On today’s show… Sergio Marchionne wants to build cars for Apple, Ford upgrades its commercial line-up and Goodyear develops tires for autonomous vehicles. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

This is Autoline Daily for March 3rd, 2016.

FIAT CHRYSLER APPLE-MOBILES
Last year FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne openly talked about wanting to merge with another automaker. No one was interested but now Bloomberg reports Sergio has his eyes set on Apple. As you know, the tech company is developing its own electric vehicle and Marchionne wants to build it for them. He says that it would be easier for an automaker to produce the vehicle rather than Apple trying to build its own car. And he’s probably right. As we reported earlier in the week, Marchionne wants to eliminate the company’s debt and boost its profit in the next two years, and a partnership with Apple would definitely help that effort.

GOODYEAR’S AUTONOMOUS CONCEPTS
We’ve shown you a number of new vehicles from the Geneva show but there was more than just cars. Goodyear revealed a couple of concept tires that were developed for autonomous vehicles. The first is a spherically shaped tire called the Eagle 360. The tread is 3D printed and is designed to stiffen in dry conditions and soften when wet for optimal driving performance. The tires are connected to the car by magnetic levitation and feature sensors to register road conditions to adjust the speed of the vehicle. That info can also be communicated to other vehicles on the road. The tires are also very maneuverable because they are spheres. They can reposition themselves so they wear properly and fewer parking spaces are needed because the tires can move in all directions. The second tire called IntelliGrip looks more like a traditional tire. It features sensors that detect road conditions and relay that info to the car. It’s interesting to see even tire makers are preparing for an autonomous future.

Still to come… a new survey shows that most consumers are oblivious to incidents of cars being hacked.

FORD UPGRADES SUPER DUTY TRUCKS
Ford announced upgrades to its Super Duty line-up. The chassis cab for the F-350, 450 and 550 now boasts a best-in-class front gross axle weight rating of 7,500 pounds, 250 more than its highest competitor. And its gross combined weight rating is now best-in-class at 40,000 pounds. A new 6.7 liter V8 diesel is now available for the F-650 and 750 which is mated to a six-speed automatic. It comes in three different power levels that range from 270 horsepower to 330 horses and 675 lb.-ft. of torque to 725.

TRANSIT LINEUP GETS NEW FEATURES
And in other Ford commercial vehicle news, the 2017 Transit line-up has been updated. The larger Transit is now available with a walk-through center console and passenger side power running boards. And SYNC 3 is now available for the Transit Connect.

REPORT SHOWS CONSUMERS HAVE SHORT MEMORIES
Last week, Nissan disabled an app for the Leaf, after a researcher was able to remotely hack into the car. And last year, FCA had to recall 1.4 million vehicles after hackers hacked into a Jeep Cherokee through its UConnect system. As cars become more connected, incidents like these will become more common, so you would think drivers would be on the lookout for them but that’s not the case. A new survey from Kelley Blue Book found that three-quarters of people were not able to remember any instance of a vehicle being hacked in the last year. KBB also found that a bit more than half of consumers feel that the OEMs are the most responsible to protecting their vehicles from hackers.

Coming up next, why some companies are wasting money on DOT inspections.

NO CERTIFICATION REQUIRED
A commercial vehicle can be defined in a few different ways. A vehicle that has a single rating of 10,001-pounds or more, a combined rating of 10,001-pounds or more or a vehicle with a loaded weight of 10,001-pounds or more. But businesses that operate these types of vehicles are supposed to get an annual DOT inspection to ensure they’re safe. Here’s a look at the form with all the systems and components that need to be inspected. In the upper section you’ll notice the person doing the inspection needs to fill in their name and check a box saying they meet the qualification requirements. Now, many companies will send their vehicles out to a facility to have them inspected, which, from my experience can cost in the $100 range. But here’s the thing, they might not have to send them out. The qualification requirements are really not all that demanding. A person can perform the inspection by reason of experience. That doesn’t mean that any old person can properly do the inspection, but many times businesses have in-house mechanics or a person that performs all the work on their vehicles. These people would have an intimate knowledge of the vehicles and the systems and components that are covered in the inspection. So, companies could save money by having someone that they already employ do the DOT inspection for them. Or it could be a good way for independent shops and dealerships to drum up some extra business by advertising that they do DOT inspections. Not only would they get the money from the inspection but if a problem is found the company almost has to fix it, otherwise they won’t get their certification for a passed inspection. We did them at the shop that I worked at and it was a good way for us to expand into a new area.

And get ready for a fascinating AFTER HOURS later today when we bring you the story about the Detroit Bar that helped create the Detroit Car. Host Gary Vasilash is joined by an All-Star panel including renowned author A.J. Baime, The Henry Ford Museum’s Transportation Curator Matt Anderson and Detroit Historian Dan Austin. And if that wasn’t enough we’ve got a couple of exclusive on-site interviews from this week’s KIA event in California. All that and more coming up on AAH later today.

But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.