Ford recalls nearly 43,000 SUVs due to gas leaks that can cause fires, but remedy won’t fix leaks

DETROIT (AP) — Ford is recalling nearly 43,000 small SUVs because gasoline can leak from the fuel injectors onto hot engine surfaces, increasing the risk of fires. But the recall remedy does not include repairing the fuel leaks.

The recall covers certain Bronco Sport SUVs from the 2022 and 2023 model years, as well as Escape SUVs from 2022. All have 1.5-liter engines.

Ford says in documents filed with U.S. safety regulators that fuel injectors can crack, and gasoline or vapor can accumulate near ignition sources, possibly touching off fires.

Dealers will install a tube to let gasoline flow away from hot surfaces to the ground below the vehicle. They’ll also update engine control software to detect a pressure drop in the fuel injection system. If that happens, the software will disable the high pressure fuel pump, reduce engine power and cut temperatures in the engine compartment, according to documents posted Wednesday on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.

Toyota will oversee model certification at subsidiary Daihatsu after safety testing scandal

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automaker Toyota will oversee model certification at its subsidiary Daihatsu to regain trust among dealers, customers and workers after a safety testing scandal, Daihatsu’s new president said Monday. Toyota Motor Corp. will take a leadership role in various areas, including product development and procurement, said Masahiro Inoue, who took the helm of Daihatsu in March. “I have been spending each and every day, vowing to revive Daihatsu,” said Inoue, who previously oversaw Toyota’s business in South America. Daihatsu President Masahiro Inoue speaks during a press conference in Tokyo Monday, April 8, 2024. Daihatsu, the Japanese automaker […]

US probes complaints that Ford pickups can downshift without warning, increasing the risk of a crash

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating complaints that more than 540,000 Ford pickup trucks can abruptly downshift to a lower gear and increase the risk of a crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents posted on its website Friday that it opened the investigation this week after receiving 86 consumer complaints about the problem with the trucks’ automatic transmissions. Investigation documents say the probe covers F-150s from the 2014 model year. The agency is looking into whether those trucks should have been included in previous recalls for the problem. FILE - Clouds are reflected […]

EPA sets strict emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks and buses in bid to fight climate change

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday set strict emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks, buses and other large vehicles, an action that officials said will help clean up some of the nation’s largest sources of planet-warming greenhouse gases. The new rules, which take effect for model years 2027 through 2032, will avoid up to 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the next three decades and provide $13 billion in net benefits in the form of fewer hospital visits, lost work days and deaths, the EPA said. The new standards will especially benefit an estimated 72 million […]

Federal EV charging stations are key to Biden’s climate agenda, yet only 4 states have them

LONDON, Ohio (AP) — Within 24 hours of buying his red Ford Mustang Mach-E, Liam Sawyer set off on a camping trip. Sawyer, who bought the electric SUV “because I think the technology is cool and the range is just long enough,” searched ahead of time for convenient charging stations between his home in Indianapolis and Allegheny National Forest in western Pennsylvania. About 175 miles (282 kilometers) into his journey, he stopped at a new public charging station at the Pilot Travel Center along Interstate 70 outside Columbus, Ohio. The station, which opened in London, Ohio, in December with four […]

China’s latest EV is a ‘connected’ car from smart phone and electronics maker Xiaomi

BEIJING (AP) — Xiaomi, a well-known maker of smart consumer electronics in China, is joining the country’s booming but crowded market for electric cars with a sporty high-tech sedan. The tech company began accepting orders in China via an app on Thursday night, after founder Lei Jun wrapped up a more than two-hour presentation on the SU7 car by announcing the much-awaited price range: 215,900 yuan to 299,900 yuan (about $30,000 to $40,000). Xiaomi said that it received 50,000 orders for the SU7 in the first 27 minutes after sales opened at 10 p.m. Beijing time (1400 GMT). Visitors to […]

Kia invests in new compact car even though the segment is shrinking as Americans buy SUVs and trucks

NEW YORK (AP) — Kia is rolling out a revamped compact car in the U.S. even though sales of small cars are dropping as the nation continues to favor SUVs and pickup trucks. The South Korean automaker rolled out the new K4, which replaces the Forte, at the New York International Auto Show on Wednesday. It was one of only a few new vehicle debuts at the show, continuing a trend of automakers unveiling new models largely with their own events. The 2025 K4 is making its global debut at the show, with the company saying it’s loaded with new […]

Vietnamese automaker VinFast to start selling EVs in Thailand

BANGKOK (AP) — Vietnamese automaker VinFast announced Tuesday that it plans to sell its electric vehicles in Thailand and said it had tied up with auto dealers to open showrooms in the country. VinFast, which only began exporting its EVs last year, faces stiff competition in Thailand from Chinese automakers like BYD. Tesla also recently entered the fray. All were displaying their latest models at the Bangkok International Motor Show. The Thai EV market is small but growing fast, buoyed by incentives and subsidies from the government. The country of more than 70 million plans to convert 30% of the […]

Japan’s Nissan promises aggressive electrification push to cut costs, boost global sales

TOKYO (AP) — Nissan will expand its electric vehicle lineup, develop more powerful batteries and cut production costs, while speeding up the whole process, in what the Japanese automaker’s chief called “The Arc” pathway to higher sales by 2030. “The auto industry is now being forced to reshape its values so we can say continuous change is the new normal,” Chief Executive Makoto Uchida told reporters Monday, in outlining a sprawling but ambitious business plan. “Nissan must change. We cannot succeed if we continue along the same path.” Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida speaks during a press conference in Atsugi, […]

For 2024, Hyundai Santa Fe gains character befitting its namesake city

HALF MOON BAY, B.C. — Do you know the way to Santa Fe? Does Hyundai?

It certainly seems as though the South Korean company does, considering the surprisingly bold fifth generation of its oldest nameplate.

When it arrived in Canada in 2001, it arguably sold more on price than on looks, though the styling, which resembled an outdoorsy boot, was oddly compelling, if a bit derivative.

Through its variations since, it’s tended to blend in more than stand out, taking safe cues from other crossovers and trying hard not to offend. That all is changing with the 2024 model, a marked departure from bland that is seemingly trying to out-Defender Land Rover, at least in styling.

Honda and Nissan agree to work together in developing electric vehicles and intelligent technology

TOKYO (AP) — Nissan and Honda announced Friday that they will work together in developing electric vehicles and auto intelligence technology, sectors where Japanese automakers have fallen behind. The chief executives of Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. appeared together at a news conference in Tokyo to announce that Japan’s second and third biggest automakers will look into areas with a potential for collaboration. The details of the non-binding agreement are still being worked out, both sides said. The executives said the companies will develop core technologies together, but their products will remain different. FILE - The Honda company […]

Elon Musk visits a Tesla plant near Berlin as production resumes after a suspected arson attack

GRUENHEIDE, Germany (AP) — Tesla CEO Elon Musk visited the electric car maker's first European plant on Wednesday as production resumed at the factory just outside Berlin, about a week after a suspected arson attack cut its power supply.

Musk was expected at a “team huddle” with employees at the plant in the Gruenheide municipality, employee council chief Michaela Schmitz told regional broadcaster RBB's Inforadio channel. Reporters at the scene could see him arriving from a distance and he turned their way, shouting “Deutschland rocks” or “Germany rocks.”

Production at Tesla’s plant in Gruenheide came to a standstill on Tuesday last week. Tens of thousands of residents, nearby hospitals, nursing homes and a big logistics center for a German grocery chain were also initially affected.

The electricity supply to the plant was restored on Monday evening. Schmitz said that, after machines were checked and started up, “the early shift can begin (work) again this morning.”

Stellantis to produce electric muscle cars in Windsor. Ont. plant

WINDSOR, Ont. – Stellantis says its electric Dodge Charger will be built at the Windsor, Ont. assembly plant. The automaker says the EV version marks the arrival of the next generation of Dodge muscle cars. Stellantis said in November the plant would install new electric battery capability as part of a three-year collective agreement with Unifor. Workers arrive for their shift at the Chrysler (FCA) assembly Plant in Windsor, Ont., on Tuesday, June 12, 2018. Stellantis says its electric Dodge Charger will be built at the Windsor, Ont. assembly plant. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Geoff Robins The union wanted commitments on electric vehicle […]

Dodge muscle cars live on with new versions of the Charger powered by electricity or gasoline

DETROIT (AP) — America’s muscle car culture is adapting to the new world of electric vehicles, but the gasoline-powered high-performance road beasts will be around for at least a few more years.

Dodge on Tuesday unveiled two battery-powered versions of the Charger muscle car that will still roar like a big V8 engine without pollution from the tailpipe.

However, the Stellantis brand, which has carved out a market niche of selling high-performance vehicles, will keep selling a gas-powered Charger as well, sans the big Hemi V8.

Both will be built on Stellantis' global large vehicle underpinnings, and the Windsor, Ontario, factory that will manufacture them will be able to flex between gasoline and electric depending on consumer demand. The flexibility will let Stellantis hedge its bets if electric vehicle sales take off or slow.

Ford electric vehicle owners can now charge on Tesla’s network, but they’ll need an adapter first

DETROIT (AP) — Owners of Ford electric vehicles can now use much of Tesla’s charging network in the U.S. and Canada, but there’s a hitch. They’ll need to get an adapter that Ford will provide for free, although the company won’t start shipping those until the end of March. Last May, Ford became the first automaker to reach an agreement with the Austin, Texas-based Tesla to charge on its network, which is the largest and most well-placed in the U.S. FILE - A vehicle charges at a Tesla Supercharger station in Detroit, Nov. 16, 2022. Owners of Ford electric vehicles […]