Porsche Is Pivoting Back to Combustion. It Will Cost Them Dearly - Related to porsche, new, will, it, angry

Angry Florida Dealers Sue Scout Over Direct Sales Plan

Scout’s plan to sell its cars directly to consumers is already facing hurdles. A group of Volkswagen and Audi dealers in Florida has filed a lawsuit against Scout, alleging the automaker is already violating the state’s dealer franchise laws, despite not having made any sales. That might not matter in Florida, however.

, state law classifies deposits as a sale. Scout has already accepted over 50,000 deposits for its Terra pickup truck and Traveler SUV. The complaint also alleges that Scout is a “common entity” of Volkswagen of America, which supposedly prohibits the revived brand from establishing an independent direct-to-consumer sales model.

The lawsuit points to the state should prevent Scout from accepting deposits and prevent it from operating in the state. It’ll be up to a judge to decide if Scout is violating the state’s law. Florida allows Tesla and Rivian to sell directly to consumers, but unlike Scout they lack a parent brand with franchised dealers in the state.

Scout has faced threats of lawsuits from dealers in other states. In late December, the California New Car Dealers Association sent a cease-and-desist letter to Scout and VW, claiming the two violated a new California law that prevents direct-to-consumer sales.

Dealer franchise laws aren’t easy to overcome. Each state has its own rules and regulations on how manufacturers can sell cars to consumers, with many preventing direct-to-consumer sales. This leaves new and established automakers facing a patchwork of legal quagmires.

In South Carolina, where Scout is building its factory, it can’t sell directly to consumers. But legislators lately introduced a bipartisan bill that would allow it. Scout introduced the Terra truck and Traveler SUV in October of last year.

Motor1 has reached out to Scout for comment on the new lawsuit. Scout told us that it does not comment on pending or active litigation.

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Continental's New Tire Has Golf Ball Skin

Feast your eyes on the latest tires from Continental, the EcoContact 7 and EcoContact 7 S. As the name points to, the primary mission for these tires is efficiency. To reach that objective, Continental engineers scoured the planet looking for new ideas. Apparently, inspiration struck somewhere on the back nine, as these tires incorporate a key design feature from golf balls, of all things.

The notion is intriguing. Golf balls are dimpled to give them advanced aerodynamic performance, and it's been proven to work. Continental takes that concept and applies it to tires with Aerodimples—hundreds of tiny dimples placed all around the sidewall and the edge of the tread. , this reduces air turbulence behind the tire, allowing it to roll while using less energy. Take that as you will.

Photo by: Continental Photo by: Continental Photo by: Continental.

Dimples aren't the only eco-friendly factors baked into the new tires. The business uses its new Green Chili [website] rubber tread compound, designed specifically for low rolling resistance. On the sport-focused EcoContact 7 S, the compound is tweaked slightly for more grip and superior handling characteristics, notably in wet conditions. The inner sections of the tire use Smart Energy Casing tech that Continental says reduces friction, though specific measurements aren't mentioned. The tread design further contributes to lower rolling resistance while also reducing road noise.

As you might expect, these tires are aimed at electric vehicles, where efficiency is paramount for range. However, they function perfectly fine for combustion-powered vehicles as well. In the European Union, these tires have a Class-A ranking for rolling resistance and Class-B for wet braking and road noise. It's worth noting that these are considered summer-only tires.

It's unknown if Continental will offer the EcoContact 7 or 7 S in North America. They've already been approved for OEM use on Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and BYD vehicles, so we wouldn't be surprised to see it happen.

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Porsche Is Pivoting Back to Combustion. It Will Cost Them Dearly

Porsche, like many other automakers right now, is taking a hard look at the future and reevaluating its plans. Specifically, that means dialing back the electric push in favor of more combustion power. But it's not as easy as flipping a switch. And it won't come without a price.

In Porsche's case, the price could be steep. On February 6, the organization shared some preliminary financial figures for expectations in the coming year. Production expansion and development related to combustion and hybrid powertrains is forecast to cost $831 million. Mind you, that's just for 2025. That figure also includes costs for "battery activities," so it's not entirely a combustion-only expenditure. That noted, new hybrid vehicles do require batteries for specific platforms.

Reversing course back to combustion should see profit margins fall to between 10 and 12 percent, . The business is forecasting a sales revenue of $40-$41 billion.

Last year Porsche revealed it would continue V-8 production for the Cayenne and Panamera beyond 2030. Chief Financial Officer Lutz Meschke told Automotive News Europe the business was further looking into creating hybrid or full combustion versions of vehicles originally slated to be electric only. Porsche's 2025 financial forecast reinforces that statement.

The news comes amid struggles at the automaker to get the next-generation 718 dialed in ahead of its planned launch later this year. The new sports car will forego its mid-engine layout to become an EV, though we can't help wondering if plans are already underway for an ICE companion. The new Cayenne EV is also reportedly delayed, casting doubt on its planned debut for 2026. As for Porsche's best-selling vehicle, the new Macan EV could also gain a combustion-powered version sooner rather than later.

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Posted in Bikes, Local Bike News, MotoGP / By Mohan K Ramanujam / February 7 2025 5:03 pm.

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