Auto Lovers Land

Li Shufu, founder of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, is quite the collector. He just acquired another “collectible,” taking a 7.6% stake in British luxury sports car maker Aston Martin. No numbers were offered, but the stake is valued at nearly $8.5 billion. Geely Chairman Li Shufu added another company to his holdings, buying a 7.6% stake in Aston Martin. Collector may be bit of an overstatement, but it’s the second auto brand Geely’s invested in this year and continues a trend of investments by what is China’s largest privately held auto company.  “We look forward to exploring potential opportunities to engage and collaborate with Aston Martin as it continues to execute its strategy to achieve long term, sustainable growth and increased profitability,” said Daniel Donghui Li, Zhejiang Geely’s chief executive officer, in a statement. Second time’s the charm The move shouldn’t be a tremendous surprise. Geely’s founder reportedly nosed around Aston in January 2020. The Britis...

Utility vehicles are it right now and compact utility vehicles with five seats are especially strong as they offer a balanced and versatile combination of space, room for passenger and a modest measure of fuel economy.  Utility vehicles are it right now and compact utility vehicles with five seats are especially strong, which is good news for the 2022 Mazda CX-5 AWD. They also appeal to wide audience ranging from retirees looking for modest transportation to youngster looking for room to carry their friends and their gear. They also are popular with small families. What is surprising is one of the brands crowding into the segment is Mazda with its history of building cars, which emphasize the vehicle’s fun quotient. But Mazda’s emphasis on driving characteristics shows through even in the compact utilities.  Overview The 2022 Mazda CX-5 AWD more than holds its own against some very intense competition from Asian, American and European manufacturers. They’ve produced s...

Startup EV manufacturer Atlis Motor Vehicles endured a tumultuous first few days as a publicly traded company.  Atlis Motor Vehicles rang opening bell for the Nasdaq Tuesday as it became a publicly traded company. The stock kicked off at $27.50 per share on Tuesday and Nasdaq halted trading for volatility five times that afternoon. With brisk after-hours trading, Atlis began Wednesday morning sitting at $243.99, almost 900% higher than its IPO price.  However, the peak was anomalous, and the stock was down to $63.48 by noon on Wednesday. Prices rallied to $83 before the close of trading, but then began a steady slide to $31.30 by mid-day Friday.  What’s going on Atlis Motor Vehicles’, based in Mesa, Arizona, claim to fame is it not only develops its own batteries for its pickup truck, but also offers that technology to other companies. The company’s  primary vehicle is called the XT , and it’s built on an EV platform designed for heavy and light duty work tr...

The Urus S receives revised styling for 2023. Having  introduced the Lamborghini Urus Performante  during the new car introduction orgy at Monterey Car Week, the Bolognese automaker has followed with a new base model, the Lamborghini Urus S. While the Performante brings new levels of performance to the Urus, with a 0-62 mph time of 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 190 mph, the Urus S receives similar treatment with an upgraded powerplant. “The Urus has proven its appeal for those seeking the decisive combination of the sportiest SUV and a Lamborghini to drive every day: the Urus S sits perfectly alongside the new Urus Performante, for those choosing the purest sublimation of performance, luxury and versatility,” said Stephan Winkelmann, chairman and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini. More power  Of course, when you consider the Urus’s two trim levels, the base vehicle could be the better deal.  Power for the 2023 Lamborghini Urus S equals that of Performante, a...

When all the sales numbers for the third quarter are totaled up next week, Hyundai/Kia could move past Stellantis in total sale for the first time, according to an analysis of recent sales trends by Cox Automotive. With a new entry like the 2022 Ioniq 5, Hyundai and its sibling, Kia, are poised to pass Stellantis in Q3 sales in the U.S. Hyundai and Kia sales are combined because Hyundai owns Kia. Charlie Chesbrough, Cox Automotive senior economist, said General Motors appears to have “won” the third quarter even though its sales retreated from the sales totals in the second quarter. Ford, Hyundai had a relatively strong quarter while Honda and Nissan had big declines, Chesbrough said. GM will lead in sales for the third quarter, followed by Toyota and Ford — the top two swapping spots from Q3 last year. Hyundai ekes past Stellantis in U.S. sales But Hyundai is very likely to overtake Stellantis for the first time, according to a chart compiled by Cox, with Hyundai sales incre...

Beleaguered and nearly kaput electric pickup truck maker Lordstown Motors achieved a milestone thought impossible by many even just a few months ago: production of its first saleable vehicles. Lordstown produced its first two “saleable” pickups with the third set to arrive soon, officials said. The first two iterations of its aptly named Endurance pickup rolled off the production line at the former General Motors plant now run by China’s Foxconn with Lordstown owning the plant for a period of time in between. Lordstown plans to build a batch of 500 pickups at a slow and deliberate rate — the norm for production of a new vehicle — to ensure the process is correct.  “We will continue to build at a slow rate as we address remaining part pedigree and part availability issues. We expect to increase the speed of production into November and December,” said Edward Hightower, Lordstown CEO and president. “Our homologation and certification processes are proceeding as...

Porsche’s valuation, at 15 times earnings, trails Ferrari, valued at 33 times earnings. Sports car manufacturer Porsche AG hit the Frankfurt stock exchange Thursday, starting strong, but by the end of the trading day, shares finished less than 1% above their open price in the first day’s trading. This gives the automaker a market value of €75 billion, or about $73.5 billion, or nearly as much as all of Volkswagen AG, including Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini, at €78 billion. Porsche’s shares didn’t have the expected outlandish first day price pop, as they were priced at the high end of valuation. Also, a grim day for European stocks most likely held back any outsized first day appreciation.  According to The Wall Street Journal , that means Porsche is trading at roughly 15 times earnings, roughly half of Ferrari’s 33 times valuation, but far better than Mercedes-Benz, BMW or fellow family-owned automakers Volkswagen and Ford, all of which trade at less than five times valuati...

General Motors Co. and OneD Battery Sciences have announced a new joint research & development agreement to use OneD’s silicon nanotechnology in GM’s Ultium battery cells.  GM’s inked a deal — and invested an unspecified sum — with OneD to further develop its silicon-based Sinanode technology. The plan is to use silicon anodes in a graphite base to enable significant increases in energy density, resulting in lighter-weight batteries with longer range and lower costs.  “GM designed Ultium to be a supremely flexible platform so we can continuously improve our cells as battery technology advances,” said Kent Helfrich, GM chief technology officer, vice president of GM research and development, and president of GM Ventures. “Our collaboration with OneD will focus on efforts to continue advancements in EV range, performance and cost.” The collaboration is centered on OneD’s Sinanode platform, which integrates more silicon into the anode battery cells by fusing silicon na...

Even as the overall U.S. automotive market struggles, EV sales are booming. They’ve grown from 1% of new vehicle sales in 2019 to 7.5% in recent months, and the upward trend is only expected to continue. One of the key reasons is the rapid increase in available product options. A year ago, buyers had barely 15 long-range EVs available in U.S. showrooms. By early 2023, that is expected to reach about 50. The 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV will begin rolling into dealer showrooms before the end of this year. That includes an assortment of new offerings from Mercedes-Benz which only launched its first long-range model, the EQS sedan, a year ago. It has since added the compact EQB crossover and will bring even more options to market in the months ahead. That includes the new EQE sedan, as well as an SUV version of the EQS line. TheDetroitBureau.com jumped at the chance to check out the latter model, the electric answer to the familiar, gas-powered GLS. I caught a flight to Denver for a ...

Toyota’s expanding, actually extending, its efforts to help new owners enjoy some additional peace of mind about what kind of support and service they’ll get after the sale. Toyota’s extending the trial period its connected services to 10 years for selected 2023 vehicles. The automaker is extending the trial period of its the Safety Connect and Service Connect option for 2023 model year vehicles to 10 years. New Lexus buyers are also getting the same deal. “We are constantly looking at ways to offer our customers enhanced driving experiences,” said Steve Basra, group vice president, Connected Technologies, Toyota Motor North America.  “With our new extended trial for Safety Connect and Service Connect, a wide range of services enable Toyota owners to enjoy more peace of mind when behind the wheel.” No subscriptions necessary The Safety Connect and Service Connect suite of services will be available with up to a 10-year trial — 4G Network dependent — for owners of select 2...