In February, 38,840 US properties faced foreclosure filings of all kinds, including default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions – a 20% jump compared with the same month last year, according to a report released Thursday by data provider ATTOM.

“Foreclosure activity in February marked the 12th consecutive month of annual increases, extending a gradual upward trend that began early last year,” ATTOM CEO Rob Barber said in a statement. 

The number of Americans facing repossession in February jumped for the twelfth month in a row.

“While filings dipped slightly from January, both foreclosure starts and completed foreclosures remain higher than a year ago.”

The cost of homeownership has increasingly soared out of reach for many Americans, with the average family needing to earn $110,00 a year to own a typical home, according to real estate broker Redfin – about 29% higher than what the median household actually makes.

President Trump has unveiled several initiatives aimed at addressing the housing affordability crisis, including a $200 billion mortgage bond-buying spree and a homebuying ban on large investors. Critics have questioned whether these plans will have a wide-reaching impact. 

Despite the troubling trend in foreclosures, overall foreclosure rates “remain well below historic norms,” Barber added.

Still, economic pressures could multiply amid the war on Iran, which has sent oil prices soaring to $100 a barrel – the kind of shock that tends to ripple across consumer prices and reheat inflation, according to experts.

Indiana, South Carolina, Florida, Delaware and Illinois were the states with the highest foreclosure rates last month, according to ATTOM.

Among metro areas with populations of at least 200,000, Lakeland, Fla.; Punta Gorda, Fla.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Evansville, Ind.; and Columbia, SC, were the cities with the worst foreclosure rates, the report said.

Nearly 40,000 homes faced foreclosure filings last month, according to ATTOM. Konstantin L – stock.adobe.com

Lenders started the foreclosure process on 25,928 US properties in February – a 14% jump from the same period a year ago. 

Texas, Florida, California, Georgia and Indiana saw the highest numbers of foreclosure starts.

Some 4,077 US properties were repossessed through completed foreclosures, a whopping 35% yearly increase, according to the report.

The states with the most repossessed homes in February included Texas, Michigan, Florida, California and Pennsylvania.

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The tariffs on cars and auto parts that President Trump announced on Wednesday will have far-reaching effects on automakers in the United States and abroad.

But there will be important differences based on the circumstances of each company.

Tesla

The company run by Mr. Trump’s confidant, Elon Musk, makes the cars it sells in the United States in factories in California and Texas. As a result, it is perhaps the least exposed to tariffs.

But the company does buy parts from other countries — about a quarter of the components by value in its cars come from abroad, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In addition, Tesla is struggling with falling sales around the world, in part because Mr. Musk’s political activities and statements have turned off moderate and liberal car buyers. Some countries could seek to retaliate against Mr. Trump’s tariffs by targeting Tesla. A few Canadian provinces have already stopped offering incentives for purchases of Tesla’s electric vehicles.

General Motors

The largest U.S. automaker imports many of its best selling and most profitable cars and trucks, especially from Mexico, where it has several large factories that churn out models like the Chevrolet Silverado. Roughly 40 percent of G.M.’s sales in the United States last year were vehicles assembled abroad. This could make the company vulnerable to the tariffs.

But unlike some other automakers, G.M. has posted strong profits in recent years and is considered by analysts to be on good financial footing. That could help it weather the tariffs better than other companies, especially if the import taxes are removed or diluted by Mr. Trump.

Ford Motor

Ford is much less reliant on imported cars than many of its rivals. It makes about 80 percent of the vehicles it sells in the United States in the country. As a result, it would be relatively insulated from the 25 percent tariffs on imported vehicles.

But the company is still dependent on foreign factories for major parts like engines. A Ford factory in Ontario, for example, makes engines for some of its pickup trucks. Ford has been losing billions of dollars on electric vehicles. One of its three battery-powered models, the Mustang Mach-E, is produced at a factory near Mexico City.

Stellantis

The company that owns Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram, uses overseas factories, in Mexico in particular, to assemble some popular models like Ram pickup trucks. Another model, the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, is made in Ontario.

Stellantis, which was created by the 2021 merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot, has also been struggling with sluggish sales and is searching for a new chief executive. Those challenges put the company, along with some others like Nissan, at greater risk, especially if the tariffs stay in place for months or years.

Toyota

Like other Japanese automakers, Toyota is very dependent on the United States and sold 2.3 million cars in the country last year. About one million of those vehicles were made in other countries, many of them in Canada, Mexico and Japan. That could be a big problem for the company and automakers like Subaru and Mazda, with which Toyota works closely.

But Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, is in a better position than other automakers. It is profitable and considered by analysts to be one of the best-run companies in the global auto industry.

Volkswagen

Europe’s largest automaker could be really hurt by tariffs because it has just one factory in the United States, in Chattanooga, Tenn., where it makes the Atlas and ID.4 sport utility vehicles. It imports many of its cars, including Audis and Volkswagens from Mexico and Porsches from Germany.

The company has struggled financially in recent years because its sales have fallen sharply in China, where domestic automakers have grown quickly by introducing lots of affordable electric and hybrid vehicles. Volkswagen had hoped to make inroads in the United States, but Mr. Trump’s latest tariffs could make that difficult task even harder.

Hyundai and Kia

The South Korean stablemates have made impressive sales gains in the United States in recent years. The companies have also invested in a new electric vehicle factory in Georgia that is starting to increase production, which could help them avoid tariffs on some models.

On Monday, Hyundai’s executive chair, Euisun Chung, announced at the White House with Mr. Trump that his company would invest another $21 billion in the United States, including in a new steel factory in Louisiana. Even though Hyundai and Kia now have three factories in Georgia and Alabama, they will not be able to avoid tariffs on the hundreds of thousands of cars they import into the United States. Many of those vehicles came from South Korea, which negotiated a trade agreement with the United States in 2007 that was updated during Mr. Trump’s first term.

The post Trump Auto Tariffs: How Major Car Brands Would Be Affected appeared first on Our Story Insight.

The five recalls with the largest potentially affected vehicle populations this year came from four different automakers: Tesla, Ford, Honda and FCA US, per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). 

Each involved upward of 1 million vehicles, with one of the recalls covering over 2 million.

According to NHTSA data, they were: 

Tesla recall of over 2.19 million vehicles

In late January, Tesla recalled 2.19 million vehicles because the font for the brake, park and antilock brake system warning lights shown within their instrument panels was smaller than the size required by federal safety standards.

The electric vehicle maker, run by billionaire Elon Musk, rolled out an over-the-air software update to the recalled 2024 Cybertruck, 2017-2023 Model 3, 2012-2023 Model S, 2016-2024 Model X and 2019-2024 Model Y vehicles to make the font bigger and resolve the issue, according to NHTSA.

The update was free.

Automakers recalled millions of vehicles this year to address a variety of issues and Tesla, Ford, Honda and FCA US were the most affected companies according to data conducted from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). REUTERS

At the time, Tesla said it was “not aware of any crashes, injuries or deaths that may be related” to the issue. 

Ford recall of nearly 1.89 million vehicles

Ford’s recall of nearly 1.89 million of its 2011-2019 Explorer SUVs in January was prompted by a possible issue with the A-pillar trims that bordered “the right and left side of the windshield,” according to the recall report.

The trims on the recalled SUVs “may detach from vehicle,” the automaker said at the time.

It linked the potential issue to the trim retention clips, which it said may not have been “property engaged due to improper assembly or repair.”

It is estimated that 5% of the recall population was affected, per the report.

When the company recalled the SUVs, it said the issue hadn’t resulted in any crashes or injuries.  

The fix involved taking the recalled Explorers to a dealership and getting replacement A-pillar exterior trim if needed.

Tesla recall of roughly 1.85 million vehicles

The July recall of roughly 1.85 million Model 3, Model S and Model X vehicles from the model years 2021-2024 and Model Y vehicles from model years 2020-2024 addressed software that could potentially fail to detect an unlatched hood, according to NHTSA. 

“Unknowingly driving a vehicle with an unlatched hood may result in the hood fully opening and obstructing the driver’s view, increasing the risk of a collision,” the recall report said at the time.

Tesla recalled 2.19 million vehicles in January and 1.85 million more vehicles in July with certain parts of their cars being smaller than what is required by federal safety standards and software issues that could fail to detect an unlatched hood. Getty Images

Tesla said it issued an over-the-air software update that “detects the open hood and provides a customer-facing user interface notification of the open hood state” as a remedy beginning in mid-June. It did not require a visit to a dealership. 

There weren’t any accidents or injuries caused by the issue.

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Honda recall of about 1.69 million vehicles

In October, Honda announced a recall of some 2022-2025 Honda Civic Sedan, 2025 Honda Civic Hybrid Sedan, 2022-2025 Honda Civic Hatchback, 2025 Honda Civic Hybrid Hatchback, 2023-2025 Honda Civic Type R, 2023-2025 Honda CR-V, 2023-2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2025 Honda CR-V Fuel Cell, 2023-2025 Honda HR-V, 2023-2025 Acura Integra and 2024-2025 Acura Integra Type S vehicles that potentially had an “improperly produced steering gearbox worm wheel.”

It encompassed about 1.69 million vehicles. 

The worm wheel and the worm gear in the recalled vehicles could potentially experience “increased friction” that could make steering more difficult and require more effort, the automaker said at the time. 

Honda recalled several of its models from 2022-2025 in October along with some 2023-2025 Acura Integra Type S vehicles that potentially had an “improperly produced steering gearbox worm wheel.” jetcityimage – stock.adobe.com

The first complaint about the issue occurred in September 2021.

However, it did not cause any injuries or deaths, according to the October recall report.

Honda told owners to have dealers “replace the worm gear spring with an improved part and redistribute or add grease” to the recalled vehicles to fix the issue. 

FCA US recall of over 1.03 million vehicles

FCA US recalled over 1.03 million vehicles across several brands in mid-June due to a radio software issue that could impact the display of the rearview camera.

A rearview camera image “that does not display decreases the driver’s visibility, increasing the risk of a crash,” NHTSA said in June, noting rear visibility requirements for vehicles. 

Certain 2021-2023 Chrysler Pacificas, 2021-2022 Dodge Durangos, 2022-2023 Jeep Compasses, 2021-2023 Jeep Grand Cherokees, 2022-2023 Jeep Grand Wagoneers and 2022-2023 Jeep Wagoneers were among the recalled vehicles. Some model year 2022 Ram 1500s, 2500s and 3500s as well as model year 2022-2023 Ram Promasters were also part of it, according to the recall report. 

The automaker provided a free update to the radio software to fix the potential rearview camera display issue.

Owners were notified in early August. 

A Stellantis spokesperson told FOX Business in June that the radio software issue hadn’t been linked to any injuries or accidents.

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