Auto Industry News: KOH 2022 Recap, Corvette Anniversary, Self-Driving Advancements, & Musk Gets Mouthy

It’s been a busy week for the industry, with both enthusiast and OEM news making big headlines. King of the Hammers crowned a new victor in the off-road racing arena, while Chevy tapped into some classic car enthusiasm with a big anniversary edition Corvette. GM took another step into the autonomous driving world, just as Ford said it was scrapping ADAS tech in its newer Raptor models. And Elon Musk tweets up yet another storm, while also catching some presidential shade.

Strap in, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover!

KOH 2022 Recap

Tens of thousands flocked to Johnson Valley this past week to witness the toughest one-day off-road race in the world: King of the Hammers. The grueling event did not disappoint.

While official counts aren’t in yet, social media buzz indicates nearly 100,000 racing fans descended on the dusty desert this year. (An impressive jump from last year’s anemic COVID attendance.) In fact, so many fans showed up and paid the gate fee that KOH organizers added a whopping $100k to the prize purse to be distributed to all the winners throughout the race.

Motorcycles, UTVs, Buggies, Trophy Trucks, and more blasted through the unforgiving terrain in a variety of grudge matches and desert challenges.

Notable victories went to…

…Kyle Jergensen, who nabbed victory in the Toyo Tires Desert Challenge with a time of 4:50:45. Rounding out the podium were young up-and-coming off-road racer Christopher Polvoorde (4:55:45) and Baja dominator, Luke McMillin (4:57:30). Polvoorde’s second place overall finish also landed him the honor of being the highest-ranked race finisher in a spec Trophy Truck for any major desert race.

…three-time winner, Dan Fresh, who notched another victory in his belt by taking the 4WP Every Man Challenge with a time of 5:26:51. Traditionally leading the charge in the Modified Class, Fresh switched things up this year and piloted a Bomber Fabrication buggy in the Legends Class. Taking second place – both overall and in 4800 Class – was Toby Stacy, in his very first KOH attempt (5:57:05). Third-place finisher was last year’s winner Chayse Caprara (5:58:54). A total of 138 teams competed in the 4WP Every Man Challenge this year, including Kyle Seggelin in a new EV class. Only 34 finished both laps.

…Kyle Chaney, who rocked another Can-Am UTV King of the Hammers Championship, taking his second victory in as many years with time of 4:26:02. Sharing the podium were 2020’s champ Hunter Miller (4:46:33) and Paul Wolff (4:58:05), who clawed his way up from 11th place.

For a full look at race results, click here.

Long Live the New King

This year’s top honors went to Raul Gomez, who finished the grueling 2022 King of the Hammers with a time of 6:57:12 in his brand-new UFO Fabrication buggy.

A first-time king, Gomez (and indeed, his entire off-road racing family) are known for their balls-to-the-wall driving styles that, until now, always resulted in surprisingly lower finishes. The aggression paid off this time ‘round, as both Gomez and his brother Marcos put down impressive times.

Second place went to three-time king Jason Scherer (7:12:19), while Josh Blyler took third (7:32:02). Right off the podium, but sharing in the Nitto Tire glory with Raul Gomez and Josh Blyler, were Marcos Gomez in fourth (7:39:23) and Erik Miller in fifth (7:59:12).

Corvette Marks 70th Anniversary

Chevy announced its plans to honor the 2023 model year Corvette Stingray and Corvette Z06 with a special 70th Anniversary Edition package. The anniversary Corvettes come in two unique colors: an all-new White Pearl Metallic Tri-coat or Carbon Flash Metallic. The automaker will also offer optional stripes in complementing colors, Satin Gray with the White Pearl Metallic Tri-coat and Satin Black with the Carbon Flash Metallic.

“Passion for Corvette runs deep at Chevrolet, and this anniversary is extra special because of the excitement and sales success we’ve achieved with the eighth generation of America’s iconic sportscar,” said Steve Majoros, vice president of Chevrolet marketing, in a press release. “Even after 70 years, Corvette still makes hearts race and kids dream of the open road.”

Indeed, Chevy blasted auction records last month during Barrett-Jackson’s charity sale with the first retail 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 70th Anniversary edition seeing a hammer price of $3.6 million. The VIN 001 car’s eyewatering winning bid was placed by NASCAR race team owner and Chevrolet dealer Rick Hendrick. Proceeds raised go toward the nonprofit Operation Homefront, and organization that helps military families maintain financial stability.

The 70th Anniversary Edition Corvettes feature several special touches including:

• special-edition wheels with commemorative wheel center caps
• handsome two-tone Ceramic leather GT2 or Competition Sport seats, as well as red stitching throughout, red seatbelts, and sueded microfiber seat inserts and steering wheel
• 70th Anniversary Edition exterior badging, including special Corvette crossflags
• Edge Red brake calipers
• 70th Anniversary Edition logo on seats, steering wheel, and sill plates
• Rear bumper protector and trunk cover
• Custom luggage set with red stitching and 70th Anniversary Edition logo
• Edge Red engine cover

Chevy plans to offer the 70th Anniversary Edition package when production starts later this year on the 2023 Corvette Stingray 3LT and Z06 3LZ coupe and convertible models.

GM, Ford, and the Race for Autonomous Driving

The innovation race in autonomous vehicles continued last week as GM CEO Mary Barra took her first autonomous car ride. Barra rode in a retrofitted Chevy Bolt EV, outfitted with GM’s proprietary driverless technology, Cruise. The compact AV, named Tostada, took Barra and Kyle Vogt, founder, and CEO of Cruise, for a ride through late-night San Francisco.

Cruise picked the Golden City as the place to field-test its AV technology. Initially, the company had planned to launch a “robotaxi” service in San Francisco by 2019 but missed its launch date. Some reports said the delay was because of steering issues, abrupt braking, and near-collisions. Dan Ammann, CEO of Cruise at the time, denied the allegations.

Now, it looks like the company is moving ahead with its plan to outfit San Francisco with a driverless fleet of taxis. The California DMV reportedly approved Cruise’s vehicles to operate between 10 p.m.-6 a.m. with a maximum speed of 30 mph, with or without passengers. (If the car has a driver, Cruise can run the car 24/7). Cruise also opened its driverless car tests to the public last week. San Franciscans can join a waitlist to take a free ride and witness the experience first-hand.

Cruise and the city of San Francisco have yet to share a date on when the driverless fleet will go online. Still, there’s plenty of investment money behind the project as it ramps up. According to the company’s announcement last week, Venture capital firm SoftBank Vision Fund invested an initial $900 million in Cruise in 2018. The firm doubled down with an additional $1.35 billion when the company started operating fully driverless cars.

GM and Cruise are on a tear, but Ford hit a slight snag with its own autonomous technology…

Ford Scraps BlueCruise on Raptor

Last week, GM’s long-time Motor City rival, Ford, said it was excluding its ADAS system, BlueCruise, from 2021-2022 F-150 Raptor models due to a compatibility issue. This change apparently impacts all iterations of the Raptor, particularly those with the hardware prep kit.

Removing BlueCruise from current Raptors means drivers won’t enjoy the hands-free driving feature on roads built into the system. Ford is reportedly refunding drivers who paid for the feature in advance.

If you think you’re seeing double with “Cruise” and “BlueCruise,” you’re not crazy. The extremely similar names have been the source of prior litigation between Ford and GM. The two automakers sparred in court last fall, with GM alleging that Ford’s name too closely resembled “Cruise” and could pose issues for the company. GM ended its lawsuit in early Oct. 2021 but didn’t disclose any settlement terms.

Even with its Raptor setbacks, however, Ford continues to keep pace with GM…

Blue Oval Launches Blue Advantage

Last week, the automaker unveiled plans to launch Blue Advantage, a used-vehicle marketplace. Powered by Autotrader, the marketplace lets Ford dealers list and sell certified preowned vehicles. The listed vehicles are backed by Ford coverage like a multi-point inspection and a limited warranty, based on plan level (Gold or Blue-Certified).

The announcement comes on the heels of GM recently announcing it was launching a similar online marketplace for its dealers, called CarBravo. It’s not a bad idea with online car dealers like Carvana, Carmax, and Vroom snagging some serious market share. Especially since some of the third-party outlets have a mixed reputation when it comes to vehicle and title delivery.

Mandates, Protests, & Nasty Tweets

Since the Supreme Court blocked the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate a few weeks ago, debate has continued at private companies about how they’ll handle the increasingly hot topic with their own workforces.

In the OEM world, Stellantis took a cue on Jan. 27 when it announced it was suspending its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for non-union salaried workers in the United States. This comes after the automaker’s original policy launched on Nov. 19, requiring workers to get the shot. At that point, a reported 80% of workers were already vaccinated, and more recently, the automaker said more than half of its employees have self-declared their vaccination status.

Last fall, when President Biden originally announced the mandate, the response in the industry was lukewarm. Automakers like Ford and GM weren’t opposed to vaccinations, but expressed reservations about requiring employees to get the shot. UAW president Ray Curry also piped up at the time, saying he urged workers to get the vaccine, but thought a mandate infringed on personal rights.

The topic continues to spark some severe uproar north of the border…

Ottawa “Freedom Convoy” Heats Up

A massive convoy of truckers in Ottawa is currently protesting vaccine mandates in Canada, as well as broader pandemic restrictions and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government. The disruption was sparked by Trudeau’s decision to require vaccinations for all truckers returning to Canada from the U.S., where similar regulations dictate.

Today marks Day 11 of the demonstrations, which have led to clogged intersections and police skirmishes as the fleet of big rigs jam up city streets in a downtown blockade. Reports emerged of verbal altercations, vandalism, and the blockage of ambulance drop-off zones, as well as news of another convoy blocking U.S./Canada border crossing between Alberta and Montana. With tensions and anxiety high, the Ottawa mayor declared a state of emergency on Sunday afternoon. Police seized several vehicles hauling fuel, announcing that anyone who attempts to bring material supports, including gas, to demonstrators could be subject to arrest.

Musk Weighs In

On Jan. 28, before the truckers even began arriving in Ottawa, Trudeau said he would not reverse the mandate. He also refused to meet with the groups’ members, calling them a “fringe minority.”

On Jan. 30, Tesla CEO and Twitter enthusiast, Elon Musk, jumped in on the discussion, tweeting his support for the truckers protest, and saying the “fringe minority” “is actually the government.”

Musk has been a vocal opponent of vaccine mandates, even though he and his family have been vaccinated. In his Dec. 2021 Person of the Year profile with Time magazine, Musk said, “I believe we’ve got to watch out for the erosion of freedom in America” when asked about the mandates and that, despite whether the unvaccinated are taking a risk, “people do risky things all the time.”

Presidential Cold Shoulder

Musk and Tesla have been in the headlines quite a bit in recent weeks, and not just for the divisive tweeting. The automaker recently announced it was delaying its heavily hyped EV pickup, the Cybertruck, until 2023. Vehicle delays aren’t that uncommon right now. Still, the more significant issue is that, with the delay, Tesla could fall behind other automakers releasing EV pickups, like GM’s Hummer EV pickup, the Ford F-150 Lightning, and the Rivian R1T.

While competition is a healthy thing, there are some murmurings that Musk is getting the cold shoulder from the White House and the industry-at-large. Biden met with GM CEO Mary Barra and Ford CEO Jim Farley recently, and the group distinctively made no mention of Tesla.

“I meant it when I said the future was going to be made right here in America,” the President said in a tweet that featured a video with him and Barra announcing GM’s latest EV plans for Michigan. “Companies like GM and Ford are building more electric vehicles here at home than ever before.”

It’s hard to deny that there isn’t a blatant dig here. By the numbers, Tesla has been in the top tier for EV sales. But Musk’s stance on vaccines, unions, and taxes have been at odds with the administration’s positions, which could be a big part of why they continue to focus on the Big Three and not Tesla.

Musk responded to Biden’s tweet in true form, literally spelling out his company’s name in cheerleader fashion and going on to call the president “a damp sock puppet in human form.”

Yikes.

(We’re guessing his invitation will most certainly be rescinded for that one.)

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