Runtime: 8:42

NHTSA is proposing that all large commercial vehicles, coaches and other buses be equipped with electronic stability control systems, just like cars. It’s estimated over the next three years Ford will come out with more new models faster than anyone else. Everybody knows Volkswagen makes cars, but did you know they’re also in the food business? All that and more, plus John McElroy sounds off on some internet nonsense.

Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bosch, Bridgestone and Dow Automotive Systems

»Subscribe to Podcast | | | | Listen on Phone

Welcome to Autoline Daily. I’m John McElroy and do I have a rebuttal to an internet video that’s making the rounds. But that comes later in the show. Now, the news.

ESC FOR ALL
A few years back the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration mandated that all new light-passenger vehicles in the U.S. must be equipped with electronic stability control by this year. Now the agency is proposing that all large commercial vehicles, coaches and other buses be equipped with the system, too. Research shows that ESC could prevent up to 56 percent of roll-over crashes and 14 percent of loss-of-control accidents. If it becomes law, the rule would go into effect two to four years after it’s enacted, depending on the type of vehicle.

WATCH THE FORDS GO BY!
A new report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch says that over the next several years Ford will come out with more new models faster than anyone else. For models years 2013 through 2016, Ford will replace 26 percent of its lineup. But the company is not that far ahead of its competition. GM is next at 25 percent and Toyota is third at 24 percent, while the industry average is a 23 percent replacement rate. By the 2015 model year Ford will replace vehicles that make up close to half of its volume. The study also says Ford’s market share this year should jump from 15.3 percent to 16 percent thanks to new introductions like the Fusion, Escape, C-Max and Lincoln MKZ.

ATLANTIC STORMS
Uh-oh. Bad news for Fisker. Top secret investor documents have been made public, and they point to serious trouble inside the company. The most damaging revelation to surface has to do with production. The company’s new Atlantic model was supposed to start rollin’ down the line at the company’s plant in Delaware in the middle of 2013, but that date has allegedly been pushed back by another year! As troubling as this information is, some of the car’s other numbers are pretty impressive. The Atlantic, which will be priced between $50,000 and $60,000, should feature a 300 horsepower drivetrain, which is good for a zero to 60 sprint of 6.5 seconds. Tailpipe emissions are estimated at 50 grams of CO2 per kilometer.

A HERO’S FUNERAL
An outfit called Molinelli Design has created a very unique piece of automotive art. They’ve made a coffee table out of a crushed Ferrari. The sculpture has been likened to a dead hero in a coffin. I see what they mean. As grizzly as this sounds, I’m sure any gear head would be proud to have this piece of art in their home.

KETCHUP AND CURRYWURST
We all know Volkswagen makes cars. The German brand is best known for its iconic Beetle, but did you know it also makes ketchup, and sausage? I never knew this until I saw the article posted on Jalopnik. Apparently Vee Dub is in the food business, too. It mostly sells the condiment and currywurst at its factories, but they’re also available in supermarkets. Last year they sold nearly 5 million sausages compared to a paltry 3 million cars. The ketchup has been bottled since 1997.

Coming up next, I am going to debunk one of the stupidest internet videos that is making the rounds.

FUEL-ECONOMY FAIL
There’s a video on the internet getting a lot of attention. In fact, a number of you have asked me what I think about it. It’s about a guy who took a vacation in the UK where he rented a Volkswagen with a diesel that got 52 miles per gallon. He claims to have done more research and learned that other European diesels are rated as high as 78.5 miles per gallon. If you search for “VW Passat 78.5 MPG in the UK” you’ll find the video. He then rants about how we can’t get these cars because the Obama Administration won’t allow them for fear of losing tax revenue from gas taxes. He goes on to say a lot of other things, but too bad this guy has no clue what he’s talking about.

First off, he’s comparing U.S. gallons to Imperial gallons, which is what they use in the UK. And an Imperial gallon is 20 percent larger than a U.S. gallon.

Second, the European fuel economy figures he’s quoting would be substantially less if he used EPA figures, even if he used the exact same car for comparison. The European fuel-economy test cycle is an easy-breezy one, compared to the EPA’s adjusted FTP 75. And that’s one reason why you see eye-popping mpg numbers coming out of Europe. Also, European cars tend to be lighter than their Americanized versions because our tougher crash standards require more chassis and body structure. That weight advantage also helps boost European MPG numbers and performance.

Third, he’s completely wrong when he says VW makes most of the cars in the U.S. that it sells in the U.S. VW just started making the Passat here, it’s not even up to line speed yet, and it does not make 1.6 TDIs for export. The Passat is the only model VW makes in the U.S., period. He also claims Ford makes high-mileage diesel cars in the U.S. but has to export them because it can’t legally sell them here. That is completely not true. Where does he come up with this stuff?

The primary reason why diesel engines are not as common here as they are in Europe is that U.S. emission standards are substantially more expensive to meet than they are in Europe. For this reason, OEMs typically chose one engine displacement they want to emissionize for the American market. In 2014, when Europe goes to its Euro 6 emission standards, they will pull even with the EPA’s Tier 2 Bin 5 standard, at which point the U.S. and Europe can use the same emissions equipment, which will drive down cost substantially.

Diesel proponents in the U.S. forecast that diesel sales in the U.S. will double by 2015 and will easily outsell hybrids. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, VW and Porsche already sell diesels in the U.S. market. You can buy diesel pickups from Chevy, Ford and Ram and have been able to for years. The Chevrolet Cruze, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Mazda will offer diesel models in the next year or so. Infiniti is looking into it as well. And if those vehicles sell well, you can bet that almost everyone else will jump in, too.

You know, normally I would just ignore this kind of video except that a whole lot of people are taking this seriously. Unfortunately this is just another maddening example of a know-nothing blabbermouth spouting urban legends on the internet.

Hey don’t forget to join me and the Autoextremist, Peter DeLorenzo, for a fantastic Autoline After Hours tonight with Ralph Gilles, the head of design for the Chrysler Group, and the head of SRT. We’re already getting questions for the Rapid Fire part of the show, so make sure to get your question in, too. That’s tonight starting at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Autoline After Hours.

And that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com

Runtime: 9:07

Nissan is going to run its North American assembly plants on three shifts to give the Altima the capacity to become the best selling car in the U.S. Porsche revealed the prototype version of its 918 Spyder. Kia may be considering bringing a diesel to the U.S. market. All that and more, plus John answers your questions and comments in “You Said It!”

Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bosch, Bridgestone and Dow Automotive Systems

»Subscribe to Podcast | | | | Listen on Phone

Welcome to Autoline Daily for May 16th, I’m John McElroy and here’s the news.

NISSAN AIMS TO PASS CAMRY
Nissan has the Toyota Camry in its crosshairs. It’s going to run its North American assembly plants on three shifts, and that will give the Nissan Altima the capacity to become the best-selling car in the U.S. market. Camry sales have plummeted 30 percent over the last four years, starting well before Toyota ran into problems from last year’s earthquake. Four years ago the Camry had a sales lead of 167,000 units over the Altima. So far this year that lead has shrunk to under 30,000 units. Nissan will probably not pull it off this year, since it’s undergoing a model change for the new Altima, and the three-shift operations are not yet in place. But until Toyota figures out how to solve the Camry’s sales slump, it’s just making Nissan’s job all the easier.

FORMER FORD CEO PASSES AWAY
Red Poling, former chairman and CEO of the Ford Motor Company has passed away at age 86. He was one of those rare finance guys who knew how to slash cost, but with a scalpel, not a hatchet. In 1987 he delivered a pre-tax profit for the company that I believe is still a record today on an inflation-adjusted basis. When he retired in 1993 Ford had five of the top-10 best-selling vehicles in the American market, including the best selling car and truck. Today it has three of the top ten.

PORSCHE 918 SPYDER PROTOTYPE
Yesterday we reported Ferrari is throwing its hat in the hybrid ring with a 12-cylinder supercar. Today, Porsche’s making news, revealing the prototype version of its 918 Spyder. The car is all dolled up with a retro-themed black-and-white livery. This plug-in hybrid is powered by a 500-horsepower 4.0-liter V-8 and two, yes TWO electric motors. Zero to 60 miles an hour should take a scant 3.1 seconds. Top speed should be 199 miles an hour. Fuel economy is alleged to be in the neighborhood of 78 miles per gallon on the EU test cycle. Naturally, all this speed and technology ain’t cheap. Porsche’s asking price is $845,000 a piece – comparable to Ferrari’s hybrid monster.

KIA CONSIDERS DIESEL FOR U.S.
Who wants more diesel-powered cars in the U.S.? Can I see a show of hands? Oh, ALL OF YOU! Well now Autoblog reports that Kia may be the next company to offer an oil burner in the U.S. Apparently some PR reps were asking fans on Facebook if they’d consider driving a diesel. Naturally, the answer was “YES!!!!” Now, here’s the part of the story where I let you down gently. Nothing is official. Yet. But it’s important to note that Kia already sells diesel Optimas in other markets.

FORD’S IDENTITY CRISIS
Ford is taking a unique approach with its advertising. The automaker just launched a series of ads that feature the new Escape, Fusion, as wells as the Fiesta and Focus, that don’t reveal the identity of the automaker until the end of the commercial. In fact, we found some online ads that don’t identify Ford at all. It’s an effort to grab the attention of car buyers who tune out an ad as soon as they realize it’s about Ford.

JAGUAR’S SALES SLUMP
So far this year Jaguar sales are up 17 percent in the American market, but worldwide, it’s a different story. The British brand’s sales fell over 30 percent in April compared to March, its worst performance in nine months. And as a result, Tata’s stock is getting pounded.

Coming up next, it’s time for You Said It!

YOU SAID IT!
And now it’s time for some of your feedback.

A number of you commented on the data crash recorders, those black boxes the U.S. government is going to require on all new cars by 2015. Todd T. says. “Remember all those lovely folks that claimed their cars accelerated like possessed demons, even though they were stepping on the brake pedal? They did this to avoid responsibility for an accident, THEY caused.”

Todd’s right. That’s exactly why a number of automakers have had those black boxes in their cars for well over a decade. It was to protect them from lawsuits.

Chuck wonders if this regulation means that “Someone will have to retrofit one into their 1965 Mustang?”

Nope, Chuck, it only applies to new cars. You need cars with anti-lock brakes, electronic throttle control and a computer be able to use those black boxes.

We got a lot of comments on the new Nissan Altima, too. Lex wants to know, “Why does the new Altima look so good and rich while the Versa look so crappy and cheap?”

Lex, I would say that’s because the Altima costs twice as much as a Versa. A base Altima is over $21,000 while a base Versa is under $11,000.

Earl worries about the transmission in the Altima. “I hope the Altima doesn’t have a CVT. I haven’t heard a positive comment yet about those CVT’s that a lot of people refer to as rubber band transmissions.” And Tango R34 agrees. “I will NOT get a car with a CVT. It’s the most horrific transmission that may sound great on paper but hopeless in the real world.”

For the most part I agree with you guys, but in cars with larger displacement engines and good torque CVTs work a lot better. Plus, Nissan has made giant strides in improving the CVT, along with its supplier partner JATCO. Besides, the Altima, like a number of cars with CVTs, has a Sport position on the gear shift lever that makes the CVT behave like a seven-speed step transmission, so you can sort of have the best of both worlds.

Speaking of transmissions, Kit Gerhart saw our report on Porsche coming out with a 7-speed manual and wonders, “Is there really any need for that 7-speed manual? 6 seems like plenty, but I guess I thought the same about 3, and then 4, and then 5.”

Mack heard me report on the Job One ceremony for the original Chrysler minivan in 1983 when top executives in the company couldn’t get out of the minivan that rolled up on stage for the ceremonies. He wonders, “As for inability to get out of the back of the minivan, was it not because of the child safety lock on the door and not a quality issue?”

Mack, this is a great story. After that humiliation Chrysler’s public relations called everyone in the media who attended that ceremony to tell them that it was a child lock issue. Since I was at the event I got a call, too, and I had to remind the poor PR guy who called me that those vans did not have child locks when they launched. And that violated one of the cardinal rules in PR. You can spin it all you want, but you should never lie.

Don’t forget to join us for Autoline After Hour Thursday night when our guest will be Ralph Gilles the head of design for the Chrysler group and the CEO of the SRT group. Ralph is one of the true gear heads in this business, so join me and the Autoextremist, Peter De Lorenzo, for the best insider discussion on the hottest cars in the business.

And that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com

Runtime: 7:13

Watch out, this year’s annual transportation bill has a section mandating that every car in the U.S. must have a black box – what’s formally known as an event data recorder. The automotive industry is the engine driving America’s economic recovery. Hyundai just inked a deal with a Norwegian battery-recharging company to supply the country with hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. All that and more, plus a walk around the brand new 2013 Nissan Altima.

Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bosch, Bridgestone and Dow Automotive Systems

»Subscribe to Podcast | | | | Listen on Phone

This is Autoline Daily for Tuesday, May 15, 2012. I’m John McElroy, and here’s the news.

LARGE MALE SIBLING IS OBSERVING
This year’s annual transportation bill has a section mandating that every car in the U.S. must have a black box – what’s formally known as an event data recorder – by 2015. According to Car and Driver, the Senate has already passed the bill and the House of Representatives is expected to do the same when it votes. The bill more clearly specifies the owner of the vehicle owns the data in the black box and that authorities will have to get a court order to retrieve data. It also states that data collected must be related to vehicle safety. This may sound like Big Brother, but most new vehicles are already equipped with black boxes anyways.

FERRARI GOES GREEN
With more stringent fuel economy rules on the horizon, even supercar makers have to adapt. According to Bloomberg, Ferrari plans to replace the Enzo with a hybrid which will use technology it developed in Formula 1. The car will be powered by two electric motors mated to a 12-cylinder gasoline engine that the company says will produce the most horsepower of any Ferrari ever, while slashing fuel consumption by 40 percent. The hybrid will go on sale next year and is expected to cost more than the $850,000 Enzo.

CHEVY TRAX
General Motors announced it will add an all-new small SUV called the Trax to its global line-up. The vehicle, which will debut in September at the Paris Motor Show, will be sold in 140 markets, but not the U.S. due to overlap with the Equinox. The Trax will first go on sale in Canada and Mexico at the end of this year.

AMERICA’S ECONOMIC ENGINE
The global economy is finally starting to dig itself out of recession, and in the United States at least, the automotive industry is engine driving this growth. According to Bloomberg, vehicle output contributed to half of our 2.2 percent economic expansion in the first quarter of the year. HALF! The SAAR has topped 14 million units every month this year, the best it’s been since 2008. To keep up with demand, the Detroit Three are adding shifts at assembly plants, hiring more workers and raising sales forecasts. Analysts say the auto industry is helping boost consumer confidence AND more importantly, spending. Everyone that says manufacturing is outdated or irrelevant can shut their mouths now.

SAVE THE PLANET, RUIN THE ECONOMY
While things are looking up in the U.S., there are storm clouds on the horizon in the UK. According to The Daily Mail, British motorists could face a 50 percent duty hike on fuel in the coming years! There’s supposedly a 13-billion pound deficit in the works. The hole is blamed on drivers switching to more efficient vehicles. Currently, the fuel duty is 58 pence per liter – about 93 U.S. cents. In the future, it’s estimated a hike to 87 pence would be needed to fill the budget hole. Isn’t it ironic? By saving the planet people are wrecking the economy.

NORDIC PACT
In more international news, Hyundai is expanding its collaboration with Scandinavian countries. According to The Korea Herald, the automaker just signed a memorandum of understanding with a Norwegian battery-recharging company to supply hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles across the country. Hyundai already has business relationships with the governments of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland, and now it’s moving into the private sector. It wants to ink MOUs in the rest of these countries as well as in Germany.

Coming up next, a look at Nissan’s redesigned family sedan, the 2013 Altima.

2013 NISSAN ALTIMA
(This feature is only available in the video version of today’s program.)

On next week’s episode of Autoline we’ve got a very special guest, Dr. Walther Kiep, who’s been on the Volkswagen supervisory board longer than anyone else. He’s just written a fascinating book about his life in business and politics called “Bridge Builder.” We’re giving away three copies to three lucky viewers. If you’d like a chance to win one of these books, send us your name and address to contest@AutolineDetroit.tv. We’ll announce the winners on Monday.

Thanks for watching. We’ll see you tomorrow!

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com

Runtime: 8:26

A new supplier survey shows that while they still remain the best, Toyota’s and Honda’s popularity with suppliers is plummeting. Sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks were up big last month in the U.S. and Canada. Bentley’s new Continental GT V-8 is a lot less damaging to your wallet and the environment. All that and more, plus consulting firm KPMG explains what’s driving mergers and acquisitions in the auto industry.

Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bosch, Bridgestone and Dow Automotive Systems

»Subscribe to Podcast | | | | Listen on Phone

Thank you for joining us for another week of Autoline Daily. I’m John McElroy and here’s the latest news.

R.I.P. CARROLL SHELBY
Well you probably heard this one already, but motorsports legend Carroll Shelby passed away at the age of 89. Best remembered for his Cobra sports cars and Shelby Mustangs, I actually got to know Carroll on a first name basis back in the 1980s when he was working with Lee Iacocca at Chrysler to come out with a performance version of the Dodge Omni, known as the GLH. That stood for “Go Like Hell.” Carroll always was a blunt and colorful speaker. When I asked him why he felt the need to do a performance version of a car like the Dodge Omni he said, “Sheet John, that car couldn’t pull a wet string out of a cat’s ass.” And that sounded like as good a reason as any to me. Carroll was one of the greats and he left the car business in better shape than how he found it.

TOYOTA & HONDA SLIP IN SUPPLIER SURVEY
Supplier companies have always rated Toyota and Honda as the best automakers to do business with. But that is changing fast. The latest supplier survey from a company called Planning Perspectives shows that while they still remain the best, Toyota’s and Honda’s popularity with suppliers is plummeting, while GM, Ford and Chrysler are climbing quickly. This rings true to me. I’ve heard suppliers complain recently that Toyota and Honda are pounding them to cut prices and treating them like General Motors did back in the 1990s, which is to say, with no sense of partnership whatsoever.

BUY A SIERRA DENALI, GET 5 TONS OF GAS!
Car dealers love to come up with gimmicks to sell vehicles but this is one of the crazier ones I’ve seen. A GMC dealer in Shanghai is giving away five tons of gasoline with the purchase of a new Sierra Denali. Yes, five tons! A gallon of gas weighs about six pounds so that’s either 1,600 or 1,800 gallons of gas, depending on whether it’s a metric ton or not. In either case, that’s worth about $8,000 in China. It may seem like a lot, but with the Sierra Denali costing about $130,000 in China, dealers have to come up with gimmicks like this to get someone to pay that much for a pickup.

BIG TRUCK SALES UP
We’ve been tracking this for some time now but sales of big trucks are still screaming ahead. According to WardsAuto, they were up close to 40 percent in April compared to a year ago in the U.S. And it’s the same story in Canada where big truck sales jumped 38 percent. As I keep saying, this a good sign that the economy will continue to grow

CONTINENTAL’S IMPRESSIVE EPA NUMBERS
Yin and yang, give and take, that’s the way it is in the automotive industry. Supercars for instance come with super-sized price tags. Their ferocious performance is tempered by frightening fuel consumption. But Bentley’s new Continental GT V-8 is a lot less damaging to your wallet and the environment. According to the EPA, this British Bruiser stickers at a not unreasonable 15 miles per gallon around town and 24 on the highway. The W-12-powered version musters just 12 in the city and 19 on the open road. The GT’s twin-trurbo 4.0-liter V-8 delivers 500 brake horsepower. From a standstill, 60 miles an hour is attainable in just 4.6 seconds. The car gives up very little performance compared to the 12-cylinder model. What it does sacrifice though is expense. It costs about $18,000 less!

PORSCHE DROPS SMALL CAR PLANS
Porsche’s plans to offer a smaller, cheaper sports car have been scrapped. Reuters reports the proposed sub-Boxster-sized model has been jettisoned because the company is worried about diluting the brand and alienating existing customers. Porsche wants to sell about 200,000 vehicles annually, and a more affordable car would be a great way to boost volume. But, apparently, not the right way.

Say, has all that merger and acquisition activity finally died down in the automotive industry? The consulting firm KPMG doesn’t think so, and coming up next you’ll see why.

KPMG MERGER & ACQUISITION SURVEY
KPMG is a company that provides tax and audit and advisory services for all kinds of corporate clients. It also keeps a very close eye on what drives M&A, mergers and acquisitions, in the automotive industry. Gary Silberg, with KPMG, conducts a survey of automotive executives to track what’s driving M&A and the latest survey turned up some interesting results.

Hello, I’m Gary Silberg the National Automotive Sector Leader at KPMG, here to talk to you about some key strategic issues facing the automotive industry today.

Whether it’s Geely acquiring Volvo, Tata buying Jaguar and Land Rover, GM taking an equity investment in PSA, or other tie-ups that seem to be announced on a regular basis, mergers, acquisitions and alliances are alive and well in the automotive industry.

We believe there are three primary trends driving all this M&A: First, Growth. Manufacturers want access to new markets and customers. Second, new technologies. Access to new technologies and products will be critical for success in the marketplace. Third, cost savings. Management sees acquisitions or alliances as a means to reduce risk, share development cost and gain scale.

To validate our hypothesis, our 2012 KPMG Global Automotive Executive Survey interviewed 200 senior executives from the world’s leading automotive companies, suppliers, dealers, financial service providers, and, for the first time, mobility service providers.

They confirmed the shift towards partnerships. A large majority — 68 percent– view joint ventures and strategic alliances at an OEM level as a key strategy to compete in the marketplace.

Tier 1 suppliers responded strongly in favor of mergers and acquisitions. With most of their restructuring behind them, they now have the profits, strong balance sheets and cash to do them.

Interestingly, previous respondents saw joint ventures and alliances primarily as a way to minimize debt and risk of bankruptcy. But in our most recent survey this was barely mentioned, a sign the industry is now looking to grow, rather than merely survive.

To survive and thrive in this intensely competitive market, automotive companies must move to the next level of product innovation, quality and cost competitiveness. Keeping strategic core competencies in house will remain critical. However, companies must also be able to look outside and see what others are investing and innovating in. The ability to balance internal and external competencies will determine the winners and losers. We believe that through collaboration, acquisitions, joint ventures and alliances, companies will be better able to compete and win in the marketplace and we believe you will see more announcements about this in the headlines in the future.

Thanks for your interest and I look forward to updating you again.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com

Runtime: 8:41

We have more information on that 7-speed manual transmission ZF supplies to Porsche for the new 911 – the world’s first 7-speed manual for a passenger car. Magna Steyr will build a new compact model for Infiniti starting in 2014. To show off the durability of its new i30, Hyundai parked the car in the middle of a safari park to let a pack of baboons have fun with the car. All that and more, plus a preview of Autoline This Week about some of the tricks to make the interiors of cars look as good as they can.

Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bosch, Bridgestone and Dow Automotive Systems

»Subscribe to Podcast | | | | Listen on Phone

Ah yes, Friday. We’ve come to the end of another week of Autoline Daily. It’s May 11, I’m Craig Cole, and here’s the news.

ZF 7-SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION
We have some more information on that 7-speed manual transmission ZF supplies to Porsche for the new 911 – the world’s first 7-speed manual for a passenger car. It’s based on ZF’s 7-speed dual clutch transmission, which, thanks to modular design, allows both versions to share a lot of parts. The 911 will actually hit top speed in 6th gear, the 7th is merely there to improve fuel economy. And by the way, it has a stop/start system built into it. The 911 with the 7-speed manual is rated at a combined 22 miles per gallon, which is exactly the same as the dual-clutch version. Personally, I’d stick with the stick.

GET OFF MY LAWN!
Hyundai thought it came up with a great way to pamper customers who bought its Equus luxury sedan. It wanted to make it convenient to buy the car, so it planned to send sales people to the homes of potential customers, and if their cars needed any service, a rep would come pick their car up and drop off a loaner. But as it turns out, a lot of upscale buyers don’t want strangers coming to their home and seeing where they live. They’d rather go to the dealership. So far this year Hyundai has sold almost 1,700 Equuses in the U.S. market, putting it ahead of its target to sell 2,000 to 3,000 thousand a year.

GM-PSA DETAILS
We have more details on the GM-PSA alliance. GM will build a replacement for the Citroen C5 midsized sedan and Peugeot will make the next-generation Opel Zafira compact minivan. GM denies the partnership will lead to job cuts at Opel’s development center.

MAGNA TO BUILD NEW INFINITI
Speaking of sharing costs, Magna Steyr will build a new compact model for Infiniti starting in 2014. It will be based on Daimler’s compact platform that’s used for the new Mercedes A- and B-Class models. Nissan, Daimler and Renault have partnered up to share platforms and powertrains.

BATTERY BREAKTHROUGH YEARS AWAY
Researchers are hard at work on the next-generation batteries for EVs, which promise lighter weight, lower cost and longer range. Steven Chu, the U.S. Secretary of Energy, has been saying that we should see a big breakthrough by 2015. But it doesn’t look like that is going to happen. Researchers at the Kentucky-Argonne Battery Manufacturing Research and Development Center say any significant battery breakthrough is at least a decade away. For now – and probably for the next 20 years – it looks like lithium-ion will remain the dominant technology for electric cars.

CAST-IRON DIFFERENTIAL BENEFITS ATS
The Cadillac ATS is GM’s latest effort to best BMW at its own game. And as part of that effort, the ATS should hit the road this summer with a curb weight less than 3,400 pounds. Engineers trimmed fat from parts and assemblies throughout the car, but curiously the rear end features a cast-iron differential case, as opposed to one made of aluminum. This sounds like a step in the wrong direction, but it’s actually beneficial in more ways than one. First, it helps with weight distribution. Carmakers are always shooting for that perfect 50/50 balance for better handling. Second, it’s stronger than aluminum – no surprise there. And third, cast iron is more efficient. How’s that? Well, it expands and contracts half as much as aluminum. Greater stability allows the ring and pinion gears to operate more quietly, which means they consume less energy.

HYUNDAI’S MONKEY BUSINESS
To show off the durability of its new i30, Hyundai parked the car in the middle of a safari park to let a pack of baboons have fun with the car. Dozens of them were in and outside of the car for 10 hours, but surprisingly there wasn’t much damage done to the i30. Ok, we admit, there’s no news here. But hey, it’s Friday and that’s as good a reason as any to put monkeys in the show.

Coming up next, some of the tricks of the trade to make the interiors of cars look as good as they can.

AUTOLINE THIS WEEK
On Autoline This Week, the discussion is all about interior design. In the following clip, Klaus Busse, the head of interior design for the Chrysler Group and Fiona Doskocz from the supplier company Benecke Kalico, discuss new manufacturing techniques and new technology that can make the interiors of cars look better without increasing cost.

(Today’s Autoline This Week preview is only available in the video version of the program.)

That holographic manufacturing technique is not out yet but we should see it showing up in cars very soon. By the way you can watch that entire episode on our website right now, or check you local public television listings because Autoline is seen from coast to coast in Canada and the United States.

And make sure you check out RoundAbout, tonight. The LIVE broadcast starts at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time at Autoline.tv. Our special guest is that car designer of a thousand voices, Jason White. He’ll be playing one of our audience-favorite games, A CAR BY ANY OTHER NAME. That’s the one where we name a fictitious vehicle and our panelists have to come up with a convincing explanation of what it is. You, the audience, gets to vote on who did the best job. Again, it all starts tonight at 6:30 and we hope to see you there.

And that wraps up this week’s reports. Thanks for watching and please join us again on Monday.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com

Runtime: 7:22

The woman that took Honda to small-claims court over the fuel economy of her Civic Hybrid is in the news again. The difference between official EU fuel-economy numbers and what drivers get in the real world is growing. A company called Bracketron has developed a clever way of mounting smartphones and tablets in a vehicle. All that and more, plus John McElroy test drives the Mercedes-Benz CL-550.

Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bosch, Bridgestone and Dow Automotive Systems

»Subscribe to Podcast | | | | Listen on Phone

Hello and welcome to Autoline Daily for May 10th. I’m John McElroy and here’s the news.

BLINDSIDED BY JUSTICE
Well, this didn’t take long. Remember the woman who sued Honda over the disappointing fuel economy of her Civic Hybrid? She won nearly $10,000 in small-claims court, but an appeals judge just overturned that ruling. He says most drivers DO get the fuel economy posted on the window sticker. Some 1,700 other hybrid owners have followed the woman’s lead. But I think that Honda finally put this story to bed by winning that appeal.

YOUR MILEAGE WILL VARY (subscription required)
Speaking of how your mileage may vary, it WILL VARY in Europe. The difference between official EU fuel-economy numbers and what drivers get in the real world is growing. Back in 2001 the delta was about 8 percent, but in 2010 it was a whopping 21 percent! The New European Driving Cycle is a precisely calibrated fuel-economy test, but some argue it’s too easy. Acceleration speeds and shift points do not match real-world driving, plus automakers know how to game the system to get better results. Another problem with the European system has to do with the vehicles tested. EPA ratings are based on the best-selling version of a vehicle. In Europe they only test the base model. Interestingly, it’s reported the United Nations is working on a new global fuel mileage test. But In my experience, the current EPA ratings system in the U.S. is VERY accurate.

CLEVER CUP HOLDER MOUNT
Here’s a clever way to put your empty cup holder to use, although the anti-distracted driving crowd will hit the roof. A company called Bracketron developed a mount to hold a smartphone or tablet to use for navigation. Some phones and tablets are too large to mount on the windshield with a suction cup. Some states have even outlawed them, which is why the company created what it calls the Universal Tablet Cup Holder Mount. It can fit into just about any size cup holder and costs about $50.

FORD DROPS DOWN UNDER (subscription required)
Two different car companies in Australia and two different business results. Ford is struggling. Net profit dropped by over $290 million, and revenues fell by half a billion dollars. The company blames payouts to laid-off workers, slumping demand of the Falcon and the flooding in Thailand, which has limited sales of the new Ranger pickup.

HOLDEN HIGH ON THE HOG
But GM Holden posted a net profit of close to $90 million despite a revenue drop of 100 million dollars. Holden also sold 5 percent fewer cars in Australia, but that was offset by exports which shot up 50 percent. Looks like Ford Australia needs to export more.

AUTOMOTIVE QUALITY: THEN (subscription required)
There’s a big story in the Wall Street Journal today about how Chrysler is quickly improving its quality. My favorite quality fiasco story was at the launch of the original minivan back in 1983. Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca drove up on a stage in a minivan at the assembly plant in Windsor, Canada. Inside the van with him were the vice presidents of manufacturing, engineering and quality, as well as some top UAW officials and the plant manager. Iacocca and another exec got out of the front seats, but the other officials in back could not get out because the sliding door wouldn’t open . . . with hundreds of dignitaries, line workers and the media looking on. Finally someone was able to open it from the outside and some very embarrassed executives sheepishly got onto the stage, only to sing the praises of the company’s quality.

AUTOMOTIVE QUALITY: NOW
That was then. These days it’s hard to buy a car with poor quality. In fact, the quality gap from best to worst is very minor. In the latest Vehicle Dependability Survey from J.D. Power the difference between the best brand, Lexus, and the worst brand, Chrysler, is one defect. The difference from best to average is less than half a defect per car per year. And while the industry should keep on improving quality, we need to remember how much progress has been made.

Coming up next a look at what has got to be one of the biggest coupes in the world, the Merdeces CL.

2012 MERCEDES-BENZ CL-550

(This feature is only available in the video version of today’s program.)

You don’t see a lot of CLs out on the road. It is the lowest sales volume car Mercedes-Benz has in its line up. So far this year in the American market they’ve sold fewer than 300.

Don’t forget to join us for Autoline After Hours tonight. Our guest is Paul Ingrassia who’s written a book on what he says are the most important cars in the history of the automotive industry. That ought to generate some good arguments. So join me and the Autoextremist himself, Peter DeLorenzo for the best arguments in the industry.

And that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com

Runtime: 7:25

Toyota announced its financial earnings for its fiscal year and it didn’t do all that well, but the company is very bullish for this year. Opel revealed that the name of its new small car will be the Adam, the same name as the company’s founder. Audi outsold its luxury rival BMW on a global basis in April. All that and more, plus John McElroy responds to your questions and comments in “You Said It!”

Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bosch, Bridgestone and Dow Automotive Systems

»Subscribe to Podcast | | | | Listen on Phone

Well, we’re halfway through the work week. It’s May 9th, I’m John McElroy and this is Autoline Daily.

TOYOTA POSTS LUKEWARM RESULTS (pdf)
Toyota announced its financial earnings for its fiscal year and it didn’t do all that well. No surprise there, what with the impact of the earthquake in Japan and the flooding in Thailand. Global vehicle sales hit 7.3 million units, an increase of 0.6 percent. Despite that increase, revenue dropped 2 percent to $232 billion. And net profits fell over 30 percent to $3.5 billion. But Toyota is very bullish on this year. It says global sales will jump 18 percent to 8.7 million vehicles. It forecasts that revenue will jump by the same percentage amount to $275 billion, and that profits will nearly triple to $9.5 billion. Even so, that would provide a net profit margin of only 3.5 percent, meaning Toyota even has more upside potential.

AUTO INDUSTRY BOOSTS RAILROADS
Like the saying goes, a rising tide raises all boats. U.S. railroads are enjoying a banner year thanks to strong car sales. Those cars and the parts needed to make them pushed train traffic up 21 percent in April. And it’s really a NAFTA story. The same sort of increases are happening in Canada and Mexico.

HYUNDAI UPDATES SONATA
As competition in the midsize-sedan segment heats up, Hyundai is making some minor changes to its hot-selling Sonata. For 2013, certain lower-level models get more content, including fog lamps and heated front seats. The range-topping Limited trim comes standard with a traditional sunroof, but a panoramic version is also available as an option. As strong as Sonata sales have been, I think Hyundai is running scared. Last month, John Krafick, the CEO of Hyundai Motor America said the competition is closing the gap with their advantage in fuel economy and styling. He said his message to the troops was they better react quickly, and I think this is part of that reaction.

ASTON MARTIN REVEALS NEW DBS
In an uncharacteristic move, Aston Martin went to the web to reveal the new DBS Ultimate. Usually automakers push out press releases, unveil vehicles at auto shows or invite the press to ride-and-drive events. But this time the company posted details on its public website. Is this an example of cost cutting? Maybe, but according to Autoblog this model is probably in its last year, so a proper introduction for what’s effectively a new trim line is arguably unnecessary.

ADAM OPEL ADAM
Opel revealed that the name of its new small car will be the Adam. It did so in a unique way on its media site with a comic strip as well as a prototype of the car driving a special route on the streets of Frankfurt to spell out its name. The car is expected to debut at the Paris Motor show in September. As you may know, Adam Opel was the founder of the automaker, which is also the formal name of the company. So I guess technically the car’s name is the Adam Opel Adam.

AUDI OUTSELLS BMW
And staying in Germany for the moment, Audi outsold its luxury rival BMW on a global basis in April. Audi sold just over 125,000 cars last month while BMW sold over 121,000 units. It was the first time in over a year that Audi outsold BMW. For the year, BMW has sold just 7,000 more vehicles than Audi.

Coming up next, it’s time for You Said It!

YOU SAID IT!
And now it’s time for some of your feedback.

Chuck Grenci pulled out an old rule of thumb to figure out the value of the newest Cadillac. “Entry level ATS at $33,990; at a dollar a pound (announced weight at sub 3400 lbs), sounds like a pretty good deal. Coincidence, maybe, but still a pretty nice correlation.”

You know, I think that dollar-a-pound rule has held true for nearly 50 years. Somebody check that out for me.

Kit Gerhart thinks he knows why the electric version of the Toyota RAV4 has that outrageous $50,000 price tag. “The RAV-4 EV, if it actually has 100 mile range in normal driving, would have a battery about 4 times as big as the one in a Volt or Leaf. No wonder it’s expensive.”

Why would anybody buy an electric RAV4 at 50 grand, which is nearly $13,000 more than a Nissan Leaf, and 25 grand more than a RAV4 with a gas engine? That’s why I get the feeling Toyota was forced into this project for political and public-relations reasons, not because it believed that working with Tesla would produce a superior EV.

W L Simpson saw our report of Formula One driver Nico Rosberg showing the driving position in an F1 car and had this comment: “Formula 1, a luge on wheels.”

No kidding, W L, I wonder why they just don’t drive head first!

A bunch of you reacted to our report about the plan to use aluminum wiring in cars to save weight compared to copper. There’s a lot of good feedback in the comments section on this one, but I think GPL captured it best. “Aluminum wire to save weight… Why don’t they just make thinner fuel and brake lines while they’re at it? What could go wrong?”

Thanks for your letters and comments, we really get a kick out of reading them.

We’re giving away a number of copies of Paul Ingrassia’s new book “Engines of Change,” which highlights some of the most historically important automobiles ever created. All you have to do to enter the contest is send your name and address to contest@autolinedetroit.tv. The winners will be selected at random and announced on Autoline After Hours since Paul is our guest on the show this Thursday night.

And that wraps up today’s report, thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com

Runtime: 8:13

Cadillac announced pricing for its new BMW 3 Series competitor, the ATS.  An Indian company just introduced a new low-cost hybrid system that can be paired with all kinds of different batteries and engines.  The electrified version of Toyota’s RAV4 seems pricier than it should.  All that and more, plus John McElroy chooses a winner in the Race to Replace GM CEO Dan Akerson.

Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bosch, Bridgestone and Dow Automotive Systems

»Subscribe to Podcast | | | | Listen on Phone

Welcome to Autoline Daily for May 8th. I’m John McElroy, and here’s what’s going on out there.

PRICED TO SELL
Cadillac announced pricing for its new BMW 3 Series competitor, the ATS. It starts at $33,990 when equipped with the 2.5-liter engine and six-speed transmission. With the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder the price jumps to $35,795 and with the 3.6-liter V-6 it costs $42,090. All prices include destination charges, and bravo to Cadillac for including those charges, which other automakers omit to make their prices look better.

HIGH-VALUE HYBRIDS (subscription required)
Indian company KPIT Cummins just introduced a low-cost hybrid system it calls Revolo. According to Ward’s, it’s similar to GM’s eAssist technology but it can be used with several different types of batteries and with gasoline, diesel or bio-fuel engines that range from 0.8- to 3.0-liters. Fuel economy is improved by 30 percent. The company is making Revolo available both to OEMs and the aftermarket. Pricing for the system will be between $1,200 and $2,800 in the aftermarket.

NOT PRICED TO SELL
And now for some Toyota news. The company just released pricing information on its all-electric RAV4. This amped-up crossover will sticker for nearly $50,000 when it goes on sale in California later this year. That’s twice as much as a conventional, gasoline-powered version. The company plans to deliver 2,600 RAV4 EVs over the next three years. That works out to a modest annual sales target of about 900 units a year. Hell, they probably sell more Camrys than that in an hour! But how come this thing costs so much? The Nissan Leaf and the Focus Electric are considerably less expensive. Even the Chevy Volt, which comes with an internal-combustion drivetrain costs about $10,000 less. Maybe it has to do with range. Toyota claims the RAV4 EV will go 100 miles on a charge, considerably farther than the Focus or Leaf EPA rating. Even so, somehow I get the feeling Toyota really doesn’t have its heart in this project.

SIGH-ON AYE-CUE (subscription required)
In related news, Scion’s diminutive iQ city car is rolling right along. According to WardsAuto.com, the youth-oriented brand has sold more than 3,700 copies since it hit the market in the Western U.S. last October. Its sales targets are conservative at about 1,000 units per month. To help introduce the hatchback to more drivers, the company is looking into car-sharing services. So far they’ve met with Zipcar, probably the best known of these firms, but nothing is official yet. When the time is right the brand wants to go whole-hog by really committing to a car-sharing service. You can bet we’ll keep you posted . . .

Coming up next, it’s time to name names in the race to replace GM’s Dan Akerson.

RACE TO REPLACE AKERSON
For the last week we’ve been showing you who the candidates are to replace GM CEO Dan Akerson when he retires, presumably in a couple of years. And now it’s time to forecast who might get the job. It’s not as easy to figure out, because the situation at GM is still very much in a state of flux. But here goes.

Tim Lee would seem to have it all – tremendous operations experience and extensive overseas experience. But people who come up on the manufacturing side of the business never make it to the top spot at General Motors. Moreover, at 60 years old, Tim Lee would probably be about 62 or 63 if he got the top job, and with a corporate retirement age of 65, this would seem to take him out of the running.

Dan Ammann would be an obvious choice since he’s got such a strong financial background. But Ammann has the opposite problem of Tim Lee. He is only 40 years old. If the board were to put him in as CEO he would be in that position for over 20 years, and it’s unlikely any board would leave an individual in that position that long. Dan Ammann’s time may come, but for now the board will look for an older candidate.

That brings us to Mark Reuss, who would be my choice, because I believe it’s very important that a car company be run by someone who truly knows cars. But Dan Akerson was recently quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying it was the car guys who drove the company off a cliff. I think he’s wrong, it was the finance people who did that. But Akerson’s view probably reflects the board’s thinking. So even though Mark Reuss runs the biggest and most profitable part of the company, my guess is he will not get the job.

The executive the board is most comfortable with is Steve Girsky. A brilliant finance guy, he speaks their language. Better still, he’s an outsider with no ties to the old GM and its bunker mentality. Even the UAW likes him! But Girsky hitched his horse to keeping Opel, and Opel is a basket case right now. In fact, it’s likely to be a basket case for years to come since any solution will be stymied by European politicians who don’t want to hear anything about lay offs and plant closing. Boards like to nominate CEOs with a string of recent successes under their belts. So, in my read of the situation, Opel will take Girsky out of the running.

And that brings us to Mary Barra. A very capable executive who has proved herself in a variety of assignments in different parts of the company, she is in the perfect position to become the next CEO at General Motors. Mary is known as someone who can get the job done. If Akerson and board would like to leave themselves a legacy, naming the first women executive in the automotive industry would assure them a footnote in the history books. And that’s why I believe that Mary Barra will win the race to replace Dan Akerson.

Before we go, I want to remind you that you can get Autoline Daily e-mailed directly to you everyday, along with reminders of our other shows. Just go to our website, Autoline.tv, and scroll down the left-hand column to where it says “Daily Email” to sign up.

And that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching we will see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com

Runtime: 8:40

A judge dismissed class-action claims in Florida and New York that unintended acceleration problems hurt the resale value of their Toyotas. Chevy engineers ran an 11.93-second, 116-MPH quarter-mile with a showroom-stock Camaro ZL-1 with an automatic. We’ve got car sales from around the globe and the results are mixed. All that and more, plus a clever new design for an electric motor that could get around China’s chokehold on those all important rare-earth metals.

Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bosch, Bridgestone and Dow Automotive Systems

»Subscribe to Podcast | | | | Listen on Phone

Well here we are at the start of a new week of Autoline Dailies. It’s May 7th, I’m John McElroy, and here’s the news.

JUDGE DISMISSES TOYOTA SUITS
And it’s good news for Toyota. A judge dismissed class-action claims in Florida and New York that unintended acceleration problems hurt the resale value of their Toyotas. He said they can’t sue the company for “economic loss” if they didn’t experience an actual event or if they didn’t lose much when trying to sell their car. But the ruling doesn’t affect claims in other states or those who say they were injured in accidents.

CAMARO ZL1 BY THE NUMBERS
And from unintended acceleration we go to absolutely, deliberate intended acceleration. Chevy engineers ran an 11.93-second, 116-MPH quarter-mile with a showroom-stock Camaro ZL-1 with an automatic. With a manual it blasted down the 1,320 in 11.96 seconds at 117 miles an hour! Zero to 60 takes just four seconds while the top speed is 184 miles an hour! Keep in mind, this car is completely stock, right down to its street tires. As the old saying goes, “Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?” The ZL-1 stickers for about $55,000, including destination and delivery charges.

TAKE A SEAT
Speaking of fast. Formula 1 cars are insanely fast, cost mega dollars to make and put their drivers through intense challenges, like how they have to contort themselves into the cockpit. Look at Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg demonstrating the seating position. I knew they sat low to the ground, but I had no idea they’re practically lying down! It’s amazing that those guys spend two hours going as fast as they can lying down like that.

CAR SALES UP IN U.K. (subscription required)
Now for a quick update on car sales around the world. Despite Europe’s economic problems, car sales in the United Kingdom eked out a 1 percent gain last month. And that’s a very encouraging counter-cyclical sign.

SALES SAG IN SOUTH AMERICA
But it’s a different story in South America. Sales of passenger vehicles and trucks fell 1.4 percent in March. That’s mostly due to slowing sales in Brazil which accounts for two-thirds of South America’s volume. Sales there have declined for three straight months. And that’s a very dangerous sign because Brazil has really helped out global sales growth.

SOUTH KOREAN SALES SLIDE (subscription required)
The same goes for South Korea. Sales there dropped nearly 9 percent in March. That especially hurts Hyundai, which has 43 percent market share in Korea.

FORD & HONDA SELL “CLASSICS” IN CHINA
Ford and Honda are doing something different in China. They’re selling outdated versions of certain models to keep the prices low. Ford just launched the Focus Classic – the previous model of the Focus – which starts at about $16,000. Honda is selling the eight-generation Civic, through its Dongfeng partner. Typically automakers hate doing this because it hurts the residual value of the new model. So we’ll have to watch how long Ford and Honda keep up this practice.

RACE TO REPLACE AKERSON
For a week now we’ve been presenting you with the top officers at General Motors who are clearly in a position to replace current CEO Dan Akerson when he retires, presumably in a couple of years. Today we’re going to look at the last of those candidates, and one of the most interesting ones. Dan Ammann, who is only 40 years old, is the youngest member of GM’s senior management team. A native of New Zealand, he spent his entire career outside of the automotive business until he joined GM in 2010. He was the managing director and head of industrial investment banking for Morgan Stanley, which was the alma mater of GM’s vice chairman, Steve Girsky. Ammann especially specialized in mergers, acquisitions and restructuring, experience that will serve him well since he now serves on Opel’s advisory board. Despite his financial background, Ammann is also considered a car enthusiast. A year ago we also reported that he owns a 1961 Cadillac convertible, and at that time at least, commuted to work in a Cadillac CTS-V wagon. Ammann is currently GM’s chief financial officer.

Coming up next, a clever new design for an electric motor that could get around China’s chokehold on those all important rare-earth metals.

COPPER ROTOR INDUCTION MOTOR
China dominated the rare-earth metal market and started limiting exports of these critical raw materials. Rare-earths are needed to make magnets that are used in electric motors for hybrids and EVs. Those export limits caused the price of rare-earth metals to soar and forced automakers to find alternatives. That’s why the Copper Alliance says automakers should use copper rotor induction motors instead of permanent magnet motors.

Interestingly the average car in North America uses about 50 to 55 pounds of copper. In hybrid and electric cars that number more than triples to between 150 pounds and 180 pounds. It’s good to see that the auto industry has alternatives it can turn to.

We’re giving away a number of copies of Paul Ingrassia’s new book “Engines of Change,” which highlights some of the most historically important automobiles ever created. All you have to do to enter the contest is send your name and address to contest@autolinedetroit.tv. The winners will be selected at random and announced on Autoline After Hours.

And that wraps up today’s report. Thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com

Runtime: 10:22

Remember JAC’s blatant F-150 rip off? Turns out that Ford does a bang-up job protecting intellectual property. Delphi’s aluminum wiring solution can save a ton of weight over the copper alternative — find out how much. BMW’s first-quarter results are very impressive and we’ll have the breakdown. All that and more, plus Craig Cole has Autoline’s first look at the Scion FR-S!

Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bosch, Bridgestone and Dow Automotive Systems

»Subscribe to Podcast | | | | Listen on Phone

Hello and welcome to Autoline Daily for Friday on May 4th. I’m John McElroy.

HIT THE ROAD, JAC
Remember this blatant rip-off of a Ford F-150 from a Chinese automaker named JAC? Well, turns out it never went into production. And that’s because Ford has an arsenal of patents in China protecting its intellectual property. On Autoline After Hours last night, Bill Coughlin who heads up all of Ford’s intellectual property, said companies can absolutely protect themselves by properly registering and patenting their IP through the correct agencies in China. In fact, Ford has never faced any kind of copy cat designs in China going into production because it has properly protected itself.

THE BMW BUMP
We’ve got more to report on first quarter earnings. BMW sold over 425,000 vehicles in Q1, an 11% gain over last year, which includes MINI and Rolls-Royce. Motorcycle sales were up nearly 8%. Total revenue topped 18 billion euros which translates to over $24 billion, and that’s a 14% increase over 2011. Net profits were 1.3 billion euros or about $1.7 billion, which is 18% higher than a year ago. Bravo BMW, that is very impressive.

ALUMINUM WEIGHT-LOSS PLAN
There sure is a lot of wiring in a typical car. And all that copper adds a lot of weight. That’s why Delphi is showing off aluminum cables. Compared to copper, aluminum wiring reduces mass 48% while achieving the same conductivity. A typical car in North America has about 25 pounds of copper cabling, so switching to aluminum would save about 12 pounds! Better yet, aluminum is cost competitive with copper but doesn’t suffer from the same price volatility. Aluminum cables haven’t caught on because over time they have a tendency to become brittle and corrode at the connecting points, so Delphi developed a sealant to prevent this from happening.

RACE TO REPLACE AKERSON
All week we’ve been introducing you to the top officers at General Motors who are in the running in the race to replace current CEO Dan Akerson. Next week I’ll tell you who I think is going to win the race, but today we have to look at one of the strongest contenders, Mark Reuss. He brings a fascinating history to the company in that his father, Lloyd Reuss, was president of GM two decades ago. You’ve got to believe that the father can provide the son with some pretty astute advice of how to climb the corporate ladder. Even so, Mark Reuss has done a pretty good job of that on his own. A complete gearhead, he’s one of those rarities in American car companies: a senior executive who truly knows and loves product. He came up on the engineering and product development side of the business, and played pivotal roles in creation of the V-series Cadillacs and SS Chevrolets. He is even a certified industry pool test driver on the North Course of the Nürburgring. But to be CEO at any automaker these days you should have extensive global experience and Reuss’s only assignment overseas was as chairman and managing director of Holden in Australia for a little over a year. Even so, Reuss runs the biggest and most profitable part of the company and that will weigh heavily in the board’s decision.

AUTOLINE THIS WEEK
On Autoline This Week, my guest is Larry Dominique from TrueCar, a company that generated quite some controversy with some dealers accusing it of stealing data from them. Steve Finlay from Ward’s Dealer Business and Craig Trudell from Bloomberg also join me on the show, and here’s a clip from that program.

(Today’s Autoline This Week preview is only available in the video version of today’s program.)

SCION FR-S
(Our first-look at the new Scion FR-S is only available in the video version of today’s program.)

Thanks for that report, Craig. Well that wraps up an eventful week of developments in the automotive industry. Thanks for watching, and join us back here again on Monday.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com

Runtime: 8:49

It looks like GM is still the world’s biggest automaker, but VW is nipping at its heels with massively more revenue to show for it. Volvo’s hybrid semi-truck sets a world speed record. Renault-Nissan will take a majority stake in AvtoVAZ in order to polish up the Lada brand. All that and more, plus John McElroy responds to your questions and comments in this week’s edition of You Said It!

Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bosch, Bridgestone and Dow Automotive Systems

»Subscribe to Podcast | | | | Listen on Phone

Welcome to Autoline Daily for May 3rd. I’m John McElroy and here’s the news.

GM SELLS MORE, PROFITS LESS
General Motors reported its first-quarter earnings this morning and the numbers are disappointing. Worldwide vehicle sales grew by 97,000 units for a total of 2.4 million vehicles, which means GM is probably still the world’s largest automaker, just edging out VW, which sold 2.2 million vehicles. But, GM’s revenue was just under $38 billion, compared to VW’s whopping $61.5 billion. Worse, GM’s net profits fell one-third compared to a year ago to only $1 billion. VW, by comparison put over $4 billion on the bottom line. GM’s profits fell because it had a one-time charge of $600 million, but mainly because its costs and expenses rose by $1.5 billion.

CAMAROHHH!
Wow, a 200 MPH Camaro! Lingenfelter Performance Engineering managed to crack the 200 MPH barrier with a souped up 2012 Camaro ZL1. Of course, to push a Camaro to that speed takes a lot of power, and this car cranks out an eye-popping 720 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque. That’s thanks to a Lingenfelter camshaft, CNC ported cylinder heads, a custom air intake plus a more powerful supercharger.

MEAN GREEN MAKES A SCENE
Speaking of fast vehicles, Volvo just set a world speed record in a modified hybrid semi-truck it calls Mean Green. From a rolling start it hit 147 MPH or about 236 km/h in a 1,000 meter course — that’s about 3,280 feet — and from a standing start it reached 95 MPH or about 153 km/h over the same distance.

NO LAZY SUMMER FOR CHRYSLER
As we reported yesterday, Chrysler’s sales keep soaring so the company just announced it will skip its traditional two-week summer shutdown. Four factories that make the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Durango, Jeep Compass and Patriot, the Dodge Dart, Dodge Journey, Fiat 500 and Fiat Freemont will not shut down this summer. Chrysler also said two more plants will close for just one week.

A WHOLE LADA POTENTIAL
Remember the Lada? Renault-Nissan just announced it will take a majority stake in AvtoVAZ, which builds the Lada. Renault-Nissan will invest $750 million in AvtoVAZ to polish up the Lada brand and hopefully boost sales in Russia’s booming car market.

THE RACE TO REPLACE AKERSON
Earlier in the show we talked about GM’s disappointing earnings. So how is GM’s next generation of leadership going to turn the company around? Well that depends on who gets the top job. This week we’re presenting you with the race to replace Dan Akerson and today we take a look a Steve Girsky, who spent most his career with Morgan Stanley on Wall Street, where he was ranked the top automotive analyst for 14 years in a row. Girsky, who is 50 years old, also served as an advisor to GM chairman Rick Wagoner in 2005, and was later hired by the UAW to advise it on its VEBA negotiations with GM and Chrysler. In fact, in 2009 the UAW named Girsky to represent it on GM’s board of directors, a seat he continues to hold. And in 2010 he was named vice chairman of GM with all product planning and purchasing reporting to him. All this puts him in a perfect position to become the next CEO of the company, except for one thing. While others in the company wanted to dump Opel, Girsky argued in favor of keeping it. Opel is now holding GM back financially, with no solution in sight to fix it. Unless or until Girsky, who now sits on Opel’s board, can figure out a way to show significant progress on turning Opel around, GM’s board may want to look at a candidate who has a track record with more recent successes.

Coming up next, it’s time for You Said It!

And now it’s time for some of your feedback.

C-Tech had a few comments of his own on our review of the Toyota Yaris. “It appears the Yaris is one Toyota that sells on the Toyota reputation. It may only be a matter of time before it is overtaken by the competition.” C-Tech, it’s already happening. Last month the Hyundai Accent, Ford Fiesta, Chevy Sonic and Nissan Sentra all outsold the Yaris. However, Toyota continues to build up inventory levels of the Yaris, so we’ll have to see if it can move past the competition in the months to come.

Jim Thykeson is puzzled why GM would link up with Isuzu again. “GM needs to learn from past experience; their relationship with Isuzu did not reveal any good things, why would you go there again?” Jim, Isuzu is very good at medium-duty trucks and diesel engines, and that part of its relationship with GM on a worldwide basis was pretty good. But why GM thinks it needs to take an equity stake in the company is something it hasn’t explained very well.

Cynthia, like us, was saddened to see the passing of Dan Knott at Chrysler. “Dan Knott was, indeed, one of ‘the good guys.’ He was also kind, caring, funny, a terrific engineer and a consummate gentleman with impeccable integrity. Those who were lucky enough to work with him will never forget him. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.” Amen, Cynthia, we truly lost one of the good guys.

Jumadepe saw our report that the new Ford B-Max does not have a B-pillar and wonders why we thought this was news. “John, removing the B pillar is not new. There are some mini minivans in Japan without the B pillars.” You’re right Jumadepe, pillarless cars and vans are nothing new, but the early versions never had to meet today’s side impact and rollover standards. That’s why we haven’t seen pillarless cars in a long time, and that’s why it’s impressive to see that Ford figured out how to meet those standards without a B-pillar.

fperkins17 says, “It’s great to see Autoline Daily going HD! This is the single best channel for learning about the automotive industry. Please extend HD to the other programs in the Autoline world. Way to go guys!” Thanks fperkins17, we’re working on it, and it’s great to see that you appreciate the continuous improvements we’re making to Autoline.

Thanks for all your letters and comments, we love getting them. Don’t forget to join me and that outrageous, bodacious, Autoextremist Peter De Lorenzo tonight for Autoline After Hours. We’ll have Bill Coughlin from Ford explaining how they’re going to use TechShop Detroit as an incubation lab for coming up with new ideas between Ford and its suppliers. This could be a breakthrough approach to R&D. that’s tonight starting at 6PM Eastern Time at Autoline.tv.

And that wraps up today’s report, please join us again tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com

Runtime: 8:02

After what seems like an eternity, Ford is taking orders for the hotly anticipated Focus ST, but at what price? The Aptera we thought was dead in the ground is being “zapped” back to life by a Chinese company. German scientists are developing smart tires that can change their tread to match driving conditions. All that and more, plus a full report on April car sales.

Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bosch, Bridgestone and Dow Automotive Systems

»Subscribe to Podcast | | | | Listen on Phone

Welcome to Autoline Daily for May 2nd. I’m John McElroy and we’re going to have a full report on April sales in the American market later in the show, but first let’s take a look at some of the latest product news.

AT LONG LA-ST
It feels like we’ve been waiting about 20 years for this, but Ford finally opened the order books for its highly anticipated Focus ST. At last you can build and price one on its American website. This 2013 model is powered by a 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine. It’s officially rated at 252 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque, which should make this little five-door scream. In fact, a source inside the company tells us its top speed is 148 miles an hour! The Focus ST is offered exclusively with a six-speed manual transmission. Base price is just about $25,000, including shipping and handling charges. If you load it up with options it’ll set you back just about 31,000. No fuel economy figures have been revealed nor has the release date, so stay tuned.

APTERA ZAPPED BACK TO LIFE
What’s old is new again, or in this case, what’s dead is alive. According to Autoblog Green, the super aerodynamic – and super defunct Aptera 2e is being revived. It was spotted at the Beijing Auto Show. A Chinese company called Zap Jonway has apparently bought the body molds and plans to start building cars. It’s reported they also plan to ship them to the United States where powertrains would be installed. But due to some legal issues it seems pretty unlikely Apteras will ever be sold in America.

SMARTER TIRES
Scientists in Germany are developing tires that adapt to weather conditions or any kind of road surface. According to Motor Authority, embedded sensors in the tire automatically adjust for optimum grip and fuel efficiency. In other words, the tread pattern will change or reconfigure to get the best performance. Flexible actuators, piezo-ceramic actuators, shape memory alloys and other smart materials, are all used to make it work. As you can probably guess it will be years before these tires are ready for the public to use but hopefully it’s not too long because it sure would be nice not to worry about putting snow tires on during the winter.

ZOYTE Z100
India has the Tata Nano and now China has the Zoyte Z100. According to China Car Times, it’s the cheapest car in the Chinese market at a starting price of just $3,700. Powering the Z100 is a 1.0 liter engine mated to a five-speed manual transmission. But it could just be a copy of the Suzuki Alto. Zoyte purchased another Chinese company which built the Alto under license. We don’t know if this is a legal replica or not, but they sure look like twins to me.

Coming up next, we have a lot to learn from what the market is telling us. We do a deep dive into April car sales.

APRIL 2012 SALES
New car sales in April in the American market show that the market is well above a year ago, but somewhat softer than the prior month. Total sales came to nearly 1.2 million vehicles, up 15 percent, which WardsAuto says translates into a SAAR of almost 14.4 million. But sales were down 1.6 percent compared to March.

The top five gainers in the market included Daimler, which was up 44 percent. Typically we’d just call it Mercedes-Benz, but take a look at this! Smart was up 84 percent. Even so, total smart sales were only 764 cars, so don’t get too excited. Chrysler continues to stun everyone and posted another 35 percent jump, VW-Audi was up 27 percent Toyota 25 percent and Porsche 22 percent.

The Toyota Camry continues to be the best selling car in America but it just barely edged out the Honda Accord. Clearly the two Japanese juggernauts are regaining their foothold after a disastrous year ago April which was just after the earthquake hit. The Chevy Malibu, Ford Fusion and Hyundai Sonata all finished close to each other. And while the Nissan Altima blew everyone away in March with sales of 41,000 cars, clearly it pulled a lot of customers forward, because in April sales fell 60 percent.

Toyota and Honda also dominated small car sales with the Corolla and Civic. The Ford Focus and Chevy Cruze were well behind them, but look who broke into the top five in this segment: the Volkswagen Jetta. Amazingly, VW pulled ahead of Nissan, Hyundai and Kia.

On the truck side the Ford F-series continues to easily lead the segment, but look at the Ram pick-up which saw a 34 percent jump. Looks like they’re clearing out the inventory to clear the decks for the redesigned Ram that comes out later this year. If I were Chevy I’d be nervous about Ram closing the gap with Silverado.

In the hot compact crossover segment, Honda easily led the way with the CR-V, but a surprise was the strength of the Chevy Equinox, which edged out the Ford Escape, Toyota RAV-4 and Nissan Rogue.

Electric car sales continued to disappoint. While sales of the Chevy Volt were up 233 percent compared to a year ago, total sales only came to 1,462 cars which was actually a 25 percent drop from the month before. Nissan LEAF sales were a paltry 370 cars, while Mitsubishi only managed to sell 79 i’s.

Sales of hybrids, EVs and cars with E-assist, shot up 80 percent over a year ago, but almost all of that is thanks to the Toyota Prius. The sedan, the v and the c now account for 41 percent of all hybrid sales. Even so, hybrid sales were down 2.4 percent from March, which means they fell more than the overall market, even with sky-high gasoline prices.

That wraps up our sales report, but before we go, be sure to join us Thursday night for Autoline After Hours. Our guest will be Bill Coughlin from Ford and the guy who is responsible for bringing TechShop to Detroit. You’ll be amazed why he did this.

Anyway, thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com

Runtime: 9:27

Automakers and other organizations are fighting a battle that’s reminiscent of the clash between Westinghouse and Edison.  There’s lots of labor strife going on in the automotive world today.  GM is laying off a huge number of workers at its tech center in Warren, Michigan.  All that and more, plus a test drive of the 2012 Toyota Yaris.

Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bosch, Bridgestone and Dow Automotive Systems

»Subscribe to Podcast | | | | Listen on Phone

Welcome to Autoline Daily for the first of May.  I’m John McElroy and here’s the news.

BATTLE OF THE PLUGS (subscription required)
In a battle reminiscent of the fight between George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison over alternating current and direct current, automakers and other organizations are quarreling over what type of plug to use for EVs.  WardsAuto.com reports there are three different quick-charge connectors in the running – one from Japan, another advocated by European OEMs and a third proposed by the SAE.  While they all argue, governments and businesses are already installing different types of public chargers, meaning EV owners could soon run into problems trying to plug-in their cars.

WORKERS DECLARE WAR
Lots of labor strife in the news today. In the U.S., Caterpillar workers that manufacture hydraulic parts rejected concessions on health care and the use of temporary employees and are planning to go on strike.  In Canada, Chrysler temporarily shut down its minivan assembly plant due to a supplier strike with the Canadian Auto Workers Union. And in Germany, IG Metal workers walked off the job at Daimler’s Rastatt plant. Porsche and Audi will soon face problems too. German workers want a 6.5 percent raise and better treatment for apprentices and temporary employees. Of course none of this should surprise management. You can’t go around bragging about big profits, then turn around and tell workers they need to cough up more concessions.

DR. HONDA’S TRAFFIC DECONGESTANT
Honda is developing technology to smooth out traffic jams. The system analyzes the driving pattern of a vehicle to monitor how it accelerates and decelerates. A display on the dashboard helps the driver accelerate and brake more smoothly to prevent trailing cars from bunching up or stretching out behind it. The idea is to get all the cars travelling at a constant speed. Initial tests show that the average speed of the vehicle was increased by nearly 25 percent and fuel efficiency of the trailing vehicles was increased by 8 percent. The company says even more improvement is possible if cloud servers and adaptive cruise control is used. Honda will conduct its first public road tests starting this month in Italy and Indonesia.

CADILLAC SUPER CRUISE
And speaking of technology designed to make driving less of a hassle, autonomous vehicles keep moving closer to reality. Last week Google said it’s ready to partner with an automaker to develop the technology and now Cadillac is showing off its own driverless system called Super Cruise. It’s not fully autonomous but it can steer, brake and keep the vehicle centered in the lane while on the highway. As of now, it can only work during good weather conditions. The system is comprised of radar, ultrasonic sensors, cameras and GPS data. Super Cruise is currently being tested in an SRX and the company says it could be ready for production by the middle of the decade.

R&D = REDUCTION AND DISMISSAL
At a time when automakers are worried they can’t get the technical talent they need, General Motors is laying off one quarter of its R&D workers at its Tech Center in Warren, Michigan. GM says those 100 layoffs are part of a larger R&D restructuring that will also close an R&D center in India, which opened in 2003. Here’s my Autoline Insight, GM has quietly been moving more and more R&D work to China, where it has opened three tech centers and hired hundreds of engineers in the last decade. This is a disturbing development. The word we get from insiders at the Warren Tech Center is that morale is bad, management is mad, and that it should come as no surprise that the company is laying off scientists, engineers and technicians in the United States.

RACE TO REPLACE AKERSON
At a conference sponsored by the Wall Street Journal yesterday, GM CEO Dan Akerson said the company’s executive in charge of product development, Mary Barra, is clearly a candidate to replace him. And that brings us to this week’s series of looking at who will win the race to replace Dan Akerson. Since he was saying Mary Barra is in the race, let’s take a look at her background. Mary Barra is 50 years old and largely came up on the engineering and manufacturing side of the business. She started with GM in 1980 at the Pontiac division as a co-op student from Kettering University. But it was especially in the last decade that her career really took off. She became executive director of vehicle manufacturing engineering in 2004 and promoted to vice president in that position in 2008. In 2009 she was name vice president of Global Human Resources, and in 2011 became senior vice president of product development. She is also on Opel’s supervisory board. It would be a real coup for GM’s board to name Mary Barra as the first female CEO in the automotive industry. But she faces some formidable competition, and we’ll be introducing you to them the rest of this week.

Coming up next, a look at the Toyota Yaris.

2012 TOYOTA YARIS
(Our review of the 2012 Toyota Yaris is only available in the video version of today’s program.)

In the first quarter of this year, sales of the Toyota Yaris were up nearly 50 percent in the American market.

That wraps up today’s report, thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com

Runtime: 9:28

Global car sales hit a world record in March with nearly 8.25 million units sold. General Motors will start selling the Chevrolet Corvette in South Korea next month. And speaking of GM, reports out of Japan say the company will take a 10 percent stake in Isuzu, to jointly develop, produce and sell pickup trucks and commercial vehicles. All that and more, plus a look at the all-new Dodge Dart.

Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bosch, Bridgestone and Dow Automotive Systems

»Subscribe to Podcast | | | | Listen on Phone

Thanks for joining us for the beginning of a new week of watching the car business. I’m John McElroy, this is Autoline Daily, and now the news.

RECORD CAR SALES IN MARCH
And when it comes to global car sales, the news is good. Ward’s reports that sales hit a world record in March with nearly 8.25 million units sold, a 5 percent gain compared to last year. That’s thanks to growth in China, Russia, India and North America.

CORVETTE HEADS TO KOREA
And there’s good news for car enthusiasts in South Korea as well. GM will start selling the Chevrolet Corvette there next month. But get this, the base model, with 430-horsepower, will be priced at 86.4 million won. That’s about $76,000, which is 50 percent more than it costs in the U.S.! Since the U.S. and Korea now have a free-trade pact that lowers tariffs, looks like Chevy is pricing the car for high margins. Even so, are the Detroit Three finally going to get serious about exporting from the U.S. to the rest of the world again? Remember, we just reported that Ford is designing the next-generation Mustang with overseas sales in mind.

R.I.P. DAN KNOTT
And then there’s sad news to report today. Dan Knott, the vice president of Purchasing of Chrysler succumbed to his fight against cancer. Dan was only 51 years old and was just hitting his stride as a senior executive. He was a true automotive enthusiast, having worked on the original Dodge Viper and as director of Street Racing Technology, SRT. He was also vice president of Engineering. He survived the debacles with Daimler and Cerberus and was primed to play a significant role in the company’s amazing comeback, and it’s sad to see the industry lose one of the good guys.

RACE TO REPLACE AKERSON
Last week GM CEO Dan Akerson said he wanted his replacement to come from within the company, which got us thinking, ok, who could it be? So, all this week I’ll be presenting you with the executives who I think might be in the running, and on Friday I’ll give you my analysis of who might get the top job. But you can’t tell the players without a scorecard, and first up on today’s scorecard is Tim Lee. He’s not as well known outside the company, but Tim Lee is a GM lifer who grew up on the manufacturing and labor relations side of the business. A native of Loraine, Ohio, he spent the much of his recent career overseas, including stints at Isuzu in Japan, at GM Europe in Zurich, Switzerland, and now in Shanghai, China where he is president of GM’s International Operations. He’s also the chairman of GM Korea and was just appointed to the supervisory board of Opel. In fact, he is in charge of almost all of GM’s operations except North and South America. All that international experience gives him the kind of resume that the board of directors at GM would love to see in choosing their next CEO. But it’s rare, very rare, to see manufacturing guys make it to the very top no matter how much other business experience they have. Even so, Tim Lee could prove to be the exception to the rule.

GM SEEKS ISUZU STAKE
Speaking of GM and Isuzu, reports out of Japan say GM will take a 10 percent stake in Isuzu, again, to jointly develop, produce and sell pickup trucks and commercial vehicles in Asia and Central and South America. Analysts speculate that if the deal goes through, Toyota could sell its stake in Isuzu since they would be competing with each other. But I find it very curious to see GM signing up partners again after it was forced to drop those relationships when it went through bankruptcy.

NO B-PILLAR ON B-MAX
The new Ford B-Max is kind of unique. It’s a subcompact MPV based on the company’s B-class platform. But what really makes it stand out are the doors, it’s rear sliding doors. Now I know what you’re saying, “John, that’s NOTHING new.” And you’re right, except for one thing. Engineers have managed to delete the B-pillar, which gives wide-open access to the rear seats. I’m amazed this thing meets crash standards, but high-strength and ultra-high-strength boron steel was the solution. 40 real-world side-impact crash tests verified all the computer simulations. According to Wardsauto.com, Ford will likely use this approach on other vehicles in its lineup. Say, maybe they could finally build a competitive minivan . . .

Coming up next, we finally get to report on the new Dodge Dart.

2013 DODGE DART
(The Dodge Dart overview is only available in the video version of today’s program.)

Yeah, we still haven’t driven all the powertrain permutations in the Dart, so we’ll have to reserve our final judgment until we do. But right now I’d rate the Dart as a better car than the Elantra, Civic and Corolla, but not quite as good as the Chevy Cruze or Ford Focus.

Before we go, I want to remind you that you can get Autoline Daily e-mailed directly to you everyday, along with reminders of our other shows. Just go to our website, Autoline.tv, and scroll down the left-hand column to where it says “Daily Email.” It’s free and we will not share your e-mail address with anyone else. Just like we never have.

But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com

Runtime: 8:39

We’ve got the first-quarter financial results for a whole bunch of automakers and the numbers are all over the place. Luxury automakers are starting to expand into Inner Mongolia because of growing wealth in the area. The EPA made if official: the brand-new Ford Escape has the best fuel economy in its segment when equipped with an automatic transmission. All that and more, plus a preview of Autoline This Week with Carla Bailo, the senior vice president of Research and Development for Nissan Americas.

Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bosch, Bridgestone and Dow Automotive Systems

»Subscribe to Podcast | | | | Listen on Phone

Welcome to the end of another week of Autoline Daily. I’m John McElroy and here’s what’s happening in the car business today.

FIRST QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS (Microsoft Excel file)
We’ve got the first quarter financial results for a whole bunch of automakers today and the numbers are all over the place. We have detailed numbers in today’s show notes, so click on the link if you really want to get into them, but here are the highlights. Volkswagen is the undisputed global leader in revenue and profits, even if it doesn’t sell the most vehicles. VW’s financial performance is now the best in the industry. Daimler also had a good quarter and so did Honda. But now let’s get to the bad news. Ford saw a drop in sales, revenue and profit due to losses in Europe and Asia and a big drop-off in profits in South America, though it did quite well in North America. Meanwhile, the picture looks very bad for Fiat and Mazda. Both companies reported lower sales, a big drop in revenue, and a bottom-line disaster. As I predicted two years ago, Chrysler is now bailing out Fiat. And while Sergio Marchionne says he needs an Asian partner for Fiat-Chrysler, it seems unlikely he would want to hitch up with Mazda if the company is losing so much money.

INNER MONGOLIA ATTRACTS LUXURY BRANDS
Now here’s one I never expected. Turns out Inner Mongolia is one of the hottest car markets in China. It’s all those rare-earth-metal millionaires from the mining industry. And they have money for luxury cars. Porsche sold 200 vehicles in one small city there called Ordos, which is known for its Genghis Khan mausoleum. So now Porsche is opening a dealership there. So will Bentley and Maserati. And I want to give a shout out to our viewers in Mongolia, because we do have a few fans there.

DAIMLER EXTENDS BERNHARD
Wolfgang Bernhard just got another five year extension on his contract at Daimler. He turns 52 later this, is a member of the Board of Management and is responsible for Manufacturing and Procurement of Mercedes-Benz cars as well as the entire Mercedes van division. He also was the COO at Chrysler in the DaimlerChrysler days.

THIEVES TARGET BEIJING ATTENDEES
Auto shows are all about glitz, glamour and hot new vehicles, but that’s not the case in Beijing. According to China Car Times, a gang of thieves was on the prowl, stealing photographic equipment and other electronics worth thousands of dollars. So far dozens of people have been robbed. I’d bet a lot of them are jet-lagged foreign journalists – rich pickins for local thugs. A big problem is that practically anyone can obtain credentials to attend the media days. Scalpers were selling press passes for as little as 1,500 yuan, about $240.

ESCAPE EPA NUMBERS OFFICIAL
The EPA made if official: the brand-new Ford Escape has the best fuel economy in its segment, when equipped with an automatic transmission. It comes with three engines – a 2.5-liter four-banger, as well as one-six and 2.0-liter EcoBoost options. All of them achieve at least 30 miles per gallon on the highway, which is about 7.8 liters/100 km. The efficiency champ is the 1.6. It delivers up to 33 MPG on the open road – five more than the outgoing Escape, including the hybrid version! The Mazda CX-5 equipped with a manual gearbox delivers 35 MPG on the highway, but it’s way down on power compared to Ford’s smaller EcoBoost engine. And besides, Americans don’t buy manual transmissions so it’s better to be best with an automatic.

Coming up next, how come Japanese automakers don’t seem to have any women executives or engineers?

AUTOLINE THIS WEEK
On Autoline This Week my guest is Carla Bailo, the senior vice president of research and development for Nissan Americas. In a wide-ranging interview, one of the topics we get into is how Japanese automakers don’t seem to do a very good job of promoting women. Also joining me for the show are Lindsay Brooke from Automotive Engineering International and Brent Snavely from the Detroit Free Press. Here’s a taste of what the show is about.

(Today’s Autoline This Week preview is only available in the video version of the program.)

You can watch that entire interview right now on our website at Autoline.tv, or if you live in North America, check your local public television listings since Autoline This Week is carried coast-to-coast in the United States and Canada.

Friday is here, and there’s no better way to wind down our automotive week than with the RoundAbout crew. Host Craig Cole has a preview of what is coming up tonight.

Well, last week we talked about a truck that appeared to emulate a Soviet jetliner, and fittingly tonight we’ll tell you about a Russian MiG-29 tooling down Slovakian roads. Plus, Ford of Spain has figured out how to perfume your used car with the odor of off-gassing plastics, AKA new car smell. Find out about all this and way, way more with our guest panelist Jeff Glucker from Hooniverse.com. Join us 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time at Autoline.tv.

And that wraps up this week’s news. Thanks for watching and we will see you on Monday.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com