On today’s show… Hyundai puts together an international team of top talent to run its Genesis luxury brand… Acura updates the MDX… and green cars continue to make progress in the American market. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
ACURA MDX GETS FIRST A-SPEC MODEL
Acura just introduced a refreshed version of the MDX. It keeps the same look as the outgoing model but its available with new colors. And the interior received minor upgrades as well. For the first time the MDX is available with an A-Spec variant. It offers a sportier appearance and has unique touches both inside and out. The MDX is still powered by a 3.5L V6 but its nine-speed automatic transmission has been improved for smoother acceleration. A base version starts at $45,295 but the price jumps to over $62,000 with all-wheel-drive and the Advance and Entertainment packages. The 2019 MDX goes on sale next month.
SKODA CACHES IN
Geocaching is an outdoor activity that sees people using navigation techniques to find containers, called geocaches or just caches. They’re typically filled with all sorts of things, including trackables that are shared or taken from one cache to another. The activity has become so popular that SKODA has launched 500 of its own trackable Geocoins for hunters to seek out. The 5 coins feature vehicles from SKODA’s history, including its very first car in 1905 to a SKODA RAPID that circumnavigated the globe in 1936. If you’re interested in looking, they are currently located at sites around the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Portugal, Canada, the U.S., Australia and New Zealand.
Still to come… Hyundai poaches top talent from outside Korea to run its Genesis luxury brand.
GENESIS POACHES TOP TALENT
Hyundai is a proud company that is equally proud to be South Korean. But when it decided to create Genesis and make luxury cars, it knew it had to hire the best talent in the world. So the head of the brand globally is Manfred Fitzgerald, an American who worked at Lamborghini. The head of performance engineering is Albert Biermann, a German who used to run BMW’s M division. And Luc Donckerwolke a Belgian who heads up design was hired away from Bentley. These three brought in even more talent from outside Korea, and now have quite the international team of top talent. And it shows. Genesis cars can compete with the best.
HONDA’S NEW SMALL VAN FOR JAPAN
Japan’s kei cars, with dinky 660cc engine, will put a smile on your face. Here’s Honda’s latest, the N-VAN. It sits on the same platform as the N-BOX, which would be an appropriate way to describe the styling of the van. It’s available in front- or 4-wheel drive with either a CVT or 6-speed manual. Note the pillar-less opening between the passenger front and sliding door, which makes for a huge space to get people or cargo in and out of. The van went on sale last week with a starting price a little over $11,000, and there’s already a dedicated website for customizing the N-VAN.
Coming up next, green car sales continue to show impressive growth in the U.S.
GREEN CARS MAKE PROGRESS
Sales of green cars continue to make progress in the American market. Total sales for the first half of the year came to 288,000 vehicles, up more than 7%, compared to the overall market being up 2%. Even though hybrids represent the biggest segment, sales continue to fall. But sales of electrics, plug-in hybrids and fuel cells are growing dramatically. Even so, you have to put these numbers in perspective. These vehicles still only account for a little over 3% of total vehicle sales. But if they can maintain this kind of growth, sales will top 1 million vehicles in the next decade.
| U.S. Green Car Sales YTD |
| Hybrid |
164,000 |
-7.3% |
| BEV |
65,100 |
+36% |
| Plug-In |
57,600 |
+38% |
| Fuel Cell |
1,400 |
+36% |
| TOTAL |
288,100 |
+7.7% |
Be sure to join us for Autoline After Hours this Thursday. Have we got a treat for you, an all-electric Corvette from a company called Genovation. Not only is it beautifully engineered, it’s wicked fast. Greg Migliore from Autoblog will also be there, so join John and Gary for some of the best insights into cars and the people who make them.
And that brings us to the end of today’s report. Thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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Comments (9)
July 18th, 2018 at 12:22 pm
I saw a Genovation Corvette a couple years ago, when they were testing it for top speed on the Kennedy Space Center shuttle landing strip. The car I saw was a C5 or C6, but the ones they plan to sell will be C7′s. Is there a market for a ~$750K Corvette, with less than half the range of a regular ‘Vette?
July 18th, 2018 at 12:39 pm
Genesis; I’m not sure how hiring a bunch of top executives guarantees that a car can compete with the best. I’m not familiar with the specific talents of the three you mentioned but there are as many bad executives as there are good. So just because these folks came from prominent positions doesn’t draw a direct line of success to the Genesis platform, at least not for me.
July 18th, 2018 at 12:43 pm
Japans Kei; I believe owns me design royalties. I’m pretty sure I designed the looks of that minivan while I was in 3rd grade.
July 18th, 2018 at 1:07 pm
2 From what I’ve seen of Genesis, they mainly need to convince people that a three pointed star or a stylized “L” is not worth thousands of dollars. Also, of course, they need a couple crossovers that are competitive, as their sedans already are.
Lexus started with their LS sedan, which was a good product, for many thousands less than an S-Class. That got them going as a serious player, so they were able to charge a big premium for gussied up Toyotas, like the ES, and their most successful product, the RX.
July 18th, 2018 at 1:24 pm
@ 2 & 4
I agree with both Lambo2015 and Kit Gerhart, Genesis needs CUV’s and SUV’s with AWD to attract customers. The Executives can come and go but the product needs to sell itself.
As for dealerships Genesis will need to allow current Hyundai/Kia dealers the opportunity to add a Genesis dealership to their portfolios. Who better than a current Hyundai/Kia dealer and service center to best maintain Genesis vehicles and promote customer confidence and promote the Genesis brand. Genesis will need to promote “customer loyalty” for those who want to step up from a current Hyundai/Kia vehicle into a Genesis vehicle at a very attractive price and/or incentives or both.
July 18th, 2018 at 9:01 pm
Didn’t Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti start out with dealers separate from the parent companies’ dealers? Maybe Genesis should have done that, but they are moving in that direction.
From my memory, having the right, for the time, initial product seems to have “jump started” Lexus, and they have never looked back. Their first product was the LS400, by some accounts, a better S-Class, especially in regard to traditional luxury, as in quietness and ride quality. Meanwhile, Acura’s first product was the Legend, a nothing-special front drive sedan. Infiniti had an interesting rear drive sedan, but it didn’t match the LS in pure luxury.
Lexus continues to outsell it’s direct rivals about 2 to 1, even with those strange front ends. U.S. sales numbers I found for 2017:
Lexus—–305.2K
Acura—–154.6K
Infiniti—–153.4K
I think if Genesis establishes a Lexus-like dealer network, and fills out their product line, they will do well, as long as they continue to offer good value, as they do now.
July 19th, 2018 at 7:22 am
Tesla is having success solving their production problems. Their Q2, press release (see link) filed with the SEC reports “Q2 production totaled 53,339 vehicles, . . . For the first time, Model 3 production (28,578) exceeded combined Model S and X production (24,761), ”
We are seeing former Prius owners taking delivery of their Model 3 and happy with the handling and performance. Cosmetic issues are handled by Tesla Service under warranty. Their Prius often join the used market which suppresses new hybrid sales.
We replaced our hybrids in 2016 with two plug-in hybrids which we drive hard in EV mode. At half the cost per mile, reaching posted speeds ASAP makes no noise and doesn’t pick our pocket at the pump. When the gassers catch up, we slide behind using dynamic cruise control to follow the cop bait.
July 19th, 2018 at 8:48 am
7 Interesting. I know a number of Prius owners, and a Model 3 could not replace their Priuses, both because it wouldn’t work for their highway trips, and it wouldn’t carry stuff like a liftback. I can see a 3 replacing a Prius, though, for people who don’t need it for long road trips, and for whom the sedan body works ok. The 3 is a much “sportier” drive than a Prius, and the operating cost would be low, though the purchase price is not. Also, for now, the 3 really stands out. I’ve only seen one on the road, so far.
Bob, do you think Tesla would consider doing a plug-in hybrid? Things get a lot more complex than with a pure EV, but it would broaden their market. I guess there’s no hurry yet, as it will be a while before they catch up with the Model 3 orders.
July 19th, 2018 at 1:14 pm
#8 – The long range Model 3 could reach Huntsville AL to Stillwater OK or Coffeyville KS. The Model S and X do not have the range but even the Model 3 it won’t be easy.
The longest segment is ~280 miles, Tulsa OK to/from Little Rock. A Model 3 needs at least 91% SOC and this means taking more time, at least an hour, at the entrance chargers. The other segments can be handled with 80% charge which takes about 30 minutes.
There are rumors Tesla may put a SuperCharger station in Fort Smith AR, midway between Tulsa and Little Rock. This would mean any of the long range Teslas could handle it.