The Scout Terra, VW Group's US-built pickup. Photo: Matti Blume / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA
In today's issue:
VW's America boss is out, while the group's actual US pickup sits inside a company VW dealers don't touch
Toyota recalls tens of thousands of Tacomas over shocks that can drop parts on the highway
Wholesale used-vehicle values cooled in July even as retail payments hit a record $808
NEW BOSS, NO TRUCK
Kjell Gruner is out as head of Volkswagen's America unit, replaced by Audi sales chief Marco Schubert, per Automotive News.
The VW brand wants a US-built pickup before the decade ends, likely leaning on its existing Ford partnership, per Carscoops and The Autopian.
VW Group already owns one: the Scout Terra, a full-size body-on-frame pickup from a $2 billion plant in Blythewood, South Carolina, priced under $60,000. Scout passed 160,000 reservations across Terra and Traveler in March, each a refundable $100 deposit, and 87% of them are for the extended-range hybrid rather than the pure EV, per Automotive World and Autoblog.
And a VW truck here would be a return, not a debut. The same report notes VW has not sold a pickup in the US since the Rabbit-based VW Pickup ended a five-year run in 1984, and puts the new truck at VW's existing Tennessee plant, per Carscoops.
The group's pickup already exists and answers to someone else: Scout has its own CEO, its own plant, and a direct-to-consumer sales model VW's dealer network never touches. That friction is already real, and The Autopian puts it plainly, reporting that VW dealers are angry that the automaker built a separate company to sell the truck they wish they had. Schubert takes over a showroom with no truck in it while the group's truck bet reports somewhere down the hall.
Also worth knowing
Tesla extends Cybertruck warranty to 8 years over a defect it won't recall: Tesla is addressing widespread power conversion system failures on the Cybertruck by stretching warranty coverage rather than filing a recall, per AutoGuide. Owners get more coverage; NHTSA gets no paper trail. #news
Photo: Alexander-93 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Honda outsources an entire vehicle platform to India, a first: Honda has handed development of a new end-to-end vehicle program to Tata Technologies to cut costs, the first time it has trusted an Indian engineering firm with full-platform work, per Automotive News and Just Auto. #analyst
Wholesale used-vehicle values cooled in July: Black Book and Cox Automotive's Manheim index both show seasonal depreciation setting in after a spring peak, per Auto Remarketing, even as the average new monthly payment hit a record $808 in July, per CBT News. Wholesale is loosening while retail keeps tightening. #market
China's market is shrinking, and US dealers want its brands kept out: China's light-vehicle market contracted 24% year over year in June to 1.7 million units, a sixth straight month of double-digit decline, with first-half sales down 23% to 9.6 million, per Just Auto citing GlobalData. That is the export pressure behind the American International Automobile Dealers Association's call this week for a US ban on Chinese brands, per Automotive News. Shrinking at home means pushing harder abroad. #analyst
Reveals & culture
Acura teases the design language that will reshape the next RDX: A new concept debuting at The Quail on August 14 previews split X-shaped taillights that will influence the fourth-generation RDX Hybrid, per Carscoops and Edmunds.
Photo: Alexander-93 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
A student-built solar EV that looks like a garage Cybertruck ends its commute with more charge than it started: Clemson's BMW-backed Deep Orange 17 wraps more than 1,700 solar cells around a 1,212-pound body and claims a net energy surplus after a 12-mile urban commute, per Carscoops.
Recalls & legal action
Toyota recalls Tacoma TRD Off-Road trucks over shocks that can drop parts on the road: Corrosion can cause shock absorber oil reservoirs to detach at speed on 2024-2025 Tacoma TRD Off-Road trucks. Counts differ by outlet: Autoblog reports approximately 48,000 US trucks, while CarComplaints puts it above 51,000 plus about 3,500 in Canada. The campaign had not yet appeared in NHTSA's database at publication. → If you own one: Because it is not in NHTSA's system yet, run your VIN through Toyota's own lookup at toyota.com/recall or call your dealer, and hold off on off-road driving until the shocks are inspected. Owner letters go out in October.
Photo: Alexander-93 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
A Wichita man sues to tear out the 200-camera license-plate dragnet he says traps him: The suit argues Flock's automated license-plate readers enable warrantless surveillance and could give other cities a template to challenge ALPR networks, per Carscoops. If it succeeds, it reopens the question of how repossession and policing data pulled from these cameras gets used downstream.
Quick links
Hennessey teases a 1,000-hp, 200-mph Ram Rumble Bee street truck: The Maximus pairs a supercharged Hellcat V-8 with the Rumble Bee SRT chassis for a claimed 1,000 hp and a 200-mph top speed, per Car and Driver.
California expands instant EV rebates to three brands: The point-of-sale discount is now live at participating dealers, per the Los Angeles Times.
Group 1 Automotive overhauls its branding strategy: The dealer group is consolidating store identities as part of a wider retail rebrand, per Wards Auto.
A 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition sold for $2.1 million: The 7.9-mile car took $2,101,000 on Bring a Trailer on August 5 after two hours of overtime bidding, per Jalopnik. Ford Authority calls the result an all-time high for the car.
Photo: MrWalkr / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Yesterday's picks
The Super Bee Returns With 600 HP and No V8: The 2027 Charger Super Bee Launch Edition makes 600 hp and 531 lb-ft, up from the 550-hp Scat Pack.
Senate Republicans file to repeal California's EV mandate rules: Four Republican senators filed Congressional Review Act resolutions targeting the EPA waivers behind California's emissions standards.
VW's majority owner says the company is at a "historic crossroads": Porsche SE, which holds 31.9% of Volkswagen, is pushing management to move faster on costs and excess capacity.
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