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Jaguar Land Rover considering Mexican plant

Jaguar Land Rover has been expanding its production out of the UK and into overseas markets, and according to the latest word from Bloomberg, the British automaker is considering spending more than half a billion dollars to build a new assembly plant somewhere in Mexico. Since the Range Rover Sport and Evoque are two of the company's top sellers in the US, those would reportedly be the most likely to be manufactured at the Mexican plant, although Jaguars could follow as well. The automaker was previously said to be leaning towards a location in the Southern US, and while it could conceivably proceed with plans for both, it would be more likely to go with one or the other. State and local authorities below the Mason-Dixon line have been soliciting the business with various incentives, but lower labor costs South of the Border could prove more attractive to JLR and its parent company Tata. It wouldn't be the first, after all. Over the past month alone, General Motors committed to building the next Chevy Cruze in Mexico, Toyota did the same with the Corolla, Hyundai was reported to be considering a similar step, and Ford announced two new plants in the country amounting to a $2.5-billion investment. Luxury automakers like Audi, BMW and Mercedes have also been delving into Mexican production as well, blazing a path that JLR could potentially follow. The British automaker recently opened a plant in China and another in Brazil, while investing in additional facilities in the UK as well.

Land Rover, Toyota big winners in ALG top resale value awards

"Residual value is important for automakers and consumers because it's a complete indicator of the vehicle's future value." - Larry Dominique
Toyota and Land Rover took home the top brand honors in ALG's 2015 Residual Value Awards, which will be presented this week at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

NHTSA is investigating FCA shifters for roll-away accidents again, this time the rotary units

It seems FCA's shifter troubles aren't over yet. Now, just a few months after issuing a recall to resolve user-related issues with its monostable shifters, the company is again under investigation by NHTSA. The issue is related to the potential for cars to roll away when the rotary-style shifter is not properly placed in park. Two FCA models are the subject of this investigation: the 2013–2016 Ram 1500 and the 2014–2016 Dodge Durango. NHTSA estimates about 1,000,000 vehicles would be affected if a recall is issued. The investigation was started following 43 complaints of vehicles rolling away while supposedly being in "park." Among the complaints were reports of 25 crashes and 9 injuries. NHTSA does point out that in every incident, the parking brake was not engaged. A representative from FCA also gave us an official statement regarding the investigation: "FCA US is cooperating fully with NHTSA's investigation, the scope of which is limited. Other vehicles equipped with rotary shifters are not included. In accordance with prudent practice, the Company joins NHTSA in urging all drivers to use their vehicles' parking brakes." View 35 Photos As mentioned above, other Chrysler products with rotary shifters, such as the Pacifica minivan and 200 sedan, are not involved in this investigation. One of the key differences, as the representative told us, is that these vehicles have electronic parking brakes that automatically engage if the driver does not select park and then opens the door with the seatbelt unbuckled. The Ram 1500 and Durango feature mechanical, manually operated parking brakes and therefore cannot activate the brake automatically. Because this is currently an investigation, an exact cause for the incidents has yet to be determined, and none of the vehicles have been recalled. It's possible there could be a mechanical defect. However, the issue could be a confusing interface causing user error, as was the case with FCA's monostable shifters, where drivers think they've put the car in park but actually haven't. Something that indicates it could be a case of confused users is that NHTSA also opened an investigation into 2012–2014 Jaguar XF and Land Rover Range Rover Evoques for similar issues. Both vehicles use a rotary shifter and have had roll-away complaints levied as well. Even if it is a case of user error, FCA and Jaguar Land Rover may still have to recall their vehicles.