auto industry discussion

[cwerdna]

Discuss the auto industry and news related to it here, not necessarily about EVs (PHEVs, EVs, FCEVs, etc.) I'll start.

Automakers forced to cut production amid global shortage of computer chips
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/automakers-forced-cut-production-amid-global-shortage-computer-chips-n1254311

Meet the sausage that’s one of Volkswagen’s most popular products
http://newsroom.vw.com/company/meet-the-sausage-thats-one-of-volkswagens-most-popular-products/

 

[cwerdna]

Volkswagen looks to claim damages from suppliers over chip shortages -magazine
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/volkswagen-looks-claim-damages-suppliers-104243553.html

Germany urges Taiwan to help ease auto chip shortage
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/taiwan-says-asking-chip-firms-072910657.html

 

[cwerdna]

Toyota hikes profit forecast 54%, shrugs off global chip supply issues
Toyota has enough chips to cover its targets, at least for now
https://www.autoblog.com/2021/02/10/toyota-no-immediate-chip-crisis/

 

[cwerdna]

Toyota to suspend output from nine factories in Japan due to earthquake
Earthquake was a magnitude 7.1 aftershock to the Fukushima quake of 10 years ago
https://www.autoblog.com/2021/02/16/toyota-production-shutdown-nine-factories-earthquake/

 

[cwerdna]

Volkswagen CEO tweets, Musk-style, on market-cap milestone
'The market has been waiting for our #BEV-ramp-up'
https://www.autoblog.com/2021/03/03/vw-herbert-diess-tweet-market-cap/

 

[cwerdna]

Car seat foam shortage threatens to derail auto production, report says
Following the devastating Texas winter storms, suppliers are reportedly "scrambling."
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/car-seat-foam-auto-production-texas-winter-storms/

 

[cwerdna]

Why Toyota had a big pile of chips when semiconductor shortage dealt others a bad hand
'Toyota was ... the only automaker properly equipped to deal with chip shortages'
https://www.autoblog.com/2021/03/09/toyota-how-it-avoided-semiconductor-shortage/

 

[cwerdna]

Toyota president warns Apple that it will need to provide 40 years of support for ‘Apple Car’
https://9to5mac.com/2021/03/11/toyota-apple-car-comments-support/

 

[cwerdna]

Renesas says it will take at least a month to restart fire-damaged chip line
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-renesas-fire-idUSKBN2BD05K

About two-thirds of production on the advanced 300mm wafer line affected by Friday’s fire is automotive chips, CEO Hidetoshi Shibata told an online briefing.
...
Renesas may not be able to replace all the destroyed equipment within a month, Shibata said, meaning that a return to full production could take longer.

The company, he added, may be able to rely on other plants to replace around two-thirds of the lost production, which is worth around 17 billion yen ($156 million) a month.

These have some pics of the fire:
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/03/29c44ac76fba-renesas-chief-says-plant-fire-may-seriously-impact-chip-supply.html
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Tech/Semiconductors/Chip-starved-automakers-shudder-at-Renesas-plant-s-1-month-halt

 

[cwerdna]

https://youtu.be/L6x0SEPxT3c is a result of the chip shortage.

 

[cwerdna]

U.S. consumers are borrowing more for longer to drive trucks and SUVs
More than a third of car loans are for six years or longer
https://www.autoblog.com/2021/05/27/car-loans-consumers-borrow-more-for-longer/

 

[cwerdna]

GM temporarily shuts down North American factories because of chip shortage
https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/2/22654357/gm-factory-shutdown-chip-shortage-truck-suv

How one COVID case upended Toyota’s just-in-time supply chain
https://www.autonews.com/automakers-suppliers/how-one-covid-case-upended-toyotas-just-time-supply-chain

Major automakers fear the global chip shortage could persist for some time
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/06/vw-ford-daimler-fear-chip-shortage-could-persist-for-some-time.html

 

[joybnvds22]

GM temporarily shuts down North American factories because of chip shortage
https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/2/22654357/gm-factory-shutdown-chip-shortage-truck-suv

How one COVID case upended Toyota’s just-in-time supply chain
https://www.autonews.com/automakers-suppliers/how-one-covid-case-upended-toyotas-just-time-supply-chain

Major automakers fear the global chip shortage could persist for some time
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/06/vw-ford-daimler-fear-chip-shortage-could-persist-for-some-time.html

I feel like one of the reasons why this news took place is because of the ongoing pandemic. This affects every business, including the auto industry. Last year I bought a couple of car accessories from 4WheelOnline and other shops and it took some time to get them shipped. The waiting game is on for those who really wants a specific product that is currently unavailable.

 

[cwerdna]

In the middle of watching https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IChpRJ0gBh8.
"In 2021, the average age of vehicles on the road reached a record 12.1 years..."

 

[LeftieBiker]

Let's see... Cash For Clunkers weeded out the worst old cars, leaving more reliable, long-lived vehicles. The slow recovery from the Great Recession slowed replacement of older non-clunkers, and now pandemic-related job insecurity, along with Millennial ambivalence about buying a new car, plus a shortage of new cars, is further slowing replacement of the aging national fleet. How close am I?

 

[cwerdna]

Let's see... Cash For Clunkers weeded out the worst old cars, leaving more reliable, long-lived vehicles. The slow recovery from the Great Recession slowed replacement of older non-clunkers, and now pandemic-related job insecurity, along with Millennial ambivalence about buying a new car, plus a shortage of new cars, is further slowing replacement of the aging national fleet. How close am I?

The last part was cited, not the rest. A big reason they mentioned was the rising cost of cars, new and used and that cars last a lot longer than they used to.

 

[LeftieBiker]

The skyrocketing car prices haven't been around quite long enough to make them a major factor yet in the aging of the US fleet. I think that Cash for Clunkers and the resulting retirement of many, many old unreliable cars (replaced with more reliable mainly Japanese cars), and the slow recovery from the recession, are the biggest factors.

 

[cwerdna]

That's an interesting hypothesis about Cash for Clunkers. Looks like it ended in late 2009. I'd totally forgotten about that timeframe. I knew of a few folks who got rid of cars via that method.

 

[cwerdna]

Here Are Features Some New Cars Won't Get Because of the Chip Shortage
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g38179550/new-cars-tech-features-missing-chip-shortage/

 

[LeftieBiker]

Why do I feel outraged that Nissan is removing the Nav System That Everyone Hates...? Not nearly as outraged as I am at the thought of driving a luxury SUV with no heated seats or steering wheel, though. And I can't help snickering at the thought of BMW and Tesla Millennial Mooks losing their USB ports and touch screens, and the Mercedes/AMG-driving Effluent Rich having to squint by the light of incandescent bulbs. I think I'm turning into a mean, mean old man...