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Weeks after a devastating factory fire, Ford will stop building some of its most profitable, American-made SUVs. The automaker is halting production of the three-row Expedition and the luxury Lincoln Navigator, two of its biggest cash cows, for a week. The pause will next week likely extend to the Super Duty range of workhorse pickups next week. All three are built at Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant. Ford's manufacturing issues stem from a September 16 three-alarm blaze at a Novelis aluminum plant in Oswego, New York. Novelis, the world's largest recycler of aluminum and supplier of 40 percent of the metal...

A Dallas-based auto lender once praised by the U.S. Treasury for “community development” has filed for bankruptcy amid allegations of fraud and financial misconduct, leaving major U.S. banks facing heavy losses. Tricolor Holdings, which specialized in selling used cars and providing loans to illegal immigrants, built its business model on customers who could not qualify for traditional financing, according to Revolver News, which first reported the company’s collapse. The company charged high interest rates and above-market vehicle prices, marketing the program as “social lending.” Subsequent reporting by Barron’s and state regulators confirmed that Tricolor had repeatedly been cited for delayed...

Financial problems at the maker of spark plugs, wiper blades, brake calipers, brake shoes, tow hitches and motor oil has caused intense anxiety on Wall Street in recent weeks. Car parts are not usually something that causes finance chiefs to lose much sleep. But the potentially multi-billion dollar financial crisis surrounding First Brands has them rattled. As ever in finance, it’s what investors don’t know that scares the most, and with First Brands, there appears to be plenty. What is First Brands?First Brands was founded by the Malaysian-born businessman Patrick James. Starting life as Ohio-based Crowne Group, James acquired Trico,...

Since it filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 29, auto-parts supplier First Brands has come under intense scrutiny for alleged accounting malpractice, opaque financing agreements, and late payments to suppliers. In an effort to shed light into the company’s murky finances, one of First Brands’ largest creditors filed an emergency motion in bankruptcy court on Wednesday calling for an independent investigation into the beleaguered firm’s books. As much as $2.3 billion in short-term financing has “simply vanished,” wrote Richard Jacobsen, counsel for Raistone, a fund that is partly owned by O’Connor, a UBS hedge fund. Raistone said it was owed at...

Federal regulators are investigating nearly 3 million Teslas following reports of crashes linked to the automaker’s self-driving technology. The US National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Thursday it was focusing on incidents in which Teslas failed to stop at red lights or drove on the wrong side of the road — sometimes slamming into other vehicles and causing injuries. It’s the latest effort from regulators to scrutinize Elon Musk’s electric car maker, which has faced federal probes for over three years. This time, the NHTSA says it is focusing on 58 cases that resulted in 14 crashes and 23...

Key Points * Tesla posted two videos on X teasing a big announcement on Tuesday. * The stock rose more than 5% on Monday after the automaker released the videos. * The unveiling could be a long-awaited lower-cost model, the next-generation Roadster, or something else. **************************************************************** Tesla announced a new version of its full self-driving supervised technology Tuesday morning, but investors are looking for something bigger. Over the weekend, Elon Musk’s company shared a teaser clip featuring a logo-emblazoned, spinning component that could be anything from a wheel cover to a fan or turbine. The clip ended with the numbers...

An unlucky man purchased a Tesla from a used car dealership only to learn that it was nearly impossible to charge the electric vehicle after driving it off the lot. When the first charger didn’t work, Boycott sought out a few more stations. When none of them worked, he turned to the Illinois dealership and Tesla. A Tesla representative eventually got back to Boycott and let him know that “the car is currently unsupported for supercharging and warranties are voided due to [it being a] salvaged vehicle.” Tesla does offer an inspection option for customers trying to get their Tesla...

The price of used electric vehicles has come down to levels comparable with gasoline cars, a dynamic poised to boost their popularity despite the loss of a federal tax incentive for EVs, according to auto analysts. In August, the price premium for used EVs relative to used vehicles with a gasoline engine narrowed to just $897, on average, the smallest price gap on record, according to Cox Automotive. The average list price for used EVs was $34,704 in August, down 1.1% from July and 2.6% from a year earlier, it found. This price tag excludes a federal tax credit that...

Used electric vehicles have become the fastest-selling cars in the country, but one buyer said his Tesla came with a hidden surprise that left him stranded at a charger. Daniel Boycott was absolutely loving the 2022 Tesla Model 3 he bought from a used car dealership in September, until he pulled up to a Tesla Supercharger, and his car wouldn't charge. "That's when I found out it didn't work. I tried multiple stations. It's just not working," he said. A Tesla representative told him on the phone and later in an email that "the car is currently unsupported for supercharging...

If you find yourself driving along the scenic New York State Thruway near Lake George, you might get a sudden urge to sing the song “Holiday Road.” The popular Northeast vacation destination is home to a small fleet of cars associated with another very popular vacation: the fictional Griswold family’s trek to Walley World in the 1983 classic National Lampoon’s Vacation. The accidentally-purchased 1987 Ford Country Squire owned by Tom and Chrissey Dittus of Lake George. Over the past several years, he’s made the car look like the cross-country driving station wagon from the film. It’s has garnered thousands of...

The federal electric vehicle (EV) tax credit expires at midnight, ending a 17-year policy pillar that helped close the price gap with gasoline vehicles and turbocharged adoption; the immediate fallout is likely softer demand, leaner EV production, and a strategic pivot by legacy automakers toward hybrids and profitable ICE (internal combustion engine) nameplates, while stopgap leasing workarounds cushion some of the blow. The end of the subsidy is a structural shock already rippling upstream: Battery makers face a growing U.S. surplus and shelved factory plans, undermining stated reshoring ambitions and setting up a whipsaw risk of future shortages if capacity...

SAN FRANCISCO — Police in Northern California were understandably perplexed when they pulled over a Waymo taxi after it made an illegal U-turn, only to find no driver behind the wheel and therefore, no one to ticket. The San Bruno Police Department wrote in a now-viral weekend social media post that officers were conducting a DUI operation early Saturday when a self-driving Waymo made the illegal turn in front of them. Officers stopped the vehicle but declined to write a ticket as their "citation books don't have a box for 'robot'." "That's right … no driver, no hands, no clue,"...

Another auto company bankruptcy has set alarm bells ringing that the US economy could be heading toward a repeat of the 2008 financial meltdown.This time, the trouble isn't mortgages — it's car loans, which have never been bigger at $1.7 trillion. That's not as high as home loans were in 2008, but experts warn it could be enough to trigger a domino effect reaching mortgages. More Americans are stretched thin, earning less in real terms and struggling to make ends meet, forcing lenders to hand out riskier loans just to keep car sales alive. Millions are already behind on subprime...

Hertz's partnership with Amazon is another step in the e-commerce giant's slow march into auto sales. The deal could be a boon for the rental car giant, which is trying to sell more of its cars directly to consumers. Some experts say the shift toward direct online sales, especially involving e-commerce giants like Amazon, could spell trouble for dealerships, possibly even large publicly traded companies such as AutoNation, Group1, Sonic Automotive, Penske, and Asbury. Wholesale auction companies such as Manheim and AVC are also liable to be watching the shift, as direct to consumer sales could threaten their inventories. Why...

As reported by Bloomberg, insiders have told the publication that production has been reduced across two of the German giant’s EV-only factories, due to reduced demand. According to the insiders, Volkswagen’s Emden plant is cutting back staffing hours and will close its production lines for multiple days, impacting the ID.4 SUV and ID.7 sedan/wagon. The move is somewhat of a surprise, given the ID.4 and ID.7 were the third- and fifth-best selling EVs in Europe throughout the first six months of 2025, and aided Volkswagen to an overall EV sales win in August. Both models however are impacted by fluctuating...

A guy I know just had his truck repossessed. He claims he was current on his payments and because I used to be in the auto remarketing many years ago, he called (texted) me for assistance. He bought the truck and financed it with Tricolor. Here's the AI info...

A car jumped over an open Seattle bridge to get away from officers, KIRO 7 reported. Seattle Department of Transportation traffic cameras showed the car hopping the University Bridge as it was lowering Wednesday afternoon. Before jumping the bridge, the driver hit the crossing gate. They managed to elude officers, who stopped before the gap. Car found, driver not located Officers found the car near Northeast 42nd Street and Pasadena Place Northeast with a broken windshield and damaged undercarriage, according to KIRO 7. Police searched the area, but did not find the driver.

BMW built just 803 M4 GTS track weapons worldwide, and the very last one — #803 with only 305 miles — is now for sale at $1 million. MORE PICS AT SITE...................... Own the Final Chapter of BMW’s M4 GTS Legacy The 2016 BMW M4 GTS represented Munich’s most focused track weapon, a limited-production masterpiece that bridged the gap between road car and race machine. BMW produced just 803 examples globally, with only 300 originally earmarked for the United States. Now, the final M4 GTS ever produced, #803 of 803 is for sale on Exotic Car List with just 305...

Several Chevrolet Corvettes have spontaneously burst into flames — prompting General Motors to recall more than 23,000 of the iconic sports cars over a refueling defect that can ignite spilled fuel. The recall covers certain Corvette Z06 and ZR1 models from the years 2023 until 2026, some of which cost more than $100,000. The affected cars are equipped with a left-side radiator and cooling fan positioned below the filler area — hardware that can blow leaked gasoline onto hot components and spark a fire, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Many Americans love the feeling of driving a new car, but the price of that thrill is pushing household budgets to the edge. Auto loan delinquencies are spiraling, the nation now owes a staggering $1.66 trillion in auto loans, and some figures show scary similarities to the period right before the 2008 financial crash. That’s according to a new report titled “Driven to Default: The Economy-Wide Risks of Rising Auto Loan Delinquencies” from the Consumer Federation of America (CFA). It describes auto finance in the US as being “at breaking point,” and criticizes Congress and the country’s federal watchdogs for...