On today’s show…in another blow to diesels, Porsche announces it will no longer offer any…Peugeot introduces plug-in hybrid versions of its 508 and 3008 vehicles…and Bob Lutz shares details about a mid-engine Cadillac the company was developing but was ultimately axed. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.
PEUGEOT INTRODUCES NEW PLUG-IN HYBRIDS
Peugeot introduced plug-in hybrid versions of its 508 and 3008 vehicles. The system includes a 1.6L gasoline engine that’s mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission along with a 300-volt lithium-ion battery. Front-wheel drive versions crank out 180 horsepower while 4-wheel drive models come with 225 horses. The 3008 has a pure electric range of 50 kilometers or about 31 miles and the 508 can travel 40 kilometers or 25 miles in EV mode. The plug-in hybrid models go on sale in Europe in the second quarter of 2019.
TESLA MAKING PROGRESS WITH SEMI TRUCK
Tesla is making progress with its electric semi-trucks. YouTube user Sergey MoldovanAmerican spotted a pair of Tesla semi’s cruising on the highway in California. It appeared that they were travelling in what Elon Musk calls “Convoy Mode,” which allows the trucks to travel close together semi-autonomously to help reduce wind resistance. The truck is powered by four electric motors, which gives it a range of 300 miles. But it’s no slouch either. The truck can move from 0 to 60 MPH in just 5 seconds without any cargo and with a full 80,000-pound load, it takes 20 seconds.
VOLVO TRUCKS SUSPENDS OPERATIONS IN IRAN
And in other big truck news, Volvo Trucks has stopped assembling vehicles in Iran due to U.S. sanctions. Reuters reports the company halted production because it can no longer get paid for the parts it shipped. Volvo Trucks is just the latest company to be affected by the sanctions. Swedish truck maker Scania, which is owned by the Volkswagen Group, cancelled all orders it couldn’t deliver in August and Peugeot suspended its operations in the country in June.
Still to come…a look at the mild-hybrid system in GM’s full-size pickup trucks.
GMC SIERRA eASSIST DETAILS
Ram has hogged the headlines with the 48-volt mild-hybrid system in its new 1500 pickup, so it may surprise you to know GM currently offers a similar system in its pickups as well. In fact, it beat Ram to the market. In 2016 GMC came out with the option for a 48-volt system with a belt alternator/starter in the Sierra in California. The electric motor, along with a small battery pack mounted under the center console, provides stop/start capability, regenerative braking and assist to the engine under high load. The idea, at first, was to produce 200 Sierra eAssist models and then see how things went from there. It went well enough. The option is now offered outside California and sales estimates for the year are a little over 3,000 units. But that’s about as far as it’s going to go. A GMC spokesperson confirmed with Autoline that the all-new Sierra will have 5 gas engines, one turbocharged, one diesel engine, but no eAssist. With all the changes going on in the pickup segment, it’s been really interesting to watch how each automaker has adopted a different strategy when it comes to boosting fuel economy.
PORSCHE DROPS DIESELS FROM LINEUP
Porsche announced over the weekend that it will no longer offer diesel engines and will instead focus on hybrid and electric vehicles. Last year, diesels made up 12% of the automaker’s worldwide sales, but CEO Oliver Blume gave some interesting responses when talking about the transition. Not only did he say that diesels have always played a secondary role at Porsche, but also, “We have never developed and produced diesel engines ourselves. Still, Porsche’s image has suffered. The diesel crisis has caused us a lot of trouble.” It sounds to us, there’s more to the decision than just the rise of electrification.
Coming up next, GM’s former Vice Chairman, Bob Lutz talks about the mid-engine Cadillac that never was.
THE MID-ENGINE CADILLAC THAT NEVER WAS
One of the biggest open secrets in the auto industry is that GM is developing a mid-engine Corvette. But did you know Cadillac was supposed to get a version at one time? On last week’s Autoline After Hours, we were joined by Bob Lutz, the former Vice Chairman of General Motors. And he talked about the mid-engine Cadillac that never was.
(The AAH preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
You can watch that entire interview with Bob Lutz 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 please join us again tomorrow.
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Comments (10)
September 24th, 2018 at 11:46 am
a few comments:
1. Peugeot plug-ins. I saw the same newsitem earlier today at the Top gear site. I don’t object to telling us what goes on in Europe, but PLEASE, when you mention ranges and MPGs for European cars, I hope you will always tell your readers that these are VERY optimistic, in facxt unrealistic estimates, and if they were EPA numbers here, they would be 2/3rds of what the Europeans claim, for the same vehicles.
2. Tesla Semi-truck. A few months ago Tesla got 100s of pre-orders and deposits for this truck from major users (FedEX, Walmart, UPS etc), so it’s not surprising to see a few of them being tested. However, your writers should correct the phrase “The truck is powered by four electric motors, which gives it a range of 300 miles”. The motors do not give the truck even one foot of range, let alone… 300 miles. The BATTERIES do, as I am sure you know (but your writer’s do not)
3. Porsche and Diesels was an odd couple anyway. I bet if they did not offer the Cayenne they would never have bothered to borrow the diesels from their siblings in the VW Group.
September 24th, 2018 at 11:47 am
correction I cannot believe I wrote “writer’s” instead of “writers” above. Typing too fast…
September 24th, 2018 at 12:06 pm
That Peugeot wagon looks nice, but of course, we will never see it in the U.S.
In the AAH, Lutz alluded that the Tesla big truck was made of wood, or something like that. It looks like he was wrong.
September 24th, 2018 at 12:31 pm
the show with Lutz was entertaining as always. Question- how long do you think he would talk if you left the mike on and didn’t stop him?
September 24th, 2018 at 1:25 pm
4 Lutz didn’t seem to think much of Tesla. To me, the most interesting part of what he said, was how tooling cost was kept down on Viper and Solstice/Sky, by limiting options, etc. I remember Solstice/Sky and variants to be sold in Europe being made in the Delaware plant, which had previously built fairly high volume cars like Chevette, Beretta/Corsica, and Malibu. Lutz blames the UAW for the too-low-volume-for-the-plant Solstice, etc. being built there, and maybe he is right.
Yeah, he would have talked a few more hours, if John had let him.
September 24th, 2018 at 5:14 pm
If Bob Lutz were still talking, I’d still be listening.
September 24th, 2018 at 5:30 pm
6 Lutz will be back. I’d also like to see Peter DeLorenzo again. He is always entertaining.
September 24th, 2018 at 7:42 pm
Bob Lutz has been on my top 10 car guys list for more years than i can remember
September 25th, 2018 at 12:13 pm
We want to see the cadillac concept that was the rear mid engine car…
Make it happen guys.,.
With the rear mid engine c8 corvette coming out soon…there would be tremendous interest in seeing the cadillac rear mid engine that almost was…
Wouldnt mind seeing the corvette prototype from that era as well at some point..
Question : do you think old cadillac paid for a portion of the development of the rear mid engine car?
Do you think new cadillac after the bailout of GM gave any funding to bowling green plant or any of the c8 rear mid engine development even though their version of the c8 seems to have been axed…?
Is that one reason the hot V cadillac engines are being built in bowling green?
September 30th, 2018 at 9:39 pm
Tesla has been serious in creating their pickup and refining the truck parts to enthuse the truck aficionados.