Dec 2020
The redesigned F-150’s 3.5-liter V-6 PowerBoost hybrid variant will get 25 MPG combined when equipped with 2-wheel drive. This makes the F-150 best-in-class among gasoline powered light-duty pickups. It will deliver 430 horsepower and 570 lbs. of torque and be rated at a maximum of 12,700 lbs. of conventional towing.
Dec 2020
The Fleet Management Industry anticipates an increase in recommendations of repairs and the costs of unscheduled services throughout 2021. Repair facilities are businesses and they need to try to maintain their business and cover their expenditures. This may lead to more thorough inspections and more items being recommended, along with the associated price increases.
Another factor that may play a bigger issue in 2021 is that vehicle service lives are being extended as companies right-size their fleets or look to reduce new-vehicle acquisition budgets brought forth by the pandemic.
Dec 2020
Ford Bronco orders banks were to open this week. Unfortunately, this has been pushed to mid-January for reservation holders to complete their purchases. German supplier, Webasto, to equip the Michigan facility with the removable roofs has been hampered by the coronavirus
Dec 2020
In an effort to pivot the luxury brand to lead its all-electric vehicle efforts, GM has informed its 880 U.S. Cadillac dealers that in order to sell (and service) their upcoming Electric Vehicles (EVs), they would need to invest approximately $200,000 to upgrade their dealerships. This could prove difficult for smaller dealers.
Approximately 150 Cadillac dealers have accepted buyouts in the range of $300,000 to $1 million. These dealerships will stop selling Cadillacs in the near-term. Clearly GM is accelerating their EV efforts, which include investing $27 billion in all-electric and autonomous vehicles by 2025. It has been reported that GMC will not offer such buyouts to dealerships that are reluctant to sell & service EVs.
Aug 2018
Advanced safety features are being added as standard options on many vehicles, and as available options on almost all new vehicles. Some of the more common ones include adaptive cruise control and active lane-keep assist. And while these systems can be beneficial, it’s not as simple as just sitting back and letting the vehicle take full control.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently put some of these features to the test, and their findings revealed that these systems have some room for improvement. IIHS tested some of the better rated systems, which included Tesla Model S and 3, the BMW 5-Series, Mercedes E-Class, and the Volvo S90.
An example of these issues can be seen when looking at a road test with the 5-Series. In regards to the lane-keep assist test, “The 5-series steered toward or across the lane line regularly, requiring drivers to override the steering support to get it back on track. Sometimes the car disengaged steering assistance on its own. The car failed to stay in the lane on all 14 valid trials.”
It was also found that slow moving vehicles can impact how the lane-keep assist operates.
“When a car is traveling too slow to track lane lines, active lane-keeping systems use the vehicle in front as a guide. If the lead vehicle exits, the trailing car might, too.”
While these safety features do provide an overall benefit to the driver and others on the road, it’s important to also realize that you must remain alert and in control when using these features.
A link to the full article on the IIHS website is below:
IIHS Evaluating Autonomy
