Usually The Morning Shift reports on the work promotions of major automakers or suppliers, but I am happy to report that we at Jalopnik are back from pickets and are reporting the news. Today we’re talking about Nissan’s response to Ukraine, Rivian’s price increase, and the absolute shitty car rental show right now. All this and much more in the “Morning Shift” dated March 7, 2022.
1st Gear: Nissan to suspend production in Russia after export stops
Nissan shared the news at the end of a longer press release about sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine:
With regard to our operations in Russia, Nissan has suspended vehicle exports to Russia and is expecting an early shutdown of production at our plant in St. Petersburg.
Nissan is just the latest in a long line of auto companies leaning on Russia as everyone tries to see how much pressure they can put on Putin.
2nd Gear: Rivian Raises Prices
Rivian is raising prices and slashing the capabilities of its wonderful electric pickups, which hit 100kph very quickly but are slow to pull into driveways. From automotive news:
Last week, the electric vehicle startup announced a $12,000 or more price increase for the R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV. Initially, these increases were for current reservation holders, but this was later dropped by CEO R. J. Scaringe.[…]Before the price increase, the four-engined R1T, with a large battery pack and an estimated range of 314 miles, started at $67,500 before shipping. Now it’s up 18 percent to $79,500. Higher trims with additional options led to more price increases. But for buyers willing to wait until 2024 for delivery, the R1T could be downgraded to a twin-engine setup as soon as possible, saving $6,000. Likewise, opting for the standard battery pack with a 260 mile estimated range saves another $6,000, bringing the base configuration back to $67,500.
We love Rivian’s product, but it’s not for nothing that we started a blog about automotive startups under the tag “Making cars is hard.”
3rd Gear: Polestar 3 Coming in 2023
A large non-Volvo crossover is due here next year, even though the cars look like Volvo, use Volvo technology and are part of the same ownership structure as Volvo, according to the non-Volvo company. From automotive news:
The Volvo subsidiary will introduce the Porsche Cayenne-sized Polestar 3 SUV in the US in the first quarter of 2023. The midsize car is key to the young brand’s ambition to increase its global sales tenfold to 290,000 units by 2025.
For this launch, Polestar is looking to avoid the delays associated with the U.S. launch of its first production vehicle, the Polestar 2 sedan.
[…]
Unlike the Chinese-made sedan, the new crossover will be built at Volvo’s US plant near Charleston. SC Hembrough expects Polestar 3 pre-orders to be completed within “seven to eight months”.
4th Gear: Hertz is filing stolen car reports at a rate of 10 cars a day
Hundreds of people who have sued Hertz for accusing them of stealing rental cars that Hertz couldn’t find continue to get big publicity, and a big report was published in USA Today detailing their woes. This article is in the public domain, but summarized in The Sun:
In recent court documents, Hertz reportedly admitted that it filed an average of 3,365 stolen vehicle reports with the police each year involving its customers.
For context, that would mean that more than 23,000 car rental firm customers have been charged with theft in the past seven years, according to USA Today.
A total of 230 customers have sued Hertz for false arrest, with some alleging false prosecution.
As we noted in February, we have absolutely no idea what’s going on at Hertz. If you work for Hertz or have insider information about what it’s like to work for a car rental company in the midst of what is by far the most chaotic time to work for a car rental company in American history, please email us at address hints on jalopnik dot com.
5th Gear: Former Nissan exec Greg Kelly returns to US after Ghosn drama
Carlos Ghosn has been in Lebanon for a while, but has just returned to America, according to Automotive News:
Former Nissan CEO Greg Kelly, acquitted of most charges and given a suspended sentence in a multi-year Tokyo trial over Carlos Ghosn’s financial misconduct, has left to return to the United States after more than three years of prosecution in Japan.
Kelly, accompanied by his wife Dee, was escorted by US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel to Tokyo Haneda International Airport and checked in for a flight home.
I forgot that Rahm Emanuel is still in big politics. I thought accusations of murdering cover-up materials by the police would give him a kick.
Reverse: Janet Guthrie Bourne.
If the first thing you mention in the history books isn’t “was an aerospace engineer,” you probably did something really cool. In the case of Janet Guthrie, who was born on this day in 1938, this means she became the first woman to qualify and race in the Indy 500 and Daytona 500, among other races.
Find out more about her on our profile here and look forward to the biopic!
Neutral: Nice to see you again!
We were at the picket last week, but we are back with a stronger contract than before! Now seems like a good time for introspection. What would you like to see more of in these daily TMS reports? What would you like to see more on the Jalopnik website?