Dealers Do Good Friday
AIADA’s #DealersDoGood campaign is spreading the word about the great things dealers are doing in their local communities. Read about some of the dealers who are doing good across America. If you know of a dealer doing good, let us know here, or tag us on Facebook or Twitter with the #DealersDoGood hashtag.
W&L Subaru in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, matched Subaru’s donation of $250 for each car sold – raising a total of $48,470 for the Children’s Miracle Network at Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital in Danville, Pennsylvania. The donation brings the dealership’s seven-year total donated to the hospital to $236,232. Click here for a picture from the check presentation on April 13, which included Rob Long, Bob Long, Andy Long and wife Silvia of W&L Subaru, as well as Dr. Paul Bellino of Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital.
Prestige Subaru in Asheville, North Carolina, donated gave Homeward Bound of WNC nearly $33,000 to help the nonprofit find homes for the homeless. "We can thank our customers for this donation, and we are glad to support the work that Homeward Bound does here in Asheville, North Carolina," Prestige marketing director Anthony Pelle said. Read more here (Source: WLOS).
The Jeff Wyler Automotive Family, with dealerships in Ohio and Kentucky, recently donated $300,000 to Nationwide Children’s and their ongoing efforts to help children in need. Click here for pictures from the check presentation.
The Global Chip Shortage is Starting to Have Major Real-World Consequences
The severity of the global chip shortage has gone up a notch over the last few weeks and it’s now looking as though millions of people will be impacted, reports CNBC. As technology has advanced, semiconductor chips have spread from computers and cars to toothbrushes and tumble dryers — they now lurk beneath the hood of a surprising number of products. But demand for chips is continuing to outstrip supply, and carmakers are no longer the only companies feeling the pinch. South Korean tech giant Samsung said last week that the chip shortage is hitting television and appliance production, while LG admitted the shortage is a risk. Read more here (Source: CNBC).
Tesla Tells Regulator That Full Self-Driving Cars May Not Be Achieved by Year-End
Tesla Inc. told a California regulator that it may not achieve full self-driving technology by the end of this year, a memo by the California Department of Motor Vehicles showed. AccordiAccording to Automotive News, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during an earnings conference call in January that he was "highly confident the car will be able to drive itself with reliability in excess of human this year." Tesla has also rolled out what it describes as a "beta" version of its "full self-driving" program to a limited number of employees and customers since October, and Musk has touted the capability on Twitter. "Elon's tweet does not match engineering reality per CJ. Tesla is at Level 2 currently," the California DMV said in a memo about its March 9 conference call with Tesla representatives, including autopilot engineer CJ Moore. Level 2 technology refers to a semi-automated driving system, which requires supervision by a human driver. Read more here (Source: Automotive News).
BMW Confirms Its 2021 Targets Despite Worsening Chip Shortages
BMW remains on course to meet its profit targets for 2021 despite rising raw material costs, though the global chip shortage will worsen and may hit production in the second quarter, the German carmaker said on Friday. Reuters reports that most of the auto industry has been hit by a global semiconductor chip shortage, forcing many assembly plants to shut, driving down inventories and pushing up prices for both new and used vehicles. "We cannot assume that we will emerge from the second quarter unscathed," Chief Executive Officer Oliver Zipse said. Zipse said, however, that he did not expect the shortage to have a major impact on production and the company would respond by prioritizing production of cars with higher profit margins. BMW said sales of its electrified vehicles more than doubled in the first quarter, when it also benefited from higher prices and strong demand in China, where sales almost doubled in the first quarter from last year. Read more here (Source: Reuters).
Buying American is Harder Than It Sounds: Jeep is a Good Example
Buy American. It’s a common refrain among politicians from both sides of the aisle. So common, in fact, that former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden – who share little common ground – have both promoted the concept. But, according to USA Today, buying American is easier said than done, in no small part because the definition of an "American" product has been muddied in recent decades amid an increasingly globalized economy. Biden said he has "strenuously" insisted that members of his administration direct their spending power, bolstered by his recent stimulus package, toward American goods. As he said, though, the U.S. government already devotes most of its spending power toward American branded products. Take vehicles as an example. In the 2019 fiscal year, 94% of the U.S. government's 645,000 vehicles were domestic brands, such as Chevrolet and Ford, according to the General Services Administration. Read more here (Source: USA Today).
Around the Web
These Are the Absolute Best Daily Driver Sports Cars You Can Buy [HotCars]
What Car Would You Safari? [TheDrive]
Stratospheric Values for Used Cars May Mean Now is the Time to Buy New [The Detroit Bureau]
The Last Plymouth Ever Built is a 68-Mile Neon Up for Sale [Autoblog]
