Nominate Someone for the 2022 David F. Mungenast Sr. Lifetime Achievement Award
The David F. Mungenast Sr. Lifetime Achievement Award is presented each year during AIADA’s Annual Meeting and Luncheon to a member of the international nameplate auto retail industry who embodies an unrivaled commitment to his/her dealership and employees, community, and family. AIADA needs your help to select the 2022 winner of the David F. Mungenast Sr. Lifetime Achievement Award. Click here to download the nomination form. Please consider the requirements to nominate an outstanding member of our industry for this award, and return the form for your nominee to AIADA by mail, e-mail, or fax no later than October 29, 2021. The winner will be announced at AIADA’s 52nd Annual Meeting and Luncheon on March 13, 2022 in Las Vegas.
Analysts: Toyota Might Keep U.S. Sales Crown in 2022
Toyota is expected to not only top General Motors in full-year U.S. sales this year, but it may repeat that feat in 2022 as the ongoing microchip shortage continues to impact global and North American automobile production. Meanwhile, reports Automotive News, vehicle prices are expected to continue to increase and interest rates are expected to start rising late next year in a pinch that could push even more consumers away from new vehicles and toward used ones, according to analysts from LMC Automotive and Oxford Economics. Speaking Wednesday on the global outlook for light vehicles, LMC analysts said automakers have lost 6.8 million units of planned vehicle production so far this year around the world, and they could lose another 2.6 million vehicles from planned production before the end of 2021 as the microchip shortage continues to roil the global industry. Read more here (Source: Automotive News).
Consumers Leaning More Toward Car Dealership Service Centers
A growing number of people who seek vehicle repair and maintenance work say they prefer auto dealership service departments over other repair facilities, reports WardsAuto. That’s according to the newly released 2021 Cox Automotive Service Industry Study. It indicates 34% of consumers prefer dealership service centers, a percentage point increase from 2018, and ahead of general repair shops. That is good news for dealers who over the years have faced challenges from independent shops and national car-care chains, which are geographically more prevalent than are car dealerships. Because of such competitors, Cox Automotive estimates dealers aren’t capturing about $214 billion in potential annual revenue. Dealerships enjoy a reputation for doing quality service work – one reason for their popularity. They also are cited as preferred because of their existing relationships with customers. The Cox Automotive survey indicates 55% of consumers say they go to a dealership because its service personnel know their vehicle better. Read more here (Source: WardsAuto).
BMW Ready for Any Ban on Fossil-Fuel Burning Cars from 2030, CEO Says
Germany's BMW will be ready for any ban on internal combustion engine (ICE) cars from 2030 onwards with an offering of electric vehicles, Chief Executive Officer Oliver Zipse said on Tuesday. Reuters reports that the EU has proposed an effective ban on fossil fuel cars from 2035 as part of a broader package of measures to combat global warming. read more "We will be ICE-ban ready. If a region, a city, a country gets the idea of banning ICEs, we have an offering," Zipse told a conference in the town of Nuertingen, near Stuttgart. "The BMW Group is not worried about this. Whether it's a good idea is another question... but we will have an offering." Unlike rivals including Volkswagen and General Motors, BMW has not set an end date for production of ICE cars. However, it has said it expects 50% of global car sales to be electric vehicles by 2030. Read more here (Source: Reuters).
NHTSA Asks Tesla Why It Didn't Initiate a Recall When It Pushed Safety-Related Software Update
A federal vehicle safety authority is asking Tesla to explain why it didn’t initiate a recall when it pushed a safety-related software update to customers in September, reports CNBC. The update enabled Tesla vehicles to better detect emergency vehicle lights in low-light conditions, according to a letter from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to Tesla published to the government agency’s website Wednesday. Tesla’s “Emergency Light Detection Update” was delivered via an over-the-air software update to customers’ cars a few weeks after NHTSA initiated a probe into possible safety defects with Tesla Autopilot, the company’s standard driver assistance package. Tesla also sells a premium version of its driver assistance system under the brand name FSD, or Full Self-Driving, for $10,000 up front or $199 per month. None of Tesla’s systems make their cars safe for use without a human driver behind the wheel at all times. They are “level 2” driver assistance systems, not fully autonomous vehicle technologies. Read more here (Source: CNBC).
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2022 Lexus LX 600 Arrives with New Platform, V6 Power [MotorAuthority]
Here Are the Most Old School Cars on Sale Today [Jalopnik]
Europe's Carmakers Face Raw Material Bottleneck for EV Batteries [Reuters]
