1965 Buick Riviera Astro Blue 401 Nailhead Air Ride Suspension on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Hyundai tops VW and Buick in China, survey says

You may be aware of the long-time competition in China between Volkswagen and Buick, but another brand apparently should be in that conversation too: Hyundai. In a recently published annual consumer survey, the Korean company actually took the top spot to beat out its German and American rivals in second and third, respectively. The results were part of the China Brand Power Index that interviewed 11,500 people around the nation and was paid for by the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. While Hyundai proved popular with voters, its sales haven't necessarily shown that yet. According to Bloomberg, the brand had falling numbers in China for the first quarter of the year. Even Ford outsold the South Korean automaker in the same period, despite scoring lower on the survey. Meanwhile, Audi ranked as the populace's favorite luxury brand, which is hardly a surprise given the Four Rings' strong sales in China. In January alone the automaker saw a 15-percent boost in volume there. Parent company VW's strong performance was somewhat more surprising, though. State media severely criticized the German automaker in March, and customers protested last year for the allegedly poor handling of a recall.

GM issues CUV stop-sale due to Goodyear tires [UPDATE]

UPDATE: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that only 6,281 tires were installed on the CUVs, when in actuality, there were 6,281 CUVs affected by the stop-sale order, totaling 25,124 tires. The story has been edited to reflect this. General Motors has issued a stop-sale order on some 6,300 of its Lambda platform crossovers due to a pending recall on their 18-inch Goodyear Fortera HL tires. The affected vehicles include all three flavors of GM's large CUV platform, consisting of the 2015 Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave. Goodyear is recalling a total of 48,500 Fortera HL tires after discovering "very small" cracks in the tread, found during internal testing. Of the affected tires, 32,100 were made for GM, Goodyear told Automotive News. According to GM, 6,281 CUVs were fitted with the questionable rubber, totaling 25,124 of the company's 32,100 tires. The remainder were stocked as replacements, a GM rep told Autoblog. The remaining 16,400 tires were built specifically for the aftermarket. Goodyear reports that the cracks do "not indicate a safety issue." Meanwhile, a GM spokesman told AN that stop-sale "will eventually lead to a non-compliance recall by GM." Featured Gallery 2015 Chevrolet Traverse View 21 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req. Recalls Buick GM GMC Safety Crossover gmc acadia chevy traverse goodyear

GM recalls 3.6 million vehicles for airbag-software problems

The Basics: General Motors is recalling 3.64 million vehicles across its lineup for an airbag-related issue. The recall covers the 2014-2015 Buick LaCrosse, Chevrolet SS, and Spark EV; 2014-2017 Chevrolet Corvette, Trax, Caprice PPV, Silverado 1500, Buick Encore, and GMC Sierra 1500; and 2015-2017 Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, Silverado HD, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, Sierra HD, Cadillac Escalade, and Escalade ESV. The Problem: Affected vehicles have a sensing and diagnostic module that controls the airbags and seat-belt pretensioners. The software it uses has a defect that can prompt the module to run a diagnostic test under specific driving conditions, which will also deactivate the front airbags and pretensioners. This means that it would be possible for those safety systems to not activate in a crash, potentially leading to injury or death. Injuries/Deaths: General Motors began an investigation that led to the recall after a 2014 Silverado was involved in a crash in which the airbags did not deploy. No information was given as to injuries or deaths. The Fix: Owners can bring their vehicles to a local General Motors dealer where a software update will be installed to fix the issue. The fix will be free of charge. If you own one: General Motors will contact owners of affected cars, and owners can check whether their vehicles are affected by visiting entering their vehicle identification numbers at either the GM Owner Center website or the NHTSA website. Owners can then schedule a time to have the update installed. Related Video: