AUTOMOTIVE NEWS VARIETY

MY WEEKLY AUTOMOTIVE NEWS sure provides variety in addition to its essential coverage of this critical U.S. industry. Here are tidbits on three disparate topics gleaned from its February 19, 2024, edition. Indeed, two of the three Automotive News pieces came from news services. 

Tesla’s Credit Sales. I knew that Tesla sells emissions credits to other automakers falling short of government requirements—but never realized the scope of this: Automotive News picks up a Bloomberg item that “Tesla Has Taken Nearly $9B From Rivals.” It reports, “The Elon Musk-led manufacturer generated $1.79 billion in regulatory credit revenue last year, an annual filing showed last week. That brought the cumulative total Tesla has raked in since 2009 to almost $9 billion.”

Image from Automotive News, February 11, 2024.  

Of course, any automaker selling EVs earns such emission credits, the idea being to offset production of its other less-clean cars. But clearly an EV-only manufacturer eventually accumulates enough credits to sell them to others. What’s more, Automotive News notes, these sales “are virtually pure profit.” 

Apparently fledgling EV makers like Rivian, Lucid, Fisker, Polestar, and VinFast apply emission credit cash to fund their precarious beginnings. The Detroit News gives capsule assessments of these carmakers, its story gleaned from the automotive website Edmunds via the Associated Press. 

Gee, lots of other websites share the research of others; just like SimanaitisSays.

Robotaxi Vandalism. Regular readers may sense my general skepticism about AVs, Autonomous Vehicles. But Automotive News’s headline “Waymo Arson Adds to Self-Driving Debate” describes a lamentable aspect, this one derived from Reuters (and a San Francisco Fire Department photo).

Image from SFFD via X in Automotive News.

“A seasoned San Francisco cab driver,” Automotive News notes, “might have avoided the intersection of Jackson Street and Grant Avenue, in the heart of the city’s Chinatown on the first day of Chinese New Year. An autonomous Waymo robotaxi, by contrast, drove toward the cross streets on Saturday evening, when crowds were blocking all sides and revelers were lighting fireworks, according to two witnesses. Minutes later, some in the crowd attacked the car and set it on fire.”

“The incident,” Automotive News continued, “highlighted both the limited robotic cars’ ability to make judgment calls and hostility to them for a host of reasons, such as concerns about safety, the jobs they might take from human drivers, and a more generalized fear of artificial-intelligence, according to officials and academics.”

Automotive News noted, “Saturday’s destruction of the vehicle from Waymo, owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet, followed an incident last week in which another Waymo car struck a bicyclist. In October, a self-driving vehicle, made by GM-owned Cruise, hit and dragged a pedestrian 20 feet. California subsequently suspended Cruise’s driverless testing license.”

Nostalgia Sells. On a much happier note, Automotive News reports, “VW, Kia, BMW Super Bowl Ads Draw Big Interest for New EVs.” I confess, I was otherwise occupied, but I’m told that many folks look forward to the ads interspersed in this annual football fest.

“Automakers,” Automotive News says, “aired only four commercials during Sunday’s Super Bowl but still managed to score big in their limited game action. The spots [clickable from here] significantly boosted traffic on vehicle shopping websites, and two of them landed in the top 10 on the USA Today Ad Meter gauging public opinion.” 

“The spots,” says Automotive News, “featured a mix of humor, star power, nostalgia, and softhearted themes. A 30-second ad in this year’s game cost about $7 million, according to Automotive News affiliate Ad Age.” 

Automotive News observed, “Volkswagen celebrated its 75th anniversary in the U.S. with a nostalgic 60-second production [i.e., a $14 million ad?]. An extended version was released Friday. This was VW’s first national Super Bowl spot in 10 years.” 

Nostalgia is good fun. I don’t wanna know the cost. ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2024