Auto Updates

German tuning company Manhart Performance has unveiled a one-off version of the BMW X6 M dubbed the “Gold Edition.” Based on the company’s already bonkers-looking MHX6 700 build , it gets a unique exterior look thanks to a combination of carbon fiber parts, a deep purple body color, and a smattering of gold-colored trim. The eye-catching carbon fiber pieces are particularly striking. That’s because, unlike the exposed carbon fiber on the “regular” MHX6 700 revealed in 2021, the material on this car has a splash of gold flakes. Those golf-flaked carbon fiber parts are the most eye-popping of all the exterior additions on this coupe-SUV, as these are fitted on the vehicle as side skirts, fender flares, front lip, grille surrounds, side mirrors, diffuser, hood vents, etc. https://ift.tt/dRAe9PS One-Off BMW X6 M Laced With Gold Carbon Fiber Auto Updates

Mumbai, September 29:  Tata Motors will launch its most anticipated Harrier and Safari facelift in India soon. The new Tata Harrier 2023 and Safar Facelift 2023 are expected to bring many changes to the existing design of the same series models. According to the reports, the new Tata models may introduce new LED headlights and taillights along with the changes in the grille design.  According to the recent reports, the new models have been available for booking at some Tata Motor dealerships. Tata has not announced such bookings online or in front of the public. The unofficial bookings for the new Harrier and Safari facelift have still started, which means Tata will soon announce the official booking and other details.  Car Launches in October 2023: From Force Gurkha 5-Door and Toyota Taisor To Tata Punch EV, Know Details About Upcoming Cars. Booking for New Harrier 2023 and New Safari Facelift:  According to reports, the unofficial booking price for each upcomin...

Gesa Credit Union has seen an increase in its look-to-book ratio after implementing automated credit decisioning on auto loans.    “As we know, when you auto-approve a loan, the likelihood of you booking that loan goes up,” Kevin Willborn , vice president of consumer lending at Gesa Credit Union, said at the Open Lending Executive Lending Roundtable in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday.    Gesa’s average look-to-book — or the percentage of loan offers that are accepted by the borrower — sits at around 60%, Willborn said. “When you automate, that goes up to around 90% to 95%,” he said.    Auto loan automation fits into the credit union’s larger strategy of improving new member experiences, Willborn said.    Richland, Wash.-based Gesa CU had a managed auto portfolio of $1.99 billion as of yearend 2022, according to Big Wheels Auto Finance Data .    Auto Finance Summit, the premier industry event for auto lending and leasing, returns Oct...

Martin posted a 1m43.198s on his first run in Q2 on Saturday morning to beat Brad Binder’s Friday benchmark, which in turn surpassed Jorge Lorenzo’s 2015 record, by almost three tenths of a second. It gives Martin a second pole in the last three races, as well as a 10th in a row for Ducati. Reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia emerged as Martin’s closest challenger, improving on his final run to record a 1m43.369s, falling 0.171s short of his main title rival. KTM rider Jack Miller ensured no lockout of the front row by going third-quickest, 0.353s off the pace, having lagged behind team-mate Binder on Friday. Binder himself qualified fifth, just over half a second off the pace, with the two KTMs being split by the VR46 Ducati of Marco Bezzecchi . Bezzecchi suffered a spectacular off at the Turn 12 left-hander in the early stages of Q2, but was able to get back to the pits and mount his number two bike to back himself a spot on the second row. Fabio di Giannantonio was an impr...

DETROIT – The United Auto Workers union will expand strikes against General Motors and Ford Motor to two U.S. assembly plants at noon ET, UAW President Shawn Fain said Friday. The additional strikes will target Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant in Illinois, which produces the Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator SUVs, and GM’s Lansing Delta Township plant in mid-Michigan that produces the Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse crossovers. The plants are important ones for the companies, however not as profitable or crucial as facilities that produce the automakers’ pickup trucks. Fain said Chrysler parent Stellantis was spared from additional strikes because of recent progress in negotiations with that company. “Moments before this broadcast, Stellantis made significant progress on the 2009 cost-of-living allowance, the right not to cross a picket line, as well as the right to strike over product commitments and plant closures and outsourcing moratoriums,” said Fain, who was d...

Order guide data and Ford’s official configurator for the 2024 Escape indicate that the compact SUV will arrive with a higher starting price than before. Ford has made some changes to the Escape lineup that bump up the SUV’s price tag by $1,345. Ford has dropped the entry-level Base trim, which is now only available for fleet customers. Because of the change, the Active becomes the most affordable choice in the Escape lineup . For 2024, the Escape Active starts at $30,840. Previously, the 2023 Escape Base started at $29,495, which represents an increase of $1,345 for 2024. While pricing for the 2024 Escape has gone up compared to the 2023 model year , things are even when you do an apples-to-apples comparison. Last year’s Active trim used to cost $30,840, which matches the 2024 model year. So, pricing may have gone up for 2024, but shoppers who weren’t looking to purchase the Base won’t notice the change. Elsewhere, the rest of the 2024 Escape lineup continues to have the same price...

Honda on Thursday provided the first details on its 2024 Prologue, an electric mid-size crossover the automaker promises with an EPA range estimate of up to 300 miles. Sales will start in early 2024 and the starting price will be below $50,000. Given those figures, Honda looks to finally have a credible EV on its hands following years of false starts with its Clarity line of electrified vehicles . That’s thanks mostly to General Motors which has supplied its Ultium EV platform and battery technology set for the Prologue. GM will also build the Prologue for Honda at a plant in North America, a move that will enable the vehicle to be eligible for EV tax credits. The deal is similar to the one between GM and Acura for the 2024 ZDX electric crossover . 2024 Honda Prologue Honda will eventually move to developing EVs for the U.S. on an in-house platform. The first of these will be a “ mid- to large-size EV ” based on Honda’s upcoming e:Architecture platform. It’s due in 2025 and is...

Nissan finds itself at a crossroads. Like many other automakers, the Japanese brand has revised its lineup for the electric era, by leaning into popular crossover SUVs and moving away from vehicles that tax the brand’s compliance with increasingly stringent vehicle emissions standards. The 2024 model year will mark the last year of the Nissan Titan full-size pickup truck, but Nissan still breathes life into its sports car heritage with a Nismo performance variant of the Nissan Z, as well as the another run of the GT-R supercar after a brief model year run in 2023 and skipping model year 2022. Meanwhile, reports from Automotive News that the Altima midsize sedan and Versa subcompact sedan could end production in 2025 without a successor follows other trends throughout the industry.  Every 2024 Nissan comes with a three-year trial for its telematics service called Nissan Connect that connects with a smartphone app to remote unlock the doors and start the engine, as well as acces...

Embracing the Nissan Juke as a future classic car might require some patience and realignment of one’s concept of “beauty.” Certainly, this funky automobile looks as though it might have served as the daily driver for E.T. when he finally made it to “home,” in whatever galaxy that was. Nonetheless, it’s an intriguing proposition for those who lean toward one side of the polarized opinions about the Juke’s bold styling. While one of today’s emerging trends in SUV fashion is to offer them bigger — with three rows and seven seats — the Juke when it was first sold in 2010 helped to spearhead a movement in smaller, compact crossovers . It has undeniable presence and a quality some defined as “fun.” In fact, the name was derived from the sports term “to juke” or “to dance or change directions demonstrating agility.” Why is the Nissan Juke a Future Classic? Initially, the Juke emerged at the Geneva Motor Show as the Nissan Qazana concept in 2009. There were two generations of Juke up...

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On September 26, Chinese power battery giant CATL and the smart energy solutions provider CHINT Group Co., Ltd. (“CHINT”) signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Hangzhou city, Zhejiang province, marking a significant collaboration in the energy sector. Photo credit: CATL Under this agreement, both parties will focus on strengthening cooperation in areas such as energy storage, while also expanding their collaboration into fields like integrated energy systems, smart and low-carbon solutions, and intelligent manufacturing. This comprehensive partnership aims to encompass various aspects, including project investment and development, market expansion, and joint R&D efforts. Their collective goal is to foster industrial synergy across multiple sectors, promoting the sound and sustainable development of the integrated energy market, and providing global clients with high-quality new energy solutions and energy storage system services throughout the entire p...

Hennessey has appointed a new VP of Engineering, someone whose three decades of industry experience includes leading the development on highly respected hypercars like the Ford GT and Mercedes-AMG One . Brian Jones is that individual, the former Chief Engineer of Vehicle Development and Integration at Multimatic Special Vehicle Operations. With such glittering credentials, Jones is well-positioned to lead future hypercar development for Hennessey, the maker of America’s very own hypercar, the Venom F5 . Jones will take over vehicle and powertrain development, integration, testing, regulatory certification, and production launch. Reporting directly to founder and CEO John Hennessey, Jones will oversee all engineering and development for Hennessey Special Vehicles and Hennessey Performance Engineering. https://ift.tt/lnNf4pR Hennessey’s New Engineering Boss Worked On The Mercedes-AMG One And Ford GT Auto Updates

Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. has invested1 in Pyrenee Inc., Pyrenee Inc., which is developing safe driving assistance devices to achieve safer mobility in society Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. has invested 1  in Pyrenee Inc., Pyrenee Inc., which is developing safe driving assistance devices to achieve safer mobility in society. Pyrenee Drive, developed by Pyrenee Inc., is a retrofit device that assists the cognitive aspect of safe driving; it captures things around the vehicle that drivers fail to notice, which is the cause of traffic accidents in about 70% of cases. 2  The device is mounted on the automobile dashboard or elsewhere in the vehicle, and detects pedestrians and other automobiles and predicts their movement with AI. When it determines that there is a risk of collision, it notifies the driver by voice, thereby contributing to a decrease in accidents. 3 Toyoda Gosei aims to grow its business through the provision of the social values of safety centered on airbags. It investe...

Lithia on Sept. 18 said it planned to buy Pendragon’s dealership and fleet businesses in a $350 million deal. As part of that deal, Pinewood, Pendragon’s dealership management system, would be transformed into a standalone software company called Pinewood Technologies. Lithia would gain about a one-sixth ownership stake in that entity. Lithia and Pinewood plan to form a joint venture to bring a DMS to North America. Pendragon last week said it is required to hold a shareholders meeting Oct. 6 to approve or reject Lithia’s proposal. Pendragon is led by CEO Bill Berman, the former AutoNation COO . Under Lithia’s proposal, Berman would stay on as CEO of Pinewood. Just two days after Lithia’s deal was announced, Pendragon said it received a joint offer from Penske Automotive Group Inc., through its PAG International subsidiary, together with Sweden’s Hedin Mobility Group. Pendragon rejected that deal . Then, on Friday, Penske and Hedin submitted a revised offer to buy Pendragon, up...

The automotive industry is a leader in innovation, from electric vehicles and self-driving cars to AI-driven interfaces.  As automotive market demands shift, industry players, especially in the auto insurance space, are seeking ways to accelerate their operations. Embracing automation, particularly through consumer-permissioned data and automated document processing, is indispensable for insurance providers, lending institutions, car dealerships, and more, to gain a competitive edge in this dynamic sector. Exploring auto insurance and industry trends The automotive industry finds itself navigating a complex and uncertain landscape in 2023 and beyond. Economic headwinds such as inflation, rising interest rates, a possible recession, and persistent supply chain disruptions have cast a shadow over lenders, insurers, and consumers. A significant pain point remains the antiquated internal processes and manual verifications used by the automotive industry to approve loans and verif...

Jota team principal Sam Hignett confirmed to Autosport that the British operation has approached Vettel about joining its expanded two-car Hypercar class assault on the WEC in 2024 with a pair of Porsche 963 LMDh prototypes. Hignett stressed that discussions with the German about a WEC drive and an attack on the Le Mans 24 Hours remain at an early stage and that no deal has been done. “We are speaking to Seb, there are discussions, but nothing is done,” he said. “There isn’t any kind of contract signed and he certainly hasn’t tested one of our cars.” Vettel, who called time on his F1 career at the end of 2022, has refused to rule out the possibility of some kind of comeback. He declared that he remained race fit earlier this month and said over the course of a visit to Suzuka for last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix that he misses “the amazing feeling” of driving an F1 car. But he poured cold water on a return to F1 in the short-term. #38 Hertz Team JOTA Porsche 963 : Antonio Fe...

Secondhand goods marketplace Carousell expects to “healthily” reduce its losses this year, putting it on track to profitability, the firm’s CEO told CNBC. “This year, we continue to expect revenue to grow healthily. And I think in a very promising sign, we actually are going to be healthily reducing our losses this year as well,” said Quek Siu Rui, co-founder and CEO of Carousell said Monday, adding that the firm is “on track” with its plan to profitability. In 2022, the Singapore-based company posted $82.5 million in revenue, a 67% jump from the year before, according to regulatory filings. However, losses in 2022 widened 57% year-on-year with higher expenses. The Singapore-based firm was founded in 2012 as an online classified advertisements marketplace where users can list and sell their used goods for money. “We acknowledge that the recommerce opportunity is a really big one. We are actually investing to grow these different initiatives and strategies,” Quek said...

While American shoppers are buying more electric vehicles than before when you look at the entire country, things are a lot different when you look at individual states. According to a new report from J.D. Power, America’s EV adoption rate varies significantly by state. J.D. Power’s report indicates that EV adoption continues to rise in the U.S. and now represents 8.6% of the total new vehicle retail market in the country in the first half of 2023. While the overall rate of EV adoption has gone up in the first half of the year, J.D. Power claims that the country is split when it comes to the adoption of electric vehicles. The states with the highest overall EV adoption rates have, as J.D. Power found, offered incentives and have the necessary infrastructure to support EVs. States that have lagged behind in EV adoption don’t have these elements. The study claims that the top 10 states with the highest overall EV adoption rates are California, Washington, Hawaii, Oregon, Nevada, Mary...

After the first 17 rounds of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen is the clear leader in the title fight thanks to 13 wins. Verstappen also managed to rack up 10 wins in a row this season, which is a new F1 record. The previous record of nine was set by Sebastian Vettel in 2013, also driving for Red Bull. Verstappen is also on pace to surpass his own record of 15 wins in a single season, which he claimed last year. The previous record for wins in a season stood at 13, held by both Vettel and Michael Schumacher. Verstappen’s massive tally of wins, plus the efforts of teammate Sergio Perez, means Red Bull Racing has already won the 2023 Constructors’ title. The award came after the most recent race, the Japanese Grand Prix, which was won by Verstappen who also set pole. Verstappen also has the potential to score his third Drivers’ title at the next race, the Qatar Grand Prix. Perez hasn’t managed to dominate the rest of the field together with Vers...

This week we checked out the model year changes for midsize pickup trucks, revisited some favorites, including the Volkswagen GTI, and reported on why the rear seats of minivans aren’t as safe as they could be, according to the IIHS.  Here’s what moved us.   2024 GMC Canyon review The 2024 GMC Canyon is an appealing midsize pickup, though its crash test scores haven’t improved. 2024 Volkswagen Golf review The GTI and Golf R hatchbacks are a gas to drive, and they’re plenty practical. We rate them at 6.5 out of 10 thanks to their utility, refined feel, and driving zest. 2024 Genesis GV80 review The 2024 Genesis GV80 features svelte design and elegant details that can’t quite disguise its significant heft. 2024 Nissan Frontier review It may lack hybrid or turbo tech, but the tried-and-true Nissan Frontier remains a solid midsize pickup choice. 2024 Nissan Titan review Slated to be discontinued next year, the full-size truck’s powerful V-8, middling in...

The Jeep Gladiator has one of the best four-wheel-drive systems out there, but the midsize pickup is having a hard time maintaining its grip on sales in the U.S. market. Two years ago, the Gladiator posted its best-ever sales quarter in Q2 2021, followed by its best-ever third quarter in Q3 2021. Overall sales in 2022 fell more than 13% in the U.S. compared to 2021, and through the first half of this year, Gladiator sales are down 29% compared to 2022. Jeep just unveiled the 2024 truck , it’s going to be on its way to dealers soon. Before then, dealers want to get rid of the 2023 stock, which Cars Direct says numbers about 18,000 units in inventory. The same outlet noted that Jeep has rolled out two manufacturer discounts, and dealers have added their own incentives. When Cars Direct checked out a West Covina Jeep dealer’s site, it found discounts of more than $17,000 on a single truck. When The Drive visited the same dealer site a few days later, it found total discounts of...