Saad Chehab told his Kia colleagues about his departure on Wednesday but did not indicate his new employer. He is expected to stay within the industry.

It was no fluke. For the second straight year, the Korean brands topped J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study. Ford and Lincoln placed in the top 5 for the first time.

The midcycle makeover for the Japanese brand's most rugged three-row SUV seeks to add to its appearance as well as safety features for both on- and off-road driving. 

For the second time in five years, a majority of hourly workers at Volkswagen's 8-year-old Chattanooga assembly plant has rejected a bid to unionize under the UAW, marking yet another union setback to organize employees at a foreign-owned assembly plant across the South.

The automaker said it will upgrade a system that issues a two-step alert to request the driver to turn off the engine after a predetermined period at idle. Another upgrade will automatically shift the vehicle into park when the driver exits without shifting into park.

Product saturation within automakers' current and future crossover offerings is leading to increased competition and profitability levels at or below those of sedans, while also leaving dealers short of entry-level new vehicles to sell, according to the annual "Cars Wars" study.

Audi of America is voluntarily recalling its new e-tron battery electric vehicle, which went on sale in April in the U.S., to replace a wiring grommet in some vehicles that protects the vehicle's battery pack from moisture.

For those who value absorption rate as a reliable measure of dealership health, the current average rate of 57 percent implies that many dealers have to up their fixed ops game to keep their businesses on sound financial footing.