AD #2478 – Aston Shows Off 1st SUV, BMW Ramps Up Use Of 3D Printed Parts, EPA Plans New NOx Rules for Big Trucks
November 14th, 2018 at 11:49am
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Runtime: 7:11
0:30 EPA Plans New NOx Rules for Big Trucks
1:21 CA Offers Counter Proposal to EPA
2:05 China’s Zotye Plans to Sell SUVs In U.S.
2:58 Aston Martin Shows Off Its First SUV
3:51 Chevy Offers Race Parts for Colorado ZR2
5:21 Ford and Walmart Test Autonomous Delivery
5:52 BMW Ramps Up Use Of 3D Printed Parts
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On today’s show…the EPA plans to update NOx emissions for heavy-duty trucks…Aston Martin shows off its first ever SUV…and BMW is ramping up the use of 3D printed components in its production vehicles. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.
EPA PLANS NEW NOx RULES FOR BIG TRUCKS
NOx emissions from big trucks dropped 40% between 2007 and 2017, but it’s estimated that they’ll still account for a third of all transportation related NOx emissions in the U.S. by 2025. That’s why the EPA announced its planning to update emission regulations for heavy-duty trucks, which were last revised in 2001. The agency didn’t offer many details but it did say it’s looking at some of the regulatory requirements that it says can be “overly complex and costly.” But it believes updating test procedures and new technology will be more effective in making sure the vehicles comply with standards during real world driving. However, it’s going to be awhile before we see the proposed rules, which are expected to be revealed in early 2020.
CA OFFERS COUNTER PROPOSAL TO EPA
And in related news, the EPA revealed California has offered a counter proposal to the Trump Administration over fuel economy regulations for light-duty vehicles. However, Bloomberg reports that the agency didn’t reveal any details of the state’s proposal. The Trump Administration has threatened to revoke California’s ability to set its own standards. And it’s proposing to freeze fuel economy standards at a fleet average of 37 MPG starting in 2020, which, California is dead set against. Automakers want to see a nationwide standard instead of having to meet separate regulations in different states.
CHINA’S ZOTYE PLANS TO SELL SUVs IN U.S.
Well, here’s one Chinese automaker that isn’t deterred by Trump’s import tariffs. Reuters reports that Zotye Automobiles plans to start selling its SUVs in the U.S. in 2020. It’s setting up a sales and distribution network in California and plans to sell the vehicles through franchised dealers. Ford is partnered with Zotye in China but it doesn’t have any involvement in the company’s plan to sell in the U.S.
Still to come…Chevy makes the Colorado ZR2 even more off-road capable.
ASTON MARTIN SHOWS OFF ITS FIRST SUV
Aston Martin’s first-ever SUV, officially confirmed as the DBX is moving out of simulation and into the real world. That includes two areas you probably never expected to hear Aston testing; off road and towing capability. When it comes to styling, I feel like I see a little bit of Jaguar in there, but the front end is unmistakingly Aston and the back… well, the back is something completely different. The rear liftgate juts out, creating a bit of a spoiler, which also pushes up high into the back glass. And the C-pillar, I’m not sure you can even call it a C-pillar because it’s so large, is almost more like a sail panel. We’ll get to make a more detailed assessment when the DBX makes its debut late next year, but in the meantime, we’d love to know what you think of the prototype.
CHEVY OFFERS RACE PARTS FOR COLORADO ZR2
Chevrolet is giving customers the ability to make their Colorado ZR2 even more off-road capable. There are 15 new factory race components available through select GM dealerships. Some of the upgrades include a 1-inch suspension lift, a 1.5-inch body lift, new front and rear long-travel dampers from Multimatic, front and rear jounce shocks as well as reinforced steel drive shafts, half shafts and tie rods. The parts go on sale between now and early 2019. But those interested should know that installing these parts will void the warranty of any other part they come into direct contact with. So, things like differentials, transfer case and transmission.
And be sure to join us for Autoline After Hours this Thursday. Joining us is Christian Spencer from Nissan to talk about the all-new Altima. So if you have any questions about that vehicle, send them our way to [email protected] or hit us up on social media. Just look for those links below.
Coming up next, BMW is using more and more 3D printed parts in its cars.
FORD AND WALMART TEST AUTONOMOUS DELIVERY
Last year Ford teamed up with Domino’s to explore delivering pizzas to customers with autonomous vehicles. And now the company is collaborating with Walmart and Postmates to create a service to deliver groceries or other goods to customers with self-driving cars. It’s launching a pilot program in the Miami area which will use human drivers at first. Like with the Domino’s experiment, the companies are doing the test to learn how customers will interact with autonomous vehicles delivering good to them.
BMW RAMPS UP USE OF 3D PRINTED PARTS
BMW is ramping up the use of 3D printed components in production vehicles. Over the last decade, its produced a million parts using additive manufacturing. This year, the company expects to make 200,000 components, which is up 42% from last year. While they’re mostly small parts, like this window guide rail in the i8, the 3D components do provide some benefits. For customers, it allows them more personalization and for BMW It allows it to develop parts more quickly and in some cases, make them lighter and stronger.
Did you know that Autoline has an Instagram account?? We hope you have one too!…because to wrap up today’s show, we want to test your automotive knowledge! Can you identify the make and model of this vehicle? Go to @AutolineNetwork on Instagram and tap on this post, then leave a comment with your guess. We’ll announce who got it right on Friday’s Autoline Daily. Good luck!
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Comments (23)
November 14th, 2018 at 12:28 pm
It’s good to see Chevy giving the ZR2 some added off-road/aftermarket support… even though I’m not very much a fan of the void-the-warranty part. I imagine Ford will be playing catch-up for the Ranger. With a massive size of the new full-size pick up trucks, it seems to me this part of the truck market will continue to grow, especially with Ford and Chevrolet finally giving it some real love compared to 10 years ago.
November 14th, 2018 at 12:31 pm
Aston SUV: Aston claims it will be the best looking SUV in the market, but we cannot tell a whole lot from this thing. I’ll wait for the final product.
Chinese SUV in the US: Now THIS is a TRUE Chinese SUV and NOT some Buick or Caddy which is just ASSEMBLED in China. And the exterior styling is good, and so so up front, and most important, it does not copy other SUV styling much.
Last time I was in Shanghai for 3 weeks in May-June 2016, the dean of the institute I was visiting drove me in his Chinese SUV (not ZOTYE, I believe) on several occasions, including two working lunches, one of which he joked it was a “box lunch”, and indeed some of the courses came in boxes (but not the paper boxes we use here, rather intricate works of art). Anyway, his SUV was really close to the Lexus RX, although it did not blatantly copy the exterior grille etc details, and it was very nice inside, and when driving it, there was nothing objectionable from the engine, transmission etc. I don’t think I asked him how much he paid for it. In the U parking I would see all kinds of vehicles, even a Ford Fusion, but in the Ford Mondeo non-US version.
Related to the CA EPA MPG story, I saw a Ward’s article in my email just an hour ago showing a huge improvement over the last few months, of the total US light vehicle fleet average MPG. Maybe we will see this here in tomorrow’s show, since there is a lot of cooperation between AD and Wards. And I bet the lion’s share of the credit belongs to none other than TESLA again, with the huge increase in their sales, and the Huge EPA MPGe their vehicles, esp the Model 3, have. This is a trend that should continue at least until all 500,000 reservations are delivered.
November 14th, 2018 at 12:40 pm
2 PS and re the BMW using 3-d printers, this Xmas I will ask Santa for a 3D printer that can print out little 3D printers.
November 14th, 2018 at 1:22 pm
BMW is using the 3D printed parts in the i8, with global sales of, what, 2000? 3D printing is good for making small numbers of intricate parts, but not good for making large numbers of the same thing.
November 14th, 2018 at 1:46 pm
Sean: Is Additive manufacturing the official term for 3D printing? Or is that a specific type of 3D printing?
Aston Martin SUV thoughts; Well the SUV market in general leans toward very similar designs. This, like so many other SUVs looks about the same minus the grill and light configurations. The sail panel seems like it would hinder blind spot areas even more but with all the sensors available maybe its not as important. I personally do not like to depend on a sensor but use them as a secondary prevention not primary detection of obstructions.
Personally I think automakers are going to have to look elsewhere to stand out in the crowd. The paint colors and interiors becomes more important as the body shape and design falter into obscurity.
November 14th, 2018 at 1:58 pm
I like the looks of the Chinese SUV better than the Aston Martin. It’s generic, but not objectionable, and it looks like it has better outward visibility than most of the other tall wagons out there.
November 14th, 2018 at 2:16 pm
Interesting that gm would offer parts for the ZR 2 but if you use them no warranty? Not sure i get that thinking?
November 14th, 2018 at 2:48 pm
#8 – They’re happy to take your $ (which I’m sure are not unsubstantial) for the high performance parts, & then since they assume how you are now using the vehicle with high performance parts, deny any warranty claims. Best of both worlds on GM income & expenses until customers get a little bit upset.
November 14th, 2018 at 3:33 pm
Interesting that today Johnson Controls announced they sold their battery business. Big leveraged buyout so Johnson must really want out.
They are no longer an automotive supplier. That part of the business wasn’t growing but was profitable so worth it for others.
November 14th, 2018 at 3:34 pm
Not many manufacturers warranty their products if used for competition. I bet GM is selling these products for this type of use. If some use these pieces on street vehicles, I doubt that they will be easily prey to failure. As long as GM is upfront as to warranty, any who use, are/should be forewarned. Even vehicles not off-road, if they are abused (that can be substantiated by the maker) can be refused warranty.
November 14th, 2018 at 3:35 pm
I bet the Aston rear window will get crapped up just like all blunt end hatches and SUV’s in bad weather conditions. I have yet to see anyone try to design the rear to use air flow to keep the window clear and/or reduce the rate of dirt/snow coverage.
In the 80′s a company in England sold plastic winglets which I clamped vertically onto the sides of the rear hatch of our Mazda GLC and that worked very well. Too bad they are no longer around.
November 14th, 2018 at 4:02 pm
9 Johnson Controls may have timed their battery business exit very well. Car batteries, as we know them, may not be around too much longer, and I hear rumblings that batteries for regular ICE vehicles may go from lead-acid to lithium. Does JoCo do lithium batteries at all?
November 14th, 2018 at 4:05 pm
11. My ’86 Chevy Celebrity wagon had a wing thing above the rear window, which helped quite a bit with the slop thrown up from wet roads. I think those cars may have had a rear wiper option, but I didn’t have it.
November 14th, 2018 at 5:00 pm
There has been some concern with lithium starting batteries at least in the motorcycle forums concerning cold weather service. They may not be the best choice meaning that lead acid are not done yet.
November 14th, 2018 at 5:20 pm
Do lithium batteries lose ability to push high current when cold, more than lead acid? Is that the issue?
November 14th, 2018 at 6:23 pm
I believe that is the case. Some reported that a way to get the li battery to provide to capacity was to turn on a headlight or other drain that would cause the battery to warm internally and then it could provide to its capacity.
November 14th, 2018 at 6:26 pm
Lead acid while somewhat compromised is not to the same extent as we know they have been starting vehicles in sub zero weather since day one.
November 14th, 2018 at 6:43 pm
Unless lithium batteries are cheaper, or last longer, I don’t see the point, even if they work as well in cold weather. I see “weight savings” mentioned, but does it really buy you much to save 10 pounds of battery weight in a 5000 pound truck, or even a 3000 pound car? I guess we’ll know more over the next few years.
November 14th, 2018 at 9:58 pm
There are Li ion jump start battery units available. Very small. I have a Pb acid portable that is large and heavy.
I had some side of hatch wing-like foils on a couple of ‘80s Omni and Horizon cars. May have been from J C Whitney. Also for VW Rabbit. Worked fine with or without wiper.
My off-road story involved a Chrysler Employee leased Jeep Liberty with all of the extras (skid plates and tow/recovery hooks) for going on a Jeep Jamboree. A level 4 (10 was the Rubicon trail) trail in Pennsylvania resulted in many pounds of mud under hood and collected by the skid plates. Not the real problem. A couple of rocks did some rocker panel damage and “removed” trim on the right side. So? Chrysler leased me an off-road vehicle, but the insurance part of the Emplyee lease didn’t cover damage if I actually went off the road! Took $600 to fix all. I’ve had seven more Jeeps since and I don’t even like dirt roads. Snow and ice fine, but no mud and rock (boulders) recreation events.
November 14th, 2018 at 10:09 pm
And, I like Larry D. He seems mostly knowledgeable, and interesting, just could lighten up on the Tesla fanboy stuff. Not part of the Michigan landscape. Or maybe our potholes swallow them up.
November 15th, 2018 at 7:04 am
The only real off-roading I’ve ever done was in a friend’s old FJ Land Cruiser, well before they became valuable as collectors’ items. We didn’t break anything, but were probably lucky.
November 15th, 2018 at 12:30 pm
Kit – on battery weight, reducing 10 pounds is a huge savings and most OEMs would spend millions of dollars in engineering to engineer-out that kind of weight, and could justify a more expensive battery for that kind of weigh savings, even if they had to sacrifice a little on performance.
November 15th, 2018 at 3:44 pm
Nissan’s 48 volt battery w/ICE gen is the way they all should go