AD #2865 – Big Honda Production News; Updated Sedona Minivan Gets SUV Styling; Mercedes & NVIDIA Join Forces
June 24th, 2020 at 11:53am
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Runtime: 10:27
0:07 Noose in NASCAR Garage Had Been There for Months
0:40 GM & FCA CEOs Ordered to Meet Over Racketeering Lawsuit
1:35 Big Honda Production Updates
2:32 Segway Phasing Out 2-Wheeled Transporter
3:36 VW Arteon Receives New R & Plug-In Variants
4:51 Updated Kia Sedona Minivan Gets SUV Styling
5:41 Nissan Kicks Updates
6:24 Mercedes & NVIDIA Team on New Software Architecture
7:19 Skoda Highlights Its Only Time at Le Mans
8:32 Unique Donation to Autoline
Visit our sponsor to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bridgestone.
This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
NOOSE IN NASCAR GARAGE HAD BEEN THERE FOR MONTHS
In yesterday’s show we led off with the news that someone left a noose in the NASCAR garage of Bubba Wallace. No doubt you’ve already heard the FBI discovered that noose had been in the garage since last October and had nothing to do with Wallace. So something that looked like a hate crime turned out to be nothing of the sort. What a relief. But the one thing this episode did, was give NASCAR, and all the drivers and team crews the opportunity to rally around Wallace and take a strong stand against racism.
JUDGE ORDERS GM & FCA CEOs TO MEET OVER LAWSUIT
A federal judge ordered GM CEO Mary Barra and FCA CEO Mike Manley to personally meet within the next week to resolve GM’s racketeering lawsuit against FCA. The judge called the litigation in the suit “a waste of time and resources” and said it could take years before a ruling is made. Last year, GM accused former FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne of orchestrating a bribery scheme with the UAW to harm GM and actually take it over. GM said that cost the company billions of dollars, but FCA says the suit is without merit and wants it dismissed. Experts say it will be hard for GM to prove FCA violated federal racketeering laws. But whatever happens Mary and Mike have to give the judge an update by July 1st.
UPDATES ON HONDA’S FUTURE PRODUCT
We’ve got some big updates involving Honda’s future product. Autoforecast Solutions reports the next-generation Civic, code named CCA-2YN, will go into production at Honda’s plant in Canada next March. Exactly one year later, in 2022, the new Honda HR-V will go into production in Mexico. Then, in May of 2024 the next-gen Acura RDX, code name CCA-2DU, goes into production in East Liberty, Ohio. And the next-gen Passport gets built in the same plant in January 2026. One thing you’ll notice from this is the nice, steady product cadence that Honda has. That kind of cadence gives Honda’s workers plenty of time to adjust, it gives suppliers plenty of time to plan, and all of that is what helps Honda crank out high quality products.
SEGWAY PHASING OUT 2-WHEEL TRANSPORTER
Segway is ending production of its most well-known product. Its two-wheeled personal transporter, called the PT, will be phased out on July 15th. Introduced back in 1999, it was supposed to revolutionize how people got around but it mainly was used by law enforcement and tourists. It never caught on due to an initial price tag of $5,000, which was too pricey for most customers. And it was also difficult to ride and led to a number of high-profile crashes. But it’s easy to see why Segway is discontinuing the PT. It only accounted for 1.5% of the company’s total revenue last year. And besides, these days it seems like everyone is riding electric scooters.
VW ARTEON RECEIVES NEW R & PLUG-IN VARIANTS
Here’s a full look at the updated Volkswagen Arteon that was teased earlier this month. The front fascia is reworked with newly designed lower air intakes and grille, which is now available with a central lighting bar that connects with the Daytime Running Lights. Volkswagen is doing the same thing with the all-new Golf as well. Rear end styling is mostly the same but with an updated lighting signature. A 2.0L turbocharged 4-cylinder that makes 268 horsepower comes standard and is mated to an 8-speed automatic. But two new powertrains are being added for Europe; a plug-in hybrid and an R model. Volkswagen did not release much information about either setup, but we know the plug-in will make about 215 horsepower and the R will make roughly 320 horsepower. Also exclusive to Europe, at least for now, are an all-new station wagon version and VW’s new Travel Assist system, which allows for partial automated driving. The interior is similar to the outgoing model but changes include new steering wheel and HVAC controls, upper door trims and a redesigned dash panel.
KIA REVEALS ALL-NEW SEDONA
Speaking of teasers turning into reveals, here’s the all-new Kia Sedona, which is sold as the Carnival in the Korean market. As you can see the minivan looks much more like an SUV and that’s on purpose. Kia thinks the design will attract younger customers. Note how the Daytime Running Lights flow into the newly designed grille, which also features new mesh patterns. And note how the low- and high-beams are separated with the high-beams which are set into the top corner of the grille. The upright rear end is what really makes it look more like an SUV and the lighting that extends across the rear helps accentuate the vehicle’s width. More details to come in the third quarter, which is when the new Carnival/Sedona goes on sale in Korea.
NISSAN KICKS UPDATES
The new Nissan Kicks, which goes on sale in Japan next week, is getting a number of updates. Most noticeable is the new grille, which now extends much further down the face of the crossover. That also required the headlamps and lower air vents to get redesigned as well. Rear end styling, from what we can tell, has not changed. The automaker’s e-POWER technology is now available, which uses an electric motor to directly power the wheels and a gasoline engine to charge the battery. No word yet on that setup or if it will be offered outside of Asian markets. Other new features include Nissan’s ProPilot advanced driver assistance system and automatic accident report.
MERCEDES & NVIDIA TEAM FOR NEW SOFTWARE ARCHTICTURE
Mercedes-Benz and chip maker NVIDIA are teaming up to build a software architecture for smarter vehicles. The two say they “plan to develop the most sophisticated and advanced computing architecture ever deployed in an automobile.” We’ll see about that. First they have to catch up to Tesla. The system is based on NVIDIA’s Ampere supercomputing architecture, which brings AI into the car, as well as Over-the-Air updates and Level 3 autonomous driving, including the ability to automate driving from address to address. The new software architecture will start making its way into Mercedes-Benz vehicles in 2024.
SKODA HIGHLIGHTS ITS ONLY TIME AT LE MANS
Skoda can trace its roots back to more than 120 years ago, but the automaker has only once competed in the 24 hours of Le Mans. And that was exactly 70 years ago today. In 1950 Skoda entered a modified version of its 1101 Sport with a shortened wheelbase and aluminum body. While the 50 horsepower car was able to make its way up to second place in its class for a time, a mechanical failure knocked it out of the race for good. And that is today’s history lesson.
On Autoline After Hours tomorrow our guest is Jim Owens, who heads up Marketing for Ford Performance. If you’ve got questions about the Ford GT, or the Mustang, or Raptor, and the ST and RS models, send them our way. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. What about the high performance version of the Mustang Mach E? We’ll get into that tomorrow when we go live at 3 pm eastern time. Mike Martinez from Automotive News will also be joining us, so join me and Gary for Autoline After Hours.
UNIQUE DONATION TO AUTOLINE
Before we go I have to give a special shout out to one of our viewers. Yesterday we just got a $100 bill in the mail with a Post-it note saying “Thanks for Autoline!” No signature, no return address, just $100. The envelope has four stamps including an old 4¢ stamp with the tagline “Wheels of Freedom.” It has the silhouette of a farm tractor, a passenger sedan and a semi truck all fitting into a graphic of a steering wheel. A quick online search shows that this stamp was issued in 1960. Then there’s a 5¢ stamp with the tagline “Stop traffic accidents.” It was issued in 1965. Next is a 12¢ stamp of Henry Ford with a Model T, which was issued in 1968. And then there’s a 29¢ stamp with the image of a Jeep being unloaded off a cargo ship which reads, “U.S. supports allies with Lend-Lease Act.” By the way, the stamps have a Post Office cancellation mark from Fargo, North Dakota. So thank you Fargo, whoever you are. We really value your support, and all of you out there who have donated to the Autoline cause.
Before we go, a programming note here. The Autoline crew is going to take a much needed break next week, and actually we’re going to start our vacation this Friday. And then we’ll resume our normal production on July 6.
And that wraps up today’s report. Thanks for watching.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
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Comments (41)
June 24th, 2020 at 12:04 pm
I love those stamps on the envelope for the donation you received. I kind of remember the Model T stamp from when it was introduced.
June 24th, 2020 at 12:10 pm
I was exposed to some of the early hype with the Segway, when inventor Dean Kamen introduced it at events I attended. It never saw the widespread use he envisioned. I rode an early one with twist grip steering.
June 24th, 2020 at 12:34 pm
NASCAR So each of the garage doors have loops tied into the ends of the ropes to be used as a handle and someone construed it to be a noose and a hate crime? SMH I guess it goes to show some folks can make anything racist. WOW
John; where is the marketing jargon on the Volkswagen Arteon headlights and how the light bar looks like a hockey stick conveying a rugged sporty image ready for winter. Seems to be as closely related to a hockey stick as the truck C-clamp lights and all that it conveys? “sarcasm”.
June 24th, 2020 at 12:34 pm
I hope the Autoline team has an enjoyable and well-deserved break!
June 24th, 2020 at 12:52 pm
Those stamps were definitely a cool way to show Autoline appreciate.
On Segway, I do recall reading that the companies owner, Jimi Heselden, ironically died falling off a cliff on one of his own scooters.
June 24th, 2020 at 12:56 pm
According to NASCAR pres. Steve Phelps, the pulls for the garage doors, except for #4, were straight ropes or small loops, and only #4 was configured to look like a noose. If that was the case, it was more of a coincidence than the Bronco intro being originally set for a certain date, if that was truly a coincidence. Of course, Phelps could be saying that to deflect his naïveté in thinking anything about the garage #4 pull.
June 24th, 2020 at 12:59 pm
I went on a guided tour of old Prague city on a Segway and loved the thing. The guide had said they were trying to ban them in the city because pedestrians couldn’t hear them coming and they were afraid of collisions happening. I’ve heard they have since banned them. Too bad, was a great way to cover a lot of distance quickly.
June 24th, 2020 at 12:59 pm
Auto line should have the stamps mounted and placed on the studio wall.
June 24th, 2020 at 1:16 pm
8, I’m with cwolf; mount that ‘puppy’ and display at the Autoline Set, either ‘Daily’ or AAH.
June 24th, 2020 at 1:23 pm
Enjoy your time-off, well deserved for the great show you create everyday. we will miss you.
June 24th, 2020 at 1:33 pm
Honda’s prod8ct cadence…which hasn’t seen cadence in decades. Must the last full redesigns before using GM shared EV platforms.
June 24th, 2020 at 1:39 pm
Hi John, I would love for you to ask Jim Owens tomorrow to comment on the crazy story yesterday about the solo driver who took a rental 2019 Mustang GT, added some fuel tanks, and drove from NYC to L.A. setting a new Cannonball record. He made it in 25 hours and 55 minutes with an average speed of 108. This dangerous stunt was never the less pretty impressive as he beat recent top German cars including a Mercedes AMG and Audi A7 which each had three man crews.
June 24th, 2020 at 2:10 pm
Wait, Rally around Wallace , who no one had done anything to. WTH kind of sense is that? Hey no one did anything to you ,but were sorry just in case. If anything he should make a public apology to his fellow drivers and their teams and even the NASCAR officials as his statement he made prior to the FACTS coming out was accusing one of them of a hate crime that never happened. How about enough of the victimhood BS and save it for those who actually deserve. it. Also I have hard damn time accepting that everyone who saw that didn’t recognize it for what it REALLY was a garage door pull. They have been on all those doors for apparently a year or more. Not one person said huh , that’s just the rope we use to pull down the door. This fiasco has given NASCAR a “black” eye it may not shake for a long time. 1sy accusing it’s fans of racism for flying a flag and then accusing it’s teams of a hate crime. Ridiculous.
June 24th, 2020 at 2:13 pm
Why can’t VW hire a coupe of new designers that can make their cars look like a contemporary design.
June 24th, 2020 at 2:13 pm
#6 That is carp from Phelps. There are pictures from last falls race that showed that loop there in stall 4 but also in the adjacent ones . Video I saw on youtube from that race (2019) showed most if not all having them . He’s trying to duck and cover from the $h!tstorm they started.
June 24th, 2020 at 2:18 pm
15. By “carp,” you mean it’s fishy? Yeah, could be.
June 24th, 2020 at 2:18 pm
I attended the big introduction of the Segway in New York City–I think it was in the GM board room. I was dumbfounded. Oh, it was going to be this huge success and change transportation forever. I got on it and said to my late husband, Jerry Flint, “This isn’t going to change a thing. A. It’s really, really boring to drive. B. People are going to fall off and crash into things.” But hey, they hung in for 21 years.
June 24th, 2020 at 2:25 pm
#8, #9: Great idea, it’s going on the wall.
#12: Thanks for the question, it’s on the list.
June 24th, 2020 at 2:39 pm
17 Early on, before introduction, it had the nickname “It.” At some point, it also had a nickname “Ginger.” All of this was when it was in Dean Kamen’s hands. Dean is a brilliant guy, but he sure overestimated the significance of the Segway.
June 24th, 2020 at 2:48 pm
@19 Was it nicknamed Ginger due to giving people a redhead after cracking their skull open?
June 24th, 2020 at 2:55 pm
I fully expect an aplogy from the nascar driver who sees racism where there is none.
I want to hear opps guess that wasnt a noose meant as a racist threat where there was none.
Im sure it will be a cold day in hell before anyone hears an apology.
June 24th, 2020 at 4:47 pm
20. From a 2015 “Wired” article:
“Dean Kamen, the self-balancing scooter’s inventor, nicknamed it “Ginger” after Fred Astaire’s musical partner Ginger Rogers. Kamen’s previous invention, a robotic wheelchair that could climb stairs was nicknamed Fred Upstairs.”
June 24th, 2020 at 4:59 pm
20,22. Here’s the article, mainly about why Segway failed, even though it mostly worked as advertised.
https://www.wired.com/2015/01/well-didnt-work-segway-technological-marvel-bad-doesnt-make-sense/
June 24th, 2020 at 5:42 pm
16 damn dyslexic fingers LOL
June 24th, 2020 at 5:59 pm
Will the Mercedes NVIDIA team use Magiceye for their software stack?
June 24th, 2020 at 7:47 pm
17 I remember Jerry Flint’s Op-eds and enjoyed every single one of them, and probably agreed with every one of them too. Surprisingly or not, I almost never agreed with any of your comments here in the past. You must have had some very animated discussions at home when he was around.
June 24th, 2020 at 7:55 pm
I should have let Debbie Downer tell you that markets were sharply down today, but I post this only for the two lame explanations I saw about it on the CNBC webpage.
None of the explanations said the market it taking a breather, or that it was profit taking, after 60 stellar days of mostly strongly higher markets.
No, the first reason they gave was they worry about the virus, which I would if I lived in South America or India, not in the US or Europe at this point.
The second reason was even more irrational (or was it?) They said senile old Joe Biden has a big deal in the polls and investors were worried. Worried about what? ALl these 3 years we have been hearing how terrible Trump’s tariffs have been for the economy. Senile Joe will 100% not continue in that direction. So what’s the fear? Markets should do even better under his econ literate, enlightened administration. Then again, he may appoint the 29 year old waitress Alexandria (as if she was a town, not a woman) Occasional Cortex as Sec of the Treasury.
The thing about the polls is doubly irrelevant. First, these are all NATION WIDE polls. As even a C student should know, Presidential Elections are decided STATE by STATE and their electoral votes.
Second and most important, this reminded me of a good old liberal Sat Night Live Sarcasm of these media idiots reporting on polls:
it went, “IF the elections was held today” (which is ALWAYS what they ask, of course) “I would be very surprised”.
June 24th, 2020 at 8:03 pm
13 & 21)
You got to be kidding either me but more likely yourself!
The guy found a noose and reported it. Better safe than sorry, especially if your black or a person of color. It is you who should apologize for being so biased and blind to the fact that races are not treated equally. I think the entire race team wouldn’t agree with your post. And if you were black, I bet you would have a very different attitude.
June 24th, 2020 at 8:14 pm
Larry, I don’t want to be blocked for calling you a blind idiot, yet, you are soooo out of touch with reality and your thoughts about the markets, why the react the way they do and foreseeing the future is nothing more than stupidity at its finest!
If you are a prof, how in the hell did you ever graduate ? I sure pity your students for having to junk everything you planted in their brains.
June 24th, 2020 at 8:44 pm
cwolf @27 if it had really been a noose then yes. But anyone who works in these garages as these guys do every week know the difference between them. It may surprise you , but have many blacks very upset about this being another Jussie Smollett. Crying wolf and making it harder for real cases to be believed. Now maybe Bubba didn’t start this but he is certainly running with it and still is. Even after the FBI findings is still pushing this crap. So I have to ask a question so was it only blacks were hung with nooses? Or is this like Black lives matter, they only matter when killed at the hands of police the majority of the time either committing a crime or resisting arrest from one. The lives of innocent black kids don’t seem to matter as much or at all , because they never protest about those. Example , last fall in NJ a 10 YO was shot and later died , because a gang banger shot him while trying to shoot a rival drug dealer. What did BLM say or do? CRICKETS.
June 24th, 2020 at 8:59 pm
Cwolf watch this youtube.com/watch?v=x53U1DH_cpw
June 24th, 2020 at 11:48 pm
29 If all of the door ropes looked alike, none of this would have happened, but they didn’t all look alike. It was apparently an unfortunate coincidence that Wallace was assigned to that garage, with a door pull done up differently than the others. The drivers seem to understand that.
June 25th, 2020 at 8:26 am
30 Black lives matter only if a white cop wrongly (or even not) kills a black suspect. There are maybe 5 or 10 of these a year, at best. Black lives do not matter one bit when rival gang members kill each other, all of them Afr American, in Chicago, or any of the other 19 cities run by incompetent and corrupt Dems. Chicago is one of the worst, and has extra imporance because, other than the two years Obama did as a Senator, before that he was a “community organizer” in that same Hell on Earth Chicago, and obviously he did not organize or improve diddly squat there. And if any white male had the same half page resume he had in 2008, he would never had been elected prez.
Black lives also do not matter one bit if they are the innocent lives of the fetuses that ‘black’ pregnant women choose (or are pressured into) aborting. If the Repubs had half an ounce of brains, they would make abortion the new slavery issue of the 21st century.
June 25th, 2020 at 8:33 am
26 Calling other commenters idiots when you are in no shape to make a DECENT and CONVINCING reply to the FACTS they present sure makes you 100% deserving to be kicked out of here, and I sure would not miss you one iota, but it also PROVES that you are THE POT calling the KETTLE black.
June 25th, 2020 at 8:36 am
34 PS I usually don’t bother to read, much less respond, to your posts, but in this case I thought you were commenting about my comment re the late and great Jerry Flint, who pummeled the incompetent Detroit not so Big 3 and their crappy (Mary Barra’s words, not mine) cars in almost every one of his contrarian op-eds.
June 25th, 2020 at 8:56 am
32 I saw one picture of the actual rope and it looked like a double knot to me. My storage unit does the same thing to all the garage doors. Tying a knot at the end of the pull cords. Most people take the loop place it through their lock so its off the ground and then lock up their unit. Helps in the winter when the ground freezes and thaws to prevent the rope from getting frozen into a block of ice. Plus it keeps the rope off the ground out of standing water and makes it easier to grab and pull the door down.
So do all the knots look alike? No some have been double knotted but that still doesn’t look anything like a noose. If you notice the media has been pretty reluctant to show the actual rope. Even a google search doesn’t bring up but one image. Seems they prefer to run with this false narrative than present the actual non-racial facts. But hey it brought all the drivers together for a show of support so something good came out of it. Its just a few extremists on both sides that want to perpetuate the hate when most people have no issue.
June 25th, 2020 at 8:58 am
33. You have your Rep talking points down pretty well, but you might be interesting in knowing that Miami, Jacksonville, San Diego, and other cities with Rep mayors have gang violence too. As far as Chicago, a few specific neighborhoods account for most of the violence, and most of Chicago is far from being a hell hole.
June 25th, 2020 at 9:02 am
36. I saw a couple videos, but not enough detail to see what the ropes’ terminations looked like. It’s time for this to just go away, I don’t have any garage doors with ropes. Most have openers, and the one that doesn’t is only 7 feet tall, so it doesn’t need a rope.
June 25th, 2020 at 11:04 am
38 Yeah wonder why an actual picture of the supposed noose hasn’t been on every media outlet.. Hint: cause it would take away from the outrage and support its getting. I’m with you though as its probably best that this story just go away without any real substance behind it.
June 25th, 2020 at 2:49 pm
OK, I’ll comment on the Kia minivan. From a distance it looks pretty good. It does have more of a SUV look to it. But when I get an up close look there are styling points I do not care for. First is the grill, that is a mess. Second the rear most window, really would prefer that it was as tall in height as the other side windows. It looks off being several inches shorter. Lastly don’t care at all for the silver trim piece between the second row window and the rear window. Should be blacked out like the other trim pieces.
July 6th, 2020 at 5:37 pm
Can anyone explain to the VW board why its still investing in a Saloon (passat) and more expensive version(the Arteon) when nobody (not even VW buyers) think its a premium brand and saloons are not selling (unless you’re Mercedes/BMW) or making dull-safe cars to sell to the dull-safe car buyers (accord). They cannot sell on reliability/performance (bar the GTI Golf)/diesel (don’t mention it)/tech or great design (from the same design team that brought you the Jetta/Tiguan/Toureg). Even the new ID3 VW is safex10.