2012 Jaguar Xkr-s on 2040-cars

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Autoblog Podcast #392

Episode #392 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, and Chris Paukert talk about recent confessions by Autoblog Editors, the unconfirmed rumors that the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat will show up at the Woodward Dream Cruise, and the release of the North American Car and Truck of the Year long list. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the new rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #392: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: Autoblog editors come clean Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to debut at Woodward Dream Cruise NACTOY long list released In The Autoblog Garage: 2015 Jaguar F-Type Coupe 2015 Subaru Legacy Limited 2015 Audi S8 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C Hosts: Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, Chris Paukert Runtime: 01:48:05 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Editor Confessions - 34:48 Hellcat Charger Unveil - 59:56 NACTOY Long List - 01:09:51 Q&A - 01:25:43 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes

Jaguar Land Rover output at two UK plants hit by chip shortage

LONDON — Output at two of Jaguar Land Rover's (JLR) British car factories will be temporarily halted from Monday, due to COVID-19 supply chain disruption, including a lack of semi-conductors, the firm said on Thursday. "We have adjusted production schedules for certain vehicles which means that our Castle Bromwich and Halewood manufacturing plants will be operating a limited period of non-production from Monday 26th April," the Tata Motors-owned company said. The COVID-19 pandemic has driven up demand for semiconductor chips for use in electronics like computers, as people worked from home, and suppliers are struggling to adjust, hitting output at many automakers. Trade flows have also been affected. On Wednesday, carmaker Stellantis said it would replace digital speedometers with more old-fashioned analogue ones in one of its Peugeot models, as the fallout continues. Renault's finance chief said on Thursday that car production fell by tens of thousands of vehicles in the first quarter as a result of the shortage. Output at JLR's third British car factory in Solihull, central England, will continue, the company said. "We are working closely with affected suppliers to resolve the issues and minimize the impact on customer orders wherever possible."  

Child cobalt miners: Automakers pledge ethical minerals sourcing for EVs

BERLIN - Leading carmakers including Volkswagen and Toyota pledged on Wednesday to uphold ethical and socially responsible standards in their purchases of minerals for an expected boom in electric vehicle production. Demand for minerals such as cobalt, graphite and lithium is forecast to soar in the coming years as governments crack down on vehicle pollution and carmakers step up their investments in electric models. To cover its plans for more than 80 new models by 2025, Volkswagen alone is looking for partners in China, Europe and North America to provide battery cells and related technology worth more than 50 billion euros ($59 billion). Talks with major cobalt producers, including Glencore, at VW's Wolfsburg headquarters last week ended without a deal. More than half of the world's cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country racked by political instability and legal opacity, and where child labor is used in mines. On Wednesday, a group of 10 leading passenger-car and truck manufacturers announced an initiative to jointly identify and address ethical, environmental, human and labor rights issues in raw materials sourcing. The partnership dubbed "Drive Sustainability" consists of VW, Toyota Motor Europe, Ford, Daimler, BMW, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo Cars and truckmakers Scania and Volvo. The alliance "will assess the risks posed by the top raw materials (such as mica, cobalt, rubber and leather) in the automotive sector," said Stefan Crets of the CSR Europe business network. "This will allow Drive Sustainability to identify the most impactful activities to pursue" to address issues within the supply chain.Reporting by Andreas Cremer.Related Video: Image Credit: Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post via Getty Images Green BMW Ford Honda Jaguar Land Rover Mercedes-Benz Automakers Toyota Volkswagen Volvo Green Automakers Green Culture Electric Scania ethics mining