On today’s show… MEMA wants Congress to stop Trump’s trade war… Volvo predicts that EVs will soon have shorter driving ranges, not longer ones… and the day is coming when we’ll all start our cars with smart phones. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
MEMA AND TRADE ASSOCIATIONS SLAM TRUMP TRADE
The Motor Equipment and Manufacturers Association or MEMA, wants Congress to stop President Trump’s trade war. The Association, which lobbies for vehicle manufacturers and suppliers, sent a letter to leaders in Congress lamenting the lack of Congressional oversight over American trade policy. MEMA cites the Constitutional directive that gives Congress the power to regulate foreign trade. It doesn’t call for specific action, but wants hearings on whether Congress has delegated too much power to the President on trade. While Trump says higher tariffs are needed to protect the auto industry, the industry doesn’t quite see it that way.
MERCEDES MAKES ROOM FOR EQ
Mercedes is stopping sales of the plug-in hybrid versions of the C, E, and S-Class, as well as all GLE models in the U.K. to make room for its next-generation of electrified models that will be sold under the EQ brand. The new PHEV system features a nine-speed automatic with an integrated electric motor that can be bolted up to different kinds of engines. That makes converting a car to a PHEV a lot easier. But this makes us wonder if Mercedes will make the same move in other markets as it launches the EQ brand?
Volvo says electric cars will soon have shorter driving ranges and we’ll explain why after this.
VOLVO PREDICTS SHORTER RANGE EVs
Volvo predicts that we’re soon going to see electric cars with shorter driving ranges, not longer ones. Volvo’s head of R&D, Henrik Green, says people have range anxiety today because there are not enough public fast-charging stations. That’s why they want EVs with longer range. He says once fast-charging stations become common, car buyers will wonder why they’re spending so much money on bigger batteries and lugging all that extra weight around all the time. He says a 50 kilowatt-hour battery will be ideal. That would provide around 200 miles of range. Henrik Green says EV owners do 95% of their charging at home so they start out every morning with their maximum range available.
SUSPENSION TRAVEL, TO THE EXTREME!
In the past, making a military vehicle safer meant slapping on more armor. But the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA has a program that aims to improve survivability without adding more armor. Part of that initiative includes an extreme travel suspension system developed by Pratt & Miller. And when I say extreme, I mean extreme. It’s able to move 42-inches up and 30-inches down for a total of 6-feet of travel. This would allow vehicles to travel at high rates of speed over rough terrain, without roughing the passengers up too much or drive on the side of a steep hill without fear of tipping over. And it’s pretty amazing how the cab of the vehicle barely seems to move.
Coming up next, the day is fast coming when car keys will be a thing of the past.
CALLING ALL CARS
In the old days you had to start your car with a hand crank. Later on, all you had to do was turn a key. Most cars today allow you to push a button on the dashboard. But in the not too distant future we’ll all be starting cars with our phones. The Car Connectivity Consortium, or CCC, is working on a standard for all phones and all cars. You’ll even be able to transfer the key to another driver which the CCC says will be handy for car sharing. There’s even the possibility of storing custom driver settings in this “digital key,” so the car is set to your preferences as soon as you get in. Our only question is, which do you lose more often, your car keys or your phone?
NEXT-GEN CHEVROLET MALIBU
While Ford is just about giving up selling passenger cars in the US market, General Motors is clearly committed to making them. AutoForecast Solutions reports that the next generation Chevrolet Malibu will go into production in August, 2022. It will be made at GM’s Fairfax assembly plant in Kansas, which is where the current model is made.
Don’t forget to join us for Autoline After Hours this Thursday as we take you on a deep dive into the all-new Volkswagen Jetta. Join john and Gary for some of the best insights as to how new cars get developed.
And that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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Comments (17)
June 26th, 2018 at 11:54 am
Good on a new Malibu; it makes sense to me to keep some options open.
Good idea to standardize digital keys, but it is still easier (for regular usage) to just either turn a key or push a push-button start. I have the ap for remote start on Onstar, but simplicity wise, the key is quicker/easier.
June 26th, 2018 at 12:26 pm
I agree with Volvo that shorter range EV’s make sense. If I ever have a pure EV, I will also have another car (or two), and the EV will be for shorter local trips, and I’ll charge it at home. Even with 400 miles of range, an EV does not work well for long highway trips, even with chargers like Tesla “superchargers.”.
June 26th, 2018 at 12:30 pm
No matter what technology is used for starting cars, I still want a basic, mechanical key that can be stored in a pocket while I’m in the ocean. My newer cars have a mechanical key that “plugs in” to the electronic gadget for storage. I can put it in my pocket, and leave the electronic gadget in the car while at the beach.
June 26th, 2018 at 1:25 pm
I predict that Volvo is heading for the Nissan EPower type drive train , no mechanical hookups
June 26th, 2018 at 1:27 pm
While I really dislike the inconvenience of the big dongles instead of keys we now have for cars, I can’t see a phone app as being better.
Stand in line trying to board a plane while the person at the front struggles with their phone and digital boarding pass.
There’s this modern stuff called paper. No need to start it up to read it.
June 26th, 2018 at 2:23 pm
5 You’d think people would make it a point to have their phone ready when using those boarding passes, but some don’t. The system works well, if you have the boarding pass displayed when you get to the front of the line.
June 26th, 2018 at 2:45 pm
Funny, Volvo states that shorter range EV’s are the future; what progress we’ve made, I think it was just about 5 years ago when 200 mile EV range was the best available. Now we’re getting some place. Back to the future (as it were).
June 26th, 2018 at 3:27 pm
I disagree with Volvo with 200 miles being fine for EVs. I think EVs will always have range anxiety, even if 500 miles becomes the norm. If 200 miles is enough, why do ICE cars have ranges of 400+ miles? If you could fill an EV from walk to 200 miles in 3 or 4 minutes, that might level the playing field but at 15 minutes to go 90 miles, this isn’t going to work for many people.
June 26th, 2018 at 3:31 pm
Price is still a big deterent to EV sales. A Chevy Bolt, charged overnight at home, would make a great commuter car for a lot of people, but the base price is $36K+. You can get a gas car with similar capabity for a whole lot less.
June 26th, 2018 at 3:40 pm
Purdue University is developing a battery technology that gives the battery a instant recharge that could be serviced at a gas station. You fill/exchange up similar to filling your tank with gasoline. I believe I posted about this before but here is a link to the company that has a video that explains their technology. Canada is also looking into this battery system. If it ever goes into production it would end range issues with pure electric and hybrid electric cars. https://ifbattery.org/
June 26th, 2018 at 3:49 pm
#8 The difference in cost to give a gas car 400 mile range rather than 200 mile range is about five dollars. The difference for an electric car is about 20 thousand dollars.
From a practical standpoint, pure EV’s would work well as commuter cars for many, or most people having a house with an attached garage. Most of those people have more than one car, and the other, gas car, can be used for long trips.
When EV’s with 200 mile range sell for the price of a base Civic or Cruze hatch, a little over $20K, there will be a lot more EV’s sold, and used mainly for commuting. In today’s U.S. market, a 200 mile electric small CUV for the price of a base HR-V, about $20K, would REALLY sell. Even though battery prices are coming down, I suspect we are still years away from price parity between gas and electric vehicles.
June 26th, 2018 at 6:45 pm
I think short range ev’s are great for just around town.Say a 200 mile range so that would account for ac in summer / heat in winter.
Longer range could be achieved with fuel cells if hydrogen suppliers want to build a network of ‘gas stations’ as the petroleum companies do.
If not,then diesel would be my choice…
June 26th, 2018 at 6:56 pm
#3 Kit: Hope nobody reading this knows where you swim or what your car looks like. The key you take, most likely, only opens the driver’s door. With the electronic key fob inside, anyone can walk up to a front door, open it, start the vehicle and drive away. That’s how thieves took a number of new Ram pickups recently from the plant marshaling yard once they cut a fence open to get in. Rammed (pun intended) a gate to get out. A couple trucks recovered. Thought to have run out of gas.
I have the UConnect app on my phone (Jeep Cherokee). It is really slow for remote functions, even when I can see the vehicle outside my kitchen window. Still have to have a key fob to actually drive the vehicle. It’s really handy for vehicle status (tire pressures, gas fill, functions checked, etc.). Didn’t work any better on the Pacifica I traded.
June 26th, 2018 at 7:09 pm
13 I lock the driver’s door with the mechanical key. The car knows the key fob is inside, rather than outside tbe car, and the doors won’t open. Yep, if anyone physically breaks into my car at the beach they can just drive away. Also, maybe it would be possible to make a gadget that would make it look like the key inside the car was outside, and unlock the car. I’m not too worried. I could probably park the car, unlocked, with the keybob inside, and nothing would hapoen.
June 27th, 2018 at 10:11 am
I always take a screen shot of my boarding pass so its in my pictures rather than trying to get to a website and pull it up at the gate. Sometimes if the signal is bad or just loaded with everyone using the network it can be slow. Having the picture doesnt require a signal.
Short Range EVs could bring the price down and reduce weight and IMHO it just puts us where we are anyway. EVs are only good for local use for people who own a garage where they can charge at home. I have passed many charging stations that are never being used. Which tells me people with EVs mainly charge at home and already own or rent a car for traveling. So currently using charging stations requires you to plan a very specific route with 30 min or more delays along the way.
Maybe this is where mobility services will excel for the EV owners that are going outside their cars range. They can buy an EV for 90% off their traveling and use a mobility service or good old car rental for traveling.
June 27th, 2018 at 12:33 pm
I could commute to and from work for nearly three weeks in a 200-mile EV on a single charge.
June 27th, 2018 at 4:21 pm
15 I do the screen capture too. Unless the phone dies completely, the boarding pass is there, and access doesn’t depend on “outside forces.”