Auto Lovers Land

GM suspended deliveries of vehicles to Russia, joining several other automakers in the move. Several automakers announced they would suspend business dealings in Russia in the wake of the country’s attack on Ukraine. General Motors, Volvo Cars, Volkswagen and Daimler Truck all ended vehicle shipments to the country as other manufacturing and industrial giants also quickly shut down operations or cut ties to Russian businesses. GM said Monday it is suspending its vehicle exports to Russia indefinitely. Its Russian business isn’t massive, about 3,000 vehicles annually, according to Reuters. The company used to have production and sales operations in the country.  However, it  started pulling out of Russia in 2015  and sold off its remaining stake to Avtovaz in 2019 — the same year Ford announced plans to leave the market. “Our thoughts are with the people of Ukraine at this time,” GM said in a statement. “The loss of life is a tragedy and our overriding co...

No vehicle holds its value more than the 2022 Toyota Tundra, according to Kelley Blue Book. It retains 70.2% of its value after five years. If you’re looking for the vehicle that retains the most value after five years, buy a pickup truck.  That’s the message that comes through from Kelley Blue Book’s annual Best Resale Value Awards , which recognizes the 10 vehicles projected to retain the highest percentage of their purchase price. While people refer to cars, trucks and SUVs as investments, they are not ones that usually return a profit. But these 10 cars hold more of their worth than others. The vehicles that made this year’s list retain their value better than 95% of all other models, where the average is a mere 40 percent of the MSRP. Buying one of these vehicles means that the buyer of a $35,000 vehicle retains an extra $6,650 in value over five years — a meaningful difference. Vehicles with the best resale value The 2022 Ford Maverick retains nearly 60% of its va...

This is the final story of a monthlong Black History Month series about the impact of Black people in automotive history. Ed Welburn’s fate as a leader in automotive design was sealed during the 1959 Philadelphia Auto Show. Chance encounters can be life-changing experiences. Sometimes they can change a lot more. In the case of Ed Welburn, a visit to the 1959 Philadelphia Auto Show helped transform an entire industry. Welburn was barely 8 years old when he went with his parents to the annual event. There were dozens of vehicles on display, but it was the jet fighter-like Cadillac Cyclone concept car on the General Motors stand that captured the youngster’s imagination. “It mesmerized me,” Welburn recalls more than six decades later. “Everything else at that show is a blur except for the Cyclone.” Starting young As far back as he can remember, Welburn was surrounded by cars, his father running a repair shop in the Philly suburbs. He was helping neighborhood kids fix their bicy...

California may be known as the Golden State but it’s drivers are going green, collectively purchasing more than 1 million plug-in vehicles. California Governor Gavin Newsom talks with the owner of the 1 millionth plug-in electric vehicle sold in the state. It’s not only the first state to get there but California is set to become the first state to hit the 2 million mark if its current sales pace holds. In 2021, buyers there purchased 250,279 EVs, 12.4% of total California new vehicle sales. “This is a massive achievement,” said Josh D. Boone, executive director of Veloz, a public-private partnership that promotes the sale of electrified vehicles. “That said, there is a lot of work to be done. Accessibility, more charging infrastructure and education are obstacles that still need to be overcome” to make EVs ubiquitous. Promoting EV sales California has long promoted the sale of environmentally friendly vehicles, taking advantage of its unique ability to set mileage and emissio...

It’s always way less expensive to keep a customer than to woo another with advertising and incentives, and two Detroit-area automakers seem to keep their buyers better than the competition.  Shortages aside, General Motors kept more buyers than the competition, largely due to the popularity of their full-size pickups and SUVs. So it’s a definite plus for  General Motors to come out on top in the IHS Markit Annual Automotive Loyalty Awards  as the top manufacturer for automotive loyalty in the U.S. in 2021. The company took the top honor for the seventh straight year. It’s also won the award 18 times in the last 26 years, IHS noted.  The company managed to remain on top despite inventory constraints throughout the year. GM retained 64% of its customers last year, much of that due its utility and pickup line-up.  Dedicated to Dearborn Ford captured the top spot in the “Overall Loyalty to Make” category — for the 12th consecutive year. Much like GM,...

Studebaker-Packard’s board of directors killed Packard, redirecting its funds for developemnt of the compact 1959 Studebaker Lark. This week in automotive history is a sad one. For this week in 1958, the Packard brand is terminated by the Studebaker-Packard Corp.’s board of directors without an official vote. The move comes from a proposal by Studebaker Chairman Harold E Churchill. The money saved will be redirected by the troubled company’s hail Mary pass: the introduction of a new compact car for 1959, the Studebaker Lark. A legendary automaker outlasts its peers It is said Packard was a car built by gentlemen for gentleman. Its slogan, “Ask the man who owns one,” was unchanged for decades, a reflection of its position as the luxury car of choice among old money types.  Packard was the only independent American luxury line left after World War II. The Depression killed off two of what were known as the “Three Ps,” Packard, Peerless and Pierce-Arrow, as well as Duesenberg...

It’s been more than two decades since the original BMW SUV, the X5, came to market. And what was once a fringe offering has become one of the Bavarian automakers most popular product lines. While BMW isn’t following the lead of some other automakers, walking away from the passenger car market, it has clearly shifted the balance with its latest line-up featuring a broad array of crossover-utility models. BMW helped to kick off the luxury crossover/SUV craze with the X5. Now the company’s got a range of offerings, including the very impressive 2022 X4 M Competition. That move has also generated a fair share of controversy — especially when it comes to more coupe-like offerings such as the X4 line. It’s meant to evoke the sportiness of the classic 4 Series coupe while delivering the higher seating and more imposing presence of an SUV. After getting some brief time in the X4 during its original launch, I lined up an even more sporty X4 M with the Competition package to see what it’s...

Sales of new vehicles continued to stall out during February, mostly due to the lack inventory on dealer lots. Car shoppers are still finding sparse dealer inventories and electing not to buy. With consumers walking away — turning to the used vehicle market, in some cases — new vehicle sales in February are expected to reach 1.08 million units, a drop of 11% compared to February 2021, according to a forecast released by Cox Automotive.   The February pace of U.S. auto sales, or seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), is forecast to show a market still significantly constrained by lack of new-vehicle supply and finish at a relatively anemic 14.4 million vehicles.  That result is a drop from January’s 15-million-unit pace, and down from last February’s 15.9 million level, Cox reported. The decline in pace is not due to seasonal adjustments, but rather a tight supply situation that continues to hold back the market, the Cox report said.  Inventory issues Des...

The Faraday Future FF 91’s appearence hasn’t changed significantly since its first reveal. It’s been a bumpy road for Hanford, California-based Faraday Future since it first showed the FF 91 EV in 2018. But the company reached a critical milestone Thursday when it revealed its first production-intent FF 91, a ultra-luxury EV intended to compete with the Tesla Model X. “Building the first production-intent vehicle at the Hanford plant is an important step towards reaching the start of production in Q3. This iteration is the closest to the FF 91 production model we’ve seen to date,” said Matt Tall, vice president of manufacturing at Faraday Future. A critical step for the company The unveiling of the pre-production FF 91 for final engineering validation and certification is the fourth of seven manufacturing milestones that company announced in October 2021. The Faraday Future FF 91 features a multitude of screens, including one for the front seat passenger. The initial ...