Richard Read
CarConnection
New Orleans, LA, United States
Contact Richard
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Past articles by Richard:
Ford recalls 143,000 vehicles in U.S., including F-150, Mustang, Explorer, Focus, Taurus
This morning, Ford Motor Company issued four recalls affecting more than 143,000 late-model Ford vehicles, including the Mustang, Explorer, Focus, Taurus, and F-Series pickups. RECALL #1: 2015-17 Ford F-150 Crew Cab, 2017 F-250 and F-350 Super Duty Crew Cab UNITS AFFECTED: 141,340, including... → Read More
New study of self-driving cars puts Google at the back of the pack
Every few months, we learn a bit more about the state of self-driving cars and who's winning the race to bring them to market. Depending on the criteria being used, the rankings can shift pretty dramatically, as we can see in a new report from Germany's Cologne Institute for Economic Research. That... → Read More
Great news: Denmark is cutting the tax rate on new cars to 100 percent
Maybe you've just graduated from college and you're looking for a Scandinavian adventure. Maybe you're having a mid-life crisis and you want to shake things up a bit. In either case, you might've asked yourself: should I move to Denmark? If so, and if the answer to that question was a resounding... → Read More
Honda wants you to get your Takata airbag inflator replaced NOW
For years, car owners have driven to dealerships to have their fatally flawed Takata airbag inflators replaced. But despite the headlines, news stories, and repeated announcements about the biggest recall in automotive history, some people haven't listened. Honda, for one, has had just about enough... → Read More
Volkswagen CC, Passat, Passat Wagon recalled for stalling risk: 281,000 vehicles affected
Volkswagen is recalling a decade's worth of CC, Passat, and Passat Wagon models to fix a problem with their fuel pumps. Nearly 281,000 cars made between model years 2006 and 2016 will need to be taken in for repairs. The faulty fuel pump was manufactured in Germany by Kendrion Kuhnke Automotive... → Read More
SkyNet turns 20 today, and pizza delivery drivers are being replaced by self-driving cars
In the Terminator movie franchise, the ruthless, human-slaughtering artificial intelligence software known as SkyNet became self-aware on August 29, 1997. Here in the real world 20 years later, the earth isn't a debris-strewn battlefield (yet), but make no mistake, AI has evolved, and it's serving... → Read More
Would the U.S. really let Fiat Chrysler sell Jeep to Great Wall?
A week ago, we learned that Chinese automaker Great Wall is very, very interested in purchasing Jeep from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. If Great Wall were to make a formal offer, there are perfectly good reasons that FCA might accept it (e.g. moolah) or reject it (e.g. more moolah from another... → Read More
Fiat Chrysler and Volkswagen may partner after all--on an SUV
Everyone knows that Fiat Chrysler's CEO, Sergio Marchionne, has the urge to merge--or maybe even sell off one of FCA's best-performing brands. Everyone also knows that Volkswagen's mass-market VW brand is struggling in the U.S.--not just because of Dieselgate, but also because the company offers... → Read More
Diesel deathwatch: No one wants diesels in Germany, either
Germans have had a long, lusty love affair with diesels. While motorists in some parts of the world have largely ignored diesel vehicles (looking at you, America), in Germany, consumers have snapped them up as quickly as homegrown companies like BMW and Mercedes-Benz could turn them out. But not... → Read More
Lane departure and blind spot warnings keep drivers safe, says IIHS
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has published data from a new report showing that lane departure warning and blind spot warning systems help keep drivers safe on the road. That's not an especially bold or surprising statement--in fact, it's probably the opposite. But the study is... → Read More
Audi engineer implicates top brass in Dieselgate coverup
In the U.S., Volkswagen's Dieselgate drama has been largely resolved, but in Germany, the plot is thickening as a formal investigation uncovers more details about the company's wrongdoing. Most recently, a former Audi engineer has confessed that top Volkswagen officials knew about the company's... → Read More
The real cost of owning a vehicle in America
Owning a car can be a pain in the wallet. To prove it, AAA has conducted a study that reveals just how much the average American pays for the privilege of having a car (or truck, or SUV, or minivan) in her driveway. There's good news and bad news to be found in the study. Let's get the bad out of... → Read More
Brexit is causing big headaches for UK automakers
Last June, voters in the United Kingdom faced a very serious question: should the UK remain a member of the European Union as it had been since 1973, or should it back out of the political and economic alliance, going it alone? When all the votes had been counted, 51.9 percent had chosen the latter... → Read More
Ford launches cash-for-clunkers program in UK, may begin manufacturing cars in China
In the UK and in China, Ford is working to put motorists behind the wheels of cleaner, more efficient automobiles--though it's going about it in two different ways. Asian electrification In China, the Detroit automaker has announced a budding partnership with Anhui Zotye Automobile Co., a... → Read More
The downside of strong auto sales? Your used car is worth less
Since 2010, U.S. auto sales have been on a roll. That's been great for the industry as a whole and an encouraging reflection of the economy. Unfortunately, the boom hasn't been so great for vehicle owners, because it's led to a glut of used cars. And that, in turn, has dragged down residual values... → Read More
Awkward: GM may get into the ridesharing game, despite partnerships with Lyft & Uber
In January 2016, General Motors announced a major partnership with Lyft--like, $500 million major. Before the year was through, GM had revealed that it was developing a fleet of self-driving taxis with Lyft; that it would rent cars to wannabe Lyft drivers on the cheap; and, weirdly, that it would... → Read More
China's Great Wall is ready to purchase Jeep from Fiat Chrysler
Last week, we learned that after a series of awkward courtships, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles might've finally found a partner. Now, we know who that partner is: China's Great Wall. However, there are a couple of noteworthy caveats. First, for reasons that we discussed a week ago, Great Wall isn't... → Read More
It's now a little easier to find used Teslas
Tumbling used car prices have made it much easier for shoppers to score good deals on second-hand rides, with one notable exception: electric car enthusiasts have often had to search high and low to get their hands on a used Tesla. Now, those folks can breathe a bit easier, as Autotrader and... → Read More
Ford patents removable pedals, steering wheel for your self-driving car
Way back in May of 2014, Google showed the world a prototype of its self-driving car. It was small and cute and a little quirky, to be sure, but what caught the attention of most folks was its lack of a steering wheel or a brake pedal. Later that summer, California's Department of Motor Vehicles... → Read More
Hyundai gets the hint, focuses on battery-powered electric cars, not fuel cells
Today, you'd be hard pressed to find an major automaker that's still in denial about electrification. Even vocal skeptics like Volkswagen and Mazda have come around to the idea that tomorrow's cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs will run on electricity, not gasoline or diesel. But the electrification... → Read More