Auto Industry News: Sweet Rides, Hot Wheels, Racing Buzz and More EV Fever

Some exciting moments popped up on our news radar this past week. Goodguys Rod & Custom Association handed out a few awards for sharp rides, while VP Racing Fuels teamed up with toy company Hot Wheels to release a mini sharp ride of their own. Meanwhile, racetrack vet Tony Stewart announced he is expanding his motorsports team ownership into the NHRA in 2022. His two-person team includes some big-name contenders.

On the business side of things, Toyota announced plans to produce EV batteries stateside, presumably to get in on some new tax incentives. And, we’re finding that even RV manufacturers are starting to take notice of the electric market…

Keep reading to learn more!

Goodguys: 2021 Chevrolet Performance Of The Year Award Winners

Hot rod and custom car events organizer Goodguys Rod & Custom Association named its inaugural Chevrolet Performance Builder of the Year awards this month. The two awards recognize the “top performance-built GM and GM-powered vehicles” from 14 entries at Goodguys events in 2021.

The Chevrolet Performance GM Iron Builder of The Year award went to a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle built by Bobby Alloway and his shop, Alloway’s Hot Rod Shop. Alloway’s Chevelle features a Keith Dorton-built LSX topped with NASCAR SB2 valve covers that churns out 720 horsepower and is mated to a Tremec TKO five-speed from American Powertrain.

As part of the award, Alloway and his team also received an LT5 Connect & Cruise crate powertrain system with an LT5 engine, eight-speed transmission, an LT5 engine controller kit, transmission installation kit, and an eight-bolt flexplate kit.

In the second award category – the Chevrolet Performance GM Retro Iron Builder of The Year title – Goodguys flipped the script and recognized a 1935 Ford build with GM power. The vehicle belongs to Roger Burman, owner of Lakeside Rods & Rides. Goodguys said the Ford is “a cutting-edge vehicle which combined masterful build quality with extreme performance.”

Burman’s winning car features a 6.2-liter LS3 crate engine boasting 425 horsepower, mated to an automatic transmission controlled with a C6 Corvette shifter. Along with the title, Burman and his team also won an LS3 Connect & Cruise crate powertrain system that includes an LS3 engine, a six-speed transmission, an LS3 engine controller kit, and a transmission installation kit.

Both cars will appear at the Goodguys 24th Speedway Motors Southwest Nationals, presented by Barrett-Jackson, Nov. 19-21 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Hot Wheels: Go With the Winner!

Nostalgia seems to be in full effect across the entire industry these days. Racing fuel titan, VP Racing Fuels, recently announced a licensing agreement with Mattel’s Hot Wheels brand. That means, we should expect some newly-minted diecast cars and trucks.

“Hot Wheels is the most iconic brand of collectible toy cars and trucks in the world,” said Bob Merz, VP Racing’s Director of Brand Management and Licensing. Merz added that since VP Racing has been powering performance vehicles for more than 40 years, “it seemed a great fit for both brands.”

The first VP Racing-branded Hot Wheels slotted for retail release will be the 2021 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. The C8.R races in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, of which VP Racing Fuels officially fuels. The Hot Wheels Corvette C8.R is part of the Team Transport line, which will include a hauler and will be launched at retailers everywhere in November 2021, just in time for holiday shopping.

Now, if we can just get them to reissue the Knight Industries Two Thousand or the A-Team’ s GMC van…

NHRA: Tony Stewart Forms Team

Meanwhile, in the full-size racecar world, stock car veteran Tony Stewart announced plans to expand his motorsports team ownership into the NHRA in 2022. The team will race under Stewart’s team banner, Tony Stewart Racing, with two full-time entries, including a Top Fuel dragster and a Funny Car team. Stewart said the Top Fuel driver would be nine-time event winner Leah Pruett and for the Funny Car, 39-time event winner Matt Hagan.

At a recent NHRA press conference, Stewart said that when he retired from full-time driving, it wasn’t the end, but “the beginning of a new chapter.”

“Beginning with Don Schumacher, I’ve probably annoyed everyone in the paddock with all the questions I’ve asked, but the more I learned about drag racing, the less I wanted to just be a spectator,” said Stewart at the conference. “I want to be an integral part of it. And I don’t do things halfway. I go all in.”

Stewart said tapping Pruett and Hagan, gave him “two of the best NHRA drivers,” and he plans to lean into their experience so the team can hit the ground running in 2022.

Pruett is competing in her 25th consecutive NHRA season, and has been in the game since 8 years old when she competed in the Jr. Drag Racing League. She won the 2010 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series championship in the Nostalgia Funny Car class and has also competed full time in the NHRA Factory Stock Showdown class, winning the title in 2018 for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR). Hagan, meanwhile, is a three-time and Funny Car champion and currently leads the point standings with only three races left for the year.

TSR’s NHRA debut occurs at the 2022 season opener on Feb. 17-20 at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Florida.

Toyota Announces Plans for U.S. EV Battery Manufacturing

Early last week, Toyota said it plans to invest roughly $3.4 billion in automotive batteries in the U.S. through 2030. The automaker said the investment involves “developing and localizing automotive battery production,” including EV batteries. The investment is also part of Toyota’s global goal of approximately $13.5 billion in battery development and production unveiled last month.

To drive domestic production, Toyota Motor North America plans to establish a new company and build a U.S. battery plant. No word yet on where exactly this plant will be, but production should kick off in 2025. Toyota estimates the new endeavor will bring 1,750 jobs in the U.S.

Toyota North America CEO Ted Ogawa said the automaker’s EV initiatives are focused on “achieving long-term sustainability for the environment, American jobs, and consumers.” The automaker also said the new plant will help it improve its local supply chain and its production knowledge of lithium-ion batteries.

If this announcement rings a bell, it’s because Toyota’s been at the forefront of multiple debates regarding U.S. electric vehicle production.

In early September, the manufacturer spoke out on a proposal by House Democrats that gave union-made EVs in the United States an additional $4,500 tax incentive. As the bill benefits the Big Three, Toyota even said it “discriminates” against non-union U.S. autoworkers, like its own workforce.

“[It] runs counter to the goal of carbon reduction,” Toyota said in a statement to Road & Track. “The [proposal] makes the objective of accelerating the deployment of electrified vehicles secondary to discriminating against American autoworkers based on their choice not to unionize.”

Meanwhile, UAW-backed automakers have been vocal about pushing ahead with the bill. Last Wednesday, the union sent its 400,000-plus members a petition to urge elected officials to support the bill. The move is interesting since UAW President Rory Gamble showed skepticism with the Biden administration’s heavy push for domestic EV production barely a year ago. Gamble previously said he was concerned whether jobs from the Biden Administration’s EV push would offer autoworkers ample pay and “wages and benefits and that members are free to collectively bargain to protect their standards of living.”

Not to besmirch Toyota’s efforts, but we’re guessing this shiny new domestic battery plant is a way to get in on the incentive action.

And frankly, who could blame them? Thus far, it doesn’t seem like Congress is budging on incentives for non-union factories, however they did add an additional $500 incentive for vehicles using U.S.-made batteries. Automakers like Honda and Tesla could be left out in the cold if they don’t find a workaround like Toyota.

Ford Skips Across the Pond

Toyota explores new inroads here, as Ford takes its archetypically American brand overseas. The Motor City titan recently announced its $315 million plan to manufacture electric car components in Europe. As part of the move, Ford said it would convert its Halewood transmission factory (in northern England) into a plant for commercial and passenger EVs for the EU market. Production is projected to start mid-2024, and Ford said it expects to produce roughly 250,000 electric parts annually. The new plant will add 500 jobs in the area.

While it’s not as broad of an incentive as U.S. Congress’s proposal, the deal comes with perks. Ford said its investment includes about £30 million of U.K government aid through its Automotive Transformation Fund. The U.K. government has its own designs on ramping up EV production. Last year, it set up a $500 million fund to attract automakers to set up EV production in the country. The British Government said it wanted the sales of gas-powered cars to end by 2030.

Let’s just hope Ford’s got a better grasp of “the other football” than Ted Lasso.

Colorado Teardrops Slots EV Trailer for 2022

With all the buzz about electric vehicles, it’s probably no surprise that other wheeled product manufacturers are getting in on the action. Colorado Teardrops recently told Automotive News that its forthcoming camper housing EV-charging batteries already received hundreds of preorders. The aptly-named Boulder (the company’s based in said Coloradoan city) features a bank of EV batteries built into the trailer frame. The design lets drivers recharge their EV’s batteries to pre-towing range. (The recharging function only works when the trailer is parked, though.)

The manufacturer will release the trailer in five incentive-based pricing tiers, where buyers get a better deal by buying earlier. The packages start with Diamond (around $45,000) and eventually move to Bronze (approx. $54,000), depending on which tier buyers get in on. Inside the trailer, the manufacturer touts some classic teardrop amenities, like a dining area that converts to a queen-size bed, two bunk beds for kids, and storage camping gear. There’s also a “galaxy-gazer” window and gull-wing doors, which adds a wealth of natural light to the trailer when it’s parked. All told, the trailer can fit a couple of coolers, water, stove, and storage for food.

Colorado Teardrop’s forthcoming trailer addresses one of the biggest concerns about EVs: range anxiety.

Various Tesla models top out in the mid-300-mile range (aside from the Model S Long Range, which gets 405 miles), while most other autos currently top out in the high 200s or low 300s. Notably, an electric vehicle’s power drains even faster when it’s hauling anything with considerable weight, like a camping trailer. Colorado Camper said the Boulder will have a 75-kilowatt-hour battery pack to help meet an EV’s charging needs and ideally get around some of the complications of hauling camping gear with an EV currently present.

It’s an exciting prospect and judging from the rest of Colorado Camper’s product line, quality looks to be at the forefront of its construction. The trailers are made here in the U.S. by a small group of 40 craftspeople.

However, with the Boulder, there’s no prototype for review yet, just a 3D rendering that the manufacturer’s showcasing in an advertisement video.

While the persisting issues of the U.S.’s outdated power grid still need desperate attention if society is ever to fully embrace a national EV fleet, it’s nice to see private industry innovating some ways to help. The idea of a trailer that can help improve the power needs of an EV car or truck is a great concept – and it makes a lot of sense for campers who are scoping out the most green-friendly ways to hit the trails.

For now, though, we’ll have to wait and see if the back-and-forth legislation in Congress will result in more EV charging stations. And, whether the excitement over EV production will move from the “ain’t it cool” product announcements we’re seeing every month to an actual standard in manufacturing.

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 our next Competition Corner, featuring must-see November auto events!