AD #2397 – Sergio Marchionne Leaves FCA, BMW Plans to Electrify M Division, New Toyota Supra Details
July 23rd, 2018 at 11:37am
Runtime: 9:04
0:33 Sergio Marchionne Leaves FCA
1:10 Ferrari Names New Management
1:38 Detroit Auto Show Moves from January to June
2:52 Waymo Racks Up Autonomous Miles
3:46 BMW Plans to Electrify M Division
4:23 New Toyota Supra Details
5:16 Weekend Race Results
6:19 Electric Corvette Has Manual Transmission
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On today’s show…in a shocking development, FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne steps down over health issues…the Detroit auto show makes a major announcement…and we get to drive an all-electric Corvette with a 7-speed manual. That’s right, an electric car with a manual transmission. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
SERGIO MARCHIONNE LEAVES FCA
No doubt you already heard this, but in a shocking development over the weekend Fiat-Chrysler replaced its CEO Sergio Marchionne. Michael Manley, who had been running Jeep, will take over. Marchionne apparently suffered serious health issues resulting from surgery on his shoulder and is reportedly in intensive care at a hospital in Zurich, Switzerland. Then this morning, Alfredo Altavilla, the head of FCA’s European Operations, resigned from the company. He had been in the running to replace Marchionne and is obviously not sticking around after he got passed over.
FERRARI NAMES NEW MANAGEMENT
Marchionne was also the CEO of Ferrari and Louis Camilleri was just named to replace him. Camilleri, who is 63 years old, is the chairman of Philip Morris, the giant cigarette company. John Elkann was named as chairman of Ferrari. He’s part of the Agnelli family which owns Exor, the family’s financial investment company that has large holdings in FCA, Ferrari, and Juventus, the Italian soccer club.
DETROIT AUTO SHOW MOVES FROM JANUARY TO JUNE
Well, it’s finally official. The North American International Auto Show in Detroit is moving from January to June starting in 2020. By moving the show out of winter and into summer, organizers say it will allow them to set up events outdoors and in other parts of downtown Detroit. They plan to have autonomous car driving events, live music and food trucks. Moving the show to June also gets it out from under the shadow of CES, which is held a week before the NAIAS, and is stealing concept car reveals. Organizers also needed to make a change because a number of automakers pulled out in recent years. We also think it’s likely they’re going to drop the North American International Auto Show name and change it to the Detroit Auto Show. And we are in favor of that.
Still to come…BMW plans to electrify its M Division within the next decade.
WAYMO RACKS UP AUTONOMOUS MILES
Waymo is really racking up the autonomous miles. Last November, Waymo announced it had driven 4 million self-driven miles. Now, just 8 months later, that number is 8 million miles. That’s according to CEO John Krafcik, who also notes it’s logging 25,000 miles a day with its autonomous fleet and has put in over 5 billion miles in simulation. This also shows that AVs can operate on today’s roads and do not need a lot of infrastructure improvements to be viable. Waymo plans to launch its autonomous ride-hailing service later this year and Krafcik hints the company will be expanding into other areas as well. He says it will soon announce a plan on how it’s going to use its technology to move people from their home or work to existing public transportation hubs, so people can get more out of those services.
BMW PLANS TO ELECTRIFY M DIVISION
It looks like the future of BMW’s M cars is all about electrification. BMW M Division CEO Frank van Meel, at a media event in Spain, said that all BMW M cars will be electrified within the next decade. He did, however, say this will be a gradual process, because BMW wants an electrified M vehicle to feel like a traditional BMW M car. Van Meel went on to say that electrification components are still “quite heavy,” so the M Division will wait until it can find the best electric powertrain for the job.
NEW TOYOTA SUPRA DETAILS
Toyota published an interview with chief engineer Tetsuya Tada at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where the engineer divulged some interesting details about the new “A90” Supra. According to Tada, it will have a lower center of gravity than the GT86 while being twice as rigid as the ’86. That means the Supra will be roughly as rigid as the Lexus LFA without using carbon fiber. Tada also revealed that the new Supra will sport a shorter wheelbase than the GT86, while also having a wider track. The chief engineer revealed he has concerns about fans of the old Supra accepting the new car but emphasized that much of the Supra basics were still intact. The new Supra will carry a front-mounted inline-six engine and be rear wheel drive, just like the old Supra.
WEEKEND RACE RESULTS
In racing news over the weekend, Sebastian Vettel’s history of never winning his home race in Germany continued. He threw away a near-certain win, sliding off the track and into the barriers late in the race in his Ferrari, when rain showers briefly hit the track. That allowed Lewis Hamilton, who started 14th on the grid, to take the win in his Mercedes and regain the lead in the driver’s championship. And at the NASCAR race in New Hampshire, Kevin Harvick crossed the finish line first in his Ford Fusion. He used the old-school bump-and-run method to get past Kyle Busch’s Toyota Camry, with only 6 laps to go.
Coming up next, who ever heard of an electric car with a manual transmission?
ELECTRIC CORVETTE HAS MANUAL TRANSMISSION
On last week’s Autoline After Hours we were joined by Andrew Saul, the CEO of a company called Genovation, which is converting Corvettes into electric vehicles. The car is wicked fast, beautifully engineered and also has a unique feature you don’t find on EVs…a manual transmission. Yeah a manual! Take a look.
(The AAH preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
For more about Genovation and its electric Corvette, you can watch that entire discussion right now on our website, Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
But that brings us to the end of today’s report, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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Comments (19)
July 23rd, 2018 at 12:04 pm
As controversial as Marchionne has been at the helm of FCA, I wish him well. Glad to hear he’s quit smoking.
July 23rd, 2018 at 12:15 pm
“Motor City Auto Show” has a nice ring to it, too.
July 23rd, 2018 at 12:17 pm
wow 175 mile range on an electric corvette. fun is over quick – ZZZZZZ. what ever happened to the major announcement for an OP3 in an OEM truck?
July 23rd, 2018 at 12:26 pm
I like the idea of moving the show to June as well. Not having to do coat checks and the added bonus of some outdoor interactive content, seems like win win to me.
July 23rd, 2018 at 12:47 pm
Detroit Auto Show – Agree that June date should work out very well – Snow is long gone & trees have leafed so everything should look good.
July 23rd, 2018 at 12:49 pm
Moving the show to June is a great idea. No longer just about cars though…
Thinking out loud – “Motown Mobility Expo” or MME? Or “Detroit Mobility Expo”?
Will be interesting to see what it becomes; they should have a contest to generate ideas for a new name.
July 23rd, 2018 at 12:50 pm
I wish Sergio Marchionne a full recovery.
Why did he go to Zurich when the Best doctors and hospitals are in the USA?
July 23rd, 2018 at 1:58 pm
USA is ranked 37th in the world for health care. Switzerland is ranked 20th. The question is why not Italy? It’s ranked 2nd in the world.
July 23rd, 2018 at 2:32 pm
Autonomous Vehicle question… How long before city bus drivers have to start training for a new occupation?
…Followed by Greyhound drivers.
July 23rd, 2018 at 2:40 pm
@8: the U.S.A. may be ranked 37th in healthcare according your research, and South Africa ranks 47. However, Johns Hopkins Hospital is ranked the world’s best hospital and the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in South Africa ranks second best in the world. Whatever the low ranking of those two countries, I would trust those hospitals if I would need treatment.
There are outstanding hospitals all over the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America. I trust that Mr. Marchionne has no lack of resources and has had the best medical advice available. So if he has chosen to be treated at a particular hospital in Switzerland I trust that was the right choice for his case.
I wish Mr. Marchionne well and a speedy recovery.
July 23rd, 2018 at 2:46 pm
I would NEVER ride in a autonomous vehicle without a operator behind the controls. What happens when the electronics fail? You die. We already have ‘dumb’ GPS systems that give drivers instruction to drive where there are no roads or into bodies of water.
July 23rd, 2018 at 3:22 pm
If BMW’s “electrification” of M cars means hybrids, it makes sense. Hybrid powertrains are for more than fuel economy, as today’s F1 cars demonstrate. If BMW is talking about pure electric M cars, it makes no sense. Such a car would basically be like a Tesla, but looking like a BMW. What’s the point of that?
July 23rd, 2018 at 3:25 pm
The U.S. is the worst developed country in the world, or nearly so, in preventive health care, and is bad in prenatal care. On the other hand, the U.S. is very good in a number of “high tech” medical fields, as long as you have good insurance or lots of money. I’d think Sergio would have sought out the best for his particular ailment, but maybe he didn’t.
July 23rd, 2018 at 5:19 pm
Those are Medical Industry Averages! You can not tell me that Sergio could not have gone to NY Columbia Presbyterian, NYU Langone, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in LA, Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, The Hospital for Special Surgery were my Mother in Law had hip replacement surgery and is now strolling the beaches of Italy all Summer long! If you want the Best you can get the Best right here!
July 23rd, 2018 at 5:33 pm
Would Vettel have crashed out, if not for the frustration, and abused tires, resulting from being held up by Kimi? I suspect use of “team orders” in a timely manner is being discussed at the Ferrari camp.
July 23rd, 2018 at 6:02 pm
14 I had three “second opinion” appointments cancelled by Cleveland Clinic in Florida. They may provide good care in some specialties, but they have a major “scheduling” problem.
I use Mayo in Florida, with nothing but good experiences.
July 23rd, 2018 at 9:09 pm
“The new Supra will carry a front-mounted inline-six engine and be rear wheel drive, just like the old Supra” —Spent my lifetime in the car biz, owned literally 100′s of salvage & retail sales cars, personally owned & drove at least 35 of every driveline type . My alltime fave is my present (& last) GMC Envoy w/ ISUZU 6 !! Can’t beat the low end torque & smoothness of a long stroke inline 6.—-a friend of a friend has “owned” the drag strip in Pensacola for years w/a 671 Jimmy
July 24th, 2018 at 3:47 am
17 Here’s a good article about the (NOT ISUZU) six used in your Envoy, and the 4 and 5 cylinder derivatives used in the old Colorado/Canyon and Hummer H3. They were made in Michigan and New York.
https://www.topspeed.com/trucks/truck-news/the-forgotten-inline-engine-gm-s-42-liter-atlas-i-6-ar174949.html
The six was a very nice engine, but seemed thirstier than it should have been. Maybe it was mainly because the trucks weighed too much.
July 24th, 2018 at 6:49 am
Kit, thanks for the link on the inline six. I still have an ’04 Bravada with the 4.2 liter; it has been a very good vehicle for me. I still get the posted fuel mileage 16/22/19 (and actually maybe slightly better with 16.5 city and 23.5 hwy, at 60/65 mph). The only engine related problem that I have seen with my engine was a thermostat, and that wouldn’t have been that memorable except it was a pain to change (needed to remove the alternator for access) but that’s another story.