Ford’s Faulty Takata Airbag Fix Is A ‘Ticking Time Bomb’
Good morning! It’s Tuesday, February 27, 2024, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know.
Max Burkholder’s First Car Was A Recall Nightmare
1st Gear: Ford Recalls Its Takata Airbag Recall
After setting records for the number of cars it recalled last year and then kicking off 2024 with a recall of nearly 2 million Explorers, Ford is now recalling a recall as the Takata airbag fiasco comes back into the news. The company has identified “sloppy” work on some of its initial fixes, which it must now uncover and repair once again.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the Blue Oval will recall and re-inspect nearly 250,000 vehicles that were initially repaired following the Takata airbag saga. The issues with Takata airbags have so far impacted more than 65 million vehicles. As the Free Press reports:
Some customers whose repair records mistakenly reflect fixes never made are at risk from the devices, which can explode without warning and spray shrapnel on vehicle occupants. Others, drivers of certain Ranger pickups, may have incorrectly installed air bags that may not deploy in a crash, putting passengers at risk.
A Free Press investigation reviewed internal company documents, dealership memos, federal regulatory filings and court papers, showing that Ford fined some dealerships whose repair techs billed the automaker for replacing Takata air bags despite installing the devices incorrectly or not doing the work at all. A federal whistleblower complaint alleges Ford invited trouble by easing repair rules to allow low-skill techs to process the repairs quickly — a charge the automaker adamantly denies.
While the Free Press has reported that the latest Ford recall affects around 250,000 vehicles, it hasn’t identified which cars are impacted. That’s because neither Ford, NHTSA nor the Free Press actually knows what cars now need repairs.
Ford is reportedly committed to uncovering the impacted vehicles, which are mostly thought to be Ranger pickup trucks that were recalled in 2023. In that recall, the faulty Takata airbags were removed, however the replacements may have been installed incorrectly.
2nd Gear: Subaru Production Is Back Following Worker Death
Japanese automaker Subaru idled the plants producing its Forester and Crosstrek models earlier this month after a worker was killed. Now, after losing more than two-weeks-worth of output from the facilities, the company has restarted work at its sites.
Subaru paused production at its plants in Japan after a 60-year-old worker was crushed to death by a 25-ton mold, reports Automotive News. In the weeks since Subaru shuttered production, the company has reportedly lost output of thousands of vehicles. Automotive News reports:
Subaru suspended production for eight days at two assembly plants and one powertrain plant north of Tokyo — factories that manufacture key models for the U.S. Affected nameplates included the Forester and Crosstrek crossovers for export as well as the BRZ sporty coupe.
A Subaru spokesperson declined to give details about what steps the company took in the interim to review the accident and reinforce safety protocols. But suspending operations was the result of a management decision and not a union protest, the spokesperson said.
The company said the closure was out of respect for the dead worker’s family so has refused to confirm how many vehicles it missed out on as a result of the shutdown. However, Automotive News estimates that the company could have missed out on more than 20,000 vehicles as its domestic production usually sits at around 2,500 cars per day.
3rd Gear: European Automakers Commit To 2035 Gas Ban
After American automakers pressured the Biden administration into considering a softer push for more zero emission, their counterparts in Europe insist they are sticking by the region’s strict ban on gas-powered cars from 2035.
Automakers including Renault have pledged their support for the move, arguing that a ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars is more than “feasible” by 2035, reports Automotive News. While speaking at the Geneva auto show this week, Luca de Meo, president of the European automakers association, said that it wasn’t up to his industry to “argue against the regulation.” As Automotive News reports:
We are not contesting 2035,” said de Meo, who is also CEO Renault. “Now we must get down to it.”
A fossil-fuel car ban in 2035 “is potentially feasible, but the right conditions must be put in place,” he added.
Slowing demand growth for electric vehicles has increased the pressure on Europe’s auto industry to cut costs and develop more affordable models as new Chinese rivals arrive with lower-cost models.
Automakers have argued repeatedly that more government subsidies and more ubiquitous charging infrastructure are needed to spur demand for EVs and encourage mass adoption.
In an effort to cut emissions across Europe by as much as 55 percent, the trading bloc will outlaw the sale of all new gas-powered cars from 2035. Instead, all cas sold across the European Union should produce zero emissions at the tailpipe, so automakers are rushing to fill their lineup with more economical vehicles such as those powered by electricity or even hydrogen.
4th Gear: GM Is Back In Europe
On the subject of electrification across Europe, General Motors has decided that now is the right time to return to the market with an EV of its own. That’s right, the Cadillac Lyriq is now on sale in France, marking GM’s grand return to the region.
The Lyriq, which first went on sale here in the U.S. back in 2022, will be available across certain European countries, reports Reuters. Unlike here in the States where sales are all managed by GM’s dealer network, buyers in Europe will be able to pick and customize their Lyriq through an online sales portal. As Reuters reports:
Highlighting Cadillac’s French heritage – the French adventurer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded Detroit in 1701 – McQuaid said other electric models would follow using the same architecture as the Lyriq, which is made in Tennessee.
In Switzerland the Lyriq has a starting price of 82,000 Swiss francs ($93,100), but GM did not provide pricing for France.
Cadillac also plans a showroom in Paris and the Lyriq can be ordered online from March 23. The luxury EV is due to launch in other European markets, starting with Germany by year-end.
The launch of the Lyriq in France and Switzerland marks GM’s first foray into Europe since it sold off its Opel and Vauxhall brands. The two marques were offloaded to Stellantis in 2017.
Reverse: Now You’re Back, From Outer Space
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