So let’s jump into all three of these. I’ve covered Chinese automakers and their entrance into markets several times now. Think of this article as a sort of roundup of the information found in those others. I’ll reference them as they come up.
]]>This was what John Witchmann, a 2024 GMC Sierra owner in Minnesota found out when he took his truck in for a blinker fix. The issue wasn’t some unusually expensive problem, something broken deeper in the assembly, or any kind of neglected maintenance. The issue was LED assemblies and their distinct lack of cheap bulbs.
]]>The information here is from PUTT’s own reliability resources, including compilations of known problems, government recalls, and service bulletins.
]]>In the U.S., we are seeing pickup trucks and large sport utilities, the mainstay of income for the Detroit-based makes, see sales begin to slow down. Not heavily, yet, but it’s there. These vehicles are usually beholden to gasoline pump prices, so any volatility in the world’s oil distribution networks will mean higher prices and thus less demand for trucks and truck-based models. The non-Detroit brands selling in the U.S. generally see their primary profits coming from small crossover-SUVs. These two- and sometimes three-row models are family mainstays, doing the work of yesteryear’s minivans and station wagons.
In Europe, exports have been a large part of automakers’ success strategy, with European brands being exported (usually as luxury models) to major markets like the U.S. and China. At the same time, due largely to government incentivization, Europe has seen a vast transformation of its market moving into electric vehicles. But both of these mainstays of the European automotive climate are starting to fail.
Three big things are causing Europe’s problems.
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