On today’s show… President Trump wants to increase the gas tax to help pay for his infrastructure program… new details about Dyson’s electric car… and we’ve got more results from Munro & Associates teardown of the Tesla Model 3. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
TRUMP SUPPORTS GAS TAX INCREASE
In a move that surprised lawmakers during a meeting at the White House yesterday, President Trump supported the idea of a 25-cent increase in federal gasoline and diesel taxes, in order to help pay for new roads and bridges. The Administration is seeking $200 billion over 10 years to spend on its infrastructure program and Bloomberg reports the president signaled he’s willing to increase that amount as well. Federal gas tax revenue has declined over the years due to inflation and improved fuel efficiency of vehicles. But it won’t be easy to get a gas tax hike. It hasn’t been raised since 1993 and an any increase is at odds with other Republican leadership.
DETAILS ON DYSON’S EV PLAN
New details have emerged about vacuum maker Dyson’s electric vehicle plans. The Financial Times reports that its first model will launch before 2020 and will be a premium low-volume vehicle. Fewer than 10,000 will be built, so the company can learn about the manufacturing process and establish relationships with suppliers. The company has decided not to use a solid-state battery in the car as initially planned, and will instead save the technology for a second and third model. About 400 people are working on the EV which Dyson is spending around 2 billion pounds to develop.
And we’ll be back with more right after this.
HYUNDAI TO SHOW ELECTRIC BUGGY
A design school in Italy, who’s name I’m not going to pronounce very well, Istituto Europeo di Design or IED for short has worked with 14 automakers over the years to develop concept cars and now it’s teaming up with Hyundai. The two actually worked together on the PassoCorto concept sports car in 2014, but this time it’s an electric buggy, called the Kite. It was designed by 15 students from all over the world, including China, India, Italy, Mexico, Great Britain, and South Korea. The two-seat concept has no roof, doors or windshield and is actually the first concept from IED to have an interior. The Kite will debut in Geneva next month.
AMG GT FAMILY GETS NEW MEMBER
And speaking of more Geneva reveals, the Mercedes AMG GT family is about to welcome a new member and this one comes with four doors. The car is currently undergoing wind tunnel testing and judging by those massive air intakes, you know there’s going to be something fun to talk about under the hood.
SUBARU TO SHOW VIZIV TOURER CONCEPT
Subaru will also show another concept that carries the VIZIV name, which stands for Vision for Innovation. All we’ve got for now for VIZIV TOURER CONCEPT is what its rear LED lighting signature will look like. But more to come on March 6th.
SWIND HYPER-ELECTRIC BICYCLE
I’m sure we’ve all seen electric assist bikes or eBikes, but now there’s a company by the name of SWIND that calls its EB-01 the ultimate hyper-electric bicycle. It’s a pretty fitting name too. The bike’s 15 kW electric motor can propel it to speeds of 60 miles-per-hour and its 1.75 kWh lithium-ion battery provides as much as 80-miles of range. It even has regenerative braking. But it’s also hyper-expensive too. It goes on sale today with a price of nearly $21,000 or 15,000-pounds.
Coming up next, more feedback from Sandy Munro on the Tesla Model 3.
MORE MODEL 3 DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
All week long we’ve been showing you the latest that Munro & Associates has found in its benchmarking study on Tesla’s Model 3. And here’s the latest.
(Clip from video with Sandy Munro can only be viewed in the video version of today’s show.)
We’ll have our final installment tomorrow on what Munro & Associates is learning from its benchmarking study on the Model 3.
And don’t forget to join us this afternoon for Autoline After Hours, when John and Gary give you some of the best insights as to what’s happening in the automotive industry.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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Comments (25)
February 15th, 2018 at 11:48 am
Thanks for the Tesla update feature – I’m addicted to Autoline, partly because of the amazing technological advancements that keep on coming in the Auto Industry.
On EVs: Can we get rid of the “Zero Emission? tags, logos and talking points?? How about “Remote Emission” or even “Coal Fired”? There is a lot to like about EVs for certain applications or characteristics, but I’m pretty tired of the “Fake Facts” that come from the EV evangelists.
Let’s keep it real and honest!
February 15th, 2018 at 11:55 am
Seems the general consensus is that most people would be okay with a 25 cent tax if it actually goes toward infrastructure spending as we are told.
So Dyson wants to build something that doesn’t suck?
The Hyundai buggy, Very cool looking even its not very practical.
The E-bike, I just have to ask why? I cannot imagine anyone spending that kind of money for what is a really fast moped. So many other options that sip gas at a fraction of the cost.
February 15th, 2018 at 11:56 am
On the model 3 benchmarking, Sandy several times has alluded to the “transmission”. I’m a little confused on this because I didn’t think Tesla’s had transmissions, I thought they were some sort of direct drive electric motors. Could John speak to this and clarify?
February 15th, 2018 at 12:14 pm
Hyundai, seriously? IED Did anyone really think that one out?
February 15th, 2018 at 12:15 pm
Is that the same Dyson that makes vacuum cleaners?
February 15th, 2018 at 12:20 pm
Lambo I would not be okay with a additional 25 cents on top of the already highest gas tax in the country that PA pays now, for the pleasure of driving over mine fields for roads. Being told that the money is being used for roads along with the money for Increased registrations and inspections and every other fee that they have increased in the name of road repairs. Matbe the problem lies in driving by any construction site and seeing 7 PennDOT workers standing with their thumbs up their bums while one guy works. all while making $60+ a hour
February 15th, 2018 at 12:23 pm
While watching the Model 3 segment, I happened to spy the rear seat head restraint, which was noticeable small. While this may be good for reward visibility, I can’t help but think unless your rear passengers are preciously situated, that in a rear-ended crash, the headrests would actually deflect the head from one or the other side; this could cause severe upper spinal damage (if the crash were severe). Now I suppose this could be said for all head restraints, however, those cited are a very small target, to do any good, and could very easily make it worse. This just an observation (and my opinion).
February 15th, 2018 at 12:25 pm
3 The Teslas, and most EV’s, don’t change gears, but they have a one-speed transmission to gear down the high rpm motor to turn the wheels of the car.
February 15th, 2018 at 12:34 pm
What is a “5 bar link” Sandy mentioned?
February 15th, 2018 at 12:35 pm
This week’s Model 3 Tesla updates aren’t nearly as informative or interesting as last week’s. Why not just wait until Sandy can sit down in the AAH studio and discuss his findings in detail rather than stumbling through these almost incoherent sound bites?
February 15th, 2018 at 12:35 pm
The $.25 gas tax would be ok with me but we all know but we all know within the legislature to authorize this, there’s going to be plenty of pork to divert at least 24 1/2 of those cents. I’m sure will be to see the gas tax be used for Narcan, a 3 year study of the mating habits of North American Fireflies, and bridge out detour signs because we’re still not able to make infrastructure repairs.
February 15th, 2018 at 12:37 pm
I think the upcoming Tesla roadster will need 2 gears. Might also be multiple gears for Porsche Mission E. i.e. you need multiple gears if you are going to do crazy speeds.
February 15th, 2018 at 12:44 pm
9) A 5-bar link usually means upper and lower control/trailing arms for the rear suspension for holding the rear knuckle in place for vertical motion and a track bar for lateral location.
February 15th, 2018 at 12:47 pm
#6 XA351GT Trust me when I say I’m not for a gas tax either, my comment was based on the feedback on here from last week. Most are not in favor, unless it was actually used for roads and bridges. I think the general public is just so sick of the corruption behind allocation of funds and government mismanagement that most people dont trust that the funds will be used as intended like Lisk said. Most figure only a small fraction of that 25 cents will ever see a construction site.
February 15th, 2018 at 12:50 pm
Wow, I cannot believe I agree with
Trump on anything, but it is high time we increase the fed gas tax.
The way gas prices go up and down, nobody would notice a nickel every six month for ten years, and the beauty of the gas tax is, the more you drive, the more you pay for road repair. Now if only the money would be used wisely? ha ha PS we have a lot of freeze thaw cycles in Penna., plus all the salt etc just eats up the concrete and the metal bridges.
February 15th, 2018 at 1:01 pm
I don’t understand why someone would be against an increase in the gas tax. Work needs to be done, the gov is already running a huge deficit with huge debt so there’s no “ extra money “, fuel is cheap compared to most of the world and it’s a user pay system.
Motion carried, next item.
February 15th, 2018 at 1:23 pm
#16: In Calif, where we’re already paying over $3 per gallon of regular while the rest of the country pays a buck less, gas tax increase proceeds such as the recent $.12 hike just get diverted into wasteful boondoggles like Governor Moonbeam’s “high-speed train to nowhere”. The same thing happens on a national level with federal tax increases. THAT’S why people are against increases in the gas tax!
February 15th, 2018 at 1:25 pm
I look forward to the Tesla reports and I am struck by the amount and number of automotive engineering “oops” that have found their way into this car. Is there any speculation as to why??
February 15th, 2018 at 1:26 pm
#1 Asked, “Can we get rid of the Zero Emission tags …” no problem.
Donald Trump reports we now have “beautiful, clean coal” that probably uses VW diesel technology.
February 15th, 2018 at 1:32 pm
To pay for infrastructure, I’d favor an increase in income tax, on those who truly have the ability to pay, like very wealthy people. That, obviously, is not going to happen in the next three years, so maybe we need higher gas tax. We don’t need to balloon the debt, even more than is already happening, so borrowing to pay for infrastructure doesn’t seem a very good idea.
February 15th, 2018 at 1:33 pm
How about a temporary gas tax that would expire down the road to get the emergency road repairs done now. After 3-4 years, a re-vote would have to be done to verify that progress has been made with this huge problem. If no progress is made then some other plan would have to be developed to pay for road / bridge repairs.
February 15th, 2018 at 1:40 pm
17 It’s about $2.60 in central Florida. The bottom line is that gas is cheap everywhere in the U.S., compared to the rest of the developed world. That shows in our lack of infrasture investment, and in our incredibly inefficient vehicle mix.
February 15th, 2018 at 2:01 pm
Well not all roads are repaired with federal funds certainly not 100%. State and local funds have a huge impact on what repairs are made and afforded. Not sure how the funds are distributed but if all states get equal federal funding it would be no wonder the northern states struggle.
February 15th, 2018 at 3:17 pm
Of course, Trump supports gas tax. It disproportionately affects middle and lower wage earners than it does the wealthy, no big shocks there.
February 16th, 2018 at 6:48 am
Taxes aren’t equally distributed, because if you think about it, what’s the point of equally redistributing money back to where it came from minus the administrative cost to collect it. The purpose of a tax is to accrete money to be used to a common good or defined needs. Certainly there are some inherent problems with this (infrastructure of the taxing authority takes a cut, some funds get misdirected to other hither-to areas, etc.) but that’s the general idea. Sometimes it works better than others but the U.S. infrastructure needs help and needs it now (many needs: bridges, tunnels, potholed roadways are long overdue). If you want better, you have to pay for it.