On today’s show…Congress wants to open a new probe into Volkswagen’s diesel emission cheating…Peugeot takes the wraps of the new 508 sedan…and will Lincoln ever introduce a performance vehicle? All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
FORD PROMOTES KUMAR GALHOTRA
A day after firing its President of North America, Ford has announced a replacement for Raj Nair. Kumar Galhotra, currently Ford’s Chief Marketing Officer and the head of the Lincoln brand, will take over the position on March 1st. The Chairman and CEO of the Ford Motor Credit Company, Joy Falotico, will take over Galhotra’s positions at the company. Kumar Galhotra is our guest on Autoline This Week and we’ll have a preview of that interview later in the show, so stick around for that.
TAKATA REACHES $650 MILLION SETTLEMENT
Airbag maker Takata is still paying for its faulty airbags that have led to at least 22 deaths worldwide. The company just reached a $650 million settlement with 44 states, who were investigating whether or not the company concealed the airbag issues and failed to disclose the defects. However, the states won’t collect most of that money due to Takata’s financial problems and bankruptcy. The states want the victims to recover as much as they can from the company’s remaining funds.
CONGRESS WANTS TO OPEN NEW VW PROBE
And speaking of automotive scandals, Volkswagen isn’t in the clear yet over its diesel emission cheating. Bloomberg reports that Congress will likely open a new probe into VW, to find out if high level executives were aware of the cheating. California representative Darrell Issa says Congress could seek testimony from VW and Porsche executives as soon as April and he finds it troubling that no German executives have been convicted in the case. So far VW has paid $30 billion worldwide in fines and recalls over the scandal but that amount will likely grow since its still dealing with investor and consumer lawsuits in the U.S. and Germany.
Still to come…Peugeot reveals the new 508.
PEUGEOT REVEALS THE 508
SUVs are growing in popularity the world over, but Peugeot hopes to grab some of the sedan market back with the introduction of the all-new 508. It’s lower than the outgoing model and features styling cues from its most recent concept car, the Instinct, which is highlighted by the Saber Tooth LED daytime running lights and rear tail lamps. The interior is very modern looking and I especially like how the thin brushed aluminum air vents help accentuate the width of the dash. There’s a fairly wide range of gasoline and diesel engines to choose from, most of which are mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. The entry level diesel engine is only mated to a 6-speed manual. The new 508 goes on sale in September and a plug-in hybrid version will follow in 2019.
MINI TO BUILD EVs IN CHINA
China is making a big push towards electrification and BMW will be expanding its EV presence in the country. The automaker just signed a letter of intent with Great Wall Motor to set up a joint venture to build electric MINIs in China. The next steps will be to work out the details of the joint venture, pick a production site and determine who will invest what. If you’re wondering, BMW already has a joint venture in China with Brilliance and says it has no plans to set up an additional sales organization in the region. The move to build electric MINIs in China does not change its plans to do the same at its plant in Oxford starting in 2019.
Coming up next, will Lincoln ever introduce a performance vehicle? We’ll take a look into that, right after this.
WILL LINCOLN INTRODUCE A PERFORMANCE VEHICLE?
Pretty much every luxury company has a performance car or division but there’s one notable exception, Lincoln. On Autoline This Week, we’re joined by the newly appointed President of Ford North America, Kumar Galhotra, and he was asked if Lincoln has any plans to introduce performance vehicles. Here’s what he had to say.
(The ATW preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
If you want to learn more about Lincoln’s strategy to grow the brand, you can watch that entire discussion right now on Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and have a great weekend.
Share
Permalink
Comments (21)
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:12 pm
Those arrow tail lights on the mini,both facing in. Should be fun when using the turn signals…
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:15 pm
@G.A. – Those are pictures of a electric concept MINI showed recently and if you put the two side together it forms the British flag. Not sure they would actually make their way to production.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:16 pm
The Peugeot looks good but what else is it bringing to the table; need more than acceptable/good looks these days, especially if you want to make inroads (in a segment).
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:42 pm
There will be a wagon version of the new Peugeot 508, which should be a very nice car.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:55 pm
The new Lincoln front end design. I saw several on I80 yesterday and well design, like or dislike is subjective, to me it looks better on TV than on the road. If this is the new face of Lincoln, its not very engaging. It appears to me like lets do this for now and we will upgrade/enhance in a year. If anything its a step backward. There are designs between the Lexus thimble and the Lincoln. Timeless designs like BMW and MB are where they need to go.
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:18 pm
Refreshing to see that Lincoln is smartly going after the market. I hope they concentrate on the core product and spend the money that would have been wasted a performance image on a bunch of smaller crossovers. Build the core then go after the niche. Cadillac failed at this. The V-series compete with every other luxury brand in that segment, but the segment is too small for any significant impact.
The 508 is just too bland for this to be their re-entry vehicle into the U.S. market. I really don’t like the profile from the A-pillar forward. The pedestrian friendly hood line raises it up to give it an awkward appearance. VW, Alfa, and Volvo do it much more gracefully.
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:23 pm
@ Sean:
Wouldn’t it be a hoot if they did make it into production,lmao.
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:29 pm
Lincoln would struggle to make a performance sedan with the limited power-trains within FoMoCo They have gone after the fuel economy and downsized engine selection leaving only the 5.0L and 5.2L mustang engines. They could probably dump one of their boosted V6s in a lincoln but that would not deliver the smooth refined power they want.
Maybe its a good choice considering is a limited market. Cadillac has never broken 5000 units of the CTSV even when it was sold in a Coupe, Sedan and Wagon version. Most sales have been around 2500 a year. So maybe Lincoln is doing whats best for investors and not so much what would be good for gathering excitement or interest in the brand.
February 23rd, 2018 at 2:31 pm
As a guest on Autoline I recall my estimation of VW’s exposure would be $70 billion, and would drag on for a decade at least. Had they handled the crisis in a smarter (less obtuse) way they could have reduced their exposure to the amount they have paid up to this point, and have all this behind them. They could have customers THRILLED with the brand. Instead, their “good riddance” settlement with owners only served to further alienate those customers and everyone they know. As it is, VW’s image will be like an anchor weighing down every launch they have for the next decade at least.
February 23rd, 2018 at 2:46 pm
@G.A. – sure would! I think they are clever.
February 23rd, 2018 at 2:49 pm
Lincoln doesn’t have anything to base a serious performance vehicle on. All they have is a bunch of FWD-based sedans and crossovers, and the huge, heavy.Navigator.
As Lambo said, while Cadillac has offered some good performance variants with the “V” cars, they haven’t sold, and are probably money losers. Lincoln shouldn’t attempt that game. The products wouldn’t sell well, even if they were good, but they probably wouldn’t be that good, given the starting points.
February 23rd, 2018 at 2:52 pm
2, 7, 10 I read somewhere, maybe Autoweek, that the union jack tail lights WILL make it into production with the 2019 refresh. I’ll try to find the article.
February 23rd, 2018 at 2:53 pm
http://autoweek.com/article/detroit-auto-show/2019-mini-cooper-hardtop-and-convertible-arrive-more-british-ahead-detroit
February 23rd, 2018 at 3:30 pm
Joy Falotico has absolutely no product or marketing experience (based on her Linkedin profile) and all of the stellar progress that has been made by Kumar Galhotra at Lincoln stands a chance of coming to a standstill due to her inexperience in this area.
February 23rd, 2018 at 3:48 pm
Congress wants to investigate VW? H*ll NO!
1) They did not investigate and discover the cheat.
2) Fines and adjudication have already been levied.
3) There is no “international” treaty that requires USA meddling.
It is a Congress that is complicit in gutting the EPA and NHTSA mileage targets. This is a total waste of time and money.
February 23rd, 2018 at 6:34 pm
15 Exactly
February 24th, 2018 at 1:14 pm
While I understand Lincoln’s position and their desire not to create a vehicle that won’t sell, it is interesting to me that they have a very powerful V6 in the Ford GT, was close to 650 horses, that I will wonder would fit under the new Lincoln Continentals. Or under the hood of a Lincoln version the all-wheel drive Ford Explorer. Or under the hood of a Lincoln version of the Ford Mustang sport Coupe and convertible. While most of these things might be off the shelf and therefore not cost very much money (As compared to designing and engineering something from scratch), it makes no sense to produce them if people will not buy them. But that doesn’t stop someone from dreaming that they would!
February 24th, 2018 at 7:20 pm
17 Yep, the engine from the Ford GT has lots of power, but probably way too much power for the transaxles used in Continental, Explorer, etc. It should work with existing Mustang hardware, though. Would they call a Lincoln Mustang Cougar, as the last “upscale” Mustang?
February 25th, 2018 at 10:14 am
People at R & T really don’t like the sound of turbocharged engines, whether 4, 6, or 12 cylinders.
https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/g6776/worst-sounding-performance-cars/?src=nl&mag=rdt&list=nl_rdt_news&date=022318
February 26th, 2018 at 9:56 am
#17 & 18 the Ford GT gets the same 3.5L engine that is offered in the F-series (standard in the Raptor) Its just increased boost and tuned to get the higher HP. I think they did some other things like dry sump too but basically same motor. Again though Lincoln wants a smooth refined power delivery and offering a sport version is in direct conflict with that target. The Vee vesions of the Cadillac’s have a stiffer ride and harder shifting and balances that sport and luxury pretty well with transmission and ride selections but with performance tires its still a stiffer harder ride than the typical Caddy. Ford could do it I just think the return on investment isnt there for them.
February 26th, 2018 at 11:02 am
They could use a less boosted 3.5 turbo in some of the transverse engine Ford/Lincolns, and get by with it, but it wouldn’t buy many extra sales. They already sell the Continental with a 400hp 3.0 turbo. From what I’ve read about the Continental, their top priority should be to maximize “luxury,” as in ride quality. C and D, and maybe others say the ride is on the harsh side, given the car’s intended market.