November 2016

Honda reports on environmental performance in North America

(November 8, 2016) MARYSVILLE, Ohio — Honda has released its 2016 North American Environmental Report (NAER) detailing the company"s environmental activities in North America, and disclosing the results of its efforts over the last fiscal year.

Honda expanded its global environmental strategy in 2016 in its continuing support of the company"s environmental vision and its challenging goal to halve total CO2 emissions from its products and operations globally by 2050, as compared to 2000 levels.

Ford delivers record October in China led by Mustang, Explorer

(November 8, 2016) Ford and its joint ventures in China continued to build momentum in China, posting record October sales of 107,618 vehicles, up 14 percent compared to October 2015. Year-to-date sales for Ford, Changan Ford and Jiangling Motor Corporation total 966,000 vehicles, up 10 percent.

Workhorse Group developing plug-in electric pickup truck

(November 7, 2016) CINCINNATI — Workhorse Group Inc., an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of battery-electric vehicles, today announced that it has started development of an electric pickup work truck with range extender for fleet usage.

Expected to be in production 2018, the new Workhorse W-15 light duty platform design is an extension of the E-Gen electric technology used in Workhorse medium-duty delivery trucks. 

Ford loves a parade — Reveals new float for Thanksgiving parade

(November 7, 2016) DETROIT — Ford will be the driving force behind America’s Thanksgiving Parade with an exciting new float called Mobility One and more than 40 F-Series trucks, Mustangs and Explorers leading the festivities through downtown Detroit.

Ford, which is investing $20 million in local educational and community programs this year, is also extending its support for the region with a new three-year sponsorship commitment with The Parade Company – producer of both the Thanksgiving Day parade and the annual Ford Fireworks. This Thanksgiving, Nov. 24, the parade celebrates its 90th anniversary.

Mercedes-Benz says successful October due to strong sales in China

(November 7, 2016) STUTTGART — Mercedes-Benz made a successful start to the fourth quarter with unit sales increasing by 11.5% to 173,096 vehicles in October and 1,711,017 vehicle in the first 10 months of the year representing 11.7% increase. This was the best October in company history as well as in the first 10 months. Last month, Mercedes-Benz was the market leader among the premium manufacturers in Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Japan, Taiwan and the U.S.

BMW reaches 100,000 deliveries of electric-powered vehicles

(November 6, 2016) MUNICH — Three years of BMW i, three years of innovation, three years of holistic sustainable mobility: since its market launch in November 2013, the electric-powered BMW i has not only been the technological pioneer of the BMW Group, but has also symbolized the company’s innovative strength and future orientation in every vehicle it brings onto the road.

The 2017 Mini plug-in hybrid by any other name

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(November 7, 2016) There’s an easy way to tell that the Mini brand is owned by a German automaker, the insane model names. Take, for example, the 2017 plug-in hybrid Mini Cooper Countryman. Instead of calling it the Countryman hybrid, or even the Countryman PHEV (for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), the folks at Mini decided to call its first hybrid model the Mini Cooper S E Countryman ALL4. As in Mini Cooper S E(lectric) Countryman ALL4. That’s a mouthful to spit out when you’re trying to impress your friends.

Ordering begins for all-new Ford F-150 Raptor

(November 5, 2016) DEARBORN, Mich. — As full-scale production is set to begin on the all-new 2017 F-150 Raptor this month, orders are already pouring into Ford dealerships nationwide as customer waiting lists grow and traffic on the Ford.com website topped 90,000 hits to the Raptor build and price page in the first 10 days online.