Transportation Archive

That’s been China’s strategy to achieve “total domination of the global auto industry,” which Michael Dunne argues in his latest newsletter it is on the cusp of doing. The Chinese auto expert and former GM executive said the country “has enough annual capacity - 50 million – to supply 55 percent of global demand for vehicles.” This overcapacity is forcing Chinese automakers to face an ultimatum: export or die. It’s doing it now in Europe. Can the US be that far behind?

In a filing with the SEC, the automaker says it needs to take the writedown in order to “reassess our EV capacity and manufacturing footprint” after President Trump and Congressional Republicans voted to eliminate the $7,500 consumer tax credit. And there may be future costs — “it is reasonably possible that we will recognize additional future material cash and non-cash charges” — after it finishes reassessing, GM says.

Some Jeep 4xe hybrid owners are reporting that their vehicles are losing power after an over-the-air software update, according to Ars Technica. The update apparently went out Friday, after which several owners posted on Reddit and Jeep owner forums about the power loss. Some were at low speeds and close to home, while others were driving on the highway when their vehicles shutdown. Seems bad! Jeep pulled the update after the reports and is now advising owners to ignore the notification.

Apparently the lower-cost Standard trim still has the same glass roof as the Premium models, but Tesla installed a fabric headliner so you can’t see through it. Motor Trend and Car and Driver both clocked this in their hands-on with the new Model Y. It’s a strange move — Wouldn’t this end up costing more than just replacing the glass with metal or fiberglass? — but this is Tesla after all.

The new Tron movie isn’t getting the greatest reviews, but that hasn’t stopped Tesla from pushing a software update that enables customers to turn their vehicles into light cycles on their infotainment screens. Some Tesla owners are complaining that this basically amounts to free advertising for Disney. Maybe Tesla should have stopped after sending one of its Optimus robots to try to “fight” Jared Leto at the film’s premiere.