AD #3064 – Repair Costs Were Down Last Year; Toyota Developing Hydrogen-Powered ICE; Volkswagen Shows New Polo
April 22nd, 2021 at 11:47am
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Runtime: 10:02
0:07 Biden Announces Global Climate Summit
0:37 EV Automaker’s Stocks Jump
1:10 Repair Costs Down Last Year
2:50 Toyota Teams with Chevron on Hydrogen Economy
3:15 Toyota Takes Hydrogen-Powered ICE Racing
4:08 New EV Racing Series Under Development
6:00 Ferrari Shows Special Edition 812 Superfast
7:31 Volkswagen Reveals New Polo
8:04 Ford Makes Driving at Night Easier
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
BIDEN ANNOUNCES GLOBAL CLIMATE SUMMIT
We’re hearing war drums on the Potomac. There’s a steady drum beat in Washington DC to go to war against climate change. Yesterday we reported that 12 states are urging President Biden to ban the internal combustion engine after 2035. The President then announced he’s holding a global summit to get the world to slash CO2 emissions. And he committed the United States to cut carbon emissions in half by the end of this decade.
EV AUTOMAKER’S STOCK JUMPS
Well, Wall Street took that news to heart and jumped all over the stock of EV automakers. Fisker shot up 17%. Canoo was up 12% and XL Fleet was hot on its heels. Lucid posted a nearly 8% gain and even Nikola was up more than 6%. We know everyone’s going to ask, so Tesla was up just over 3%. Investors may be holding back a bit because of all the backlash Tesla is getting in China.
| Close | $ Change | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fisker | $15.15 | +$2.22 | +17.2% |
| Canoo | $8.61 | +$0.96 | +12.5% |
| XL Fleet | $6.82 | +$0.71 | +11.6% |
| Lucid | $19.89 | +$1.44 | +7.8% |
| Nikola | $10.29 | +$0.64 | +6.6% |
REPAIR COSTS WENT DOWN LAST YEAR
New and used car prices are soaring. But repair costs are down slightly, according to CarMD. It’s annual Vehicle Health Index looks at repair costs and trends. Repair costs averaged just under $380, a drop of 1.6% compared to 2019. Labor costs fell nearly 3% and parts costs were down 1% as well. CarMD says the drop to the economy, competition among repair shops and more do-it-yourself repairs due to the pandemic drove that down. But the drop will be short lived. Part prices are expected to increase because of supply chain issues caused by lockdowns. They also looked at the increase in catalytic converters being stolen for its precious metals. In 2019, an average of 283 catalytic converters were stolen every month but last year it skyrocketed to 1,203 a month.
TOYOTA TEAMS WITH CHEVRON ON HYDROGEN ECONOMY
We know Toyota is bullish on fuel cells and in North America it signed a deal with Chevron to build out the hydrogen economy. The two plan to work on public policy to develop the infrastructure, figure out demand for light- and heavy-duty applications and R&D transportation and storage solutions. The goal is to make a large scale, profitable business around hydrogen.
TOYOTA TAKING HYDROGEN-POWERED ICE RACING
But that’s not all that’s up Toyota’s hydrogen sleeve. It also developed a hydrogen-powered ICE engine that it’s going to take racing. It’s a turbocharged 3-cylinder unit that features a modified fuel and injection system to handle the compressed hydrogen. Like any new technology that’s first tried out in racing, Toyota hopes to accelerate its understanding of the setup by putting it through an extreme environment. A few of the benefits include a faster combustion rate compared to gasoline and, other than a small amount of emissions from oil burning off, the engine emits zero CO2 when in use. Toyota will use the engine in a race version of the Corolla Sport and its first race is a 24-hour event that kicks off on May 21st.
NEW EV RACING SERIES UNDER DEVELOPMENT
The FIA, the governing body for many racing events, says a new all-electric racing series is under development and it just revealed the specs for the cars. They’ll be similar to the current generation of GT3 cars, like you see from Porsche, Ferrari and Aston Martin, but they’ll have better acceleration and qualifying times. This means that existing GT3 cars will be able to be converted to electric power and raced in the series. The FIA will also open the category to anyone else as long as the vehicle fits in the class. It will be nice to see an all-electric race where all the vehicles don’t look the same. And because the vehicles come in different shapes and sizes the powertrain and battery pack will be bespoke as well. The cells will be provided by Saft, a subsidiary of Total, but teams will be able to build their own layouts with a maximum capacity of 87 kWh. Cars will be expected to charge during pit stops, but they’ll only have to go to 60% and thanks to 700 kW fast charging it’ll only take a little more than 4 minutes to do that. Manufacturers can choose between 2- or 4-motor setups, with both 2- and 4-wheel drive allowed, but total power can’t exceed 450 kW. Bring it all together into a package with a minimum weight of 1490 to 1530 kg or about 3300 to 3400 pounds and these suckers will do 0-100 km/h in 2.4 seconds and have a top speed of 300 km/h or about 185 MPH. Sounds like it could be a good watch.
FERRARI SHOWS SPECIAL EDITION 812 SUPERFAST
Here’s another car that’s going to feel right at home on a race track. It’s a special edition of the Ferrari 812 Superfast. At the heart of this beast lurks a V12 engine that’s been tuned to make nearly 820 horsepower and rev to 9,500 RPM. Both figures are the highest for any road-going Ferrari ever. To help harness and keep that power in-line, the car adopts 4-wheel steering. We think the most distinguishing styling features are that carbon fiber blade that stretches across the hood and an aluminum panel with louvers that replaces the rear window. But you’ll notice a number of other carbon fiber components inside and out as well as a more aggressive rear spoiler. Ferrari says it will release the car’s name along with more information on May 5th during a live streamed event.
VOLKSWAGEN REVEALS NEW POLO
Volkswagen introduced the new Polo earlier today. The front and rear styling has been updated, which features new LED head and taillights. On the inside, a digital instrument cluster with an 8-inch display is now standard. Other standard equipment includes air conditioning, Bluetooth, and heated and electrically adjusted mirrors. The new Polo is also available with predictive adaptive cruise control and lane assist. Customers in Europe can begin pre-ordering the new model next month.
FORD MAKES NIGHT TIME DRIVING EASIER
Ford of Europe is developing new technology to help make night time driving easier. It previously used road signs and lane markings as cues to adjust headlights to better illuminate the road. Now, it’s using GPS data, advanced technologies and street geometry information to identify turns in the road ahead. An algorithm calculates the direction and speed of the vehicle to automatically adjust the headlights to light up the road, including turns and cross roads. If GPS data is not available the system will still work by using cameras and steering input to adjust the lights. The technology is still in the prototype phase, so no word on when it will be available.
Be sure to tune into Autoline After Hours today. Our guest is Deborah Mielewski, who’s in charge of sustainability at Ford. Christie Schweingsburg from Wards Intelligence and Lindsay Brooke from SAE will also be on the show. Other topics include the backlash against Tesla in China, how more EVs in China could consume more coal, and whether or not General Motors is backtracking on its commitment to electric cars. So join John and Gary for some of the best insights into what’s going on in the global automotive industry.
And with that we wrap up today’s show, thanks for watching.
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Comments (40)
April 22nd, 2021 at 12:20 pm
Hydrogen may be a good solution for heavy equipment, in the march total EV’s. Again this change should happen naturally and not be forced by fixing a date to ban ICE’s.
While I’m not a racing fan, electric or other wise, I wonder if the the potential for fire in a crash is more or less likely with EV’s verses ICE race cars, or vise versa?
April 22nd, 2021 at 12:26 pm
And continuing with wmb #1; that superfast charging in the pits, could this be a fire (or otherwise) hazard. I suppose preventions will be adhered to but just trying to add another possible problem. And I’d surely miss that engine roar (sound) of the traditional ICE cars.
April 22nd, 2021 at 12:27 pm
I’d think there could be a spectacular mechanical explosion from the 10,000 psi tanks in a hydrogen race car crash, along with a short duration big fire.
April 22nd, 2021 at 12:28 pm
EV racing’s big problem is the sound. Yes having multiple kinds of cars will help some, but without the right sounds its still not going to make it. I think for auto racing to survive they will need to move to carbon neutral fuels.
April 22nd, 2021 at 12:32 pm
Like everything there is a positive and a negative. Lack of engine sound is a negative in creating that excitement while viewing but is a positive in operating racetracks. Many have closed, had racing limited or haven’t been opened because of noise concerns.
April 22nd, 2021 at 12:40 pm
One of the problems with hydrogen fires is also that they are near invisible.
April 22nd, 2021 at 12:49 pm
Biden is out to destroy the American economy
April 22nd, 2021 at 12:51 pm
Toyota must know something BMW did not know about hydrogen powered ICE cars, , still believing in the “fuel of the future” , Toyota forever flogging tha Hydrogen future, must be nice to have unlimited cash for hydrogen.LOL
April 22nd, 2021 at 12:54 pm
The minimum weight of the electric race cars is unlikely to be much of a factor, if the teams go for the maximum allowable battery capacity, which will weigh about 1200 pounds. I suspect different teams will take different approaches with battery capacity vs. weight saving, and two vs. four wheel drive. The biggest advantage of four wheel drive might be ability to do regen. The rules will allow 700kW peak regen, which you are not likely to have traction to harvest through rear tires alone.
April 22nd, 2021 at 12:56 pm
I wonder if a Hydrogen bomb going off from an ICE car crashing will gather as much attention as a Tesla car crash.
Oh that Texas car crash news all over the media was mostly refuted as false news by the attending Fire Chief,of course its about Tesla , an ICE car crash would never make the evening news, they are so routine.
April 22nd, 2021 at 1:03 pm
I hope the Biden Administration is going to give out hefty government tax credits and vouchers to fund his proposed elimination of ICE vehicles.
These tax credits / vouchers need to be able available to all tax payers at the time of purchase and or lease so that buyers and dealers can take fully advantage of the program.
April 22nd, 2021 at 1:06 pm
Regarding sound of race cars, I remember seeing/hearing the STP turbine powered car at Indy in the 1967 qualifications. The turbine engine produced some whistling sound, but overall, was very quiet compared to the other engines of the time. At the time, a lot of people seemed to like the “novelty” of the relatively quiet race car, with the sound of wind flowing over the car probably the bulk of what you heard from the stands.
April 22nd, 2021 at 1:16 pm
I still think the future is Hydrogen. It has some real benefits, practically no emissions after the vehicle is produced, quick refueling rivalling gasoline in refueling times, a downside that engineering can fix is the vaunted “Hydrogen bomb” mentioned in #10. I’m sure that American engineering ingenuity can make this less likely than a gasoline bomb going off in a rear end collision in a gasoline powered car of today.
April 22nd, 2021 at 1:17 pm
12. Having a couple of cars in the field making very little sound is very different than all the cars making sucking sounds.
April 22nd, 2021 at 1:20 pm
I hope Washington’s new definition of “Infrastructure” includes “Mass Transit” and “High Speed Rail”!
I would like to see Washington develop and implement a plan for High Speed Rail between all major cities in the continental US, and not just along the East Coast.
High Speed Rail from Washington to NYC to Boston all ready has roots with Amtrak.
Linking Albany, Syracuse, Buffalo, Rochester and Binghamton NY within NYS would become a model for other states to develop similar “infrastructure”. This would reduce carbon emissions generated by New Yorkers.
April 22nd, 2021 at 1:26 pm
The whining sound generated by the Knight Industries Two Thousand sounds like a good start to me for EV’s.
You would want a pleasant humming sound which alerts pedestrians that a vehicle is approaching.
This is especially necessary for the blind and visually impaired.
April 22nd, 2021 at 1:36 pm
Hydrogen maybe the future, but for that to happen someone with have to come up with a more efficient way of make it. Today 95% of all hydrogen is made by burning fossil fuels. US government is funding studies in number of different approaches and lot of people are working on it, but many years have gone by and no solution has been found. So don’t hold you breath.
In the mean time, the amount of renewable energy needed to make enough hydrogen to fill a hydrogen vehicle for 320 miles could be used to recharge an EV multiple times and go over 1000 miles. Which one makes more sense?
April 22nd, 2021 at 1:50 pm
14 My experience was with the car running alone on the track for qualifying, and running with only a few other cars during practice. I didn’t go to the race. Yeah, the “sound of the race” wouldn’t be affected much by one quiet car running with 32 ICE cars.
April 22nd, 2021 at 1:53 pm
15 I’d like to see high speed rail between central Florida and central Indiana. Actually, any rail would be nice. Now, taking a train from the Orlando area to Indianapolis takes about 27 hours, and goes through D.C.
April 22nd, 2021 at 2:01 pm
17 Yep, hydrogen makes no sense at all for powering vehicles, unless the hydrogen comes from electrolyzing water using renewable power.
Is that 320 miles for a hydrogen powered ICE vehicle, rather than fuel cell? If so, the electricity used to produce hydrogen for a fuel cell might be about the same, per mile, as for a BEV.
April 22nd, 2021 at 2:06 pm
15,19 It’s worse than I said. From what I’m finding, it takes 36 hours for a train from Orlando to Indianapolis.
April 22nd, 2021 at 2:08 pm
@Kit in reference to your comment in #9 and charging, the press release also included this “The charging network will be developed to meet the fast charging requirements and depending on the venue, will include elements of permanent and temporary infrastructure.” That last bit had me interested. It’s likely just referring to the charging stations, but I think it’d be cool if the FIA were considering inductive charging under the surface of the track. I don’t know if a car could go a whole race without recharging but it would extend range.
April 22nd, 2021 at 2:08 pm
I think and hope high speed train is in consideration. I took the train from Toledo to both Chicago and D.C. It was nice not having to drive but the train took longer to get there than by car. The whole train service doesn’t seem very efficient as it is today.
April 22nd, 2021 at 2:12 pm
War against climate change ? That’ll go about as well as the war on drugs ,because the biggest offenders of both won’t agree (at least not behind the scenes) China is the biggest polluter going and also the source of much of the illegal drug trade that poisons this country. They’ll play along all the while still doing what they do now. Until every country is held to the exact same standards this will be a farce. just something else for politicians to throw money at at collect it back through the back channels.
April 22nd, 2021 at 2:15 pm
a question for those of you wanting high speed rail service. What tracks are they going to use? If this requires new tracks that would be just another governmental boondoggle that would wind up stealing people’s land and wind up being as well run as AMTRASH.
April 22nd, 2021 at 2:29 pm
22 It will be interesting to see how things actually turn out with the “new” electric racing. As far as inductive charging, it is horribly inefficient, at least with phones, but there is nothing very “efficient” about motor racing.
Something that will be interesting is how they manage pit stops. In F1, a 2 second difference in pit stop time can make a big difference. In this electric racing, with 4 minute pit stops, there will probably be 30 second differences in stop time. This will be a lot different type of racing.
April 22nd, 2021 at 2:42 pm
24 China is the biggest greenhouse gas emitter in raw numbers, but the US emissions are much higher per capita. Yeah, just that, will make serious international agreements very difficult, when it will be difficult to even define, in your words, “exact same standards.”
April 22nd, 2021 at 2:57 pm
25 I rode Amtrak from DC to Orlando a few years ago, and other than being no faster than driving, it was fine. A bigger problem with Amtrak, and US passenger rail in general, it that it barely exists. Most “third world” countries have much better rail networks.
April 22nd, 2021 at 3:30 pm
There’s a lot to be said for making hydrogen from natural gas. There are a number of companies that can produce it in volume while sequestering the carbon. While not as ‘pure’ as hydrogen produced from renewable electricity, it would go a long way to reduce greenhouse gases. As well and equally important, it would allow the continued existence of a large industry employing many thousands. We don’t have to stop doing everything in order to change.
With fuel cell efficiency at 80% and ICE efficiency approaching 45%, the much lower cost and existing ICE infrastructure could be a cost effective solution; at least for a decade or so.
April 22nd, 2021 at 3:44 pm
The problem with train service is they typically have too many stops along the way. So even if its not a high speed train but one that could achieve 70 mph the constant stops make any trip longer than just driving.
If someone would develop a train that could have detaching and attaching cars on the fly like an on-off ramps of the hwy so the main train didn’t need to slow down and cars could be removed or added along the way then they would have the advantage. Thought about this before and if passengers could move about the train and you know your stop is coming up you make your way to the rear car doors close and it detaches and slows down and a switch brings it into the station while a new car is brought up to speed and joins the main train from behind. Constantly dropping and adding the rear car for each stop without having to actually stop or slow down.
Then if they did the same thing at 200 MPH you could get out to LA from NY in like 14 hours. Or Detroit to Miami in like 7 hours. Now that would be nice and better than flying or driving.
April 22nd, 2021 at 3:51 pm
30 Yep, the train I was on, “Silver Meteor” made a lot of stops at stations that were a single trailer, or maybe double wides. I don’t remember the actual trip time, but it was overnight, so I slept part of the time. I suspect going between Orlando and Boston, the train might be quicker than driving, because traffic tends to be a real mess in the northeast. Also, the train stations in the cities are well located if your destination is a northeastern city.
April 22nd, 2021 at 4:35 pm
30,31 I looked it up, 17 stops between DC Union Station and Orlando. No wonder it seemed like a lot of stops.
April 22nd, 2021 at 5:04 pm
28 that is because people would rather have their privacy and their own time table. This is the same reason the only people that use public transit are those that have no other viable option. Once a year I ride SEPTA into Philly for the auto show. Cost wise it’s no different than if I drove it’s just parking would be the issue . If parking wasn’t a problem along with the theft and vandalism that happens I’d rather drive. I built the A/c units in the then brand new SEPTA V transit cars and to see how bad they are damaged after a short period of time is frustrating also having to smell urine from people using the floor as a bathroom was not appealing at all.
April 22nd, 2021 at 5:23 pm
33 Trains are great for city-to-city travel, when done right, for the reason you use the train to the Philly auto show. If we had an actual, good passenger rail system, the issues you encounter wouldn’t happen.
April 22nd, 2021 at 5:55 pm
One can worry about making emission standards fair, but that cannot happen until someone leads the way. This president seems to have that ambition, but the opposition cannot see past its own regardless if it is the wishes of the majority of citizens or for the common good for all. That’s really pittiful!
April 23rd, 2021 at 2:13 am
I once was mere meters away from F1 cars zooming around Monaco on their training rounds – while extremely exciting, the pandemonium unleashed by WWII aircraft engines remains my yardstick for sheer awesomeness.
My dad remembered how he was nearly blown clear of a fence when a Douglas Invader revved up.
Coming back to Monaco, during the evening the road course was reopened and hordes of little cars went howling around, which was not a little comical and also somewhat scary to witness, not least in the long tunnel lounging the ocean.
HIGH SPEED Trains – I think you want some density to create practicable corridors, which works excellently in Europe. I’ve zipped to Paris and Berlin in corporeal and cyber comfort. Alight in the city center, walk or ride to the hotel in no time. Especially when
PUBLIC Transit works so well. To look at the New York City system pre-war, with trams, subways, and inter-modal hubs in the metropolitan vicinity, it resembled what there is now in Europe.
April 23rd, 2021 at 7:24 am
36 I agree that WWII airplanes engines, both the V-12s, and maybe more so, big radials, are the most awesome sounding piston engines ever.
The last time I heard F1 engines “in person” was at Indianapolis in 2007. They were naturally aspirated, 2.4 litre V-8s. They are impressive, but the high pitch sound of a V-8 running 20,000 rpm is not that appealing to me.
April 23rd, 2021 at 8:09 am
Probably the largest obstacle in the US for a fast pedestrian train is a viable rail system. For one it doesn’t exist as the curves shape of the current rail system wouldn’t work for high speed. Not to mention its still being used for cargo and not like you can just pass another train. Trying to buy the property and build another track that’s wider and could handle 200mph would be a phenomenal cost.
I think their best option at this point would be to develop a lighter train that could be elevated and placed in the median of most major highways. Even that is very unlikely to happen so guess we wait for EV drones..
April 23rd, 2021 at 8:14 am
Kit don’t suppose you saw the launch of the SpaceX rocket that took off at 5:50am. I guess that’s the first tie they reused both a rocket and booster.
April 23rd, 2021 at 9:25 am
39 I didn’t see it, but I heard it. The first stage booster and the “crew dragon” capsule were reused.