AD #1886 – VW Gets Another Extension, Rolls Royce & MINI Look Into the Future, Ram Rebel Gets Moparized
June 16th, 2016 at 11:55am
Runtime: 8:00
To watch this episode on YouTube click here.
- Volkswagen Gets Another Extension
- Mitsubishi May Have Cheated More
- MINI & Rolls Royce Look Into the Future
- New HUD Connects to Phone & Car
- Ram Rebel Gets Moparized
- Discovery Sport Tows a Train
- Honda’s New Accord Hybrid
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On today’s show… BMW comes out with some wild looking concepts to celebrate its 100th anniversary, the Ram Rebel gets Moparized and VW gets another extension to settle its diesel scandal. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily for June 16th, 2016.
VW GETS ANOTHER EXTENSION
Back in April VW reached a preliminary agreement with U.S. officials on how it will compensate diesel owners with emission cheating software. The deadline for the settlement was set for next week but Bloomberg reports that the company has been given until June 28th to file because of the “highly technical nature” of the talks. The company has set aside $18 billion to cover the costs but analysts on a recent Autoline This Week concluded that it could end up costing the company more than $70 billion when it’s all said and done.
MITSU MAY HAVE CHEATED MORE
And speaking of scandals, the Kyodo News in Japan reports that Mitsubishi falsified fuel economy data for all of its vehicles going back to 1991. Originally the company was investigating nine models. This new revelation could potentially harm Nissan’s recent 34% stake it purchased in Mitsubishi. The deal isn’t official until Mitsubishi and Japanese regulators finish their investigations.
MINI & ROLLS ROYCE LOOK INTO THE FUTURE
Back in March, BMW helped celebrate its 100-year anniversary with a wild-looking concept, called the Vision Next 100. The idea was to look into the future of what might be in store for the BMW brand. And now it’s MINI’s and Rolls Royce’s turn. The overall shape and big round instrument cluster of the MINI Vision Next 100 help tie the concept to today’s vehicles, but not much else does. The wild opening doors lead into a sparse interior with a bench seat up front. Of course with this being a future concept, the car can easily switch between autonomous and manual driving. Now, the Rolls Royce Vision Next 100 is perhaps the most wild-looking of the three concepts and almost has a boat-like quality to it. It takes the idea of covered wheel arches and literally turns them on their side. And like the MINI, the Rolls features wild opening doors that lead into an interior with a single luxurious bench seat and large viewing screen. But would any Rolls Royce be without its matching luggage? This just happens to pop out of the front fender. While concepts like these will never hit a showroom floor, it is important for automakers to keep looking ahead as not to get left behind.
Still to come… Mopar modifies the Ram Rebel.
NEW HUD CONNECTS TO PHONE & CAR
We like highlighting new technology here at Autoline and here’s a new aftermarket head-up display with all kinds of features. The unit, called iScout can connect to both your phone via Bluetooth and your car through the OBDII port. So, it’s able to display things like fuel level, social media notifications or even an incoming call, which can be accepted or rejected with the swipe of a hand. For a little bit of added safety, the more premium unit comes with blind-spot cameras that activate when the turn signals are turned on. The company has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money with the hopes of shipping the $300 HUDs in November.
RAM REBEL GETS MOPARIZED
Mopar has been offering a limited number of modified cars since 2010, but now it’s time for the trucks to get some love too. Meet the Mopar ’16 Ram Rebel. The truck starts out life as a Ram 1500 4×4 Rebel Crew Cab but then gets a host of, mostly cosmetic, upgrades. They include flat-black graphics, front skid plate and wheel arches as well as special Mopar graphics down the side and rear tailgate. Optional performance dealer add-ons include a cat-back exhaust system and cold-air intake. The Mopar ’16 Ram Rebel will arrive at select dealerships in the summer with a MSRP of about $52,500, which is about $5,000 on top of the base truck.
Coming up next, Land Rover pulls off a unique stunt to showcase the Discovery Sport’s capability.
CHUGA, CHUGA… TOOT, TOOT
Land Rover is going all out to show off its technology. It just towed three train carriages that weigh 108 tons combined with a Discovery Sport. The vehicle was equipped with a 2.0L diesel with 317 pound feet of torque and a nine-speed automatic. The SUV pulled the carriages along 6 miles of train track in Switzerland and was only modified with a couple of casters to make sure it didn’t fall off the track. The Discovery Sport is certified to tow 2.5 tons but it was able to pull 60 times its weight. The technologies used to pull off the stunt include Terrain Response, Tow Assist, Tow Hitch Assist and All Terrain Progress Control, which is a system that automatically manages engine output and braking. Obviously, Land Rover doesn’t recommend doing this but it is cool to see how capable its SUV really is.
HONDA’S NEW ACCORD HYBRID
Sales of Honda’s Accord Hybrid dropped off significantly last year but the automaker is hoping to get a shot in the arm with the introduction of the new model. Both power and fuel economy are up from last year. Horsepower now comes in at 212 and it’s rated at 49MPG in the city, 47 on the highway and 48 combined. New features include remote start, front and rear parking sensors, rain sensing wipers, heated rear seats and auto high-beams. Honda’s suite of safety and driver-assistance technology, called Honda Sensing is now standard, while some higher trim levels get a new touchscreen interface with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. The 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid launched nationwide yesterday with a starting price of $29,605, only slightly more than last year’s model.
And make sure you tune into Autoline After Hours today. Our special guest is former GM designer Dick Ruzzin to talk about his unique Opel Bitter. That’s today at 3PM eastern time on our website, Autoline.tv.
But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
June 16th, 2016 at 12:26 pm
I’d be a lot more impressed with the Land Rover pulling the train, if it didn’t have the add-on flanged wheels.
June 16th, 2016 at 12:34 pm
When they do these ‘stunt’ demonstrations (Discovery Sport) they need to show that their competitors can’t to the same. This goes for that Tundra stunt pulling the Space Shuttle (a year or two ago). And even though it makes the vehicle memorable (obviously because I remembered the Tundra), I remembered it in not such a good light (so advantage, zero).
June 16th, 2016 at 12:50 pm
I’ve been driving a Sprinter van for the last month or so and it has lane detection and blind spot detection. The best part of the lane detection is the off switch. Blind spot detection has yet to tell me something I didn’t know. I do not want this on any vehicle I buy.
June 16th, 2016 at 1:14 pm
2 About any vehicle with with a torque converter automatic can pull a lot of weight at low speed, churning away through the torque converter in a low gear. The Tundra had the advantage of low range, but was pulling something with rubber tires, rather than rail cars with steel wheels, which have much lower rolling resistance.
June 16th, 2016 at 1:17 pm
3 I haven’t tried the off switch yet for the traction control on my Corvette. I’ll wait until it is time to replace the tires.
June 16th, 2016 at 2:36 pm
The whole VW emissions rigging is starting to get old. What is this, the 3rd deadline extension? I think at this point most consumers are numb to the scandal. About the only time there is any mention of it, it’s here on Autoline. If VW can stall a couple more years, 20-30% of the cars will probably be off the road due to attrition. I honesty don’t think VW has any intentions of fixing the 4-cyl TDIs.
June 16th, 2016 at 2:54 pm
#5 – I always turn off traction control on the drag strip. On a road course, I leave it on since broken fiberglass is not my favorite thing.
June 16th, 2016 at 4:12 pm
When I look at the RR concept, I hear “Thunderbirds are GO!” in my head.
June 16th, 2016 at 4:17 pm
#7 So far, I’ve driven my ‘Vette only on the street. I may autocross it. I suspect traction control on would be best for that, at least with my skill level.
June 16th, 2016 at 4:40 pm
I will be very interested in the after-market HUD. At $300 it beats the price of a new vehicle – and the fact that you generally need to order the highest priced model to get those features.
June 16th, 2016 at 4:45 pm
The portable HUD system begs one question, is it legal? Looking through the transparent portion clearly would lower the Transmitted Light below the 70% minimum, and it is a big obscuration right in the A vision zone on the windshield.
June 16th, 2016 at 4:53 pm
@Kit- when I had my Vette I would leave the traction control on also. I would put it in pro or race… what ever it was called, when I wanted to have fun but still have someone or something smarter than me there to save me in time of need.
June 16th, 2016 at 5:00 pm
the lane detection just beeps when it thinks you are straying from your lane. I’m traveling in Europe and down many backroads, you are out of your lane a lot to – avoid bikes, give space to other or bigger vehicles, go around parked vehicles, straighten corners on passes…. pain in the arse.
The blind spot detection beeps if you hit your signal while a vehicle is in the general area. Soooo when you are say on the autobahn traveling at speed, as you are passing a vehicle you hit your signal the Sprinter beeps cause there’s something beside you but I’m not actually changing lanes for a few seconds, I’m singling before I change lanes. A second or two later with a speed differential of 40km/hr there’s tons of space.
June 16th, 2016 at 6:16 pm
The RR stunt just reminds me how ridiculous owning such a vehicle is, especially considering people use them for Kroger duty while fidling with their phones.
June 16th, 2016 at 6:18 pm
Btw I like the lane detection system in my car but my wife hates the occasional beeping (as a passenger). She turns it off when driving my car.
June 16th, 2016 at 8:30 pm
The car pulling a freight car is nothing new. Buick did it back in the early ’30s, with a clutch and manual shift. Bet you could smell clutch facing for a couple of weeks. Airstream pulled a similar stunt, but this time it was the towed vehicle (Airsteam) that was being shown off for its light weight. Airstream founder Wally Byam hired a guy to tow it with a bicycle.