AD # 2886 – Alfa Romeo Stelvio Review; Ford & FCA Earnings Better Than Expected; Cadillac Lyriq Debuts Next Week
July 31st, 2020 at 12:11pm
Listen to “AD # 2886 – Alfa Romeo Stelvio Review; Ford and FCA Earnings Better Than Expected; Cadillac Lyriq Debuts Next Week” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 12:11
0:07 Ford & FCA Q2 Earnings Better Than Expected
1:41 Greg Kelly To Stand Trial in September
2:06 Honda Asks Office Workers to Help Build Cars
3:26 Cadillac Lyriq Debuts Next Week
3:58 Mahle Develops New A/C Condenser for EVs
4:34 Acura Taking New TLX To Pikes Peak
5:32 GM Producing New Versions of Old Engines
6:11 Jeep Offering Lift Kit for Diesel Wrangler & Gladiator
6:52 VW Considers Small Pickup
8:50 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio Impressions
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FORD & FCA Q2 EARNINGS BETTER THAN EXPECTED
Ford and FCA reported their second quarter earnings and never in the history of those companies have bad numbers looked so good. Let’s start with Ford. While analysts were braced for a big loss, it actually posted a profit of $1.1 billion. But that included a $3.5 billion gain on its investment in Argo AI, the company developing autonomous technology. Take that out and Ford actually lost almost $2 billion in adjusted EBIT. Even so, that’s about $3 billion better than expected. Even more impressively, it paid down over $7.7 billion in debt, and ended the quarter with $39 billion in cash on hand, which is a lot. That doesn’t mean Ford is out of the woods. Even though it cut costs by 43%, its revenue fell more than 53%. So it needs to figure out how to cut costs even faster.
Let’s move over to FCA, which also posted bad numbers that were better than analysts expected. Sales were down 63% and revenue fell 56%, yet FCA posted a net loss of just over a billion euros. That’s a much smaller loss than expected because FCA was able to get higher prices for the vehicles it sold and it cut selling and administrative costs. FCA also says it expects to finalize its merger with PSA in the first quarter next year.
GREG KELLY TO STAND TRIAL IN SEPTEMBER
Carlos Ghosn’s right hand man, Greg Kelly, will stand trial in Japan starting September 15th. He was arrested alongside Ghosn by Japanese authorities in 2018 and is charged with helping Ghosn under-report his income at Nissan. Kelly denies any wrongdoing. The trial was supposed to start in April but was pushed back due to the pandemic.
HONDA ASKS OFFICE WORKERS TO HELP BUILD CARS
Earlier this week, GM announced it’s transferring workers from other plants to its Wentzville, Missouri facility, so it can keep it running on three shifts. Honda is also facing worker shortages at its Marysville, Ohio plant due to COVID and because it sent workers to help out suppliers with shortages as well. But instead of transferring workers from other plants, it’s asking office employees to help out on the assembly line. Honda says it’s had a hard time recruiting new factory workers, so it’s asking its accounting, purchasing and R&D workers to temporarily fill-in. It’s not known exactly what they’ll be doing on the factory floor, but it shows how desperate automakers are to keep production lines rolling during this crisis.
CADILLAC LYRIQ DEBUTS NEXT WEEK
Cadillac released a new teaser image of its first all-electric model, the Lyriq. It’s a shot of the charging port located behind the driver’s side front wheel fender. But more importantly, the company announced the electric crossover will make its debut next Thursday, August 6th in an online reveal on Cadillac’s media site. The Lyriq is built on GM’s new EV architecture and is powered by its new Ultium batteries but that’s about all we know for now, so we can’t wait to learn more next week.
MAHLE DEVELOPS NEW A/C CONDENSER FOR EVs
The supplier MAHLE developed a new A/C condenser for hybrid and electric vehicles that it says offers significantly higher power density compared to its current unit. Not only can it provide sufficient cooling for the cabin, the new condenser keeps the battery at its optimal temperature during fast charging, which helps protect the battery from damage. MAHLE also says it’s lighter, less likely to corrode, requires less refrigerant and doesn’t need any extra installation space. It hopes the new condenser will make EVs more suitable for everyday use.
ACURA TAKING NEW TLX TO PIKES PEAK
Acura is taking the all-new TLX racing for the first time and it’s doing it up Pikes Peak. The two cars feature a race-tuned 2.0L engine with a larger turbo and intercooler, Brembo front calipers and rotors from the Type S and a more aggressive suspension setup. But one of the cars will have an even higher-output tune for the engine than the other and an even more aggressive suspension setup. Acura will also have a prototype version of the TLX Type S at the race, which kicks off on August 30th. It will be used as a pace car, but with a 3.0L turbocharged V6 that makes 355 horsepower and nearly the same amount of torque, the Type S will be a lot of fun to put through its paces on the hill climb. The new TLX hits dealerships this fall, with the Type S to follow in the spring of 2021.
GM PRODUCING NEW VERSIONS OF OLD ENGINES
GM is now making new versions of old engines. It’s producing all-new 350 cubic-inch small-block engines that are available in three applications, which will fit trucks, vans and SUVs from 1987 until 2002. The cylinder block and heads are brand new, not remanufactured. The engines also come with a forged steel crankshaft and new valve covers, oil pan and timing cover as well as a 3-year/100,000 mile limited warranty. The new GM Genuine Parts 350 engine can be ordered from the dealer.
JEEP OFFERING LIFT KIT FOR DIESEL WRANGLER & GLADIATOR
Owners of Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators with the diesel engine, now have a specially tuned lift kit available to them. It includes FOX shocks, springs, longer lower control arms, swaybar links and heavy-duty bushings, which will provide a 2-inch lift. The Wrangler kit is available now, while the Gladiator kit comes later in the summer. Price is $1,500.
VW CONSIDERS SMALL PICKUP
The pickup segment in the U.S. is a tough market to break into. But does electrification offer an opportunity for an automaker, like Volkswagen, to jump into it? On Autoline This Week, Scott Keogh, the CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, had this to say when asked that question.
Scott Keogh, CEO, Volkswagen Group of America
“For us to go into the teeth of a brutally competitive segment and say ‘Here comes Volkswagen,’ frankly isn’t going to work. There’s a reason the C-pickup segment is 80% domestic. They do a good job there, they’ve got it covered and I don’t know if we can differentiate it. So frankly the question is ‘where can we differentiate in order to attack this market opportunity?’ To me there’s two places. Either we pursue it a little bit smaller and we come in with a Volkswagen style, good packaging, great fuel economy, great enthusiasm. And come in with more of an A-size type of vehicle. I think you see Ford’s discussing this, Hyundai’s obviously doing one as well. It’s something worth looking at. Or we do it with electrification. So these are things we have these possibilities but for me I’m always a bigger fan of fulfilling the segments that we’re in. I think we have a lot more room to grow in the current SUV segments we have. We have a lot of room to grow with the ID.4 before we go out and enter new areas. The two we’re looking at actively, is either go smaller and make a difference, real fuel economy fun. And if you look at what Volkswagen did with the Rabbit/Golf, with the Jetta, those segments really drained. They got significantly smaller. Could we bring that back to life with a pickup lifestyle vehicle? I think we could and we’ll look at those two opportunities. But it makes no sense to go into the big C-area. As you mentioned it’s tough for Nissan, it’s tough for Toyota and granted the domestics what they have, they have that covered and we won’t have a good point of view in there to make a difference. We want to make a difference if we come in with a car.”
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ALFA ROMEO STELVIO QUADRIFOGLIO IMPRESSIONS
We just had an Alfa Romeo Stelvio in the Autoline Garage and it brightened up our week considerably. Better still, it was the Quadrifoglio all-wheel-drive, which represents the performance pinnacle of this model. If this was the world of fashion, the Stelvio would be considered a supermodel. You can spot one a mile away and you just can’t take your eyes off it. The Stelvio is just one of the most handsomely styled crossovers in the market. The overall shape is compact, almost pudgy, but beautifully flowing lines mix well with mechanical details like the big, bright yellow brake calipers that instantly catch your eye and hold it.
Inside, the Quadrifoglio is another visual treat. Sliding into the well bolstered driver’s seat is like putting on a tightly tailored Italian suit. The materials were exquisitely selected and the stitching conveys a feeling of hand craftsmanship. The instrumentation binnacle and center console look precise and purposeful. There is a colorful contrast between the black upper instrument panel and the bright red lower half. And it’s all accented with glossy carbon fiber pieces.
But the Quadrifoglio is more than just a pretty face. Under the hood the 2.9 liter twin turbo V6 cranks out an impressive 505 horsepower. Motor Trend says it will go from 0 to 60 in only 3.3 seconds. And while we didn’t do any instrumented runs, we believe it!
Even more impressive is the stopping power. The Brembo front calipers have 6 pistons. The brake rotors are giant: 15.4 inch in front and 14.2 in the rear. And the rotors are carbon ceramic. If you’ve never experienced ceramic rotors before, make sure you get a chance to do so before you die. They are unlike anything you’ve experienced before.
OK, now for the damage. Our Quadrifoglio was priced at almost $94,400, almost $14,000 above the base price. And the ceramic rotors alone added $8,000 to the price list.
So here’s our bottom line. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio is a beautiful machine with blinding performance. But sales have never measured up to the promise it offers. Fewer than 10,000 were sold in the U.S. market last year. And that means so far, Alfa Romeo has failed to crack the code on how to get high end customers to put it on their shopping list.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and have a great weekend.
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Comments (29)
July 31st, 2020 at 12:29 pm
Alfa dealers will fail unless the owners just keep funneling money to a pit, they will never make it those days are gone
July 31st, 2020 at 12:40 pm
VW could easily enter the US truck market with something none of them are offering which is the small pick-up. Not the overgrown midsize but something along the lines between a Subaru Brat and Chevy S10. IMO.
Sean it would be really nice if when you show these vehicles like the Alpha Romeo that you park it next to something well known. The dimensions and size of the vehicle is hard to tell. To me it looked like the size of the Dodge Caliber but they call it a SUV so I assume its larger.
Alpha will struggle with sales as I still don’t think people are willing to drop 100K on a small SUV that although it has decent performance and power is still small and not a sportscar. This mishmash of CUV sportscar still seems to be a tough sell.
July 31st, 2020 at 12:41 pm
Alfa is a maintenance nightmare it looks good but runs awful!
July 31st, 2020 at 12:47 pm
It’s cool the GM is manufacturing new small block engines. This will ensure a good supply for years to come for those building custom vehicles. Unfortunately, Ford is unlikely to do the same with the 302/251 small blocks. The “Modular Mafia” made sure the tooling was scrapped so we would be stuck with the 4.6L/5.4 since *everyone* knows you can’t meet emissions with pushrods.
July 31st, 2020 at 12:48 pm
no workers? prior to covid many OEMs and some of their suppliers would use contingent or temp workers to fill gaps…for upto 2 years some even 3. No benefits less pay, limited options for time away. few make it the full time without walking away. now they are finding worker shortage against a virus?
July 31st, 2020 at 12:48 pm
@4 Sorry—typo. Make that 302/351 small blocks.
July 31st, 2020 at 1:28 pm
Not the subject of today, but many, many people praise Ford for not taking the Government loans that saved GM and Chrysler. Well, not so fast Yogi Bear, check this one out: https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2020/07/29/ford-government-loan-department-energy-debt/5526413002/
And they are still paying it off! Chrysler paid off early.
Why the political ad from Larry D. yesterday? Should result in a forum ban. It’s being shown many times on local Detroit TV, so rather redundant to put into an auto forum. Don’t these posts get checked before allowing them? Sean, John?
July 31st, 2020 at 1:37 pm
6 I would bet many folks would like to see the old 289 being made too. Had one in a 68 Mustang. What a great engine. I believe that’s also what they used in the Sunbean Tigers.
July 31st, 2020 at 2:57 pm
How long has VW considered a small pickup? When was it they showed a prototype? 2006 maybe? When will they build? Probably never. It is a tough market with enviable loyalty.
July 31st, 2020 at 3:08 pm
2. The Stelvio is about the same size as a BMW X3 and Honda CRV. It’s within 3 inches of those in length, within two inches in width, and within an inch in height.
As others have said, if VW wants to get into the pickup business, make a small one. They’d have zero competition. I’d think even a front driver, a modern version of the Rabbit/A1 Golf pickup would sell, but something more like an old Ranger or S-10 might do even better.
July 31st, 2020 at 3:12 pm
I’m surprised alfa sold 10,000 of those. Would love vw to do a small pickup of some sort.
July 31st, 2020 at 3:19 pm
6,8. Yep, Ford should make 289/351 Windsor crate engines. Ford street rods would be a lot more “in character” with those, than with the Chevy engines most of them have now.
4. I’d heard that the tooling was also scrapped for the Mopar “B Block” 361, 383, 413, 426, 440, etc. engines, but they sell B block crate engines, so that may not be true.
July 31st, 2020 at 3:34 pm
11. Most Stelvios are a lot less expensive than the one Sean drove, and have a 2.0 liter turbo four. The base price is ~$42K. Also, according to a couple articles I’ve seen, and CR’s survey results, the reliability of Stelvio may not be as terrible as rumored, at least for the more basic versions.
July 31st, 2020 at 3:36 pm
@7 The Ford loan was no secret. Most consider the loans for more efficient vehicles distinct from the bailout that GM and Chrysler took. I believe Ford used a big chunk of that loan to convert the Michigan Truck Plant (Expedition/Navigator) into the Michigan Assembly Plant (making Focus and C-Max vehicles). And now that plant has been converted back to Ranger and Bronco production, so apparently that investment by our government didn’t work out too well in the long run.
July 31st, 2020 at 4:50 pm
I, too, wish VW would make a small P/U the size of the S-10 or old Ranger. But Honda has a really nice one and probably more practical for most users, yet sales numbers are small. Ford had a 4 dr., small bed truck called the Sporttrack that seemed fitting for me, as well.
The 289 was a good engine and would be perfect for a lot of smaller cars. I have fond memories of the Comit with a 289 and a reverberatory. The Four Tops sounded great! That was the stereo back then.
July 31st, 2020 at 7:12 pm
15. The Ridgeline is a good truck, for what most people actually use pickups for, but doesn’t appeal to typical pickup buyers. Also, it is kind of pricey, ~$34K for the cheapest version. I know someone who had a Sportrack. It was based on the then-current Explorer. It had a very short bed, but was probably comfortable for rear seat passengers, for a “smaller” pickup
The people I know who constantly have their eyes open looking for a nice S-10 or Ranger, including a “handyman” who did some plumbing for me a few years ago, want a basic, small, regular cab, or at most, extended cab truck. Maybe they wouldn’t buy new, even if someone sold a basic, small truck like that, but I’d think there’d be a market for them new, at small car prices, as S-10s and Rangers sold for in the mid ’90s.
August 1st, 2020 at 8:23 am
7
Thanks for clearing the air, because many people have been mislead about this subject. I always thought it was hypocritical for Ford to act like they never got a loan bailout.
At least, GM has settled their loan and Ford hasn’t, after all those years.
August 1st, 2020 at 11:09 am
A white Tesla S was driving the other way in my compound, took a b rief look, did not like the beak in its grille and the color was not the best suited for it. Not sure if it was a resident or a visitor.
Saw a recent MW episode, they had a boxster spyder for almost $100k, 6 sp manual, the steering wheel had nothing on, not onebutton, minimalist design. Exterior very smooth design, interior not very luxurious.
They also had a Lincoln Explorer Clone with a motor, total almost 500 HP and 630 Lbft. What a waste of good power and torque on a breadvan.
August 1st, 2020 at 4:24 pm
As far as I know, the largest motor in the Lincoln is a 3.5L, twin turbo,450 hp. It’s not too big for the size and weight, especially the Navigator. My in-law has one in his Explorer and it is zippy!
August 1st, 2020 at 6:50 pm
19 There’s a plug-in hybrid verson of Aviator, with 494 hp. Cars.com gave it a so-so review, though. For about $10K extra, you get only 21 miles of electric range, 3 mpg better mileage on gas, and a less refined powertrain compared to the standard 3.0 turbo powertrain.
August 1st, 2020 at 7:47 pm
20 That was the version, starting at $78k. The base engine model started in the 50s. Not that I would care about either. The interior shown had some orange leather or substitute, no wood veneer visible, and a huge number of knobs, most chromed or fake-chromed. That 21 mile EV range is really pathetic, a decade after the prius Plug-in had such a short EV range, why did they even bother offering it.
August 1st, 2020 at 7:51 pm
NASA-SPACE X had a couple programs on C-span today about some Spacex mission, but it really sounded like it was aimed at children (both the morning and the afternoon one) and was way too boring to watch.
Still, if you are swimming around 11-noon tomorrow near Pensacola, don’t worry about sharks too much, worry more that some spacecraft falling from above will hit your head instead of splashing next to you. (the chance will be higher than the shark)
August 1st, 2020 at 8:30 pm
21. Some plug-in hybrids with limited plug-in range are, at least, effective hybrids, getting much better city mpg than the regular version. The Rav4 Prime both has 42 miles of plug-in range, but gets 10 mpg better combined mileage than the standard 4wd version.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=41488&id=42377&id=42185&id=42793
August 1st, 2020 at 8:39 pm
22. That little storm messed up the original plan to land it in the Atlantic off the coast of Cape Canaveral, so they are landing in the Gulf. In the ’70s, they weren’t precise enough to try anything like that. There would have been about a 50-50 chance that they’d hit terra firm, rather than water.
I heard that this will be the first time since 1975 that a space ship with people will have splashed down. All of the Russian ones land on land.
August 2nd, 2020 at 9:54 am
24 But all US spacecraft used to splash (with parachutes of course) even as eaarly as in the 60s.
The cost savings Musk was able to achieve in SpaceX are even more impressive than the accuracy and ability to land the rockets back intact. It saved NASA tens of billions. In some cases he lowered the costs by 90% (!!)
Back to the Ford-Lincoln Explorer, despite its 494 hp and 630 lbft, they said it did not want to drive fast, like the high HP Dodge cars, but reminded them more of a Bentley, which always has the ability to go faster. of course that breadvan was far less luxurious than any Bentley, and had far less passenger useful space than any Bentley Sedan.
August 2nd, 2020 at 10:04 am
23 42 MPG is double the 21 of the Lincoln and if I liked the Rav4 I would never have to buy any gas, except for long trips, all my daily and even weekend shopping in MI would be 100% on electric. If I had it in the summer home, 42 miles would not be enough to make the 50ish mile round trip to downtown and back, but I would probably make it 80% on electric.
August 2nd, 2020 at 11:23 am
25. Exactly. All US space craft have always splashed down, except the shuttle, and some “near spacecraft” like the rocket powered “X” airplanes.
In addition to the RAV4 Prime having useful range on plug-in power, and getting good mpg on gas for a lifted 4wd wagon, it is quick. C and D got a very good 5.4 second 0-60, and 14 second quarter mile time. Now, if they make a Camry wagon with that powertrain, they’d have the ultimate “do everything” car, quick, utilitarian, and efficient.
August 3rd, 2020 at 8:07 am
Prefer to see GM offer an electric retrofit option for the old trucks vs an old ICE engine. Any reason they could not design a more fuel efficient small block or turboV4 that fits the same engine bay and is tuned to cope with the rest of the truck to maximise fuel use and reliability/torque.
Trucks seem to have a perfect place for batteries-ie under the truck bed without compromising utility.
August 3rd, 2020 at 8:16 am
The alfa is aimed at a two adults and 2 small kids setup and where the driver is having to give up on the performance car (M3/Porsche etc). Carbon brakes are amazing but remain eye-watering high in cost. Better to swap over in the summer and winter to top quality tyres. Porsche is trialing new discs that are not CF and are cheaper but offer better stopping power than regular discs. Hopefully 3-rd party parts makers will copy the design if the testing succeeds. If anyone knows about brakes its Porsche. If the Alfa sells well, then the new FCA/PSA merge could offer FCA a platform to offer a bigger X5 sized SUV. PSA are also at least doing some work in electrification. Nobody doing a performance plugin SUV at present…