Auto Industry News: New Jeep Plant, Intensifying Worker Shortage, Legislative Updates and Complete Racing Rundown!

With COVID restrictions largely lifted across the country, it’s almost feeling like a typical summer. Most of the country has officially reopened or is planning to by next month — and even New York and California dropped mask mandates, capacity limits, and social distancing requirements last week. The wheels of industry are continuing to slowly pick up speed, with Jeep announcing some new manufacturing digs in Detroit. Unfortunately, the worker shortage is also intensifying, leading to poorly staffed production lines. We deep dive the issue below, and also provide updates on the current administration’s EV plans. Plus, GM’s Cruise officially got the green light to pacl passengers in its self-driving taxis?!

But first – racing season is revving up nationwide. Last week was PACKED with automotive excitement, from the drag strip to the desert. Check out our recap below!

Auto Enthusiasts Have A LOT to Celebrate

Superstar Racing Experience

Six-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Doug Coby slid past NASCAR veteran Greg Biffle to win the inaugural Camping World SRX Series, which kicked off in Stafford Springs, Connecticut June 12.

SRX is a new short-track racing series formed by NASCAR legends Tony Stewart and Ray Evernham, and aims to bring motorsports’ biggest stars to famous tracks around the country. The season-opener and debut event drew over 10,000 in-person spectators and 1.3 million CBS viewers. Thanks to real-time feedback from fans, Stewart and Evernham are making some tailored tweaks for subsequent stops on the schedule.

NHRA

In nearby New Hampshire, the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series returned to the New England Dragway for the first time since 2019. Racing legend John Force added another Funny Car victory to his growing tally, up to a record of 153 wins. In Top Fuel, Billy Torrence captured his seventh career win thanks to a nano-second quicker reaction time over Mike Salinas. And in Pro Stock, Aaron Stanfield made his drag-racing family proud, besting the master himself, Greg Anderson, by just three-hundredths of a second. The series next heads to Ohio, June 24-27, for the 15th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

ARA

Speaking of Ohio, the 2021 American Rally Association held its Southern Ohio Forest Rally that same weekend – the fourth-round race in the season. A bevy of communication issues meant the cancellation of five of the rally’s scheduled 15 tests. However, race organizers jumped into quick action, using their own vehicles and HAM radios to work as relays between start/finish and net control.

DirtFish National Champion Barry McKenna was immune to the disruption. He finished more than two minutes clear of Travis Pastrana, ending the championship leader’s streak of victories. This is McKenna’s second successive win at the event. Next on the national schedule is the New England Forest Rally, July 30-31.

NMRA

Ohio had a big weekend for racing fans, as the 2021 NMRA Ford Performance Nationals sped into Summit Motorsports Park. The inaugural event included 15 different racing classes from fan-favorite Street Outlaws to an all-new Mickey Thompson Street Car Challenge that makes it easier for everyday enthusiasts to hit the track.

A ladies-only True Street class was also unique to the event, with Leticia Hughes nabbing top honors with an average 11.095-seconds in her 2018 Mustang. The weekend also kicked off with unfinished business — as four of the final rain-delayed rounds from the 16th Annual NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing in St. Louis ran to completion. Click here for full results of every class.

The series heads west July 22-25 for the NMRA/NMCA Power Festival at “The Fastest Track In Michigan.”

WoO

Meanwhile at the Knoxville Raceway in Iowa — “The Sprint Car Capital of the World” hosted the Brownells Big Guns Bash. Part of the WoO NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car series, the two-day event saw Carson Macedo enjoy a weekend sweep. The 25-year-old Jason Johnson Racing driver nabbed his first 410 win at Knoxville, won back-to-back with the Outlaws for the first time ever, soared to 11 career Outlaw wins, and hit his fifth Outlaw win of the season — already the winningest year of his career!

ULTRA4

Cruising further out west to Broadview, Montana, the Ultra4 Big Sky 200 served up plenty of high-intensity, dirt-flinging action. Congratulations to TeamYukon and Yukon Gear & Axle for taking first place in the 4400 class (Bailey Cole Racing), 4800 class (Jeremy Jones) and 4500 class (Off Track Motorsports – John Matthews)! 4600 Stock went to Rock Tech Racing – Joshua Patt and 4900 UTV went to Smith Brother Racing – Josh Smith.

SVRA

Up in Washington state, the SRVA Ridge SpeedTour ran June 11-13, offering up excitement for West Coast TransAm drivers and fans. The Sunday race experienced rainy conditions, but the race series’ Facebook page contends that “the Pirelli Rain Tires did their job, and we had great racing throughout the field.”

Carl Rydquist drove from the back of the field twice and recovered to finish a full 12 seconds ahead of Darrell Anderson. Third place went to Mark Markvosh, and Cindi Lux swiped the first-place spot in the SGT Class.

SCORE

In much drier conditions, the 53rd Annual SCORE Baja 500 took place down in Esenada, Baja California. Off-road legend Larry Roeseler took the overall win in the Trophy Truck class – however, not without a little drama. Looks like racing cousins Luke & Andy McMillin crossed the finish line first in their respective trucks, but Luke was DQ‘d for a rule violation, and Andy suffered a 30-minute penalty. Both men took their punishments on the chin, noting they “not only fully accept, but also respect the decisions” made by SCORE. That, ladies and gentlemen, is professional sportsmanship.

Detroit’s New Digs

Stellantis opened the doors to a brand new assembly complex last week in Detroit. The 3-million-square-foot facility marks Motor City’s first auto assembly plant in 30 years, and should bring about 5,000 jobs to the area.

Already churning out Jeep Grand Cherokee L SUVs, the plant will serve as ground zero for the new generation of Jeep’s best-selling model line. According to Reuters, the new production aims to expand the brand’s sales to customers who want an SUV with three rows of seats.

Plant manager Michael Brieda told Reuters the hub is currently running three shifts a day. Worth noting, however, is that Brieda said the plant had difficulty finding workers “capable of working in a manufacturing environment.”

That challenge spans further than Detroit city limits.

Finding skilled workers is getting tougher across the country.

Right now, experts are seeing a skilled labor shortage that’s causing headaches for the entire manufacturing industry. According to a study commissioned by The Workforce Institute at UKG, while 54% of U.S. and multinational manufacturers are emerging from the pandemic with year-over-year growth, roughly 63% are still struggling to fill critical labor gaps – which threatens to throw a wrench in the sector’s full recovery.

The U.S. auto industry, in particular, is scrambling to fill jobs. With parts shortages expected to recover in coming months, automakers are preparing to ramp production back up. To battle the current shortage, UKG’s report said manufacturers are getting creative. Some are hiring from alternative talent pools, like people with non-traditional skills, individual contractors, second-chance workers, and individuals with special needs or disabilities. Others, like GM, are reconsidering their hiring policies in hopes of attracting more skilled workers. The manufacturer said it might drop its marijuana drug test requirement for potential employees.

Whether these strategies will work, remains to be seen. Qualified laborers are reportedly turning down manufacturing opportunities – citing temporary status, impractical work schedules, and a less than $17/hour starting wage as reasons for disinterest.

The problem crosses industries.

It might seem baffling when zooming out even further, since April posted more than 9 million job openings. Worth noting, however, is that not every job in that 9 million offers up a livable salary, health insurance, and other perks like a 401K. (Think: food service, hospitality, and the retail sectors.) COVID shifted priorities for many people, so even as the country moves back to a semblance of normalcy and Help Wanted signs pop up, not everyone’s rushing back to work.

Some workers are nervous about personal safety, while others are hesitant to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, some workers with children are having trouble filling in the gaps for child care. In contrast, others simply find that unemployment benefits pay out better than some jobs do.

To try and tackle the labor shortage, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Commerce Foundation launched an initiative earlier this month called America Works. Noting that 91% of state and local chambers said worker shortages are stifling their economies, the taskforce is proposing a handful of measures to help employers fill jobs.

From investing in skills and job training and updating immigration requirements, to improving legislation and expanding access to childcare for working parents, the Chamber is taking a long-term advocacy approach. Unfortunately, those measures all take time.

So what’s happening in the short term?

Stoking the flames of this debacle is the decision by 25 states to limit unemployment benefits. Eight of those states – Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming said they’re ending federal unemployment on June 19. The rest plan to end benefits by July. This is ahead of the official Sept. 6 benefits expiration, which will impact about 4 million people.

State governors say enhanced benefits are making it more enticing for workers to stay home, contributing to the labor shortage. Critics of the move, however, cite many of the issues mentioned above, like childcare and COVID-related health risks.

Will the controversial approach push people back into the working world? Time will tell. In the meantime, Jeep keeps on keepin’ on, announcing the Grand Cherokee L is still on target to ship to dealers within a few weeks.

EV Update

The Biden Administration’s infrastructure plan made some progress last week, with 11 GOP senators saying they now support a bipartisan infrastructure framework. The energy portions from the plan include $15 billion for electric vehicle infrastructure and $73 billion for power infrastructure.

However, the deal won’t move ahead unless all Senate Democrats get on board too. Despite the roughly $1-trillion plan’s improvements destined for transportation, broadband, water and other sectors, some Democrats say it does not meet clean energy investment goals. In fact, some reports indicate Senate Democrats are drafting their own infrastructure package – to the tune of $6 trillion dollars – in case the bipartisan talks fall through.

One thing is sure, though — if both parties can’t align on clean energy initiatives, the President’s goals for bumping up America’s investment in EV technology could continue to lag behind other countries.

Speaking of which…

Are Self-Driving Cars the New Sputnik?!

In what is starting to feel like an updated Space Race, GM subsidiary Cruise sent a letter to President Biden last month urging him to back self-driving efforts, stressing that the U.S. was falling behind China. In the letter, Cruise’s chief executive Dan Amann asked the President to back legislation that raises the cap on the number of vehicles a company can have exempt from safety standards, saying that the cap was a “U.S.-only” impediment to building the cars at scale domestically.

Cruise recently got the green light from California to move ahead with testing driverless vehicles with passengers. The California Public Utilities Commission said the development of autonomous autos is projected to grow in both the private and fleet sectors “as AV companies strive to provide safe, efficient transportation.”

How the final infrastructure bill looks will most likely change a few more times before there’s any agreement, but we’ll most likely see something cohesive by the fall. The main goal is to have a final bill ready by Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year.

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. Itching to enjoy some auto events yourself? Check back Friday for our July Competition Corner — a complete rundown of July’s go-fast entertainment!