Consumers who subscribe to scheduled delivery or auto-fill services are uniquely ready to cancel their memberships if they find that the crowd-sourced information they have received is not reliable, PYMNTS Intelligence reveals.
By the Numbers
The new PYMNTS Intelligence study “The Replenish Economy: A Household Supply Deep Dive,” created in collaboration with sticky.io, draws from a September survey of more than 2,000 U.S. consumers and of 188 subscription merchants to understand various subscriber habits and motivating factors.
The results reveal that scheduled delivery and auto-fill subscribers are 9 percentage points more likely to cancel their subscriptions if there are inaccurate or deceptive product reviews and ratings than other kinds of subscribers.
As such, to retain subscribers and ensure the success of retail subscription services, merchants must prioritize accurate and transparent product reviews and ratings. Building trust and credibility is crucial in this competitive landscape.
A Deeper Dive
Indeed, these kinds of product subscriptions are among the most popular. For instance, the PYMNTS Intelligence and sticky.io study last year, “The Subscription Commerce Conversion Index: Subscribers Seek Affordability and Convenience,” which drew from a survey of more than 2,100 U.S. consumers, found that 42% of those with product subscriptions participate in the Amazon Subscribe & Save program.
Plus, once consumers grow accustomed to these kinds of subscriptions, many want more. PYMNTS Intelligence and sticky.io’s “The Impact of Subscription Models on Consumer Choice” reveals that 47% of those with discount refill subscriptions who planned to add more subscriptions said they would be likely to subscribe to another discount refill program, while their cross-subscription-category average was only 22%.
These kinds of subscriptions work best for consumable products that are part of consumers’ day-to-day routines.
“Subscribe & Save doesn’t work with a lot of items because people don’t consume them on a day-to-day basis,” Brett Cramer, owner of seasonings brand The Spice Lab— which abandoned the model — told PYMNTS in aninterview earlier this year. “It has to be a product that people consume in less than 30 days.”
Catching trade winds is the fastest way for sailors to navigate across the ocean. Everyone loves it when the winds are at their back, but trouble can arise when the winds change, and they eventually do.
The auto industry has been sailing for the past 3 years with forceful tailwinds generated by COVID-induced economic stimulus and reduced vehicle production. Automakers and dealers alike have enjoyed turning their limited inventories quickly, huge margins, and soaring stock prices.
But as we approach the final weeks of 2023, with the global pandemic now solidly in our rearview mirror, the winds are clearly changing direction. Even Wall Street, which pumped up auto industry stocks during 2021 and 2022, is beginning to have a more tepid outlook for the industry. As we set sails for 2024, I believe three dynamics are creating new headwinds for the industry.
Electric vehicle (EV) adoption is happening much slower than expected, and the profit margins are abysmal.
The new UAW labor agreement will squeeze future profit margins for the Detroit 3 and has placed pressure on non-unionized plants in the South to increase wages.
The rising cost of borrowing money due to high interest rates is impacting consumers, dealers, and automakers alike.
Growing Concern about EV Demand and Margins
Two years ago, legacy car makers began placing big bets on EV development partly due to Wall Street’s infatuation with EV manufacturers like Tesla, who were rewarded with huge valuations. EV sales have continued to grow from 1% of total industry volume in 2019 to nearly 8% this year, according to estimates from Kelley Blue Book.
But the looming question on everyone’s mind is whether the market has reached peak demand for the current EV offerings. Cox Automotive’s latest inventory tracking shows EV days’ supply is near 100 days’ supply vs. 67 for the wider industry. Reluctant consumers remain concerned about charging infrastructure, range, and future resale values.
As a result of this sluggish demand, incentives continue to climb, reaching close to 10% of transaction price in September before retreating some in October, according to Kelley Blue Book. The comparable overall industry level remains below 5%. Tesla, the EV leader in the U.S. market by far, has been hyper-aggressive in dropping prices on their popular models by an average of $16,687 over the past 12 months. And those price cuts are putting pressure on the entire industry. Ford reported an EBITA loss of $1.3 billion in Q3 in its Model-e business, demonstrating how challenging this transition will be. And Mercedes Benz’s CFO recently commented, “I can hardly imagine the current status quo is fully sustainable for anybody.”
These shifting winds are causing OEMs to reshape their EV ambitions. GM announced it is abandoning its goal of producing 400,000 EVs by mid-2024. They are also postponing a $4 billion EV truck plant project in Michigan. Ford recently announced they are postponing $12 billion worth of planned EV investment due to “tremendous downward pressure on prices.” Honda just announced they are canceling their partnership with GM to produce a range of less expensive EVs. And lastly, VW just postponed their flagship Trinity EV plant development in Germany to 2030.
Jack Hollis, the head of sales at Toyota, said, “It took us 25 years, and we (the industry) are still not at 10% hybrid; the consumer is not demanding EVs at that level.” Toyota continues to advocate for a broad range of fuel types to meet environmental and consumer needs instead of solely focusing on EVs.
Bottom line: The EV transition is going to be a drag on the U.S. auto market for years to come.
New UAW Labor Agreement
Last month, the UAW pulled off a historic victory for their members with wage increases upwards of 60% for new hires, and Ford CFO John Lawler said the new contract could add upwards of $850 to $900 of additional cost to every vehicle Ford produces.
Most interesting, the UAW only represents 140,000 of the 780,000+ auto workers in the U.S. (based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics). Over the years, the UAW made numerous unsuccessful attempts to unionize non-domestic auto plants in the south. With this massive haul for UAW workers, companies like Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai are already announcing pay increases for their manufacturing workers, and more companies are likely to follow to fend off future UAW unionized efforts at their plants.
Labor costs will rise for all automakers, regardless of the UAW’s union-drive efforts in the south. Wall Street is concerned that the automakers will be unable to pass this added labor cost onto consumers or find $900 worth of efficiencies to offset it. The net result will be lower margins moving forward. This issue creates another level of headache for the legacy OEMs building EVs because they lose a significant amount of money on each unit they sell.
Impact of Interest Rates on the Car Business
Cox Automotive reports that new-vehicle inventories were up 62% vs. last year at the beginning of November. This, coupled with higher floor plan rates, has created downward financial pressure. One domestic dealer reported that his inventory holding expense had grown from $49,000 in 2022 to $670,000 in 2023, a 13x increase.
Vehicles are turning slower, the cost of carrying them is much higher, and I’m hearing about dealers turning down their monthly vehicle allocations, an unthinkable behavior 12 months ago. In the most recent quarterly Cox Automotive Dealer Sentiment Index survey, 61% of dealers said interest rates were the #1 issue holding their business back.
Consumers have also felt the pain of rising rates: new car payments increased almost 10% from last year, and 86% of that increase is attributed to higher rates. The average new car interest rate for consumers is now about 9%. In the fall of 2021, it was closer to 5.5%.
As some OEMs begin to feel softening demand, they are turning to “APR buy-downs” to spur retail sales. The incentive cost of buying the rate down from 9% to 3.99% is not cheap; imagine Hyundai’s expense of offering 0% for 60 months on select models. This situation is not likely to abate anytime soon and will continue to be a drag on automaker margins.
Looking Forward
Despite concerns over the changing trade winds, the auto industry will finish 2023 far ahead of what was predicted. Cox Automotive (as well as many other forecasters) initially forecast a 14.1-million-unit market for 2023. The revised forecast calls for the industry to finish near 15.3 million units. General Motors recently reported their earnings could be as high as $10.9 billion, up from their initial estimate of $9.9 billion. AutoNation’s earnings per share improved from $4.97 in 2019 to $24.12 forecast for this year. Dealers and Automakers are continuing to print money despite the industry challenges.
The auto industry’s fundamentals remain extremely healthy. Despite challenges with EV adoption, higher labor costs, and higher interest expenses, as long as the automakers remain disciplined with production levels and closely align supply with demand, the industry is well positioned for smooth sailing for years to come.
Brian Finkelmeyer
Senior Director, New Car Solutions
As Senior Director of New Car Solutions at Cox Automotive, Brian Finkelmeyer is responsible for vAuto/Cox Automotive’s New Car Strategy, including vAuto’s Conquest Inventory Management Solution and the Cox Automotive Rates and Incentives Business. Finkelmeyer works across Cox Automotive’s various businesses to develop new data insights which help our OEM and Dealer partners fully capitalize on their market opportunities.
BOSTON - Car and auto insurance bills are going up across Massachusetts and the country and they're a lot higher than some drivers expected.
Tom Skelly, vice president and partner at Deland, Gibson Insurance, told WBZ-TV the cost to repair autos has "increased exponentially" and it's not just because of inflation. Here's his detailed explanation of why you're paying more.
More expensive technology in cars
"There is more technology in every car part including windshields, fenders, bumpers and grills. All the electronic sensors for auto emergency braking, lane keeping assist or cross-traffic alert systems are located in the bumpers, grills and fenders of cars. They bear the brunt of most crashes."
Microchip shortage
"Supply chain issues still haunt the auto repair business. Microchips, which are in all the tech related parts are still in short supply delaying repairs. We have been calling carriers to extend people's rentals past the coverage date due to materials being delayed. These costs are passed onto the consumer."
Auto repair technicians wanted
"There is a shortage of auto repair technicians. The technicians that have remained need constant training to keep up with the complex systems they are repairing. For example, paint on the sensors needs to be a certain thickness or the sensors do not work. The connections between the car and sensors need to be calibrated so the sensors can work properly. All this takes a skilled technician and time, increasing costs."
More car crashes, more insurance losses
"Insurance carriers are faced with mounting losses due to increases in car crashes and fatalities coming out of the pandemic. Most carriers attempt to have loss ratios under 100. Most have loss ratios over 100 for 2022 and 2023 looks to be the same. For example, a loss ratio of 108 means $1.08 in losses for every $1.00 in premium. Across all lines; auto, property and liability companies are facing increased losses. That translates into higher premiums to recoup those losses."
If you end up with a higher bill and there have been no changes to your account, Skelly recommends you ask your agent to shop around for lower premiums or higher deductibles.
If you have a question you'd like us to look into, please email questioneverything@cbsboston.com.
Mike Toole is the Managing Editor at wbz.com in Boston. He has worked in the WBZ-TV newsroom for more than 20 years. He previously wrote and produced news and sports at WABC-TV in New York.
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Netflix‘s games strategy is getting a nitro boost from Rockstar Games’ crime-tastic Grand Theft Auto series, one of the best-selling video-game franchises of all time.
The three classic titles in “Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition” will be available Dec. 14 for Netflix customers at no additional charge on mobile platforms. Starting Wednesday, Netflix members can preregister to play the games — “Grand Theft Auto III,” “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” and “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” — each updated for mobile. Netflix users will be able to access the titles via Apple’s App Store, Google Play and the Netflix mobile app.
Take-Two Interactive’s Rockstar Games originally released “Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition” in November 2021. The collection, which has a list price of $59.99, is available for PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series X and Nintendo Switch.
The older GTA games are coming to Netflix as anticipation builds for “Grand Theft Auto 6,” the series’ first major release in a decade. Rockstar Games last month said it will release “the first trailer for the next Grand Theft Auto” in early December.
The Grand Theft Auto titles will join Netflix’s growing lineup of more than 80 mobile games across multiple genres. The streaming giant’s strategy is to bundle games into the core service to enhance its overall value to consumers, without ads, in-app purchases or extra fees.
Two years after Netflix debuted its first games, company execs say the strategy is meeting its goals of lifting total customer engagement. This summer, it kicked off a test of games on PCs and connected TVs. “Our job is to incrementally scale to the place where games have a material impact on the business,” co-CEO Greg Peters told analysts on the Q3 2023 earnings interview last month. “We’ve got ambitious plans there. We want to really grow our engagement by many multiples of where it is today over the next handful of years.”
Netflix’s latest game additions include several based on popular original series and films. Those are “Chicken Run: Eggstraction,” tied to Aardman’s “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget”; an interactive-fiction game for hit series “Money Heist” (“La Casa de Papel”); narrative role-playing game “Shadow and Bone: Enter the Fold,” based on the fantasy series; and “The Dragon Prince: Xadia,” an RPG based on the animated show. In the works is a multiplayer action game from Super Evil Megacorp based on Zach Snyder’s “Rebel Moon” movies coming to Netflix.
Here are descriptions of the three GTA titles coming to Netflix on mobile:
“Grand Theft Auto III – The Definitive Edition”: Welcome to Liberty City. Where it all began. With a massive and diverse open world, a wild cast of characters from every walk of life, and the freedom to explore at will, Grand Theft Auto III puts the dark, intriguing, and ruthless world of crime at your fingertips.
“Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – The Definitive Edition”: Welcome to the 1980s. From the decade of big hair and pastel suits comes the story of one man’s rise to the top of the criminal pile. Grand Theft Auto returns with Tommy Vercetti’s tale of betrayal and revenge in a neon-soaked tropical town full of excess and brimming with possibilities.
“Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – The Definitive Edition”: It’s the early ’90s. After a couple of cops frame him for homicide, Carl “CJ” Johnson is forced on a journey that takes him across the entire state of San Andreas, to save his family and to take control of the streets.
Auto giants with production facilities in the United States are increasing wages of non-union employees following the United Auto Workers' (UAW) record-setting deals with the Detroit Three automakers.The UAW labor agreements with General Motors GM, Ford F and Stellantis STLA until 2028 feature a 25% boost in base wages, including an immediate 11% rise. This cumulative increase will elevate the top wage by 33%, incorporating estimated cost-of-living adjustments, reaching over $42 per hour. Additionally, the agreements will eliminate wage tiers in factories and streamline the progression to earn the top wage from eight years to three years.
In recent weeks, auto biggies like Hyundai, Honda, Subaru and Toyota TM increased wages for non-union U.S. factory workers, indicating a response to the union's growing focus on organizing the workforce in foreign-owned auto plants. Last week, Japan’s Nissan NSANY and Germany’s Volkswagen also announced wage hikes for U.S. workers.
Meanwhile, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association released data on new car registrations for October 2023. The European Union (“EU”) car market rose 14.6% last month to 855,484 units, marking the 15th straight month of growth. Most EU markets witnessed robust growth. Registrations in Spain, France and Italy rose 18.1%, 21.9% and 20%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. Germany saw an increase of 4.9% in registrations last month. In the first 10 months of 2023, EU market vehicle registrations reached 9 million units, up 16.7% year over year. During January-October, the majority of markets recorded double-digit percentage growth, with the top four being Spain (18.5%), Italy (20.4%), France (16.5%) and Germany (13.5%).
On the news front, Toyota's credit division is set to pay $60 million in fines for illegal lending practices and violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Ford will reduce investment in its $3.5 billion Michigan battery plant due to lower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles (EVs), high cost of labor and the company's cost-cut strategy. Close peer General Motors’ self-driving unit, Cruise, has hit a roadblock. It is facing a critical safety crisis, which has cast a shadow on its ambitious vision to revolutionize urban transportation. Amid the challenges, the company has scaled back its robotaxi ambitions to one city. Italian-American automaker Stellantis joined forces with CAL to localize the supply of LFP batteries in the European market.
Last Week’s Top Stories
Toyota has been charged for illegally preventing car buyers from canceling add-ons to their loans that increased their monthly loan payments and deteriorated buyers’ credit reports. The automaker will pay $60 million in fines to settle the U.S. regulator's charges. Per the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), Toyota Motor Credit will pay a $12 million civil fine and $48 million to the harmed consumers since 2016. Toyota Motor Credit provides vehicle financing to customers who buy vehicles from Toyota dealerships.
The settlement revolves around add-on products that cost the buyers nearly $700-$2,500 per loan. The add-ons provide protection when vehicles are damaged, stolen or out of warranty and in case the buyer dies or becomes disabled. Per CFPB, the borrowers complained to Toyota Motor Credit that dealers misinformed them about the necessity of the product and rushed them through paperwork, because of which they didn’t realize how much they were paying. The company is accused of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act by misinforming credit reporting agencies and failing to correct the misinformation for more than 27,500 borrowers.
TM currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Ford announced scalingback its plan for a $3.5 billion Michigan Battery plant due to lower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles, high cost of labor and the company’s cost-cutting strategy. The facility was announced in February. The U.S. legacy automaker will cut the plant’s production capacity by nearly 43% to 20 gigawatt hours per year and reduce expected employment to 1,700 jobs, down from 2,500 jobs. The company refused to disclose the reduced amount of investment in the plant. The move follows a recent retreat from EVs by automakers around the globe amid declining demand due to higher costs, supply chain & battery technology-related challenges.
Last month, Ford announced cutting or delaying $12 billion in its previously announced investment. The scale-back plan is part of the same announcement. Ford will also delay the construction of the Kentucky EV battery plant. Per Mark Truby, chief communications officer of Ford, despite a halt in construction of the plant due to collective bargaining with UAW, the plant is still expected to open in 2026. The construction of the Michigan plant is set to resume after being paused for two months.
General Motors’ Cruise is scaling back its plans and is now focusing on deploying autonomous vehicles in just one city instead of the previously targeted 13 across the United States. The specific city and the timeline for this deployment remain undisclosed. Additionally, GM has postponed the production of the much-anticipated Cruise Origin robotaxi. Cruise is completing a small number of pre-commercial prototypes. However, the full-scale production remains on hold. The company will not manufacture any prototype or commercial model of Origin in 2024.
This comes amid regulatory and safety hurdles. California's suspension of Cruise's driverless permits has led to a nationwide operational pause. The company's troubles were further compounded by the departure of its founding executives, Kyle Vogt and Daniel Kan.
The Cruise Origin, a central piece of the company's autonomous strategy, was set to be produced at GM's Factory Zero in Detroit. There were plans for its deployment in U.S. cities and Tokyo but regulatory approvals have stalled the process. GM has been awaiting a decision from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on an exemption request for federal safety standards since February 2022
Stellantis signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. to localize the supply of lithium iron phosphate batteries and cells to power the automaker’s EV production in Europe. To underpin Stellantis’ aggressive electric push, both companies are contemplating a joint venture with an equal contribution. The MoU highlights a long-term collaboration between both companies on two strategic fronts. Firstly, devise a bold technology roadmap to support Stellantis’ cutting-edge battery EVs and secondly, identify opportunities to strengthen the battery chain value.
Per Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, both companies will bring innovative and accessible battery technology to Stellantis’ customers while helping the company achieve its carbon net zero ambition by 2038.As part of the Dare Forward 2030 plan, Stellantis aims to achieve a 100% EV sales mix in Europe and a 50% passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in the United States by the end of the decade. It is securing approximately 400 GWh of battery capacity to achieve these targets, underpinned by six battery manufacturing plants in North America and Europe. The company is assembling a roster of partnerships to support a stable, low-carbon supply of crucial materials for its electrified future.
Nissan announced a wage hike for its 9,000 US factory workers after the UAW reached new contracts with the Detroit Three. The wage hike of 10% will be effective from Jan 8, 2024, for production, maintenance and tool & die technicians. Workers who are not at the top salary scale will also be eligible for the hike. The automaker also decided to eliminate wage tiers for U.S. production workers.Nissan slashed the number of years it takes for an employee to get top pay from eight years to three years. It will increase the wages of temporary workers by 150% and make them permanent employees.
Additional benefits encompass the inclusion of Juneteenth and Veterans Day as paid holidays, along with an extension of paid parental leave by an extra eight weeks, totaling 16 weeks and covering both parents. Per Brian Brockman, spokesperson of Nissan, the move is aimed at attracting and retaining top talents in the industry. The company also stated that the hike reflects its commitment to its employees in the United States.
Price Performance
The following table shows the price movement of some of the major auto players over the last week and six-month period.
Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
What’s Next in the Auto Space?
Industry watchers will keep a tab on auto biggies releasing November 2023 U.S. vehicle sales data.
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McKEES ROCKS, Pa. (KDKA) - McKees Rocks police told KDKA they've been seeing an uptick in people stealing Kias and Hyundais since mid-October, but they're not the only cars falling victim there, and it's a part of a broader auto-theft problem nationwide.
As Jenny Vogel looked at the Honda Accord she shares with her boyfriend, she couldn't help but think what she would do if it was gone.
"This is our lifeline right there," Vogel said. "It's our way of getting around for our kids and everything."
It nearly happened Saturday morning, parked outside her home on Rosamond Street in McKees Rocks.
Video from her surveillance camera captured the incident.
In it, you can see his shadow on the ground. He approaches the car and pulls the handle. Then he looks left and right, appearing to notice the camera, and runs.
Vogel couldn't believe it.
"I'm like, 'Babe, somebody tried to break into your car.' He's like, 'Nah,'" Vogel said.
While she was lucky, others weren't. The same morning, McKees Rocks police said they recovered two cars, including a Kia in photos shared on Facebook, where you can see the passenger side window broken and the steering column torn apart.
Captain Dave Finerty told KDKA they've taken in at least 15 stolen Kias and Hyundais in the past month, which experts say are becoming easy targets for thefts because of a flaw in their steering columns. They're urging people to protect their cars with steering wheel locks to deter potential thieves.
"Going to make sure it don't happen," Vogel said.
Finerty told KDKA they believe the incident involving Vogel's car isn't connected. However, it highlights an increasing national issue.
According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, vehicle thefts rose 7% from 2021 to 2022, and current trends show this year may surpass that as criminals look to strip parts from cars to sell on the black market.
"I'm definitely thankful that he didn't break in my car, didn't get nothing," Vogel said.
Vogel said she didn't have anything of value in the car. She filed a police report, and investigators are on the lookout.
In the meantime, she wants to warn others to keep their eyes and ears open.
"Just be more aware, watch what you're doing, you know, watch your vehicles," Vogel said.
If you have any information about any of the stolen cars in the area, you're asked to call McKees Rocks police at (412) 331-2302.
The dealership's build-out at 1052 Boston Post Road near Athenian Diner III, was mostly complete as of this week. Yet a lengthy to-do list remains, said Chuck Dortenzio, director of operations of Genesis of Milford. A glass shortage — and Mother Nature — were the biggest impediments to the construction project, he said.
"Every time we had something weather-critical to do on this project, it rained," Dortenzio said. "It just totally screws with schedules. This is a massive project ... We should be open to the public late winter. We are hoping sometime in January, early February, but probably in late January."
The dealership is part of a nationwide, six-year-old effort by Genesis, the luxury car division of South Korean automaker Hyundai, to compete with high-end competitors such as Lexus, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, according to an article from Motor Trend magazine.
The building reflects Genesis' lofty intentions. Its street sign is a large gray horizontally shaped pylon designed to look sleek and spare. Its approximately 20-foot-tall glass windows and aluminum accents are intended to conform to "son-nim," a Korean philosophy that honors customers with an airy, stress-free environment.
The Milford site seeks the same effect. The building has glass windows about 20 feet high around a 24,600-square-foot showroom and repair facility. It will feature a living-room-ish setting with soft chairs amid the showroom that will be bordered by tall glass walls — it looks like a giant glass box — to give customers that open-air atmosphere. Four indoor gardens will add to the Korean flair, Dortenzio said.
The Planning and Zoning Board approved the project in April, but it was hampered in August with delayed delivery of $1 million of storefront glass, which rose in cost, Dortenzio said, by about 40 percent. The building features glass windows about 20 feet high around a 24,600-square-foot showroom and repair facility. The cost of the glass drove the project's estimated cost up from $9 million, he said.
Besides the basic building and roof, the exterior stucco, utilities and aluminum storefront window framing are completed, as is the first layer of pavement and the planting of the island gardens within the parking lot, Dortenzio said.
The remaining work includes: installation of the large storefront windows; the tiling and sheetrocking of the garage and showroom; the planting of four gardens inside the building; the final paving of the parking lot; and the installation of the exterior cladding, the aluminum paneling that will wrap around the building. Nor have the garage doors been installed, Dortenzio said.
The work hasn't stopped Genesis from selling cars. Their vehicles will share space in the Hyundai dealership at 566 Bridgeport Ave. until the building is completed.
The auto industry is stuck in limbo. Vontier stock might just be getting out of it.
For car companies, it hasn’t been easy being stuck someplace in the transition to electric vehicles. The old-fashioned combustion engine is on its way out, creating a major headwind for traditional auto companies. But the transition to EVs has hit some roadblocks, creating uncertainty about where it goes next.
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Vontier (ticker: VNT), which makes a variety of gear for both gas-powered and electric vehicles, has been stuck in a different kind of transition. It was spun out of Fortive (FTV) in 2020, after Fortive itself was split off from Danaher in 2016. That has left Vontier in an in-between state as investors try to figure out what the company is and where its business is going. Shares have dropped 8% since peaking in September 2021, even after gaining more than 70% this year.
Despite the lackluster returns since the spin, Vontier is a stock that can win no matter what kind of car people decide to drive. The Raleigh, N.C.–based company specializes in software and hardware for every stage of driving. It sells gas pumps to gas stations and convenience stores as well as the card readers and point-of-sale software that make them work. It helps commercial fleet owners know how their equipment is being used. It also sells the tools mechanics need to fix all the vehicles. Its products are in hundreds of thousands of locations, mainly in North America and Europe.
The top federal roadway safety watchdog says America needs to confront the potentially deadly impact of reckless auto advertising on U.S. roads — and mandate technology that prevents drivers from ever reaching the lethal speeds that automakers depict in their commercials.
The National Transportation Safety Board last week issued a slate of new recommendations aimed at addressing the structural contributors to car crashes, in response to a particularly horrifying 2022 collision that resulted in the deaths of nine people.
3D laser scan of a mini-van after a crash with a Dodge Challenger traveling 103 miles per hour. Photo: NTSB
That collision, the Board determined, was caused by the multiply impaired driver of a Dodge Challenger, who consumed cocaine and PCP before running a red light at 103 miles per hour on a 35 mile per-hour Las Vegas road. The driver of the Challenger, which is classed as a high-performance vehicle capable of unusually rapid acceleration, crashed into a mini-van that was carrying seven members of a single family — including four children between the ages of five and 15.
All seven, along with the Dodge driver and his passenger, were killed.
In addition to the driver himself, NTSB officials suggested that multiple parties played a role in the horror — including Dodge’s advertisingteam, which has become particularly notorious among sustainable transportation advocates for its aggressive marketing tactics.
And while not every automaker has openly compared its cars to “predators” or depicted them destroying “Share the Road” signs, the agency recommended that the car industry on the whole face more scrutiny for its advertising excesses, in the form of an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report that “evaluates the safety outcomes of marketing by auto manufacturers that emphasize risky behavior, including speeding.”
This Dodge Challenger ad weaves footage of drivers on race tracks with drivers on roads and parking lots, potentially blurring the line between where deadly speeds are appropriate. The National Hot Rod Association, meanwhile, banned it from competition because it did not have sufficient safety equipment.
Many countries prohibit car manufacturers from depicting dangerous driving in their ads, and some earlier research has found that those depictions "promote positive expectancies" about driving recklessly in real life.
“Some automakers are very responsible in how they market their vehicles — but there are also ones that repeatedly advertise their cars as a way to flagrantly disobey traffic laws,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told Streetsblog in an interview. “Vehicles are shown speeding on normal downtown roads ... It’s incredibly irresponsible.”
In addition to advertisers, the NTSB also recommended that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration take more accountability for its role in tragedies like the Vegas crash — starting with mandating Intelligent Speed Assistance technology that senses the local limit and either alerts the driver that they’re exceeding it, or physically limit the vehicle’s speed.
That anti-speeding tech is already required on new cars in Europe, and the NTSB has previously recommended that NHTSA at least give vehicles extra points in their New Car Assessment Program evaluations if they were similarly equipped. The Vegas crash, though, convinced the agency that it’s finally time to make ISA a full-blown motor vehicle safety standard.
“[NHTSA] views this as tech that’s not yet proven and needs more research, even while other countries are already mandating [it],” Homendy added. “The fact is, U.S. regulators are far behind; if they can do it somewhere else, we can do it here. And just using NCAP isn’t enough.”
Homendy acknowledged that drugs absolutely played a role in the Vegas driver’s rate of speed, and points out that the Board has long called for a range of systemic strategies to mitigate impaired driving of all kinds — few of which federal regulators have yet acted on, despite a recent congressional mandate to do so. Now, she says it's time for the federal Department of Transportation to aggressively pursue speed-limiting technology as part of its anti-DUI strategy — because all too often, the two behaviors are deeply intertwined.
“We know for a fact that about 12,000 people a year die on our nation’s roads in speeding-related crashes," added Homendy. "We know about 11,000 die in impairment-related crashes, and a lot of times, it’s a mix of the two. ... If we had tech that prevented speeding and impaired driving, we would save lives. We’ve recommended both, and NHTSA has done absolutely nothing."
While America waits for real traffic violence prevention strategies, the Board says NHTSA also isn't taken enough action to encourage states to track and hold recidivist speeders accountable — and if all else fails, remove their driving privileges. According to local media, the Vegas driver had racked up multiple DUIs and speeding offenses before his death, some of which were pleaded down to minor charges that did not appear on his permanent driving record and were only later discovered based on court receipts.
“The way the Nevada courts dealt with it was pleading [his offenses] down to a parking ticket — essentially, a slap on the wrist," Homendy added. "And as a result, other courts couldn’t track his history … I know there’s a lot of debate on enforcement, but other countries that are very strict on Vision Zero have very stringent consequences for violating the law, especially when it comes to reckless driving. But this individual was just passed through the system."
The board recommended that NHTSA "update the Uniform Guidelines for State Highway Safety Programs to include tracking for repeat speeding offenders," and for states to implement such better tracking whether or not federal regulators act — because if history is any indication, they probably won't.
"It takes the political will to take a strong stance on safety and make the changes that need to happen to save lives," Homendy added. "If we’re serious about implementing a National Roadway Safety Strategy that saves lives, we need to implement these changes. so other families don’t have to face similar tragedies."
A former member of staff at Rockstar who worked on a raft of Grand Theft Auto games has pulled their behind-the-scenes development blog after someone from the studio got in touch.
Former Rockstar Games technical director Obbe Vermeij started the blog on November 11 to discuss their time at Rockstar North, the Scottish studio behind the Grand Theft Auto series.
A number of eye-catching blog posts delved into the development of the older Grand Theft Auto games and even other Rockstar projects. One revealed fresh insight into the collapsed development of Agent, a game Rockstar has never formally cancelled, and further posts discussed other scrapped projects, such as a Scottish zombie survival game.
Something about ruining the Rockstar mystique or something.
But it seems some staff at Rockstar North weren’t thrilled by the revelations, and Vermeij has now pulled all posts from the blog. In a statement, Vermeij said: “Today I got an email from Rockstar North. Apparently some of the OGs there are upset by my blog. I genuinely didn't think anyone would mind me talking about 20 year old games but I was wrong. Something about ruining the Rockstar mystique or something.
“Anyway, this blog isn't important enough to me to piss off my former colleagues in Edinburgh so I'm winding it down. I'll maybe just leave a few articles with anecdotes that don't affect anyone but me. I would love for Rockstar to open up about development of the trilogy themselves, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen anytime soon. Maybe I'll try again in a decade or two.”
In a follow-up post on X/Twitter, Vermeij claimed Rockstar hadn’t “forced” his hand. Rather, “it was just a former colleague letting me know that several people in North didn't like the Blog. That's all.”
IGN's Twenty Questions - Guess the game!
Vermeij’s comments revolve around the secrecy Rockstar maintains about its video games and how they’re made. The long-running company keeps its cards close to its chest, rarely talking about the development of its games or cancelled projects. Sam Houser, Rockstar co-founder and president, hasn’t given an interview to press in years.
However, in recent years various media reports have shone a light on the culture and working conditions at Rockstar, particularly for the development of 2018 smash hit Red Dead Redemption 2. Since then, Rockstar has reportedly made significant improvements to the way it makes games, which are of keen interest ahead of the reveal of Grand Theft Auto 6.
Rockstar isn’t alone in its commitment to secrecy. The video game industry, particularly in the big-budget, triple-A space, is often criticised for a lack of transparency, not just in terms of development, but also in terms of success. Unlike Hollywood, for example, the video game industry does not by by default report sales and revenue figures for individual titles.
Next month marks the 25th anniversary of Rockstar Games. It plans to release the hotly anticipated debut trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 at some point in early December. Perhaps the company plans its own retrospectives on its past output. For now, though, Vermeij’ blog will not be among them.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Auto startup Callum has revealed images and specs of an electric off-roader named the Skye.
The Skye will weigh around 2600 pounds, built on a space-frame chassis with 13.7 inches of ground clearance, and offer about 170 miles of range between charges.
The company says it will have "curated variants" ready for Europe in spring 2024. Whether it comes to the U.S. is still an open question.
Ian Callum is one of the world's best-known car designers, the former styling boss of both Jaguar and Aston Martin. As such his design résumé includes highlights from the DB7 to the i-Pace. Against that list, the Callum Skye is definitely a radical departure.
After leaving Jaguar in 2019, Callum founded an eponymous (but capitalized) company named Callum, together with several other former JLR execs. The company's first project was a high-end restomod version of the original Aston Martin Vanquish, one we experienced in 2020. Since then, Callum has apparently done a substantial amount of uncredited "white label" work for other automakers. Now it is getting ready to launch an all-new vehicle under its own branding: a lightweight EV that you're seeing in these rendered images.
Named Skye after the Scottish island, it is set to feature a space-frame chassis, all-wheel drive, and genuine off-road ability thanks to what engineering director Adam Donfrancesco says will be up to 21.6 inches of wheel travel and 13.7 inches of ground clearance. The Skye's proportions make it look a little like a side-by-side coupe, but it is actually set to be considerably larger, with a 159-inch overall length and a 74.8-inch width, plus what we're told will be a two-plus-two seating configuration inside the unseen cabin.
Working out exactly what to call it is a challenge, even for Callum himself. "I like the notion that you can't really categorize it," he says when we spoke to him and Donfrancesco by phone. "It's a little like the i-Pace in that regard; people will have to decide what they think it is. I know it will have an off-road ability which is not too far from some of the ultimate off-roaders, but we also want it to be an urban car as well."
The Skye's space frame will use carbon-fiber links between metal joining sections, with Donfrancesco confirming that it is unique to Callum and not shared with any other manufacturer. Bodywork will be made from lightweight composite material. Suspension will be fully independent, with two different articulation options to allow buyers to choose more or less ground clearance.
Power comes from a 42.0-kWh lithium-ion battery, although an ultrafast charging alternative capable of being fully replenished in just 10 minutes is also planned. As launched, the Skye's target weight will be 2535 pounds—very svelte for an EV—with a static 50/50 weight distribution. CALLUM hasn't released any power figures, but the target of a sub-four-second time to 60 mph suggests it will have at least 300 horsepower.
While this is very different from any of his previous projects, it is possible to see some familiar Ian Callum design touches in details like the heavily contoured fenders front and rear and the subtle curve of the roofline. “It was important to do something that looks unique," Callum says. "The top is clearly a sports-car profile, with an off-roader lower down." The double-glazed doors are intended to combine both form and function, giving a good view of the ground when maneuvering off-road.
The plan is to built the Skye at Callum's existing factory in Warwick, England, at the rate of around one a week, although with customer deliveries not starting until 2025. There is no official word on price yet. It will be less than the $600,000 (plus donor car) that was asked for the Vanquish 25, but we can't imagine something so small and elegant being cheap.
Callum's current plan is to sell the Skye within Europe, although Donfrancesco says the additional cost and effort of U.S. federal type approval is being considered.
Senior European Correspondent
Our man on the other side of the pond, Mike Duff lives in Britain but reports from across Europe, sometimes beyond. He has previously held staff roles on U.K. titles including CAR, Autocar, and evo, but his own automotive tastes tend toward the Germanic: he owns both a troublesome 987-generation Porsche Cayman S and a Mercedes 190E 2.5-16.
The electric-vehicle business presents a paradox. Virtually all auto makers now manufacture EVs. And yet the business seems like a slog for many. Auto makers including Ford Motor, Volkswagen, and General Motors have struggled to make money from the all-battery electric vehicle, or BEV. Toyota, the most successful established car company, initially opted primarily for the hybrid EV, which combines an internal combustion engine with battery technology. Even Tesla, the largest BEV maker, posted its first full-year of profitability only in 2021.
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