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Automotive News has been the primary source for all that’s happening among automotive retailers, suppliers and OEMS since 1925. Whether it is breaking news sent to a phone, digital editions and web products delivered to a desktop, or enterprise stories in the award-winning weekly print edition, Automotive News covers what is happening in the auto industry everywhere around the world.

Opening and closing the car door is one of the simplest tasks a human driver needs to do.But for a robotaxi, seemingly m...
01/09/2026

Opening and closing the car door is one of the simplest tasks a human driver needs to do.

But for a robotaxi, seemingly mundane problems such as an exiting passenger leaving a door ajar can lead to all sorts of chaos.

Waymo is addressing this vulnerability by paying people in Los Angeles about $20 to $24 to help stranded cars. Many are tow truck drivers who learn when the company needs their assistance through an app called Honk.

Cesar Marenco, who owns Milagro Towing in Inglewood, Calif., told The Washington Post that he does about three jobs a week for Waymo through Honk. He posted a video on TikTok of himself helping a car that was unable to move until he freed the seat belt caught in a rear door.

“There’s always going to be human errors when someone’s riding in a vehicle and there’s no one to tell them close the door or put your seat belt right,” Marenco told the newspaper.

Read more here: https://www.autonews.com/technology/an-waymo-paying-close-doors-0109/?utm_content=fed:read&utm_medium=soc-own&utm_campaign=aware:upr:pgv:all:always&utm_source=Facebook =1767968455

U.S. new-vehicle sales in 2025 defied expectations that they would buckle under higher prices, import tariffs and regula...
01/09/2026

U.S. new-vehicle sales in 2025 defied expectations that they would buckle under higher prices, import tariffs and regulatory uncertainty, instead achieving their best year since 2019 as consumers rushed to buy before the vehicle they wanted got more expensive.

But 2026 isn’t likely to see the same level of demand, analysts said, and continued pressure on pricing and monthly payments have some concerned that fewer consumers will be able to afford a new vehicle.

Light-vehicle sales rose 2.3 percent in 2025 to 16.3 million, according to a preliminary report from GlobalData. That includes a 4.3 percent drop in the fourth quarter, when electric vehicle sales plunged.

Read more here: https://www.autonews.com/retail/sales/an-2025-new-vehicle-sales-0108/?utm_content=fed:read&utm_medium=soc-own&utm_campaign=aware:upr:pgv:all:always&utm_source=Facebook =1767899261

Ford Motor Co. said that in 2028 drivers of its vehicles will be able to take their eyes off the road as part of a new v...
01/09/2026

Ford Motor Co. said that in 2028 drivers of its vehicles will be able to take their eyes off the road as part of a new version of its driver assistance system.

It will also, in the coming months, roll out an artificial intelligence tool that customers can use in the Ford and Lincoln app before the automaker integrates it into vehicles in 2027.

Ford’s eyes-off driving system will debut on its Ford Universal EV Platform in 2028, said Doug Field, the automaker’s chief EV, digital and design officer. The platform will underpin as many as eight low-cost EV models, including a midsize pickup expected to cost around $30,000.

The system is part of a broader push by the automaker to “democratize technology” by rolling it out in mass-market vehicles, not just high-end models, Field said at CES.

Read more here: https://www.autonews.com/ford/an-ces-2026-ford-doug-field-panel-0107/?utm_content=fed:read&utm_medium=soc-own&utm_campaign=aware:upr:pgv:all:always&utm_source=Facebook =1767886002

Ford Motor Credit faces a wage-and-hour lawsuit on behalf of customer service representatives who claim they weren’t com...
01/08/2026

Ford Motor Credit faces a wage-and-hour lawsuit on behalf of customer service representatives who claim they weren’t compensated for mandatory off-the-clock work.

The suit, which is seeking class-action status, alleges violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and breach of contract by the captive lender.

According to the complaint, customer service representatives before their scheduled shifts were required to boot up their computers and log in — a process that typically took 15 to 25 minutes. If they didn’t, they faced disciplinary action for tardiness, the suit said.

Read more here: https://www.autonews.com/retail/finance-insurance/an-ford-credit-sued-by-customer-service-reps-0108/?utm_medium=soc-own&utm_source=Instagram =1767885429

The Internal Revenue Service released proposed rules for the auto loan interest deduction, offering dealerships a playbo...
01/08/2026

The Internal Revenue Service released proposed rules for the auto loan interest deduction, offering dealerships a playbook for determining if in-use vehicles, such as demo models, were sufficiently “new” for their buyers to claim the tax break available for the first time this year.

It also gives vehicle shoppers ways to identify which vehicles will be eligible and whether their driving plans would disqualify the models from a deduction.

H.R. 1, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in July 2025, lets borrowers deduct up to $10,000 annually in interest on new vehicles for “personal” use if the model’s “final assembly” happened in America. The amount deductible decreases if the borrower makes more than $100,000 (or $200,000 for a joint filing). Even borrowers who take the standard deduction rather than itemizing deductions can claim the tax break, which will be available for the 2025 to 2028 tax years.

The National Independent Automobile Dealers Association urged lawmakers to extend the bill to used models but were unsuccessful. The enacted bill only applies to new vehicles where “the original use of which commences with the taxpayer.”

Read more here: https://www.autonews.com/retail/finance-insurance/an-irs-auto-loan-interest-deduction-rules-0108/?utm_medium=soc-own&utm_source=Instagram =1767885586

The estate of former Reynolds and Reynolds CEO Robert Brockman will pay $750 million to settle a 2020 civil lawsuit alle...
01/08/2026

The estate of former Reynolds and Reynolds CEO Robert Brockman will pay $750 million to settle a 2020 civil lawsuit alleging tax evasion and wire fraud in the U.S.

National media outlets reported in late December the estate would pay the settlement in the landmark tax evasion case.

Brockman died in 2022 at age 81 in home hospice after being diagnosed with dementia. He stepped down as CEO and chairman in 2020 about a month after his indictment on multiple counts of tax evasion, wire fraud, money laundering and other offenses.

He died awaiting trial, and the IRS continued the government’s efforts with a civil lawsuit.

The settlement addresses tax payments from 2004 to 2018. It calls for the Brockman estate to pay $456 million in back taxes and $294 million in penalties.

Read more here: https://www.autonews.com/retail/an-brockman-settlement-leaves-reynolds-unaffected-0107/?utm_content=fed:read&utm_medium=soc-own&utm_campaign=aware:upr:pgv:all:always&utm_source=Facebook =1767819551

Auto industry veteran John Krafcik says robotaxis will not replace personal vehicles this decade, but the technology beh...
01/08/2026

Auto industry veteran John Krafcik says robotaxis will not replace personal vehicles this decade, but the technology behind them is already making cars safer.

After leading Waymo’s autonomous vehicle program, Krafcik sees the industry’s next phase shaped more by advanced driver-assistance systems than by a rapid shift to fully autonomous vehicles.

“The idea that we’ll have personal robotaxis in our driveway in two years is silly,” Krafcik said at a CES event Jan. 6 where he received the Automotive Hall of Fame’s 2026 Mobility Innovator Award. “However, ADAS, assisted driving systems are getting much better and I really like that.”

In an interview with Automotive News, Krafcik called out Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, for promising fully autonomous vehicles for years without delivering them to customers.

“It’s been 10 years, that’s a decade of broken promises. There should be some accountability for that, I believe,” he said.

Read more here: https://www.autonews.com/technology/an-ces-2026-john-krafcik-says-robotaxis-will-not-replace-cars/?utm_medium=soc-own&utm_source=Instagram =1767819314

Ford Motor Co.’s U.S. light vehicle sales rose 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter, capping a year that marked the automak...
01/08/2026

Ford Motor Co.’s U.S. light vehicle sales rose 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter, capping a year that marked the automaker’s best performance since 2019.

Ford’s market share rose 0.9 percentage points in the fourth quarter and 0.6 percentage points for the full year behind record hybrid sales as well as strong truck and SUV sales. The automaker outperformed the overall market for 10 consecutive months, pushing total sales for the year up 6 percent to more than 2.2 million.

Ford also attributed the gains to the range of its portfolio, though late in the year it discontinued the entry-level Escape and Corsair crossovers and the F-150 Lightning electric pickup.

Read more here: https://www.autonews.com/ford/an-ford-q4-2025-sales-0106/?utm_medium=soc-own&utm_source=Instagram =1767798785

A U.S. Senate committee hearing on vehicle affordability that was to feature the Detroit 3 CEOs and a top Tesla executiv...
01/07/2026

A U.S. Senate committee hearing on vehicle affordability that was to feature the Detroit 3 CEOs and a top Tesla executive has been postponed after Ford pushed back on the timing and format.

The hearing, initially scheduled for Jan. 14, would have brought the heads of Ford, General Motors and Stellantis together on Capitol Hill for the first time since 2008.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation had planned to quiz the three executives and Lars Moravy, Tesla’s vice president of vehicle engineering, on “how radical global warming regulations and mandated technologies have driven up the cost of vehicles for American consumers,” according to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the panel’s chairman.

Read more here: https://www.autonews.com/manufacturing/automakers/an-detroit-3-ceos-senate-hearing-delayed-0106/?utm_content=fed:read&utm_medium=soc-own&utm_campaign=aware:upr:pgv:all:always&utm_source=Facebook =1767798033

Software-defined vehicles are again a central theme at CES.But for all of SDVs’ transformative potential, software may n...
01/07/2026

Software-defined vehicles are again a central theme at CES.

But for all of SDVs’ transformative potential, software may not extend such automobiles’ useful lives because of physical limitations.

Automakers are planning to add new functionalities and capabilities to the car using over-the-air updates. Some analyses, including one from 2021 by McKinsey and one from 2024 by Wards Auto, predicted that evolution would extend the lifetime of the vehicle as updates kept cars feeling fresh.

That shift could have profound impacts on the automotive value chain, boosting revenue generation after the point of sale even if sales volumes shrink.

Read more here: https://www.autonews.com/events/ces/an-ces-2026-sdv-hardware-0107/?utm_content=fed:read&utm_medium=soc-own&utm_campaign=aware:upr:pgv:all:always&utm_source=Facebook =1767819737

Despite an industry-wide push to go paperless and digitize the car-buying experience, customers still mostly prefer to v...
01/07/2026

Despite an industry-wide push to go paperless and digitize the car-buying experience, customers still mostly prefer to visit a dealership for financing and take home physical documents, according to two studies.

CDK Global’s 2025 F&I Shopper Study published in September found 55 percent of customers signed paper versions of the necessary auto deal documents, and 53 percent said that was their preference. The study ran from mid-April through May and received responses from 1,297 consumers.

Sixty-two percent of consumers received physical copies of their documents at the end of the auto deal, and 53 percent said they preferred to leave with such hard copies.

“The most interesting thing I saw from it was the digital-to-paper question,” CDK product marketer Jason Swiech said.

Read more here: https://www.autonews.com/retail/finance-insurance/an-cargurus-cdk-auto-finance-physical-0107/?utm_content=fed:read&utm_medium=soc-own&utm_campaign=aware:upr:pgv:all:always&utm_source=Facebook =1767797826

Sonic Automotive resolved a federal lawsuit accusing used-vehicle competitor Carvana of trademark infringement for posti...
01/07/2026

Sonic Automotive resolved a federal lawsuit accusing used-vehicle competitor Carvana of trademark infringement for posting a social media video starring NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson saying, “Every car deserves a happy driver.”

Carvana’s use of that phrase infringed on three Sonic trademarks, the suit alleged: “every car deserves a happy owner,” “every car, happy owner” and “EchoPark Automotive, every car, happy owner.”

EchoPark is Sonic’s used-car-only dealerships. Sonic says Echo is an acronym for “every car, happy owner.”

Sonic filed a notice of voluntary dismissal on Jan. 2. It did not contain details of the settlement.

The suit filed Dec. 18, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina by Sonic Automotive and two of its subsidiaries sought damages, attorney fees and an injunction against future violations.

Sonic’s lawyers and spokespeople for both companies did not respond to requests for comment.

Read more here: https://www.autonews.com/retail/an-sonic-sues-carvana-0106/?utm_medium=soc-own&utm_source=Instagram =1767733299

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Automotive News has been the primary source for all that is happening among automotive retailers, suppliers and OEMs since 1925. Whether it is breaking news sent to a phone, digital editions and web products delivered to a desktop, or enterprise stories in the award-winning weekly print edition, Automotive News covers what is happening in the auto industry everywhere it happens around the world.