AD #2175 – Hyundai Plans to Sell Small Pick-Up, Audi to Test Solar Roof Panels, 2018 GMC Terrain Impressions
August 23rd, 2017 at 12:01pm
Runtime: 7:16
To watch this episode on YouTube click here.
- Hyundai Plans to Bring Santa Cruz to Market
- 2018 GMC Terrain Impressions
- ZF Creates New Seat for Kids
- Audi to Test Solar Roof Panels
- Dana Developing New Type of CVT
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On today’s show…Hyundai confirms it’s coming out with a pick-up based on its Santa Cruz concept…the supplier company Dana develops a very different type of CVT…and we give our initial impressions of the new 2018 GMC Terrain. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
HYUNDAI PLANS TO BRING SANTA CRUZ TO MARKET
When we reported July sales numbers we noted that Hyundai had the biggest drop of any automaker, but now it has a turnaround plan. Reuters reports that Hyundai’s top management has given the green light to an all-new pickup truck similar to the Santa Cruz concept it showed in 2015. The truck will come out around 2020. And as the market shifts away from sedans, Hyundai’s plan also includes new and refreshed SUVs. A new version of the Santa Fe is expected next year, an all-new 7-passenger crossover will replace the 3-row Santa Fe in 2019 and a redesign Tucson should come around 2020.
2018 GMC TERRAIN IMPRESSIONS
We just got the chance to drive the 2018 GMC Terrain and here’s our initial impressions. The crossover is all-new inside and out and is about 350 pounds lighter than the outgoing model. Two turbo gasoline engines are available, a 1.5L or a 2.0L and a 1.6L turbo diesel is also offered. The gas engines are mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission while the diesel is matched to a 6-speed auto. And all are equipped with start/stop. Front and all-wheel drive is also available. We were impressed with all three. The diesel provides better torque and fuel economy numbers but if you don’t want to pay the premium for it, the gas engines are more than adequate for the Terrain. And thanks to a stiffer body, the ride and handling is also improved. The inside features a new infotainment screen with crisper, sharper graphics. And it has a unique electronic gear selector, that takes a little getting used to. But it really helps open up the center console area. The 2018 Terrain is on sale now, with the base model carrying a starting price just under $26,000. While the top of the line Denali versions start just over $38,000.
And we’ll be back with more right after this.
ZF CREATES NEW SEAT FOR KIDS
On last week’s Autoline After Hours while talking about future mobility, colleague and father of three, Dave Sullivan from AutoPacific, said he thinks single car ownership will still be a thing for a long time come because families aren’t going to want to take car seats out at every stop with a ride-sharing vehicle. But supplier ZF has a solution. It created a seat cushion that folds and locks in a higher position so a seat belt will hit a child in the correct spots without a booster. A motor then extends the seat belt lock and pushes the side bolster up to keep the child in place. While this would not take the place of a car seat for babies and toddlers, it would clear up some of the hassle Dave Sullivan was talking about.
AUDI TO TEST SOLAR ROOF PANELS
We’ve seen a number of automakers test solar panels on cars in the past and while nothing ever seems to come of it, now Audi is giving them a try. Its teamed up with China’s Hanergy to integrate solar cells into the glass roof on an upcoming EV from the automaker. It will increase the EVs range by using stored electricity to power the AC system and other accessories. In the future Audi says it hopes it can charge the battery directly with the solar panel, but that may never happen. With current technology, a roof-sized solar panel would likely only generate enough electricity to power a hairdryer on full blast.
Coming up next, a look at a new type of continuously variable transmission.
DANA DEVELOPING NEW TYPE OF CVT
The supplier company Dana is working on a very different type of continuously variable transmission. It does not use belts or pulleys. Instead it uses metal spheres that surround a sun gear. It’s kind of complicated to understand how it works, but this video helps to explain it.
(Dana’s CVT explanation is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
Dana says its CVT can be scaled to work in any application, from forklifts to cars and trucks and off-highway vehicles. It can be used in front-wheel-drive, or rear drive applications and is said to be up to 10% more efficient than conventional CVTs. It expects to be in production in 2020. Dana is licensing the technology from a company called Fallbrook Technologies which has been developing this technology for several decades, including on CVTs for bicycles.
Don’t forget to join us for Autoline After Hours tomorrow when we’re going to be talking about HCCI engines. A company called Nautilus says it has the solution on how to make these engines work and if they’re right, it could be a game changer for the internal combustion engine. So join John and Gary for some of the best insights as to what’s going on in the automotive industry.
And with that we wrap up today’s show. Thanks for watching and we’ll see you tomorrow.
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Comments (12)
August 23rd, 2017 at 12:32 pm
So on the Terrain’s new shifter, do you have to lean forward to operate it? As with all things that seem to be changing for the sake of change these days, it doesn’t make sense. Just put the shifters back on the steering column. It’s out of the way and simple.
August 23rd, 2017 at 1:03 pm
I have not driven the new 2018 GMC Terrain, but would only consider buying or leasing the 2.0 liter Turbo engine. Not crazy about the electronic shifter buttons. I prefer a stick selector.
Too bad Honda did not place a similar 2.0 liter turbo engine in the 2017 CR-V. Maybe Honda might consider increasing the size of it’s base engine in the EX through Touring trim levels.
I hope Audi cracks the code and develops and solar panel which can do more than power a hair dryer. You think about it, your vehicles sits in a parking lot of 8 hours a day while you are at work. If it has a solar panel integrated into the roof it should be able to convert that sunlight into electrical energy for use later.
You might be able one day to sell it back to the power grid.
August 23rd, 2017 at 1:06 pm
If the Terrain automatically goes into “park” when you shut off the engine with the start/stop button, the shift setup is fine. My Prius does that, and it is a great, but simple feature.
Still, there is nothing wrong with column shifters for automatic transmissions. They are intuitive, and don’t take up console space.
August 23rd, 2017 at 1:18 pm
Solar panels put out about 20 watts/square foot, so if you can put 30 square feet of panel on the roof of a car, you’d get 4.8 kWh of juice in 8 hours of bright sunlight. That would be enough to be useful in an electric or plug-in hybrid car. Panels should get more efficient, but not enough to make EV’s run on solar power, without stored energy.
August 23rd, 2017 at 2:03 pm
Curious that GM would put a piano key shifter in its new Terrain thus making another different kind of shifter. They have already gotten some flack with their toggle shifter on their eight-speed. While I don’t think that one shifter is better than another parenthetically, I also don’t think that one company should have so many different ones. And especially the push button type (never my favorite).
A hair dryer can consume 1400 watts (the report didn’t mention what size hair dryer), but assuming 1400, nothing to sneeze at; however it’s not going to power an electric vehicle. It could provide charging when not in use and/or power accessories but until the panel is so cheap, as not to include it would not make sense, it would probably remain in high-end vehicles (or incur an up-charge).
August 23rd, 2017 at 2:28 pm
5 I was curious about the “hair dryer” thing, because I found from multiple sources, that about 20 watts/square foot is the high end of output from today’s solar panels, in mid-day sunshine, and I am pretty sure all hair dryers are over 1000 watts. It would take a rather large car to have the required 70 square feet of roof for solar panels for the 1400 watt hair dryer.
Still, as panels get cheaper, it could make sense to put them on vehicles, even if you only get ~500 watts from them in bright sunshine.
August 23rd, 2017 at 2:31 pm
I always liked the push button shift on my ’57 Chrysler and ’64 Dodge Dart, but they were on the dash, to the left of the steering wheel. That seems a good place, away from the passengers.
August 23rd, 2017 at 2:34 pm
At 6; agree, there sure seems to be a lot of lofty numbers ‘flying’ around when we hear these stories. I wonder if there are qualifiers when they make these statements. Technology is ever moving so what I/we think may or may not be true (anymore). Tongue in cheek here: but I think we need to find them ‘dilithium crystals’; Scotty, are you out there (we need help), thanks.
August 23rd, 2017 at 6:02 pm
GM, thank you for NOT using the electronic shifter in the Bolt, Lacrosse, and XT5 in the Terrain. The push buttons are the best approach in implementing an electronic shifter. Lincoln and Honda are already moving in this direction. The sooner you remove the current shifter in Bolt, Lacrosse, and XT5 to push buttons, the sooner you will start to sell more of them.
August 23rd, 2017 at 6:35 pm
Does anyone know if “turning iff” the Terrain with the start/stop button puts it in park?
August 23rd, 2017 at 6:39 pm
@7 Kit, your post brought back pleasant memories of my mom’s ’64 Plymouth Fury with the push buttons on the dash left of the steering wheel, I especially liked the parking mode lever that you pulled down and it automatically pushed the Neutral button in. Loved that car, with the 318 it was no slouch and it was so easy to work on under the hood. Except for carburetor icing during warm up in the winter it ran like a champ.
August 23rd, 2017 at 9:13 pm
Had a 2010 terrain & it’s chevy bro- Chinese timing chains wore out early on both of them