Corvette, Telluride, and Gladiator Take NACTOY Honors
The Chevrolet Corvette, Kia Telluride, and Jeep Gladiator took home top honors in the 2020 North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year awards on Monday morning, reports The Detroit News. The Corvette beat out the Hyundai Sonata and Toyota Supra for best car, while the Telluride edged the Hyundai Palisade and Lincoln Navigator for top SUV. The truck category was an all-American affair with the Gladiator beating the Ford Ranger and Ram Heavy Duty. The awards were announced at the TCF Center (formerly Cobo) in Detroit in partnership with the Detroit Auto Dealers Association and the North American International Auto Show. The NACTOY awards have in years past kicked off the North American International Auto Show – but the show has been moved to June this year for the first time. The winners were the cream of a crop of 46 eligible nameplates this year. All vehicles are new to the market for the 2020 model year. Read more here.
Ghosn Legal Team Plans 'Massive' Offensive
Over the past year, the former chairman of Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi was jailed, then muzzled. Now that he's free, Carlos Ghosn is threatening to go after the parties that accused him of crimes and stripped him of his corporate positions, reports Automotive News. Ghosn, on the lam in Lebanon after jumping bail in Japan, will explore "massive" countermeasures against those he says have wronged him, said his French lawyer Francois Zimeray. Zimeray didn't rule out any actions. Possible moves could involve civil suits or other complaints, in Japan or elsewhere, and are precedented by a case filed last year by Ghosn in the Netherlands. "There are many actions to launch now," Zimeray told Automotive News last week after Ghosn gave a combative press conference here — his first with the media since his November 2018 arrest in Tokyo. "This paves the way for a counterattack, which will be legitimate and massive," said Zimeray, in attendance at the event in Beirut. Ghosn fled to Lebanon in a coordinated, cloak-and-dagger getaway at the end of December to escape what he calls injustice and political persecution in Japan. Ghosn had been awaiting trial in Tokyo on charges of financial misconduct and faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Read more here.
15 Cars That Defined the Decade
Automakers are thinking big with their plans for electric vehicles, focusing on sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks to tap into consumers’ desire for larger rides, reports The Wall Street Journal. A barrage of new plug-in hybrid and battery-electric SUV and truck models, including electrified versions of popular nameplates like the Jeep Wrangler and Ford F-150 pickup, are expected to hit U.S. dealerships in the next few years. General Motors Co. is even set to revive the Hummer nameplate—a onetime symbol of gas-guzzling excess—as an electric pickup truck sold under its GMC brand, people familiar with the plans say. Auto executives say they are trying to better reflect consumer preferences, which in recent years have tilted heavily toward taller, more versatile vehicles such as pickups and SUVs. These models typically command higher profits than lower-margin sedans, helping manufacturers better absorb the still-expensive battery costs. Read more here.
Porsche Defies Car Industry Gloom with Record Sales
Porsche AG shrugged off widespread industry malaise, reporting record deliveries for last year and predicting that its first all-electric model Taycan will foster further growth in 2020, reports Yahoo! Finance. Global deliveries rose 10% to 280,800 cars in 2019, driven mainly by strong consumer appetite for the Macan and Cayenne sport utility vehicles, Porsche said Monday in a statement. “We’re optimistic that we can sustain the high demand in 2020,” sales chief Detlev von Platen said in the statement. Sales momentum should benefit from “the introduction of some new models and full order books for the Taycan,” he said. The most profitable division of Volkswagen AG, the world’s largest automaker, is entering a new era with this year’s rollout of the Taycan four-door sedan, which challenges Tesla Inc.’s Model S. Porsche’s cachet has been shaped for decades by fast sports cars with roaring combustion engines, and success of the costly expansion into electric cars is mission-critical for the German manufacturer amid stricter emission regulations in key markets. Read more here.
Automakers See SUVs, Trucks Charging Electric-Vehicle Sales
Automakers are thinking big with their plans for electric vehicles, focusing on sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks to tap into consumers’ desire for larger rides, reports The Wall Street Journal. A barrage of new plug-in hybrid and battery-electric SUV and truck models, including electrified versions of popular nameplates like the Jeep Wrangler and Ford F-150 pickup, are expected to hit U.S. dealerships in the next few years. General Motors Co. is even set to revive the Hummer nameplate—a onetime symbol of gas-guzzling excess—as an electric pickup truck sold under its GMC brand, people familiar with the plans say. Auto executives say they are trying to better reflect consumer preferences, which in recent years have tilted heavily toward taller, more versatile vehicles such as pickups and SUVs. These models typically command higher profits than lower-margin sedans, helping manufacturers better absorb the still-expensive battery costs. Read more here.
Around the Web
Great Cars Nobody Bought in 2019 [Road and Track]
The 9 Things You Need in Your Car This Winter [Popular Mechanics]
U.S. Transpo Chief Rules Out Nationwide Autonomous Vehicle Standards [The Detroit Bureau]
Mercedes-Benz's 'Living' Car, Hyundai's Flying Taxi Among Top Auto Debuts at CES [CNBC]
