to normal and new-car incentives have begun to reappear. “With increased inventory we are seeing the increase in incentives: 5.2 percent of MSRP in August,” says Alex Yurchenko, senior vice president and chief data science officer at industry analyst Black Book, which focuses its research heavily on used-car prices. “It is still way below pre-pandemic levels (about 10.5 percent of MSRP) but much higher than last year (about 2.5 percent of MSRP).”According to Cox Automotive’s most recent new-vehicle inventory findings, the average supply of new, unsold vehicles in dealer inventory currently sits at 58 days. That’s 46 percent higher than a year ago. How Are Automakers Preparing?Stellantis and Ford declined to provide any context around dealer inventories and whether they’ve been actively stocking up to fend off the risk of a strike. However, GM’s director of finance and sales communications, David Caldwell, called GM’s U.S. inventory “consistent,” only up about 4 percent compared to the first quarter. Regarding the Cox data, Caldwell said: “That comparison industry-wide is off an historically low level, based on the supply-chain disruptions in recent years. This year, those conditions are improved, meaning higher production and better availability for customers compared to the past couple of years.”Steve Koss/FordWhile current inventory levels may temper a strike’s impact on new-vehicle sales, parts shortages could be more pressing. An August Detroit Free Press report indicates that Ford hopes to staff its parts depots with salaried workers, plans put in motion as early as July.Efforts like this could help keep more current cars on the road, but this move in particular wasn’t well received by the UAW.”I saw reports of Ford taking out big loans and prepping scabs to work if we go on strike,” UAW’s Shawn Fain said on Friday. “They’re getting ready. So we’re getting ready.”Earlier in 2023 . . .What Will Happen to Incentives?The UAW declined to comment on the likelihood of a strike or indeed whether it would be broad or targeted. Regardless, Seraph’s Ambrose Conroy believes the impacts to buyers could be near-immediate. “Incentives will disappear very soon after a strike is called, so consumers looking for a deal should buy now. Choices will become limited as automakers will again focus production on the highest-profit vehicles they can make, and the on-hand inventory will likely sell quickly,” he said.When that runs dry, shortages will again impact the rest of the market. “A strike that lasts beyond 30 days will likely drive used-car prices higher,” Conroy said.In other words: If a strike runs long, get ready for secondhand price insanity all over again. More

If you’re interested in how a mid-size luxury SUV like the Porsche Cayenne harnesses so much performance, this video should clear it all up for you.Car and Driver suspension expert Dan Edmunds explains the details, from the front wing to the details of the rear suspension and steering.You may think, “There’s nothing the Cayenne Coupe Turbo GT can’t do,” but in our testing, we did find one thing. Watch the video to see it happen.The 2024 Porsche Cayenne Coupe Turbo GT takes the kitchen-sink approach with performance: How about everything? This two-row SUV with 22-inch wheels boasts 60-mph acceleration of 3.0 seconds and a 189-mph top speed. It also packs carbon-ceramic brakes and an all-wheel-drive system complete with rear-axle steering and torque vectoring. But how does the suspension make all that performance happen? That’s what Car and Driver’s resident suspension guru, Dan Edmunds, explains in this video.More Details and SpecsStarting at the front, we learn why the suspension is considered a multi-link and what a virtual pivot point means. We look at the airflow from the front wing to the braking system, which consists of enormous carbon-ceramic rotors with 10-piston calipers. We also learn why there’s a steel mass damper there as well. Out back, Dan explains how the rear suspension is laid out and how the rear steering system works. After getting weights for the front and rear wheels and tires, Dan attempts to run the Cayenne Turbo GT up our steel ramp to score its suspension flex. Even with the air springs set to their tallest ride height setting, the Cayenne proves unable to climb the ramp without damaging a piece of rubber forward of the front wheel. So maybe that’s one thing this Cayenne can’t do. Deputy Editor, VideoFrom selling them to testing them, Carlos Lago has spent his entire adult life consumed by cars. He currently drives the creative behind Car and Driver video. More

Volkswagen filed a voluntary recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) affecting 47,651 2019 and 2020 Jetta sedans.The problem affects vehicles with a traditional ignition switch, where the polyfuse may fail, furthering the risk of a crash. Owner notification letters are scheduled to be mailed out October 27, and dealers will replace affected fuses for free.Volkswagen is recalling 47,651 Jetta sedans from the 2019 and 2020 model years to solve a problem with the ignition in vehicles with a traditional ignition switch. According to a filing with NHTSA, the switch’s polyfuse can fail, potentially leading to the vehicle’s electrical system shutting down and causing the engine to stall while driving. Marc Urbano|Car and DriverAccording to the documents filed with NHTSA, drivers will see two warnings displayed on the dash if the problem occurs: “Ignition switch off, safely stop the vehicle,” followed by “Starter system faulty, please service vehicle.” Recent RecallsThe issue appears to be more prevalent when the car is operated in high-temperature areas, though the root cause of the issue is still being investigated. Owner notification letters are scheduled to be sent to Jetta owners on October 27. Owners with an affected Jetta will be able to bring their vehicle to local dealers who will replace the ignition switch for free. In the meantime, owners can find out if their vehicle is included in the recall by checking the NHTSA recalls site.Associate News EditorJack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. More

This new concept car from Volkswagen shows what a sportier version of the ID.7 electric sedan could look like.It’s called the ID.X Performance concept and it features a 551-hp dual-motor electric powertrain.We don’t think this concept will become a production car, but a dual-motor version of the ID.7 is likely coming soon.Volkswagen’s new ID.7 sedan isn’t the most exciting new electric car slated to hit the market soon, but this new concept version created for an EV festival in Switzerland certainly attracts attention. It’s called the ID.X Performance concept and it ramps up the ID.7’s fun factor thanks to a more powerful drivetrain, a modified suspension, and all sorts of visual add-ons.VolkswagenThe standard ID.7 has a 282-horsepower electric motor powering the rear wheels, but the ID.X has a dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup with front and rear electric motors producing a whopping 551 hp. There’s also a locking differential for the rear. The suspension is lowered by 2.3 inches, and cool-looking 10-spoke bronze wheels are wrapped in aggressive Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires.Volkswagen also fitted a body kit including a front splitter and a rear diffuser, and mounted a giant wing on the rear decklid. The taillights are also darkened. Inside, there are red accents and aggressively bolstered front seats.VolkswagenWe don’t think anything like this concept will reach production, but Volkswagen has hinted at sportier ID-badged EVs such as the ID.GTI concept shown recently at the Munich auto show. A more powerful dual-motor, all-wheel-drive version of the ID.7 is also slated to join the lineup later on.More on the ID.7This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Senior EditorDespite being raised on a steady diet of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or perhaps because of it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive industry throughout his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He found a way to write about cars for the school newspaper during his college years at Rice University, which eventually led him to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first professional auto-writing gig at Automobile Magazine. He has been part of the Car and Driver team since 2016 and now lives in New York City.   More

The boxily pragmatic little Fiat Panda arguably reflects the true modern Italy more than a Fiat 500 or any Ferrari you could name.This example is a limited-edition 4×4 model from the final year of the first generation.With a rugged Steyr-Puch 4×4 driveline, it’s the Aspromonte Goat of cars.The Panda is such a cultural phenomenon in Italy that Fiat once released a documentary about an island where Pandas outnumber the human population. The boxy original was penned by designer Giorgetto Giugiaro in 1979, and so many of them were sold over the years that you still find them cluttering back alleys in Rome or parked in a dusty yard in the countryside. Car and DriverIf you’ve ever been to Italy, you’ve seen Pandas all over the place. Now, here’s a chance to bring home this piece of Italianata.This 1985 Fiat Panda 4×4 Edizione Limitata is up for auction on Bring a Trailer—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos. For the original Panda, 1985 was the final year of production, and this one was refurbished in Bologna, Italy, before being shipped across the Atlantic to Connecticut. Bring a TrailerModern HistoryThe 4×4 version of the Panda, which launched in 1983, is an incredibly scrappy little off-roader despite modest horsepower. It came with a slightly reinforced body shell, to which was fitted an entire four-wheel-drive driveline from Austrian specialist Steyr-Puch. Yes, the same Steyr-Puch that built the original Mercedes-Benz G-wagen.Bring a TrailerPop open this Panda’s stubby hood and you’ll find—oh hey, there’s the spare tire. But nestled under it is a 965cc four-cylinder engine that was rebuilt as part of the refurbishment process. It made 48 horsepower when new, and while that might not sound like a great deal, those are Italian horsepowers. They don’t actually go any faster, but you get to flap your hands around and make a lot more noise when exercising them.Bring a TrailerAnd you did catch the part about the G-wagen, right? This little car might be the size of Danny DeVito, but it is as ruggedly off-road capable as Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime. This is 1988’s Twins in car form.Bring a TrailerThe odometer shows just 38,000 miles (in the kilometer equivalent), but what really seals the deal here is the comprehensive refurbishment. Were you to flip this Panda on its roof—not a physical impossibility given the feathery curb weight—you could eat right off its underside. It is clean and tidy, and ready to get some mud on its fenders.Never mind lusting after some Ferrari hypercar that never gets driven. A boxy Fiat with goat-like off-road ability? Now that’s a proper paisan of an Italian car.This auction ends Thursday, September 14.Recent Bring a Trailer AuctionsContributing EditorBrendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. More

Far more charismatic than anything in Buick’s current all-SUV lineup, this swaggering coupe hails from an age when Buick cranked out hits.The iconic boattail styling still looks great half a century after this car hit the road, and brown on tan was never a more appropriate color combination. The Bring a Trailer online auction on this ’72 Riviera ends on Thursday, September 14.The current lineup from Buick consists of largely homogeneous crossovers, competent but mostly forgettable. Back in 1972, however, choosing to park a Buick Riviera in your driveway was making a fashion statement. And unlike most of the fashion statements made in the early 1970s, a brown-on-tan ’72 Buick Riviera is equally stylish decades later.Car and DriverFor proof, check outthis Buick Riviera up for auction on Bring a Trailer—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos. It’s a 1972 Buick Riviera, complete with effortless V-8 torque, a vinyl roof, and some rarely seen factory options like a power sunroof. It is maximum brown but in the best possible way. It’s the automotive equivalent of your grandfather’s leather jacket. Riviera started out as the hardtop version of Buicks like the Roadmaster, but in 1963 it entered production as a standalone personal luxury car. Early Rivs are stunning cars in their own right and have their own space-race 1960s charm. While filming Star Trek, Leonard Nimoy drove a Riviera, which elegantly contrasted with co-star William Shatner’s brawny Corvette daily driver.Bring a TrailerAs the Sixties wore on, the Riviera grew in size, losing much of its early elegance and distinction. With the third generation’s boattail styling that arrived for 1971, the Riviera recaptured the spotlight. The styling is a blend of Corvette and earlier Rivieras, which is fitting as it was overseen by GM’s VP of styling, Bill Mitchell. Mitchell’s designs for the 1963 Corvette and the 1963 Riviera were approved on the same day, Christmas Eve, 1961. Mitchell tasked designer Jerry Hirschberg with the third-generation Riviera’s design, and while Hirschberg himself thought the car a little too large, there’s no denying that a boattail Riviera is a knockout.Bring a TrailerThis example reportedly belonged to the current owner’s father and was comprehensively refurbished over a decade ago. Under that long hood is a 455-cubic-inch V-8, which was factory rated at 250 horsepower. That’s not a great deal of motivating force for a barge of this size, but once the Riviera builds up a head of steam, it’ll be every bit the roadmaster its ancestors were.Bring a TrailerBesides which, imagine the amount of attention this thing will get when parked or just cruising slowly. The accent lines on the sides emphasize the car’s broad hips, the slight V of the rear taillights is pure spacecraft. It would take very little reimagining to turn a Riviera of this generation into some kind of CGI Star Wars landspeeder, and the character that drove it could out-cool Lando Calrissian. Well heck, maybe he would just be Billy Dee Williams.Bring a TrailerBring a TrailerThe original window sticker shows a long options list that includes air conditioning, an AM-FM stereo, six-way power seats, and the aforementioned electric sunroof. A CD player has been added, and the 15-inch wheels wear modern Hankook Optima tires. The odometer reads 89,000 miles.Bill Mitchell told his staff he wanted the 1971 Buick Riviera to be a classic, and while some of those staff disagreed at the time it was released, he got what he wanted. Buick Yesterday and TodayContributing EditorBrendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. More

Tesla begins offering the yoke style steering as a $1000 option, after removing it as a standard feature from the Model S and Model X electric vehicles.The automaker is still expected to offer the yoke in the Cybertruck, the first deliveries of which are expected to begin in a matter of weeks.Tesla has not made the yoke part of a steer-by-wire system, unlike Toyota, though it is understood to have been working on such a system for the next generation of vehicles.Tesla’s yoke steering arrived without much prior warning, landing in the Model S sedan in 2021 just as the automaker was readying an update for the now decade-old model. It also arrived seemingly without any prior demand for such a feature from buyers.Initially offered as a standard feature in the Model S without the option of a regular steering wheel, the yoke quickly drew mixed reactions from Tesla fans and owners, with quite a few YouTube videos demonstrating some shortcomings as well as some advantages, like the ability to see the instrument cluster better.But a number of industry observers pointed out early on, the yoke worked in Formula 1 cars because the steering ratio was dramatically different, requiring far less than a 360-degree rotation lock to lock.It’s Going AroundIn Teslas, on the other hand, the yoke required a few spins of the wheel to go from lock to lock, making it notably less advantageous for in-town driving and maneuvers in tight quarters. Tesla also removed the column stalk that controlled driving modes in the process of adding the yoke, migrating that function to the touchscreen.The automaker responded by eventually making the yoke a $250 optional feature rather than a standard item, but not before quite a few Model S and Model X cars had been sold with the yoke steering. Tesla also started offering retrofits of the round steering wheel to yoke-equipped cars for $700, in effect charging owners who had wanted to get rid of a standard feature.Now, the price of the yoke option has ballooned to $1000, making it a curious and somewhat pricey option for those wanting a more sci-fi experience in the Model S or the Model X. Recent glimpses of Tesla Cybertruck interiors pictured the cabin equipped with a revised yoke.The yoke never made it into Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y, which have accounted for the overwhelming majority of Tesla sales for the past several years.But Tesla’s yoke steering saga did not unfold in a vacuum. Less than a year after the updated Model S arrived with a yoke in 2021, Toyota demonstrated its own yoke system headed for the bZ4X electric SUV. One of the main differences between the two systems was that Toyota’s was part of a steer-by-wire system, while Tesla simply offered different hardware. Tesla has indicated in the past that it would like to develop a steer-by-wire system for its vehicles, which has been a relatively niche technology for the past decade, offered sporadically and once even sparking a recall in the Infiniti Q50 a decade ago.It remains to be seen just where Tesla’s fluctuating interest in the yoke will go from here. The automaker’s most recent glimpses of Cybertruck interiors pictured the cabin equipped with a revised yoke, with the company so far not indicating whether a more traditional steering wheel will be an option at all. This question should be answered in the next few weeks as the first Cybertruck deliveries are slated to start, barring any changes in that schedule.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Jay Ramey grew up around very strange European cars, and instead of seeking out something reliable and comfortable for his own personal use he has been drawn to the more adventurous side of the dependability spectrum. Despite being followed around by French cars for the past decade, he has somehow been able to avoid Citroën ownership, judging them too commonplace, and is currently looking at cars from the former Czechoslovakia. Jay has been with Autoweek since 2013.  More

There was already a large gap between states in terms of electric vehicle adoption. While California is one of the most heavily electrified car markets in the world, many states have almost no charging infrastructure and tiny EV sales volumes. That gap is only growing, according to new data from J.D. Power. The analytics firm’s August E-Vision Intelligence Report noted that EV adoption has ticked up year over year, up one point on the company’s scale that measures adoption rate. The scale measures what percentage of buyers choose an EV when one is available in their preferred class, price range, and from a preferred brand. Nationwide, that number reached about 21 out of 100.Ready to Shop?Unsurprisingly, the adoption score went up in the states with the most EV adoption—California, Washington, Hawaii, Oregon, Nevada, Maryland, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and Massachusetts. Yet in the states where EV adoption is already lowest, the number actually went down. Across Michigan, Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Wyoming, Louisiana, South Dakota, West Virginia, and North Dakota, fewer buyers adopted EVs in the first half of 2023 compared to 2022.This may be because a wider variety of EVs are on sale now, widening availability without a matching increase in demand in the least EV-friendly states, or it could be due to political or economy factors. Charging availability has long held things back too, with a disproportionate number of the nation’s public chargers clustering in just a few states. California Will Be Majority EVsRegardless of the cause, the growing divide may lead to a drastically fragmented auto market a decade from now, according to J.D. Power forecasts. The disparity between states is staggering on this timeline. By 2035, in California—the state with the most EV adoption—94 percent of all cars sold will be electric. In North Dakota, the state with the lowest EV adoption rate today, J.D. Power predicts that EVs will make up just 19 percent of sales.For perspective, that’s lower EV penetration than most analysts expect to see in California this year. Clearly it’s impossible to make accurate predictions about the auto market in 2035—it’ll depend on political, economic, consumer, and technology factors that are inherently impossible to know with certainty—but one thing is clear. The U.S. market is becoming less homogeneous, and automakers are going to have to prepare to sell cars in widely disparate state environments.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Reviews EditorArguably the most fickle member of the Road & Track staff, Reviews Editor Mack Hogan is likely the only person to ever cross shop an ND Miata with an Isuzu Vehicross. He founded the automotive reviews section of CNBC during his sophomore year of college and has been writing about cars ever since. More