Motoring News

UAW avoids federal takeover

A three-year federal investigation of the United Auto Workers union that uncovered corruption at the highest levels, including the union’s last two presidents, could have resulted in a federal takeover. However, the union’s current president, Rory Gamble has managed to stave off that possibility by cooperating with U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider and instituting needed changes. Prime among these is a potential reform that would have UAW members directly elect the president and vice presidents of the union. Currently, delegates elected by the members choose the executive board.

In place of a federal takeover, the union will be subject to monitoring for six years, though that period is subject to revision, depending on need. An independent monitor has yet to be chosen.

Uber wants early vaccine access

Uber, the ride sharing company, has written to the 50 state governors and the incoming Biden administration arguing that its ride-share and delivery drivers should have early access to the COVID-19 vaccine. The company says these individuals are essential workers. According to Automotive News, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wrote in his letter to governors, “Over the last nine months, these workers have been a lifeline to their communities. They have transported health-care workers to hospitals, delivered food to people socially distancing at home, and helped local restaurants stay in business.”

In an outreach to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Danielle Burr, Uber’s head of governmental affairs, argued that “early assess to the vaccine would help drivers and delivery people continue to play their essential role, while also reducing the risk that they may inadvertently contract, or possibly transmit, the virus.”

Driverless Chevy Bolt EVs now on the street

Cruise LLC, a company developing autonomous vehicles that is owned in part by General Motors, Honda and Softbank, has placed five heavily modified driverless Chevrolet Bolt EVs into service for testing in selected areas of San Francisco, California. Cruise CEO Dan Ammann, formerly president of General Motors, was quoted as saying that the effort is “starting small” in terms of areas served and the times of day for operation, but that it plans to expand throughout the city before adding other cities to its testing plans. Cruise has thus joined four other companies with permits to test self-driving vehicles in California.

Cruise can conduct its testing during the day or night on certain roads and at speeds no greater than 30 miles per hour. While there is no person behind the wheel, there is a Cruise employee in the passenger seat.

GM’s hands-free tech coming to GMC

The GMC Sierra, a full-size pickup, will be the first light-duty truck to be equipped with General Motors’ Super Cruise, a semiautonomous highway driver assist system. The planned rollout will take place toward the end of production for model year 2022 Sierra 1500 Denali trucks. The system on these trucks will even allow for hands-free driving when towing.

Super Cruise requires that the driver remain engaged in driving, even if the operation is hands free. It does this by using a camera with infrared lights to keep tabs on where the driver is looking.

The price for this option on the GMC Sierra Denali will be announced later, however, in other cars in the GM lineup where it is optional, Super Cruise adds $2,500 to the price and requires the purchase of additional driver assistance features. It also requires that vehicle connectivity be maintained. A package that does this for three years is included in the purchase price, after which a stand-alone connectivity plan can cost $25 a month.

Ram is first

Fiat Chrysler’s full-size Ram has become the first pickup truck to garner a “Top Safety Pick” rating under new rules established by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Not all Rams qualify for the rating, however. Only crew cab models with pedestrian automatic emergency braking and adaptive LED headlamps with high-beam assist make the grade. Those headlights earned a top rating of “Good.” The standard headlights were rated “Marginal.” The Ram’s optional crash avoidance system for preventing or mitigating vehicle-to-vehicle crashes was rated “Superior.” For preventing vehicle-topedestrian crashes it was rated “Advanced,” which is one step below the “Superior” rating.

All electric Edition 1 Hummer sells out

If you blinked you apparently missed your chance at purchasing an Edition 1 GMC Hummer all-electric pickup truck. Despite a six-figure starting price, GMC’s vice president Duncan Aldred said the truck sold out in 10 minutes. Winter testing is underway now with production slated to start in time for the first deliveries to take place at the end of next year.

Enthusiasm for the truck should not be a surprise. Aldred claims that the reveal has generated 370 million views, making it the most watched reveal ever. It bested the views generated by the reveal of Tesla’s Cybertruck and Fords Bronco,

F-150 pickup truck and Mustang Mach-E. It even outperformed GMC’s Super Bowl advertisements.

The GMC Hummer in Edition 1 trim will be able to reach 60 miles per hour in just 3 seconds. Its “crab walk” feature will assist in maneuvering it tight quarters while its hands-free driving and fast charging capabilities are also being touted.

Dealers have to agree to meet staffing and equipment support requirements in order to sell the GMC Hummer. Not all GMC dealers will make the estimated $200,000 investment do this.

Toyota introduces secondgeneration hydrogen sedan

Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell electric sedan has been redesigned for 2021 and it features a lowered price, thanks to the addition of a new XLE base trim level. The Toyota Mirai will be offered primarily in California, which has a hydrogen refueling infrastructure. The starting price will be $49,500 plus destination charges, which is down more than $9,000 when compared to the outgoing 2020 model. A more lavishly equipped Limited model starts at $66,995. Both trim levels use what Toyota describes as a “premium rear-wheel drive platform” that is shared with the Lexus LS, and both feature coupe-like styling. The XLE offers a range of 402 miles, a 30 percent improvement over the previous generation’s rating. The Limited has a range of 357 miles. Toyota is including up to $15,000 in free hydrogen with each Mirai.

Autos increase hacking opportunities

Upstream Security, an Israeli company, has released its 2021 Global Automotive Cybersecurity Report. Among the highlights is the conclusion that as cars become more connected to the cloud, to other vehicles, and even to pedestrians, they become more vulnerable to hacking. Upstream Security suggests that the most common ways for hackers to gain access to vehicles include keyless entry fobs, mobile apps, on-board diagnostics, and infotainment systems. Of the attacks on vehicles that it examined, starting in 2010, 79.3 percent were remote. The other 20.7 percent required physical access to the vehicle. The company reviewed 633 publically reported hacks over the ten-year period. Nearly one-third of these took place this year. It also noted that the time to consider securing vehicles from hackers is during the development phase.

Manley to head American operations at Stellantis

Mike Manley, who headed up the Jeep and Ram divisions at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles before taking over the CEO slot when

Sergio Marchionne died unexpectedly, will become head of operations in the Americas once the merger with PSA goes through. The new company will be named Stellantis. According to Bloomberg, the two companies are working to meet a selfimposed deadline to complete the merger by the end of January 2021. Manley had worked with PSA CEO Carlos Tavares in bringing the merger to fruition. Tavares is to head the new company.

New Mercedes-Benz S-Class breaks the 6-figure barrier

The flagship sedan in the Mercedes-Benz lineup, the S-Class, has been redesigned for 2021. Now, the company has revealed its starting price: $110,850, with destination charges included. It arrives next year. For comparison, the 2020 S-Class starts at $95,245.

The 2021 base S-Class, the S 500, will feature a turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine rated at 429 horsepower. The S 580 will have a 4.0-liter biturbo V8, good for 496 horsepower. The ratings of both engines can be boosted by 21 horsepower for short periods of time when the driver needs added power.

Honda recalls

Four separate problems have prompted Honda to recall 1.4 million vehicles in the United States. The first recall addresses power window master switches in 268,000 2002 to 2006 CR-V models that have been associated with 16 fires. Honda performed a recall on the same switches eight years ago, however moisture related problems in the repaired switches have led to this recall. In a separate action, Honda is recalling 735,000 2018 to 2020 Accords and 2019 to 2020 Insights to install new body control software. The goal is to eliminate a bug that could trigger warning lights and cause other electronic malfunctions. Finally Honda is recalling 430,000 Acura and Honda vehicles in 22 states because corrosion on half shafts could result in their failure.

Battery-electric Hyundai Konas and hydrogen fuel cell Nexo models from model years 2019 and 2020 have been recalled because software in the braking system on 8,176 vehicles can cut braking power when the Integrated Electronic Brake system is fed abnormal signals from one or more sensors. The software update, which was incorporated during production of 2020 models, will have the system maintain normal braking power in the face of abnormal data from sensors.