AD #2727 – McLaren’s Profits Down, Lincoln To Use Rivian Skateboard, Cadillac Blackwing V8 May Disappear
November 27th, 2019 at 11:53am
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Runtime: 8:56
0:07 Millennials Expected to Buy More New Cars
0:43 Global Car Sales Fall Again
1:26 Automakers Cut Jobs to Invest in EVs & AVs
2:41 McLaren Revenue Up but Profits Down
3:27 Cadillac CT5 Sedan Pricing Announced
4:06 Cadillac Blackwing V8 May Disappear
5:07 Lincoln To Use Rivian Skateboard in Electric SUV
5:45 EV Startup Shows Pickup in China
6:37 Magna Develops 5-Cell Bumper Beam
7:23 ZF Creates Electric Motor for Yachts
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MILLENNIALS EXPECTED TO BUY MORE NEW CARS
Not long ago, it was conventional wisdom in the auto industry that millennials hate cars and had no interest in owning one. But that reasoning was bogus, since the Great Recession hurt most millennials pocket books and forced them to stay out of the new car market. But with a strong economy and many older millennials having a family and a career, they’re jumping into the new car market in full force. According to a study from CarGurus, an online automotive marketplace, millennials are expected to account for 40% of all new car purchases next year.
GLOBAL CAR SALES FALL AGAIN
But even though millennials are buying new cars at a higher rate, the downturn in the global auto industry continues. Wards Intelligence reports that automakers sold 7.56 million vehicles worldwide in October, which is a drop of nearly 4% compared to the prior year. It’s the 14th straight month sales have fallen on a global basis. Europe was the only major region that saw an increase in sales in October. Through the first 10 months of the year, automakers have sold nearly 76 million vehicles globally, which is down 5%. And this downturn is a major reason why we’re seeing so many companies in the auto industry cutting jobs.
AUTOMAKERS CUT JOBS TO INVEST IN EVs & AVs
Back in 2015 Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors warned that the auto industry would go through more change in the next 5 years than it had in the last 50. And she sure was right. Automakers and suppliers are slashing jobs to free up cash to invest in electric and autonomous vehicles. GM is slashing 14,000 jobs, Nissan 12,500 jobs, Ford 7,000, Audi is cutting 9,500 and Daimler is getting rid of 1,100. The supplier Continental is laying off or spinning off 20,000 jobs. And BMW just announced it will cut bonuses for management by about 20%. This is just the beginning. The jobs we just mentioned are almost all white-collar jobs. In the coming decade, we expect a lot of blue collar jobs to be on the chopping block.
MCLAREN REVENUE UP BUT PROFITS DOWN
McLaren is one of the most famous racing teams in Formula One. It’s also famous for its sports cars and technological prowess. Last year its revenue shot up 44%, and is up 19% so far this year. Last year, its car sales shot up 45%. And yet, McLaren can’t seem to figure out how to make a profit. Last year, it lost about $78 million and is on track to lose about that much this year. The company is burning through cash, and car sales are down 4.5% so far this year. Hopefully McLaren can turn this around but it shows just how hard it can be to make money even when you’re at the pinnacle of luxury, technology and Formula One racing.
CADILLAC CT5 SEDAN PRICING ANNOUNCED
Cadillac’s announced pricing for the CT5 sedan. A 2.0L with rear-wheel-drive starts a little under $38,000, including destination charges. A RWD V-Series CT5, with a 3.0L twin-turbo V6, starts at $48,700, while AWD adds another $2,600. If you start checking all the boxes, a CT5 can easily creep up near $70,000. And if you’re wondering, a CT4-V has a starting price $3,200 less than a CT5-V.
CADILLAC BLACKWING V8 MAY DISAPPEAR
Speaking of Cadillac, do you remember the Blackwing engine that came out in the CT6 last year? If not, it’s a twin-turbo 4.2L V8 that cranks out 550 horsepower and nearly 630 lb-ft of torque. As awesome as that sounds, the engine could soon become an orphan. MotorTrend learned from a senior GM source that it will not be used in a higher performance version of CT5-V or the next-generation Escalade. The decision was made as a cost cutting move as sales have been falling. That only leaves the CT6 for the Blackwing engine to fit into, and as we’ve reported in the past, the CT6 could be headed for the chopping block. Earlier this year we tried to get someone from the Blackwing program to come on Autoline After Hours and tell us what the engine is all about, but we never got any response.
LINCOLN TO USE RIVIAN SKATEBOARD IN ELECTRIC SUV
Ford stunned the auto industry when it invested half a billion dollars in Rivian. And now we’re starting to learn what Ford plans to do with that investment. Reuters reports that Lincoln will use the Rivian electrified “skateboard” chassis which includes the motors, batteries and suspension. Ford plans to add other EV models to Lincoln’s lineup in the next couple of years, as part of its $11.5 billion investment into electrification. This could also be a way to compete in the market against GM, which plans to make two new SUVs around the end of 2021.
EV STARTUP SHOWS PICKUP IN CHINA
The California electric startup Neuron EV showed off a prototype of its T.One pickup at the China International Import Expo. Like Rivian and Lincoln, the T.One is also built on a skateboard chassis. It’s not known if the pickup is going to be a battery electric, as there are some canisters attached to the powertrain, possibly for fuel cells. The T.One has different body options for the shell, with either a simple chassis, a pickup or a van. This gives buyers the option to have a multitude of seating options. The inside is center-driven with no controls on the dashboard. The T.One goes on display again in China next month.
MAGNA DEVELOPS 5-CELL BUMPER BEAM
As we keep pointing out, there’s a ton of innovation coming out of the supplier industry. Magna developed a clever bumper beam that’s smaller, stronger and lighter than what’s being used today. Traditional bumper beams use what they call a 3-cell design, that are like three compartments that you can see in this cross section of the beam. It works well, but Magna’s extruded 5-cell design performs even better. Note the triangular cells at each corner that run the length of the beam. Those triangles absorb crash forces better. Not only is this 15% lighter than traditional bumper beams, Magna says this approach can be used on battery trays, hinge pillars and other parts of the structure.
ZF CREATES ELECTRIC MOTOR FOR YACHTS
Water and electricity don’t mix well and while we’ve heard of electric trolling motors for small fishing boats, we’ve never heard of them for larger boats. Well, the supplier ZF has developed a fully integrated electric propulsion system for sailing yachts. It consists of a 60-kW motor with about 370 lb-ft of torque, all the power electronics, charger and a 60-kWh battery pack. ZF has been testing the system out on the water and says, in this setup, the boat is able to hit sustained speeds of 13 km/h or about 8 miles-per-hour and travel 55.5 km or roughly 34.5 miles. There are no clutches, so switching to forward from reverse is very smooth, which helps with maneuverability as does a propeller that can spin 360-degrees.
And a quick programming note before I sign off. Autoline Daily will be off for the rest of the week since we’re taking a break for the Thanksgiving holiday. And that means there won’t be a new Autoline After Hours this Thursday either.
But that brings us to the end of today’s report, thanks for watching and for those of you in the U.S., have a Happy Thanksgiving.
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Comments (38)
November 27th, 2019 at 12:13 pm
Best wishes to all from Rancho Cammack in Daytona Beach, FL for this Thanksgiving holiday.
Wish you all could be here for the annual Turkey Run. Untold hundreds of vehicles and acres of swap meet. All automotive stuff!
November 27th, 2019 at 12:21 pm
1 What’s the turkey run? Is it at the speedway?
November 27th, 2019 at 12:23 pm
I like that electric pickup startup. Maybe FCA should invest in that company. They could call the new truck the Power Wagon!
November 27th, 2019 at 12:36 pm
That Neuron EV truck is very cool and takes advantage of the space where an engine normally would be. I like the seating flexibility but not so sure about the center driving position.
These skateboard platforms sure seem to drive in the direction of having a multitude of vehicles on a similar if not same platform. Reminds me a toy I had as a child.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_kPMKvFKx0
November 27th, 2019 at 12:46 pm
Neuron was founded by Edward Lee, CEO and President and Scott Zheng, co-founder. The Chinese want access to silicon valley tech. They also fund research in US and Canadian universities which lead to Chinese patents which are 90% funded by taxpayers. This even includes tech to be used by the Chinese military. In Canada they do it for wireless as we are leaders in that technology for the time being.
And why do you think they rolled-up the red carpet for Tesla in China? They made the only exception by not obligating Tesla to get a Chinese partner and made Musk an honorary Chinese national. When the Chinese are kissing your ass, you can soon expect that the big Chinese dick isn’t far behind. You can also bet that the plant will be staffed with PLA workers and filled with every spyware imaginable. They are still finding all types of spying devices in the old Nortel building in Ottawa which is now owned by national defence. It’s well known that Huawei hacked Nortel to death.
November 27th, 2019 at 12:46 pm
I know that some boats use electric motors just like diesel locomotives do so this is only new with a battery
November 27th, 2019 at 12:59 pm
6 Defunct Windjammer Barefoot Cruises’ last ship, the Legacy, started life as a motor vessel, built in the late 1950s, using diesel-electric power. As I remember, it had three diesesl, two used at a time, and two electric motors turning the props.
November 27th, 2019 at 1:32 pm
Yea the electrical sailboat seems like a logical step forward. I would still be a bit hesitant to grab a 240V charging plug standing on a wet aluminum dock. Also the slightest current on an outdrive will increase corrosion a couple times over.
November 27th, 2019 at 1:35 pm
Happy holidays and drive safe. There are many others out who don’t. Drive defensive and don’t let a schedule lead to grief.
November 27th, 2019 at 1:43 pm
Azipods have been around for a while and have been used in ocean liners/tugs, etc. There are variable ways to use the propulsion but it looks as ZF has brought this technology to the sportsman sized sailboat (in the case presented) and is using battery to propel and energize the motors. Pivoting pods allow for greatest maneuverability which helps with docking and close quarter navigating.
November 27th, 2019 at 2:51 pm
10 Yeah, nearly all of the new cruise ships have used azipods for probably the last 25 years. The pods wouldn’t be very efficient, but they are great for parking a 900 foot ship in a 903 foot long space. Apparent one, huge diesel, running about 50 rpm is the most efficient way to move a ship. At least that is what they use for the big cargo ships.
November 27th, 2019 at 3:02 pm
The video of the ZF boat motor didn’t say if you can charge the battery, using the prop as a “windmill” and the motor as a generator. That could be useful, if the drag wouldn’t slow the boat down too much.
November 27th, 2019 at 3:25 pm
@ChuckGrenci,
I watched the video you linked yesterday about electric bikes, and it was interesting. The Zero in the video was a lot more expensive than the one I rode last spring, but was probably quicker, and, I think, had twice the battery, for more range. The guy really wanted you to know that the Harley was heavy, and felt heavy. I don’t know the weight of the Zero I rode, but it felt pretty light, and performed well. I hadn’t heard of the Italian one, but it looked impressive.
November 27th, 2019 at 4:51 pm
13, I think the Zero that he was reviewing was a different model than what they first introduced that you probably rode. In the video I saw a smaller Zero but that wasn’t the one he reviewed. At nearly 20 G’s it sure wasn’t very cheap but sure made the Harley looks way too high of a price. He said he still liked the Harley even with the high center of gravity mentioned. These electric’s would work for the weekend warriors for the most part; troubling for the touring enthusiast biker though. Charging, even the quick charge, seemed limiting for extended miles.
November 27th, 2019 at 4:58 pm
My visit is soon coming to an end, I will take THanksgiving off by giving my savages their 3 hour final exam today, and my willing assistant will have to grade it before or after I leave.
Speaking of driving carefully, yesterday I had a 3 PM appointment with the dean of our joint institute with CHina’s second best (out of .. 100,000?) universities, and if I used mass transit it would take 5 hours on the road. In the US I would not do this, but here I asked my Host for a University car and driver, they asked me when I need it, I was afraid they’d tell me none is available at that time, but they did not.
Unfortunately the splendid black Maybach S 450 was not available, and the gorgeous black E class 300 Ls must have been booked, for I got a white Toyota sedan plus driver. It was either Corolla (but it did not say so) or a Yaris sized sedan, felt much more substantial on the road than the god-awful Scion XA which felt like a feather in the wind. The interior was solid but not luxurious, and even when it looked upscale (it even had fake stitching on its plastics), on touch it did not.
The driver was a piece of work, he was driving fast and despite all the obstacles, he did the 90 min drive in 60 mins under heavy rain and poor visibility. At the same time he made full use of his mobile as Nav, making calls, etc. But he delivered me safely home. His GPS was apparently not up to date since it blurted (in english) that my building (no 62B) did not exist. So the last half mile I was the Navigator.
That visit revealed stunning facts. Regular students at that U pay 5,000 Yuan a year tuition, BUT those in our joint institute pay 15 TIMES (not %!) that, Y 75,000 a year! Plus the Joint Institute had a ton of donors, both Chinese Companies and Education funds, and US based wildly successful Chinese Americans (one couple donated a cool 10 mill US$)
November 27th, 2019 at 5:32 pm
15 Was the Toyota manual, or automatic? When I was there, all the VW taxis were manual, and the drivers drive impressively smoothly, and efficiently, while making good time in the city, going for open spaces, never mind the lane marking, all with no crashes, and few close calls.
November 27th, 2019 at 5:44 pm
14 I was surprised that the Harley would be top heavy, with the motor and powertrain down low like it appears to be.
The range of those bikes would work for all of the riding I do with one of my bikes up north, a KLR650. I don’t take long trips, but If I did, I’d use my other bike, a Silver Wing big scooter, because of the good wind and weather protection. It only has about 150 mile range, but it doesn’t take long to pump 3 gallons of gas.
November 27th, 2019 at 6:17 pm
16 it was a manual. I thought it was too narrow to be a Corolla, the way these cars have grown over 30 years, plus it did not have the name on the trunk. It was a recent model, judging from the grille.
The driver initially opened the glove box and offered me a Marlboro from a pack, but when I declined he did not smoke himself. I offered him a gum to reciprocate but he refused.
November 27th, 2019 at 6:22 pm
I saw a small truck carrying Tesla Model 3s. not sure if they were imports or made in the local factory here.
This time I saw several Peugeots and Citroens (even more of those) both here and on the road and out of town, they use them as taxis as well.
November 27th, 2019 at 6:53 pm
18 That’s interesting that the driver offered you a cigarette. A taxi driver or two offered me cigerattes 25 years ago, but I figured that would be a thing of the past. Then, at least one driver smoked after I declined, but it was warm, and the windows were open. I don’t know if those taxis had a/c or not.
November 28th, 2019 at 1:05 am
20 Lots of Chinese still smoke (not students, from what I’ve seen), but the fines are heavy (Y 1,000 for the smoker) and much heavier for the building owner (Y 10,000 or 15,000 or 50,000). In my case I assume the driver wanted to smoke, and hoped that if I accepted his Marlboro I would allow him to. Our car had A/C and I think he did not understand that it also works with hot air, because it was quite chilly and the day was cold.
November 28th, 2019 at 10:40 pm
@ #2 Kit check this link for the Daytona Turkey Run: https://www.daytonabeach.com/event/daytona-turkey-run/39146
November 29th, 2019 at 7:45 am
22 Thanks. I’m surprised I’m not familiar with it. Is the traffic a mess, or is it not to bad getting there? Can spectators park in the infield, or you you need to park somewhere else? I might go, probably Saturday.
November 29th, 2019 at 8:07 am
22,23 Never mind on the spectator parking. I found out. I’m tempted to go; I’m only about an hour and a half away from Daytona, but it sounds like the traffic might be a mess.
November 29th, 2019 at 3:59 pm
https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/psa-changan-ready-sale-ds-factory-china?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20191129&utm_content=article4-headline
I thought I saw too many Citroens here, this is because they actually make them here, but sales have slowed. Competition is tough… so PSA is calling it quits.
November 29th, 2019 at 4:00 pm
https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/bmw-great-wall-open-160000-capacity-china-plant?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20191129&utm_content=article2-headline
One quits, another one enters China (BMW-Great Wall to make 160,000, Minis etc)
November 29th, 2019 at 4:06 pm
I am supposed to fly back to the US at 11:40 AM here, and be there at 12:18 PM, same day, Sat Nov 30.
It has been a very rewarding trip so far. The dean who invited me sees China as still a “developing” country, and wants to take advantage of its still very low labor costs to build all kinds of infrastructure and buildings, before wages grow too high.
In my train trips I saw plenty of cranes build not one or two but forests of 50 story apartment hi-rises, both in the Shanghai area and 1,000 miles inland at Xi’an, the ancient capital.
Shanghai still has old neighborhoods with single-story houses and stores, and of course the rest of China is full of them too. I guess all these will be eventually torn down and the residents relocated to these forests of high rises.
The area I was staying in is brand new, they started development in 2000 and expected it to grow to a 500,000 city, but so far only 100,000 have come, including major companies from overseas (DHL etc), large university hospitals from here etc.
November 29th, 2019 at 4:39 pm
26 How long will BMW keep building Mini in the UK? With the Brexit mess, they might move all production to China, though they now build Countryman in the Netherlands using a contract company.
November 29th, 2019 at 6:25 pm
27 Yeah, China is a developing country, and developing very quickly, with infrastucture projects that the US, and most of the world could only dream of. I saw the start of it 25 years ago, and it has been full speed ahead since then.
December 1st, 2019 at 11:06 am
ATW’s topis is “Rebuilding Acura as a performance (SIC) brand”.
Seriously? Acura is a cadaver. They have no chance in hell being anything, much less a new “performance brand”.
WHat a waste.
And I still am a big fan of Honda (not Acura, though, for decades now, it has lost its way big time)
December 1st, 2019 at 12:00 pm
30 Acura has one performance car, NSX, but it’s not selling very well, at about $160K
December 1st, 2019 at 5:54 pm
…and unlike the original NSX, the new one doesn’t have a cassette player, even at that lofty price.
December 2nd, 2019 at 6:56 am
Arguably, the Acura TLX is a sports sedan, but it doesn’t sell too well either.
December 2nd, 2019 at 8:12 am
33 I just read a little about the TLX, and CR and C and D mostly agree. The main advantage the TLX has over the competition from Audi, BMW,and M-B is price. The TLX drives ok, but the interior isn’t as nice, and the infotainment system controls are generally bad. It seems that, other than the NSX which doesn’t really count, the MDX is the only Acura product that has much appeal in its market segment. Even the MDX is not very high in CR’s ratings.
December 2nd, 2019 at 9:32 am
“Lincoln to use Rivian skateboard” is not completely accurate. Should it have said, it’s using GM’s skateboard?
https://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/24/forgotten-concept-2002-gm-autonomy/
December 2nd, 2019 at 11:14 am
32 Does it at least have an 8-track tape player?
33 No it is not, the ILX is a CIvic clone and the TSX is an Accord (smaller than the US accord, Euro-spec) clone, and Neither is a ‘sports car’
First of all real cars are RWD. Esp sports cars. Acuras lose from the get-go.
Can we be serious about this?
December 2nd, 2019 at 11:25 am
36 Nope, no 8-track either.
December 2nd, 2019 at 11:51 am
33,36. Arguably is the operative word, here. Honda/Acura argue that it is a sport sedan, even though it isn’t.