Autos -- The Big Story This Year -- But Not For Good Reasons -- September 30, 2024

Locator: 48446EVS.

Autos: yesterday CNBC had a long interview with Mark Fields, former Ford president and CEO, on American autos --- Ford has / had the wrong answer .... maybe we'll come back to this later. Hint: the Chinese are marketing a $10,000 EV.

Stellantis: well, this doesn't look good --

Why Stellantis stock crashed yesterday, according to Motley Fool:

Automobile maker Stellantis is struggling with a combination of weak demand and higher operating costs.

Well, duh. That doesn't quite qualify for a Geico Rock Award nomination but it comes close.

Pre-market: looks like it will be in the red again today.

Jeep recalls almost 200,000 plug-in hybrids; battery fire risks, link here:

• company admits they have no idea why batteries are catching fire;
• advises owners to park outside and away from structures;
• model years all the way back to 2020 through 2024
• risk of fire is reduced when the "battery charge is depleted":
• okay: drive your car to the local Target parking lot; park way away from the Target store; run the battery down to zero; put a huge sign on your car that it may spontaneously ignite at any moment; and, then walk home. Well, that sounds like a solution.

But there's more: "a similar recall was issued last year for 44,000 Jeep Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrids worldwide. Same thing

• all eight fires: all cars were parked and turned off
• six were connected to chargers when their batteries caught fire
• in that case, a software upgrade fixed the problem; in others the entire battery pack had to be replaced

Ford F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E: new buyers get free home charger and installation, link here.

• can cost as much as $10,000 per installation
• let's see: they're offering huge package for their best-selling vehicles
• speaks volumes

Response to China low-cost EVs:

• former Ford CEO said Ford needs to compete on cost (LOL):
• Volvo says they won't play that game -- "waves the flag on cheap EVs" -- link here.

GM EVs now have access to Tesla superchargers. Link here.

• GM EVs often have to take up two or three EV parking slots to gain access to the chargers
• hard to fit a square peg into a round hole