On today’s show…Elon Musk says the hyperloop will give free rides in just two months…engines keep getting smaller…and FCA just hit a $7 billion jackpot. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.
MUSK HYPES THE HYPERLOOP
Elon Musk says his hyperloop test tunnel will open on December 10, and that he will give free rides to the public the next day. The test site is located in Hawthorne, California, just south of Los Angeles. Speeds will be limited to 155 miles an hour, far short of the 750 miles an hour that is the target when it goes into operation. No doubt this will all play into the Elon Musk mystique that could drive up the price of Tesla stock, even though this has nothing to do with Tesla.
ENGINE DISPLACEMENT CONTINUES TO SHRINK
The engines in cars and trucks in the U.S. keep getting smaller, thanks to downsizing and turbocharging. WardsAuto reports that the average engine displacement last year was 2.9 liters. But by 2025 it will be 2.6 liters. That’s for all light vehicles. Passenger cars will have an average of 2.1 liters, while trucks will have an average of 2.8 liters, down from 3.2 today.
GEARHEADS TALK FLATHEADS
Speaking of engines, we took a trip down memory lane on Autoline After Hours to take a deep dive into the Ford flathead V8. It wasn’t the first V8 put into production but we talked about what made it innovative.
(The AAH preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
You can watch that entire show right now on our website, Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
Coming up next, we just saw one of the best races in the Formula One season.
RAIKKONEN ENDS F1 DROUGHT
In racing news over the weekend, Formula One fans were treated to one of the best races of the season at the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. Different team strategies and some terrific driving created a nail-biter of a finish that saw Kimi Raikkonen take the win in his Ferrari. It was the first time in five years that the 39-year old Finn won a Grand Prix. Second place went to Max Verstappen who started 18th on the grid in his Renault-powered Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton took his Mercedes to third place, but failed to sew up the championship. His battle with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel will continue for at least another race.
CHASE WINS ONE IN THE CHASE
In the NASCAR cup race, Chase Elliott pulled out a win in his Chevrolet Camaro at the Kansas Speedway. Kyle Busch finished second in a Toyota Camry, while Kyle Larson finished third in another Camaro. Even so, Larson was eliminated from the Chase, what NASCAR also calls the playoffs, as were Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, and Alex Bowman.
HYUNDAI-KIA TEST EXOSKELETONS
A number of automakers have started testing exoskeletons for their factory workers recently. And now Hyundai and Kia are the latest. They will start testing them at their North American plants at the end of the year. The devices, which the workers wear, help reduce stress and fatigue and that should help prevent injuries from repetitive motions.
Coming up next, FCA just hit the jackpot. It was better than winning the lottery.
FCA GETS $7 BILLION PAYOFF
FCA just earned itself a big, fat payday. It finally sold off its parts division, Magneti Marelli to Japanese supplied Calsonic Kansei. FCA sold it for a whopping $7.1 billion. This is the first major deal made by new CEO Mike Manley, and it shows he’s a shrewd negotiator because the late CEO Sergio Marchionne wasn’t able to get the deal done. Magneti will still supply parts to FCA and its headquarters will remain in Italy.
NORTH AMERICAN PRODUCTION GROWS
Are automakers bullish about sales in North America? They boosted production in the third quarter, not by much, just 1.3%. But that says they think the market is still very healthy. Not unexpectedly, passenger cars dropped while truck production grew. Another reason production grew is that Volvo started producing S60’s at its new plant in South Carolina, though the numbers are still small. Even so, as production grows, so do sales. Because every vehicle that gets built, gets sold. They don’t disassemble them at the end of the year and send the parts back to the suppliers.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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Comments (19)
October 22nd, 2018 at 11:47 am
Last Saturday I saw my second Tesla S around here, a red one, and if you think I liked it better than the boring gray one I saw a week ago, you could not be more wrong.
Again, I had the misfortune to see it from the front. From all other sides, all tesla 3s look good, but the front end is JUST AWFUL. No ifs, ands, or… butts (pun intended. The front end of the 3 is like a face without a face. it has eyes (headlights) but no nose, no mouth, no nothing, not even a logo. And before Bob Wilson tries to make a joke out of it again (he claimed that if Tesla put its distinctive “T” logo at least, in the middle of the faceless front, some would mistake it for a… Trump product, nothing could be further from the truth, as Trump always uses his full last name on everything he peddles.
With the above in mind, the sales success of the Tesla 3 is just AMAZING. I would NEVER buy the thing as long as it looks like my left slipper, from the front. At ANY price, let alone the arm and leg buyers now are paying.
At the end of the weekend, Kit put this link that I suspect only I have seen. It did not surprise me at all, except with reference to the above.
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/10/21/18-nasty-tesla-charts/
A few important comments on their ‘nasty charts’
1. Tesla sales are ESTIMATES. NOT Actual numbers. Now that it sure joined thebig leagues, Tesla is shooting itself in the foot by not providing its triumphant monthly ACTUAL US Sales. However, some other tesla numbers are accurate (production etc)
2. Comparisons are only with GERMAN autos, while there are plenty of Japanese and indeed Domestics in the Tesla 3 and even the Tesla S price range. This is quite strange, since Tesla is a 100% AMERICAN company.
3. How long will the good times last with ther Tesla 3 sales? a year? three years? what happens next? will the cheaper model go on sale? the Crossover?
October 22nd, 2018 at 11:54 am
Re: Musk. There’s a sucker born every minute. Often attributed to P.T. Barnum, the quote most likely came from Barnum’s contemporary, a noted con man named Joseph Bessimer aka, “Paper Collar Joe.”
October 22nd, 2018 at 11:58 am
1 correction, of course, I meant I saw my second Tesla 3, not S. I have seen dozens of Ss and several Xs already.
Now some comments on today’s show:
John, the 1.3% rise in North Am production: Does it INCLUDE Tesla production? because in 2018 Tesla gained so much market share, I would not be surprised if the ENTIRE 1.3% was less than the increase in Tesla production alone!
Also John, re your little piece about the Volvo plant in SC. VOlvo sales in the US are DISMAL, 1/4th of what Tesla sells with just 3 models!!! AND just because they will start producing this dogfood, it does NOT mean that the Dog will eat it, EVEN if they have a fire sale and they practically give them Away.
The options you cite are NOT the only ones. Look at a similar example, another low-volume seller, FIAT, has 250 DAYS of inventory. they keep producing the crappy cars, and the Almighty Consumer keeps NOT buying them.
Volvo’s best bet in the US Plant is to pull a BMW or Mercedes, meaning to make them here and EXPORT them in Europe, where Volvos are much more popular than here. (I don’t know why, they suck equally there, to me).
So while of course you are right, they do not disassemble the cars they make, but this STILL does NOT mean that JUST because you built it, that it will be sold here in the US market.
So No, it is NOT true that “As production grows, so do sales”. It was NOT true of the US domestics, when they had binding agreements witht he UAW and HAD to make cars even if people were not buying them, resulting in wasteful inventories.
There are DISCIPLINED companies who ADJUST their production to have very athletic 20-40 day inventories. TOYOTA was the first one, others copied it. Not all do this, and they suffer the consequences. BILLIONS are lost with cars waiting in inventory. It is actually very simple high school math to see why.
back to the lame Volvos:
Consumer Reports is not impressed with them overall, and their Reliability is really bad.
Last Summer, I had a flat tire almost when i arrived at a retired Cardiologist Friends summer home, about 90 mins away from mine. He took care of it, called a young friend of his, while i was resting in his deck, he arrived in 10 mins driving a Volvo “wagon”, I think it was the 60. he and the doctor sat in front, and I had the misfortune to try to sit in the useless back seat. Not only it was cramped beyond belief, NOTHING you saw around you told you this is even a NEAR Luxury car, let alone a full luxury car.
October 22nd, 2018 at 11:59 am
I love your closing lines on today’s show, John. Thanks for keeping things upbeat!
October 22nd, 2018 at 12:19 pm
Larry, maybe Tesla could buy some NASCAR grille decals for the Model 3. LOL
October 22nd, 2018 at 12:34 pm
1, 5 The aftermarket already has things covered.
http://www.tesla-grilles.com/tesla-model-3-grilles-custom/
October 22nd, 2018 at 12:36 pm
6 Well, almost. The linked site says “available soon,” but maybe someone else already has Model 3 grills, or grill decals.
October 22nd, 2018 at 12:38 pm
Good news that FCA was able to get a solid price for Magneti Marelli. Guaranteeing to keep them as a supplier must have helped. I wonder how long it will take Calsonic Kansei to make their money back. If it’s worth $6b mainly based on being an FCA supplier, when its sales are opened up to other OEMs as an independent, it should be a real earner.
October 22nd, 2018 at 12:40 pm
That eggcrate grill makes that “3″ look like a Chrysler (and a lot better than plain). Some of those other renditions were as bad or worse than plain. IMO
And agree with John that the race at COTA was one of the best of the season so far. Max made some very good moves Sunday, and even when racing wheel to wheel, raced hard (but fair) and that was good to see. Congrats to Kimi; he raced smart, hard and earned his victory.
October 22nd, 2018 at 12:46 pm
I’d think Kimi would rather just retire, than drive a non-competitive car for a year or two, with his “car swap” for next year. I guess Sauber could suddenly become a top tier team. Stranger things have happened.
October 22nd, 2018 at 1:07 pm
Perhaps Kimi still yearns for the competition but without the dramatics associated with racing for Ferrari. If Kimi can help Sauber, he may earn some ‘cred’ for helping a team in need. I certainly have the greatest respect for the “Iceman” and I think he did actually crack a miniscule smile after his win; unless, of course, it could have been gas.
October 22nd, 2018 at 2:06 pm
I wouldn’t be surprised if Kimi stays in F1 that he goes to Haas considering they are Ferrari’s top customer team and the 2 knuckleheads there are doing very much . Grosjean is brutal. He is 2 points from having his super license suspended .
October 22nd, 2018 at 2:21 pm
1 After seeing the photo of a Red Tesla 3 front-side view on the cover of last Friday’s show here, I believe it can be fixed with only a minor facelift, and without fake grilles.
The current Model 3 does have a tiny Tesla T logo, on the hood. If they put another, about three times as big, on the middle of the place where gas cars have grilles, half of the problem is solved. The other half is the upwards-turning snout. Is this dictated by aerodynamics? If no major benefits, better reshape the front so it does not look like it hit something and was bent.
Remember the iconic VW Beetle, the original, not the lame, awful fake the “New beetle”.
It had no grille either, and nobody noticed, because the front end flowed smoothly, had character lines, a big VW logo, and all that.
October 22nd, 2018 at 2:23 pm
12 Kimi is already “official” at Sauber. Grosjean and Magnussen are signed with Haas.
October 22nd, 2018 at 2:24 pm
And I believe not only the VW original Beetle but also the most successful sports car ever, its distant cousin, the also rear-engined, iconic Porsche 911, had no grille either. And it has sold more than, totally AMAZING for a 6-figure car, 1,000,000 copies and counting!
It is a pity, BTW, that we cannot post photos here. I have more than 6,000 in my collection of all kinds of cars. Even a few of SUVs!
October 22nd, 2018 at 2:30 pm
The nose of the Tesla 3 may not look good, but no one will confuse it with any other car.
October 23rd, 2018 at 8:09 am
Are you sure you got the Hyperloop story right? From what I understand the test tunnel is not a HYPERloop system. It is only the Loop system.
Hyperloop will be for large bus like puds. They will travel in a vacuum. This is for long distance travel only.
The loop system is much smaller. Is only the size of a car. It can carry a car or a small pod. It does not travel in a vacuum. It is not intended for high speed. It is only for local travel.
Where did you get your info?
October 23rd, 2018 at 9:02 am
Its a hyperloop test bed and is only 2 miles long so that 150 Mph is going to be like many electric roller coasters are. Quick acceleration followed by a quick deceleration. Hopefully not during a earthquake.
October 23rd, 2018 at 11:55 am
The Loop is only one mile long due to an extraction tunnel shaft to return the drill head to the surface – per Los Angeles Times today.