Auto Industry News: Ford Raises Prices, Stellantis Cuts Jobs, Mazda Adds Model & Baja Crowns Kings

The automotive industry continues its bumpy roller coaster ride. Heavy-duty markups are appearing on every level, with Ford delivering some recent eye-watering delivery charges. However, the automaker is also experimenting with new manufacturing strategies it hopes will eventually lower MSRPs. (Tell that to the ever-patient Bronco buyers…) Meanwhile, Stellantis is not making any friends among the rank and file as it lays off 400 workers in Illinois. The last year’s shift cuts have led to some dramatic reactions from angry workers – including a recent suspicious explosion in Windsor, Ontario. In lighter news, Mazda decided it wants to take luxury off-road. The automaker shared some details on its new crossover, the CX-50, which is scheduled to drop next spring.

But first… the grueling Baja 1000 wrapped up this weekend in Mexico, crowning some familiar motorsports royalty as 2021 desert kings.

MacCachren & McMillin Take Overall Baja Win

As one of the oldest, most challenging, iconic international desert races, the BAJA 1000 is not for the faint of heart. That said, 2021 victors Rob MacCachren and Luke McMillin made racing 1,226 miles through the scorching Mexican desert look like child’s play.

The two off-road superstars made a formidable pair in McMillin’s “Big Blue M” all-wheel drive Chevy Silverado, which bore MacCachren’s No. 11. Starting in second, the men spent a good portion of the race chasing the No. 7 Trophy Truck driven by Bryce Menzies and McMillin’s cousin, Andy McMillin. Patience paid off, as the truck’s engine failed around the 700-mile mark allowing MacCachren and McMillin to take the lead. They held the top spot for the remainder of the race and finished in 20 hours, 45 minutes and 59 seconds, with an average speed of 59mph.

“We did our homework, we did our pre-running. We hit our marks. Zero flat tires, zero close calls. We just stayed on the course and did our thing. That made it fun.” – Luke McMillin

This victory marks a second straight Baja 1000 win for Luke McMillin, whose off-road racing family now boasts 14 overall Baja 1000 victories among them. The 2021 win marks a fifth Baja 1000 victory for Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Famer Rob MacCachren.

Second place went to Mexico’s own legendary Vildosola Racing family, driven by Gustavo Vildosola Jr and his champion father Gustavo Vildosola, along with Hall of Famer Ricky Johnson. In third place was Hall of Fame SCORE champion Cameron Steele, Ryan Arciero, and Rhys Millen. The overall motorcycle title went to Mark Samuels and his teammates Justin Morgan, Kendall Norman and Brandon Prieto – whose victory earned Honda motorcycles its race-record 31st overall motorcycle victory in the SCORE Baja 1000.

An Icon Has Left the Building

On a sadder note, the racing world mourned the loss of an icon, with the recent passing of Bob Bondurant. Bondurant passed away Nov. 12 at age 88 and is survived by his wife, Pat, president and CEO of the Bondurant Racing School.

Bondurant was a fixture in the racing world since his early 20s, winning titles like National Corvette Title, Le Mans GT, the World Championship, and the Baja 500. He was also the only American to bring the World Championship trophy back to the U.S. while racing for Carroll Shelby. He retired from racing at the ripe age of 79, after winning his final race at Pomona Raceway in his #72 ERA GT40.

Bondurant’s racing school earned a reputation as the number-one racing school globally and graduated more than 500,000 students. The school also pulled significant star power, with celebrities like James Garner, Christian Bale, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Nicolas Cage, and Tom Cruise training for movie preparation. In a press announcement, Pat Bondurant said she planned to carry Bob’s legacy into the future.

“My life has been lived in two halves,” Bob Bondurant liked to say. “The first was becoming a World Champion driver. The second was teaching the world to become champions.”

Ford Bumps Up Destination Charges by Nearly 30%

For months, sticker shock has been rippling through the auto market, with some dealers punching prices way above MSRP. Additionally, the lack of overall vehicle supply has all but erased the usual discounts and deals for buyers who timed their bargain-shopping around big holidays like Labor Day and Christmas. Now, there’s another pricing wrench in the gears: destination costs. That pesky charge has been around forever, but now it looks like it’s going up for some manufacturers.

A destination charge is a fee passed on to car buyers for delivering a new car from the factory to its point of sale, usually a dealership.

For Ford specifically, those charges have been up almost 30% since 2017, with an average $1,393 jump. This is a hard pill to swallow for buyers, especially with the automaker already sitting in hot water for other pricing issues. (In late September, a wave of unhappy buyers claimed that Ford dealerships were sticking them with prices anywhere from $5,000-10,000 above MSRP after establishing an agreed-upon price. The Blue Oval tried to stay neutral on those price hikes by passing the buck to the franchisee and saying a dealership’s pricing structure is its own.)

According to a recent report by CNET Roadshow, nearly every automaker jacked up destination charges in the past four years, save for one outlier: BMW, whose fees actually dropped 17%. On average, an automaker’s destination charge increased by 12% since the 2017 model year. When tracked over the past decade, Consumer Reports notes these nonnegotiable shipping fees grew at three times the rate of inflation.

Built-To-Order

In Ford’s defense, it does show signs of attempting to solve recent price-altering challenges. The automaker shook up its manufacturing methods over the last year, adopting a build-to-order strategy rather than simply churning out vehicles for dealership delivery. Since the method is more efficient and delivers bigger profit margins, CEO Jim Farley said he wants Ford to keep with the practice even after the chip fiasco subsides. Some dealers are skeptical though, noting Americans don’t like waiting for their new car purchases.

Regardless, the strategy will be put to the test soon as Ford slots 2022 Bronco production for December 15. A Raptor version and Heritage trim series are set to join the lineup, as well as a new Everglades trim rocking a factory-installed snorkel and winch. For 2022, customers can also pair the Sasquatch Package with Ford’s seven-speed manual transmission. Other options on the docket include a roof rack, dealer-installed tube doors, and greater trim availability of the Heavy-Duty Modular bumper.

As with everything else on the market, Bronco pricing will increase for 2022.

Stellantis Cuts 400 Jobs While Prepping its EV Future

Last week, Stellantis announced plans to lay off roughly 400 workers from its Jeep Cherokee plant in Northern Illinois. The layoffs, expected to take place sometime around Jan. 14., mark the second time this year that Stellantis took a red pen to the Illinois plant’s employee roster. In July, a shift cut affected 1,641 people.

Executives at the company pointed to the semiconductor shortage as part of the downsizing, as well as new EV-priority strategies. This summer, Stellantis said it expects to have 55 electrified vehicles in the U.S. and Europe by 2025 thanks to a $35.5 billion investment.

Bad Blood

Unfortunately, on the way to that shiny new EV vision, Stellantis is doing a bang-up job of upsetting the rank and file.

Over the summer, the automaker seriously tarnished its PR image when it failed to evacuate (or even notify) employees of a bomb threat at its Toledo North Assembly Complex. While no explosive devices were found at the plant, that was not the case earlier this month at the company’s Winsor, Ontario plant where a “suspicious package” detonated in an empty storage area.

An ongoing investigation noted no injuries but marked the act as intentional and arrested a suspect last week. The local union president warned members against “lashing out,” citing anxiety around the company’s recent shift cut which affected roughly 1,800 workers, as well as the company’s mandate that all employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 by mid-December.

Bright Future?

Drama aside, Stellantis’s production slowdowns and employee woes might turn a corner in the coming months. Recent numbers point to electrified car sales in the U.S. increasing dramatically. A report on CarBuzz found that battery and plug-in hybrid electric car sales have increased 140-fold from 2011-2020, with sales exceeding 2 million EVs as of mid-2021. While customer demand can’t solve supply chain hiccups, it can help build confidence in new manufacturing strategies.

Mazda Heads Off-Road with the New CX-50

Picking up where literally every other automaker is leaving off, Mazda throws its hat into the off-road crossover arena with the new CX-50. In addition to design touches that scream “Let’s hit the trails!,” Mazda offers plenty of soft-roading product videos and a website tagline announcing “We’re more human in nature.”

Cloying marketing aside, the CX-50 does come with some impressive performance touches. The vehicle features i-Active all-wheel drive and standard Mazda Intelligent Drive Select, which lets drivers navigate different types of driving conditions like off-road and towing. Engine-wise, Mazda’s offering the naturally-aspirated Skyactiv-G 2.5 and the Skyactiv-G 2.5 Turbo engine, both paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. There’s chatter of a possible electric version, but no official confirmation on that yet.

Rugged Luxury

There’s also ample space, and design touches on the CX-50 that the outdoor lifestyle requires. The roof rails are built to haul toys like kayaks, secure storage units, or even attach a rooftop tent. Additionally, there’s an elongated cargo floor and liftgate opening intended for easy stowing of smaller gear. And, as with most crossovers, the CX-50 has higher ground clearance to get around those uneven terrains and small obstacles on the trail. On the inside, a detailed preview from Car & Driver shows some luxury touches, including a dash-mounted touchscreen, high-end upholstery, and optional sunroof.

Production of the 2023 CX-50 is slotted for 2022 at the shared Mazda/Toyota factory in Alabama with sales expected to start later next spring. Mazda hasn’t released info on pricing just yet. Considering the looks of the fancy interior, though, we’ll just say, “watch the leather, man!”

The Engine Block is your one-stop source for any and all auto industry news. Keep an eye on our weekly round-up of enthusiast coverage, product reviews, vehicle spotlights, auto show/expo features, and more. Be sure to tune in Friday for the next edition of Competition Corner, rounding up must-see December auto events.