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Henry Payne/The Detroit News/TNS

Analyst estimates up to $1B Ford earnings hit from aluminum plant fire

Automotive / Automotive News /

Ford Motor Co. could face as much as a $1 billion earnings hit from the shutdown of an aluminum plant in New York after a fire last month, an Evercore ISI analyst said in a Wednesday investor note.

The Sept. 16 incident at Novelis Inc.'s Oswego, New York, plant is expected to take much of the plant down until the first quarter of 2026. It ...Read more

Clarence Tabb Jr./The Detroit News/TNS

Stellantis CEO shakes up senior leadership team in turnaround effort

Automotive / Automotive News /

Stellantis NV's CEO Antonio Filosa shook up his senior leadership team on Wednesday as he appointed new heads of Europe and South America, a new global manufacturing chief, and made several other personnel moves.

Filosa, who took the top role of the transatlantic automaker in June, has been working to reverse a recent trend of declining sales ...Read more

Henry Payne/The Detroit News/TNS

GM cuts short EV tax credit extension scheme

Automotive / Automotive News /

General Motors Co. no longer will apply for federal electric vehicle tax credits as part of a scheme to extend savings to customers after Congress and President Donald Trump axed the government incentive program in September, the Detroit automaker confirmed Wednesday.

The company will continue to offer about $6,000 in savings on EV leases ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Trump mulls canceling $1B in grants for GM, Stellantis projects

Automotive / Automotive News /

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump could soon move to cancel more than $1 billion in federal grants for General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV and $800 million total in Michigan, according to a Trump administration planning document obtained by The Detroit News.

The largest Michigan grant in question is a $500 million award for GM to convert ...Read more

GM sees manganese as a winning path in battery race with China

Automotive / Automotive News /

DETROIT — General Motors Co.'s global battery leader detailed plans to introduce the first electric vehicle powered by a lithium manganese-rich battery in 2028, an example of automakers' strategy to leapfrog EV powerhouse China with new technologies.

GM plans to unveil an LMR truck shortly after beginning manganese-rich battery production at ...Read more

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America/TNS

Why did Tesla's discounts disappoint consumers and investors?

Automotive / Automotive News /

Tesla investors and consumers were disappointed after the company unveiled its long-awaited, less expensive versions of the Model 3 and Model Y.

Intended to help Tesla reach a broader customer base and shed its reputation as a company that caters only to the wealthy, the new models are still not affordable enough and unlikely to trigger a ...Read more

Henry Payne, The Detroit News/The Detroit News/TNS

Fire disrupts aluminum supply for Ford, other automakers

Automotive / Automotive News /

Ford Motor Co. said it's working to minimize manufacturing disruptions after a fire took out a New York plant that supplies roughly 40% of the aluminum sheet used in the auto industry.

Aluminum makes up the bodies of the Automaker's F-Series trucks, the country's best-selling vehicles that drive the company's earnings. A late-night fire on Sept...Read more

Grant Schwab, The Detroit News/The Detroit News/TNS

Ten years after prototype, anti-drunken driving tech ready for rollout

Automotive / Automotive News /

LEESBURG, Virginia — Ten years after unveiling a prototype, a key public-private research effort is taking a major leap toward getting its advanced alcohol detection technology into the hands of the country's top auto manufacturers.

"We've converted a wild, audacious idea that everybody thought would fail — people laughed us out of the room...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Tesla plans to unveil cheaper version of the Model Y on Tuesday

Automotive / Automotive News /

Tesla Inc. plans to unveil a cheaper version of the Model Y on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter, following through on assurances it will have a more affordable vehicle to counter the loss of U.S. incentives for electric vehicles.

The new base Model Y is what Tesla started teasing in social media posts over the weekend, said...Read more

Marc Grasso/Boston Herald/TNS

Trump sets 25% tariffs on medium, heavy-duty trucks; Ford cheers move

Automotive / Automotive News /

WASHINGTON — The United States will levy 25% tariffs on imports of medium and heavy-duty trucks beginning Nov. 1, President Donald Trump announced in a Monday social media post.

The tariffs follow an investigation initiated in April by the U.S. Commerce Department about the national security effects of truck imports. The levies would be ...Read more

Breana Noble/The Detroit News/TNS

CEO says software led Rivian west, and it's making EVs more affordable

Automotive / Automotive News /

PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, Michigan — Accessing software talent was behind the decision of Rivian Automotive Inc. to move its headquarters from here to California, and that software now is what's contributing to more affordable vehicles, market appeal and at least one multi-billion-dollar deal with a legacy competitor, CEO RJ Scaringe said Monday.

...Read more

Michael Brochstein/ZUMA Press Wire/TNS

EV and renewable companies brace for end of tax credits

Automotive / Automotive News /

WASHINGTON — The electric vehicle and renewable energy industries are bracing for the end of tax credits they had been relying on to rapidly expand the technologies across the U.S.

The phaseout, brought on by the 2025 reconciliation law, hit the EV industry last week with the end of the federal $7,500 tax credit on those vehicles. The ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Motormouth: Tire trouble?

Automotive / Automotive News /

Q: I have a 2013 Acadia that has a vibration with the steering wheel at 55 mph and stops at 65 mph. I had all wheels balanced, new brakes and rotors. When I rotated the tires to the back the vibration stopped. Do I just have a bad tire?

J.E., Chicago

A: Yes, one tire may have a belt separation issue. The symptoms will eventually get worse ...Read more

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump close to deal that would spare U.S.-assembled vehicles from tariff costs

Automotive / Automotive News /

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is considering a modification to expensive automotive tariffs that would provide relief to manufacturers that complete final assembly in the United States, Reuters reported Friday.

Republican U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio told the outlet that the deal, which Trump would make a decision on soon, would ...Read more

Katy Kildee/The Detroit News/TNS

Automakers brace for EV demand decline following tax credit elimination

Automotive / Automotive News /

DETROIT — Automakers are bracing for a drop in electric vehicle demand after sales surged in the final days of the federal tax credit for plug-in vehicles.

The up-to-$7,500 tax credit expired on Tuesday, though companies like General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. said they found a workaround in an effort to extend the availability of taxpayer...Read more

Mazda/TNS/TNS

Auto review: 2025 Mazda MX-5 Miata celebrates 35 years of fun in the sun

Automotive / Automotive News /

As Mazda enters Grasso’s Garage for a slice review pie, they bring their long-time, consumer loving convertible to soak up the sun as this 3-season small but fun 2-seater is here to stay.

Powered by a 181 horsepower naturally aspirated 2.0-liter 4-cylinder, our 35th anniversary edition boasted a 6-speed manual transmission which was all the ...Read more

Henry Payne/The Detroit News/TNS

Auto review: Vanilla no more, Subaru Forester Wilderness goes wild

Automotive / Automotive News /

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Forester used to be vanilla in Subaru’s delicious store of off-road flavors. No more.

My white 2026 Forester Wilderness swaggered up to the foothills of the Cascade Mountains sporting a chocolate grille, syrup-black hood decal, bold lines, chiseled rocker panels and sinewy Yokohama Geolander all-terrain tires.

Forester...Read more

Henry Payne/The Detroit News/TNS

Why are buyers returning to Tesla?

Automotive / Automotive News /

Tesla electric vehicle sales jumped last quarter, as buyers rushed to take advantage of an expiring federal tax credit.

The company's EV sales rose 7% in the three months through September compared to a year earlier, mirroring a spike in overall EV sales across the country.

The $7,500 credit for new electric vehicles was eliminated on Sept. 30...Read more

David Guralnick/The Detroit News/TNS

Stellantis US sales rise, snapping streak of quarterly declines

Automotive / Automotive News /

Stellantis NV's U.S. sales ticked up 6% in the third quarter thanks to strong performances from stalwarts like the Jeep Wrangler and Dodge Durango SUVs and the Ram 1500 pickup.

The increase snaps a series of declining U.S. quarterly sales for the automaker that stretched back two years. Stellantis is in the middle of a turnaround effort led by ...Read more

Henry Payne, The Detroit News/The Detroit News/TNS

GM EV sales more than double, boosting third-quarter totals

Automotive / Automotive News /

General Motors Co. more than doubled its electric vehicle sales in the third quarter compared to the same period a year ago, while increasing its overall U.S. sales by 7.7%.

The Detroit automaker sold 710,347 vehicles — the most of any automaker — in the July-September period. That included 66,501 EVs, which were up 107% year-over-year. The...Read more