Industry News: VW's diesel cheating scandal could have widespread repercussions for the automotive industry

By now, unless you literally live under a rock, you must have heard about VW's scandal over its diesel engines cheating on emissions tests. In case you were indeed under said rock, the VW 2.0L disesel four cylinder motor was found to have different tuning in the test mode used to perform emissions testing. That different tuning was used to reduce NOx emissions to within spec to pass emissions tests, but was not reflective of how the car actually performed in the real world. According to VW, forcing the car to run on the tune that passes the emissions tests also drastically reduces the fuel economy and performance, which are the only real reasons anyone buys diesel in the land of heavily subsidized gasoline that is America.

Of course, VW is now feeling the pain of this scandal, having suffered a huge hit against its stock in global markets as well as having to shake up a sizable portion of its senior leadership, including the resignation of CEO Martin Winterkorn (although he may get a big golden parachute so don't waste your tears on him). With numbers already struggling in the US and diesels accounting for a rather surprisingly large portion of VW sales here, this scandal could not come at a worse time for the company.

But the real damage has only just begun.

Editorial: The West Coast Port Labor Dispute

Image courtesy of Zero Hedge

A few weeks back, I posted an editorial about how the aftermarket parts industry hit a sales slump due to the new generation of drivers and the cars that are important to them. While these factors have made an impact, another more recent situation has created another problem for the aftermarket, as well as the automotive, motorcycle, and cycling industries in general. For anyone that follows the news, you should already be familiar with the recent port congestion situation that created a massive backlog of vessels and containers along the entire West Coast. If you are not familiar with this event, it simply boiled down to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) working without a contract since July of last year. In order to force the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) to agree to the ILWU's terms, a labor reduction situation occurred, causing massive backups at all of the major ports along the West Coast. The details of the "slow down" are a story for another time though.

News: Feds targeting deceptive auto dealers

Image courtesy of knowyourmeme.com

Have you ever seen one of those loud and obnoxious commercials where a skeezy looking car salesman spends the entire 30-second spot yelling at the camera about ridiculous deals that sound too good to be true? While I usually change the channel when those commercials come on, apparently enough people did not and got duped into visiting these deals and then actually purchasing a vehicle that the Federal Trade Commission has decided to look into the issue. Dubbed "Operation Ruse Control," the FTC will be cracking down on deceptive advertising and financing practices as well as other forms of fraud committed by auto dealers around the US.

There is certainly no shortage of anecdotes of people going into dealers, spurred by promises of super cheap cars or ridiculously lenient financing terms, only to be given the bait and switch routine when they sit down to sign the paperwork. On top of that, there have been numerous recent stories of dealers self-financing deals and then recalling buyers to essentially tell them that their loans were not approved in order to gouge them for more money on the monthly payment. The most recent round of unscrupulous behavior to make the news has been Dodge dealers taking orders on Challenger and Charger Hellcats that they not only know they do not have in stock, but will likely not ever be able to order. This kind of behavior is precisely why Americans absolutely despise the process of buying cars and why people seem to be willing to support the idea of direct sales on certain cars, a process that Tesla has used to great effect since it started deliveries on the Model S.

The Feds have already filed suit against several dealerships as well as financial services companies that have been accused of the alleged behavior and the campaign will continue until this kind of behavior stops. Best of all, because the cases are often being brought as lawsuits, the FTC is actually forcing the defendants in the cases to pay back ill-gotten gains.

Click past the jump to read the press release and learn more about "Operation Ruse Control."

Industry news: Chevy Bolt presages expansion of EV market

This week has been insanely full of automotive news with many major announcements taking place at Cobo Hall during the Detroit Auto Show. Marking the official start of the auto show season for 2015, many manufacturers have used the opportunity to announce seriously bad ass performance vehicles, including the new Ford GT and the long-awaited Acura NSX. However, the most important new vehicle announced during the show is not either of those cars, but rather a much smaller and slower vehicle. Yes, the real showstopper at this year's Detroit Auto Show is the announcement by GM that they are going to build a battery-powered EV with a 200 mile range.

Called the Chevy Bolt Concept, this new vehicle is the first announced competitor to the much anticipated Tesla Model 3. Intended as an affordable EV for the masses, GM has set the bar to deliver a purely electric vehicle with a 200 mile range that will cost less than $30,000 after federal incentives. In states where additional credits or incentives are available, the Bolt would end up costing even less.

The concept vehicle itself has a footprint similar to the Honda Fit or Kia Soul, but with the upright profile of a people mover. This likely means excellent interior space, but may present a challenge to American car buyers who seem less interested in space efficiency. Speaking of that interior, GM saw fit to include a 10-inch touchscreen center console information display wrapped in a fantastic looking interior that most likely will not see production. Outside, the cues from GM's newly announced 2016 Chevrolet Volt are hard to miss and that massive slab of glass serving as the roof panel gives the car a more premium feel, even though that is a feature also unlikely to make it onto the production vehicle. Still the upright greenhouse should provide excellent visibility and the promise of 200 miles of range definitely stands out.

It is unclear when a vehicle like the Bolt would actually make it into production. Tesla's Model 3 is supposedly due out in 2017 and there are rumblings that the next generation Nissan Leaf will see also be targeting a 200 mile driving range on a single charge. The biggest hurdle right now still seems to be charge capacity of the batteries. A car with a 200 mile range will require a large battery pack (a la Tesla Model S) and that does not seem to match with the smaller mid-size or compact car that automakers seem to be producing. As the owner of a first generation production EV, it will be interesting to this segment develop and grow. My Focus EV will be coming off lease towards the end of 2017 and I am looking forward to having options for replacing it with a proper long-range capable EV, especially living in a state where EVs are increasingly popular and the infrastructure to charge them continues to spread rapidly.

News: Tesla announces AWD Model S and Autopilot features

Every Tesla fan was likely glued to the web last night to find out about the latest from the electric auto maker and Elon Musk did not disappoint. The announcement of a dual motor all-wheel-drive version of the Model S corroborates the various rumors that had been swirling around all week. However, unlike the usual AWD systems, which saddle cars with extra weight and complexity, contributing to losses in performance and efficiency, the dual motor AWD system in the Model S seems to do exactly the opposite, actually improving efficiency and increasing the cars overall range while adding nearly 50% more horsepower and dropping the 0-60 mph time by over a full second in the now 691-hp P85D trim. Judging from the various videos floating around online of first impressions, this thing is an absolute monster.

On top of all this Tesla has also announced that starting from two weeks ago, every Model S built has the hardware installed for its new Autopilot features, which will be a part of the Technology Package going forward. This adds several cameras, sensors, and systems to allow the Model S to virtually drive itself. The car is able to operate the throttle, brakes, and steering to essentially drive itself, doing everything from managing your cruising speed by reading the speed limit signs to executing a lane change upon command, all without the driver touching the steering wheel or pedals. While the hardware has been included in recent production cars, the software to power this impressive feat of automotive engineering is still being finalized and will be released as a part of an over the air update. Unfortunately, there is no way to retrofit the hardware to older Model S cars.

As huge fans of the Model S, it is hard not to applaud Tesla for adding such admirable improvements to their cars, especially in an ongoing manner. The addition of such features not only toes the line on what is legally allowed at the moment for autonomous vehicles, but also shows that as a company, Tesla is committed to continued innovation. We look forward to taking a test drive of a car equipped with these new features so that we can share further impressions.

More details linked after the jump.

Valentine's Day: Women Most Attracted to Men in Pickup Trucks?

A recent survey by Insure.com wanted to know what kind of cars attracted men and women to the opposite sex. From what we see everyday in the media, I had thought that this topic pretty much already had its answer. Needless to say, the results were somewhat surprising.

Women on an Attractive Man's Car

Image courtesy of Truck Trend

Our media generally portrays women as being attracted to men with sports cars or exotic cars. Based on this survey, at least, it would seem that a large majority of women like a man with a pickup truck. Admittedly, this result surprised me a bit. When I think of a man in a pick up truck, I generally think of three types of men: 1. the frat boy or surfer with their lifted "bro" truck, 2. rednecks or 3. the construction worker or farm hand that actually needs the truck for work. I can maybe see why a woman could be attracted to a hard- working man who uses his truck for its intended purpose, but not so much the "bro" truck owner.

This survey also asked of women what make and color their attractive man would drive. The results put Ford as the top runner for make, with the color black being the women's car color choice for the attractive man. Why? Ford's best selling vehicle is the F-150 pickup truck after all. As for the choice of color? We will get to that in a little bit.

Editorial: We should all shed a tear for the impending demise of Holden as we know it

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Recently, we found out that Holden, that quirky car maker from Down Under, would be ceasing its manufacturing operations in 2017 and have its vehicle lines replaced with re-badged Buicks that will likely be manufactured in China. This is sad news for the motoring world as Holden, even throughout its ownership by the folks at GM, has always been a bastion for rear wheel drive and big push-rod V8 motors. The Holden brand has been synonymous with fast cars even for American car enthusiasts since the final generation of the Pontiac GTO, the ill-fated Pontiac G8, and the current Chevrolet SS are all vehicles derived from vehicles that were a part of the Holden line-up. Of particular interest were the cars of the Holden Special Vehicles group, an in-house tuning arm that took the already relatively powerful cars and cranked up the engines, suspensions, and appearance to 11.

For our friends down in Australia, this is a particularly deep blow as Ford has already announced earlier this year that it would be eliminating the Ford Falcon from its line-up and would no longer be replacing that car with another rear wheel drive sedan. The fabled Falcon vs. Commodore rivalry seems doomed to an early demise as the V8 Supercars racing series will be losing these two major competitors, even as it gains the likes of Mercedes Benz and Nissan.

So as this means another blow struck for V8-powered RWD 4-door sport sedans, we slowly see the segment shrink to a very few competitors. In fact, once Holden passes into the annals of history, only BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Cadillac are left producing cars in this category and even the long-term existence of those cars may be called into question as a result of ever increasingly strict emissions standards, a greater emphasis on fuel economy from consumers, and the steadily advancing march of AWD technology.

As enthusiasts, we should take a moment to salute the demise of a storied brand's true identity and hope that we can all be forgiven for allowing such a travesty to pass. That said, it is a damn good thing that forced induction has made for some increasingly fun and dynamically intriguing performance cars in the last few years.

Editorial: What John Krafcik's depature means for Hyundai

Image courtesy of Automobile Magazine

If you have not heard the news already, a big shake-up is taking place in the automotive world - John Krafcik, the leader of Hyundai's operations in the US and considered one of the more visionary leaders among major automakers, is stepping down come January 1. Krafcik's tenure at Hyundai saw the Korean automaker go from selling mediocre cars that competed by selling for a lot less to a truly global automaker that now produces cars that are not only competitive, but downright world-class and in some cases, are class-leading. This kind of total image shift is something that few automakers have managed successfully and fewer still have managed so effortlessly as Hyundai has with Krafcik at the helm.

Krafcik has overseen the launch of the wildly popular Sonata and the transition of the Genesis sedan from a home market only vehicle to a truly global product. A completely redesigned Elantra has made huge waves in the compact car market by showing the world that cheap does not mean you cannot have a little style. And the funky Veloster redefined the subcompact segment with its unconventional looks and door arrangement. To be fair, it hasn't been all favorable. In fact, Hyundai just recently settled with owners of various models for overstating EPA fuel economy figures that most drivers found unattainable.