AD #1925 – Ford Targets 2021 for Full Autonomy, Dodge Reveals Dream Cruise Cars, VW Execs Face Punishment in Korea
August 17th, 2016 at 11:44am
Runtime: 8:26
To watch this episode on YouTube click here.
- Ford Targets 2021 for Full Autonomy
- Ford Bolsters Autonomous Tech
- VW Execs Face Harsh Punishment in Korea
- Big Truck Standards Finalized
- Dodge Reveals Dream Cruise Cars
- Dream Cruise Rescue Squad
- You Said It!
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On today’s show…Ford makes a serious commitment to put autonomous cars on the road….VW executives in South Korea are banned from leaving the country….and heavy truck makers face stricter emission controls. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily for August 17th, 2016.
FORD TARGETS 2021 FOR FULL AUTONOMY
Even though naysayers like Ralph Nader say we won’t see autonomous cars for another 30 years, Ford announced yesterday that it will have them on the road in 5 years. Ford is skipping over semi-autonomous cars and going straight to fully autonomous ones, just like Google. Ford says it can’t safely manage the hand-over when a human driver has to quickly take control of the car in an emergency situation. That’s why it’s skipping over semi-autonomy. Specifically, in 2021 Ford is going to offer SAE Level 4 autonomous cars with no steering wheel or pedals. But these will not be available in showrooms. Instead they will be used for ride sharing and package delivery. Ford says it will be several years later before customers can buy these as personal cars.
FORD BOLSTERS AUTONOMOUS TECH
Ford also announced that it bought an Israeli company called SAIPS that specializes in artificial intelligence and machine vision. It formed an exclusive alliance with a company called Nirenberg Neuroscience that specializes in vision systems, especially for object and facial recognition. And Ford invested in Velodyne, perhaps the leading supplier of lidar. Ford says it’s making these investments to develop its own autonomous system and is not interested in buying a system from someone else. Got that Google?
VW EXECS FACE HARSH PUNISHMENT IN KOREA
Boy, if you think the Department of Justice is being tough on Volkswagen, look at what South Korea is doing. Wards Auto reports that prosecutors in South Korea plan to indict two VW and Audi executives and a third has been summoned for questioning. They face up to five years in prison and a fine of $27,500. They’ve also been slapped with a travel ban and can’t leave the country without permission. The prosecutors also issued summons for seven more execs in Germany but haven’t heard back yet.
And we’ll be back with more right after this.
BIG TRUCK STANDARDS FINALIZED
There’s been a lot of focus on the CAFE mid-term review for passenger cars this year. But the EPA and NHTSA just finalized fuel economy standards for medium and heavy-duty trucks through the 2027 model year. The new rules encourage the adoption of current technologies and the development of new ones to help promote the use of cleaner and more fuel-efficient trucks. The agencies say the changes will result in lowering CO2 emissions by 1.1 billion metric tons, save owners $170 billion in fuel costs and reduce oil consumption by up to two billion barrels. They also predict that someone who buys a long haul truck in 2027 will recoup the cost of the vehicle in less than two years because of the fuel savings. The two agencies also revealed they are finalizing fuel economy and GHG standards for trailers for the first time in order to help cut fuel consumption through aerodynamic improvements.
DODGE REVEALS DREAM CRUISE CARS
To kick off this weekend’s Woodward Dream Cruise, Dodge unveiled two new models with historic names… the Challenger T/A and Charger Daytona. The cars get unique hoods, decals, wheels and the Charger even features LED-illuminated “T/A” logos. Upgrades include cold-air intakes, Brembo brakes and active exhaust.
DREAM CRUISE RESCUE SQUAD
And just in case classic cars break down during the Dream Cruise, Chevy is there to help with its Service Rescue Squad, which features ASE certified technicians. They’ve been doing this for years and have serviced over 200 vehicles of all makes and models. If you stall, overheat or run out of gas, just look for the Rescue Squad. There’ll be six Silverados running both ways down Woodward, so it shouldn’t take long to find one.
Coming up next, it’s time for You Said It!
YOU SAID IT!
And now it’s time for some of your feedback.
JAEGERTECH says, “God Bless the California Air Resources Board! I know many automakers hate them, but seriously, if they weren’t around to set these fuel, energy standards then we’d still be driving 1970′s tanks and we’d all have lung cancer.”
I don’t think automakers hate the goal of getting clean air. They hate the Byzantine regulations. Those regulations are so huge and so complicated that even the people from the CARB have a hard time explaining them in detail.
Misreb1 has a comment about the hot stamping we showed you last week. “It must be very energy intensive to do this hot stamping. i wonder if carbon fiber is a better option.”
Not from that standpoint. Carbon fiber is very energy intensive to make.
Gnoxycat loved our Autoline After Hours with Justin Fishkin from Local Motors. “Ohh no is my car totaled? Yes it is but we can shred it and make you a new one in 12 hours. I love this guy!”
And Nobody Important had this to say about Local Motors 3D printing cars. “No doubt this technology is possible. What would stop a traditional manufacturer from doing the same thing?”
There’s nothing to stop them, except walking away from the billions and billions they’ve invested in making cars the traditional way.
Joe Wilder says, “Perhaps the reason big truck sales are down is due to all the talk about autonomous technology. They might want to put off that purchase for a bit to see what happens.”
No, if a trucking company needs a new truck, it needs it now. It might put off a purchase for a year or two, but not for five years or more. And it will be at least that long before we see autonomous trucks driving across the country with no one behind the wheel.
Ted Roberts says, “Hey guy’s can you do a show about that new Nissan motor with variable compression? It seems like a game changer.”
Ted, we’re waiting for Nissan to send us a computer animation of how the system works, which we’ll get next month. When they made that announcement all they provided was a black and white photo of the outside of the engine. We want to show you how it works, not just talk about it.
And finally MJB says, “I’d like to see the Revero staged right next to the original Fisker. Because from what was shown here, I just don’t see any differences whatsoever between the two.”
And they did that on purpose. Everyone always said the Fisker Karma was beautiful but the powertrain was a lump and the build quality was iffy. If the new Karma company fixed that with the Revero then it was smart to keep the original stunning styling done by Henrik Fisker.
Thanks for all your letters and comments, and keep ‘em coming.
But with that we have to wrap up today’s show. Thanks for watching and you can join us again right here tomorrow.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
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Comments (21)
August 17th, 2016 at 12:04 pm
Oh boy,vw pissed off the Koreans bigtime.That is a big mistake vw,the Koreans don’t take crap from anybody,and rest assured,you vw execs will be made an example of what NOT to do in Korea.Rots of ruck losers…
August 17th, 2016 at 12:19 pm
It will be interesting to see how Ford handles the little uncertainties in driving, nothing to do with the rules of the road. You drive to a big group picnic where you are directed by a volunteer to a parking location in a grass field, or you come home with your new car and you have a double driveway. How, without a steering wheel do you tell the car exactly where to park?
August 17th, 2016 at 12:24 pm
Simple question – how do these driverless vehicles re-fuel themselves (gas, diesel, ethanol, or electricity)?
August 17th, 2016 at 12:36 pm
As long as there is one human with a steering wheel and an accelerator, we’re not going to see those great autonomous benefits. How can any computer anticipate the astonishingly dumb things we do on the road?
August 17th, 2016 at 12:42 pm
You should have a regular segment to “call out” the OEM’s for continuing to sell “junk cars”. Look at the build quality and terrible reliability of the Fiat 500 and the BMW Mini Cooper. Why don’t you “shame” these manufacture’s for this behavior?It embarrasses the auto companies and the industry in general that strive to deliver a quality product with years of motoring enjoyment.
August 17th, 2016 at 12:49 pm
John,
Green Car Report has a graphic showing how the Nissan variable displacement engine works. A whole bunch of added links and complications to adjust how high the piston goes. I am amazed that it is worthwhile to add such a Rube Goldberg contraption.
What about a regular cycle engine that switches to the Atkinson cycle when loafing along. Much less complicated.
August 17th, 2016 at 1:27 pm
Local Motors’ 3D printed cars are possible, maybe, but they will be extremely expensive, low quality crap. OK, just my opinion, but from having some experience with 3D printing.
How about regular car companies doing what they did 50 years ago, allowing us to order a car, with a choice of options, interior colors, power trains, body styles, etc. If they could keep track of the parts when computers barely existed, they should be able to do it now.
August 17th, 2016 at 1:29 pm
5 Minor Coopers are completely reliable. Mine is almost 7 years old, with zero problems. Yeah, I’m probably lucky, and it doesn’t have many miles. Also, being a non-S probably helps.
August 17th, 2016 at 1:40 pm
John and Sean, I just saw that GM is adding a back seat reminder to help driver no to leave their kids behind to bake to death in the hot sun. Growing up in the 70s and 80s, we never had this issue with Vista Cruisers and County Squire wagons! The current dreaded SUV tinted rear windows kill the kids every time since you cannot see inside the car day or night. No tint is a simple solution to a man made trap. Not more electronics.
August 17th, 2016 at 1:45 pm
5 years? I had no idea Ford corporate was so insipidly stupid. ROTFL
August 17th, 2016 at 1:48 pm
9, Roger
This phenomenon began (or got more regular) when the safety people (well meaning as they were), insisted that the child would be safer in the rear seat. I believe there are a lot of factors that have led to the increase of left-behind deaths; child seats, rear child seats and even the hectic(er) lifestyles we see today. I’m thinking, back in the day (using your timeframe 70′s/80′s) that there were similar number of pet related deaths; the dialogue I offered, I believe, somewhat may explain the increase in infant deaths. I do however, hold the irresponsible adults, no matter what excuse, responsible.
August 17th, 2016 at 1:54 pm
I don’t agree with Ralph Nader too often, but I think he is a lot closer than Ford people, and many others, in predicting when completely autonomous cars exist, that can operate under all normal conditions without human intervention.
August 17th, 2016 at 2:03 pm
# 9 & 11. I’m not sure that kids left in hot cars is more prevalent today. The only data I can find goes back to 1998 and it shows that those deaths have declined, not gone up. The difference today is that with social media, every death gets publicized. We’re much more aware of them. But I would also add that years ago air conditioning was not as prevalent, and people would leave their kids in the car with a window rolled down or at least opened a crack.
August 17th, 2016 at 2:29 pm
There would have been hundreds of thousands FEWER accidents , kids & pets included, if REAL driver training was required for a license.
In the same vein, –our prisons are filled w/those we failed to educate.
August 17th, 2016 at 3:27 pm
#13 Also, at one time, it was considered a lot more “okay” to leave kids in cars, hot weather or not. When I was a kid, my dad would leave me in the car when he went into a liquor store to buy a case of (returnable bottles) of beer. Now, someone would probable call the police, or “family services.”
August 17th, 2016 at 6:21 pm
Ford is smoking their lunch if they think the government regulators are going to allow any autonomous vehicle on any public road without a backup steering wheel, brake pedal and accelerator pedal. If the airlines can’t get away with it with their triple redundancy systems the auto companies don’t stand a chance.
August 17th, 2016 at 6:45 pm
#3 Drew – Good Point – I suspect your question will be answered by the return of (at lease a few) “Full Service” gas/fuel/charging stations… Maybe some out-of-a-job Uber & Truck drivers can get employment there…
#15 Kit – back in the ’70′s it wasn’t a “thing” for mom or dad to leave me in the car with the windows down (or up in the winter)… A different time for sure. No worry about kidknappings, etc. at all.
August 17th, 2016 at 8:04 pm
#17 Then, like now,”kidnappings” were very rare, and most were done by family members. Poliricians and the media didn’t feed so much on fear, though.
August 17th, 2016 at 9:19 pm
Hey John….With Fisker back in business, how do you think this will affect Bob Lutz’s Destino Corvette powered Fisker? They will look very much alike.
August 17th, 2016 at 9:43 pm
So if you order a custom designed, local motors car, do you have to make: #1 for offset crash test, #2 for side impact test, #3 for rollover test, and; use one of them for CARB/EPA emissions test. Then you can make your ride.
Bob Wilson
August 17th, 2016 at 10:37 pm
19 I’d expect the Corvette engine version to be more successful. It’s relatively easy to make a fast, loud, kind of crude version of any car, and people want such cars. Look at all of the one-off street rods starting with any body you can think of.
On the other hand, doing a good plug-in hybrid isn’t easy. Those customers expect a quiet, comfortable car with good perfaormacnce, and exceptional efficiency. That isn’t so easy. Even real car companies, like Toyota and Ford, have had less than stellar success with plug-in hybrids.