AD #2440 – Peugeot Unveils Retro Inspired Concept, NASCAR Viewership Sliding, Daimler Tests AI to Help Engineers
September 21st, 2018 at 11:41am
Follow us on social media:
Runtime: 8:21
0:31 BMW Launches Motorcycle Rental Service
1:11 VW Reveals Commercial Version of I.D. Buzz
1:50 Aston Martin Looks For $6 Billion In IPO
3:04 Peugeot Unveils Retro Inspired Concept
4:13 NASCAR Viewership Sliding
5:06 Daimler Tests AI to Help Engineers
6:13 Mobility Poses Threat to Auto Industry
Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bridgestone , Dow Automotive Systems , Lear Corporation , and ExxonMobil.
On today’s show…Peugeot reveals a concept that’s a nod to its past and future…BMW launches a motorcycle rental service…and AlixPartners shares its advice to automakers on how to prepare for the disruption mobility is going to cause. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.
BMW LAUNCHES MOTORCYCLE RENTAL SERVICE
If you’ve ever wanted to ride a BMW motorcycle but don’t have the means to own one, you’re in luck. BMW Motorrad is launching a new service called Rent A Ride, that allows you to rent one of its motorcycles on a short term basis. You just select what model you’d like from a website, and if it’s available, you pick it up at a participating dealership. The service also includes a training session and any necessary equipment or accessories. Rent A Ride is first being tested in Germany, Austria and France and if everything goes well, it will expand to cover all of BMW Motorrad’s sales network.
VW REVEALS COMMERCIAL VERSION OF I.D. BUZZ
Commercial vehicles could look a whole lot nicer in the future. Volkswagen just showed off this concept for a future panel van, called the I.D. BUZZ CARGO. The automaker projects there would be several battery sizes available with the largest providing 340-miles on the European WLTP cycle. A large solar roof would be able to extend that by an additional 9.3 miles. It would have a maximum payload of a little over 1,700-pounds and have Level 4 autonomous capability. VW says a van like this could be launched as early as 2021.
ASTON MARTIN LOOKS FOR $6 BILLION IN IPO
If you want to be a player in the auto industry you need money, lots of it. So Aston Martin is going to launch an IPO next month to raise money selling stock. According to Reuters there are already orders for all that stock. And that should bring in around $6 billion or more. But some analysts warn that Brexit could hurt Aston’s car sales in Europe, since they’ll now be hit with a 10% import tariff. In any case, it’s really smart for Aston Martin to accumulate a financial war chest before Britain goes off on its own.
Are you following Autoline on social media? If not, you can check us out on Twitter by searching @Autoline. And look for us on Instagram and Facebook by looking for the AutolineNetwork.
Even though NASCAR is the most watched racing series in the U.S., its popularity is starting to slide. We’ll have more about that, right after this.
PEUGEOT UNVEILS RETRO INSPIRED CONCEPT
Peugeot unveiled a cool looking concept inspired by its classic 504 Coupe called the e-LEGEND. It’s autonomous and when the system is engaged, the steering wheel retracts into the dash, the front seats recline and the side armrests move to free up more space. It’s powered by 100 kWh of batteries, which provide a range of 600 kilometers or about 373 miles based on the WLTP test. The e-LEGEND can move from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in under 4 seconds and can hit a top speed of 220 kilometers per hour or about 137 MPH. One of its technology highlights is a voice-activated artificial intelligence assistant, which the company says a version of it will appear in its production vehicles within two years. And the audio system features technology that allows each passenger to listen to different music without using headphones. The Peugeot e-LEGEND CONCEPT makes its debut at the Paris auto show in early October.
NASCAR VIEWERSHIP SLIDING
Even though NASCAR’s Cup Series is the most popular kind of racing in the U.S., it’s losing viewership while IndyCar and Formula One are growing. Last weekend’s NASCAR race in Las Vegas got 2.1 million viewers. It was the first race in the Chase, which NASCAR calls the playoffs, but viewership dropped nearly 9% compared to last year. Meanwhile, 629,000 people watched the IndyCar finale at Sonoma raceway, an increase of 19% compared to last year. And the Formula One Grand Prix of Singapore got 469,000 American viewers, up 4.2% from last year. NASCAR just named a new president so hopefully that will put the series on the road to recovery. And it sure is good to see IndyCar and F1 gaining in popularity.
| U.S. TELEVISION RATINGS | ||
|---|---|---|
| September 16, 2018 | ||
| NASCAR | 2,100,000 | -8.7% |
| IndyCar | 629,000 | +19% |
| Formula One | 469,000 | +4.2% |
DAIMLER TESTS AI TO HELP ENGINEERS
Every car company and supplier we visit complains of not being able to get the engineers they need. But maybe artificial intelligence can help take care of that. Daimler is part of a project that is trying to help machines think more like a human. Called Artificial Intelligence Aided x or AIAx for short, the goal is to have computers evaluate simulation results and make an assessment, giving clear reasons for the results. Humans would still be needed to validate the findings because computers don’t have gut feelings, but the assessment part of the process can be very complex and this would free up time for designers and engineers.
Coming up next, automakers better prepare for the mobility disruption that’s coming….or else.
MOBILITY POSES THREAT TO AUTO INDUSTRY
Automakers, suppliers and tech companies are investing tens of billions of dollars to develop autonomous, connected, electrified and shared cars. But AlixPartners, a global consulting company, says much of that money is going to be wasted. On Autoline This Week, Mark Wakefield of AlixPartners shares his advice for automakers on how to prepare for that future.
(The ATW preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
For more about how mobility poses a threat to automakers, suppliers and rental companies, 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 have a great weekend.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
Share
Permalink
Comments (29)
September 21st, 2018 at 12:20 pm
I think NASCAR jumped the shark when they killed Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin, and Dale Earnhardt before admitting there was a problem. I cannot sufficiently express how pleased I was to see Brian France ousted. (I live in Daytona)
That I.D Buzz is growing on me.
That Peugeot looks great!
Still trying to figure out what the content of the last segment had to do with the lead-in to the segment. Non sequitur, IMO.
September 21st, 2018 at 12:23 pm
Okay kids it’s time for fun with numbers When is 629,000 and 469,000 better than 2.1 Million? When were talking racing TV viewership. So what this tells me is NASCAR is still drawing nearly twice what Indycar and F! do combined for races that are 1/2 the length. Everyone knows that many NASCAR fans watch the start , then go do whatever they have to and watch then end 3 hours later. Indycar and F1 races rarely last over a 1 1/2 of actual race time. I watch and enjoy all 3 series . Indycar has 6 teams with a potential to win out of 20 cars same with F1 . NASCAR has 20 out of 40 with a legitimate chance to win at anytime. If you like watching a parade by all means watch F1. Anyone who missed that Las Vegas NASCAR race missed a great race.
September 21st, 2018 at 12:38 pm
The Peugeot has a Chevy Camaro sort of look to it. Nascar for me has lost its way. Yes the races are too long and really need Dodge back into the series. I wonder who will be the new Series Sponsor?
September 21st, 2018 at 12:51 pm
#2. The stats tell an interesting story.
So far this NASCAR season there have been different 10 winners in 35 races, or about one new winner for every 3.5 races.
In F1 there have been different 5 winners in 15 races, or about one new winner every 3.0 races.
In Indycar there were 8 different winners in 17 races, or about one new winner every 2.1 races.
September 21st, 2018 at 12:55 pm
1 The peugeot looks nice but it is not a serious Tesla fighter, assuming they will make it.
You are right about the mobility segment.
I am fed up with mobility Cheerleaders, up to here. the risk of Mobility to the Automakers is not what the show implies, but that by wasting billions out the window on AV and mobility that nobody asked for, they will fail to do their DUTY which is to offer superior vehicles so they can be competitive, make a buck, and not go Bankrupt AGAIN and then claim it was not their fault AGAIN.
September 21st, 2018 at 12:59 pm
Is anybody at Ford or GM seriously waging war against their competition??? Did Mary Barra, with her many awards and accolades, ever promise, that the Next Chevy Malibu will be better than the Camry and the Accord? Did clueless Hackett at Ford promise the same for the next Fusion? Actually, Hackett is even worse, the surrender Monkey left the Car field altogether to the competition!
Instead of the above serious approach, what do we have? Pie in the Sky Mobility and AV! (20 years ago, you may remember, the fad du Jour was Fuel Cell Vehicles, which were always 10 years away, and then, when they did not work, they were 20 years away, as in NEVER)
September 21st, 2018 at 1:16 pm
I like the VW van. They should make a passenger version with with a conventional powertrain, in addition to the electric cargo van. Maybe it about the size of minivans, back before they became huge.
2 Wasn’t Sean’s point that viewership of NASCAR is decreasing, while viewership of Indycar and F1 is increasing? I watched the F1 race, but neither of the others. I suspect part of why F1 was lowest viewership of the group, is that 8:30 am on a Sunday is not “prime time” for most viewers.
September 21st, 2018 at 1:17 pm
If this new Peugeot weren’t a throwback to the 504 Coupe, I’d say it’s a blatant rip off (especially the front 3/4 shot) of the Nissan R34 (aka – Skyline) with some hints of Chevy Camaro.
Besides that, this is a very handsome design exercise.
September 21st, 2018 at 1:17 pm
#6…I agree with your points. I can remember back in the 70′s/80′s thinking I would never buy a Japanese car. Well in 1995 I bought a Nissan Maxima and I was sold. Since then its been either Nissan/Honda/Toyota in my garage. Wish they made the Mustang, Fords best fun machine.
September 21st, 2018 at 1:28 pm
6) I think part of the problem is that investors want a vision for the future to do their evaluations. Oddly making better cars is not something investors these days seemingly care about. They seem to want the fad of the day as part of the company plan or else they don’t invest. This is why Tesla can be WAY over valued. Investors of Tesla are banking on the future, not the present and the well documented quality problems(bumpers falling off, really?).
I also don’t think Hackett wasn’t overly wrong about exiting the sedan space. Sedans are certainly not helping any of the others. Ford should have exited more slowly instead of ripping the bandaid off. It is easy for me to say that now with hindsight. Although, I probably still would have said the exit plan needed to be slow and metered if I was part of that decision team.
I was on the Subaru website looking around the other day. Seems to me the Ford line up will be similar to the Subaru line up. A bunch of forgetable vanilla CUVs and 2 cars. Since Subaru seems so revered by everyone, maybe Hacket is trying to replicate that with the product mix. Who knows.
September 21st, 2018 at 1:48 pm
10 You can sell sedans, if you have the ones that are best-in-class, or nearly so. Toyota sells 350-400K Camrys a year in the U.S. Honda is on track to sell about 200K Civics, even as sales of smaller cars decline.
Still, it seems that some cars are under-appreciated. The current Malibu is quiet, comfortable, and attractive, but sales are about half those of Camry. I suspect that even if the Malibu were better than the Camry, by objective measures, Camry would still far outsell it, for years to come.
September 21st, 2018 at 1:56 pm
10 If you exclude pickup trucks, in a year or two, Subaru will be more of a “full line” car company than Ford, even though Subaru total sales are less than 1/4 those of Ford.
September 21st, 2018 at 2:07 pm
The retro ’504′ (Peugeot) has some nice styling ques when taken separately. The front looks good, the 1/4 front view nice, full side okay and even the rear not too bad but when they put it all together, in my eye, not so much. I simply don’t like the whole.
The NASCAR segment was to show the trends of viewership (not absolute numbers). As an analogy, it would be like in the late seventies/eighties when GM still had almost 50% of the car market. Bring it forward, and voila, not so good anymore. NASCAR, heed the warning; you’re headed to a not good place.
September 21st, 2018 at 2:17 pm
Why does everyone think Ford is getting out of the car business? They are NOT! Most of their C/SUVs are just tall cars! If sedans start to sell again, they can just lower an SUV. Seems like a smart move to me.
September 21st, 2018 at 2:19 pm
Okay I crunched some numbers based on what is provided. NASCAR lost 200,000 viewers for the 1st race in their playoffs. Indycar gained 101,000 for their CHAMPIONSHIP deciding race. Which was led in by the NASCAR race so they really lost 1.471,000 viewers that were already on the channel. Oh and F1 gained 16,000 to watch their parade.
September 21st, 2018 at 2:47 pm
10 Auto execs never listen to investors or shareholders, but only to the big Wall Street Funds who own their stock and put pressure on profits.
I strongly disagree that Tesla is not making superior cars, they most definitely do, that is why their sales are ten times those of any other EV maker, despite their higher or much higher prices. Tesla cars are “Hot to have them” vehicles where 500,000 prospective owners pay $1,000 deposits and wait 4 years to get theirs. Musk is controversial,but sure is no idiot, and as I mentioned in yesterday’s comments, he has thought out in detail and made innovations that allow him to undercut the other EV makers by $10,000s, (comparing equal size and performance vehicles always).
IF the Auto CEOS really care about their shareholders, given their dismal record of wasting their billions whenever they get lucky to have profits, would be to just repurchase their shares, instead of these silly multi-billion ventures. They failed miserably before too, as when Ford made money from the 1st Taurus and they wasted billions buying losers like Jag and Aston and Volvo and then wasting tens of billions to run them, before they sold them back for peanuts
September 21st, 2018 at 2:51 pm
11 my next door neighbor did not have a car for some years, then 20 years ago bought a rather lousy Malibu sedan, and a year ago she got her first brand new Subaru wagon-crossover. She always had 2 or more dogs and the new car is far better suited to her needs. Subaru has been on a roll, they keep them affordable, esp their new 3 row SUV-like Ascent, and have taken huge bites of market share from Hyundai-Kia, Nissan, maybe even Honda and Toyota, and the domestics.
BTW Honda is supposed to not sell to fleets, maybe not to the daily rentals, but i see a lot of zipcar new Civics around.
September 21st, 2018 at 2:55 pm
10 continued, Ford did not just kill one sedan, it killed all, even the Fusion which sells a healthy 200,000-300,000 a year and should not lose $. They should have at least kept the Fusion. (The Taurus sells little, as the Fiesta, and the Focus not as much as the Fusion) IF GM trimmed their many sedans, which they did (the Impala and probably also the Spark), I’m 100% in favor, since they still have plenty, the Malibu, the Cruise, and the Sonic.
Back to Ford, on the other hand, they did nothing about Lincoln than rearrange the chairs on the deck of the Titanic. They should either fix it or shut it down like Mulally correctly did with useless Mercury.
September 21st, 2018 at 2:57 pm
PS the definition of any stock price is the expectation of the investor for Future (not present!) profits of the company. So Tesla investors are not the only ones who do what you mention, all of them do!
September 21st, 2018 at 3:38 pm
16. My sister has a 2017 Subaru Forester. It’s one of the middle trim levels, and has things she wanted, including a sun roof and leather. As I remember, it cost about $30K, MSRP, not bad in today’s market. It’s not exiting to drive, and seems a little noisy, but it serves her purposes well, and has been reliable.
September 21st, 2018 at 3:50 pm
17 I think Ford should have kept the Fusion, and the Focus hatch. The Focus sedan makes no sense, if you have the Fusion for only a little more money. Drop Fiesta and Taurus. In most ways, they are near worst-in-class, except the Fiesta ST, which is a great driving, fun car.
September 21st, 2018 at 6:11 pm
Nascar would be well advised to consider more races on network TV rather than cable only races.
September 21st, 2018 at 6:34 pm
@20 – Kit, I completely agree. Vis a vis Chevrolet, the Fiesta and Taurus are greatly outsold by the Sonic (or whatever they call it these days) and the Impala. Ford Sales and Marketing is very weak. But, the package space inefficiency is also turning off customers from the Fiesta, Focus and Taurus.
Ford seems to be running from its most glaring examples of its weaknesses, rather than addressing them. That is a strategy for going out of business. It is time for new leadership.
September 21st, 2018 at 6:35 pm
@20 – Kit, I completely agree. The Fiesta and Taurus are greatly outsold by the Sonic (or whatever they call it these days) and the Impala. Ford Sales and Marketing is very weak. But, the package space inefficiency is also turning off customers from the Fiesta, Focus and Taurus.
Ford seems to be running from its most glaring examples of its weaknesses, rather than addressing them. That is a strategy for going out of business. It is time for new leadership.
September 21st, 2018 at 6:39 pm
John @ #4 Check your math. NASCAR has only run including last week’s race 27 races. The season only has 36 points races and there are still 9 to go. So that is more like 2.7 not 3.5.
September 21st, 2018 at 6:55 pm
VW has been promising an electric MicroBus (aka., I.D. Buzz) for years. We’ll see fusion power before VW sells one in the USA.
If you want an electric MicroBus, buy one, toss the engine, and order the EV parts from Electric Motorsport (see web link.) The 75 hp, AC-50, could bolt on the transaxle and the gears allow much higher highway speeds. Start with a small battery pack and add as needed. A Wankel-generator would make a nice plug-in hybrid.
September 21st, 2018 at 7:29 pm
I like the looks of the Peugeot retro concept. It’s a totally different design. It’s a shame that it’s intended not to have a driver behind the wheel.
September 21st, 2018 at 9:27 pm
I considered buying a Peugeot 504 wagon in the 1980’s, but I’m glad I didn’t. Peugeot left the U.S. market shortly later, so the cars would have depreciated horribly, and if you kept one, parts and service would have been very hard to find.
September 23rd, 2018 at 5:52 pm
Perhaps Lutz should be asked to comment about my Web link:
“I have had five full electric cars since 2007, starting with a lead-acid-battery ZAP Xebra PK lead-acid-battery 3-wheel pickup, then two Nissan LEAFs, then the Chevrolet Bolt EV Premium and now the Tesla Model 3 Long-Range (TM3LR) BEV. My TM3LR’s VIN number is nearly 26,000.”
“My daughter and I recently drove my TM3LR on an easy round trip from Virginia to Texas using Autopilot most of the way. I have driven a huge number of cars since I am over 82 years of age and started driving on an Oklahoma farm at age 12. The TM3LR is the best car I have driven.”
. . .
“Tesla is even working against its own interest by also installing at the same hotels standard 240-volts-AC charging stations that all PHEVs and BEVs can use. An example location is Courtyard Blacksburg in Blacksburg VA with two Tesla High Power Wall Connectors (up to 80A) and two Clipper Creek J1772s (up to 40A) available for patrons only.”
Bob Wilson
Huntsville, AL