AD #2299 – Ferrari to Add More Hybrids, GM is Going to Lose Pickup Sales, Denso Develops Better Night Vision
February 27th, 2018 at 11:34am
Runtime: 7:23
0:30 Ferrari to Electrify Entire Lineup
0:58 Buick Won’t Get Opel Adam Variant
1:16 GM to Lose Full-Size Pickup Sales in 2018
2:34 EV Noise Regulation Set
3:10 Toyota Makes Powertrain Improvements
4:21 Lexus Shows Production UX Crossover
5:30 Continental’s Self Adapting Tire Concept
6:23 Denso Develops New Vision Sensor
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On today’s show… Ferrari takes another step towards electrifying its entire lineup… GM is going to lose at least 70,000 full-size pickup sales this year… and Lexus shows off its latest CUV. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
FERRARI ADDS HYBRIDS
Ferrari’s first hybrid car was LaFerrari, priced at over $1 million. But that hybrid is more about performance than fuel economy. The EPA rates it at 14 miles to the gallon. Now, Autoforecast Solutions says Ferrari’s next hybrids will be the 488 GTB and Spider, which go into production in Maranello in June of 2019. Ferrari says it will eventually electrify its entire lineup.
NO ADAM FOR BUICK
Buick was supposed to get a version of the next-generation Opel Adam, but with GM having sold Opel to PSA, plans have been axed. Autoforecast says it was going to be built in Spain and shipped to the US market starting in 2025.
GM TO LOSE TRUCK PRODUCTION
Sales of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra are going to go down this year because they’re going onto a completely new architecture that requires all-new body shops in the plants where they’re built. GM will lose 130,000 trucks of production as those plants are converted. But it’s also going to start assembling 60,000 trucks a year at its plant in Oshawa, which cuts the net loss to 70,000 trucks. They’re calling it the “Oshawa shuttle” because the trucks will be partly made at GM’s plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana and shuttled to Oshawa for final assembly. GM is also going to going to increase production of crew cabs at all it’s plants, which it says will add $2 billion a year in revenue. Isn’t it amazing that just a couple of bigger doors can bring in two billion bucks more than before?
Coming up next, Toyota has a clever idea to make CVTs drive a whole lot better.
EV NOISE REGULATIONS
Remember all that talk about having electric cars make some sort of noise so that they wouldn’t run you over? Well, the U.S. Department of Transportation finally finalized rules that requires EVs and hybrids to emit a sound while travelling at low speeds to warn pedestrians they’re approaching. They must emit a noise at speeds up to 18 MPH. 50% of vehicles must emit a sound by September 2019 and after that they all have to comply. The new rule is expected to prevent 2,400 injuries annually.
TOYOTA’S POWERTRAIN IMPROVEMENTS
While we keep hearing about the move to electrification, Toyota is not at all giving up on the internal combustion engine. It’s making a number of powertrain improvements for everything that rides on its New Global Architecture, including the Avalon, Camry and C-HR. Most interesting is a new CVT that features a launch gear. The drive gear is only used when starting from a full stop, which gets rid of the sluggish feeling when only the belt was used. And because the gear reduces load, the size of the belt and pulleys are reduced, which results in 20% faster shift speeds. Toyota is also showing off a number of new 2.0L gasoline engines for both conventional and hybrid applications. With all the improvements, Toyota says the engines will be ahead of future emission regulations. And speaking of hybrids, the automaker is reducing the size and weight and improving efficiency of its hybrid system for 2.0L engines. By 2021 Toyota will have introduced 9 new engines, 4 new transmissions and 6 new hybrid systems.
FIRST GLIMPSE OF LEXUS UX
Lexus is giving us a look at the production version of the all-new small UX crossover. While the styling is not quite as radical as the concept, I’m sure a number of people will find the “fangs” on either side the large spindle grille rather polarizing. The interior is a fairly clean layout with the controls pushed to the driver’s side and the infotainment screen mounted high on the dash. We’ll know more when the UX debuts in a week at the Geneva show.
Suppliers continue to drive so much innovation in the auto industry and we’ll show you some of their latest tech, right after this.
CONTINENTAL’S CONCEPT TIRES
Continental is showing off a couple of concept tires that can adapt to different conditions. Called ContiSense and ContiAdapt they use sensors to monitor tread depth and temperature, which sends signals through electrically conductive rubber to a receiver in the car. It can alert drivers of over- or under-inflation, and can also warn of a puncture because a circuit in the tire would get closed. In the future, the sensors will be able to detect road conditions. Micro-compressors in the wheel and a variable-width rim will change the pressure of the tire and adjust the size of the contact patch to meet the needs of any condition. High pressure and a small contact patch for low-rolling resistance can change to low pressure and a large contact patch for slippery roads.
DENSO DEVELOPS NEW VISION SENSOR
The supplier company Denso has developed a new vision sensor that improves safety while driving at night. It uses a unique lens designed for low-light use and a solid-state imaging device to help detect other road users, pedestrians and signs. This allows automatic emergency braking to perform better at night. Denso’s sensor is available on the new Toyota Alphard and Vellfire vans, which are primarily sold in Japan.
Be sure to join us for Autoline After Hours this Thursday for some of the best insider information on what’s going on in the automotive industry.
And with that we wrap up today’s report, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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Comments (21)
February 27th, 2018 at 11:57 am
I have a suggestion for the noise EV’s will need make up to 18 mph. Remenber that cool noise the Jetson’s car used to make?
February 27th, 2018 at 11:59 am
Along the lines of that new Vision Sensor Denso is developing, what would be fantastic is a windshield that automatically creates areas of dark tint whenever the high beams (or even regular beams from one of these newer cars – Cadillac Escalades I’m calling you out!) of other cars shine.
Since they’ve got all these sensors and cameras being planned for cars now, it should be pretty easy to triangulate between the position of the drivers eyes, the offending high-beam headlights and the spot on the windshield that needs to be tinted.
Electronically controlled tinting has been available in the architectural glazing industry (for conference room glass and whatnot) for well over a decade now. It’d be great to see it come to automobiles. Heck, if for no better purpose than having ones windows tinted as dark or light as they feel like having them on any given day. Then, when it’s time to back into (or out of) a parking space or garage, they can be made clear at the touch of a button. Also handy for when the state trooper pulls you over for windows tinted beyond legal limits. “Ahhh, sorry officer. To exactly what window tint are you referring???”
February 27th, 2018 at 12:09 pm
MJB, great idea, but the government says no. NHTSA says windshields have to have a light transmission of 70% or greator. You might have noticed a little thing on one sid eof the winshield that looks like AS-1. Below that mark the TL must meet the greater than 70%, so no tinting. On the plus side, with autonomous cars with no steering wheel, will the government change the rules?
February 27th, 2018 at 12:14 pm
It’s probably a good thing the Adam is not coming here. It looks like a Fiat 500, and we know they are not selling well.
February 27th, 2018 at 12:41 pm
Agree with Don B.; there just isn’t a big enough market for a small car, let alone, another small car. I don’t see how the Adam would bring a ‘game changer’ idea to the segment.
February 27th, 2018 at 12:45 pm
When manufacturers put a speaker in the engine compartment of a EV, you know consumers will find the noise annoying and simply cut the wire to the speaker. I did that to the nag chime inside my car.
February 27th, 2018 at 12:45 pm
The Adam is more “cute,” and less retro styled than the 500, but is about the same size as the basic 500. Yeah, I can’t imagine that it would sell well in truck-centric America. The only small car that sells reasonably well in the U.S. is MINI, and they keep getting bigger.
February 27th, 2018 at 12:51 pm
More 4 door pickups, now we’ll need some bigger parking spaces since over half the people bigger pickup trucks can barely maneuver them going forward down the road let alone try to park them, but I love my 4 dr crew cab Silverado
February 27th, 2018 at 12:56 pm
On GM truck production. The plants require all new body shops? Would GM be going to an aluminum body that they so hammered Ford on? Maybe they’ll go with aluminum body with a steel bed so they can still run their comparison commercials where they drop blocks and tool boxes into the bed.
February 27th, 2018 at 1:00 pm
#1 I suggest that EV’s must have wire spoke wheels and under 18mph a playing card is inserted into the spokes.
February 27th, 2018 at 1:01 pm
#3 – Well, my windshield idea is only for the several seconds during which you’re being blinded by oncoming traffic. Hence the automatic electronic controls set to darken small portions of the windshield only when it’s dark outside and headlights are aimed at the driver.
Or are you saying that NHTSA has an outright ban that wouldn’t even allow for such intermittent tinting of the slivers of a windshield?
February 27th, 2018 at 1:06 pm
#8 I read somewhere that they are doing exactly what you said, more aluminum in the body, and steel, or maybe composite in the box. I’ll see if I can find it.
February 27th, 2018 at 1:18 pm
#11 I’m not sure why they dont go with a composite bed or just go aluminum and make a liner standard equipment. They could make the bed design very simplistic and integrate the 2×4 notches and tie downs into where the liner attaches to the bed.
February 27th, 2018 at 1:21 pm
On new tires, most ICE cars can’t be heard when approaching from behind either. I’ve been startled in many a parking lot by a car I didn’t hear approaching.
GM selling Opel to PSA and not being able to bring over the Opel Adam was a good move. Buick dealers wouldn’t warm up to the car because of the size. GM gave them the Verano (Cruze) which sold in decent numbers in the beginning but it didn’t last long.
If they keep adding technology to parts and pieces of our cars, everybody is going to have to ride share. Tires with tread depth sensors? Are you kidding? This will be yet another reason for check engine lights that will never go off…
February 27th, 2018 at 1:24 pm
GM is going to lose more than Toyota Tundra sells in a year!
February 27th, 2018 at 1:34 pm
Only the moving parts, hood, doors and tailgate will be aluminum. The rest will be steel.
February 27th, 2018 at 1:41 pm
A properly placed speaker (for the electric cars that are sans enough noise for pedestrians) wouldn’t/shouldn’t intrude on the occupants (inside the vehicle). I don’t remember the decibel requirements but I wouldn’t think the sound would be more than the tire noise already there. Disconnecting would/should be prohibited; being a safety feature.
February 27th, 2018 at 2:05 pm
16 Thanks, Larry. That’s what I saw, but I don’t remember where. Autoline, maybe?
February 27th, 2018 at 3:23 pm
why did lexus copy that ugly grill from darth vador’s mouth piece.
February 28th, 2018 at 12:04 pm
On automatic windshield tinting… A much simpler/cheaper approach would be to have V2V auto dimming so as cars approach each other, the on-coming vehicles will communicate and dim their high beams. Of course that assumes V2V will be adopted in the future.
February 28th, 2018 at 4:51 pm
I followed the links to the Toyota powertrain announcements, and to my surprise the batteries shown in the presentation for the Hybrids were labeled as “Nickel-metal Hydride batteries”. Is this true? Has Toyota discovered a way to increase energy density in Nickel-metal Hydride so they are moving back from Lithium?