News
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Today in Automotive History: September 28, 2020 — A London Court Hands Uber Its License Back
On Sept. 28, 2020, a London court ruled Uber “fit and proper” and restored its license. The standard it set now governs every robotaxi company.
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NHTSA Wants Your Ideas to Fix Recalls. Its Meeting Won’t Be Streamed or Recorded.
NHTSA’s new Recalls Next notice asks the public to comment on a November 5 meeting that will not be streamed or recorded. Here’s what’s buried in it.
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Detroit’s Share of U.S. Car Sales Is Headed for a Record Low. Here’s What 36% Really Means.
Cox Automotive forecasts GM, Ford and Stellantis at just over 36% of third-quarter U.S. sales, the lowest on record. The table behind the release shows who’s winning, and what it means for your next deal.
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Honda Spent $1 Billion So One Ohio Line Could Build Anything. It Still Ran Out of Room.
Honda spent more than $1 billion so its Ohio lines could build gas, hybrid and electric cars interchangeably. A reported new hybrid plant shows flexibility was never the real constraint.
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Washington Just Put the 2021 Tire Duties on Trial. Taiwan Didn’t Even Show Up.
The ITC will run full five-year reviews of duties on tires from Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, including Taiwan despite an inadequate response.
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Ford Patented a Hood That Folds Into a Workbench. It Still Has to Crumple.
Ford’s pending patent folds part of the hood forward into a work surface at bench height. The revealing detail is that the tabletop still has to crumple, and what that says about frunk economics.
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Ford Brought Nothing to This Year’s Car of the Year Fight. It Was Busy Gutting a Factory.
Ford has no vehicle among NACTOY’s 25 semifinalists for 2027. The shutout says less about Ford’s health than about where its money went: a quiet, carryover lineup and a gutted Louisville plant being rebuilt for the Fathom.
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Britain’s Steering Wheels Are on the Right. That May Be Its Smartest Battery Policy.
Britain is reviewing its EV sales mandate just as a £7 billion battery industry, a locked-in EU trade deadline and a quirk of right-hand drive collide.
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This 130-Year-Old German Supplier Made Parts Every EV Still Needs. It Filed for Insolvency Anyway.
Prinz-Mayweg made seat, dashboard and steering tubes that electric cars still need. Its insolvency shows what is really squeezing German suppliers.
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America Already Banned Chinese Cars. The Senate Is Fighting Over Who Gets to Unban Them.
Commerce banned Chinese connected-vehicle software and hardware in 2025. The Senate bill everyone calls a ban is really a fight over who gets to grant exceptions, and how public they have to be.
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JLR’s Suppliers Want Out of Cars and Into Aerospace. The Hard Part Isn’t the Metal.
JLR’s Midlands suppliers want help moving into aerospace and defence. Their letter is really a forecast about UK car volume, and the bridge they need is made of paperwork.
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Zoox’s Robotaxi Is All-Electric. The SUVs Teaching It to Drive Still Have Tailpipes.
Zoox’s Atlanta test fleet is parked after drivers reported feeling sick. The real story isn’t the robotaxi. It’s the modified gas SUVs every new city still depends on.
