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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

Queens man knows how to party, disrupts Mets game with van

A New Yorker and all-around true American hero took his weekend festivities a little too far and landed himself in front of a judge last week. According to NBC New York, Nelson Hidalgo drove his unassuming Sprinter to Citi Field on Saturday, June 18, around 10:45 p.m. While the Mets were getting thrashed by the Braves, Hidalgo pulled up to the intersection of 127th street and 35th avenue. Hiding within the van's cargo area were 80 speakers driven by powerful amps, around $20,000 worth of car audio. Hidalgo opened the Sprinter's rear doors, deployed his amazing speaker system, cracked a cold Coors Light, and unleashed hell. Noise complaints immediately started flooding in to the police, including one from the Mets' bullpen. Soon, Hidalgo amassed a sizable crowd who had come to rock out and marvel at the lunacy of the Sprinter's sound system. The NYPD showed up eventually and, undaunted by noise and the crowd, clapped the irons on poor Nelson. The Sprinter was impounded and Hildago was charged with second-degree criminal nuisance, general noise prohibition, disorderly conduct, and obstructing the driver's view. "I know it's illegal, but it's the weekend," he explained to the cops as they hauled him away. Once they had him in custody, the NYPD realized that Hidalgo was the person they had been looking for in connection with absurdly loud music coming from various city junkyards in the dead of night. Hidalgo, who has no prior record, spent the night in the slammer but was released the next morning with no bail on the promise that he return for his court date on August 1. Related Video:

Infiniti went out of its way to make the QX30 not a Mercedes

You can complain all you want about perceived badge engineering when a company (like Mercedes-Benz) sells a platform to another brand (such as Infiniti). The reality is that most buyers won't know the difference, and they won't even realize their Infiniti is really a Mercedes underneath or that their neighbor's GLA has the same basic parts as the QX30 they just bought. What's weird to me isn't that sameness, but the places where the two cute little utes differ. These two vehicles, which are more like tall hatchbacks, use the same Mercedes 2.0-liter turbo four and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Infiniti adds its own throttle and transmission calibrations. The suspension design is the same, although there are tuning differences. Both come standard with front-wheel drive, with all-wheel drive an option. Fuel economy matches for the FWD models, while the AWD Infiniti lags behind the Mercedes for some reason. So they're very similar despite their different looks. And design makes sense as a point of differentiation. Frankly, they go further than a lot of vehicles on shared platforms do – further, in fact, than the upcoming Nissan Navara-based Mercedes X-Class pickup does. The QX30 has its own sheetmetal and glass to separate it from the GLA-class. You probably think one looks better than the other. If you know where to look, the signs of sameness are obvious. Most major systems and pieces are shared, like the steering wheels (with different center covers), most switchgear, and things like interior and exterior door handles. Shared parts are fine as long as the parts are good ones. On that note, how many Tesla buyers realize their steering column and stalks, plus the window switches, come from Mercedes? And does that actually matter? We'd argue no. About those differences. Many are functional, like the fact the Infiniti does not carry over the Benz's Brake Hold feature – when you roll to a stop in the GLA (or any other Benz), pressing the brake pedal firmly applies the electric parking brake until you hit the gas to move again. The QX30 has an electric parking brake, but no Brake Hold feature. Someone used to driving Mercedes models will look a bit silly standing on the brake pedal to no effect. Ask us how we know. The Mercedes gauge package is carried over, but with the Infiniti font. Makes sense, although it's off-putting at first if you've seen the original, prompting a weird deja vu. Circular dash vents are replaced by rhomboid ones.