Runtime: 6:31
0:30 Ford Cancels Fusion Redesign
1:07 Infiniti Q Inspiration Concept
2:22 CO2 Rises in UK With Drop in Diesel Sales
3:15 Production Cuts in North America
4:47 Velodyne Slashes LIDAR Cost in Half
5:19 New Start-Up Byton To Debut at CES
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On today’s show…Ford cancels plans to redesign the Fusion…Velodyne says it slashed the price of LIDAR in half…and check out the latest autonomous EV that debuts at CES. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
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FORD CANCELS FUSION REDESIGN
Is the SUV craze going to claim another victim? Maybe. The Detroit News reports that Ford has cancelled the redesign for the 2020 Fusion and is re-evaluating its future. It could have to do with sales which were down 22% through November of 2017. The Ford Taurus sedan could also be discontinued by the end of this year. Outside of North America, Ford calls the Fusion the Mondeo, and it will continue to make the Mondeo in Europe and China. But Ford says it will not export them to North America.
INFINITI Q INSPIRATION CONCEPT
While Ford may be looking at pulling back on the number of sedans it offers, Infiniti is going to introduce this concept at the Detroit auto show in a couple of weeks. They call it the Q Inspiration and it sounds like it will be an electric car. Infiniti says it has a short hood and a “unusually long cabin” which is made possible by a compact powertrain. Note the unusual gap between the front fender and hood on the front end. The overall design of the Q Inspiration is much smoother and cleaner than Infiniti’s current design language. Note the flared rear wheel wells, and how the rear end tapers into a fastback. Infiniti says this takes the traditional sedan architecture to its next stage of evolution.
England wants to get rid of the diesel engine but that is causing CO2 emissions to go up and we’ll have more about that right after this.
CO2 RISES IN UK WITH DROP IN DIESEL SALES
England is going after the diesel with a vengeance to clean up the air, but it’s also running into the law of unintended consequences. The UK is now applying a “toxin tax” on diesels to make them more expensive than gasoline cars. A typical diesel car will now carry about $427 in additional taxes, and as a result, sales of diesels fell 16% last year. But CO2 emissions went up because diesels emit less carbon dioxide than gasoline engines. Last year the average car in the UK produced 121.1 g/km of CO2. compared to 120.3 g/km in 2016. Sales of hybrids and electric cars are growing fast, but diesels still outsell them 6 to 1.
PRODUCTION CUTS IN NORTH AMERICA
Automakers in North America are going into the new year with a bit of trepidation. WardsAuto estimates that 2017 fourth-quarter production dropped 5.5% and that overall 2017 production fell 4% below 2016. And it says the trend will continue into the new year. First-quarter production is expected to drop 2.6%. Surprisingly, most of the cuts will be for light-trucks, which is one of the hottest segments in the market. And most of the cuts will be made in Mexico. But the production cuts aren’t expected to last long, output is expected to bounce back in the second quarter.
Coming up next, a look at the latest Chinese EV maker that wants to take on Tesla.
Don’t forget to join us tomorrow for the first Autoline After Hours of 2018. John and Gary will be back and our special guest is Rick Spina, the executive chief engineer of crossovers at General Motors. We’ll have the new Buick Enclave in the studio, and James Amend from WardsAuto will also be joining us. Here’s your opportunity to have a front row seat as we dive into the details of what it takes to develop a new vehicle.
VELODYNE SLASHES LIDAR COST IN HALF
While the auto industry is making significant progress with autonomous vehicles, the cost of the technology is still pricey. But now Velodyne, one of the leading suppliers of LIDAR technology, just cut the price of its latest unit in half to about $4,000. That’s a good step, but still too expensive. Velodyne uses an electro-mechanical design, while others are looking at solid state designs that could bring the cost of LIDAR below $100 a unit.
NEW START-UP BYTON TO DEBUT AT CES
If you haven’t heard of Byton yet, you will real soon. The Chinese autonomous and EV startup has an R&D facility in California and will be showing off its first model at CES. It looks to be a utility vehicle with a pretty radical LED lighting signature, but the big story for now is the giant screen on top of the dash. Called the Shared Experience Display, it features gesture controls and can display users personal apps and data. The vehicle also has illuminated panels to display different modes, a screen mounted in the steering wheel and facial recognition to unlock the car. Byton says it will start building the vehicle next year in China and it will come to the U.S. and Europe in 2020.
And with that we come to the end of today’s show. Thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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John McElroy is an influential thought leader in the automotive industry. He is a journalist, lecturer, commentator and entrepreneur. He created “Autoline Daily,” the first industry webcast of industry news and analysis.