AD #2342 – Ford F-150 Diesel Impressions, Protecting Cars from Hackers, How Many Countries Ship Cars to U.S.?
April 27th, 2018 at 11:34am
Runtime: 8:54
0:29 Ford F-150 Diesel Impressions
2:19 Hyundai Reveals New Sporty Sedan
2:40 Weekend Races
3:30 How Many Countries Ship Cars to U.S.?
4:11 Daimler Brings Garbage Truck to North America
4:43 BMW Helps Create Hyperloop One Capsule
5:41 Protecting Cars from Hackers
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On today’s show…I’ll share my driving impressions of the new diesel Ford F-150…do you know how many countries ship cars to the U.S.? and a look at how automakers are tackling cyber security issues. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
FORD F-150 DIESEL IMPRESSIONS
The diesel engine isn’t dead yet. They’re actually finding new life in the light-duty pickup segment, helping provide fuel economy numbers many people thought would be impossible not all that long ago. We just got our first chance to test out Ford’s new F-150 diesel and here’s how it performed. The worst fuel economy we got was while towing a small horse trailer. We averaged a little over 13 miles to the gallon on a 22-mile loop that only had a few traffic stops. One truck with a few hundred pounds of payload in the back yielded about 19.5 MPG while driving up into the Rocky Mountains. And babying the truck with no weight, on pretty ideal road conditions and only a few traffic lights, we were able to top 31 miles to the gallon. Some hypermilers on the same route were actually able to top 40 MPG. Overall, we think the EPA numbers of 22 city, 30 highway and 25 combined are pretty spot on. But beyond fuel economy, the engine, which shares its basic design with a V6 diesel that goes in a number of Jaguar Land Rover products, seemed pretty well refined. Engineers did a good job calibrating the software to the 10-speed transmission. Now let’s talk price. The most anyone will spend is $4,000 and that’s coming up from 2.7L EcoBoost V6. it’s as little as $2,800 when moving from a 3.5L EcoBoost. The engine is available for retail customers in Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum models, while fleet customers can choose it on all trim levels. Ford expects the engine to be about 5% of F-150 sales and mainly expects to attract people that have something to tow.
HYUNDAI REVEALS NEW SPORTY SEDAN
Hyundai introduced a new sporty sedan for the Chinese market at the Beijing auto show called the LAFESTA. The name means “Festival” in Italian. It features the company’s new design language and is powered by a 1.6L turbo that’s mated to a seven-speed dual clutch transmission. The LAFESTA goes on sale in China at the end of the year.
WEEKEND RACES
And here’s what’s coming up this weekend in racing. The Formula 1 race in Azerbaijan is Sunday at 8:10 in the morning, Eastern Time on ESPN2. NASCAR runs at Talladega on Sunday at 2 PM ET on Fox. And lastly the NHRA 4Wide Nationals starts at 6 PM Eastern Time on Sunday on Fox Sports.
Do you know how many countries ship cars to the U.S.? We’ll tell the answer, right after this.
HOW MANY COUNTRIES SHIP CARS TO U.S.?
The U.S. imports millions of cars every year, but do you have any idea how many different countries it imports cars from? I’ll bet you can’t, because we couldn’t either! The answer is that the U.S. imports cars from twenty-one different countries. That may be an all-time record. And here are four cars in particular that caught us off guard. Did you know the 5-door Honda Civic hatchback comes from the UK? Same goes for the Infiniti QX30. We were also surprised to learn that the Toyota Yaris comes from France and that the Toyota CH-R comes from Turkey. Talk about a global industry.
DAIMLER BRINGS GARBAGE TRUCK TO NORTH AMERICA
Daimler Trucks, with its Freightliner and Western Star brands, controls 40% of the medium and heavy-duty market in North America. And it’s looking to expand its dominance with the introduction of the Freightliner Econic SD. It’s a garbage truck sold in Europe but over there it’s a Mercedes-Benz. It’s powered by a 350 horsepower in-line 6-cylinder engine that’s built in Detroit. The truck is made in Germany and will be shipped to South Carolina where it will be modified for the North American market.
BMW HELPS CREATE HYPERLOOP ONE CAPSULE
BMW’s design studio subsidiary, Designworks, teamed up with Virgin Hyperloop One and the city of Dubai to create a prototype passenger capsule. The Hyperloop is a transportation system that electromagnetically propels the capsules through a vacuum tube at speeds over 1,000 kilometers per hour or about 670 miles per hour. A trip from Dubai to Abu Dhabi would only take 12 minutes. There aren’t any windows in the capsule, so Designworks helped create an interior that’s comfortable and not restrictive.
Coming up next, a look at how General Motors is protecting its cars from hackers.
PROTECTING CARS FROM HACKERS
Cyber security is a growing concern in the auto industry. But it’s not enough to just protect cars from hackers, automakers must look at their entire operation. On Autoline This Week, we’re joined by Kevin Tierney, the Chief Product Cybersecurity Officer at General Motors. Here’s what he had to say about knowing when it’s better to tackle security issues in house or when it’s better to go outside the company.
(The ATW preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
For more about how automakers are protecting cars from hackers, you can watch that entire discussion right now on our website Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and we’ll see you again on Monday.
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Comments (23)
April 27th, 2018 at 12:05 pm
The fuel mileage for diesel trucks is impressive, but when you factor in the extra cost of buying the diesel engine and then having to continually add DEF, the mileage advantage disappears.
April 27th, 2018 at 12:08 pm
I knew the Civic hatch was coming from the UK, but I had no idea cars were being imported from anywhere near 21 countries. The most recent one I heard about was Ford Ecosport, from India.
April 27th, 2018 at 12:14 pm
@1 my daily driver is a Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel. I refill two $12 BlueDef packages per 10,000 miles. So that does not move the needle.
I do get 26 mpg, which I believe is very good. I drive the turbo diesel engine because I love the torque, not for economic reasons. If you look at it from a financial point of view: diesel fuel is appr. 10% more expensive than gasoline, yet the fuel consumption is at least 20% less. So there is a number of miles driven per year at which you break even to recuperate the additional cost of the engine.
April 27th, 2018 at 12:14 pm
1 …and diesel fuel costs more, 11% more in my area. The diesel wouldn’t make economic sense for many people, but some people just “like” diesels.
April 27th, 2018 at 12:25 pm
How are all theses small cars coming from Europe, when the US manufacturers want to build this size vehicle in Mexico or China? Do the Japanese manufacturers know something we don’t?
April 27th, 2018 at 12:36 pm
5 Honda and Toyota would build cars like Civic hatch and Yaris in Europe, because that is where the bulk of a plant’s production would be sold. Similarly, BMW builds X5 in the U.S., because that is where most of them are sold.
April 27th, 2018 at 12:55 pm
The small diesels certainly give you the mileage but the trade of can be the reliability. In northern parts different manufactures have had problems with the DEF freezing, I know of people who have had different issues with sensors and the bigger diesels are know for turbo and injector replacement costs that can easily wipe out the fuel savings. Now add in that if you have an attached garage and the emissions and smell you definitely don’t want in your house….
April 27th, 2018 at 1:05 pm
@7: my vehicle is always parked outside, in Michigan. Have never had any issue, not with the diesel engine of my current vehicle, and not with the previous one.
April 27th, 2018 at 1:15 pm
@8, could be but it happens non the less
April 27th, 2018 at 1:17 pm
Sean one step further would be to know how many countries do the US makers export to? And what is the total number of exports vs imports and how has that changed over the last 50 years.
Diesels have always been a perfect match for trucks. Problem was US makers were stuck in the mindset that they still needed to be V8s with TQ ratings on par with a Peterbilt and only offered in their HD lines with the Powerstroke, Duramax etc. Finally now they are making small turbo diesels with reasonable power that is sufficient for the 1/2 ton trucks. Again getting consumers to realize they dont need a V8 to get good power.
April 27th, 2018 at 1:42 pm
@9: are all those problems with diesel engines the reason why they are the engine of choice all over the world for the heaviest duty applications, such as remote areas, military, extreme climates?
April 27th, 2018 at 2:08 pm
8 Years ago, a friend in Indiana had a VW Rabbit diesel, and had starting problems when it got really cold. Sometimes, he would mix a little gasoline with the diesel fuel if he knew it was going to get really cold, like below zero F. Since you don’t have trouble in Michigan, I suspect they are now selling “winter” diesel fuel in places where it gets cold.
As far as the DEF, the systems are designed to warm up the tank and delivery lines if it freezes. They must use highly rubbery tanks and lines, since the stuff expands substantially when it freezes. Is that the case?
April 27th, 2018 at 2:09 pm
To echo what George and Kit said, yes diesels look attractive at first glance ,but like EVs . The total cost involved makes them a more expensive option to ICE vehicles. You would have to sit down with all factors at hand to figure out which one is the most cost effective choice. The price of the vehicle, fuel costs, maintenance costs , how long you plan to own it. All that figures in to if your really saving yourself any money at all.
April 27th, 2018 at 2:24 pm
If that little horse trailer rig u tested had a vee nose , the mileage would have been infinitely better
April 27th, 2018 at 2:40 pm
Diesels – 1. Some diesel engines do not have glow plugs (Example is Detroit Diesel 8V-71 from the 70′s. Loved to start when hot – When cold it occasionally need a little ether, & if really cold, fire up the small diesel that ran the trailer A/C unit to insure the tractor battery was fully charged.
Cost analysis – Agree totally that a good decision incorporates all the cost – Initial fixed, variable running costs, maintenance, etc.
April 27th, 2018 at 2:57 pm
In the case against diesels in half ton trucks, I don’t see any practical use for them unless you run a courier service where the truck is lightly loaded most of the time. You’ll most likely never recoup the difference in money, however at trade in time you should be able to pick up a lot of money because it is a diesel. For trailer towing, it’s a big mistake for the tail to be bigger than the dog. Softer springs, and “P” (passenger) tires rather than “LT” (light truck) don’t have the sidewall stiffness to control sway. Because of shorter sidewalls 20 & 22 inch tires may be better.
US diesels have a long reputation for injector and fuel pump issues. It usually happens just out of warranty. It should be a maintenance item.
April 27th, 2018 at 3:13 pm
I find it odd that Ford will only sell the diesel in the F-150 to consumers in the Lariat and higher trim levels, but will sell it in any trim level to fleet buyers. Seems as though there might be demand for it in the XLT trim level for those on a reasonable budget that still need good towing capability. Perhaps after its in the market for awhile they will open it up in lower trim levels for retail customers.
April 27th, 2018 at 3:34 pm
#16 I would say the advantage is getting equal or greater power from a smaller engine that uses less fuel. Similar to Ford philosophy of their eco-boost engines you can start to save weight and engine packaging space by using smaller engines without losing power. Plus diesels have proven to have a longer life cycle than gas engines. As volume increases hopefully the cost will decrease and soon be a minor cost impact. The real indicator would be asking truck consumers what they would take if the cost difference was zero. Some would still prefer gas but many would switch if it was less than $1000. IMO
April 27th, 2018 at 3:35 pm
It’s interesting to see the very large fuel mileage difference with the Ford diesel. Going from 30 mpg empty down to 13 when towing a box trailer is a big change. How about optimizing a work truck for work?
If your job required the regular towing of a trailer, you would get very annoyed at the fuel mileage. I’d argue a good V8 would tow more economically.
April 27th, 2018 at 3:44 pm
What is meant by “fleet” for ordering lower trim level F-150′s with the diesel? Can a dealer order two of them for a small “fleet” and sell them to regular customers?
April 27th, 2018 at 3:54 pm
18 Isn’t that mostly a myth, that diesel engines last longer than gas engines, except for serious, heavy duty ones like in big tractor trailers?
Two friends have had diesel pickups, one Chevy and one Dodge/Ram. Both were high maintenance, the Chevy having injection system problems, and the Dodge, needing a expensive turbocharger replacement. On the other hand, a different friend recently replaced a 15 year old Chevy with the gas 4.3, which had essentially no repairs since new. The diesels had only about 100K miles when they needed expensive repairs, and the 6 cylinder gas Chevy had for more than that when sold. Yes, the diesels did more, and heavier towing, which makes a difference.
April 30th, 2018 at 11:50 am
Our F150 with the 2.7 goes from about 18 mpg city driving to around 11 mpg towing on the freeway (3000 lb trailer). Doesn’t sound like a big advantage to taking the diesel, except if we needed more towing capacity.
April 30th, 2018 at 12:10 pm
17 – Limiting desirable options on retail sales to upper trim levels is done all the time to “encourage” buyers to spend more than they really wanted to spend. It is all about marketing to maximize the transaction price. I’m sure there is a science to the logic doing a trade-off study. Fleet sales are more price sensitive so they allow those buyers to order just what they want and no more. The diesel option for the Colorado/Canyon are also more restrictive for retail vs fleet orders.