AD #1701 – Ford Teams with Alcoa, New VW Tiguan Gets Bigger, Porsche Unveils EV
September 15th, 2015 at 12:37pm
Runtime: 6:22
- Ford Moving to Advanced Aluminum
- China’s BAIC Heads to Silicon Valley
- New VW Tiguan Grows in Size
- Mazda Unveils All-New Crossover Concept
- Jaguar F-PACE Makes Official Debut
- Porsche Shows 4-Door EV
- Audi Reveals Electric SUV Concept
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On today’s show… Ford and Alcoa collaborate on advanced aluminum alloys, Porsche targets Tesla with a new EV concept and crossovers dominate the Frankfurt auto show. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily for September 15th, 2015.
FORD MOVING TO ADVANCED ALUMINUM
The Ford Motor Company announced yesterday that it’s entering into a collaboration with Alcoa, the 3rd largest producer of aluminum in the world. The automaker is going to use Alcoa’s Micromill material, which is 40% more formable than current automotive aluminum and will help create greater design flexibility for future products. The aluminum material will first be used for multiple components on the 2016 F-150. And as we know, Ford will be building a new Ranger, so maybe it’s one of those future products.
CHINA’S BAIC HEADS TO SILICON VALLEY
Chinese automakers are slowly making their way into the U.S. market. And now we can add BAIC, who has joint ventures with both Daimler and Hyundai in China. The automaker just opened a new R&D center in Silicon Valley that will focus on developing technology for electric vehicles, batteries and telematics. By 2020, BAIC says it hopes to boost its EV production to 200,000 units, with 30% of those being sold outside China.
And don’t miss our coverage of the Frankfurt auto show today and tomorrow. John is interviewing executives from the floor of the show with their new vehicles. So keep checking Autoline.tv throughtout the day for the latest interviews.
And speaking of Frankfurt, we’ll take a look at some of the reveals coming up next.
The crossover segment is one of the hottest in the auto industry. So it was no surprise to see a number of automakers unveiling new models in that segment.
NEW VW TIGUAN GROWS IN SIZE
First up let’s look at the all-new Volkswagen Tiguan, which shares some styling cues with the larger CrossBlue. It’s the first SUV in the VW Group to be built on its MQB modular architecture. Compared to the current model, the new one is longer, wider and lower. But despite being slightly larger, the new Tiguan weighs 110 pounds less. In Europe, customers have 8 engine choices, all of which have turbocharging, direct injection, stop-start and battery re-gen as standard. The company also showed off a plug-in version that it claims averages about 123 MPG but that’s based on the easier European test cycle.
MAZDA UNVEILS ALL-NEW CROSSOVER
Mazda just pulled the wrap back on its all-new crossover concept, called the KOERU. The CUV gets the automaker’s latest evolution of KODO design of which you’ll notice many characteristics shared with other Mazda vehicles, tying it nicely into the lineup. The only real details released are the exterior dimensions of the KOERU, which happen to be nearly identical to the CX-5. So, it’s probably not too far off to say this is where the CX-5 is headed and by my eye, the KOERU looks pretty production ready.
| Exterior Dimensions | ||
|---|---|---|
| KOERU | CX-5 | |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 2,700 | 2,700 |
| Length (mm) | 4,600 | 4,555 |
| Width (mm) | 1,900 | 1,840 |
| Height (mm) | 1,500 | 1,670 |
JAGUAR F-PACE MAKES OFFICIAL DEBUT
Jaguar has been teasing its new compact crossover, the F-PACE, for sometime now but the company finally unveiled the new model. It’s built on JLR’s Lightweight Aluminum Architecture and is available in both rear and all-wheel drive. Under the hood, the F-PACE offers a range of gasoline and diesel engines. Look for The F-PACE in dealer showrooms next year.
Coming up next, the German’s show off a couple of EV concepts.
PORSCHE’S ON A MISSION
Porsche released a bit of a shocker yesterday. A 600-horsepower EV concept, called the Mission E. Highlights include a 800-volt electrical system, which is double today’s EVs, over 500-kilometers or 310-miles of driving range, 0 to 60 in under 3.5-seconds and the battery can be charged to 80% capacity in 15-minutes. It also features suicide doors, seating for four and gesture-based instrument controls. You know, whenever I’ve asked someone, why doesn’t Porsche make more drastic design changes to the 911? The answer has always been something like, it would end up losing it’s iconic looks. But to me, the Mission E has some 911 flare and could be a radical evolution of the sports car.
AUDI REVEALS ELECTRIC SUV CONCEPT
Audi revealed its electric SUV concept, the e-tron quattro. It’s powered by three electric motors, one for the front axle and two for the rear. And its lithium-ion battery provides a range of 500 kilometers or about 310 miles. But despite being a green vehicle its performance wasn’t sacrificed. It moves from 0 to 100 kilometers an hour in just 4.6 seconds and it has a top speed of 130 MPH. This concept is a precursor to a production version which will come out in 2018.
But that wraps up today’s show. Thank you for making us a part of your day.
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Comments (17)
September 15th, 2015 at 12:45 pm
Sorry for the delay today, we’re having some computer issues.
September 15th, 2015 at 1:12 pm
Mission E sure rings this olwrench’s bell
September 15th, 2015 at 1:14 pm
No problem Sean,I was having internet problems this morning that had to be resolved.
VW’s styling,I like it.Simple and clean,nothing outrageous at all.
If they bring back the transporter/van,that would be a possibility for me in about 3 years.
September 15th, 2015 at 1:50 pm
Does Ford know something that General Motors doesn’t as a while back Cadillac’s Travis Hester said they had initially thought about building the CT6 mostly of aluminum except that there were NVH characteristics which made all aluminum cars impractical and why Cadillac chose using steel in the passenger compartment; then again, if Alcoa’s Micromill material proves to be practical we’ll see it used by General Motors as well.
September 15th, 2015 at 2:24 pm
Is this new aluminum “military grade?”
As far as aluminum for cars, it saves weight, but the savings are fairly modest, all things considered. An F150 crew cab with a V6 turbo is about 8% lighter than a V8 Silverado. An aluminum Audi A8 is only about 4% lighter than the outgoing BMW 7 series which, I think, is mostly steel. I’m sure we’ll see more and more aluminum used in car bodies, but there is still progress to be made in lightening steel cars. Using “high strength” steel where soft steel is now used can save weight, because you can use less of it in the structure.
September 15th, 2015 at 2:48 pm
They can probably drop a lot of vehicle weight as autonomy takes hold. As collisions are reduced if not eliminated there won’t be much need for crumple zones, roll-over A-pillars, Airbags, Door beams, etc etc. Weight is cut = improved MPG and longer range EVs.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:00 pm
6.
Hmmm. I don’t know. I think it might quite some time (decades, that is) before we see these safety measures removed from automobiles – if ever. The threat of endless litigation if lives were ever lost due to the absence of any of these measures may be too great.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:08 pm
Audi e Tron
That thing might be a blast to drive. It’s got a heavy battery way down low. Two rear motors which can be set up to vary torque side to side, helping steer the car. And the rear wheels steer too. Hard to see customers not enjoying the handling.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:24 pm
Kit,
You might be interested in reading this article
http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2015/09/14/ford-alcoa-partner-new-aluminum-vehicles/72276920/
September 15th, 2015 at 3:53 pm
9 Thanks. Good article.
It’s interesting that, apparently, continuous casting of aluminum results in different properties than with conventional processing. Continuous casting of steel, which has existed at least as far back as the 1970′s, is much more efficient than pouring ingots, and rolling them into billets, rods, strip, etc., but to my knowledge, the end product is the same as with “old fashioned” processing of the same alloy.
September 15th, 2015 at 4:01 pm
Kit, the weight savings of aluminum cannot be simply summarized by looking at the weight delta between two different OEMs as each OEM has their own different internal standards (remember the 2014 steel-bodied F150 weighed considerably more than the Chevy)… Nor can it be calculated between two different generations within an OEM as the newer generation invariably has more regulatory content and more innovative technological features (a D-class car might have been in the 3375# ETWC weight class 30 years ago, but is roughly in the 4000# weight class now).
September 15th, 2015 at 5:11 pm
11, I agree that the comparisons don’t tell the complete story, but they are meaningful. All vehicles sold during a given model year have to meet the same standards, and the current Ford and Chevy pickups were new at about the same time.
As far as the expensive German cars, there may be “other things” involved. All A8′s have AWD, while AWD is option on the BMW. Of other cars in that class, the Benz S-Class is heavier than the BMW, and the Lexus LS is lighter. The LS is about 100 pounds heavier than the A8.
The weights I listed are from the CR web site, for the vehicles they tested. The pickups were comparably equipped, as much as possible, except for the engine type. I don’t know if the BMW or LS had AWD. If not, it would widen the weight advantage of the aluminum Audi a little.
September 15th, 2015 at 5:31 pm
First Porsche I actually like. This E car will make panamera look like ugly ducks.
September 15th, 2015 at 7:03 pm
Can’t seem to post on today’s comment section of the Frankfurt show so let me say here the pricing on the new jaguar cuv f pace is dam aggressive.
My wife always wanted a jag u ar and I was leaning towards a Porsche Macan.
Gm doesn’t seem to have a Macan competitor just yet.
Do you think the jaguar with the supercharged v6 will rival the road performance of the Macan 340 hp version?
Great show and great coverage of the Frankfurt show…
Thanks
JB
September 16th, 2015 at 9:04 am
It’s a shame there are so few things left to be done stylistically with vehicles today. The rear shot of that Audi electric crossover concept is awfully reminiscent of the Lincoln MKC.
September 16th, 2015 at 9:18 am
Maybe that’s why the front facia and logos are getting more pronounced and loud. TBH, I need the jewelry all around the Macan to know what it is.
It’s all Aztec now
September 16th, 2015 at 9:21 am
Kit, some government regulations can be implemented in a phased-in schedule over 3-4 years. This is often true for those regulations that requires major structural redesigns. So, major change vehicles often contain more regulatory content than carryover designs. That newly designed vehicle often contains anticipated regulatory-driven structure in anticipation of the next 5 years of rule making.