February 4, 2016
Honda Warns Dealerships of Liability as it Widens Airbag Recall
According to Automotive News, American Honda has expanded its Takata airbag recalls by more than 2 million vehicles and warned dealers that they could face legal exposure for unrepaired vehicles if they violate a related stop-sale order for the affected cars. The recall and stop-sale order covers the 2007-11 CR-V crossover, 2011-15 CR-Z coupe, 2009-13 Fit, 2013-14 Fit EV, 2010-14 Insight hybrid, and the 2007-14 Ridgeline, according to a Jan. 30 memo from Honda to its U.S. dealers. The recall also covers several Acura models: the 2005-2012 Acura RL, 2009-2014 Acura TL, 2010-2013 Acura ZDX, 2013-2016 Acura ILX, and the 2007-2016 Acura RDX, according to a Honda press release issued late Wednesday. The memo included a warning: Dealerships would be responsible for any claims stemming from selling an unrepaired car from the affected population. “Should an unrepaired vehicle result in any claim because of the required recall repair, the dealership will be solely responsible to the claimant, and will be required to defend and indemnify American Honda for any resulting claims,” Honda said in the memo. Honda’s order would apply to its own dealerships only and not independent used-car dealers. For more on Honda’s warning to dealers regarding recall liability, click here.
Subaru Parent Says Quarterly Earnings Rise 21%
Automotive News reports that Japan's Fuji Heavy Industries reported a bigger-than-expected rise in third-quarter operating profit on strong sales of its Subaru cars and a favorable currency impact, keeping it on track to post a record full-year profit. Operating profit in the recent quarter at Japan's sixth-largest automaker rose 21 percent from the same quarter a year ago to 150.6 billion yen ($1.28 billion), exceeding the average 142.3 billion forecast drawn from eight analysts, according to Thomson Reuters. Strong demand for Subaru models, including its Forester SUV and Outback crossover in the United States, has prompted the company to ramp up production capacity at its U.S. plant as production at home remains at full capacity. Subaru's U.S. sales surged 13.4 percent to 582,675 vehicles last year. The company said sales rose 1 percent in January to 41,101 – its 50th consecutive monthly sales gain. The company stuck to its forecast for full-year profits to rise to 414 billion yen that it updated in December, based on a currency rate of 120 yen to the U.S. dollar, from a previous forecast of 118 yen. For all of Fuji's quarterly reports, click here. For coverage of Fuji’s quarterly earnings, click here.
10 Cities Boasting Best Car-Shopping Experience
According to Auto Remarketing, CarGurus released a study this week identifying where consumers report the best vehicle-shopping experiences as measured by customer ratings of dealerships submitted to the site. Topping the list where shoppers gave the highest percentage of perfect five-star reviews when rating their dealership buying experiences was Nashville, Tenn., coming in at 57.5 percent. Just 0.1 percent point off of the Music City’s pace was San Diego at 56.9 percent. On the other extreme, the site noticed shoppers in New York City were least likely among the nation’s largest markets to give five-star reviews as just 45 percent of reviews included five stars. Meanwhile, CarGurus noticed that shoppers in the Big Apple were more likely than in other cities to give one-star reviews as 20 percent of reviews originating in the market included just one star. Baltimore, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Okla., and Miami also ranked in the bottom five cities with the lowest proportion of perfect reviews. While the study reveals regional differences in consumer shopping experiences at local dealerships, analysts at CarGurus note that on average stores across the nation get high marks from customers. For more on the cities with the best car-shopping experience, click here.
Hyundai Targets Increased Truck Share in Year of Car Launches
Hyundai is aiming for roughly one-third of its U.S. deliveries this year to be light trucks, despite a car-heavy launch schedule, reports WardsAuto. While its product-lifecycle plan has Hyundai launching a redesigned Elantra compact car, the all-new Ioniq alternative-powertrain car lineup and, under the new Genesis marque, and refreshed G80 and new G90 sedans, the brand’s top U.S. executive is focused on increasing output of in-demand light trucks. “By the end of this year, if we get what we think we’re going to get in terms of incremental production, that’s going to give us 250,000 CUVs and that’ll get us a 30 percent, maybe 32 percent, truck mix,” Dave Zuchowski, president-Hyundai Motor America, tells media here last week at a ’17 Elantra sedan preview. Zuchowski says the previously announced move to make Santa Fe midsize CUVs at the Korean automaker’s Montgomery, Ala., plant alleviates the issue of having to build cars the market may not want to keep the plant running at capacity. Montgomery is slated to assemble 50,000 of the Santa Fe Sport 2-row variant, which means 50,000 fewer Sonata and Elantra cars will be built at the plant this year, Zuchowski notes. For more on Hyundai’s light truck plans, click here.
Google is Sending Self-Driving Cars to Washington
Google is expanding its self-driving car project to Kirkland, Wash., a city that allows the company to test its driverless vehicles in a wetter environment. According to Fortune, Google says it picked the city because it has a temperate climate with seasonal rain that is perfect for wet weather practice. The city’s hills will also allow the company to test its sensors at different angles and elevations, Google said in an emailed release. Google, which plans to introduce self-driving cars to the public by 2020, must test its self-driving cars in different weather conditions, traffic conditions, and terrain if it hopes to deploy these cars for widespread public use. Heavy rain, snow, and even mud can reduce visibility of sensors used on self-driving cars. Google already has an office in Kirkland, which was established more than a decade ago, according to Jennifer Haroon, head of business operations for the Google self-driving car project. Google, which began testing self-driving cars in 2009, is using 22 modified Lexus RX450h SUVs and 33 prototypes of its own design. For more on Google’s self-driving car expansion, click here.
AutoTalk Webinar: The State of Play in Oil Prices
Prices for gasoline have fallen for 63 of the past 74 days resulting in a national average of $1.88 per gallon, their lowest levels since February of 2009. Listen to Zain Hak, Shell General Manager, Fuel Pricing and Demand Management; discuss some of the factors that are driving these low price levels, along with contributing supply and demand trends. What can we expect to see at the pump in 2016? Join us for more insight into pricing at the pump! To register for the 10:00 a.m. EST session, click here. To register for the 4:00 p.m. EST session, click here.
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