American consumers lose patience with high car prices

For years it has seemed no sticker price was too high for American car buyers. Even as average new car prices approached $50,000 this year, dealers fretted more over depleted inventories than losing customers to sticker shock. Those days are coming to an end. Increasingly stretched consumers are starting to draw the line on what they will pay for a new car, according to dealers, analysts and industry data.

Source: Wall Street Journal

The automotive industry’s decades-long push for cleaner, more fuel-efficient engines has created an unintended consequence: Today’s advanced motors are far less tolerant of manufacturing imperfections that older engines could survive. This helps explain why more than 5 million engines from five automakers are currently under recall or federal investigation — a problem that’s costly in terms of money and, potentially, a brand’s reputation.

Source: Automotive News

Cadillac Canada has issued a formal apology, though not for any product defect or service lapse. The brand’s national Facebook page published an "Official Apology Statement" crafted with distinctly Canadian humor, expressing regret for the social inconveniences that come with owning one of its vehicles.

The playful notice apologizes in advance for the attention a new Cadillac attracts. It cites predictable outcomes, such as friends requesting rides and neighbors pausing to stare. The statement specifically expresses sorrow for the "extra minutes you spend in the driveway enjoying the AKG Dolby Atmos sound system" and for how "Super Cruise making highway drives way too easy." The message wraps with a tongue-in-cheek admission of guilt for the core issue: "Forgive us for making your Cadillac irresistible. But we wouldn't have it any other way."

This campaign leans heavily into a well-known national stereotype to connect with its audience. Canadians have a global reputation for politeness and frequent apologizing, a cultural trait the marketing team deliberately embraces. By framing premium vehicle ownership as a series of socially awkward moments requiring an apology, Cadillac injects relatable humor into the luxury car conversation. The post functions as a clever feature list, highlighting standout technologies like the immersive audio system and hands-free driver assistance by portraying them as minor nuisances.

Automotive brands often employ broad, aspirational messaging, but this localized approach aims for a more personal touch. It acknowledges the customer’s reality with a wink, suggesting Cadillac understands not just their automotive needs but their cultural identity. The post has generated significant positive engagement, with commenters applauding the witty copy. This strategy demonstrates how a global automaker can use a lighthearted, region-specific voice to foster community and make the allure of luxury ownership feel both exceptional and familiar.

Source: GM Authority

China’s electric-vehicle industry captured half its domestic market in just a few years, crushing sales of gasoline-powered vehicles from once-dominant global automakers. But foreign players weren’t the only losers. Many Chinese legacy automakers also watched their sales collapse – and responded by flooding the world with fossil-fuel vehicles they couldn’t sell at home. While Western policymakers have focused on the threat of China’s heavily subsidized EVs, protecting their markets with tariffs, U.S. and European automakers face greater competition from China’s gas-guzzlers in countries from Poland to South Africa to Uruguay.

Source: Reuters

For the first time in more than three years, car buyers’ satisfaction with the purchasing process has fallen below 70%. CDK’s November Ease of Purchase survey recorded a 66% score, down greatly from 85% in October and 89% in September, marking an unprecedented decline in customer sentiment. Nearly every step of the car-buying journey experienced double-digit drops. The biggest declines were seen in trade-ins and test drives, with 45% of buyers saying it was easy to agree on a trade-in value, down from 66% in October. Similarly, 65% reported that test-driving a vehicle was easy, falling from 80% the previous month.

Source: CBT News

Ford Motor’s electric vehicle sales continued to sink in November, as the company weighs scrapping the electric version of its F-150 truck following the expiration of a federal tax credit for electric vehicles. The Dearborn, Mich., carmaker said Tuesday that it sold 164,925 vehicles in the U.S. last month, down 0.9% from the previous year. EV sales tumbled 61% to 4,247, while hybrid vehicle sales gained 14% to 16,301.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Sweden-based Volvo Cars on Wednesday reported a slump in November sales, continuing a decline this year amid pressure from trade tariffs and subdued demand in the United States. Volvo Cars, which is majority-owned by China's Geely Holding (GEELY.UL), said in a statement it sold 60,244 cars in November, a 10% drop from a year earlier, taking its year-to-date volume decline to 8%

Source: Reuters

Why The Next Wave of Software-Defined Vehicles Will Be Cheaper to Make, Have Fewer Delays

The costly learning curve of software-defined vehicle development is creating a strategic advantage for automakers who waited — a shift that could reshape competitive dynamics across the industry for the next decade. As much as 30 to 40 percent of the software architecture work from the first wave of SDVs can now be carried over, sharply reducing both development costs and time-to-market risks, said Sachin Tikekar, president and co-founder of software specialist KPIT.

Source: Automotive News

The Maranello brand’s first NFT car channels aerodynamics and AI design into a virtual racing icon, but is it a car?

Ferrari has unveiled its F76, the automaker’s first car digital “car,” issued as a non-fungible token (NFT). Ferrari says the project is meant to merge its racing heritage with next-generation technology, but it begs the question: When is a Ferrari not a Ferrari?

The name for the F76 is pulled from Ferrari’s first victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 76 years ago, when Luigi Chinetti and Lord Selsdon drove the 166 MM barchetta to the brand’s inaugural win (in a real car). Its design comes courtesy of Ferrari’s Styling Centre and is meant to serve as a “design manifesto,” or a preview of the design direction for the next generation of road and race cars. Ferrari says the car’s shape (such as it is, being digital and all) was developed using generative algorithms that blend engineering, biomimetics, and architecture into “a single organism” of form and function. (Again, not exactly how a digital car can “function.”)

The body sports a double-fuselage structure that is intended to channel “air” through a central tunnel, which Ferrari says effectively turns the body itself into a wing. Aerodynamic elements abound, such as a floating front splitter, a twin-tail rear wing, and integrated cooling channels; all were optimized using AI-based topology techniques, says Ferrari. The concept’s pop-up-style retractable headlights and vertical flanks are meant to take reference from Ferrari icons like the 1970s 512 BB and the modern F80 concept.

Inside, the F76 features two cockpits linked by drive-by-wire controls, allowing both occupants to experience the “driving” simulation simultaneously.

No word on how many of the F76 NFTs have been “produced,” but Ferrari says each was customized by Hyperclub clients via limited digital “drops.”

As if understanding NFTs wasn’t difficult enough, wrapping one’s head around the value of a virtual car will take some of us a bit longer to grasp. Still, can’t say it’s not interesting to look at.

Source: Autoweek