AD #3052 – OEMs Want Government Help w/ Chip Shortage; More Hummer SUV Details; How to Calculate EV Efficiency
April 6th, 2021 at 11:49am
Listen to “AD #3052 – OEMs Want Government Help w/ Chip Shortage; More Hummer SUV Details; How to Calculate EV Efficiency” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 11:06
0:07 Automakers Want U.S. Government to Help w/ Chip Shortage
0:45 VW Group Launching Vehicle-to-Grid Charging
2:32 More Hummer SUV Details
3:52 How to Calculate EV Efficiency
6:01 Buick Teases Long Wheelbase Envision for China
6:26 Polestar Hints at Performance Polestar 2
7:23 Lexus Running Unique Distracted Driver Ad Campaign
9:55 Magna Develops Driver Monitoring Rearview Mirror
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
AUTOMAKERS WANT U.S. GOVERNMENT TO HELP WITH CHIP SHORTAGE
In the U.S., automakers want the federal government to help to help deal with the global semiconductor shortage. The Alliance of Automotive Innovation, which represents most major automakers, is asking the Commerce Department to help fund chip production in the U.S. for the auto industry. It warns that the shortage could cost automakers nearly 1.3 million vehicles in lost production this year and the disruption could last another six months. As we reported last week, new car inventory levels are plunging. And that means prices will go up.
VOLKSWAGEN LAUNCHING VEHICLE-TO-GRID CHARGING
Starting next year, Volkswagen’s electric vehicles will have bidirectional charging capability. Also known as “vehicle-to-grid”, the technology allows power to be sent back to the grid while charging to help balance the grid when needed. Owners could even be compensated by the electric utility for use of their battery pack. VW confirmed that all of its EVs built on the MEB platform will be equipped with the system starting in 2022. And not just the VW brand. Audi, Skoda and SEAT’s EVs will have the capability too. Not many EVs currently have the feature, the most notable one is the Nissan Leaf. But more are coming, the new Hyundai Ioniq 5 will have it and Tesla plans on adding it to its vehicles in the future.
And be sure to join us this Thursday for Autoline After Hours. Our special guest is Matt Brueggeman, the CEO of Flux Mopeds. Those things are electric and he wants to blow the market for micro mobility wide open. Join John and Gary to find out how he wants to do that.
MORE HUMMER SUV DETAILS
After yesterday’s show, General Motors gave us more information about the SUV version of the Hummer EV. And Everything from the C-pillar rearward is different from the pickup. It has about the same approach angle as the truck, but the departure angle is over 10-degrees more. 49-degrees vs. 38.4-degrees for the truck. All-wheel-steering provides up to 10-degrees of rear wheel movement. The turning radius is only 35.4 feet, which is about 3 feet less than the Mustang Mach-E. It’s estimated to have 300-plus miles of range. Some of you may remember the truck is rated at 350-plus miles. But because the SUV has a shorter wheelbase of nearly 9-inches it has 20 battery modules instead of the truck’s 24. GM has still not released the kWh size of either battery. The NAV lets you download trail maps for off-roading and will tell you how much charge is needed to do the trail and still be able to get to the nearest charging station. They’re launching the SUV with a First Edition, which is already sold out, despite a price tag of $110,000.
HOW TO CALCULATE THE EFFICIENCY OF EVs
A comment from yesterday caught our eye. Lambo2015 says, “… Anyone can look at an ICE window sticker and know [what] city/Hwy and combined fuel economy numbers mean but many people will be confused by EV jargon…” I think we can help clear this up a little. In the U.S., the EPA lists MPGe, range and how many kilowatt hours will be used in 100 miles of driving. I’ll be honest, I don’t really ever look at MPGe. The other two are more useful. In terms of kwh per 100 miles driven, the most efficient EVs are right around 25 kWh per 100 miles. Less efficient ones are around 30 to 35 kWh/100 miles. So, that’s one way of looking at it. We prefer taking the EPA range and dividing by the size of the battery pack. That gives you miles per kilowatt hour, which is more akin to miles per gallon. For example, new Tesla Model 3 Long Ranges have 353 miles of range and an 82 kWh battery pack. When divided together that gives you 4.3 miles per kWh. And we think that’s one of, if not the, most efficient EV out there. Really, anything around 4 miles per kWh should be considered pretty darn efficient, at least right now. As we know, better batteries are coming. The same can be done with WLTP figures, but we like EPA because it’s closer to what you’ll see in the real world. But remember, just like an ICE, these figures can change with other factors, like temperature and driving behavior. It’s just something more of us are going to have to get used to, which will come as we all drive more EV miles. As that happens, EV buyers will care as much or as little about range and efficiency as they do about MPG when purchasing an ICE vehicle.
BUICK GETTING LONG WHEELBASE ENVISION IN CHINA
China is getting an all-new long-wheelbase version of the Buick Envision, called the Envision Plus. It’s about 2-inches longer than the current model, features GM’s new electrical architecture and will have an all-new propulsion system. Styling also looks similar to the new models that debuted earlier this year. That’s all we have to go on for now, but we’ll provide more details when we see them.
POLESTAR HINTS AT PERFORMANCE POLESTAR 2
Sticking in the realm of teases, Polestar’s CEO showed this picture on Instagram of what looks like a performance version of the Polestar 2. It sits lower, has bigger wheels and tires as well as Brembo brakes. Is there any upgrade to the base car’s dual motors that put out a combined 400 horsepower? We’ll have to wait and see.
LEXUS LAUNCHES DISTRACTED DRIVER CAMPAIGN
Lexus is running a safety campaign to get people to stop texting while they drive. It gathered a group of regular people to participate in making a video about distracted drivers. They started out by asking them if they text and how long they look at their phone.
“Probably one to two seconds.” “Two seconds at the most.” “A couple of seconds.”
But they’re wrong. Lexus says it takes an average of 4.6 seconds to read or send a text. And safety experts know that anything that takes your eyes off the road for more than 2 seconds is dangerous. At 55 miles an hour, you travel the length of a football field in 4.6 seconds.
So Lexus modified an NX with electrochromatic tinted glass which can go from transparent to opaque instantaneously. That way they could block the driver’s view for 4.6 seconds. But they didn’t tell the people this would happen.
The drivers were then challenged to take the vehicle on a course to see how well they would do.
“I’m going to crush it. I’m a good driver.” “I’m going to crush it too.”
After they crashed into so many obstacles on the course, Lexus asked them what they thought about texting and driving.
“That just changed my perspective. It was like me being on the phone and texting.” “You know being young it’s easy to think, like, we’re invincible.” “You’re literally playing with your life.” “I won’t be touching my phone–throwing it in the glove compartment.”
NHTSA estimates that distracted driving killed 3,142 people in the US in 2019, a 10% increase from 2018.
MAGNA DEVELOPS DRIVER MONITORING REARVIEW MIRROR
Maybe the solution are cameras that monitor driver attention, like Cadillac does with Super Cruise. But you don’t need a full blown system like Super Cruise to do a driver monitoring system. Magna just came out with a camera that’s integrated into the rear view mirror which alerts drivers when they take their eyes off the road for too long. Other suppliers like Gentex are working on this too, and driver monitoring cameras are likely to become very common. In fact they could even be mandated in the future.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching.
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Comments (27)
April 6th, 2021 at 11:58 am
After trying to watch your show again with the idiot used car salesman from Colorado and the not so expert on electric cars I shut you off after a few minutes. Where in the hell do you get these so called experts on your show???
To begin with electric cars, at present, are almost useless. What idiot, on his way, is going to stop, with a long extension cord begging someone for an hours charge so he can get home.
The only way electric cars will ever be a viable alternative to the gas powered car, is when #1 when the government standardizes a few battery pack sizes — #2 They establish a network of service stations with an ample supply of these battery packs.– #3 The service station must have the ability to exchange these battery packs in the same time or less it takes to fill your car with gas — and be on their way.
Come on John — Stop interviewing these bozos with their ridiculous concepts on how great these modern, electronically handicapped automobiles, which incidentally have a reliable life span of less than 100k. My Christ they don’t even,— after realizing what a crock of shit timing belts were—have the design capabilities to go back to timing chains, a real problem as of late in newer cars.
And you wonder why I still drive my old Falcon. I wouldn’t trade it for any 3 modern new cars you could name. Not a goddamned one is worth their asking price and they are the most unreliable vehicles ever built with all their gadgetry that doesn’t work half the time.
Don’t believe me –go shop on Craigslist for cars. It’s a real education.
April 6th, 2021 at 12:05 pm
1 Walt is actually the poster answering to the name of “Larry D.”
April 6th, 2021 at 12:25 pm
Moral of the story is don’t allow china to mess with taiwan if you want computer chips
April 6th, 2021 at 12:26 pm
I suspect the EPA uses MPGe to showcase how much more efficient EVs are than gas cars. Even one of the least efficient EVs, the Audi etron is more efficient than the most efficient gas burning mid-size car, Camry LE hybrid.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=43401&id=43498&id=43307&id=43361
Of course, the MPGe numbers are misleading, in that they don’t consider the efficiency, or lack of efficiency, of the power generation plants and the power distribution used to charge the EVs.
April 6th, 2021 at 12:27 pm
Btw living my new audi etron. No worries on range. Most americans drive less than 40 mike’s a day. If that’s your usage. Ev s rock
Jmo
April 6th, 2021 at 12:28 pm
Except for when a manufacturer reduces the usable capacity of the battery like GM and Hyundai did with the LGChem battery from Korea.
April 6th, 2021 at 12:32 pm
Automakers besides Tesla want Govt help,GM was one of the biggest recipients of all time, of course many commenters here will deny that fact.
April 6th, 2021 at 12:39 pm
#1Walt,stuck in the old yesteryears, must be still using leaded gasoline and enjoying the fumes.
April 6th, 2021 at 12:45 pm
4 Do you use your etron mostly, or entirely for trips within range of home charging?
As far as efficiency differences among EVs, at this point, it is nearly irrelevant from the customer standpoint. The relatively inefficient etron uses only $2.36 more power per 100 miles than the very efficient Model 3. This is not significant to the people who would buy either car.
April 6th, 2021 at 12:45 pm
#1 Walt , he must enjoy working on cars and the seasonal tuneup of sparkplug and carburetor adjustment and fiddling with the choke and stuff like that, you Walt are one of the endangered species on this planet, Electric cars have none of those headaches,heck the darn things don’t even need oil changes.
April 6th, 2021 at 12:51 pm
9 It looks like the numbers have changed. #9 refers to #5.
April 6th, 2021 at 1:23 pm
Maybe they should give up on just in time inventory so the chip shortage does not happen again.Chips do not take up much storage space
April 6th, 2021 at 1:26 pm
If we start getting large numbers of electric cars can we expect long lines and waits at the charging stations? How many apartment complexes can have enough charging stations for all the residents. Can people who must park on street in cities charge their cars? Will cross country vacation travel be filled with long charging waits?
April 6th, 2021 at 1:53 pm
I think someone who still drives a Falcon as a daily driver (assuming it’s not an Australian V8) is not what one would call an active participant in the automotive industry.
April 6th, 2021 at 2:12 pm
I think if the sticker said 4 KWPH people would freak not knowing what a MPG to MPKW is. the lower the number the worse it looks unless the number is after a $$$ sign. If you were buying something and saw MPGe or range that 353 is going to look a lot more appealing than 4.3 KWPH. To me the 4.3 is more like the gas tank capacity than the miles you can drive. It would be like saying you have 353 miles of range on a 15 gallon tank. That isn’t the number people look for . Total range , maybe, but tank or battery capacity probably not so much.
April 6th, 2021 at 2:18 pm
#2 More like the Anti- Larry D he was tesla’s greatest cheerleader
April 6th, 2021 at 2:26 pm
The early 60′s Falcon were cute and the mid-60′s , like the Futura, had a sporty look. It would be nice to have a Windsor V8, but the larger 6 wasn’t bad. And don’t forget about the Ranchero. These are sought after for both looks and utility. I’ll even take Walts, if’n free!
April 6th, 2021 at 2:27 pm
14 Maybe that poster thought it was April 1.
13 For now, the EV market in the US would seem to be the 70-80% who live in houses, and would be able to charge a car at home. I am not a prospect, because I spend most of the year in a condo with no charging. In time, I’d expect there to be charging at most apartments and condos, and for on-street parking, but that will take years, or decades to happen.
I’ve read that even Tesla Superchargers sometimes have waits in certain areas, but for the most part, they don’t have waits. At this time, at least in the US, Teslas seem to be the only EVs that are even moderately practical for long road trips. The other public chargers are sporadically located, often don’t work, etc., not what you need on a highway trip.
April 6th, 2021 at 2:29 pm
Question: Would “vehicle-to-grid” have a negative impact on battery life over time?
April 6th, 2021 at 2:38 pm
16 A college friend had a ’60 Falcon with the little (144 CID?) six, and two speed automatic. I don’t know what the problem was, but that engine was not very good. It smoked profusely, at very low mileage, like ~40K. Another college friend had an early V8 Falcon, maybe a ’63 or ’64, with a manual trans, that was a cool car, quick for the time, and much better mpg than my ’57 Chrysler. I think the V8 Falcon engine was a 260.
April 6th, 2021 at 2:39 pm
19 I’d think it would. There would be more charge-discharge cycling of the batteries, which is a big factor in battery lifetime.
April 7th, 2021 at 8:39 am
If the major auto manufacturers think chips are hard to come by right now, wait until they get the government involved! This is laughable.
April 7th, 2021 at 8:44 am
I am confused. The OEMs mismanaged their supply chain and now the tax payers of the USA need to help them out? Sorry OEMs, get better supply chain management techniques. Perhaps instead of treating your suppliers like they are light switches to be turned on and off at your every whim, you should understand the consequences of your actions before you do it. Every action has a reaction. To do what the OEMs did without understanding the consequences is just poor management techniques from the OEMs. I fail to see what the tax payers need to do for them other then maybe train their supply chain managers to do better.
April 7th, 2021 at 9:00 am
Larry D is back in disguise with a new agenda.
April 7th, 2021 at 10:43 am
I think the gov’t could help the chip makers by other means than bailing them out. They could speed up their depreciation schedule and delay taxes or small, but meaningful, things like this.
April 7th, 2021 at 10:53 am
It appears that the basic problem is that more global semiconductor production capacity is needed. Consumer electronics use is up, and the car companies “lost out” by cutting orders last year. As one who worked in the semiconductor business, I well know that you don’t add capacity overnight.
April 8th, 2021 at 11:09 am
And why should the government step in at all for the chip shortage?? Aren’t we taxpayers on the hook for enough already?
Walt needs to watch his language. I think it is ok to have an opposing opinion, but one doesn’t need to call names or use inappropriate language.
I’m not a saint but would feel more comfortable if one of my grandchildren wants to read these comments.