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Average transaction prices climb to a record $36,270 in January

The automotive sector made a hash of the numbers last month, a mess of pluses and minuses clogging the transaction-price charts according to Kelley Blue Book. The overall industry rose one percent, even though buyers bought fewer cars and light vehicles in January 2018 vs 2017 using the selling-day adjusted rate. Due to January transaction prices rising to $36,270, a record for January, the value of new vehicles sold climbed more than $1 billion compared to January 2017. KBB's transaction prices don't include customer incentives, which changes the complexion slightly; average incentive spending rose to just over ten percent. The average transaction price in December 2017 was $36,756, so January dropped a bit - nothing unexpected, with the month annually blamed for "January doldrums." More revealing is the fact that the average transaction price in January 2017 was $34,910. This year's plumped-up figure came courtesy of the continued shift to crossovers, SUVs, and light trucks, which shouldn't surprise anyone who's read an automotive blog in the past 20 years. That category comprised nearly 70 percent of new vehicle sales for the month. Some manufacturers profited more than others, though. Fiat Chrysler managed 12.8 percent fewer sales in January compared year-on-year, but the company's vehicles sold for $1,300 more. The Ford brand suffered a 6.3-percent dip in sales, but brand transaction prices increased $2,000, while a Lincoln sold for $8,700 more on average. General Motors sold more cars and sold them for more money; overall GM transaction prices rose four percent, or $1,270, while a GMC traded hands for seven-percent more than in January 2017 and a Cadillac got $2,300 more on average. Of KBB's listed automakers, the Volkswagen Group got the most of out its customers, transaction prices rising at the German automaker by 5.6 percent to $42,243 in January 2018 compared to a year earlier. American Honda followed with a 4.3-percent increase to $28,991, GM in third at 4.1 percent to $40,313. Find your next car at Autoblog using our new and used car listings or the Car Finder tool. Broken out by segment, minivans rocked the table, transaction prices leaping by 7.9 percent to $35,380 compared to January a year earlier. Luxury cars boasted the next-highest rise, at 3.6 percent to $58,533.

Watch Ken Block's scary Rally America crash from inside the cockpit

Ken Block became famous for his series of Gymkhana videos, but he's a real racer in his own right. Block has competed many rounds in the FIA World Rally Championship and also rallied in the 2013 Rally America series. He nearly won that latter title last year - if not for a massive crash in the final event of the season.
Block and his co-driver Alex Gelsomino went into the Lake Superior Performance Rally needing a win to take the championship. However, missing a clump of dirt on the side of the road and one little word in the pace notes was all it took to catapult Block's Fiesta off the road and into a tumbling accident. Block says his initial reaction was anger because the crash came out of nowhere.
For 2014, Block is joining the FIA World Rallycross Championship for at least three rounds. He'll drive a Ford Fiesta for the Hoonigan Racing Division at the Norwegian, French and Turkish events of the 12-round championship. Former Formula One World Champion Jacques Villeneuve will also compete in the series.

FBI Seizes Computers, Listening Devices From Ford Headquarters

FBI agents searched Ford Motor Company's headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, this month as part of an investigation into possible corporate espionage. Eight devices, along with documents, computers and financial records, were among the items seized by federal agents on July 11, according to documents obtained by The Detroit News. The FBI searched Leach's home on June 20 and seized more than two dozen items in that search, Reuters reported. Former engineer Sharon Leach, a 17-year Ford veteran of company, was fired last month, according to The News, which first reported the story. She admitted to placing recording devices under conference tables before meetings. She told Ford security she used the recordings to assist in her meeting notes. She couldn't remove the devices after meetings without drawing attention to herself, leaving the devices to record other meetings. Leach has not been charged for any wrongdoing. Former federal prosecutor and Wayne State University law professor Peter Henning told The News that using a search warrant, rather than a subpoena, shows the FBI suspects more employees could be implicated. "If it's an economic espionage case or trade-secrets case, that rarely involves one individual," Henning told The Detroit News. "So the concern is if you send a subpoena and ask for recording devices, those things can be erased." Leach, Ford and the FBI declined to comment on the investigation. Related Gallery AOL Autos Test Drive: 2014 Ford Fiesta ST Auto News Ford espionage corporate