AD #3048 – Genesis Reveals New Electric Concept; VW Name Change A Prank; Porsche & ExxonMobil Test eFuels
March 31st, 2021 at 11:55am
Listen to “AD #3048 – Genesis Reveals New Electric Concept; VW Name Change A Prank; Porsche and ExxonMobil Test eFuels” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 9:55
0:08 VW Admits Name Change Is a Prank
0:57 Tesla Can Move Forward with Rivian Lawsuit
1:34 Auto Stocks Post Solid Gains
3:15 Genesis Reveals New Electric Concept
4:05 Opel Digitizes Model Names on Vehicles
5:12 Toyota Creates Fuel Cell Powered Mobile Clinic
5:43 Subaru Introduces Outback with More Ground Clearance
6:57 Porsche & ExxonMobil Test eFuels In Racing
8:09 Canada Could Play Major Role in EV Supply Chain
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VW ADMITS NAME CHANGE IS A PRANK
Well, ‘blank’ Volkswagen. I’ll let you figure out what the ‘blank’ is for, but that was my first reaction to learning Volkswagen of America’s name change to Voltswagen with a ‘T’ was just a prank “announced in the spirit of April Fool’s Day.” Even though VW sent us an official press release about the name change, maybe I should have been more skeptical, like some of you were in the comments section. But it made me realize I’m not over VW’s diesel scandal because this brought back similar feelings of being misled. I’m not the only one who feels this way, which makes me wonder how it got so far? But I think VW learned that April Fool’s pranks should actually happen on, you know, April Fool’s Day.
TESLA CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH RIVIAN LAWSUIT
Last July, Tesla filed a lawsuit against Rivian, claiming it stole trade secrets with the help of former Tesla employees it hired. Rivian filed a motion to have the suit thrown out. But a California judge turned down Rivian’s request, which means Tesla can move forward with its lawsuit. Tesla says Rivian hired 178 former workers and is specifically accusing seven of them of disclosing trade secrets. Rivian denies the allegations and says Tesla is just trying to kill any EV competition.
AUTO STOCKS POST SOLID GAINS
Investors are smiling. Yesterday was good for the auto industry. The Autoline Global Stock index was up a solid 3.5%. In Europe, autos were up 7%, largely thanks to a 10% surge by Volkswagen–which happened before it ‘fessed up that the name change was fake. U.S. auto stocks were up over 3%, they were up 1% in China, and up just a fraction in Japan. There’s two startups we want to call out. Investors drove up Lucid’s shares by 10%, while they dumped Canoo, which plummeted 21%. Canoo is in trouble. It’s reported deal with Hyundai evaporated. It gave up trying to sell its technology to other automakers. Its CFO quit. Its CEO was kicked off the board and he was a no-show for the earnings call this week. You know, it ain’t easy being a startup. And we have to wonder if this leaves Canoo up the creek without a paddle–to put it politely.
| Autoline Stock Index | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| March 30, 2021 | |||
| Close | Change | % Change | |
| Global | 5,041 | +169.86 | +3.5% |
| Europe | 654 | +43.71 | +7.2% |
| U.S. | 3,358 | +112.98 | +3.5% |
| China | 476 | +5.76 | +1.2% |
| Japan | 393 | +1.65 | +0.4% |
GENESIS REVEALS NEW ELECTRIC CONCEPT
We’re a little confused at the direction those in charge of Genesis are taking the brand. It launched three sedans during the height of the SUV and crossovers craze before coming out with its first utility vehicle. Now the first EV it’s showing off is another sporty grand touring sedan, called the X Concept. Our question to leadership in South Korea would be, why is this not a crossover? Even so, we have to admit, this is one good looking car. As you can see, Genesis’ current design language is going to carry on. This is highlighted by the large, plunging grille and parallel light bars that make up the headlamps and taillamps, and flow back along the front fenders. So get used to the look, it’s going to be around for a while.
OPEL DIGITIZES MODEL NAMES ON VEHICLES
Opel is dropping all vehicle names, engine designations and emblems from its future models. Instead, they’ll use QR codes. And they don’t have to be generic square boxes. Opel designers came up with a way to make them into shapes, like the Mantaray logo on this classic Manta GS that was restomoded into an EV. Opel says the QR code could be scanned by other road users to send messages to the owner via the infotainment system or store payment information, so things like vehicle repair could be paid for without the owner having to call in or show up. Unlike the Voltswagen story, we’ll remain skeptical until we see that. We think it’s more likely the QR code will take you to a website where you can learn more about the vehicle. With the move Opel says it will have to stamp out over 7,000 fewer digits and nearly 4,300 fewer symbols to assemble its vehicles.
TOYOTA CREATES FUEL CELL POWERED MOBILE CLINIC
Toyota is determined to make fuel cell powered vehicles a reality. It developed a fuel cell powered mobile medical clinic, which it will test with the Japanese Red Cross Kumamoto Hospital. It’s based on the automaker’s Coaster bus, is equipped with the same fuel cells used in the Mirai and has a range of 210 kilometers or about 130 miles. It was created to provide medical services but also supply electricity to hard hit areas during natural disasters.
SUBARU INTRODUCES OUTBACK WITH MORE GROUND CLEARANCE
Subaru is giving the Outback a lift. It’s launching a new variant called the Wilderness which has 9.5-inches of ground clearance, about an inch more than the standard model. The suspension is tuned to improve stability while off-road and the front and rear shock absorbers were lengthened to increase ground clearance and suspension travel. Some unique features include new front and rear bumpers, larger wheel arch cladding and a front skid plate. And the interior has different trim, materials and badging compared to the regular model. Pricing for the new Outback Wilderness will be announced later this year.
PORSCHE & EXXONMOBIL TEST EFUELS IN RACING
What if you could wave a magic wand and take the carbon out of gasoline? Well, then internal combustion engines would have a much longer life. That’s why Porsche and ExxonMobil are collaborating to develop what they call eFuel. It’s made from hydrogen and CO2 that is captured from the atmosphere. The eFuel is blended with gasoline and reduces CO2 emissions by 85%. Porsche is going to test eFuel in the 911 GT3s that race in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup starting next year. Michael Steiner, the head of R&D at Porsche, says electrification is still their Number One priority. But eFuels will allow Porsche owners to drive their cars with combustion engines and plug-in hybrids with significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Are you into car design? Then we invite you to join us for Autoline After Hours tomorrow, when we’ll have Karl Ludvigsen and Jim Hall. Both really know a lot about design, and have a lot to say. So join John and Gary for some of the best insights into what’s happening in the automotive industry.
CANADA COULD PLAY MAJOR ROLE IN EV SUPPLY CHAIN
The Biden Administration is doing a review of critical materials and components to develop a domestic supply chain that is more secure and robust. And when it comes to EV batteries and motors, Canada could play a major role in moving that supply chain to North America. Eric Rondeau from Investment Quebec joined us for Autoline This Week and here’s what he had to say.
“It’s a fantastic transition and the opportunity we have in Canada and North America is to build an alternative to the supply chain in Asia. Let’s put it straight. Currently, battery manufacturing is done 85% in Asia. But the beauty of where we stand in Canada, we in Quebec and Ontario and neighboring provinces, we have all the critical materials in our underground. We can extract it in a more efficient (way) and (with) a lower carbon emission footprint than we can do anywhere in the world.”
Whether it’s earthquakes, tsunamis, pandemics, trade wars or a giant ship stuck in the Suez Canal, global supply chains have proved to be very fragile. We think we’re going to see a move to regional supply chains. And North America has just about everything it needs to pull it off.
And that brings us to the end of today’s report. Thanks for joining us.
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Comments (39)
March 31st, 2021 at 12:09 pm
The Genesis X Concept is not an SUV for one simple reason. You simply cannot make the kind of styling statement with a chunky, poorly proportioned two box vehicle that you can with a sleek, low-slung three box design.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:09 pm
Why would anybody believe the lame VW execs and PR clowns that it was a “prank”, especially when it was NOT announced on April 1, as today’s show correctly pointed out?
Of course it was not. It was a stupid, lame idea which was floated and sunk down by the public, and then the genius who came up with it, probably some VP with a totally undeserved and obscenely high salary, afraid he’d lose his annual bonus, pretends it was a prank.
Yeah, right. Whoever believes that, I got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell her. Or him.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:19 pm
@Ron Paris – Genesis already has three sedans that make a very nice styling statement, in my opinion. And not a single one of them is tearing up the sales chart, despite getting rave reviews. Genesis isn’t going to be around for very long if it keeps coming out with vehicles that people aren’t going to buy.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:20 pm
Will this bring down buying age below 60-years old?
According to J.D. Power research, Outback buyers are 60 years of age, on average, compared with the typical Midsize SUV buyer, who is 55 years old. In fact, 72% of Outback buyers are members of the Boomer (those born between 1946 and 1964) or Pre-Boomer (prior to 1946) generations, compared with 57% of Midsize SUV buyers. Gender splits 41% women for the Subaru, compared with 42% for Midsize SUVs…
March 31st, 2021 at 12:30 pm
So would using e-fuel also reduce carbon build up inside the engine. This could provide a nice advantage to direct injection engines that struggle with carbon build up.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:42 pm
I’m somewhat surprised by the Tesla/Rivian lawsuit. Not claiming to know the details but way back in 2014, Musk said the automaker would make all of its patents in EV technology open to other companies getting into the electric space.
Maybe since then he has changed his stance a bit since he tweeted just back in July this;
Tesla is open to licensing software and supplying powertrains & batteries. We’re just trying to accelerate sustainable energy, not crush competitors!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2020
March 31st, 2021 at 12:46 pm
https://carsandbids.com/
This new and fast growing site has mostly enthusiast cars, rare specimen with V8s and 6-sp manuals. There are about a dozen auctions a day, some with reserve, some not. It is always interesting to see people pay $30,000 for a 30 year old Toyota Supra (Landcruisers are also very popular there), and not pay even $20,000 for a V12 AMG 55 or 65!
The site even features supercars like Ferraris, Maseratis, Bentleys, Maybachs, lots of M5s, 7 series, and E and S classes, and even a Rolls Royce Phantom (up for auction in 5 days)
What stunned me was how a five year old BMW i8 plug-in, the sporty one that was cancelled due to dismal sales, sold recently (see old auction results in the site) for almost $80,000!
March 31st, 2021 at 12:52 pm
Porsche not yet ready to let go of Fossil fuels, i guess it is hard to get rid of stranded assets, even if you are VW CEO H Diess,there is only so much one can do.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:56 pm
#6 lambo, nobody took Elon on his offer, nobody publicly offered to , the gloves are off, the Ex employee took propriety information and secrets, does KFC share its recipes with the competition?
March 31st, 2021 at 12:59 pm
#3. That’s okay Sean. As long as they’re around long enough for me to snag a GV80 and that new coupe, I’m good!
March 31st, 2021 at 1:06 pm
Canada has a town named Cobalt and the town of Sudbury has a towering giant Nickel outside the mining HQ.
March 31st, 2021 at 1:10 pm
1,3 Maybe Genesis are anticipating the end of the Great American SUV/CUV fad. No, I’m not serious. Car design seems to come in about 100 year cycles. In the 1920s, nearly all cars were tall, lifted two box designs. Now, in the 2020s, that idea is back.
March 31st, 2021 at 1:11 pm
I don’t buy the VW explanation either. I agree with Gatwn.
And I don’t buy the Opel story either. To send messages to the vehicle owner, each QR code would have to be unique to that VIN. Why would they want to sign up for that record keeping headache? Nice free promo for QR codes, but I really can’t see Opel doing this. And, what about Vauxhall?
March 31st, 2021 at 1:13 pm
Instead of making an even more lifted Outback, Subaru needs to lower the one they now have, and get rid of the stupid body cladding and overwrought roof rack. They could call it “Legacy wagon,” or “Legacy Estate.”
March 31st, 2021 at 1:15 pm
2,12 Remember “New Coke”? There were similar theories about that.
March 31st, 2021 at 1:20 pm
15, should be 2,13
March 31st, 2021 at 1:42 pm
7, That is an intetsting group of cars.
March 31st, 2021 at 1:46 pm
15 – “New Coke” haha. Perfect analogy. I just watched a History Channel documentary with my kids detailing that very incident (plus other competitive shenanigans that happened between Coke & Pepsi), which I’m sure everyone here remembers like it was yesterday.
March 31st, 2021 at 1:46 pm
9 Not exactly true, In fact, both Mercedes-Benz and Toyota have partnered with Tesla and used its battery and electric drivetrain technology, but at the time both automakers had made sizable investments into Tesla. Tesla currently has a joint venture with Panasonic for making batteries and also sources batteries from China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and South Korea’s LG Chem. So the technology is being shared in a more traditional joint venture, unlike the song he was singing in 2014.
However, hiring 178 former Tesla employees does scream breach of confidentiality agreements. That typically only happens when the old employer is going under and people jump ship to a competitor which certainly isn’t the case here. So that means Rivian was throwing enough cash their way to draw people specifically from Tesla. My only point was Elon comes off as this guy just trying to help the environment and will share everything for the greater good. “We’re just trying to accelerate sustainable energy, not crush competitors!” his words and then when competition comes a knocking on his door he has changed his tune.
Not saying I blame him, as a technological edge is huge in the automotive industry and is valuable. I don’t think he realized how quickly others would be joining the EV market and risk his domination so soon.
March 31st, 2021 at 1:46 pm
Interesting, that is
March 31st, 2021 at 1:55 pm
#3 I think the Genesis concept is the first great looking thing the brand ever came out with. Sedan means a halo vehicle, I doubt they’re looking for volume with this one. The surprising point to me is that the electric concept still has a big grille, this I suspect may disappear in favor of texture like they show on some electric vehicles and concepts
March 31st, 2021 at 1:57 pm
Canada is a country we should do a lot more business with. They are one of our best ally and they are just next door from us. With their natural resources and ours, we could become one hell of a great team. I never understood why we have to go overseas to get our electronics or whatever, when we have trustworthy smart people right next door to us.
March 31st, 2021 at 2:02 pm
19) I sure hope TESLA has some information that shows that their former employees took actual documents/files and transferred those to Rivian. Without that, there is zero case. There have been numerous cases just like TESLAs over the years and they all go down in flames because the companies fail to prove any actual secrets were taken. Just because they hired former TESLA employees means nothing by the law. We call that experience in the real world.
There may be a patent infringement case against Rivian. TESLA will have to prove that Rivian violated a Patent though. Hard to do when nobody has even seen it in any kind of detail. At least not enough detail to determine if a Patent has been violated. TESLA can’t use the courts to spy on Rivian through patent infringement claims so that will be thrown out also.
Everything else is just sour grapes from TESLA because they lack the ability to retain talent. Too bad so sad for them. Treat your employees better and they won’t jump ship to your competitors.
March 31st, 2021 at 2:15 pm
Regarding the issue about the 178 former Tesla employees at Rivian, does anyone believe Tesla only employed Silicone Valley nerds when it started? Of course not. He hired scored of former GM, Ford, Toyota, et.al. workers. Hypocrisy or short memory?
March 31st, 2021 at 2:15 pm
24 typo correction… he hired scores of former…
March 31st, 2021 at 2:42 pm
We loved our 1997 Subaru Legacy Outback, an all-time favorite. With that said we wouldn’t buy a new one due to them now using a CVT for a transmission. Next to the auto start-stop system the CVT is the worst thing ever imagined.
March 31st, 2021 at 2:42 pm
Sean, If Genesis was smart, they would get Lamborghini to produce that show car for them off existing Lambo mechanicals in small volumes as a halo car. Hey, it worked for the Audi R8!
March 31st, 2021 at 2:49 pm
Sean, I think you may have missed the point of the efuels. The same amount of carbon is in the fuel and comes out the tailpipe. The NET carbon is lower because they are offsetting what they removed from the atmosphere with what comes out of the tailpipe. It is really just a marketing ploy. If you removed carbon from the air and buried it in old mines as carbon dust, then used normal gas, you would achieve even better carbon reduction without all the complexity.
March 31st, 2021 at 2:57 pm
@22 The reason we go overseas for electronics is tied to the cost of living more than anything else. Canada is great, but the cost of living is about the same as the US. Cheap labor wins every time. If the average customer was willing to pay more for US/Canadian content, we might see a change.
March 31st, 2021 at 3:28 pm
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/37ebZm67/2019-bmw-m4-coupe
From the site I mentioned earlier, a 2019 M3 (recently they renamed the coupe M4)just failed to sell at as high a bid as $51,774. It failed because the reserve was even higher. This could well have been an almost off-lease 3 year old car, since the 2019 model year started in Sept. 2018.
Other, even more shocking failures to sell I remember in the same site was a very old Nissan 300 ZX from the early 90s, who reached a bid of over $30,000 and still did not meed the reserve.
Another remarkably high sale (this one met the reserve, obviously) was a Landcruiser from 2002 or so, in Lexus drab, which sold for over $60,000. A 20 year old SUV! It is almost a cult with some models on this site, like Toyota Supras, Landcruisers, and Nissan zs from 20 and 30 years ago.
March 31st, 2021 at 3:53 pm
26 I find it interesting how everyone hates CVTs, except for the people who actually drive them on a regular basis.
March 31st, 2021 at 3:58 pm
30 I don’t know when they last sold them, but the old FJ Land cruisers have truly become cult classics, and sell for ridiculous prices.
March 31st, 2021 at 4:22 pm
32 those very old ones were not the ones sold for such huge prices on that site, they were normal looking Landcruisers from 1999-2002 or so, or their Lexus clones, which, if new, are only 1-2% pricier than the LC.
Lots of the cars on that site are sold by ‘dealers’, but apparently these are just very small used car lots, and many times the cars are not mint condition, have several known faults and they do not (or are not able to) fix them before the sale.
For most cars, the site is really a ‘seller’s market’, if you want to buy you will do better at a major dealer who usually sells it to you in perfect shape and with a warranty of at least 3-6 months, or more.
March 31st, 2021 at 7:17 pm
I have owned two CVT-equipped vehicles. The CVT was flawless in both. They get a bum rap from “gear heads”… but an auto is an auto is an auto, and a CVT is a good, efficient transmission for mid and smaller sized vehicles. If you want gears, get a manual transmission or motorcycle.
March 31st, 2021 at 9:48 pm
33 It seems that, except for Nissan, CVTs have mainly been used for lower powered, lighter weight four cylinder vehicles. Nissan has been using CVTs with the V6 powered, 4500 pound Pathfinder, and I’ve heard that they have reliability problems.
I, personally, like the “E-CVT” in Toyota hybrids. It works well, and is the ultimate in mechanical simplicity, except for BEVs.
I like manual transmissions too, and now have two of them.
April 1st, 2021 at 8:19 am
If you grew up driving snowmobiles a CVT is pretty normal feeling. When I drove a Dodge caliber with one that’s all I kept thinking was a big sled. lol
It was a rental so I only drove it for a couple days. Around town I didn’t really notice the difference. The only time it predominantly stood out was on a hard acceleration and I’d hear that engine wind up to a certain RPM and just stay there as the car picked up speed. That’s where it kind of feels like a bad transmission slipping. Except a slipping transmission does typically the opposite and RPM climb while the car stays at the same speed. So its a strange feeling at first no doubt, but like I said being around snowmobiles it was something I got used to pretty quick.
Yea I think they work pretty well for light duty but haven’t had the best results in the heavier or vehicles that tow. I wonder what the towing capacity of the pathfinder is?
April 1st, 2021 at 8:33 am
35) That was my impression with the CVT in my Fusion Hybrid. I only notice it the most when getting up to speed on the highway and the engine is running at a sustained higher RPM. You get used to it but it is still odd. Otherwise I don’t really care. I wouldn’t specifically seek out a CVT as a transmission choice though. If it came down to a choice between comparable cars/price points and one had a step transmission versus a CVT…I would choose the step transmission every time.
April 1st, 2021 at 8:39 am
35 According to CR’s web site, the tow rating of the 2020 Pathfinder with a CVT is 6000 pounds. I suspect the transmission doesn’t last too long if you tow 6000 pounds very often. They are switching to a 9-speed for the 2022 Pathfinder.
I have a Honda SilverWing 582 cc scooter with a snowmobile type rubber belt CVT. It works well, but the gear ratio range is not too wide, so the engine is spinning pretty fast at highway speed, hurting gas mileage. My Camry hybrid gets better mpg at 60 mph than the scooter. From published reports, the car and scooter have about the same 0-60 of ~8 seconds.
April 1st, 2021 at 11:13 am
37 Yeah I doubt the pathfinders transmission would do very well towing 6000lbs very much.
Plus I’ve heard many are in need of a rebuild after a good 100k miles. I don’t know that for a fact though, just what Ive heard.