AD #1861 – Toyota Earnings Beat Expectations, Ford Wants Small Engines to Sound Bigger, You Said It!
May 11th, 2016 at 11:58am
Runtime: 8:54
To watch this episode on YouTube click here.
- Toyota Earnings Beat Expectations
- Mitsubishi Scandal Getting Worse
- Ford Patents Technology to Make Downsized Turbos Sound Bigger
- Drones Could Help Autonomous Cars “See” Better
- You Said It!
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On today’s show… Ford wants to use drones to help autonomous cars navigate the roads, Mitsubishi likely mis-stated fuel economy numbers for most of its models sold in Japan and John answers your questions and comments in You Said It! All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily for May 11th, 2016.
TOYOTA BEATS EXPECTATIONS
Toyota posted its financial earnings for the year and overall the results are impressive. The company retailed close to 8.7 million vehicles worldwide last year, that’s a 3% drop compared to the year before. Sales fell in just about every region except for North America. But despite the drop, the company revenues were up over 4% to $237 billion. Its operating profit of $24 billion is up nearly 4% and its net income jumped over 6% to $19 billion. One important thing to note is that Toyota is hedging currency exchanges. It’s calculating the yen at 120 to the dollar, which today is trading at 109. So next quarter we could start to see a dropoff in earnings. But overall this is good news for the company because it and other analysts were expecting to see a drop in profits.
MITSUBISHI SCANDAL GETTING WORSE
And speaking of Japanese automakers, Mitsubishi’s fuel economy scandal is going from bad to worse. A new report from Japan’s Asahi newspaper reveals that the company likely used improper tests for all of its models sold in Japan since 1991. The company says it’s looking into nine more models, including ones no longer on sale. Mitsubishi provided fuel economy data, based on U.S. regulations, rather than Japanese standards. Analysts predict the company will have to pay $1 billion to compensate owners.
Still to come… Ford patents new technology for its engines and autonomous cars.
4-CYLINDER WITH V8 SOUND
Downsized turbocharged engines can be a great way to improve efficiency as long as the driver can stay out of the turbo. But that can be difficult to do in the real world and Ford, the producer of millions of EcoBoost engines sees this as a bit of a problem. So, the automaker has filed a patent that would trick drivers into staying in the efficiency envelope. It would do this by piping artificial engine noise into the car to make it seem like it has a bigger engine. Over time Ford believes this will train the driver to shift earlier and thus make them drive more efficiently.
DRONES COULD HELP AUTONOMOUS CARS “SEE” BETTER
And in other Ford patent news, it wants its autonomous cars to come with their own drones. The drone would be controlled using the car’s navigation or infotainment system and would serve as the vehicle’s “eyes” by looking out ahead of where its sensors and communication systems can “see.” It could also be used to deliver packages to and from the car. Of course this is not the first time Ford has dabbled in drones. It showed a system at this year’s CES that could be deployed during natural disasters.
Coming up next, John answers your questions and comments in You Said It!
Phred is clearly an enthusiast and he doesn’t sound very happy about autonomous cars. “I know you are a cheerleader for autonomous cars but is that just going to lead us into no- performance electroboxes? If the cars are all clustered in a nice row on the highway why build performance and sharp handling?” Phred, wake up! All those autonomous cars are going to open up the roads for those of us who like to drive fast. Think about it. Autonomous cars will be programmed to make way for fast approaching cars. They’ll be programmed to move over into the right lane. They’ll be predictable and easy to pick off. I think autonomous cars will be a godsend for enthusiasts.
Roger T has a question about Tesla charging customers more money to get more battery range out of their cars using over the air updates. “There must be additional information on this $3k over air upgrade. How do you think Tesla owners would feel having to pay that much for using hardware they already paid for?” Roger, they did pay for the hardware. The over the air update merely turns that hardware on. This shows how good Tesla is at up-selling its customers. It sells them a car, then tells them a month later, ‘Hey, for an extra three grand we’ll push a button and your car will drive better.’ And their customers go for it. Amazing.
Brett has his eye on that little front wheel drive pickup that FCA makes in Brazil. “I WANT a RAM 700 pickup! If they ship the Brazilian-built ones without powertrain and bolt that in with the front subframe either here or in Mexico, would that circumvent the chicken tax?” You know, I think it would circumvent that 25% import tax. But… if you build a truck without a powertrain, how do you drive it off the assembly line? How do you load it onto and off of a ship? I think you’d find the work-around costs as much as the tax.
Landon Thomas saw our report of how Honda converted the entire pickup bed of the Ridgeline into one giant speaker. But he wants to know, “If it uses the bedliner as the speaker, does the sound still sound rich and clear?” No, if it did all the high end audio people would be out of business. All we can say is it sounds reasonably decent for a pickup bed.
Cameron Sours wants to know how we’re describing the construction of the Ridgeline. “Are you saying unit-body or unibody? Is unit-body a thing?” That’s actually a great question. I call it unit-body, but others do call it unibody. The terms are interchangeable. A unit body is not a specific component, it refers to the way the entire structure was made. Instead of having a frame and then putting a body on top of that, with unit body, the frame is integrated into the body.
MJB saw our report that Bentley is looking at using a hologram in future models. “Note to Bentley: Pick a different butler to show in your hologram. That guy’s the spitting image of Lurch from The Addams Family.” Yes, the resolution of that hologram isn’t very good either.
Rob saw our report on how Lexus is training line workers to build better cars by touch. “As for training an operator to sense gaps and how many bolts they pull from a bin (obviously created by an engineer that has never worked on a floor), do the same job for an 8 hour shift and the you’ll quickly learn exactly how many bolts you’re pulling from a bin.”
Ziggy saw the same report. “I think it is pretty funny that they tout the number of nerve endings in the human hand and then have the workers wear gloves, I’m sure that doesn’t mute any feeling at all.”
Ross Pannella is truly a fan of this show. “I just want to say I’ve been watching this show since 2009 when I was only 13 years old. I’ve learned so much from both Autoline Daily and Autoline After Hours that I just want to say thank you to the entire Autoline crew!” Ross, thanks. And a special thanks for mentioning the Autoline crew. We have the best team in the business here!
Thanks for all your letters and comments, we really enjoy getting them. But with that we wrap up today’s show. Thanks for tuning in and join us again tomorrow.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
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Comments (21)
May 11th, 2016 at 12:12 pm
John
Drones for all autonomous vehicles? Can you imaging what would happen if even 50% of the vehicles had drones? You’d have a lot of broken drones! Why not just stick to the basic V2X approach? And I can only imagine drone rage……….brrrr…..
May 11th, 2016 at 12:33 pm
John,
That was a great “You Said it” segment on today’s show. Glad to see Sean back in the broadcaster’s chair.
That Ford Drone off the bed of a F-150 reminds me of the scanner that the Green Hornet would deploy from the truck of the Black Beauty (Chrysler Imperial) to track down criminals. Maybe Ford show see if Law Enforcement and Boarder Patrol Agents could use this vehicle mounted technology to seek and catch the bad guys?
May 11th, 2016 at 12:54 pm
Great show again as usual
May 11th, 2016 at 1:08 pm
Seems Chrysler was way ahead of the game back in the 60′s and 70′s when they had unibody construction on all their cars. At that time, others called it “cheap” and made fun of it, but is seems most other manufacturers have come around to it. It’s about time!
In reality, it was less weight, just as strong, and helped to eliminate rattles. Oh for the days of the old Chrysler Corporation!
May 11th, 2016 at 1:38 pm
I concur w/ Ross who wrote in…here’s my sincere thank you to the Autoline team!
May 11th, 2016 at 1:51 pm
Glad to see that Sean’s tooth grew back so fast. LOL.
May 11th, 2016 at 2:16 pm
John, John, John Fat chance you will be driving fast. YOU will be the outlaw! As you whizz by those Autonomous pods at 60 in a 40, every one of them will take your picture and send it to the Cops. They will mail you and your insurance Company a $1000 fine. Besides that, your own car will be required to talk with all of the Autonomous devices anyway. OH,Your insurance to drive outlaw will already cost 20 times that of “Normal” cars. Because “YOU” will be causing the only wrecks. You will be able to drive fast on track days at the venue rented out for such Hobbyists, and their Old cars.
May 11th, 2016 at 2:17 pm
Must be something in the water in Dearborn . . .
So, Ford wants to add software to fool its customers into thinking the car is working differently than it really is, so that they will drive in a more fuel-efficient manner? Count me out. I want to get accurate feedback from my vehicle.
And a drone above every autonomous Ford vehicle? As their sales penetration increases, I can see plenty of drone collisions and complaints from pedestrians about the level of noise overhead. This system will also slow down Amazon’s drone delivery service, prompting a huge lawsuit!
What are they thinking at Ford?
May 11th, 2016 at 2:27 pm
Can you imagine thousands of drones hovering over the highway? I think that would be a mess.
Autonomous cars will be very sucessful because there are millions of seniors and handicapped people who buy them.
May 11th, 2016 at 2:31 pm
What is the status of the Jeep Wrangler pick up truck?
May 11th, 2016 at 2:56 pm
fake engine sounds from ford to save fuel? maybe they could throw in squealing tire sounds,while they are at it?
May 11th, 2016 at 3:00 pm
Ford, and others, seem to grossly over-rate what these “drones” can do. They are electric helicopters, and not particularly efficient ones, and can fly about 15 minutes on a charge. Those who think they will be delivering stuff for Amazon, or that one will be flying over every autonomous car, are smoking some pretty powerful stuff.
May 11th, 2016 at 3:09 pm
Speaking of Ford, they are selling lots of cars, and getting lots of hype, but my stock is about the same price is when I bought it about 15 years ago. What is wrong?
A agree on fake engine sounds, and also passed on the “extra loud on demand” exhaust option when I ordered my Corvette.
May 11th, 2016 at 3:52 pm
John,
I can’t agree more with young Ross Panella and his feelings of your programs and the Autoline crews! I anxiously await each new program and watch old the old one too.
It would truly be an honor to meet and talk with you!
May 11th, 2016 at 5:16 pm
#4: I must be a lot older or looked up some info. on Wikipedia, or my dad owned a ’46, a ’49, a ’52, and a ’56, but Nash was way ahead of Chrysler (who actually started with unibody construction in 1957, by the way) with unit-construction. The 1940 construction was identified as monocoque (as in airplane or race car construction). I remember there was a contest to name the Nash construction, but I’m not sure the name chosen.
May 11th, 2016 at 5:16 pm
12 Sorry, Sean, that post probably didn’t sound right. I’m not picking on you, just saying that there needs to be a reality check on what these quad copter “drones” are capable of.
Ford would have applied for the patent “just in case” cheap, one pound nuclear reactors become available to enable small flying machines to stay up indefinitely, or something similar.
May 11th, 2016 at 5:22 pm
15 Chrysler started using unibody in 1960. The 1957-1959 cars were body on frame. Luckily, the frame of the one I had, a ’57 Saratoga, didn’t rust nearly as badly as the body.
May 11th, 2016 at 5:33 pm
Why Nash? After WW2, there was a pretty big backlog of new-car fever. Four years of no cars or pickups for the general public. Ford and GM dealers had long waiting lists or wanted high price premiums. The independents, not so much. We had a 1937 Pontiac two-door coupe that was pretty well used up. Even though I was only five at the time, I remember the dented fenders. The first ’46 worked well, so my dad kept up the string with the others. He also got a 1955 Packard Clipper and a 1960 Studebaker later.
May 11th, 2016 at 6:20 pm
My uncle had a 1960 Studebaker Lark wagon, which I drove quite a bit when in high school, and shorty after. It was quick for the time, with a V-8 and overdrive, but was really crude, rattly, and noisy, even compared to my parents’ 1961 Valiant. It didn’t surprise me that Studebaker didn’t last much longer.
May 11th, 2016 at 9:59 pm
I hope these Honda pickups with the speaker in the box arn:t as annoying as some of the people blasting the sub woofers in their cars !
May 12th, 2016 at 8:03 am
Flying a drone? Talk about distracted driving!
A better solution would be an image stabilized camera on a retractable stalk so you can see how far ahead the traffic jam starts … from the idiots flying a drone while driving.
You might want to compare and contrast VW vs Toyota:
8.7m vs 10.0m vehicles
$237B vs $213.3B (Euro)
$24B vs -$4.1B (Euro) due to cheat-diesels
VW is selling more vehicles but getting less overall and then their profits have been whacked by the cheat-diesels which has yet to be resolved.
A nice table with the leading manufactures would be handy.
Bob Wilson