Auto Industry News: Mack Truck Workers Join UAW Strike, Nissan & Renault Get New CEOs, Dyson Scraps EVs, and Automakers Consider Flying Cars?!

The UAW strike drags on, as Mack Trucks joins the fight. Nissan and Renault both see high-level shake-ups as they try to restructure in a post-Ghosn period. Vacuum-maker Dyson backs out of $3 billion electric vehicle project. And major automakers turn to flying cars as a possible new venture.

GM-UAW Update, Mack Truck Workers Join the Picket Line

As the UAW strike on GM crests day 29, pressure amplifies for the two sides to come to a resolution. Negotiations resumed early Monday morning after officials spent the weekend reviewing the most recent round of proposals, tackling such issues as healthcare benefits, temporary work contracts, and wage increases.

But that didn’t stop both sides from getting in a few low-blows in the public arena.

On Friday, GM sent a letter to its workers stressing how critical it was that the two sides came to an agreement sooner than later, calling for “around-the-clock” bargaining. The letter’s message was compounded by GM’s chief labor negotiator, who claimed that UAW reps are “dragging their feet,” taking nearly a week to respond to a proposed plan and only doing so after five subcommittees had a chance to resolve a “series of issues.”

The UAW argues that GM isn’t taking the matter seriously. It has thanked its union members for “holding the line,” increasing strike pay to $275 a week and approving members’ fill-in jobs to help make ends meet.

From the Detroit Free Press:

The two sides will continue efforts to reach a tentative agreement before considering alternatives. Here are some possibilities in the event that the two sides continue without any progress:

• Hire a federal or private mediator to come in and help resolve the issues.
• The UAW could switch target companies to Ford Motor Co. or Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
• The parties could bring in the “heavyweights” — Barra and UAW President Gary Jones to negotiate directly. Jones, who has been implicated in an ongoing federal corruption investigation that has led to 11 charges, mostly of union officials, was one of the people meeting with Barra on Wednesday.
• Bargain intensively and get a deal done.

Mack Trucks Jump On Board

Meanwhile, the UAW strike has spread, now including another iconic American brand—Mack Trucks. More than 3,600 hourly workers from six plants across Pennsylvania, Baltimore, Florida, and Maryland, have joined the picket line to fight for much the same issues as their GM brethren.

The strike comes as a bit of a surprise, as orders for Class 8 trucks fell sharply this year. In fact, Mack (which is part of the Volvo Group) had already announced plans to slow production in the weeks around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

Regardless, UAW members began striking Sunday morning calling for “dignity, fair pay, and job protections” as they “carry on their shoulders the profits of Mack,” according to a prepared statement by Ray Curry, secretary-treasurer of the UAW and director of the Heavy Truck Department.

Mack Trucks’ President Martin Weissburg said via statement that he was “surprised and disappointed that the UAW decided to strike, rather than to allow our employees to keep building trucks and engines while the parties continued to negotiate.” However, he believes that the “positive working relationship” between the two sides is evident and negotiations are already progressing.

This is the first time Mack workers have gone on strike since a 9-day walkout in 1984.

CEO Shake-Ups at Nissan, Renault

To put it bluntly, Japanese automaker Nissan has been having a rough go of things recently. Sales and profits are low, the brand is in the midst of a major identity crisis, and its past two CEOs have either resigned or been arrested for alleged white-collar crimes.

Now, the third person to take the job in only a few years—Makoto Uchida—certainly has his work cut out for him. The 55-year-old is a longtime Nissan employee, and has already helped lead the brand into the ultra-important Chinese marketplace. He is seen as a fresh, “younger” executive who will hopefully usher in fresh, profitable ideas to stabilize the brand.

“The board concluded that Uchida is the right leader to drive the business forward,” chairmen Yasushi Kimura said at a Tokyo press conference last week. “We expect Uchida to lead the company as one team, immediately focus on the recovery of the business, and revitalize the company.”

With plans to “refresh all core models and introduce more than 20 new ones,” Nissan also hopes to up EV and AV sales through global restructuring efforts, according to Automotive News. Uchida is also a supporter of the Nissan-Renault alliance, having been involved in joint projects with the French partner in the past.

Renault recently ousted its own CEO, Thierry Bollore.

The French automaker is likely parting ways with Bollore due to his ties to former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, in attempts to turn over a new leaf with Nissan. For now, chief financial officer Clotilde Delbos will take over as interim CEO.

Dyson Scraps Electric Vehicle Project

Two years after announcing it would be taking the bolt step from vacuum development to electric vehicle production, Dyson has made the sudden decision to scrap the $3.1 billion project. According to a letter from CEO James Dyson to staff on Thursday, the company could not find a way to make the project commercially viable.

The decision has been seen by some as a tipping point for the blossoming EV market, adding uncertainty to already-worrying sales—falling for the first time ever in July and a record 23% in August. However, competition in the segment is also heating up, with major players like VW, Ford, Toyota, and GM throwing massive funds at new R&D, production, and marketing.

Perhaps Dyson’s plan was simply too ambitious. For now, the company plans to stick to manufacturing solid-state batteries (something it has proven it does well) and will branch out into other new technologies like AI and robotics.

Major Automakers Turning to Flying Cars

If you thought a vacuum manufacturer making electric vehicles was strange, then how do you feel about respectable automakers devoting funds to flying cars?

Last month, Hyundai hired an actual, real-life NASA engineer to run its new flying car division, while more recently, Porsche has partnered with airplane maker Boeing to create a concept luxury electric flying vehicle meant for ride-sharing. And speaking of ride-sharing, the on-demand car hailing giant Uber is also developing a flying taxi with aircraft producer Bell Flight.

While we here at The Engine Block find this misguided (Read: terrifying), as we haven’t even perfected safely driving on the ground, it appears this high-flying future might come sooner than we thought.

A 2018 study by Porsche Consulting predicts that the “air mobility market” (perhaps the most Silicon Valley phrase ever coined) will be up and running by 2025. According to Automotive News, Boeing has already begun testing an “aerial car prototype” capable of transporting 2-4 people roughly 50 miles. This came just months before Airbus showcased its own autonomous flying/driving prototype in partnership with Audi.

At this point it’s only a matter of time before Elon Musk starts tweeting about a Tesla with wings, right?

Around the Circuit

Formula 1

Valtteri Bottas was the man of the evening at the Suzuka Circuit, winning the Japanese Grand Prix ahead of Sebastian Vettel and teammate Lewis Hamilton for his first victory since April.

Hamilton, who would have ensured his third consecutive championship with a win in Japan, was not thrilled after the race and spoke out against his team. Despite leading a good portion of the race, Hamilton was forced to finish the race on old tires, costing him about ten seconds of valuable time.

“That was just a f***-up,” Hamilton complained to his race engineer Pete Bonnington during the race. “How have I lost that much time? I am basically out of the race.”

“Today could have been done better. There have been multiple scenarios this year where that has been the case. We should have got a one-two but the strategy was not optimum for me,” Hamilton said after the race.

Despite the disappointing finish, Hamilton is still the leader on points and could lock up the championship in two weeks with a win at the Mexico Grand Prix on October 27.

NASCAR

Monster Energy Series

Rainy conditions put a damper on Sunday’s Monster Energy Series race at the Talladega Superspeedway this weekend after only 57 laps.

Despite race officials bumping up the race’s start time to try and avoid the inclement weather, the fifth of ten races in the Monster Energy playoff series will resume Monday at 2 p.m.

At the time the race was stopped, Ryan Blaney was the surprise leader, setting the pace for 15 laps of the total 188 and overcoming a spin on entry to a pit stop and pit-speeding penalty to keep the lead.

Fans should tune in to NBC on Monday, Oct. 14 at 2 p.m. to see if Blaney can hold onto his lead.

Gander Truck Series

Spencer Boyd was awarded his first win of the season at Talladega this weekend after Johnny Sauter was penalized for a block below the yellow line on Riley Herbst.

Despite crossing the finish line first, Sauter would end up in 14th after the review. Disappointed after the race, he felt he robbed his team of a hard-fought victory. “I went down to put a little block in him,” Sauter said, “but then when I did, I got hooked sideways. But that’s just plate racing. You know, I didn’t block his advance or anything like that… I just hate it for my guys. They deserve better than that.”

For Boyd, who finished second only .132 seconds behind Sauter, the win became the icing on a celebratory cake. “I was sitting there, and I’m like, man, second is amazing for us,” Boyd said. “We’re happy. We finished fourth at Daytona in this truck, then one of my crew guys was like, ‘You just won!’ I can’t believe this. Two weeks ago, I wasn’t running this race.”

The second race of the Round of 6 will be in two weeks at Martinsville Speedway — the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 will be on Oct. 26 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

NHRA

Due to inclement weather, the 12th Annual NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway were postponed until Monday, October 14th.

Gates are set to open at 9 a.m. EST with the Top Fuel category set to lead off proceedings at 10 a.m.

Rebelle Rally

For race fans looking for a little long-form action, tune into the Rebelle Rally this week. The first all-women’s off-road navigation rally in the U.S. kicked off October 10th and will wrap up the 19th, with race participants covering more than 2,000 kilometers of stunning Nevada and California desert.

The best part is you can watch all the action from wherever you are with just a click. Check it out here!