Car Culture

Car Culture

Polaris Inc. announced it is donating more than $120,000 to off-road vehicles (ORV), all-terrain vehicles (ATV) and snowmobile riding clubs, and organizations across the United States as a part of its TRAILS GRANTS program. For nearly twenty years, Polaris’ TRAILS GRANTS program has supported organizations and programs that promote safe and responsible riding, facilitate trail preservation, and help protect the environment and natural resources that are a part of the off-road trail systems.

“Local riding clubs and organizations are the heart of the riding community, many of them volunteering their time and resources to help maintain trails and promote responsible riding,” said Reid Wilson, President of Off-Road Vehicles, Polaris. “We are proud to support their efforts so riders of all types can continue to create memories outdoors with family and friends.”

Awarded twice annually, TRAILS GRANTS support the efforts of nonprofit organizations and local riding clubs who use the grant for trail development, maintenance projects, safety and responsible riding education initiatives and other projects.

“Support from Polaris is a huge help as we work to maintain off-highway vehicle access in the rugged rainforest of Southeast Alaska,” said Ben Hughey, Executive Director of Sitka Trail Works. “Renovating this multi-use trail system will allow more residents and visitors to enjoy the spectacular volcanic outer coast of Kruzof Island.”

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) decreased 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis in March, after rising 0.2% in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 2.4% before seasonal adjustment.

The index for energy fell 2.4% in March, as a 6.3-percent decline in the index for gasoline more than offset increases in the indexes for electricity and natural gas. The food index, in contrast, rose 0.4% in March as the food at home index increased 0.5% and the food away from home index rose 0.4% over the month.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.1% in March, following a 0.2-percent increase in February.

Indexes that increased over the month include personal care, medical care, education, apparel, and new vehicles. The indexes for airline fares, motor vehicle insurance, used cars and trucks, and recreation were among the major indexes that decreased in March.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced that the goods and services deficit was $122.7 billion in February, down $8.0 billion from $130.7 billion in January, revised.

February exports were $278.5 billion, $8.0 billion more than January exports. February imports were $401.1 billion, less than $0.1 billion less than January imports.

The February decrease in the goods and services deficit reflected a decrease in the goods deficit of $8.8 billion to $147.0 billion and a decrease in the services surplus of $0.8 billion to $24.3 billion.

Year-to-date, the goods and services deficit increased $117.1 billion, or 86.0 percent, from the same period in 2024. Exports increased $24.0 billion or 4.6 percent. Imports increased $141.2 billion or 21.4 percent.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 228,000 in March, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.2%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Job gains occurred in health care, in social assistance, and in transportation and warehousing. Wall Street forecasters had projected. Employment also increased in retail trade, partially reflecting the return of workers from a strike. Federal government employment declined.

‘March’s incredibly strong jobs report reflects President Trump’s efforts to reshape and rebuild our economy to put the American Worker First, with over 13,000 construction jobs added, U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement. ‘Additionally, growth far exceeded expectations at 228,000 jobs created, demonstrating strong expansion that will only continue when jobs that were previously shipped overseas are brought back to the United States.’

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced that the goods and services deficit was $122.7 billion in February, down $8.0 billion from $130.7 billion in January, revised.

February exports were $278.5 billion, $8.0 billion more than January exports. February imports were $401.1 billion, less than $0.1 billion less than January imports.

The February decrease in the goods and services deficit reflected a decrease in the goods deficit of $8.8 billion to $147.0 billion and a decrease in the services surplus of $0.8 billion to $24.3 billion.

Year-to-date, the goods and services deficit increased $117.1 billion, or 86.0 percent, from the same period in 2024. Exports increased $24.0 billion or 4.6 percent. Imports increased $141.2 billion or 21.4 percent.

Private sector employment increased by 155,000 jobs in March and annual pay was up 4.6% year-over-year, according to the March ADP National Employment Report produced by ADP Research in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab.

The ADP National Employment Report is an independent measure and high-frequency view of the private-sector labor market based on actual, anonymized payroll data of more than 25 million U.S. employees. The jobs report and pay insights use ADP’s fine-grained anonymized and aggregated payroll data to provide a representative picture of the private-sector labor market. The report details the current month’s total private employment change, and weekly job data from the previous month. Because the underlying ADP payroll databases are continuously updated, the report provides a high-frequency, near real-time measure of U.S. employment. This measure reflects the number of employees on ADP client payrolls (Payroll Employment) to provide a richer understanding of the labor market. As of January 2025, ADP’s Pay Insights measure captures nearly 14.8 million individual pay change observations each month, up from nearly 10 million when it launched.

“Despite policy uncertainty and downbeat consumers, the bottom line is this: The March topline number was a good one for the economy and employers of all sizes, if not necessarily all sectors,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP.

Personal income increased $194.7 billion (0.8% at a monthly rate) in February, according to estimates released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Disposable personal income (DPI) – personal income less personal current taxes – increased $191.6 billion (0.9%) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $87.8 billion (0.4%).

Personal outlays – the sum of PCE, personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments – increased $118.4 billion in February. Personal saving was $1.02 trillion in February and the personal saving rate –personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income – was 4.6%.

From the preceding month, the PCE price index – which the Fed uses to track inflation – for February increased 0.3%. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 0.4%.

The Automotive Hall of Fame is proud to announce Chrissy Taylor, President and CEO of Enterprise Mobility, as the recipient of its 2025 Industry Leader Award. This recognition honors individuals who have made a lasting impact on the automotive and mobility industries through exceptional leadership and innovation.

Taylor will be presented with the award on April 15 at the Javits Center in New York City during the Auto Forum, an exclusive industry event jointly hosted by NADA, J.D. Power, and the New York Auto Show. The award will be presented by Cox Automotive, followed by a fireside chat between Taylor and Steve Rowley, president of Cox Automotive and a member of the Automotive Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors, where they will discuss leadership, innovation, and the future of mobility.

“Cox Automotive is proud to be the presenting sponsor of the prestigious Industry Leader Award,” said Rowley. “Throughout her illustrious 25-year career at Enterprise Mobility, Chrissy has built a tremendous culture with a continued focus on her team members that has made her organization the success it is today. It is a pleasure to celebrate her as this year’s winner.”  

As the third-generation leader of Enterprise Mobility, Taylor has guided the company through significant transformation, expanding its global reach while staying committed to customer-centric mobility solutions.

“I am deeply honored to receive this award,” said Taylor. “Our growth and success at Enterprise Mobility is thanks to the invaluable support of our industry partners and our organization’s more than 90,000 global team members. Together, we can continue to meet all kinds of mobility needs for customers, helping them on every journey.”

Amy Marentic, a veteran marketing executive, has been named Genesis Motor America’s chief marketing officer. In this position, Marentic will oversee all Genesis marketing strategy and activities across the United States, driving brand awareness while contributing to increased sales and market share expansion. Marentic will report to Tedros Mengiste, chief operating officer of Genesis Motor North America.

“Amy has a proven track record of driving transformation and growth in her experience leading marketing initiatives in automotive, mobility, and technology sectors,” Mengiste said. “As we continue on our path of rapid growth, I look forward to working with Amy to strengthen our brand’s visibility across every consumer touchpoint and welcome more customers to the Genesis family.”

As CMO, Marentic will be responsible for leading the United States marketing division in the development, implementation, and management of marketing messages directed at consumers. Marentic will develop and manage the strategic business plan for all national and regional advertising, multicultural, experiential, and digital marketing, CRM, and the brand’s online presence. Additionally, Marentic will support the brand’s current and growing network of standalone retail facilities through local marketing efforts.

Marentic joins Genesis with over 25 years of global automotive and mobility experience, excelling in marketing, sales, product and brand strategy, management, and technology. Marentic held the role of global automotive director at Google, supporting and accelerating the brand’s digital transformation, delivering billions in ad revenue growth.

Prior to Google, Marentic held multiple leadership roles during an over 25-year tenure at Ford Motor Company, including as general manager for the Ford Icons business, encompassing the Bronco, Mustang, and Raptor brands, and President of Lincoln Asia Pacific. Marentic was recognized industry-wide for excellence and innovation in end-to-end product development and marketing strategies.

Marentic holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and a master’s degree in industrial and manufacturing engineering from the University of Michigan.

The University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Sentiment dipped to 57.9 in March from 64.7 last month.

“Consumer sentiment slid another 11% this month, with declines seen consistently across all groups by age, education, income, wealth, political affiliations, and geographic regions,” Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu said. “Sentiment has now fallen for three consecutive months and is currently down 22% from December 2024. While current economic conditions were little changed, expectations for the future deteriorated across multiple facets of the economy, including personal finances, labor markets, inflation, business conditions, and stock markets.

“Many consumers cited the high level of uncertainty around policy and other economic factors; frequent gyrations in economic policies make it very difficult for consumers to plan for the future, regardless of one’s policy preferences.

“Consumers from all three political affiliations are in agreement that the outlook has weakened since February. Despite their greater confidence following the election, Republicans posted a sizable 10% decline in their expectations index in March. For Independents and Democrats, the expectations index declined an even steeper 12 and 24%, respectively.”

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