AD #1247 – Quarterly Earnings Results, 1.0L Fiesta Specs, Chrysler Reveals SEMA Cars
October 30th, 2013 at 11:50am
Runtime: 7:47
We take a look at quarterly earnings from General Motors, Volkswagen, Chrysler and Honda. Ford reveals the specs for the upcoming 1.0L 3-cylinder powered Fiesta. Chrysler unveils some of the cars it will have at this year’s SEMA show in Las Vegas. All that and more, plus a look at the all-new Mazda3.
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Hello and welcome to Autoline Daily. I’m Sean McElroy filling in for John today. In the second half of the show we’ll take a look at the new Mazda3 but first today’s top stories.
QUARTERLY EARNINGS RESULTS
And we’ve got more financial earnings to look at today. First up is General Motors. The company sold about 2.4 million units in the last three months which is up a little over 5% compared to a year ago. Its revenue in third quarter was UP about 4% as well, to $39 billion. However the company’s net profit dropped over 50% to just about $700 million.
But things were better for GM’s crosstown rival Chrysler. The company sold a little over 600,000 vehicles in the third quarter, a jump of 8.5%. Its revenue increased over 13% to $17.6 billion and its net profit hit $464 million which is a gain of nearly 22%.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen sold 2.4 million vehicles in the last three months a gain of 1.5% compared to a year ago. However the company’s revenue dropped nearly 4% to about 47 billion euros. And its net revenue plunged over 80% to 1.9 billion euros due to an adjustment to last years net profits.
And last but not least, Honda posted its quarterly earnings. The company sold 869,000 vehicles a gain of 6.5% compared to last year. Its revenue came in at over $29 billion, close to a 2% gain. And its net profit jumped 20% hitting $1.2 billion.
1.0L FIESTA
Around this time last year, Ford announced that it will bring its 1.0 liter 3-cylinder powered Fiesta to the U.S. and now we finally have some of its specs. The car carries an EPA rating of 32 MPG in the city and 45 on the highway which Ford claims is the best highway rating of any non-hybrid gasoline powered car on the market. The 1.0 liter Fiesta cranks out 123 horsepower and 125 lb.-ft. of torque. In addition, the car is available with an overboost function to push it to 145 lb.-ft. of torque for 15 seconds. The 1.0L Fiesta arrives at dealerships this December with a starting price just under $17,000.
CHRYSLER’S SEMA OFFERINGS
With the SEMA show starting next Tuesday, we have been showing you an assortment of reveals from a bunch of automakers. So, why not one more? Here are a few of the Mopar-ized vehicles Chrysler will be showing off in Las Vegas. While most of the aftermarket parts are available in the Mopar catalog, there are a few concept parts and pieces that the company plans to gauge customer reactions with, to see if it should offer them in the catalog as well. Like these bead-locking wheels, this topical map graphic for the Cherokee or even this tail-gating seat, that Badnikl on Twitter says will never get made because with no seat belts, he fears, the Bubba’s of the world will say “Hold my beer and watch this.” And we all know nothing good comes after someone says that. And speaking of Twitter, if you would like to follow us just head over to twitter.com/Autoline.
Coming up next, a look at the all-new Mazda3.
2014 MAZDA3
(Our Mazda3 review is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
I’ve had a chance to drive the Mazda3 as well and I agree with Isaac, it’s a very good car.
And don’t forget to join us this Thursday night for Autoline After Hours. Our guest will be Mitch Clauw, the vehicle line executive for the Jeep Cherokee. So if you’ve got any questions or want to learn more about that SUV, make sure you tune in tomorrow night at 6PM eastern time at our website Autoline.tv.
But that’s it for today’s show. Once again I’m Sean McElroy, thanks for watching and please join us again right here tomorrow.
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Comments (32)
October 30th, 2013 at 12:05 pm
Excuuuuse me, but didn’t Ford exaggerate the C-Max MPG numbers? I think they maybe doing the same with the Fiesta 1.0 liter, I wonder how long that engine is supposed to really last? and it should only be mated to the manual, that quirky double-clutch should be even worse with this car, I’d take the Mazda 2 with the FOUR cyl over this anyday.
October 30th, 2013 at 12:12 pm
I’m a Mazda fan, but that seemed like an exceptionally effusive review of the Mazda3.
My question for Mitch Clauw would be, “What the Sam Hill were you guys thinking when you OK’d the front end on the Cherokee? ‘Hey, that looks better than the Nissan Juke!’???”
The Fiesta will go back on my consideration list once the 1.0L is readily available.
October 30th, 2013 at 12:26 pm
Ford exaggerated gas mileage numbers…??Can’t be…the FUSION HYBRID gets 47mpg’s……YEA,AND I HAVE A BRIDGE FOR SALE!!!
October 30th, 2013 at 12:30 pm
I just checked, the 3 cyl will only come with the 5 speed manual, another turn-off for those who just won’t buy a manual, really! who are they targeting with this car? the hypermilers will go for a hybrid, those who like to drive stick will opt for the Fiests ST and then there are those who would not be caught driving a 3 cylinder engine at all!
October 30th, 2013 at 12:31 pm
Pedro, the C-Max label was a combined label with the Fusion HEV, as permitted by the EPA test procedures. But the larger frontal area of the C-Max generated different on-road results, so Ford re-labeled the vehicle.
The Fiesta label is probably not shared with any other vehicles, so I doubt there are any test precedure ideosyncracies.
BTW, the appearance of the Fiesta easily trumps the “2″.
October 30th, 2013 at 12:45 pm
In yeatersay’s You Said It, John justified the CTS price increase because GM says it now competes in the next larger segment with the E-Class and 5-Series. I recognize the ATS as the main competitor of the the old CTS’s target – the C-Class and 3-Series.
The new CTS sounds like a nice improvement from the old vehicles in terms of dynamics and weight, but the size specifications reveal a major isssue – the rear seat has less room. So how can a vehicle with less rear seat room than it predecessor compete in the next larger class? Where is the “and” solution of lighter weight, better dynamics, more space, and same or lower price? Let’s not forget that engineering is the discipline of optimizing multiple requirements. Anyone can trade-off one for requirement for another requirement!
October 30th, 2013 at 12:50 pm
Pedro, I think that when John talked to the Ford engineers about the automatic tranny for the 1.0 they said the number of units didn’t justify development. But I think that the high mileage number may be accounted for by tall gearing, as in europe.
October 30th, 2013 at 12:54 pm
7cont’d Wasn’t it on AAH in Cali, last year?
October 30th, 2013 at 1:11 pm
The 1.0l Ecoboost with the “boiling oil rubber timing belt” set up is not for me! How long will it last as the rubber residue and chunks mixes with the oil supply and clogs the pickup screen and filter on a hot Michigan day? Show me the 10yr./100K engine warrantee and we might just take a chance!!
October 30th, 2013 at 1:33 pm
Unheard of for a race engine to have 13:1 compression? That’s a starting point. Most naturally aspirated race engines range from 14:1 to as high as 18:1 (maybe higher in F1) unless their are limits set by the regulations.
October 30th, 2013 at 2:27 pm
I suspect I would like driving the Fiesta turbo 3, since I generally like driving small cars with manual transmissions, but I doubt I’d want to own one. I wouldn’t trust the reliability. The Fiesta’s engine makes roughly the same power as a base MINI like mine, and has 5 mpg better EPA combined mpg than the MINI, 37 vs 32. I’d expect the real world difference to be smaller than that. That turbocharger and direct injection is a lot of extra complexity, for not much gain.
As far as small 3 cylinder engines, I had one in a Chevy Sprint, predecessor to the Geo Metro. It got great gas mileage for the time, and drove fine for what I used it for, driving to and from work. The engine wasn’t particularly rough compared to 4 cylinder engines of its time.
October 30th, 2013 at 3:42 pm
If you read the CR reports on the Ford turbo engines (all variants) they’re all in black, I always suspected these things would eventually fail, but so soon?? if Mullaly leaves now with all this negativity re Ford, it will leave a mark in his reputation as a miracle worker.
October 30th, 2013 at 4:00 pm
With the recent black eye that Ford has suffered, will Mullaly be able to opt out and go somewhere else at the risk of looking like Capitano Schettino.
October 30th, 2013 at 4:53 pm
#9 whats with the “boiling oil rubber timing belt” reference. Had not heard that term before. Is there a known problem with rubber timing belts turning into oil pump cloggers?
October 30th, 2013 at 5:11 pm
14, It’s probably too early to know about rubber timing belts in oil. I think Ford’s is the first.
October 30th, 2013 at 5:11 pm
14 the timing belt descends into the oil reservoir at the bottom of the engine. IIRC, it’s something about noise mitigation.
For some reason, I want this car.
October 30th, 2013 at 5:27 pm
The Mazda 3 is “best-in-class” at everything? Really! Well perhaps everyone else should just close their doors and quit now.
October 30th, 2013 at 5:32 pm
#16 isn’t that the case with a timing chain? why would a rubber belt need oil, it seems counterproductive to me! I mean the serpentine belt that powers the a/c and alternator don’t need no oil.
October 30th, 2013 at 5:41 pm
Ctech would using “hotter” plugs help with the oil residue issue that I have with my engine, I use the regular NGK ones, as per the manual. two of my plugs get this white residue as soon as 6 months after installing brand new ones.
October 30th, 2013 at 6:07 pm
I suspect the 2 plugs are due to excess oil getting into those cylinders and the deposits are from the oil burning. A “hotter” plug won’t help. You will need to try to stem the oil leaking into the cylinder.
October 30th, 2013 at 6:13 pm
@ #18 You are correct, the belt doess not need oil. I think what the engineers are trying to do is extend the bottom of the block into the area which would normally be the oil pan which adds stiffness to the engine. This puts the crank gear into the oil pool. It is good for a chain, we will see how good it is for a rubber belt.
October 30th, 2013 at 6:19 pm
Do any of the OEM’s take their SEMA cars on tour? Some of the dealers probably would like to see them on display around the country. As a fan I would like to see them up close>
October 30th, 2013 at 6:41 pm
16, Interesting that you find that car interesting. I do too.
October 30th, 2013 at 6:50 pm
The engrs. I eat lunch with share our interest in cars with others who have moved to other companys. The word shared with me about the 1.0L Fiesta from the guy who drove one is impressed. I was told power was more than ample,esp. with the 15 sec. boost. The hwy. mpg figures shared with me were actually higher than estimated from those who drove it like a normal person and fun to drive due to its size.
Another friend, who can’t eat a thing without getting a stain on his shirt, said the Mazda 3 was just as much fun to drive as the one I had before passing it on to my boy, except that the mpg’s may be better by a mile or two. He did note the high rpm’s was more noticeable than when my “08.”,but not an annoyance. There is no doubt in my mind there is no comparable car,equal to the money, that is more fun to drive. I remain a fan of the 2.0L. It has enough getty-up for the average “Joe” and comes with 55 series tires. The low profiles on the 2.4 ride way too hard for me and wear much too quickly.
October 30th, 2013 at 6:58 pm
I have developed another peeve about the attatchment of the info screens on most every car,regardless of price. The darn things stick up in the air as if they are velcroed onto the dash! I know visability is important, but can’t they incorporate them onto the dash so it doesn’t look like it was an after thought?
October 30th, 2013 at 7:09 pm
The choice about how to mount the screens is a curiosity. Doesn’t the Merc CLA also use the billboard mounting? I wonder if they’re easier to replace when the time comes that an owner wants a higher resolution screen. People keep wanting more and more from their IT.
That Mazda engineer is one cool guy, if you ask me. Audi has also recognized the value of upgrading a system; you will be able to change the chip itself. Design cycles in IT are furious.
October 30th, 2013 at 7:24 pm
The Fiat 500 takes the cake, it’s a Tom Tom unit and they just drilled 2 holes on top of the dash, and in they go!! It must do wonders for your forward visibility.
October 31st, 2013 at 10:43 am
My nav consists of an HTC phone in a cup holder. It gives turn-by-turn instructions with a voice that sounds like my 5 year old Garmin.
October 31st, 2013 at 11:07 am
Kit, you’re wise not to bother with all that info-tainment crap
October 31st, 2013 at 11:17 am
Kit – take a look at ProClip ( proclipusa.com ). They have custom, clean looking mounts for phones for almost every vehicle made. It puts it closer to your line of sight than the cup holder. I have had them in my last few vehicles and LOVE them. HINTS: Get the universal phone holder so you don’t have to get a new one if you get a new phone and also get the little mount thing that allows you to share it in different vehicles.
October 31st, 2013 at 11:30 am
30,
Thanks. I’ll check it out.
I don’t use the nav often, and when I do, I set it for voice directions so I don’t need to look at it. Still, a mount could be handy.
October 31st, 2013 at 11:32 am
This Ford slippage in CR quality surveys is sure getting a lot of attention, I don’t see anyone at Ford coming out to defend or excuse or promise improvements or nothing of the sort, I guess they’ll wait to see if it begins to hurt sales. I can see the Ford Tough thingy getting fixed rather quickly, but the propulsion system issues are gonna be a lot harder to address. I think GM and Chryco should come right out with ads pointing this out to prospective buyers.