On today’s show…more than half of the faulty Takata airbags are still unrepaired…Budweiser orders dozens of Tesla’s electric semi-truck…and Ford explains why it dropped the V6 in the Mustang. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
MOST TAKATA AIRBAGS STILL UNREPAIRED
Despite having enough replacement parts, over half of the 42 million airbags recalled by Takata have not been fixed. The Detroit News reports, that just over 19 million had been repaired by the end of October. Honda, which was hit hardest by Takata’s faulty bags, has taken some unprecedented steps to repair its vehicles. It hired 500 people to go door-to-door to find owners who hadn’t responded to warnings sent through the mail. And last month, the company started using Facebook to locate owners and let them know about the recall. FCA says it’s started sending out technicians to people’s homes to fix the faulty bags. While safety advocates acknowledge these are good steps, they say other automakers need to do more to get the word out. Even though it’s a serious issue, the companies will never repair all the vehicles, because almost a quarter of car owners ignore any kind of recall.
TOP AUTOMAKERS IN MEXICO
We’re all familiar with the top automakers in the U.S. But do you know the top companies in Mexico? Nissan dominates the market. According to WardsAuto data, through November, the company has sold over 330,000 light vehicles, which is over 100,000 more than GM, who is in second. Volkswagen is in third, with just under 200,000 units sold. And then there’s a big drop off to Toyota and Honda. But check out Kia in sixth place, its sales have exploded, up over 50%. Overall, automakers have sold 1.37 million vehicles so far this year in Mexico, which is a 3% dip compared to last year.
Still to come…Ford is creating high-end watches using old Mustangs parts.
BUDWEISER ORDERS 40 TESLA SEMI-TRUCKS
Tesla has had about a dozen or so companies put in orders for its new electric semi truck and it just got another keg-sized deposit. Anheuser-Busch announced it placed an order for 40 Tesla semis. It made the move to increase the efficiency of its operations and to help meet its goal of reducing its operational carbon footprint by 30 percent by 2025, which would be the equivalent of taking half a million cars off the road. Come to think of it, one of those Tesla reveal pictures was awfully close to Bud Light blue.
FORD PLANS AUTONOMOUS TESTS NEXT YEAR
Last week, GM revealed plans to launch an on-demand ride-sharing service using autonomous cars. And now Ford is ramping up its self-driving efforts. Reuters reports that the company will start testing its autonomous vehicles in a number of pilot programs next year. It will try out new business models using the cars and it’s also partnering with Lyft and Domino’s Pizza to test the technology. As we reported yesterday, Ford will build the autonomous cars at its Flat Rock, Michigan plant starting in 2021.
WATCHES MADE FROM OLD MUSTANG PARTS
Nobody likes to see a classic car get crushed or rot away in some field and that’s why what REC Watches, a company based in Denmark, is doing is so cool. It’s taking parts and pieces from classic Mustangs that would otherwise get scrapped and are turning them into high-end watches. A dial for battery life is designed to look like a fuel gauge, and the hands, date, and dial numbers are influenced by the car’s dashboard. Each watch also comes with the VIN and year of production of the donor car. And the company even goes so far to talk to previous owners to get the history of the car and incorporate it into a unique video. The watches are on sale now and start at about $1,500.
And speaking of the Mustang, coming up next, Ford tells us why it decided to no longer offer a V6 engine for its Pony car.
WHY FORD DROPPED THE V6 IN THE MUSTANG
When Ford updated the 2018 Mustang, it decided to drop its 3.7L V6 and only offer a V8 and a EcoBoost four-cylinder under the hood. On Autoline After Hours we’re joined by the engineers of the Mustang and they shared why the company dropped the V6 and if we could see one return as an EcoBoost.
(The AAH preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
For more about the changes to the 2018 Mustang, you can watch that entire discussion right now on Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching and have a great weekend.
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Comments (23)
December 8th, 2017 at 12:14 pm
Mustang. 4 banger. Shake rattle and roll.
December 8th, 2017 at 12:22 pm
Re the airbag issues – I’m still waiting for parts for my ’06 Mustang GT. I was notified a year and a half ago that there was a problem. Just checked the Ford website and parts are still not available for my car. Just letting you know that there are those of us that want to do the right thing and don’t understand the long wait for a safety issue.
December 8th, 2017 at 12:32 pm
The Takata airbag quandary is prime evidence to me that a majority of U.S. car buyers/owners view their vehicles as nothing more than a tool, barely worthy of maintenance and upkeep. Why else would one be so blase when it comes to addressing potentially life-threatening factory recalls?
These are the exact folks that will likely account the lion’s share of autonomous car sales. The ‘care free’ buyer.
December 8th, 2017 at 12:45 pm
The 2.7L V6 twin turbo used in the Fusion Sport at 325 HP would be a good replacement for the 2.3L I4 turbo in the Mustang (cover both the I4 & the old NA V6). We got the Fusion last month to replace my wife’s Contour, & the 2.7L V6 is a very nice package in the Fusion.
December 8th, 2017 at 12:51 pm
Perhaps the analogy of playing “Russian-roulette” with an old Takata airbag might get some better response. Too lazy to bring it in is one thing, pointing a (possibly) loaded gun in your face, quite another. I hope these owners that don’t respond to the recall at least pull the fuse to deactivate the ‘bag’.
Fifteen hundred bucks for a one hundred dollar (I’m guessing here) watch because it is made out of old-steel; there’s a sucker born every minute.
December 8th, 2017 at 1:06 pm
@John C – Thanks for the feedback. That really stinks your parts are taking so long.
December 8th, 2017 at 1:18 pm
@MJB – After spending over 13 years in a repair shop, I think I’ve seen every car owner there is and you’re right, too many people just don’t care about maintenance. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked at a car’s tires in a parking lot (yup, I’m THAT guy) during the winter and the drive tires are worn out, bald or worse the steel belts are showing, while the others look brand new.
December 8th, 2017 at 1:23 pm
I agree with MJB entirely on the Takata airbags. I’m sure on some of these cars, when they do the recall, the deployed airbag will be stuffed back in the steering wheel pad, carefully secured with duct tape. As for the others, I would think as more time passed, the explosive nature would even more dangerous.
So Budweiser ordered 40 Tesla truck? Wow. If they were hoping to have these in service by 2025 to help with reducing their carbon footprint they might look into ordering from M-B/Fuso. Hopefully they didn’t order any Faraday FF1s for their execs.
December 8th, 2017 at 1:55 pm
Hey if anyone is interested I am selling water bottles for $600. I will include a description of the vehicle it was recycled from and a touching story of how it was loved so much it ended up in the junk yard.
December 8th, 2017 at 2:01 pm
@1/Mark – You need to drive the 2.3L Ecoboost Mustang. I drove the new 2018 model. It is very civilized in terms of vibration and harshness… that is, no vibration and not harsh in any way. The sound quality from in the cabin is much improved and appropriate for an entry level Mustang. Acceleration is very good. You may notice an initial lag (less than 1 second), but no worse than any Mercedes.
There are three key benefits of the Ecoboost over the 5.0L Coyote V8 – price (about $7k), fuel economy (4-5 mpg), and handling balance (a lot less weight over the front wheels).
December 8th, 2017 at 2:15 pm
i think the system needs to track cars past the first owner. We get recalls in the mail for vehicles we haven’t owned for 10 years. The states and provinces have all the registration info. Can’t car companies get it from them?
December 8th, 2017 at 2:39 pm
If you watch the Mustang Autoline afterhours it is discussed that the 2.3 Ecoboost is smooth, powerful and virtually vibration free (John mentioned that the only harshness he felt was when decelerating from a high rpm, and this, only minor). The Ford guy also contributed that the Mustang has noise cancellation and sound enhancement, which led to the assertion that the Mustang probably sounds better inside than outside (that’s why you want the V-8 if you want to impress the neighbors). The V-8 also has quiet (start-up) mode for those early morning startups.
While not a Mustang kind of guy, it was an interesting program (if you’ve got the time to watch it all) it’s worth it.
December 8th, 2017 at 3:01 pm
I haven’t driven a current Mustang, but I’ve driven a turbo 4 automatic. It has plenty of power, and is generally smooth, and the Mustang is probably equal or better in performance and refinement. Still, if I wanted a non-V8 pony car, I’d rather have a six with no turbo. The Camaro six sounds better than the four, is a little quicker, and gets barely worse gas mileage. The most recent Mustang six was a good, refined engine. Also, a turbocharger and the hardware to go with it adds a lot more complexity than two extra pistons and connecting rods.
Still, everything from a Honda Civic to a Mercedes E-Class to a Cadillac CT6 has a turbo four, so the bottom line is that turbo fours are taking over autodom at all levels, because they get a little better mpg on the EPA tests.
December 8th, 2017 at 3:01 pm
Keeping the Mustang V6 really didn’t make sense once the 4cyl was producing 10 more HP weighs less and gets 3 more MPG both city and Hwy.
The only appeal was to the few folks that didn’t want to pay for a V8 but also are afraid of owning a turbo. But since they market it as “eco-boost” rather than turbo. Sadly many people are unaware its a turbo.
December 8th, 2017 at 3:04 pm
#13 Oops. Word missing…
“…but I’ve driven a ‘Camaro’ turbo 4 automatic.”
December 8th, 2017 at 3:05 pm
“I don’t need to mess w/my bags because I ain’t never gonna have a wreck”—
That’s the general attitude , but seriously, in my case ,–been driving since 1944,most in SE US. Average commute was 18 miles per day, no tickets except 2 speed traps , never a chargeable accident,. Wouldn’t dare buy a touchscreen car
December 8th, 2017 at 3:11 pm
The Mustang and Camaro turbo fours both beat the Camaro V6 by 2 mpg EPA “combined” 25 to 23 I suspect a “lead foot” might get better real world mpg with the Camaro six than with either turbo.
December 8th, 2017 at 3:14 pm
Oh, and I don’t hate turbo fours. I have one in my 1989 minivan.
December 8th, 2017 at 3:49 pm
I also have a 2006 Mustang GT and have been to the local dealer three times to see if they can get the replacement air bags. Not available yet despite a recall notice 18 months ago.
The Ecosoot engines still do not have dual fuel injection like the 5L motor. Here comes the carbon build up on the intake valves and no cheap way to clean it. This issue comes beyond the 3 year / 36000 mile factory waranty as expected.
December 8th, 2017 at 3:50 pm
is anyone really buying the bs about mustang 6 cyl. when the 2015 mustang came out the 6 was de-tuned from 6 in the 2014 so they could sell the bill of goods that is ecoboost or eco-bs, but do agree 6 cyl mustang isnt competitive with chevy camaro 6 or dodge challenger 6 cyl. why is there an ecoboost 6 cyl. in ford gt and raptor again???
December 8th, 2017 at 5:13 pm
A lot of hand waving and head rocking side to side to NOT justify the dropping of the V6. Sounds like it was a Corporate Mileage thing!!
December 8th, 2017 at 5:44 pm
I just found that the NA V6 in the F-150 shrunk to 3.3 liters, but its power is up a little at 290 hp. Jalopnik liked it in the pickup.
A Mustang with that engine should be quicker than a big, heavy V6 Challenger, but slower than the V6 Camaro.
https://jalopnik.com/the-2018-ford-f-150-gets-a-new-engine-and-more-horsepow-1796143724
December 11th, 2017 at 11:58 am
It would be interesting to see the weight differences of the eco- 4cly vs the V6. I really don’t see there being that much weight savings from an aluminum V6 to a turbo 4cyl when you add the weight of the turbo, plumbing and intercooler.