Like everyone else slogging through the post-holiday slump, the auto industry is slowly getting back to business as usual. As such, the majority of news outlets seem fixated on studying the tea leaves left over from 2023 in order to make some predictions about 2024.

We’re not judging — we’ll be doing the same next week with our Auto Industry Recap and Consumer Electronics Show coverage. But for now, let’s catch up on some familiar big headlines that may have been lost in the shuffle over the past few weeks, what with all the general merry-making and aggressive cookie-eating.

Today’s automotive news roundup brings you:

• the latest developments between GM’s Cruise and its frenemy- the entire city of San Francisco,
• the UAW’s most recent strategic moves on the labor chessboard,
• contentious happenings in the world of emissions,
• and, of course, the fresh drama coming out of Tesla.

We’ve got some ground to cover, so let’s dig on in.

Cruise v San Francisco

It’s a tale as old as time – er, well, recent times. A hot-shot tech startup sets its sights on disrupting an industry and sells the dream to hungry investors, only to become dogged by bright red flags heralding its eventual failure.

Is this the future for GM’s self-driving subsidiary, Cruise? Recent developments indicate it’s a possibility.

Quick Recap: How’d we get here?

Launched as more of an “aftermarket” self-driving tech company, Cruise joined the GM family only three years after its 2013 founding. The automaker’s decision to allow the startup to remain largely independent seemed like a wise strategy – and the fledgling soon grew wings, gobbling up market value and regulatory support.

But, as the last few months have shown us, the tides turn fast in the tech world.

Since an Oct. 2 incident which saw a hit-and-run victim suffer a second and devastating impact from a Cruise vehicle, the company has been floundering to stay upright. Public support evaporated, along with the company’s license to operate robotaxis in San Francisco. With damage control formally initiated, Cruise grounded all its fleets nationwide, pushed the resignation of its founder and CEO Kyle Vogt, and quickly started “restructuring.”

Now down about 24% of its workforce — compliments of a big Christmastime layoff (ouch) — the company is still laboring under the weight of several government investigations. Additionally, GM has pulled back on funding and growth plans, essentially putting a giant pin in the entire operation.

Recent Happenings

During an investor conference in October, GM CEO Mary Barra said the automaker remained positive about Cruise and its future, but that the pace of expansion would be “more deliberate when operations resume.”

“Our priority now is to focus the team on safety, transparency and accountability,” she said.

This feels a bit like when a parent says “we’ll see” when their child asks “Am I still grounded??” Still, we’d be shocked to see Cruise fully close up shop. The automaker owns 80% of the tech company, and has sunk about $8 billion into it since the 2016 acquisition.

That tally may be rising this week. On Friday, Cruise offered California regulators $75,000 to resolve an investigation into its failure to disclose certain details in the aforementioned pedestrian crash. Specifically, the company is accused of omitting information about the self-driving vehicle’s pullover maneuver – which resulted in the hit-and-run victim being dragged an additional 20 feet at 7 mph.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) ordered Cruise to appear at a hearing next month, during which its investigatory findings would be made public. Cruise requested the hearing be deferred and offered the $75k as an alternative form of dispute resolution. Will the CPUC take the money? We should have more details by next week.

In Other Interesting News…

GM is seeking to recover $108 million in taxes, along with $13 million in interest, that it claims the city of San Francisco has been wrongly imposing since 2016. According to GM, the city unfairly tied the automaker’s tax bill to the startup self-driving unit, Cruise – linking it to more than $3 billion in global revenue. GM argues the two companies are wholly separate, with different operations and revenue models, and therefore cannot be taxed as one. Furthermore, the automaker argues that Cruise didn’t even generate revenue until 2022.

The 411 on UAW

Talk about a big year for labor advocates; 2024 was certainly one for the books. After a six-week-long strike against Detroit’s Big 3, the United Auto Workers Union secured historic new contracts complete with 25% wage increases, the elimination of lower-pay tiers, and a reinstatement of 2009 cost-of-living adjustment formulas, among other concessions.

While not every rank-and-file member walked away happy, the majority approved of the new deals. That support was largely thanks to the union’s fiery new president, Shawn Fain, who prioritized transparency during this year’s negotiations – and promised even bigger gains come 2028.

His plan for future success? Organize, organize, organize.

Employing a Strategy

The UAW is taking its show on the road, initiating a recruitment plan not unlike the Stand-Up Strike strategy. Similar to how the Detroit automakers couldn’t predict where a work stoppage would occur, nonunion companies will be kept on their toes about where an organizing campaign may pop up since the UAW is rallying workers at multiple automakers simultaneously.

As a result, nonunion automakers are suddenly finding extra dollars in the operating budget to provide big pay increases for factory workers. Toyota bumped pay 9%, while Honda raised wages 11%. Hyundai went further and matched what the UAW negotiated in Detroit — 25% over the next four years. Most recently, Tesla gave its Nevada workers a 10% increase.

Will it be enough to stave off the push for unionization? Eh, maybe in the past; but we’re not so sure this time.

Lining Up the Chessboard

The UAW’s radical transparency during the 2023 negotiations served as a clever display of what union muscle can do. Nonunion workers will undoubtedly be thinking about the freshly-inked contracts their fellow auto workers are holding, as well as the higher paychecks.

Additionally, the UAW has some notable government support behind it.

President Biden joined the picket line back in September, raising some eyebrows at the unprecedented show of loyalty. Though, for a man who calls himself the most pro-union president in history, it is perhaps not entirely out of character. The move also served the White House’s efforts to build trust with powerful unions like the UAW and Teamsters – both of which have yet to announce their endorsements for a 2024 presidential candidate.

More recently, the UAW found a friend in Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer. On Wednesday, she announced her plans to seek lawmaker approval for a $25 million tax rebate program that aims to boost vehicle sales in the state. The program prioritizes battery-electric and hybrid cars, along with any vehicle specifically made in a unionized plant.

And lastly, last week, a group of 33 Democrat senators sent a letter to the 13 nonunion automakers, urging them to remain neutral to and not interfere with UAW organizing efforts. “We believe a neutrality agreement is the bare minimum standard manufacturers should meet in respecting workers’ rights, especially as companies receive and benefit from federal funds related to the electric vehicle transition,” the letter first reported by Reuters said.

In Case You Missed It…

Last week, the UAW reached a tentative deal with auto parts maker Allison Transmission. The agreement, which covers 1,500 workers in Indianapolis, guarantees a $20/hour starting wage for UAW employees along with retroactive pay hikes until Nov. 15 last year and attractive bonuses. Workers are expected to vote in support of the new terms.

Tesla Check-In

We here at The Engine Block are honestly considering making this a standing segment in the weekly news roundup in 2024, as the company and its cowboy CEO seem incapable of going even one week without generating a spicy headline.

The most recent drama comes via a Reuters special report, alleging that Tesla blamed drivers for failures of automotive parts that it knew were defective.

According to the publication, tens of thousands of Tesla customers experienced serious failures of critical steering, suspension, and wheel assembly components – many in relatively new vehicles. Yet, while documents show engineers acknowledged the design flaws internally, the company continually denied the problems in statements to U.S. regulators and the public, and even went so far as to shift some of the repair costs to customers.

The company responded to the Reuters investigation on Twitter/X, calling the headline “wildly misleading” and the entire story “riddled with incomplete and demonstrably incorrect information.” However, neither the company nor its polarizing CEO responded to any detailed requests for comment on the many documents, interviews, and records the publication consulted when drafting its report.

Did you know…?

Reuters wasn’t the only outlet serving up bombshell reports. The Wall Street Journal dropped a doozie over the weekend, publishing a report detailing Elon Musk’s alleged recreational drug use. According to the publication, the billionaire’s use of drugs – including LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, mushrooms, and ketamine – has executives and board members at Tesla and SpaceX worried about financial and legal risks.

What Else You Need To Know This Week

Here are a few headlines we’re keeping an eye on and think you should too.

Cummins Set to Pay Very Expensive Clean Air Act Violation

No one likes coming in second place – especially when the designation is in regards to record payouts. Unfortunately for Cummins, the diesel juggernaut just took home the second-largest environmental penalty ever secured by the U.S. Justice Department. (If it’s any consolation, the $1.675 billion fine is the biggest civil penalty doled out by the DOJ under the Clean Air Act. So, there’s that.)

Cummins is accused of installing emissions defeat devices on hundreds of thousands of RAM 2500 and 3500 pickup truck engines dating back to 2013. The company agreed to pay the hefty fine as part of a penalty agreement, but insists it has seen “no evidence that anyone acted in bad faith and does not admit wrongdoing.”

State Group Suing Over New Emissions Rules

A group of 21 U.S. states is suing the Biden Administration over its attempts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The 283-page civil complaint filed on Dec. 21 argues that the Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration are overstepping their authority to “unconstitutionally” push the President’s “radical climate agenda,” thereby circumventing proper legislative process.

The legal challenge, led by Kentucky, bears signatures from attorneys general in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

A common thread to the states’ complaints is that new emissions rules are too “arbitrary,” and a one-size-fits-all approach simply cannot work in a country as large and varied as America. Supporters point to the unique demands of rural areas, the impracticality of a wholesale switch to electric power, and the lack of clear guidance from the federal government on what successful climate goal progress looks like.

Stellantis Says ‘No Thanks’ to Vehicle Expos

In addition to sitting out SEMA in November and the Consumer Electronics Show set to start tomorrow, Stellantis said it is also pulling out of the Chicago Auto Show along with a few smaller, regional expos. The automaker plans to evaluate its participation on a “case-by-case basis,” a spokesperson said, in an effort to be “as efficient as possible” with media and marketing dollars.

Stellantis was blunt about show participation back when UAW contracts were being finalized, stating that it would be cutting costs as part of its strike contingency plan. So far, it looks like enthusiasts can expect to see corporate attendance at the upcoming New York International Auto Show in the form of Camp Jeep, but no word yet on the Detroit show in September. In Canada, the automaker is leaving participation up to its dealer partners.

The Engine Block is your one-stop source for any and all auto industry news. Keep an eye on our weekly round-up of enthusiast coverage, product reviews, vehicle spotlights, auto show/expo features, and more. Check back Wednesday for everything you need to know about the 2024 King of the Hammers and then circle back around on Friday for a handy primer on how to accurately measure your truck bed for aftermarket accessories.