Episode 929 – OnStar Developing Car Share, BMW X1 Comes to China, U.S., Opel Gets New Leader
July 17th, 2012 at 11:33am
Runtime: 7:31
OnStar’s people behind the blue button are looking at enabling their customers to rent out their cars while not in use. BMW will start building their X1 CUV in China, freeing up capacity at the X1′s German plant for export to the USA. Opel gets a new leader to reshape GMs struggling European brand. All that and more, plus we look at how Ford is combining stop-start technology with its EcoBoost engines.
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Hello and welcome to Autoline Daily, I’m John McElroy and here’s the news.
ONSTAR DEVELOPING CARSHARING
Say, why should you park your car for eight or nine hours at work every day and just leave it sitting there? Maybe some of you would like to have your car pay for itself. That’s why GM’s OnStar is teaming up with a company called RelayRides, which offers what is called a peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace. The service allows car owners to rent their car out when it’s not being used. Renters reserve a car, and unlock it using their smart phone and OnStar. An owner can potentially earn hundreds of dollars a month renting his or her car out. By signing up with Relay Rides, car owners automatically get a $1 million insurance policy, while renters are covered with a $300,000 policy. OnStar says that sharing one car leads to 13 other cars coming off the road, leading to less traffic.
BMW X1 COMING TO CHINA, U.S.A.
BMW will start selling its X-1 CUV in the U.S. this fall. BMW has not sold the X-1 in the U.S. up to now because it says its plant in Leipzig, Germany could not keep up with demand in other markets. But a new plant in China is freeing up demand and that will allow BMW to start shipping X-1’s to the U.S.
NEW LEADER AT OPEL
Last week General Motors essentially fired its head of Opel and its European operations, Karl-Friedrich Stracke. Now Reuters reports that GM is expected to name Thomas Sedran, who currently heads operations, business development and corporate strategy at Opel, as the CEO on an interim basis. Sedran previously worked at Alix Partners, the corporate restructuring company.
TOYOTA CUTS SIENNA 4-CYL
Toyota is going to drop the 4-cylinder engine for the 2013 Sienna in the U.S. market and will only offer the 3.5L V6. Well no wonder, the four only delivered one more mile per gallon than the much more powerful V-6, which gets 18 mpgs in the city and 25 on the highway. The 2013 Sienna gets a few upgrades and a starting price just over $26,000.
LOTUS DROPS PARIS SHOW
The news at Lotus is going from bad to worse and now it will be a no-show at the Paris Auto Show this fall. Something tells me we are soon going to see Lotus up for sale, once again.
NISSAN’S NEW HATCH-LING
Nissan unveiled its new global B-segment hatchback today. The company says it wants to make the Note the most user friendly car in the segment. It includes Nissan’s Around View Mirror, an invention that makes reversing and parking easier. Powerplants for the Note include naturally aspirated and supercharged three cylinder engines with stop-start technology. Nissan’s information on the Note lacked specific numbers for many statistics, including fuel economy, engine output. There were no numbers about the transmission either, but that’s because the Note comes with a CVT.
STOP-START TECH
Speaking of stop-start technology, it sounds like it would be very easy to add to a car. But it’s actually a lot trickier than you might think. And we’ll show you what we’re talking about right after this.
Dan Kapp, the director of power-train research at the Ford Motor Company was on Autoline After Hours recently and talked about stop-start technology. While conceptually it sounds easy to do, there’s actually a lot of technology used to make the system as seamless as possible.
By the way, check out episode 153 of Autoline After Hours, Dan Kapp has a lot of really good information about where power-train technology is headed.
And speaking of Autoline After Hours my guest this Thursday night is Joel Ewanick, the head of all marketing and advertising at General Motors. This is going to be a great show so join me and the Autoextremist, Peter De Lorenzo, for some of the best insider discussion in the automotive business.
And that brings us to the end of today’s report. Thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.
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Comments (46)
July 17th, 2012 at 11:49 am
This stop/start technology is a bit too complicated for my tastes and besides the small amount you save on gas, will be spent later on when it comes time to fix the darn thing, which I have no doubt will fail in the future.
July 17th, 2012 at 11:56 am
That is an interesting concept renting your car out with OnStar. Does GM want OnStar to be such a success that they are supporting a business model that could at some level hurt car sales? Especially Fleet car sales?
July 17th, 2012 at 12:01 pm
Can I join Rent A Wreck?
July 17th, 2012 at 12:36 pm
The technology to do start-stop is pretty simple compared to a lot of other things in today’s cars, but making it work seamlessly can be difficult. Part of making it seamless would appear to require a belt driven starter as in GM mild hybrids. I think I’d have a hard time getting used to a start-stop that used a regular starter engaging the flywheel. Also, I’d think such systems would have starter wear out issues.
July 17th, 2012 at 12:46 pm
The other day,I had a new BMW 7 waiting for the light next to me and then the engine started and the guy behind him was already blowing the horn cause of a 2 sec hesitation, no thanks.
July 17th, 2012 at 1:12 pm
Was the driver of that 7 looking down at an item with thumbs moving around? I suspect that delay was the driver, not the car.
July 17th, 2012 at 1:19 pm
maybe he was hesitant to start moving since the engine had just started, I can imagine what a forward jolt that would be if you gave it gas too soon, not to mention possible transmission damage. But my point is why stop/start in a luxury car like a BMW or a Merc where gas mileage is not a concern for those who but them.
July 17th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
I’m about to institute a rule whereby, if I see the driver ahead of me looking down when the light turns green, I give one second grace period before I hit the horn. Longer grace periods still apply for people that are paying attention.
July 17th, 2012 at 1:22 pm
The GM mild hybrids have dialed in the stop-start response very well. A great part of it is the electric motor and big belt starts the car moving and acts as the starter motor.
I think when RelayRides talks about 13 cars coming off the road, then mean coming out of traffic and parking, not that 13 people will stop buying a car. How do they handle the key issue? By the way, DON’T BE LATE RETURNING MY CAR! and it better be clean.
July 17th, 2012 at 1:24 pm
Anyone else NOT wanting to let somebody (who you don’t know) rent their car (insurance or not); not me. I also doubt the 13 car reduction figure (as well). Even if you rent your car out enough to make your monthly payment, by the time your car is paid off, I’m guessing your mileage would be higher (reducing residual value) not to mention more frequent maintenance bills and interior wear and tear. If you only do it occasionally and aren’t in it for the income, to me it wouldn’t be worth the hassle of knowing where you car is and will you get it back when you/I want it (back).
July 17th, 2012 at 1:24 pm
Minivans have become so big and option laden, it is difficult to power then with a 4cyl engine. Honda and Chrysler dropped 4 cyl. engines from thier minivans years ago.
July 17th, 2012 at 1:35 pm
#10 very stupid idea, imagine someone leaving some drug paraphernalia in a car you rented out and you get stopped by police and hello jail cell
July 17th, 2012 at 1:42 pm
Start-stop cars with conventional automatic transmissions would presumably leave the transmission “in gear,” i.e. clutches/bands set for first gear, when the engine is off. Also, I would think the engine would start with one cylinder through compression. Still, unless they do a really good job, it would seem out of place in a serious luxury car. There is a lot more gas saved by shutting off a big V-8 than a small 4 cyl., though.
July 17th, 2012 at 3:03 pm
I want to praise Toyota for realizing that the Four Banger in a Sienna Minivan should have never been.
Praise to Nissan for taking on my idea for offering a Leaf styled vehicle with an economical ICE powerplants. The only thing is that they should not go smaller than a four banger.
BMW should build the X-1 in the good old USA for the American Market.
Bad Idea attempting to organize Car Sharing using Onstar. This is a ripoff of the Zip Car idea. Hell No would I want somebody driving around and meshing up my ride while I am at work!
This Stop/Start technology is for the birds! Why not just employ VCM (Variable Cylinder Management) at a standing stop. If you have a V8,V6 or 4 banger at a stop light the VCM takes it down to two cylinders which keeps the heat or air conditioning operating and reduces fuel consumption without shutting down the engine completely. This will probably reduce the delay time currently experienced in present day Stop/Start Technology.
July 17th, 2012 at 3:10 pm
Lex I applaud your idea for the stop start idea, but I wonder why they didn’t come up with this instead of shutting the engine off completely, there must be some issue with it, remember cyl deactivation occurs at cruising speeds in high gears when torque is not needed, which is the opposite of starting off from a dead stop.
July 17th, 2012 at 3:28 pm
I suspect there would be a very serious “issue” with idling a 4 cyl engine on two cylinders, like vibration that would shake your teeth out. To my knowledge, they even idle these “variable displacement” V8′s on 8 cylinders rather than 4 for the same reason. If any knows that they idle them on fewer cylinders, please correct me.
July 17th, 2012 at 3:35 pm
The four cylinder Sienna never made sense, given the tiny improvement in mpg. They probably did it mainly to offer a “price leader.”
July 17th, 2012 at 3:41 pm
The “car sharing” rental would certainly appeal only to people who don’t care much about their cars. I doubt that they expect to get much business from “car nut” types who probably make up most of us posting here.
July 17th, 2012 at 3:59 pm
Yea car sharing , not happening at my house. People are by nature very careless with things they don’t own. I’m not going to give access to my vehicle and find it a pig sty when I get it back. Also I agree with your comments on this as well. Also how happy would you be to get your car back and find it reeks of cigarette smoke? I just think this is a problem waiting to happen. I also think there will be people who will take it up as easy money for doing nothing . Until they realize they have to replace their now high mileage car a year after they bought it and the trade in value is next to nothing. ,
July 17th, 2012 at 4:33 pm
I’m not sure if OnStar’s car sharing idea even sounds good in theory. Actually, no it doesn’t. Insurance or not, who wants the all the risks. For instance, the car is not returned on time, not returned at all, returned filthy, lingering body odor, higher mileage/lower value, more wear and tear (i.e., more frequent maintenance), contraband hidden or left inside, used for illegal activities, and so on. It’s got “bad idea” written all over it!
July 17th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
Yeah, I can just see it, you get pulled over by the cops, guns drawn, put on the ground, cuffed cause your car was involved in a felony a few hours earlier, no thanks!
July 17th, 2012 at 4:44 pm
I suppose the people renting the cars would be “screened” as much as someone renting a car from Avis, but it would take a lot more than that for me. Remember what I thought of the dealer guy getting the interior of my car dirty when I got an oil change? Make that several times a day? I don’t think so.
July 17th, 2012 at 4:58 pm
onstar. Standards are weird. I recently was talking to my BiL about the scratches on his Matrix. I learned that these things don’t matter to him. SAY WHAT?
I am not a candidate for car sharing, though I am polite when carrying messy passengers.
July 17th, 2012 at 4:59 pm
but on the inside I’m dying
July 17th, 2012 at 5:07 pm
Gee, that’s just what I would want to spend a bunch of money on ; A BMW made in China !! NOT!!!
July 17th, 2012 at 5:31 pm
I earlier predicted a SAAR reduction and,today,Morgan-Stanley predicted the annual SAAR to lower from the predicted 14.8 to 14.4 M units. Don’t be surprised if the true number nears the 14.0 M mark 2 qtrs. from now.
The other day I noted makers starting to discount their cars deeper,due to declining sales. In Europe,VW’s avg rebate is 12% and 24% off the Golf. Ford EU is resisting,despite even greater losses in sales,but for how long? US discounts have already begun and will,too, increase. The new Fiat 500 is already offering a discount despite prior strong sales. Believe me, the US auto market will go from 4th gear to 2nd quite abruptly.
July 17th, 2012 at 5:49 pm
@ Kit
I asked T.Bejma last week about the differences in 4 cyl. offerings in the ATS,but was not repsponded to. Maybe you could offer some insight. GM finally stated the 2.5 L has an est. 33 hwy mileage and the sight(left Lane?)predicted the 2.0turbo to get 1 mpg less,yet greater city. I prefer non-turbo cars,but I thought the turbo hwy miles were to be grater than the naturally asperated ones. Can you educate me?
July 17th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
My last comment has to do with the looks of the Nissan Note. Is it my imagination these small cars are ALL starting to look the same and the differences between them seem very minute? Anymore,I don’t think I could tell one brand from the other in this segment. Where’s the variety?
July 17th, 2012 at 6:09 pm
the Note is a white good, cwolf. When you look down a row of washing machines does any one in particular tickle your fancy? Just imagine what’s going to happen when everyone gets their Note painted Highway Grigio.
July 17th, 2012 at 6:11 pm
Pedro must have had a couple extra cups of that Miami Cuban coffee today. I’m still laughing about Rent-A-Wreck! Maybe GM will buy the name for their Volt rental program.
July 17th, 2012 at 6:17 pm
#27,
I don’t know specifically the ATS engine offerings, but there have certainly been cases where turbos get better mileage than non-turbos in the same car. This is most likely when then turbo is smaller and/or has taller gearing than the N/A version. When the turbo is just a boosted version of the same engine, as MINI Cooper S vs MINI Cooper and both engines are the same displacement, the turbo usually gets a little lower mpg. There are exceptions to all of this, though.
July 17th, 2012 at 6:23 pm
I think we can assume that any U.S. bound X1′s will come from the not-in-China plant for the forseeable future, and the ones from China will be sold in China and other Asian markets.
July 17th, 2012 at 6:33 pm
What’s the diff, we buy IPads and other fancy and expensive electronics made in China too! BTW a Chinese company makes the world’s only vacuum tube CD player. for almost a grand. USD
July 17th, 2012 at 6:48 pm
It seems that when Americans have a choice of where products come from, we tend to buy other than China. We’ll see how that goes when cars start arriving here from China.
With electronic gadgets, we have little choice, though my phone came from Taiwan, not mainland China.
July 17th, 2012 at 7:03 pm
but Kit with the premium prices that Apple demands for their products, you’d think they would be made here, imagine the profit margin on those products, cause with the Athletes and their Chinese made sneakers, they do have to pay them a big percentage for the use of the name, but Apple has no such issues, all profits. as far as the cars, we seem to be accepting Chinese-made tires without much fuss, even after all the bad reviews they have gotten about their quality. I know a guy who owns a small independent tire store and no one ever questions the country of origin when buying a tire from him, they just want a low price.
July 17th, 2012 at 7:16 pm
Holy guacamole, hold on to your hemorrhoids, CR just put out a video praising the Buick LaCrosse with the eAssist, system, only bad criticizing its outward visibility. (what new car is immune from this nowadays)?
July 17th, 2012 at 7:22 pm
I agree that gold mine Apple should make at least some of their stuff here. As long as they keep coming up with things people want, I suppose they will keep doing what they are doing. It’s tough for a consumer. I like Apple’s stuff, but I don’t like a lot of the way they run the business.
July 17th, 2012 at 7:35 pm
Mr Ford ,if you’re not doing it now,how about squirting fuel into the combustion cylinder aligned to rotate the crank,then fire the ignition.It may take 2 such on a V6.
July 17th, 2012 at 7:39 pm
#36 pedro,it must be a result of the heat!
Kit Gerhart Says:
July 17th, 2012 at 6:48 pm
It seems that when Americans have a choice of where products come from, we tend to buy other than China. We’ll see how that goes when cars start arriving here from China.
Kit,me thinks the Walmart shoppers will not agree with you!
July 17th, 2012 at 7:46 pm
Do WalMart shoppers have much choice about where things come from?
July 17th, 2012 at 7:55 pm
I met a client that owns a high-end kitchen and bathroom place where they sell plumbing, appliances etc. I asked him if they were made in the US, he said no, mostly in Europe, Germany, Sweden hardly anything here, I was quite shcoked and upset at the same time.
July 17th, 2012 at 7:57 pm
Don’t you think Walmart shoppers are smart enought to already know where the “low low prices” come from? They know… just don’t care!
July 17th, 2012 at 8:19 pm
There a lot of products that come from China, no matter where you buy them. That is what I was saying. If you buy a table fan or dust pan, it will come from China, whether you buy it at WalMart, Target, Sears, or Macy’s. Sad, but true.
July 18th, 2012 at 7:33 am
I took the time to check out the Epcot World showcase and except for clothing, most products sold in those stores are made in red China, the exception was Japan where most things were made either there or Taiwan.
July 18th, 2012 at 9:26 am
I don’t understand how sharing one car leads to 13 other cars coming off the road, leading to less traffic. If the person who would have used your car now rents a vehicle, traffic is unaffected. In fact, it could increase traffic if that person would have otherwise taken public transportation.
July 18th, 2012 at 9:56 am
As someone that works in insurance (in Ontario, Canada), I would be curious to know what kind of premium they want for RelayRides. Renting/leasing to others is specifically excluded on a standard policy, I know it can be endorsed on, but ive never actually seen it on a policy. I wonder