Drew Dowdell

Toyota is in plans to purchase additional shares of Subaru to raise its stake to over 20% from around 17% today. Subaru in kind will also invest back in Toyota via a similar stock purchase of Toyota. If the deal is approved by Toyota's board, it is a step towards making Subaru a whole owned subsidiary that would create a 'Mega Toyota'. Toyota recently announced a similar purchase of Suzuki shares to form a new alliance for the Indian market. Toyota and Subaru have worked together before on projects such as the Subaru BRZ / Toyota 86 and Subaru for a time built Toyota Camrys at its plant in Indiana. Toyota sees Subaru as being strong in sport utility vehicles and in all-wheel drive technology. Toyota and Subaru have also announced plans to jointly build a platform for an electric SUV. View full article

I don't think they sold that many of the Cummins. If they had, it probably would still be in production.

Negotiators have been meeting daily since the UAW went on strike on September 16th and according to sources, the two sides are nearing a deal as talks have intensified over the last 48 hours. All of the issues have reached the "Main Table" and are out of subcommittee which is a sign that a deal is imminent. The initial offer from GM included $7 billion in investments in eight of its US facilities, while also adding 5,400 new jobs. The UAW rejected the initial offer saying that it wasn't enough in terms of pay raises, healthcare, and tenure requirements. GM also offered an $8,000 signing bonus per member to accept the deal. The primary issues are GM's use of temporary workers and the slated closure of a number of plants. If a proposal is reached, the union has to take the proposal to the GM-UAW council and then to team members to approve. It usually takes two weeks for that process, but could be expedited if the UAW decides to keep striking during the voting process. This is the first national strike against GM since 2007 and the longest since the 1970s. The strike is estimated to be costing General Motors $50 million a day. View full article

Lordstown Motors, the outfit affiliated with the hybrid truck manufacturer Workhorse is still aiming to buy the Lordstown assembly facility from General Motors. They have been in talks with GM since the summer and are aiming to build their headquarters in Lordstown because of the availability of the workforce. It would not just include manufacturing, but sales, human resources, and engineering positions would be there too. The plant would be a hub for electric vehicle manufacturing. They want to design and supply EV components not just to GM, but to many manufacturers. Wiring harnesses, electric motors, and other components would all be manufactured at the plant alongside the trucks they intend to build. Along with the workers, LM says that the existing GM supply chain is an advantage as well. Hyperion, a company preparing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, has signed on as a partner. They are preparing their prototypes and will likely be shown to the public sometime next year. One hiccup now is the talks between the UAW and General Motors. As part of the deal in the works, GM would re-open Lordstown as a battery plant. If that happens, Lordstown Motors would need to find another local facility to locate themselves. View full article

Jaguar Land Rover has announced a temporary halt in production in November as the threat of disruption from a No-Deal Brexit looms. BMW and Toyota have already announced plans for temporary work stoppages at their UK factories. All four of JLR's UK factories are affected. Although No-Deal Brexit is still not a certainty. Manufacturers like JLR have to plan for the worst. JLR uses 20 million parts a day and needs to have those parts available at just the right time. Toyota will be stopping production of the Corolla Hatchback and Avensis on November 1st. BMW is planning on stopping Mini production in early November, but Rolls-Royce and BMW engine plants are expected to continue production. View full article

My toronado costs $100 a year to insure. ?

Could probably use the 3.0TT from Infiniti also.

For 2020, Chevrolet is bringing back two popular special editions, Midnight and Rally. The off-road focused Midnight Edition (shown above) is offered on LT Trail Boss and Custom Trail Boss trims. It includes a 2-inch suspension lift, Z71 off-road package, skid plates, automatic locking rear differential, mono-tube off-road shocks, and 18-inch black painted wheels. Completing the look is a set of red tow hooks, and duplicating the Trail Boss look, but in all black. The Custom Trail Boss Midnight Edition is available with either a 5.3L V-8 engine with six-speed automatic transmission or 6.2L V-8 engine with 10-speed automatic transmission. The LT Trail Boss Midnight Edition comes exclusively with 6.2L V-8 engine and 10-speed automatic transmission with 420 horsepower and 460 lb.-ft. of torque. The street focused Rally Edition (right) is offered on the Custom and RST trims and features a sporty look, available in Black, Red Hot, Silver Ice Metallic or Summit White exterior paint. The street-focused edition includes a body-colored grille, black Rally stripes on the hood and tailgate, black Chevrolet tailgate lettering, black badging, black Bowties, black exhaust tip(s) and black assist steps. The Custom Rally Edition features 20-inch black painted wheels and the 2.7L Turbo engine mated with an 8-speed automatic transmission. The RST Rally Edition includes 22-inch black painted wheels and offers choice in powertrains: a 2.7L Turbo with 8-speed automatic transmission, a 5.3L V-8 with 8-speed automatic transmission or a 6.2L V-8 with 10-speed automatic transmission. View full article

Probably blamed everyone else for not carrying out his "vision". None of it was his fault I'm sure.

Rewarding incompetence.

The 2020 F-Series Super Duty has been updated to take on the most difficult challenges. For 2020 it gets a new available PowerStroke V8 diesel displacing 6.8 liters and producing 475 horsepower and 1,050 lb.-ft of torque. The diesel enables the SuperDuty to tow up to 37,000 lbs on a goodneck trailer, 32,500 lbs. using a 5th wheel trailer, conventional towing of 24,200 lbs., and a payload capacity 7,850 lbs. Power is delivered by an all-new 10-speed automatic. The SuperDuty keeps customers connected with a FordPass Connect embedded 4G LTE modem with Wi-Fi access for up to 10 devices to keep crews in communication no matter where the job might take them. Modern touches include the addition of wireless charging for compatible mobile phones and USB-C ports to power your devices. Standard features on XLT and above Super Duty trim levels include Lane-Keeping Alert to help you stay in your lane and Blind Spot Information System with Trailer Coverage to monitor for vehicles in blind spots – even with one next to your trailer. Also standard on XLT and above is Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking to alert you of potential collisions with vehicles in your path. Should an accident occur, class-exclusive second-row seat belt pretensioners, standard on all Super Duty models, are activated. The SuperDuty starts shipping to dealers by the end of the year. View full article

Never did before... I don't think these updates are enough to yank people out of their F-150s as nice as these updates are.

Johan De Nysschen has landed on his feet after being abruptly fired as President of Cadillac in April of 2018. JDN will take over as Chief Operating Officer of Volkswagen of America starting October 1st. This is not JDN's first experience with Volkswagen Automotive Grou (VAG), he was once a star executive in the Audi organization. He later moved on to Infiniti where he moved the headquarters to Hong Kong and renamed all the vehicles to the Q or QX designation. Infiniti has since moved back to Japan. Once his time at Infiniti was up, he moved on to become President of Cadillac. There, he moved Cadillac's headquarters to New York City for a time before being abruptly fired in April 2018. Cadillac has since moved their headquarters back to Detroit. During his first full year as Cadillac boss, 2015, Cadillac sales fell over 11%. "Johan will help make us faster, better and smarter. He'll speed our decision-making and dive deep into our day-to-day business so we can continue to make this brand matter again," Scott Keogh, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, said about the new hire. View full article

At the Texas State Fair today, Nissan debuted the updated 2020 Nissan Titan. The 2020 Titan features a bold new grille and light designs that help differentiate the various trim levels of the truck. Inside on the redesigned center stack is a new 9-inch diagonal touchscreen infotainment system with built in Wifi router. The infotainment system also features Android Auto and Apple Car Play. Safety features include Nissan Safety Shield 360, standard on all grades of truck. The Titan will come in King Cab and Crew Cab body styles and 5 levels of trim. Crew Cab models have an available panoramic sunroof that is one of the largest in the segment at over 3 square feet. On the powertrain front, the Titan retains its sole 5.6 liter V8, but now upgraded to 400 horsepower and 413 lb.-ft of torque. By virtue of not offering a V6, the Titan can lay claim to having the most powerful base engine offered in the segment. Backing up that V8 is a new 9-speed automatic running power to the rear or all four wheels. The new Titan goes on sale in early 2020. View full article