On today’s show…three luxury brands celebrate their future and their past at Pebble Beach….lithium prices for EV batteries are soaring right now but could be headed for a crash….and why you don’t hear much about HCCI engines anymore. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

This is Autoline Daily for August 19th, 2016.

CADILLAC CT-ESCALA
Who needs Detroit, Frankfurt or LA when you’ve got the Pebble Beach concours? Three stunning new concepts made their debut at the car show and let’s start out with the Cadillac Escala Concept. At 210.5-inches long, the 4-door sedan is about 6-inches longer than the CT6. You’d think it should become Cadillac’s flagship sedan. But back in April we reported Cadillac dropped plans to build the CT8, which this concept would likely be. No doubt the market shift to crossovers cemented that decision. And while Cadillac calls the Escala a concept car, president Johan de Nysschen says “Depending on the development of market segment for large luxury sedans, Escala is a potential addition to our existing product plan.”

BOATTAILS ARE BACK!
Now, another concept, the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6. This giant 2+2 coupe is designed as an electric car with the equivalent of about 750 horsepower and over a 200-mile range. Other than gull-wing doors there’s not much else to report about, so we’ll give you an extra second to soak up its gorgeous proportions, especially the boattail rear end.

FORWARD, INTO THE PAST
Last but not least, BMW is showing the 2002 Hommage. As a throwback to the 2002 of the 1970’s, the concept features an iconic orange and black paint job, bold wheel wells and a carbon fiber belt line that wraps around the car, separating the upper and lower body. While we’re not likely to ever see this car, BMW calls it a statement of how pure driving pleasure is defined in 2016.

FORD TO MAKE MORE GT’S
When Ford brought back the GT, it only planned to build 500 of them over a two-year period. But then it got a flood of orders. Now, those customers who missed out get a second chance. Ford will extend production for another two years. It says the racing team’s decision to participate in IMSA and WEC events over the next four years also factored into the extension. Customers who already applied will only have to update that request when the application window reopens in 2018.

Still to come, prices for lithium are soaring, but could be headed for a crash.

UBER SNAPS UP OTTO
Uber is really ramping up its jump into autonomy. Yesterday the ride-sharing company partnered with Volvo to develop self-driving vehicles. And now it just acquired, Otto, the autonomous truck start-up co-founded by Anthony Levandowski, who used to work at Google’s autonomous program. Uber also revealed that it will begin a pilot program in Pittsburgh involving autonomous Ford Fusion’s by the end of the month. The cars will still have a driver as back-up to take over if needed. But this is the first time the public will be able to use self-driving cars for ride-sharing.

THE LITHIUM BUBBLE
The demand for lithium batteries for electric cars has sent the price of lithium soaring. It’s up 30% in the last year and now costs $8,000 a ton. On the spot market it’s gone as high as $25,000. And experts predict that demand for lithium will double by 2020. Lithium only accounts for 2% of all the materials in batteries for EV’s. But it’s estimated the average Tesla Model S has about 140 pounds of it. And that has some pundits predicting that soaring prices could cripple EVs. But Bloomberg reports that’s probably not going to happen. It says four new lithium mines will open next year and that 15 more mines are on the way, mainly from Australia and Chile. And the experts predict that all that extra capacity is going to keep prices from soaring out of control.

ROADKILL NIGHTS ON AUTOLINE
Back in the 1960’s Woodward Avenue in Detroit was known as the Mecca for illegal street racing. Well, later today that tradition is going to be revived, only this time it’s legal. As part of the Woodward Dream Cruise, a section of Woodward will get closed down for drag racing. They call it Roadkill Nights and it’s a ‘run what you brung’ event that’s open to the public. We’re going to be there and will be posting interviews later this afternoon with the organizers and participants, so be sure to check out the action. It will all be on our website, www.autoline.tv

Hey what the heck ever happened to the HCCI engine? We’ll have more about that, right after this.

HCCI WHERE ARE YOU?
About a decade ago, automakers were touting HCCI or homogeneous charge compression ignition as the future of engines. The technology basically makes a gasoline engine perform like a diesel. But you don’t hear much about it these days. On Autoline This Week our panel of powertrain experts explain why.

(The ATW preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)

So is there life still left in the piston engine? You can watch the rest of that episode on our website, autoline.tv. or our YouTube channel to see what our expert panel has to say about that question.

But that wraps up today’s show. Don’t forget about our Roadkill Nights coverage later today, and have a great weekend.