AD #2883 – Average Vehicle Age Hits New High; Cadillac Trademarking More “IQ” Names; Battery Recycling More Important
July 28th, 2020 at 11:29am
Listen to “AD #2883 – Average Vehicle Age Hits New High; Cadillac Trademarking More "IQ" Names; Battery Recycling More Important” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 8:30
0:07 Most Automakers Expect Grim Q2 Results
1:00 Korean Households Hit Two Vehicle Average
1:41 JLR Hires Former Renault CEO as Its New Leader
2:01 Average Vehicle Age in the U.S. Hits New High
3:35 Cadillac Files Trademark for More “IQ” Names
4:13 U.S. Dealers Claim Mercedes is Slashing Its Lineup
5:00 Mercedes Teases New Small Van
6:01 Battery Recycling Becoming More Important
6:55 GM Back Tracks on Shift Cut
7:35 What Do You Think of This Bumper “Repair”?
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MOST AUTOMAKERS EXPECT GRIM Q2 RESULTS
Automakers are reporting their second quarter earnings this week and the numbers are going to be grim. In Japan, Nissan announced it expects to lose $4.5 billion. Mitsubishi announced that it’s mostly abandoning the European market and will lose $1.3 billion this fiscal year. In the U.S., GM, Ford and FCA will probably announce losses that collectively top $10 billion. But in Europe, PSA just reported that it made a net profit of nearly $700 million for the first half of the year. Carlos Tavares, the CEO of PSA, says they’re seeing especially strong sales of the new Peugeot 208 and the Opel Corsa. Tavares is seen as an exceptional executive in the industry, and these results are going to make him look better still.
KOREAN HOUSEHOLDS HIT TWO VEHICLE AVERAGE
Now let’s jump over to South Korea, where car sales set a record in June, partly because taxes on cars were about to go up. But an analysis by LMC Automotive says Korea has entered an era of two-car households. And it says that’s because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Many Koreans are buying cars instead of using public transportation. LMC says Koreans actually see cars as a form of PPE. Unlike many other countries, South Koreans wholeheartedly embraced virus safety protocols. As a result its auto industry never shut down and is now recovering faster than anywhere else.
JLR HIRES FORMER RENAULT CEO AS NEW LEADER
Jaguar Land Rover has a new leader. It hired former Renault CEO Thierry Bollore as its new Chief Executive Officer. He will take over starting September 10th. Bollore replaces Ralf Speth, who earlier this year announced he was retiring from the company once his contract ran out in September.
AVERAGE VEHICLE AGE HIT NEW HIGH
Cars in the U.S. keep getting older. According to a new study from IHS Markit, the average age of light vehicles in operation in the U.S. is now 11.9 years, about one month older than in 2019. Several factors have contributed to the increase. Even though the number of vehicles being scrapped is up and would lead to a drop in age, sales of new vehicles have plateaued. So with new cars accounting for a smaller share of the overall vehicle population, it’s not causing the average age to decline. The pandemic is also causing owners to hang on to their vehicles. In the coming years, this could increase the average age of cars, by as much as six months. But even though vehicles keep getting older, the U.S. vehicle population this year is estimated to hit 280 million vehicles, up 1% from 2019. IHS says this scenario could represent a big opportunity for the aftermarket and vehicle service centers.
CADILLAC FILES TRADEMARK FOR NEW “IQ” NAMES
Cadillac filed a trademark for two more names that end in “iq,” which is pronounced “ick.” We’ve reported on the Lyriq SUV and Celestiq, a hand-built sedan, and now it’s going after the names Optiq and Symboliq. Here’s our Autoline Insight. Cadillac could have easily gone into the archives for names like Eldorado or Brougham, but clearly wants to go in a new direction. And it’s really hard to trademark a new name. About every natural land mass, mountain, lake and river in Europe has already been used as a car name. So, coming up with something that isn’t already taken is really hard.
U.S. DEALERS SAY MERCEDES IS SLASHING ITS LINEUP
According to Mercedes’ U.S. dealers, the automaker isn’t just taking an axe to its lineup, it’s packing it full of dynamite. They claim Mercedes will get rid of seven models, none of which have a next-generation model in the works. Those include the 2-door versions of the C-, E- and S-Class as well as the CLS and one GT model. Yes, we know. That’s only five. The others are not clear yet, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see a fastback SUV model or two go away. It’s not surprising to see the coupes on the chopping block. Passenger car sales are down, but 2-door models are even worse off. It’s better for Mercedes to take the money it would have spent developing the new models and pump it into areas like electrification and autonomy.
MERCEDES TEASES NEW SMALL VAN
Speaking of Mercedes, it teased a new small van, called the T-Class. This is the only picture, so we’ll keep this short. It will be offered with a number of propulsion systems, including full electric. Mercedes already sells the small Citan van, which will continue to be geared toward commercial customers, while the T-Class will focus families. The T-Class is expected to be out in the first half of 2022.
Are you interested in learning more about the new Ford Broncos? We have a terrific Autoline After Hours coming up Thursday afternoon when our guest will be Paul Wraith, the head of design for the Broncos. How and why did they choose the styling direction they took? Join John and Gary for a front row seat on how it all came together.
BATTERY RECYCLING BECOMING MORE IMPORTANT
Ward’s Intelligence cites a battery recycling company that predicts 2024 will be the tipping point when global demand for lithium, cobalt and nickel will outstrip the capacity to mine them. Li-cycle is a Canadian recycling company that says battery recycling will become critically important. It says there will be 15 million tons of waste lithium batteries by 2030. Li-cycle claims it can recycle almost 95% of the materials in a lithium battery, compared to 50% for current processes. Importantly, it does not have to discharge the batteries or manually disassemble them, which drastically cuts the cost of recycling. It also predicts few EV batteries will be repurposed because the price of new batteries will come down so much that people will want new ones instead of using old ones.
GM WALKS BACK ON SHIFT CUT
Two weeks ago, GM announced it was cutting the third shift at its Wentzville, Missouri plant, because of high absenteeism due to worker fears over catching COVID. But now the company is back tracking on that plan and will keep the third shift operating by transferring workers from other plants to fill vacancies. GM didn’t disclose how many workers it will transfer to Wentzville. Here’s our Autoline Insight. GM desperately needs that plant open. It makes the Chevy Express and GMC Savana vans but it also builds the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups. GM needs its pickup plants up and running because that’s where it makes money.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS BUMPER “REPAIR”?
We’ve all seen a vehicle with a bumper that was “repaired” in a less-than-professional manner. Very un-MacGyver-like. But I saw this yesterday and thought it was super clever. It’s just like those folders that are held closed with a string. So, what do you think? And please share any similar fun stories that you might have. I’ll also add this one, just because I like it so much. This owner with a hole in their bumper stuffed it full of pretty flowers. Well, at least they were once pretty.
But that’s a wrap for this show. Thanks for joining us and we hope to see you again tomorrow.
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Comments (40)
July 28th, 2020 at 12:04 pm
That repair was really inventive. Sure beats the constant use of Duct Tape.
July 28th, 2020 at 12:07 pm
I’ve done a ‘Frankenstein’ stitch with string trimmer line to fix a wheel barrow so I still have that card up my sleeve for auto plastic repair (if needed).
July 28th, 2020 at 12:14 pm
I guess, I can understand Cadillac wanting to shed its old image and dumping the historical names that have long been a staple of Cadillac. Trying to re-invent itself will be tough tho. If everything with the new naming is an EV or at least a hybrid it might help. Time will tell.
On the bumper repair; Ive seen worse. What I will never understand is creating more damage with a temp fix.. What might have just been a bumper repair, now includes the fender.
July 28th, 2020 at 12:59 pm
Cadillac doesn’t have a naming problem. It has a staying committed to a name problem. In fact, all of GM has a problem with committing to a name in the long term. They are definitely not afraid to throw the baby out with the bathwater at GM.
July 28th, 2020 at 1:11 pm
It looks like Mercedes are dropping those models completely, not just in the U.S. market. That makes sense, for cars that don’t sell well anywhere in the world, like the two door S-Class. I wonder if there will be a next generation C- and E-Class convertible. They might just keep making the old ones for a while longer.
July 28th, 2020 at 1:12 pm
The web image is of a car with a bumper held on by the largest bandaid I’d ever seen.
July 28th, 2020 at 1:17 pm
iq ending names work ok for Hyundai’s Prius competitor, but why does Cadillac want to copy that? I don’t get it. I was just getting used to the semi-logical CT* and XT** names, which are as logical as what other “premium” brands use, but now, they want to copy the names of cheap Hyundais. I hope they will at least get rid of those really stupid inflated numbers, like 450 for a two liter turbo 4.
July 28th, 2020 at 1:28 pm
@4, Yep, just pick a naming scenario and keep it (at least for a while); you know the old quotation: a rose by any other name would smell as sweet (but something that would be sweet should at least reflect in a somewhat connected way some continuity). Recognition by “iq” is one thing, but recognition by being ‘grand’ is another: man, look at that ride, what is it? It’s a Fleetwood; now that’s how you want recognition.
July 28th, 2020 at 1:40 pm
My local Mercedes dealer told me that the 2020 SLC was the last one ever. He said that the cars were too “inexpensive” to justify the low volume. As far as bumpers go, it’s the crazy prices for replacement plastic bumper covers that leads to the creativity. The ones you showed are at least more attractive than the wooden bumper a lot of people put on their pickup trucks when I was a kid.
July 28th, 2020 at 2:07 pm
Vehicles getting older is at least two fold. One is they last longer if maintained and they cost too damn much to keep replacing with new ones. The average new vehicle price is what now $30-32K ? Not everybody can or is willing to be in debt forever. My truck is 22 years old and my daily is 10 and that is pretty new for me. It seems I buy most of mine when they are years old or more.
July 28th, 2020 at 2:09 pm
I read Mercedes is dumping all coupes and convertibles from the line up.
July 28th, 2020 at 2:46 pm
11. Will they drop even the SL?. If so, they must be in serious trouble, to drop such an important part of their legacy.
https://www.mbusa.com/en/vehicles/class/sl/roadster
July 28th, 2020 at 2:59 pm
Average Vehicle Age in U.S. Hits New High? wouldn’t have anything to do with new vehicles being outrageously expensive would it???????!!
July 28th, 2020 at 4:09 pm
I am not looking forward to the day I will need to buy a new vehicle.
For me, too many gadgets and safety devices that most don’t want or don’t know how to use. Tires have become too large or low profile. And the trend is either to over HP or under HP rather than to focus on mileage.
Plus many seat seem narrow and hard, unlike the larger sedans comfortable seats of earlier models.
July 28th, 2020 at 4:09 pm
I am not looking forward to the day I will need to buy a new vehicle.
For me, too many gadgets and safety devices that most don’t want or don’t know how to use. Tires have become too large or low profile. And the trend is either to over HP or under HP rather than to focus on mileage.
Plus many seat seem narrow and hard, unlike the larger sedans comfortable seats of earlier models.
July 28th, 2020 at 4:16 pm
@3 I agree on the names. It reminds me of when Alan Mullaly joined Ford and let it be known how dumb it was to walk away from the Taurus name given its name recognition (replaced by Five Hundred). As he put it, the Taurus name was thrown away because it didn’t fit into marketing scheme of having all the car names start with the letter “F”.
July 28th, 2020 at 4:31 pm
16. Cadillac wouldn’t want to revive the name Cimarron.
It seems that there haven’t been recent cars where the old Cadillac names would “fit.” Using the Eldorado name for a CUV would be about like Ford’s using the Mustang name for a mildly lifted electric 4 door hatchback. Wait, they are doing that.
July 28th, 2020 at 4:33 pm
I think one name Cadillac should seriously think about bringing back is Fleetwood. I’d use it on a higher trim level package across the fleet, similar to the way GMC uses Denali. It seems to have quite a take rate there.
As for the bumper repair, if it looks stupid, but it works, it ain’t stupid!
July 28th, 2020 at 4:42 pm
14. My Camry LE hybrid has 205/65R16 tires. I think it is the only Camry, other than the very bottom trim Camry L, that has wheels smaller than 17 inch, with 55 series tires.
At some point, maybe the big wheel/low profile tire thing will blow over, but for now, people like that look, never mind the extra road noise, worse ride, and extra susceptibility to damage that comes with big wheels and low profile tires.
July 28th, 2020 at 4:45 pm
18. Yeah, Fleetwood would work as a higher, especially “luxury” oriented trim level.
July 28th, 2020 at 5:22 pm
My daily driver is 14. And I’ve got a 27yr old I intend on one day restoring. The wife drives a new vehicle, but it’s leased.
July 28th, 2020 at 5:25 pm
@19. Sorry Kit, but for me personally, “that big wheel/low profile tire thing” will blow over the day I start wearing skinny pants and a man bun.
Let me give you a slight clue….NEVER.
July 28th, 2020 at 5:26 pm
July 28th, 2020 at 5:45 pm
I bought my Lincoln at years end with my in-laws discount so selection was slim for what I wanted. It has 245/40/19′s and I regret having them. You have to worry about rim damage and the A/S tires don’t last as long as I’m used to.
By the second winter, tread depth/traction becomes a concern. And there aren’t many choices in this size. But I must say, they don’t sound noisy and the ride is rather good… much to my surprise.
July 28th, 2020 at 5:48 pm
12 I doubt Merc has a reason to drop the SL, which is a very popular vehicle for something in its lofty price level. I had a close friend who was an A+ Med School grad back in the 90s and was one of the few women who really knew their cars, it was a delight to talk to her, and the SL was her 100% target car she would buy once she finished her residence, paid her $6,000 CC debt and started working at a starting salary (back in 96) of $205k a year. (multiply it by 2 for today’s rates)
In my case I always liked the much bigger S class COUPE, which was always a very elegant design AND the true flagship of even the S class, much more expensive than the top S class model back then, but I will not mind if they cancel it. There are plenty of used copies around from several generations, and canceling it will make them even more valuable and retain their value.
But the regular S class is even bigger, esp in the back, has a much longer wheelbase, and should be an even better highway cruiser, for LESS $.
On the contrary, I was never too hot about any of the BMW 7 series coupes, whether they are 6 and based on the 5 series or 8 and based on the 7. And today they are really obsolete at 25 years old or so. Despite that many like them just because of the styling, which is no big deal to me.
PS I saw yet another Model 3 in my condo complex, must be the 5th or so parked here, and I had a good look, it looked great in its dark blue paint, AND, as all other Tesla’s I have ever inspected up close, its paintjob AND its fit and finish were (yes they were!) IMMACULATE.
July 28th, 2020 at 5:51 pm
There was a fatass BMW X7 large crossover in front of me at the light this morning, and it looked really weird. It did NOT look like an SUV but more like a VAn from the back, but a Van whose sides tapered like a pyramid and the top was far more narrow.
Did not like it one bit, even tho Doug de Muro’s video called it the best SUV of them all. (which is like saying a woman won a beauty contest in which only obese 75 year old mothers-in-law took part)
July 28th, 2020 at 5:54 pm
22. Skinny jeans are making a come back, but not bell bottoms. That’s a couple years away.
As far as the big wheel, low profile tire fad, at some point, more people will start caring about extra noise, worse ride, and broken wheels. Yeah, that may not happen any time soon.
July 28th, 2020 at 6:05 pm
25. I thought the 90s BMW 8 series was kind of cool, because of a powertrain they offered, a V12 with a manual transmission. Compared to today’s cars, it didn’t do much, performance-wise. The V12 made barely more power than some of today’s turbo fours, ~350 hp as I remember, and the car had EPA mileage ratings of 11 city, 19 highway, not too good.
July 28th, 2020 at 6:07 pm
25. Is there electric car charging available at your condo complex, or do people have to always charge them away from “home”?
July 28th, 2020 at 6:34 pm
24 It sounds like they did a good job with suspension tuning and noise isolation on your car. Does it have magneride? I don’t know if it was available on your car.
July 29th, 2020 at 8:22 am
22 I like the larger wheels with a reasonable low profile but I have seen some cars that look like a rim wrapped with a rubber band. It defiantly has to have adequate sidewall to prevent rim damage. Which in the Midwest is a bit difficult sometimes. I especially like seeing the larger wheels tucked into the older 60s and 70s muscle cars. That’s a good look.
July 29th, 2020 at 8:57 am
I like the looks of these wheels with 205/55r16 tires on my van, but the ride and quietness was much better with the 195/75r14s that came on it. This van, with leaf rear springs, has very crude suspension compared with today’s vehicles.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kitgerhart/50166128991/in/dateposted-public/
I have these wheels on the van, because the 14s wouldn’t clear the replacement brake calipers I recently installed. With the limited use the van gets, the noise is not much of an issue. I had the 16 inch wheels and tires which had been on another car, and conveniently, they fit the van.
July 29th, 2020 at 10:15 am
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2020/07/the-first-step-is-admitting-you-have-a-problem/
“Harsh reality from Tim Kuniskis today:
You know who always asks me about manual transmissions: journalists.
You know who never does: customers”
July 29th, 2020 at 10:24 am
29 All 360 units in my complex have a one-car attached garage with plenty of plugs. There are no charging stations in the complex. The place is a large piece of landscaped land with artificial lakes, swans (natural ones) and all kinds of other wildlife, and all units are only 2 stories high, with common side walls with other units, or one common wall if you have an end unit (those are not good in the winter, while the middle ones like mine can be left with the heat off during the day and the pipes do not freeze and the temp never goes below 50 F while I am out.
There must be over 500 cars in the complex, we are allowed to have up to 2 per unit on the grounds, must be about 5-7 Teslas, about 5 Mercs, more than a dozen priuses and 20+ Subarus, along with the usual Hondas and many other Toyotas. Also some domestics, due to our proximity to Detroit, including a yellow corvette C7 and some fat short sumbcompact Chevy and Buick ‘crossovers’. Many cars are in the garages though so there could be rare ones garaged.
July 29th, 2020 at 10:40 am
@27 I think you thought I said “bell bottoms”. I actually said “man bun”. Can’t stand those things. You know, when a guys hair is tied into a little pig-tail at the crown of his head.?.
Anyway, my full-sized sedan rides on stock 245/45/18. The profile is slender enough to give me a pseudo low-profile look. Unlike the 225/55/16 that were stock on my coupe. I don’t care how comfortable the ride may have been, those are freaking innertubes! When I restore it, I will definitely be going with 19″ semi-low profiles.
July 29th, 2020 at 10:43 am
34. My complex has one detached garage per unit in “row” buildings.” There is an outlet per garage, but with 5-6 garages per 20 amp breaker on “community” meters. The rules specifically say that the power is only for lights and a door opener, but no refrigerators or freezers. I don’t know if they’ve added car charging in the rules, but if you tried to charge a car, the breaker would probably trip the first time someone ran their door opener. Unfortunately, the local utility won’t install individual service in these garages, even if a customer would pay for wiring, etc.
There is a mix of cars, including a lot of Kia and Hyundai small crossovers, but no Teslas. There are 2 or 3 Corvettes, including mine, that are usually kept in the garages.
July 29th, 2020 at 10:59 am
35. I didn’t think you said bell bottoms. I just mentioned that as something that was once fashionable, but not for many years.
To me, ~55-60 series tires on appropriate size wheels for the size of the car are what make sense for normal, non-sports cars and CUVs, like are now on my van shown in the link on #32.
34. Thanks for the info. My condo has “row” garages on community power, with one 20 amp breaker for 5-6 garages, which could not be used for car charging. Unfortunately, the local utility won’t install individual power in the garages, even if the customer would pay for the work.
July 29th, 2020 at 11:01 am
35) I used to be all in on low profile tires. The newer cars are well designed to give good ride quality with the low profile tires.
Over the years though I realized I lived in Michigan and just didn’t want to deal with replacing rims and tires constantly. So, now I rock the innertubes LOL
July 29th, 2020 at 11:08 am
37. In the late 1950′s, even big cars, like my 1957 Chrysler, used 14 inch wheels and tall tires for better ride with the low tech, leaf spring rear suspension of the time. Of course, at the time, people were fine with the appearance of the 14 inch wheels with stainless steel wheel covers and wide whitewalls.
July 29th, 2020 at 11:19 am
33. Yeah, everyone is dropping manuals, because no one buys them. In reality, they were dropped years ago, but not “officially.” I recently checked the inventory of a large Honda dealer in Indianapolis, and they had ZERO manual transmission Accords. If you can’t buy one, or even test drive one, the take rate is going to be about zero, even if the web site says the manual is available.