Here are the five must-read, must-watch auto news stories, reviews and videos for Friday, July 10, 2015.
INSIDE THE AUTO BUSINESS
Ford will move production of the C-Max and Focus out of Wayne, Michigan, by 2018 and will likely move production of these cars to Mexico. 4000 people work at Ford’s Wayne plant.
OUTSIDE THE TRUECAR BUSINESS
AutoNation, which operates more new car dealerships in the United States than any other dealer group, is ending its relationship with lead generator TrueCar. Says AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson: “It is none of their business who our customers are.”
INSIDE THE WARRANTY BUSINESS
Warranties are funny things. We’ve seen new vehicle warranties on some new products shrink; we’ve seen Mazda Canada expand the mileage on its warranty. Now Volvo is offering a lifetime warranty… on parts. One might wonder why, if Volvo is expressing such confidence in their parts, why they lack a similar form of confidence in their new vehicles. But Volvo is extending this warranty to parts for all their vehicles, regardless of model year.
RECALLS
GM is recalling 686,287 vehicles including: Buick Enclaves (model year 2008-2012), Chevrolet Traverses (model year 2009-2012), GMC Acadias (model year 2007-2012), and Saturn Outlooks (model year, 2006-2010). Why? “The affected vehicles, equipped with the power liftgate option, have gas struts that hold the power liftgate up when open. These struts may prematurely wear and the open liftgate may suddenly fall.”
REVIEW
Top Gear’s Stephen Dobie drove the cute and cuddly Honda S660, a 660cc, three-cylinder roadster with 63 horsepower. Says Dobie: “It never felt underpowered.”
WATCH
Canadian road rage is different from the road rage you might witness in, say, Atlanta. But this incident caught on camera by Canada’s national broadcaster included a peaceful resolution, a police officer, and the words, “Everybody’s a winner.”
