AD #2444 – Ford in Talks w/ VW & Mahindra, Cadillac Moving Back to Detroit, Drivers Need More ADAS Education
September 27th, 2018 at 11:29am
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Runtime: 6:29
0:27 Ford in Talks to Partner w/ VW & Mahindra
0:59 Ford Says Tariffs Cut Into Profits
1:32 Cadillac Moving Back to Detroit
2:35 Ford, Uber & Lyft Collaborate on Mobility
3:12 Hyundai Reveals i30 Fastback N
4:32 OSRAM Makes Displays Easier to Read
5:00 Drivers Need More ADAS Education
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On today’s show… Cadillac is moving back home to Detroit… drivers need more education about driver assistance features… and Ford is in talks to partner up with Volkswagen and Mahindra. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.
FORD PARTNERING WITH VW & MAHINDRA
In order to improve its profitability, Ford announced a five year $11 billion restructuring plan earlier this year. And now Reuters reports the company is in talks with Volkswagen and Indian automaker Mahindra to develop and produce vehicles together. VW and Ford are already working on commercial vehicles but they’re also looking to co-develop other types of vehicles. And Mahindra and Ford are developing a new platform, which could see its first vehicle as early as 2020.
FORD SAYS TARIFFS CUT INTO PROFITS
But at the same time the company is trying to save cash, Ford says the Trump Administration’s trade war is cutting into those savings. CEO Jim Hackett revealed that the tariffs on steel and aluminum implemented earlier this year, will cost the company $1 billion in profits. Honda also revealed that the tariffs have resulted in “hundreds of millions of dollars” in new costs. Even though both companies source most of their steel from the U.S., the tariffs have allowed American companies to increase their prices.
CADILLAC MOVING BACK TO DETROIT
It seemed a bit odd when Cadillac moved its headquarters to New York four years ago, but now it’s headed back to Detroit. The Wall Street Journal reports the move was confirmed with new head of Cadillac, Steve Carlisle. Carlisle says he wants the brand’s leaders to be closer to the automaker’s design and engineering centers in the Detroit area, especially as it prepares several new models.
Still to come… Hyundai reveals its i30 Fastback N performance vehicle.
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FORD, UBER & LYFT COLLABORATE ON MOBILITY
Ford, Uber and Lyft announced they will collaborate on SharedStreets, a new data platform designed to make it easier for companies to work with cities and improve mobility. The partnership gives cities even more access to road traffic data, allowing them to better plan and make investment decisions for shared and autonomous mobility. It will also provide mobility companies with a common standard for sharing data across all cities. Follow the link in the transcript or description box to learn more about what each company brings to the table for SharedStreets.
HYUNDAI REVEALS i30 FASTBACK N
Hyundai just pulled all the camouflage off its latest N performance vehicle, the i30 Fastback N. As you would expect, styling was copied from the hatchback version of the i30 N, which is already on sale in Europe. The 2.0L turbo engine comes in two power outputs, 250- and 275-horsepower with both hitting maximum torque of 260 lb-ft. The 250-horsepower version goes from 0 to 100 kilometers an hour in 6.4 seconds, while the one with more horsepower does it in 6.1 seconds. The i30 Fastback N will make its official debut at the Paris auto show. And while it’s only been announced for sale in Europe, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the performance sedan make its way to the U.S., since the i30 is the same as the Elantra.
Sun glare on display screens can be really annoying but the supplier OSRAM has come up with a solution to fix that. We’ll have more about that, right after this.
OSRAM MAKES DISPLAYS EASIER TO READ
Some display screens can be really hard to read if they’re hit by direct sunlight, so supplier OSRAM has developed a new ambient light sensor that will automatically adjust the backlight of a display depending on the amount of light outside. It’s the companies first integrated circuit based component, meaning it does not require a separate power supply and the sensor can even be mounted behind dark glass or semi-transparent plastic covers.
DRIVERS NEED MORE EDUCATION ON ADAS
A new study from the AAA highlights the need to do a better job educating drivers on vehicle assistance systems. A third of owners with Automatic Emergency Braking did not know the system used sensors and/or cameras that could be blocked by dirt, snow or debris. Nearly 30% of people said they at least occasionally felt comfortable doing other things while driving with Adaptive Cruise Control. The same amount said the same about not checking next to them when changing lanes with Blind Spot Monitoring. And a quarter of owners with Rear Cross Traffic Alert reported at least sometimes backing up without looking over their shoulder. Part of the problem is that only about half of people who purchased their vehicle from the dealership were offered training on the technology. But it’s not like they don’t want it. Nearly 90% that were offered took advantage of the training.
And just a reminder, there isn’t a new Autoline After Hours today, but John and Gary will be back next Thursday, October 4th, with some of the best insider discussions in the automotive industry.
But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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Comments (11)
September 27th, 2018 at 11:43 am
Bad move Cadillac. Back to the GM fold for you. Perhaps its a money saver or closer to the new bosses home.
September 27th, 2018 at 12:06 pm
@1: So what was the advantage of being in New York? That “being closer to their customers” line of thinking is crap. Didn’t help Lincoln when they moved to California. Hasn’t helped VW by moving to Herndon, VA. Toyota moved to TX purely because of cost savings, but nobody is grilling them over it. Same for M-B moving to Atlanta. Being cost conscious in ways that don’t impact the final product is just smart business. If there was a real advantage to having their marketing staffs in New York, they would not be moving to Warren. There is nothing wrong with going “back to the GM fold”. It is a part of the company, after all.
September 27th, 2018 at 12:22 pm
Cadillac’s move to New York always seemed odd to me, given that NYC is about the only place in the U.S., that if I lived there, I wouldn’t even want a car. I’d want a driver’s license, though, so I could rent cars once in a while to “get away.”
September 27th, 2018 at 12:38 pm
It’s not winning when you cause others pain with tariffs even if you cause as much or more pain at home. Putting tariffs on Canadian cars will hurt many people, but will hurt Americans the most. Canada doesn’t own any OEMs. Canadians make cars in foreign owned factories, owned by foreign companies. Focussing only on the assembly line worker misses most of the industry.
September 27th, 2018 at 1:48 pm
As I previewed yesterday, clueless Hackett blames the tariffs for his own incompetence was an item in today’s show news.
4. Let’s not overdramatize this, the difference is miniscule and nobody will feel any actual pain. Especially in the great economy we live in these two years, the millions of jobs created and the better than before pay raises will eliminate all the so-called pain and then some!
An even if there was a noticeable effect, this would only help buyers realize what an UNbelievable bargain USED cars are. Most Americans know it already, the used car annual sales are FOUR times the 17 million new light vehicle sales. I have often said, no matter what your budget is, you can always do so much better buying used or certified used, even from a dealer.
September 27th, 2018 at 1:50 pm
The Caddy move will not have much difference except the cost of moving to NY and moving back. Cadillac’s problem is not that it does not have great, true luxury performance cars (which it does, and Lincoln sure does not), but that it priced them as high as merc and BMW or more, and buyers are not willing to pay such prices for any domestic. IF Caddy wants to gain market share in this very competitive segment, it needs to “pull a Lexus” back from 1989, and price its models $10k below the competition.
September 27th, 2018 at 2:39 pm
Caddy is kind of stuck.
They want to be luxury but have a bad quality rap and are not trendy due to history.
If they suddenly took preorders with $1,000 deposit that were $10,000 off for each new model that might generate buzz but might affect their perceived status.
I would be very tempted to do it though for PR.
September 27th, 2018 at 3:33 pm
#6. I second that!
Just like Lexus shoehorned it’s way into the luxury segment with it’s over-engineered, under-priced lineup in a time frame that in automotive years was virtually overnight, Cadillac will need to do the same in order to regain the attention it needs and the respect it now deserves in the eyes of the American buyer.
September 27th, 2018 at 3:50 pm
As I posted before, the steel tariffs will only increase cost of making an average car about $300, but tariffs on cars from Canada and/or Mexico would raise prices and/or cut company earnings significantly, and result in job losses in the assembly plants, and also in parts plants around the world.
If the cost of a Chrysler Pacifica or Honda CR-V suddenly goes up 15%, or if the manufactures would need to “eat” a 15% tariff, it would affect things, and not in a good way.
Yeah, the stock market has gone up a lot in the last two years, as it did the previous 7 years. So what, to many people. Now, prices and interest rates are going up, more significant to middle and lower income people.
Yep, used cars are a bargain, compared to new cars, but I generally buy new to get exactly what I want. Also, I’m probably too interesting in getting the newer stuff out there.
September 27th, 2018 at 3:53 pm
6 Yep, Lexus’ first car the LS, was a true competitor with S-Class and 7 series, at a bargain price. Actually, it was better than the Germans in “traditional luxury,” as in ride and quietness, though not as sporty. Then, they sold at a big “discount,” plus it was very reliable. Maybe that start is why Lexus is still doing much better than the “premium” brands from Honda and Nissan.
September 28th, 2018 at 5:44 am
I suspect we’ll hear more about Tesla and the SEC. Hopefully, Autoline can get an independent attorney to credibly discuss this.