This is Autoline Daily reporting on the global automotive industry.
GM INVESTING $300 MILLION TO BUILD EVs AND AVs
General Motors is planning a big investment at its plant in Orion, Michigan to build electric and autonomous vehicles. Reuters reports that the company will spend $300 million to upgrade the facility and will also announce plans to build a new electric, compact vehicle for Chevy, which will be based on the same platform as the Bolt. The company will start assembling the next-gen vehicles in 2023. GM is also expected to endorse the renegotiated NAFTA deal during the conference, which will include UAW leadership. The company has been under fire from President Trump over its decision to idle its Lordstown, Ohio plant, so it’s probably hoping this announcement will take some of the heat off of it.
FORD MANAGEMENT SHAKEUP
Ford is shaking up its management. Its Chief Financial Officer, Bob Shanks, is retiring at the end of the year. He’s being replaced by Tim Stone, who worked 20 years at Amazon and also served as CFO of Snap, the social media platform. He will join Ford next month and take over the CFO role on June 1st. Steven Armstrong, its current president of Europe, is being promoted to chairman of the region. And he will be replaced by Stuart Rowley, the COO of Ford North America. Both of them will take on their new roles on April 1st.
WHY BOSCH ISN’T SPLITTING ITS BUSINESS
Over the last few years, we’ve seen a number of suppliers separate their technology business from their traditional components business. But not Bosch, the largest auto supplier in the world. On Autoline This Week, we’re joined by Mike Mansuetti, the President of Bosch North America, and he explained why the company is taking a different approach.
(The ATW preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
You can watch that entire discussion right now, on our website, Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
VIETNAM ACCUSED OF BACKING HACKERS
The cyber security firm FireEye is accusing the Vietnamese government of backing hackers to target foreign automotive companies. Bloomberg reports that the hacks began in 2014 and ramped up in February and targeted companies in Southeast Asia. It appears they were looking for corporate operational information, not intellectual property. The Vietnamese government denies the allegations and say they’re unfounded. Either way, cyber security is a growing concern in the auto industry and we’ll take a deep dive into that topic on next week’s Autoline This Week, so be sure to keep an eye out for that show.
PORSCHE REVEALS NEW CAYENNE COUPE
Whether they’re called Coupes, Sports Activity Vehicles or whatever, I’m not normally a fan of fastback SUVs. It’s not the styling, it’s the usability. They’re always based off an existing vehicle and cost about the same, but have less space. And I have a hard time understanding why someone would want that. But the new Porsche Cayenne Coupe is different for me. The first thing I thought when I saw it was, it looks like a raised up Panamera. And I think that’s the customer it’s going to nab. Someone who likes the Panamera look but wants to ride a bit higher. And it has more trunk space. That means the Cayenne Coupe could steal some sales away from the Panamera, but I still believe it will be a success for Porsche. As always, we’d love to know what you think.
But now let’s get down to some of the details of the vehicle. Two engines will be available at launch: a 6-cylinder turbo with 335-horsepower and a twin-turbo V8 with over 540-horsepower, which helps the Cayenne Coupe move from 0 to 60 in 3.7-seconds. There will be two roof options as well: a panoramic, fixed glass roof as standard or an optional carbon fiber roof. The Cayenne Coupe will go on sale in Europe in May and in the U.S. this fall. U.S. prices start at $76,550 for the base model and $131,350 for the Turbo, which is $7,000 – $10,000 more than the standard Cayenne.
CAR PLUNGE CONTEST UPDATE
And a few quick updates. Here’s a recent picture of the Car Plunge Contest, where you can bet on a Saturn’s icy demise. As you can see, there’s still a bit of snow on the ice, which can act as an insulator. So, our first guess of March 29th is not looking so good.
CHEVY UNVEILS NEW ONIX SEDAN
And Chevy revealed the new Onix in China. We think it’s a good looking compact sedan that has adopted Chevrolet’s newest design language.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and have a great weekend.
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Comments (32)
March 22nd, 2019 at 12:13 pm
I’d like the Cayenne “coupe” ok, if they’d lower it about 2 inches, sell it with RWD, and lower the price about $30-40K.
March 22nd, 2019 at 12:19 pm
Cayenne vehicle helped me continue some thoughts I had yesterday. I became what I’ll call “car aware” in the 1960′s. Back then I climbed into a car, and I didn’t need ramps or a jack to change the oil. That trend continued into the early 90′s for me. Now I’m old enough to remember when dirt was new, but I still change my own oil. Yesterday I was servicing my 2017. Besides getting thicker in the middle, today’s cars are far lower than those in my youth. Getting in and out of them is not the same as getting in and out of today’s SUV. I suspect the shift to those taller vehicles has a great deal to do with ease of entry/exit. Now that I think of it, my sister’s SUV only requires me to slide under to change the oil.
March 22nd, 2019 at 12:22 pm
The Cayenne coupe takes away my biggest aversion to the Panamera; it looks goofy long; the Cayenne is much better proportioned IMO.
And on Bosch keeping their divisions integrated; as long as they don’t lose sight of where they are going, there are a certain number of possible synergies by being able to have in-house perspective to all drive systems.
Onix still looks good to me.
March 22nd, 2019 at 12:22 pm
1) save for the price, doesn’t Porsche call that vehicle you described as a Panamera?
March 22nd, 2019 at 12:22 pm
As far as the space of these “coupe” vs. square back SUVs, to me, the difference wouldn’t matter. Floor length is what matters to me, and with my van, and the wagons I’ve had, I never fill them with stuff that would block my rearward view, and would come forward to hit the back of my head if I stopped quickly.
March 22nd, 2019 at 12:28 pm
4 The Cayenne is a little shorter than the Panamera, and even lowered two inches, would be a lot taller. Unlike most of these “coupe” CUVs, I think this one looks decent, at least in the photos.
March 22nd, 2019 at 12:32 pm
Sean you let Mike Mansuetti off easy as he never really answered your question as to why everyone else is splitting off their technology while Bosch is keeping them grouped, other then to say it made sense for them.
My thought is like many automakers do with development programs, if the program is canceled or the technology doesn’t pan out I believe there are some tax advantages to writing off those losses. Probably a lot more difficult to track the shared costs without them operating separately. Just my thought.
Which also points that either the OEMs and other suppliers are still unsure of what technology will succeed while Bosch is either confident or not being as smart.
March 22nd, 2019 at 12:36 pm
5 In my tiny 1,875 lb 159″ long Civic hatch, I could lower the passenger and back seats (if needed I could just lower 40 or 60% of the back seat) and have myself and a passenger behind me and carry not one or two but Three, and possibly four, 7′ bookcases from IKEA in their boxes.
In my BMW 740iL, 4,350 lb, 202″ long ’98 the rear seats did not fold, they only had the middle ski opening, and I could carry none.
In the E 320, I bought a 55″ TV in Dec 2017 and it could not fit in the vast trunk, and I had to put it in the back seat, and it did not fit there either, so I had to take it out of the outer box (it still was covered in plastic) and then it fit.
March 22nd, 2019 at 12:40 pm
7 As you can see at the end of the Video segment, that ATW show is John’s, not Sean’s. John is shown asking the questions at the end.
March 22nd, 2019 at 12:44 pm
Did anyone actually expect the Vietnamese government to say, “Yea we been backing hackers?”
GM announced it plans to build a new electric, compact vehicle for Chevy, which will be based on the same platform as the Chevy Bolt.
So Chevy will build another EV that is so similar to an existing Chevy EV that it even uses the same platform. Sounds like a waste of money to me.
March 22nd, 2019 at 12:45 pm
From today’s show:
A. So I assume this new Chevy compact EV based on the Bolt platform will be an affordable version of the Bolt that does not cost as much as the far bigger and far more potent Tesla Model 3?
B. Chevy Misspelled Onyx in China, maybe it would do much better if they named it the Jade (assuming Jade and Onyx are different things?), which is the national material there, in 2006 I have seen workers make objects out of Jade, they were working under unacceptable safety conditions, had no protections for their eyes, and the air was full of jade particles as they carved the jade.
C. An SUV coupe is also called an oxymoron (emphasis on the moron)
March 22nd, 2019 at 12:50 pm
11 B) That’s why the workers in China are so Jaded.
March 22nd, 2019 at 12:59 pm
https://www.facebook.com/thecarmemes/photos/a.308517135870735/2194816057240824/?type=3&theater
Don’t know if u can see the photo, it has 4 different license plates on Tesla cars, the first is a Texas plate “LOL GAS” (owner is pushing his or her luck IMO), the others are “OIL LOL”, (IL plate) “NO GAS” and “ROFL GAS” (CA)
March 22nd, 2019 at 1:02 pm
The Onix looks like a Cruze. Vanilla. It might benefit from a bit stronger, more muscular lines.
March 22nd, 2019 at 1:03 pm
Four doors = NOT a coupe.
March 22nd, 2019 at 1:05 pm
Sean, I guess I can understand your distaste for fast-back SUVs. But I personally love them.
I don’t care at all about interior volume as much as the next guy. I just like their aesthetic. Especially the BMW X6 M and Mercedes AMG GLE Coupe.
March 22nd, 2019 at 1:17 pm
So Porche takes a page from BMW and starts to slice and dice models into smaller and smaller market segments just as BMW decides this is a lousy way to make a profit.
March 22nd, 2019 at 2:21 pm
13 The EV hate in the comments was something else, but no references to back up any of it.
March 22nd, 2019 at 2:35 pm
Went back read the first few but they were not a big deal, the usual accusations, electricity allegedly made from fossil fuels, parts in cars made of oil-derived plastics (the S and the X are aluminum bodied) etc.
March 22nd, 2019 at 2:49 pm
17, I’d think the “coupe” would just take a few sales from Panamera and the regular Cayenne, and add almost no total sales to the Porsche brand. Maybe they wouldn’t need to sell many, though. The base price of the “coupe” is about $11K higher than the base regular Cayenne. I suppose it is equipped a little better in some way, but they both have the same engine.
March 22nd, 2019 at 3:09 pm
https://www.autoblog.com/2019/03/22/oslo-electric-taxi-wireless-charging/
Norway, which used to be a really poor country in early 20th century (see “The Hunger” by Nobel winning Knut Hamsun) and then became filthy rich on its oil and gas, now it can afford to be an EV heaven, thanks to its… Oil and Gas riches. And in Oslo,what range anxiety?
March 22nd, 2019 at 3:11 pm
21 “…With just five million people, Norway bought 46,143 new battery electric cars in 2018, making it the biggest market in Europe, ahead of Germany with 36,216 (80+ million people) and France on 31,095 (60+ million), according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
March 23rd, 2019 at 9:54 am
I find it a bit peculiar that Cadillac isn’t mentioned in the announcement of the $300 Million To Build EVs And AVs when they were supposed to be the leaders in going forward in this pursuit. A mention, even rudimentary, would at least show the efforts of GM to have some sort of coordinated plan in this.
March 23rd, 2019 at 12:33 pm
Nice job as usual, Sean.
Agree with your comments about fastback utility vehicles rarely making much sense for the customer – more money for less utility…
I also wonder how they make much sense for the OEMs who build them. Those body changes don’t come cheap, and then they substitute away for their own existing products. They must think they will generate some incremental sales – I’m not so sure …
March 25th, 2019 at 8:24 am
#2) I have had the same realization, and may have even said it here before, too. Some people seem surprised by the “passing fad” with the popularity of crossovers and SUVs and away from buying “normal” cars, but in fact it seems the cars have been getting lower and harder to get in/out so this “fad” is just a correction of the imbalance trend of building lower vehicles and will in my opinion not pass any time soon. I realize cars handle better and get better mileage being lower, but in the end, ergonomics will win out with the masses.
I think MJB (#16) is the only other commenter besides me to admit liking taller cars.
March 25th, 2019 at 10:15 am
I just looked up the height of some “cars of my youth,” and found that they are less tall than today’s sedans. A Corvette is lower, though.
1957 Chrysler 55″
1966 Dodge Coronet 54″
1974 Plymouth Duster 53″
2010 Prius 58″
2018 Camry 57″
2018 Corvette 49″
…and a typical current taller “car”
2018 Honda CR-V 67″
March 25th, 2019 at 10:50 am
25 The 60s were the decade cars reached their minimum heights. If you go any decade prior to the 50s, cars were much, much taller. The “low and wide” was a 60s marketing fad to sell sporty Pontiacs etc. Even the tiny VW original Beetle was much taller than 60s cars.
Cars got smaller and more fuel efficient in the 80s, very lightweight and short for better aero fuel efficiency on the highway.
My 1991 Civic was 52″ tall (it felt even less) and had a rather low ground clearance, on bad roads on excursions it sometimes scraped the stones on the road, but fortunately no damage.
My huge 1998 BMW 740iL was about 55-56 and also felt less tall, in the back seat it was ridiculous, I had huge leg room but my head bumped on the ceiling unless I slouched.
My 2007 Merc is much taller, 58″, but when you raise the driver’s seat for better view, I keep hitting the remote on the sunvisor every time I sit in it.
As the population ages and starts to have all kinds of problems, some have arthritis, others pains and aches, the higher seating position of a CR-V and taller crossovers and SUVs is a huge convenience, in addition to the better visibility from the driver’s seat, AND the versatility of the cargo space, AND the higher ground clearance so you can take it on excursions and not crawl on its belly all the time.
The shift to crossovers is not just a fad. Real fads anyway last only 2-3 years, and this has started in the mid-90s with the Explorer and is even stronger 25 years later.
March 25th, 2019 at 11:00 am
Re: car height; I hadn’t looked into the stats and don’t know if seating height information is readily available, but this would be a better indicator for ergonomic concerns than ground clearance or total vehicle height. Maybe after lunch I’ll look into it.
March 25th, 2019 at 11:28 am
26,27, Cars got a lot lower during the decade of the ’50s. A 1950 Plymouth, like I drove while in high school, was 64 inches tall, while a ’57 Plymouth, or other Chrysler product was 9 inches lower.
28, Let me know if you find information about seating height. I’ve looked for it, but without much luck. Information on outside dimensions, like I posted in #26, is easy to find, but seating height, not so much. In general, though, seating height and vehicle height pretty much do together, except with some very tall vans, etc. that have “extra” head room.
March 25th, 2019 at 12:08 pm
I didn’t find a list of seat heights for older vehicles, but there are many sites (aimed at the aging population) that show seat heights of new vehicles; see below.
The first article says almost verbatim what I have been saying, and lists around two feet as optimal height from ground to seat bolster height. It also mentions that a lower door sill height is important for ergonomic comfort too, as well as the vehicle floor to seat height. The second article has a list of several new vehicle’s seat heights.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/automotive/sc-auto-tips-1018-seat-height-20181015-story.html
http://cars4seniors.com/page7/
March 25th, 2019 at 1:02 pm
30. Thanks for the link.
March 29th, 2019 at 6:46 am
The shape of the Cayenne coupe, shows what Mercedes Benz could do with the look of their Mercedes-Maybach GLS. This would give it a different look from the standard GLS, and look much closer to the original concept of a few years ago. The manufactures that offer four door coupes, set them at a higher price point then their more conventional stable mates.