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Autoblog Minute: New Civic, FCA UAW Agreement, Frankfurt

FCA reaches a tentative agreement with the UAW, Honda reveals the all-new 2016 Civic, and the Frankfurt Motor Show dazzles us again. Autoblog senior editor Greg Migliore reports on the Weekly Recap edition of Autoblog Minute. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] FCA reaches a tentative agreement with the UAW, Honda reveals the all-new 2016 Civic, and the Frankfurt Motor Show dazzles us again. I'm senior editor Greg Migliore and this is your Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. FCA reached a tentative labor agreement with UAW leadership. The major focus of the new deal reportedly includes: the eventual elimination of the two-tier pay scale [00:00:30] and pooling worker health care. Now that a leadership agreement is in place, the deal will be sent to FCA's rank-and-file. FCA has about 36,000 hourly employees. We got a first look at the interior and exterior of the 10th-generation Civic. Honda expects the new sedan to dominate the C-segment when it hits dealerships later this fall. Civic coupe, five-door hatchback, Si and Type R will all come later. The 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show is in the books and there was a lot of news to get excited about. [00:01:00] Porsche introduced a fully electric concept car in the Mission E. If they make this car, Porsche could give Tesla nightmares. We also saw SUVs from Jaguar and Bentley. There were two beautiful Italian convertibles from Ferrari and Lamborghini. Meanwhile, Mercedes introduced a concept of their own in the IAA - a vehicle that experiments with adaptable aerodynamics. Those are the highlights from the week that was. Be sure to check out my full recap this Saturday. Plus we'll have some added insight on General Motors' deal to [00:01:30] avoid federal prosecution. For Autoblog, I'm Greg Migliore. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. UAW/Unions Frankfurt Motor Show Bentley Chrysler Ferrari Honda Jaguar Lamborghini Mercedes-Benz Porsche Rolls-Royce Tesla Convertible SUV Concept Cars Electric Supercars Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video porsche mission e concept

Bentley planning new Le Mans prototype for LMP2 class

Word has it that Bentley is planning a new Le Mans prototype racer. Speaking with Bentley chief Wolfgang Durheimer, Autocar reports that a new LMP2 project is underway at Crewe. The program would be run in-house instead of outsourced to a partner racing team. But while the prototype would likely use the company's 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, the chassis by necessity would have to be outsourced: the three major sanctioning bodies recently got together to approve Dallara, Oreca, Riley-Multimatic, and Onroak exclusively to supply LMP2 chassis, so Bentley would have to base its design around one of theirs. The British automaker might have a number of reasons for restricting itself to the LMP2 class. Chief among them is likely the presence of both Porsche and Audi in the top-tier LMP1 category, and parent company Volkswagen's likely reluctance to send another one of its brands into the same fight. Another is budget: developing and fielding a competitive LMP1 program can be as costly as running an F1 team, whereas the prospect of sourcing and adapting an LMP2 chassis from an approved supplier would cost Bentley far less. But another factor not to be discounted is that Bentley may be choosing its battles carefully. Where the LMP1 prototypes are constricted largely to Le Mans and the FIA World Endurance Championship of which it is part, there are several series that top out at LMP2 – most notable the IMSA SportsCar Championship where Bentley is tipped to focus first, but also in the European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. In fact [SPOILER ALERT] an LMP2 entry just won the 24 Hours of Daytona for the first time, beating out the Daytona Prototypes against which they compete. Those are bragging rights that Bentley could be keen to capture, and if it plays its cards right, it could sit out the LMP2 class at Le Mans and in the WEC altogether, rather than compete for second-tier victory behind its big brothers in LMP1. That would make this program radically different from the last time Bentley built a Le Mans prototype. In the early 2000s, Bentley fielded successive versions of the Speed 8 (pictured above) with a little help from Audi, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans outright in 2003. The company then shut down the program, only to return to racing with the Continental GT3, developed with longtime Ford rally partner M-Sport and offered to privateer teams.

Bentley SUV given green light by VW board

The "will they, won't they" saga over Bentley's SUV plans appears to finally be over. They will. That's according to the German business newspaper Handelsblatt, which is reporting that the controversial SUV will be built after receiving the go-ahead from Volkswagen's board.
Known internally as "Falcon," the still-unnamed Bentley SUV will be based on the EXP 9 Concept that received wildly mixed reviews at its 2012 Geneva Motor Show unveiling. Since the EXP 9's unveiling, there have been a steady stream of leaks and rumors suggesting that the bold-faced vehicle will get a redesign prior to going into production, but it remains unclear how different the final vehicle will look.
According to Automotive News, Bentley is itself stopping short of confirming the green-light report, though it does admit that the SUV's production outlook appears "very positive." Production will likely take place in Slovakia at a plant owned by parent Volkswagen.