This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
NHTSA OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO TESLA OVER IN-CAR VIDEO GAMES
Tesla keeps pushing the boundaries of what’s considered safe to do in a car, and that’s prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to open a formal safety investigation. This one involves Tesla allowing owners to play video games on the center screen while the car is being driven. Up until a year ago, those games were only enabled when the vehicle was parked. But Reuters reports that an OTA update last December changed all that. There’s a prompt on the screen that asks if you’re a passenger, but the driver can still easily access the game. Here’s our Autoline Insight. Safety experts tell us that anything that takes the driver’s eyes off the road for up to 3 seconds is dangerous. And they don’t even like it taking 3 seconds. Three seconds doesn’t sound like a lot. But pretend you’re driving in heavy traffic. Now close your eyes and count one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi, three-Mississippi. I hope having your eyes off the road that long doesn’t sound safe to you because it sure doesn’t sound safe to us.
NEW MINES FOR EV MATERIALS FACE OPPOSITION IN U.S.
The United States wants to develop its own supply chain for the raw materials needed to make electric vehicles. And it has plenty of copper, nickel, lithium and even manganese that it can mine. But there is significant opposition to opening new mines. Environmentalists, ranchers, native Americans, local landowners and even some government agencies are opposed to opening new mines. Here’s how crazy the situation is. Reuters reports that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to block the opening of a lithium mine in Nevada at the same time the U.S. Department of Energy is looking at lending $300 million to the company that wants to open it. Meanwhile, automakers will significantly ramp up production of EVs in the next three years, and the work on opening those mines has to start now, or those EVs will be built with raw materials that mostly come from China.
EU DEVELOPING OWN SOURCES FOR MICROCHIPS
Meanwhile, the European Union is making solid progress to develop its own sources of high performance microchips. What’s called the European Processor Initiative involves 28 companies and universities from 10 countries. The initiative covers multiple industries and the automotive effort is being led by German chip maker Infineon, which is the largest chip supplier to the auto industry. They’ve already developed a high-performance chip integrated into a modular computing platform that’s being tested in a Level 4 autonomous BMW X5. The initiative is a 3-year effort, but as test results and findings come in, it’s expected to go on to more projects.
NEW TECH COULD HELP AV SYSTEMS OPERATE MORE OF THE TIME
Autonomous driving features have made great strides and OEMs keep working towards higher levels of automation. But there are still scenarios where the cameras or sensors can be blinded, in a sense, and the features shut off, like with really heavy rain or poor lane markings. Now there’s a company that’s using ground penetrating radar to help make vehicle positioning even more accurate, except it calls its technology Ground Positioning Radar. The system is packaged underneath the vehicle and sends out pulses into the ground that create a detailed map of what’s under the road. It can then be compared to what the forward-facing radar is seeing, any previously mapped area and/or the vehicle’s navigation system to accurately position the vehicle. With GPR technology an autonomous system could operate more of the time.
BMW TEASES NEW LMDh RACE CAR
BMW seems to care more that you notice its vehicles rather than what you think of their styling. Case in point, check out this official rendering of the new LMDh race car BMW will field in 2023. We think it has a bit of a batmobile vibe, both from Bruce Wayne and Panoz, and you can see it juxtaposed beneath BMW’s LMR race car from ‘99 and 2000. There’s definitely a nickname coming for this car and it probably won’t be flattering. Let us know what you think it should be.
VW INVESTS $20 MILLION IN U.S. DEALERS FOR EV TRANSITION
Volkswagen says it needs its U.S. dealers to help bring their communities into electric vehicles, so it’s launching a co-op program to help them improve the customer’s EV experience. It’s pumping $20 million into the program so dealers can upgrade service centers, train technicians and install chargers. It’s a good move, but if all of VW’s 600 U.S. dealers opted in, it means each one would only receive $33,333.
BRIDGESTONE TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE TO FISKER IN EUROPE
Earlier this year, Fisker picked Bridgestone as its official tire supplier for the upcoming Ocean electric SUV. And now the two companies are deepening their partnership. They just announced that Bridgestone will provide after-sales service and maintenance for Fisker owners in France and Germany through the tire company’s Speedy, Pitstop and Reiff-ABS networks. This is a significant development for Bridgestone. It’s in the process of making the transition from being a company that just makes round, black tires, to becoming a mobility services company. It’s going to leverage its retail stores to provide services for fleets and regular customers. And we expect it to do something similar with Fisker in the U.S. market through its Firestone stores.
CHEVY BOLT SOFTWARE UPDATE AVAILABLE TO ALL OWNERS NOW
All Chevy Bolt owners now have access to a software update that lifts parking and charging restrictions. GM just rolled out the update for 2020 to 2022 model year Bolt EVs and EUVs. 2017 and 2018 model year owners got the update last week, while 2019 model year vehicles received it last month. Owners have to go to the dealer to get the software update. It limits the state of charge to 80%, which allows owners to charge indoors overnight, park indoors after charging and use their car with less than 70 miles of range. The battery module has to be replaced before owners can charge back up to 100% again.
RIVIAN DELIVERS 1ST R1S SUVs
Well that didn’t take long. Rivian tweeted that it just delivered its first R1S electric SUVs that were built at its factory in Normal, Illinois. The first two models went to Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe and CFO Claire McDonough. RJ Scaringe also received the first R1T electric pickup Rivian built back in September. Over the next few months, the EV startup says it’s working on ramping up production to reach full volume.
Before we go I want to tell you that this is the last Autoline Daily for 2021. And there will not be an Autoline After Hours tomorrow. We’re off for the holiday break, but we’ll be back in the saddle on January 3rd. We can’t thank you enough for making Autoline a part of your day and hope you have a great holiday yourself.
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Comments (38)
December 22nd, 2021 at 12:00 pm
Enjoy your break, Autoline staff. It’s been an interesting year.
December 22nd, 2021 at 12:03 pm
Wait…so Rivian’s first EV deliveries were to employees and not the public, with on employee getting one of each?
December 22nd, 2021 at 12:10 pm
I hope you all enjoy your well-deserved break and thanks for another year of the best automotive content on the Internet!
December 22nd, 2021 at 12:22 pm
I think the US has come to a crossroad of sorts. While environmentalist want and have pushed for for BEVs, with the intent of doing less harm to the environment. Mining raw materials here in the US, will use keep local cost under control and help the country be more self reliant. Yet, mining, in and of itself, is in direct conflict and at odds with those same environmentalist! To make omelettes you have to break a few eggs, as the saying goes! So to get the future they want, they have to go against what they currently stand for! This is the same moral dilemma, that many have had to answer for themselves! ‘To get where they want to be, are they willing to do things that they were brought up and were taught not to do?’
That said, with all the technology that we have today, are you telling me that they only way to mine precious materials, are by using the old archaic methods of a hundred years ago? This is not a critique, but an honest question.
December 22nd, 2021 at 12:26 pm
Happy and Healthy Holiday to the entire Autoline Team!
Too bad Mark Fields did not propose the same arrangement to Elon Musk and Tesla, similar to the new arrangement between Fisker and Bridgestone.
The Hertz Rental Centers could be delivery points where there are no Tesla Stores, and also become warranty service centers which would provide a Tesla rental vehicle while the warranty service was performed.
December 22nd, 2021 at 12:28 pm
Hilarious that all these environmentalists were all on board for electric cars and are the same ones apposing the mining required to make the batteries for EVs. One day they’ll realize there will always be a price to pay for every modern day convenience.
On the ground sensing radar; Pretty soon that 50k vehicle will be 25K in sensors cameras and radar/lidar. I hope you will still be able to just a plain car you actually drive for 25K.
December 22nd, 2021 at 12:33 pm
Just recently drove from Northern Ohio to SC and back. One of the vehicles we used had the lane assist feature. About 5 of us took turns driving and every one that drove that car shut it off. Found it more annoying then helpful.
December 22nd, 2021 at 12:37 pm
Merry Christmas and a happy new year to the Autoline staff. Enjoy your time off. See you Jan 3.
December 22nd, 2021 at 12:37 pm
Happy Holidays to all; Autoline staff, viewers and sponsors. May the new year bring a greater sense of normalcy to us all.
Agree, that there is some hypocrisy with BEV and the mining of ores that are required to produce them. What ever happened to compromise; do the best you can with the hand that you are dealt. Mining is inevitable; do it as ‘green’ as practical and don’t lose sight of the ‘goal’.
December 22nd, 2021 at 12:40 pm
I think the front end of that BMW looks like what happens when you stick your fingers in the corners of your mouth and pull!
December 22nd, 2021 at 12:51 pm
The environmentalists don’t want the mining want the mining at all, even though it’s needed, and the anti-environmentalists might want the mining in the US, but far away from their McMansions. Both will use the courts to delay mining, so China wins.
December 22nd, 2021 at 1:02 pm
Enjoy your holiday break. From the days of Sunday autoline on speedvision to 3 shows a week it’s been a great ride. Thanks so much!
December 22nd, 2021 at 1:06 pm
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you John, Sean and the entire Autoline team! 13+ years and counting!
@2 – I’ve got no problems with the first two Rivians going to the two top people at the company. Scaringe is the founder of Rivian. As the entrepreneur who made these vehicles a reality after 12 long years of effort, he’s taken on much greater risk than any ‘customer’ ever will. I don’t think any customer really feels slighted by this. It’s his ‘baby’, after all.
December 22nd, 2021 at 1:13 pm
My opinion of the new BMW styling: “how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood”.
December 22nd, 2021 at 1:21 pm
If you want decent styling from BMW, you need to go low with MINI, or go very high with Rolls-Royce. They must have thought the BMW brand vehicles were looking too much like KIAs.
This Reuters article is a sample of the “not in my back yard” issues with new mines, this one in North Carolina.
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/push-supply-tesla-piedmont-lithium-irks-north-carolina-neighbors-2021-07-20/
December 22nd, 2021 at 1:37 pm
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to the Autoline Staff. Will be listening to you next year.
December 22nd, 2021 at 1:55 pm
A very merry Christmas to all. And a happy, safe, and healthy New Year, too.
December 22nd, 2021 at 2:37 pm
People want to enjoy the benefits of the mined material without any mines in their country that’s called being a NIMBY reminds me of the environmentalists in Seattle protesting the use of fossil fuels, in their plastic kayaks made from petroleum
December 22nd, 2021 at 3:25 pm
18 Especially, people who don’t want the mines in their county, like with the linked article in #15, are NIMBY. Most of them would be ok with the mine a couple hundred miles away. I wouldn’t want a mine next door to my home either.
December 22nd, 2021 at 8:08 pm
To everyone at Autoline, many many thanks for everything you do to produce these wonderful informative programs! I look forward to watching them every day!
Great holidays to all. Looking forward to Jan 3 already.
December 23rd, 2021 at 7:59 am
To all those at Autoline, and the regular commenters, have a Merry Christmas and a great New Year. John, Sean, the rest of the family and crew at Autoline, enjoy your well deserved break. This will be a good time for the rest of us to review some of your archived shows listed on the right of this page. The past “new” vehicles and “new” technology can be entertaining, the old April Fools shows are a hoot, and we get to see more of old familiar faces that aren’t on so much anymore like Sean’s brother Seamus and the other news personalities.
December 23rd, 2021 at 10:33 am
Some of those Autoline Dailys in the Archives include reports from “Autoline Correspondent” Sean McElroy, his brother Seamus, Drew Winter, Peter De Lorenzo, Jim Hall, Murray Feldman, Christie Schweinsberg, Mike Austin, and Jason Vines. All blasts from the past. The old graphics and music are fun, too. Some really old shows require Flash to watch though!
One report from 8 years ago, about the old Moke re-entering production might become relevant again; I just read that the Moke is introducing an electric version of the retro Moke in 2022 (link above).
December 23rd, 2021 at 11:21 am
22 Who is the new Moke company? Is BMW involved, since they own the rest of the MINI brand? I couldn’t tell for the web site who the current Moke company actually is.
December 23rd, 2021 at 1:27 pm
Mining is solved by the ‘Boring Company.’ Stay 10 m below the surface and send the ore via EV truck to a rail head.
December 23rd, 2021 at 9:24 pm
I didn’t know it, but Moke must be a generic term, nothing to do with Mini, etc. The British one in Ukendoit’s link goes 100 km/h and has 144 km range. Then, I found an American Moke that goes 25 mph, with a range of 40 miles.
https://mokeamerica.com/
There must not be any connection, except the name Moke.
December 25th, 2021 at 2:51 am
Merry Christmas, and an extra scoop of serenity to all. Also, godspeed to the Ariane 5 readying for liftoff with its precious cargo.
December 25th, 2021 at 8:35 am
26 I just say the liftoff and separation on live NASA stream. The launch went well. Now, there are months of waiting with many milestones to go.
December 25th, 2021 at 8:37 am
That’s “saw,” not “say.”
December 25th, 2021 at 9:25 am
26-28: I saw that the Webb Space Telescope has 34 sequences (that need to be performed flawlessly or nearly) for proper operation; wishing them well. I believe some time in the Summer we’ll get a better idea of success. It certainly sounds exciting.
And a Merry Christmas to all! It’s fixing to get a little busy (’round here) soon.
December 25th, 2021 at 6:41 pm
If we people don’t wake-up in our country, we will become a third world country!! I referring to the environmentalists, ranchers, native Americans, local landowners and even some government agencies who are opposed to opening new mines.
December 25th, 2021 at 7:00 pm
30 Well, we are becoming a “third world” country because we are unwilling to spend money on universal health care, decent public transportation, and decent passenger rail, Meanwhile, congress is all in for spending almost a trillion dollars a year, every year, on the military, when we already have the capability to end life on earth many times over.
Yeah, we need availability of certain minerals, whether from mines in someone’s “back yard” here, or from stable sources around the world. Depending on China, and sources controlled by China can be very precarious.
December 30th, 2021 at 8:49 am
31 Universal healthcare would be great if it was non-profit and not managed by the government. Since they do so well with medicare and maidcaid and the VA I’d rather not have government healthcare. Anything the gov provides they can also take away and what can you do then?
As for mass public tansit: Europe is far more densely built, and its older cities—settled centuries before the automotive age—will always be innately transit-friendlier. In Asian cities, meanwhile, explosive urban growth has been accompanied (and accelerated) by massive government investments in urban rail networks. But the U.S. boomed in the 20th-century’s automobile age, and the private car is still king; most American cities and their suburbs are utterly dependent on them. Too spread out and most need transportation to get to the mass transit we do have. North and South of NY there are huge lots of cars for those that take the train into the city. So yea they save everyone driving into the city but not like they be without a car. Mass transit in the US will be a struggle.
Plus I’m not so sure we spend so much on military as we line the pockets of the elite.
Hope everyone had a safe and pleasant holiday. Look forward to Sean returning and hopefully a more normal 2022 but that’s not looking promising right now.
December 31st, 2021 at 10:48 pm
32 Medicare has worked well for me for 10 years, and counting. Yes, most American cities are dependant on cars, not because cars work well for big cities, but because transit sucks most places in the US.
December 31st, 2021 at 10:50 pm
Looking forward to another year of Autoline.
January 3rd, 2022 at 7:21 am
Tesla announces making over 936,000 EV cars in 2021. In 2022, Tesla manufacturing sites will double from two to four. The newest ones will apply lessons learned in the first two manufacturing facilities.
January 3rd, 2022 at 7:52 am
Re: Moke; A moke is a slang term for a mule, but someone may own the patent for Moke as a recreational vehicle. The websites of the two current companies Kit and I mentioned earlier are very cryptic about their origins and who owns them. Moke International “Since 1964, Steer clear of immitations” and Moke America “available exclusively in the USA”.
They both tell the origins of the English Moke and claim to be original, but it sounds like neither is the real deal. The Moke was originally designed by Sir Alec Issigonis (who designed the Mini) and owned by British Motor Corp and marketed under Austin, Morris, and Leyland. I can’t tell if the patent expired, was purchased, or if they are just pushing the legality, but evidently the Moke International is a subsidiary of Chery (the Chinese car company) and is marketed as MOKE (all caps) and made in France.
The Moke America imports parts from the Chinese companies (Sicar Engineering and Moke International), and uses their own electric powertrain.
January 3rd, 2022 at 7:59 am
Looks like they did acquire the Moke trademark in 2015.
January 3rd, 2022 at 8:54 am
36,37 I’ve seen Mini Moke rentals on Caribbean islands when on cruises. Maybe they were mainly on British islands, Barbados and Tortola, or maybe Grand Cayman.