Sonic Automotive, one of the nation’s largest automotive retailers, announced another successful “Rally at Exit 55” hosted last month by Black Hills Harley-Davidson during the 2023 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The company acquired Black Hills Harley-Davidson and its four sister dealerships in the Rapid City, South Dakota area in February 2023.
Black Hills Harley-Davidson is western South Dakota’s only full-service Harley-Davidson dealership and is best known for hosting the rally for 500,000 enthusiasts the past 22 years.
Despite a few days of less-than-optimal weather conditions for riders and attendees, Black Hills Harley-Davidson sold 550 new and pre-owned motorcycles, making it one of the highest-volume rally events in the dealership’s history.
“We are grateful for the Harley-Davidson community and the support we receive each year from attendees as we host the Rally at Exit 55,” said Al Rieman, general manager of Black Hills Harley-Davidson. “This event is successful due to the efforts of teammates at Black Hills and our surrounding dealerships, the communities of Rapid City and Sturgis, S.D., fantastic vendor partners, and incredible support from Harley-Davidson.”
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem stopped by the dealership with her new Harley-Davidson motorcycle purchased from Black Hills Harley-Davidson to meet rallygoers this year.
“It was an honor to have Gov. Noem visit our dealership and show her support for the Rally at Exit 55 and the Harley-Davidson brand which has a deep history in our community,” Rieman said.
In the third quarter, Tesla announced it produced over 430,000 vehicles and delivered over 435,000. A sequential decline in volumes was caused by planned downtimes for factory upgrades, as discussed on the most recent earnings call. The 2023 volume target of around 1.8 million vehicles remains unchanged.
Tesla will post its financial results for the third quarter of 2023 after market close on October 18. At that time, Tesla will issue a brief advisory containing a link to the Q3 2023 update, which will be available on Tesla’s Investor Relations website.
|
Production |
Deliveries |
Subject to operating lease accounting |
Model S/X |
13,688 |
15,985 |
8% |
Model 3/Y |
416,800 |
419,074 |
4% |
Total |
430,488 |
435,059 |
4% |
UAW president Shawn Fain responded on social media that neither CEO attended bargaining last week. “I don’t know why Jim Farley is lying about the state of negotiations," Fain said. "It could be because he failed to show up for bargaining this week, as he has for most of the past 10 weeks." Fain ordered workers to walk off the job at Ford's Chicago assembly plant and GM's Lansing, Michigan, assembly plant. In this round of playing the automakers against each other with targeted strikes, Stellantis was spared a strike escalation after last-minute concessions.
The union held $825 million in its strike fund before workers walked off the line on Sept 15. "The strike costs the union a lot of money. It's $500 per worker per week. With the additional 7,000 (workers walking out) we are talking about over $12 million a week out of the strike fund," said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions.
Penske Automotive Group, a diversified transportation services company and one of the world’s premier automotive and commercial truck retailers, announced that severe storms at its Genesis, Honda, Hyundai, and Toyota dealerships located in Round Rock, Texas, disrupted operations and caused significant hail damage to over 750 new, used and customer service loaner vehicles. The company estimates these vehicles represent over $27 million in inventory value. Most of the damaged vehicles are not repairable and are anticipated to be total losses.
The company is assessing the damage caused by these severe storms to determine their financial impact. Although a portion of the damage is expected to be covered by insurance, the company will incur the potential loss of new and used vehicles sales and will be responsible for its insurance deductibles. The company is working with each manufacturer to replace the damaged inventory as soon as possible, although it cannot predict when replacement inventory will be available.
Hyundai Motor America and Kia America have issued “park outside” recalls for more than 3.3 million vehicles due to the risk of fire.
Until these recalled vehicles have been repaired, the manufacturers say the safest place to park them is outside and away from homes and other structures. Fires can occur whether the vehicle is parked and turned off or while driving.
Owners of the approximately 1.64 million select Hyundai and Genesis vehicles listed below should park their vehicles outside and away from homes until their vehicles have been repaired, due to a new recall for the risk of fire.
Hyundai’s safety recall (NHTSA ID: 23V-651000) applies to the following vehicles and model years: 2012-2015 Accent, 2012-2015 Azera, 2011-2015 Elantra, 2013-2015 Elantra Coupe, 2014-2015 Equus, 2011-2015 Genesis Coupe, 2013-2015 Santa Fe, 2013 Santa Fe Sport, 2011-2015 Sonata HEV, 2010-2013 Tucson, 2015 Tucson Fuel Cell, 2012-2015 Veloster and 2010-2012 Veracruz.
Owners of the approximately 1.73 million select Kia vehicles listed below should also park their vehicles outside and away from homes until their vehicles have been repaired.
Kia’s safety recall (NHTSA ID: 23V-652000) applies to the following vehicles and model years: 2014-2016 Cadenza, 2011-2013 Forte/Forte Koup, 2015-2017 K900, 2010-2015 Optima, 2011-2013 Optima Hybrid, 2011-2017 Rio, 2010 Rondo, 2011-2014 Sorento, 2011-2013 Soul and 2010-2013 Sportage.
The vehicle’s anti-lock brake system module could leak brake fluid internally and cause an electrical short. An electrical short could result in significant overcurrent in the ABS module, increasing the risk of an engine compartment fire while driving or parked.
Hyundai plans to notify owners to bring their vehicles to the nearest dealership to replace the ABS module fuse. Kia is still working on a remedy.
To date, Hyundai does not know of any crashes, injuries or fatalities associated with this defect. There have been 21 related vehicle fires in the United States as well as 22 thermal incidents, including visible smoke, burning and melting.
To date, Kia does not know of any crashes, injuries, or fatalities associated with this defect. Kia knows of one engine compartment fire, three fires in the unit, and six instances of melting components.
Vehicle owners can visit NHTSA.gov/recalls and enter their 17-digit vehicle identification number to see if their vehicle is under recall. If it is, vehicle owners should call their nearest dealership immediately to schedule a free repair when a repair is available.
Owners can also download NHTSA’s SaferCar app. Enter the vehicle, tires, car seat, or other vehicle equipment, and the app will push a notification if a recall is issued.