2008 Toyota Camry on 2040-cars

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180,000 new vehicles are sitting, derailed by lack of transport trains

If you're planning on buying a new car in the next month or so, you might want to pick from what's on the lot, because there could be a long wait for new vehicles from the factory. Locomotives continue to be in short supply in North America, and that's causing major delays for automakers trying to move assembled cars.
According to The Detroit News, there are about 180,000 new vehicles waiting to be transported by rail in North America at the moment. In a normal year, it would be about 69,000. The complications have been industry-wide. Toyota, General Motors, Honda and Ford all reported experiencing some delays, and Chrysler recently had hundreds of minivans sitting on the Detroit waterfront waiting to be shipped out.
The problem is twofold for automakers. First, the fracking boom in the Bakken oil field in the Plains and Canada is monopolizing many locomotives. Second, the long, harsh winter is still causing major delays in freight train travel. The bad weather forced trains to slow down and carry less weight, which caused a backup of goods to transport. The auto companies resorted to moving some vehicles by truck, which was a less efficient but necessary option.

Porsche 911 Carrera 4, Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio and a chat with Jean Jennings | Autoblog Podcast #626

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer, Associate Editor Byron Hurd and special guest Jean Jennings. The gang kicks off with a discussion about the cars they've been driving — 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera 4, 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio and the 2020 VW Tiguan. They shift gears to talk about the latest news gleaned from a press conference concerning the 2021 Supra, then, they reach into the mailbag to help a listener buy a performance car. Lastly, Greg has a chat with special guest Jean Jennings. Autoblog Podcast #626 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio 2020 Volkswagen Tiguan R-Line 2021 Toyota Supra news Spend My Money Jean Jennings interview Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

Nissan, Toyota offering payment deferments to people affected by government shutdown

Two weeks into the budget-related government shutdown and it sounds like some progress is finally being made, but that doesn't really help furloughed government employees pay their bills. To help out a little, Nissan and Toyota are joining Hyundai with offering payment deferments to current owners and lessees.
In a release, a Nissan spokesperson said the company is "sympathetic to any of our customers who find themselves in difficult financial circumstances - many times outside of their control."
Both Japanese automakers are allowing payment extensions of up to 90 days without penalties or fees. Unlike the Hyundai Assurance Plan, though, it doesn't seem like the Nissan or Toyota assistance will be extended to those who are still in the buying process. Scroll down for press releases from both companies about their respective payment deferment programs.