AD #2191 – New Production-Based EV Racing, Daimler Launches Commercial EV, Simulation for Autonomous Vehicles
September 15th, 2017 at 11:52am
Runtime: 9:58
To watch this episode on YouTube click here.
- Euro OEMs Want to Delay C02 Targets
- VW Explains Tiguan Name in New Ads
- JLR Launches Production-Based EV Racing Series
- Daimler Launches 1st Commercial Truck EV
- Different Timetables for AV Introduction
- Simulating Autonomous Tests
- You Said It!
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On today’s show… Jaguar Land Rover launches a new racing series for production-based EVs… Daimler launches its first all-electric commercial vehicle… and a new start-up develops simulation software to test autonomous vehicles. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
EURO CARMAKERS WANT TO DELAY CO2 TARGETS
A number of major European cities have announced plans to ban diesel- and/or gasoline-powered cars due to pollution concerns, but if it were up to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association C02 targets would be pushed back even further. The association is proposing a 20% CO2 reduction for passenger cars by 2030, rather than by 2021. It acknowledges that battery-powered vehicles will play an increasing role to meet standards beyond 2020, but they say the new targets should be conditional on the market share of such vehicles. Through the first half of 2017, plug-in vehicles only make up about 1.2% of new car sales. The association also points out that a mid-term review in 2025 could adjust goals up or down based on the market for battery-powered vehicles. This is just one proposal, though. Later this year the European Commission will release its own targets for C02 emissions beyond 2021.
VW EXPLAINS TIGUAN NAME IN NEW ADS
Volkswagen has never acknowledged that some of its vehicle names don’t resonate with U.S. customers or ever really tried to explain what they mean. Well, until now that is. The automaker just released a series of ads that explain the name Tiguan is a mashup of “Tiger” and “Iguana.” Tiger is the same in German as it is English, while Iguana is Leguan. Like many of Volkswagen’s recent commercials, they’re actually pretty good and later claim the Tiguan as “The new king of the concrete jungle.” But it’s surprising that VW is just launching this ad campaign, 10-years after the vehicle’s introduction.
JLR LAUNCHES NEW EV RACING SERIES
On the back of announcing that it will electrify all new models by 2020, Jaguar Land Rover is launching a new racing series for production-based EVs. The vehicles, of which up to 20 will take the field, will be hopped up versions of Jaguar’s all-electric I-PACE SUV and will be built by JLR’s Special Vehicle Operations unit. The Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY series will race at 10 locations around the world along side Formula E and will start in late 2018.
DAIMLER INTRODUCES 1ST COMMERCIAL EV
FUSO just launched the first series-produced all-electric light-duty truck and announced UPS as its first customer. The trucks have 6 lithium-ion battery packs that total for about 83 kWh and provide about 60-miles of range. They can also carry up to 3.5-tons. 500 units will be delivered to customers in the U.S., Europe and Japan and larger scale production is intended to start in 2019.
Still to come… GM & BMW have very different timetables for the introduction of autonomous vehicles.
WHEN WILL AVs HIT THE MARKET?
What a funny week it’s been when it comes to predicting when we’ll see autonomous cars. First, BMW told journalists at the Frankfurt auto show that the sensors and computing power for Level 5 autonomous cars are simply not available. And yet, this same week, Cruise Automation and General Motors announced that their Level 5 Chevrolet Bolt is ready for mass production. All they need is the final software and regulatory approval. The first AVs are still about 4 years away, and they will be used for ride sharing, not for retail sales. But it’s fascinating to see how two very capable automakers have very different views on when we’ll see autonomous cars.
SIMULATING AUTONOMOUS TESTS
Autonomous cars require far more testing than regular vehicles, but one way that automakers and suppliers can accelerate development is to simulate the testing. One company that makes simulation software explicitly for this purpose is an Israeli startup called Cognata. It uses computer vision and deep learning algorithms to simulate a city, including buildings, roads, lane marks, traffic signs and even trees and bushes. It allows manufacturers to run thousands of different scenarios based on various geographic locations and driver behaviors, and sharing the road with other users. So manufacturers car hone in on the right iteration before going out on the road to validate the simulation. And that is going to greatly accelerate the development of autonomous cars.
Coming up next, John responds to your questions and comments in You Said It!
A number of you reacted to our report that millennials no longer rely on AM/FM radio for hearing new music and listen more to YouTube, Pandora and Spotify. That report predicted that automakers could delete radios in cars in another five years. Don B. says: “AM FM radio is killing itself. If you listen to a station for 4 hours, you will hear the same songs two times or more. There are very few live DJs left, most broadcasts are done by computer. So radio is slitting its own throat.” But Roger T says:”I think deleting FM is a mistake. As the dad of two gen Y kids, I will comment that even though our vehicles have smartphone connectivity they still listen to the radio, especially on their short trips.”
A number of you wonder who might buy FCA. Lex wonders, “What about PSA and an un-named partner buying FCA and keeping Jeep & Ram while converting Chrysler manufacturing to produce PSA/Partner vehicles for North America?” While Ziggy wants to know, “What would it take for the workers at FCA North America to buy the company themselves and go back to just having it be Chrysler?” I don’t think either of these scenarios are going to happen First off, I’d estimate that it will take at least $26 billion to buy Fiat-Chrysler. That’s about 20% above its current market cap. PSA has a lot on its plate. It has to absorb Opel and it’s already announced its 10-year plan to return to the American market, primarily through ride sharing. I don’t think PSA wants to pour that much money into growing its footprint and there’s no way FCA employees could come up with the money.
Buzzerd has a question about electric cars. “EV credits- is there any chance that the government will renew or up the amount of credits?” I think that’s highly unlikely. Uncle Sam is already on the hook for about $15 billion in EV subsidies. That’s nearly the size of NASA’s budget and there doesn’t seem to be much appetite in Congress for pouring billions more into subsidies. Besides, those subsidies were enacted to kick start the EV market, and that’s already been accomplished.
Victor West saw our report that sales of the Porsche Cayenne and Macan dropped more than 30% last month. “Could the lack of the diesel in the US market cause the decline of the Porsche SUVs?” That doesn’t seemt to be the case. Sales of the Macan are actually up for the year. The Cayenne, however, is down for the year. And it wasn’t until August that sales took a nose dive.
And finally Bill has a comment about autonomous cars. “I really wasn’t all that excited about autonomous vehicles until I heard about the Domino’s/Ford pizza delivery. Now I can order a pizza and not have to worry about tipping the driver! No more awkward moments of asking the guy if he has change for $1.”
Oh you wicked people! Thanks for adding a little levity to our day. So keep those questions and comments coming, we really like going through them.
But with that we come to the end of this week’s worth of reports. Thanks for making Autoline Daily a part of your day and we’ll see you back here again on Monday.
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Comments (26)
September 15th, 2017 at 12:26 pm
I don’t get it with the EU oems.Diesels were a way of life over there,yet they didn’t meet our standards at all,which are much more strict.
And with the price of gas,per liter,diesels were,and are,more economical.Yet they don’t want to clean them up the way we do here.
Does that hold true to their gas powered cars as well? We’ve had PZEV’s in our country for a long time,do they? And if they do,do they compare well to our standards?I guess what
I’m asking is,how does their emissions standards compare to ours,for both gas and diesel.If our stuff runs cleaner,wouldn’t it make sense to adopt our standards?
September 15th, 2017 at 12:27 pm
I’m not sure another E-series is going to draw people into the sport of racing. I watched a Formula E race and although the overall aspects of racing are there, without the roar of the engines it was like an unplugged version of a rock concert.
September 15th, 2017 at 12:27 pm
ohhhhhhh, Tig-Guan.. now I get it. It combines the best attributes of a Tiger and ……………… Iguana???…………..cause it’s powerful and it sheds it’s tail when it’s in danger.
K, I don’t get it.
September 15th, 2017 at 12:29 pm
On the BMW and GM Cruise Automation story, both may be right. I recall the founder of Cruise Automation saying that they had to design and produce some of the equipment they needed because it simply was not available in the marketplace yet. I believe he mentioned specialized sensors and actuators, but it may have gone beyond that. Perhaps BMW prefers to acquire software and equipment from suppliers rather than producing their own, proprietary equipment.
September 15th, 2017 at 12:40 pm
Why is it, that when it comes to testing or even simulating autonomous vehicles its always nice flat roads with all the lines brightly painted? If they struggle in those simulations than we are a lot farther away from a reliable autonomous cars than they would like us to believe. Simulate driving in San Francisco with steep hills, curves and few painted lines. Simulate Michigan roads where you cant tell pavement from patch and the various lane changing construction zones. Will they be programed to avoid potholes?
September 15th, 2017 at 1:32 pm
Tig and Guan. Man, those comedy clubs in Germany must be a real hoot, if this is a sample of German humor. (I am from German ancestry, so be kind)
September 15th, 2017 at 1:44 pm
I suggest this for the next VW name: Humpback Whale + Kangaroo = The Volkswagen Humparoo.
September 15th, 2017 at 1:58 pm
#7 I suggest Jack rabbit and donkey =
September 15th, 2017 at 2:07 pm
#8, that’s reserved for their executive’s.
September 15th, 2017 at 4:00 pm
Why do people only care about nonsensical car names when VW uses them? I don’t hear incessant whining about Camry and Camaro.
September 15th, 2017 at 4:09 pm
#1. On paper EU emission standards look much tougher than EPA standards. But the test procedures and loopholes make EU standards far weaker. Their diesels are not as clean, their gasoline engines are not as clean, and they do not offer PZEV engines in the EU.
September 15th, 2017 at 4:18 pm
1 It’s looking more and more like it is impossible to really clean up diesels, or if you do, you lose most of the efficiency advantage over today’s gas engines. To my knowledge, BMW is one of few scandal free sellers of diesel cars in the US. The X5 diesel gets 25% better combined EPA mileage than the gas version, Is it even worth the extra cost of the diesel?
In Europe, they are finally noticing that cities full of diesel cars mean bad air. Maybe using US standards would help, but maybe US standards are impractical to meet.
September 15th, 2017 at 4:48 pm
5, Let’s see an autonomous vehicle negotiate the triple roundabouts at Lee Rd. off US 23 in Brighton MI. 2-3 lanes around each, and the lines mostly faded away.
September 15th, 2017 at 6:58 pm
@ #11,John: Thanks for the answer. But your answer leads to another question: since we have,what appears to be the sweetest cleanest vehicle emissions,why wouldn’t they just license our stuff,and clean up?
@ Kit: Did you know our newest clean diesels put out less particulates than the boosted gassers do? I believe our diesels are at least on a par with or better than boosted gassers in regards to nox/co2.
I’ve read that there may be particulate filters headed for the boosted gassers in the future too.
September 15th, 2017 at 7:24 pm
G.A., yep, everything I’ve heard is that the GDI turbos are very bad on particulates. With NOx, I hadn’t heard much about the turbo gassers, just the diesels, most of which seem to ‘cheat.’
It sounds like the turbo GDI’s may need particulate filters; the small particles they emit are apparently very bad to breath.
September 16th, 2017 at 12:41 pm
Mornin’ Kit: Okay,so maybe in the future the turbo gassers might have to have particulate filters.
Now,our new diesel have the Part filters,and use urea to clean them during the regen cycle.
Would a urea system have to be added to the turbo gassers too, to clean the filter,I wonder.
September 16th, 2017 at 3:59 pm
@ Kit: I believe that the higher compression and combustion chamber temp increase from turbos increases the N0x as well,or so I read a while back.
September 16th, 2017 at 9:43 pm
Turbocharging and higher compression would increase combustion temperature, but gas engines run stoicometric ratio of about 15:1, air to fuel, while diesels run “lean,” with excess oxygen for the nitrogen in the air to react with, forming NOx, thus the need for aftertreatment to have a chance at contolling NOx. If I find any good info on tbe details, I’ll post it. Tradeoffs tradeoffs.
September 16th, 2017 at 9:47 pm
I’m trying to find some actual data on NOx emissions of diesel, vs turbo gassers, but so far, not much luck.
September 17th, 2017 at 2:19 pm
@ Kit: I’m on a number of automotive forums. Several had posted articles and the citing sources,but it was at least a year ago. But,this very same discussion reappears,even on the truck forums I belong too.I’ll do a search and see what I can find,than post.
September 17th, 2017 at 3:19 pm
This is what I found so far.
http://webpages.charter.net/lmarz/emissions.html
September 17th, 2017 at 6:27 pm
Thanks for the link. It looks like all GDI engines, even non-turbo are bad small particle emitters.
About halfway down in this article
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.corning.com/media/worldwide/cet/documents/2015-01-0993_secured.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwiTvPWzn63WAhUGxoMKHbGzDSAQFggwMAA&usg=AFQjCNFQmJSuq6eG1pBO-XAqjTOc8GzCLQ
is a chart showiing different engine technologies. Stoichiometric GDI engines are not shown as bad NOx emittets, but some we’ve been reading about, like compression ignition gassers are bad, both re. particles and NOx. It looks like about everything needs particle filters, at least in places where there are a lot of vehicles.
September 18th, 2017 at 7:05 am
I think that they (the manufacturers; at least GM) have somewhat addressed some of the exhaust particulates from the GDI. Both of my 3.6 liter engines from my STS’s (an ’06 and ’11) had soot at the tailpipe bezels; my ’17 XT5, with the newest iteration of the 3.6 (LGX engine) has virtually no soot at the exhaust bezel after owning it for about a year and a half. This, just one random observation. Kit, how about your Vette; notice any soot?
September 18th, 2017 at 8:40 am
Chuck, the shiny funnel-like exits of my tail pipes are black. I think they were completely black by, maybe, 8000 miles. I haven’t checked to see what the stuff is like, or how easily it wipes of, but a lot of Corvette drivers seem to keep them clean.
September 18th, 2017 at 8:44 am
I guess the cheating was far more than what was originally reported. I remember hearing that the way they were cheating was the vehicle recognized the test, via dyno run with no spinning of the non-drive wheels etc. The cars could pass the test but did not operate in that clean mode except for testing. So seems like the engines were capable of meeting the requirements so not sure why finding a fix has been so difficult. I mean yea the cars may have half the hp or some other deficiency but they already can meet the standards right?
September 18th, 2017 at 10:35 am
#25) Lambo, from my understanding you are correct on all accounts. They can meet emission standards in their “emissions-limp-mode”, but with that dramatic a loss of performance the owners would not be happy driving the vehicles daily in that condition. That could be an option offered to the customers, but VW may not want their brand of vehicle driving around in such a sorry state, thinking it may effect future sales (even worse than they already have).