Civil case against VW’s diesel emissions scandal to start VW owners are seeking compensation for alleged fitting of emissions defeat devices Class action against Volkswagen will begin today (Monday 2nd December) in the UK, as lawyers representing more than 90,000 VW owners look to settle whether defeat device software fitted to 1.2 million vehicles was designed to illegally circumnavigate clean air laws. More than four years on from when the VW emissions scandal initially broke, VW customers in the UK are taking their case to the courts in the latest round of legal battles for the German manufacturer. The action is a civil suit, rather than a trial to determine any criminal undertakings. Other countries have already seen settlements paid by Volkswagen, with the scandal costing the company billions of pounds in legal damages. VW has paid more than $4 billion in penalties from criminal charges brought two years ago. Penalties in Australia have also been settled for customer compensation. In Europe, there has been no such closure, with cases due to come to court in the UK and a number of other countries. Here, VW claims that the emissions software used was not illegal – despite German authorities having previously ruled that it was. Volkswagen claims that no defeat devices have been installed in any vehicles in the UK, and that it will contest the action.
Origin: Civil case against VWs diesel emissions scandal to start
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Ford insiders make the case for – and against – the Mach-E being named ‘Mustang’
Ford Mustang Mach-ENadine Filion News about Fords 2021 Mustang Mach-E electric SUV keeps breaking every day, pointing to ever-more ambitious plans for the model. After shipping it to dealers late 2020, the automaker plans to sell 50,000 examples globally through 2021, reports the Detroit News for context, Nissans Leaf managed 30,000 units in its best year. A performance-spec Shelby version is allegedly in the works, too.And Ford Europe design chief Murat Gueler admits some execs have even talked about building a family around the Mustang name. This is, of course, assuming Mustang enthusiasts, pitchforks and torches in hand, havent by then burned Dearborn to the ground for sticking the name of the iconic pony car on an electric SUV in the first place.Yes, the reaction to the Blue Oval calling the Mach-E a Mustang has been simply calamitous. Even with Ford bringing on the charismatic Idris Elba as a brand ambassador, the backlash has been unrelenting.No fewer than four petitions for the name to be changed have been launched; promises have hurriedly come down from Ford execs that youll be convinced once you drive it; and a survey of social media shows fans of rival muscle cars from General Motors and Mopar have even sympathetically relaxed or resisted their usual trolling of Mustang owners.There have been, arguably, early warnings Ford holds no name completely sacred. In 1967, the company turned its Thunderbird, once a two-seat roadster, into a marshmallow-y four-door luxury sedan; 10 years later the vaunted Mercury Cougar muscle car badge would show up on a station wagon.Then again, those marques didnt jump from gasoline to electric power, or from car to sport utility.‘Making the Mustang Mach-E’A few days after its launch, Ford released this video about the Mustang Mach-Es development, featuring several executives, engineers, designers and Mustang fans.The company doesnt hide that the group behind the vehicle, Team Edison, didnt start out with the intent to make their new EV product a Mustang, pinning the inspiration for bringing the haloed brand into it on Jim Farley, president of new business and technology.The video shows us, too, that Mach-Es being labelled Mustang faced plenty of scepticism from inside the company, even from executive chairman Bill Ford himself, who was absolutely adamant that it not be a Mustang.But, as you might expect of a piece of apologia like this, by the end of the 20-minute clip, all those Doubting Thomases have been convinced, turned onto the thought this noiseless four-door could be a Mustang after all.The film finishes with the fans take, sage words to the effect progress cant be stopped, and that itd be kind of neat to see Mustang on the flanks of a spaceship a hundred years from now.The argument against Mach-E — from a Ford insiderBut the argument doesnt stop there just because the credits roll; in fact, Driving.ca managed to tap for an exclusive interview a Mustang subject matter expert working for Ford who vows the Mach-E is not a Mustang. End of story. If you ask them, this is instead a marketing gimmick gone wrong.Mustang was used for publicity purposes; its as simple as that, writes our insider, whose identity were keeping hidden to save them from a possible reprisal by their employer. We can all see Ford did not have faith in the vehicle to live on its own. If they did, they would have given it a separate name. Mustang Family Photo, but one of these things is not like the others The Mustang enthusiast community, they suggest, is not opposed to progress, just what they take as a flagrant disregard for the Mustang brand. We are not upset about it being electric. Fact is, electric (power) gives us instantaneous torque, and that is pretty darn great. We are upset about it turning into a completely different vehicle segment within a brand that already has multiple SUVs.Porsche didnt slap a 911 on their SUV. Lamborghini didnt call their SUV a Murcilago. Was introducing an SUV within those brands polarizing? Absolutely. But, at least they didnt sacrifice a name that means so much to people.There are few counter-arguments our insider, a lifelong Mustang fan, cant refute. People have claimed Ford experimented with four-door and station wagon (Mustang) designs in the early 60s, they explain. Although this is true, (Ford) chose not to pursue these body styles because they claimed it went against Mustangs mission to be a sporty vehicle. When you have a product as enormously successful as Mustang, you invariably have to consider how to capitalize on the idea. While Mustang used the platform of the compact Falcon as its starting point, the four-door Mustang could have brought the idea full circle by adding two doors to the pony car. Fortunately for Mustang fans, cooler heads prevailed. Ford That feeling of a loss of identity may be the strongest argument against the pony badge being slapped onto the face of the Mach-E if not, the pony badge itself is. The
Origin: Ford insiders make the case for – and against – the Mach-E being named ‘Mustang’
Lawsuit against Kia alleges Canadian owners being misled about maintenance
2020 Kia TellurideNick Tragianis / Driving A group of Canadian Kia owners are filing a class-action lawsuit against the automaker, claiming theyre being misled about how often their vehicles need to be serviced.According to the owners manual in most Kia vehicles, routine service should be performed every 12,000 km. Thats what Thrse Martel read in the booklet when she purchased her new Rio in 2012, hoping for a vehicle thatd require less maintenance due to her long commute.However, when she brought her car in for its first service, reports the CBC, she was told the 12,000-kilometre interval indicated in the owners manual didnt apply to vehicles sold in Quebec.Kia says most of Canada falls under what is considered a severe usage schedule for maintenance, which means vehicles must in fact be serviced every 6,000 km, twice as often as the manual states, if owners want to maintain their warranty coverage.Martel is seeking $985 in damages, the amount she claims she lost due to the extra service shes had to book. If the lawsuit is successful, it could apply to other owners as well.In a statement to the CBC, parent company Hyundai Canada remarked all of Canada is considered a severe usage area due to the harsh weather.Across the automotive industry, harsh weather/temperature is one of the most important considerations for vehicle maintenance, the automaker wrote. Canadas weather is largely considered to be severe due to our harsh winters and vehicle maintenance should reflect
Origin: Lawsuit against Kia alleges Canadian owners being misled about maintenance
U.S. workers’ union starts first strike against GM in 12 years
Members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) who are employed at the General Motors Flint Assembly plant in Flint, Michigan, slow down salary employees entering the plant as they strike early on September 16, 2019.Jeff Kowalsky / AFP via Getty The United Auto Workers union is leading its first strike against General Motors in 12 years, digging in for a fight over jobs and benefits that could cost the carmaker dearly.The strike that took effect at midnight may cost GM about US$50 million a day in earnings before interest and taxes due to lost production, Dan Levy, an analyst at Credit Suisse, said Sunday.While GM touted an offer to invest in plants across the U.S. and boost wages and benefits, UAW leadership has been rocked by a corruption scandal and needs to show willingness to bring the fight to an automaker thats been scaling back its workforce.The union is playing some hardball. It seems they are pretty far apart, said Kristin Dziczek, vice-president of the labor and economics group at the Center for Automotive Research. GMs offer still doesnt address some of the unions demands.GM has offered US$7 billion of investment in eight U.S. plants and more than 5,400 additional jobs, most of which would be new hires. But the union said GMs proposal fell short in key areas including health care, use of temporary workers and the length of time it takes for shorter-tenured members to get to top-scale pay.The union is seeking pay raises for entry-level workers, who currently start at less than US$20 an hour, and to get them to the peak wage of almost US$30 an hour in three or four years, instead of the current period of eight years.Going into this bargaining season, our members have been very clear about what they will and will not accept from this contract, UAW Vice President Terry Dittes said at a press conference on Sunday.Temporary employees and those working their way up the pay scale are doing the same work for less compensation, said Ted Krumm, the head of the unions bargaining committee. We are fighting for the future of the middle class, he said. GM countered that it made the union a generous offer to invest in factories in four states, including a new vehicle in the Detroit-Hamtramck sedan plant that had been slated to end production in January.In Lordstown, Ohio, where GM has idled the factory that once had three shifts of workers making Chevrolet Cruze compact cars, the automaker plans to set up the first union-represented electric-car battery plant in the U.S. There are also four electric trucks coming that other UAW plants will build.GM offered workers a signing bonus of US$8,000 per member if they ratify the deal, plus wage gains or lump-sum payments in all four years of the contract. The carmaker says its offering to keep members health-care contributions the same as in the current contract.The walkout will be just the second national work stoppage at GM since a 67-day strike in 1970. GM did have a 54-day strike at a key plant in Flint, Michigan, in 1998 that effectively shut down most of its assembly
Origin: U.S. workers’ union starts first strike against GM in 12 years
Trump lashes out against carmakers cool to his mileage plan
U.S. President Donald Trump answers questions from the press while departing the White House on November 26, 2018 in Washington, DC.Win McNamee / Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at automobile manufacturers whove pushed back on his administrations plan to weaken fuel-efficiency requirements, dismissing them as politically correct.My proposal to the politically correct Automobile Companies would lower the average price of a car to consumers by more than $3000, while at the same time making the cars substantially safer, Trump tweetrf Wednesday.Engines would run smoother. Very little impact on the environment! Foolish executives!The tweet was apparently prompted by a compromise that Ford, Honda, BMW and Volkswagen have reached with Californias clean-air regulator to boost the fuel efficiency of autos sold in the U.S. through 2026, defying the Trump administrations plan. Gavin Newsom, Californias Democratic governor, has called on other automakers to join the pact though none have thus far.My proposal to the politically correct Automobile Companies would lower the average price of a car to consumers by more than $3000, while at the same time making the cars substantially safer. Engines would run smoother. Very little impact on the environment! Foolish executives! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 21, 2019That deal represents the most clear-cut example of auto industry unease with the Trump administrations August 2018 proposal to dramatically ease fuel economy and vehicle greenhouse gas emissions standards drafted by the Obama administration, which sought to boost average fuel efficiency to roughly 50 miles per gallon by 2025.The Trump administration instead recommended capping mileage requirements at a 37-mile-per-gallon fleet average after 2020, and revoking Californias authority to regulate tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions, which its done in coordination with Washington for several years.Trump regulators have argued that capping fuel economy standards at 2020 levels would lead to less-expensive new cars than under the current rules, allowing consumers to replace their older vehicles with newer, safer ones more rapidly and avoid thousands of traffic fatalities.Experts and EPA career staff have disputed those assertions. Automakers for months have urged the Trump administration to moderate that plan, fearing a lengthy legal battle over Californias regulatory powers would throw the critical standards into uncertainty for years. Those efforts have had little sway so far on the White House, which rejected a plea by 17 carmakers last month to work out a compromise with California.The companies also want to avoid a split market with federal mileage requirements in most states and more stringent rules in more than a dozen states that adhere to Californias standards. The states that follow California standards account for more than a third of all U.S. auto
Origin: Trump lashes out against carmakers cool to his mileage plan
VW wins copyright claim against daughter of Beetle stylist
1978 VW Beetle Volkswagen has won a legal battle against one of the descendants of its head of design in the 1930s, who claimed he was the true designer of the Beetle.According to Automotive News, the daughter of late car designer Erwin Komenda claims the VW Beetle was entirely her fathers design, and therefore her family should be entitled to money on the sales of the Beetle.She limited her claim to Beetles built after 2014, as sales of earlier Beetles fell under a statute of limitations.The plaintiff claimed the newer Beetle still incorporated elements from her fathers design, one that was used for more than three generations, and sales of which have surpassed 22 million since production started after the Second World War. She sought 5 million euros in compensation.The court in Brunswick, Germany found that Komendas drawings resembled other vehicles of the era, and were not significantly unique enough to support the claim that he was the sole designer of the Beetle.The court also found that modern Beetle models are significantly different in design from the original Beetle, and thus they were deemed unaffected by any copyright claims.Komendas daughter was also not able to prove her father was involved in the design of the Kdf-Wagen, which VW largely based the design of the Beetle upon. The Kdf-Wagen was produced in 1938 and was designed by Ferdinand Porsche.Komendas daughter was not named in
Origin: VW wins copyright claim against daughter of Beetle stylist
1969 Plymouth GTX thought abandoned being auctioned against owner’s wishes
Plymouth GTXDan Wells / Edmonton Sun A 1969 Plymouth GTX thought to be abandoned and offered up at auction might still be sold to the highest bidder even though its owner has now been located. Classic car insurance company Hagerty broke the news when it heard about the car, which’d been left in a storage facility in Michigan. Storage fees were piling up and the facility’s owner, who no longer knew the owner’s name, called the Leelanau County Sheriff. Neither the sheriff nor the Michigan Secretary of State could find any record of the car’s owner, even with a VIN check, and the police took possession of the car with the intent of selling it to recoup the fees. Since it’s a convertible with a 440-cubic-inch V8, one of 700 built and with such rare options as air conditioning, power windows and power top, it quickly drew attention. (Our photo up top is not of the car in question, but a similar example.) A Hagerty representative found a replacement carpet kit in the trunk, complete with a shipping label from 2002 that had been mailed to a Craig McIntosh in Traverse City, Michigan. A specialist with Hagerty estimated the car, which has had body work and paint done to it, at US$30,000 to $40,000 as-is. Not long after Hagerty posted Craig McIntosh’s name, he called the company. It turned out the car belonged to a friend of his, who was “dealing with some personal stuff back then.” McIntosh tried to help him by looking after the car and putting it into storage, but thought the car “was gone a long time ago.” McIntosh said he’d been contacted years ago by the police about the car and offered to pay the outstanding fees at that time, but since he didn’t have the ownership or proof that he’d been asked to look after the car, it couldn’t be released to him. He said he tried to contact his friend at the time, but didn’t get a response. They talk to each other now, and the car’s owner has since contacted the sheriff’s office to claim the Plymouth, but the online auction, which went live on June 6, 2019, is still on and will wrap up on June 18. Currently, the highest bid is US$58,600. The problem is that, even though the owner has identified himself to the sheriff’s office, the car will be sold unless he can prove it’s his, and he files a legal motion to stop the auction. Otherwise, someone else will be the new owner of this one-of-a-kind barn
Origin: 1969 Plymouth GTX thought abandoned being auctioned against owner’s wishes
Trump’s threatened tariffs against Mexico could cripple auto industry
President Donald Trump waves to the cheering crowd as he arrives for a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa.(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trump’s vow to impose tariffs on all Mexican goods over illegal immigration threatened to increase costs for automakers and other manufacturers and left Mexico’s president calling to resolve the issue “with dialogue.” Trump on Thursday night opened a new front in his trade wars, threatening to place escalating tariffs on Mexico and jeopardizing a new North American trade agreement. Mexico is by far the largest source of U.S. auto imports and tariffs on goods from there would increase costs for many major manufacturers. “These measures aren’t beneficial for Mexicans or Americans,” Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in a press conference Friday. He has not received a response from Trump to a letter he sent the American president overnight calling for talks. The latest move announced by the self-described Tariff Man would put 5-per-cent American duties on all Mexican imports on June 10, rising in increments to 25 per cent in October unless Mexico halts “illegal migrants” heading to the U.S. Trump warned the levy “would gradually increase until the illegal immigration problem is remedied at which time the tariff will be removed.” On June 10th, the United States will impose a 5% Tariff on all goods coming into our Country from Mexico, until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP. The Tariff will gradually increase until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied,.. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2019 The move, which has major implications for American automakers and other companies with production south of the border and the U.S. economy as a whole, represents Trump’s latest expansion of his trade wars. It comes just days after he removed steel tariffs on Mexico that had caused retaliation against U.S. farm products. It also marries two of his signature issues — trade and immigration — as he ramps up his campaign for re-election in 2020. The value of cars, trucks, buses and special purpose vehicles imported into the U.S. from Mexico totaled about US$68 billion last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. “Tariffs will mean higher price tags on cars for sales in U.S. and that will hit sales,” said Seiichi Miura, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley. The tariff move came the same day that Trump presented notice to Congress to pass his renegotiated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has allowed tariff-free trade with Mexico and Canada since it came into effect in the 1990s. The administration said Thursday’s plan to increase tariffs on its southern neighbor was not linked to Trump’s NAFTA replacement, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which the White House is presenting as his No. 1 legislative agenda
Origin: Trump’s threatened tariffs against Mexico could cripple auto industry
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