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As the curtain closes on 2018, we’re looking back at the biggest stories that defined the auto industry. The industry is coming off a near-record year for sales, yet business is being complicated by the president’s trade war, and companies like
and
are lining up layoffs to position themselves for a downturn. Meanwhile, the industry mourned the passing of former Fiat-Chrysler CEO
and looked on in bemusement at
unpredictable CEO,
.
Carlos Ghosn arrested and jailed
Vying with
for the strangest story in the auto industry in 2018 is the ongoing legal saga of
. To recap: The former chairman of the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance was arrested with another former
executive, Greg Kelly, in Tokyo on Nov. 19, charged with underreporting his income and accused of other financial misdeeds. Both
and
have fired him as chairman, though he retains the position for now with
. The turn of events has raised questions about the future of the three-company alliance and speculation that
Nissan may have orchestrated his downfall
to gain power or even independence. Meanwhile, Ghosn
, where he is getting a firsthand view of Japan’s brutal criminal justice system.
Elon Musk’s wild ride
Few people (though Donald Trump comes to mind) can match the
leader for sheer bluster, raw impulse, unpredictability and ill-advised Twitter usage, and Elon Musk gave us plenty of jaw-dropping moments in 2018. There’s the juicy but relatively small-potatoes stuff: his
calling a British caver a pedophile
; his
;
locking horns with short-sellers
; his
; his
against a former employee; and that shockingly
raw confessional interview with the New York Times
in which he acknowledged using Ambien to sleep and working up to 120 hours a week. Then there was the truly consequential stuff, punctuated by his poorly orchestrated bid to take Tesla private and the
trouble it got him in with the SEC
. It all threatened to overshadow what is a more hopeful story: Tesla posted a rare quarterly profit in October on rising production numbers and strong sales of the
.
GM layoffs
All things considered, times are pretty good right now for
, which reported a $2.5 billion profit in its most recent quarterly filing and nearly $20 billion in cash on hand on strong sales of high-margin trucks and utility vehicles. Then it dropped the hammer in shocking fashion, announcing in November it would
slash as many as 14,000 jobs and end production at five plants
that build or support six slow-selling sedans. GM says the move is about being proactive, preparing for the next downturn and readjusting operations to
reflect larger industry trends
toward
and self-driving cars. But it reminded many people of the dark days a decade ago, when GM hemorrhaged thousands of jobs on its slide into bankruptcy. To others, it was a stark reminder of the brutality of modern capitalism.
Trade war rocks automakers
President Trump waded into the globalized auto industry in 2018 like a bull in a china shop,
enacting tariffs on imported steel and aluminum
, upending the North American Free Trade Agreement to strike a
new agreement with Canada and Mexico
, and
on imports from China, the world’s largest auto market. That’s increased prices for imported vehicles and U.S. exports, and you don’t have to look far to see how it has complicated things for automakers. GM has said the tariffs have added $1 billion in costs for raw materials.
, which also
scrapped plans to import the Chinese-built Focus Active
to the U.S.
, which is owned by Chinese automaker Geely, opted to
indefinitely postpone a planned IPO
. Tesla’s sales in China have
, and the German automakers are also seen as
as the trade war drags on. Just how long the trade war does drag on, or where it all leads, is anyone’s guess. But at least Trump has held off so far on his threats to target imported vehicles.
Sergio Marchionne mysteriously dies
By joining it with
, Sergio Marchiane threw
a lifeline and quickly revived its post-bankruptcy fortunes by elevating
and
into international cash cows. The former philosophy student was one of the most colorful personalities in the auto industry, known for his sweaters, chain-smoking and relentlessly pursuing mergers with the likes of General Motors. His
at age 66, in July, came ahead of his planned retirement in 2019, the result of complications following surgery on his shoulder in Switzerland that Fiat Chrysler has
. He was replaced as
chief executive by Jeep and Ram veteran Mike Manley, but many would argue no one can really replace someone like Marchionne.
Ford’s car cull
Trucks and utility vehicles have been extending their lead over traditional sedans in the U.S. market for a few years now, but
‘s announcement in April that it will
phase out all of its passenger cars
save the venerable
and double-down on profitable trucks, crossovers and SUVs sent ripples across the industry. It’s a bold move for a brand that has struggled all year with a flagging stock price, with investors saying Ford’s turnaround plan under CEO Jim Hackett lacks transparency and that it’s behind the curve on trends including electric vehicles and autonomy. The announcement also overshadowed a big year for Ford news, including a
, its expansion into
Corktown and the Michigan Central Station
, and the buzz surrounding the
.
Uber autonomy’s fatal setback
In March, a Volvo equipped with
self-driving technology
walking her bike across the street in Tempe, Ariz. The news confirmed the
public’s worst fears about autonomous vehicles
, the first known case of a fatality at the hands of a
in the United States. Federal investigators
that Uber had disabled an emergency
in the
, and the self-driving software failed to recognize the pedestrian. Uber only recently
its autonomous Volvos in Pittsburgh by pledging to have two human backup drivers, drive only during daylight hours, and stick to streets with 25 mph speed limits. Waymo, meanwhile, continues to
.
Climate change report cries out for action
That giant thud you heard in October was the sound of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s report laying out
humanity’s dwindling options to minimize the impact of a warming planet
. In short, it says our options are fast running out for limiting global temperature rise and related catastrophes, such as the wildfire that
wiped the town of Paradise, Calif., off the map
. (And just think: The U.S. seeks to
and showed up to the U.N. climate conference in Poland this month
!) Of course, driving is a significant source of the carbon emissions that are imperiling our home planet. So we put together a
for ways you, as an automobile lover, can minimize your
.
Jeep gets back into the truck game
The
brand is on fire, as shown by the rapturous reception to the
new Gladiator four-door pickup truck
. It’s essentially a longer
with a new frame and a longer wheelbase, solid payload and towing numbers, removable top and doors, and tons of cool off-road and cargo features. Everyone was calling the forthcoming truck the Scrambler, a legacy nameplate, until it officially became known as the Gladiator, which was the name of a Jeep pickup concept from 2005. Jeep hasn’t had a pickup on the market since the Comanche in 1992.
Rise of the Tesla fighters
Being
will do it, but 2018 was the year European automakers finally got serious about taking on
in offering high-end
.
burst out of the gate with the
(TIE-kahn), and consumers have reportedly
. Audi responded with the
midsize SUV to compete against the
, as did Jaguar with the
. As for the other Germans, they’re planning EVs for 2020 —
with the
, and BMW with the
and
. Better late than never?
Related Video:
from Autoblog http://bit.ly/2rTvtbC