AD #3302 – Why There’s Ethanol In Gasoline; More Info On GM’s Ultium Platform; Car Prices Are Causing Inflation
April 13th, 2022 at 12:16pm
Listen to “AD #3302 – Why There’s Ethanol In Gasoline; More Info On GM’s Ultium Platform; Car Prices Are Causing Inflation” on Spreaker.
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Runtime:11:55
0:08 Car Prices Are Causing Inflation
0:57 Bosch Buys AV Start Up
1:36 Why There’s Ethanol in Gasoline
3:14 Big BMW X7 Gets Big Changes
4:41 Mercedes Prices the EQE
5:28 Jeep Stretches the Wagoneer Another Foot
7:08 Which Car Company Has the Most Employees?
8:22 More Info on GM’s Ultium Platform
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CAR PRICES ARE CAUSING INFLATION
Inflation in the U.S. is running at the highest rate in 40 years. One reason is that the prices of new and used cars have gone through the roof. And they are relatively important to how inflation is calculated. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, new and used cars account for about 9% of the Consumer Price Index, which is the inflation rate that always gets quoted. But new and used car sales fell last month. Carmax reported that used car sales fell more than 6% last quarter. And the website iSeeCars reports that the average used car price dropped about $600 in March. So we could see the inflation rate start to ease up a bit, if only because car prices are cooling off.
BOSCH BUYS AV START UP
They say that the commercial delivery market will be where autonomous vehicles really start to catch on. That’s why Bosch just bought a startup called Five. It’s an AV company based in the UK that was founded in 2016. It’s developing software and artificial intelligence solutions for AVs up to SAE Level 4. And it’s using a cloud-based development and testing platform for its software. Bosch is developing AV tech up to SAE Level 3 for private vehicles and it sees a big opportunity for Level 4 vehicles for logistics, which is why it went out and bought Five.
WHY THERE’S ETHANOL IN GASOLINE
Yesterday, President Biden ok’d the use of E15 gasoline. Any car made from 2001 onward can use E15, which is gasoline that contains 15% ethanol. By using more ethanol, that will stretch out supplies of gasoline which are in tight global supply because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Using ethanol in gasoline is controversial and highly politicized, but we thought you’d like to know the background of how it even came into use. It goes back to the 1990 Clean Air Act when Congress mandated that the EPA had to come up with a fuel that would reduce smog and pollution in cities. So the EPA mandated the use of what is called oxygenated gasoline, that is, gasoline that has more oxygen in it. More oxygen means the fuel will burn more completely and cleaner. And ethanol has more oxygen in it. There was another oxygenate that the EPA allowed at the time called Methyl tertiary-butyl ether, or MTBE. But that turned out to be cancerous, so the EPA banned it. And that left ethanol as the only legal oxygenate that could be used, which is why we have ethanol in gasoline today.
BIG BMW X7 GETS BIG CHANGES
BMW’s big SUV, the X7, is getting some big changes for the 2023 model year. And like most new BMW’s it wears a big twin kidney grille. But also note how the headlamps and DRLs are split apart from each other with a thin strip of body color separating them. The interior, too, sees some big changes for the new model year. The front of the dashboard seems to cascade into the passenger’s laps and there’s a cool little design element over the front vents. It’s a pretty clean layout overall with not a lot of knobs and buttons and is highlighted by a large curved display that combines the instrument and infotainment screens into one unit. Power for U.S. versions comes from one of two engines. The first is an upgraded version of BMW’s 3.0L in-line 6-cylinder that now makes 375 horsepower, which is 40 more than before. The other is a 4.4L twin-turbo V8 that makes 523 horsepower in the M version or 630 horsepower for the Alpina, which does 0-60 in 4-seconds. Pricing in the U.S. starts a little under $79,000, including destination charges and goes up to $104,000 for the M version. The new X7 will start going on sale in August.
MERCEDES PRICES THE EQE
Mercedes announced pricing for its new EQE fully-electric sedan, at least for Europe. It starts just over 70,600 euros in Germany, which is about $76,500. The EQE is built on the same architecture as the EQS but is slightly smaller. It’s comparable in size to the CLS. The battery has 90 kWh of usable energy which provides up to 654 kilometers or 406 miles depending on the configuration. And that’s based on the WLTP cycle. The EQE, which goes on sale in the middle of the year, will be built in Germany for global markets and in China for the Chinese market.
JEEP STRETCHES THE WAGONEER ANOTHER FOOT
Speaking of new models, Jeep is coming out with a long-wheelbase version of the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. They’re about a foot longer overall and feature a wheelbase of 130-inches, which is 7-inches longer than the standard model. That means it’s a little shorter than Ford or GM’s long-wheelbase SUVs, but it still has more cargo room than GM. The Wagoneer L offers 44.2 cubic feet of volume behind the third row of seats, which is an increase of 16.8 cubic feet over the short wheelbase. These will also be the first Stellantis vehicles to feature its new Hurricane engine. It’s a 3.0L twin-turbo, in-line 6 cylinder that comes in two outputs. In the Wagoneer L it produces 420 horsepower and 468 lb-ft of torque, while the Grand Wagoneer L gets a high-output version that makes 510 horsepower and 500 lb-ft of torque. No pricing has been released yet.
WHICH CAR COMPANY HAS THE MOST EMPLOYEES?
The auto industry is an amazing job-creating machine. But do you have any clue how many people work at the car companies? We were surprised when we looked at the numbers. General Motors, for example, has 157,000 employees around the world. That sounds like a lot, but it’s rather small compared to other car companies. While GM has 157,000 employees, Ford has 183,000. GM has so many fewer because it pulled out of so many global markets. But Stellantis makes Ford look puny. It has 281,000 employees, nearly 100,000 more than Ford. And Toyota puts them both to shame. It has 372,000 employees, or 90,000 more than Stellantis. But that’s nothing, Volkswagen has a staggering 672,000 employees, or 300,000 more than Toyota. Now, that includes VW’s joint venture partners in China, but even so, that’s a lot of people.
MORE INFO ON GM’S ULTIUM PLATFORM
GM is betting much of its electric future on its Ultium platform, a dedicated BEV architecture that affords GM a lot of flexibility. We know it will support everything from small crossovers to large vans for its new commercial division, BrightDrop. We learned more about the Ultium platform at our recent drive of the Hummer EV Edition 1, the most extreme Ultium vehicle so far. It features three 255 kW electric motors that combine for a little more than 1,000 horsepower. Hummer engineers told Autoline that the front motor features a mechanical locking differential and while the rear motors are in the same housing, they’re not linked by any gears. Software is used to spin the rear tires at the same speed, thus acting like a rear locker. We also know the launch version of the Cadillac Lyriq will have a single 255 kW motor driving the rear wheels. But based on initial renderings of the Lyriq’s Ultium platform, it will also be offered with AWD. That front motor could be another 255-kW unit, but GM has two other Ultium motors as well: a front-mounted 180 kW unit or a 62 kW all-wheel drive assist motor. Now let’s shift our focus to batteries. GM uses pouch cells that are stacked into the modules. The Hummer EV Edition 1 has 24 battery cell modules, which are stacked side-by-side in two layers and combine for 205 kWh of usable energy. And that provides the truck with 329 miles of range. Each module has a single cooling plate that’s fed by a liquid coolant system, which also goes to the motors and inverters. The Lyriq, on the other hand, will use a single layer side-by-side layout with 12 modules and 100 kWh of usable energy. It’s possible there could be other module layouts. Engineers said they tested other configurations, like turning the modules on their side. And we think that would make some sense, because otherwise, the smaller vehicles would still be quite wide. Engineers also told Autoline, the least amount of modules an Ultium vehicle will use is 10. And if we use the Hummer and Lyriq as a guide, a 10 module Ultium vehicle will have an 85-kWh battery pack.
MARK REUSS ON AUTOLINE AFTER HOURS
Ford is going to split into two business units, one for ICE and one for BEV. Renault is doing the same thing and CEO Luca de Meo says it’s even looking into spinning off the BEV unit as a separate company. So what will General Motors do? We’re going to pose that question to Mark Reuss, the president of GM, who will be our guest on Autoline After Hours. Don’t miss it. Join John and Gary tomorrow afternoon for a deep dive into GM’s EV strategy.
But that’s all for today, thanks for joining us.
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Comments (30)
April 13th, 2022 at 12:42 pm
That BMW X7 is NOT a handsome vehicle.
It will be interesting how the new stretched Wagoneer fares in the market of ‘huge’ vehicles which already exist. Usually, GM has the flair of introducing product at the wrong time; it appears Jeep is getting, its turn, this time. (maybe the aforementioned X7 too)
April 13th, 2022 at 1:06 pm
With EVs, it is a lot easier to have performance versions that blow the doors off ICE cars. Maybe now would be a good time to spin Corvette off as a separate company. Shouldn’t it be worth as much as Ferrari?
April 13th, 2022 at 1:11 pm
Adding ethanol to gas might be cleaner, but politics at the time made it necessary to produce it from the surplus of corn that existed at the time. Now, with corn prices through the roof and 3rd world countries being priced out of the food market, maybe it should also be time to allow ethanol to be made from natural gas. Note: I’m told that a nasty form of vodka is available in parts of Russia that is made from natural gas. Yuck.
April 13th, 2022 at 1:28 pm
3.Cellulosic ethanol can be made from from plant base matter, but more importantly it can be made from garbage. What does every major city have? Garbage! If you take the garbage and make ethanol near refineries, you also solve the transportation problem of ethanol.
April 13th, 2022 at 1:34 pm
Brazil uses sugar cane, a more efficient feed stock than corn, to make make ethanol. If we want ethanol fuel, maybe we should incentivize the growing of sugar cane in Louisiana, and wherever else it grows well in the US.
April 13th, 2022 at 1:47 pm
1 It’s already looking like the timing may not be too great for the XXL Wagoneer. The Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep dealer near me shows an inventory of 7 Wagoneers on their web site, 5 of them on the dealer lot, while the Toyota dealer shows zero Highlander hybrids in stock, and 4 in transit. I suspect the “in transit” Highlanders might be spoken for by the time they arrive, except for a pricey Platinum trim level with an MSRP of $55K.
April 13th, 2022 at 1:56 pm
3 According to this, ethanol from natural gas is cheaper than from corn, and using some of it would lower corn cost. Well, the article is 10 years old, but might still be valid. The “factory” farmers might not like it, though, and would whine to their congress representatives.
https://www.aiche.org/chenected/2012/09/why-not-ethanol-natural-gas-instead-corn#:~:text=It%20is%20clear%20that%20ethanol,eligible%20as%20an%20ethanol%20feedstock..
April 13th, 2022 at 2:13 pm
I have a question about oxygenated fuel. Doesn’t the O2 sensor detect the amount of oxygen and correct the mixture? If So it makes me wonder that if it detects higher than required oxygen that it would adjust and richen the mix in fact making you use even more fuel? I know here in the Northeast when they used oxygenate the fuel during winter gas mileage dropped at least 10 5 or more which also lead me to believe that the mixture was being richened to run correctly . If that is in fact true the only engines that really were being affected would have been carberated engines that were being leaned out .
April 13th, 2022 at 2:35 pm
When E85 was available, I tested in our Prius. There was a harmless check engine light and mileage decreased. Full throttle hill climbs were faster as car self-tuned for the higher octane.
April 13th, 2022 at 2:53 pm
Approximate 2.5% decrease of fuel economy with E-10, add E-15 and you’re looking at approximately 4% reduction in fuel economy; not to mention the consequences of ethanol in fuel to begin with (greater affinity to absorb H2O in the air). Not a big deal with closed fuel systems which all modern vehicles possess (unless they have evap. leaks). All motor-sport manufacturers, I believe, do not endorse and strictly exclude E-15 for their vehicles. And feed corn is better utilized in feeding livestock, IMO, than making fuel.
April 13th, 2022 at 3:10 pm
8 Any modern car would properly richen the mixture for the E15. If the controls are working properly mileage should drop about 3 between E10 and E0, and would be ~1.5% lower with E15 than E10.
April 13th, 2022 at 3:13 pm
9 I’m surprised the Prius even ran on E85. They never advertised it as using E85, so I’m surprised it would richen the mixture enough. I guess it’s possible the what what you bought as E85 was actually E25, or something like that, and mixed with what you had left in the tank, was only a little “out of range” for the fuel system.
April 13th, 2022 at 3:20 pm
10,11 Guess I started typing #11 before seeing your #10.
Actually, gasahol has an advantage, as far as water in the gas, because the water mixes with the ethanol-gas mix, rather than settling to the bottom of the tank. Too much dissolved water, though, would not be good.
I don’t think I’d want E15 in even my scooter, even though it has fuel injection. I’m not sure it is a closed loop system like in cars, so it might end up running too lean. I definitely wouldn’t want it in my KLR650 with a carburetor.
April 13th, 2022 at 3:22 pm
@9 You put E85 in a vehicle not designed for it? If so, that is not a good idea. E85 is corrosive to the fuel system components. Cars designed for it will have upgraded components to deal with this. Not to mentioned higher flow rate pumps and injectors to make up for the lower energy density. The check engine light was likely due to the fuel trims pegged at their rich limit trying to compensate. Not necessarily harmless if the catalysts overheat due to a lean condition.
April 13th, 2022 at 3:53 pm
14 You get overheated catalysts from rich, not lean mixtures, because the extra gas is burning in the converter, not the cylinders.
You can get holey pistons, and other bad things in the engine itself when running lean, and as you say, the fuel system materials, especially elastomers of a non-E85 system might not like that much alcohol.
April 13th, 2022 at 4:04 pm
Is “extending our gasoline supplies” the best excuse that the ethanol lobby can come up with to increase our ethanol consumption? Has anyone seen any news stories about gasoline shortages? There seems to be no limit to the gas supply at the current prices.
April 13th, 2022 at 4:24 pm
16 It appears thatt gas is still too cheap. I still see people sitting in their vehicles with the engine running, when the weather is about perfect for having windows open. No heat or AC needed.
April 13th, 2022 at 5:05 pm
@15. No, lean melts cats. You go rich to cool them. It’s not intuitive, but that’s how it works. Once you jump to a more extreme lean things cool of again and you get great mileage at the expense on NOx.
April 13th, 2022 at 5:21 pm
18 Yeah, misfire from lean running can dump unburned fuel into the catalytic converter.
April 13th, 2022 at 10:28 pm
As a Chrysler tech since 1982 I have seen several customers accidentally put E85 in their non flex fuel newer Stellantis vehicles and the only symptom was a check engine light due to a fuel system lean fault code. The adaptive fuel memories in modern vehicles can do a good job of compensating for too rich or too lean conditions but I don’t recommend people using E85 in non flex fuel vehicles since the fuel system parts are not designed for E85.
April 13th, 2022 at 10:37 pm
20 I’m surprised that the non flex fuel vehicles even run on E85. The mixture adjustment has a lot more range than I would have thought. I’m not going to try E85 in my cars, though. I wonder if you can run 1/3 diesel fuel with gas, and the system will go lean enough for the engine to run. I’m not going to try it.
April 14th, 2022 at 8:44 am
One of the biggest problems with E85 is its tendency to attract moisture. So assuming the vehicle can adjust fuel mixture the biggest risk is the damage to the fuel system from rust created by moisture. However if your on a trip and burn through the tank that same day you probably wont see the issue with moisture.
I would in no way ever put it in an of my gas applications where the tank isn’t used often like my tank for lawn equipment/snow blower. and certainly not in a motorhome or boat.
April 14th, 2022 at 9:10 am
Stop blaming Ukraine for high gas prices. Before Ukraine gas went up $7.75 a gallon because of the Green people. You can not stop drilling and pipelines without a shortage problem. We were energy independent with President Trump now look. So now no nasty tweets and high gas prices. What would you want.
April 14th, 2022 at 9:11 am
Previous email a typo. Should have read $1.75 a gallon
April 14th, 2022 at 9:59 am
22 Any “flex fuel” vehicle designed to use E85 has a sealed fuel system, including a gas cap. Assuming the gas cap is installed, one tank volume of air will enter the tank as the fuel is burned, whether it’s burned in on day, or 6 months. The “back and forth” of temperature change, through the charcoal canister, would not bring extra moist air into the tank, at least not very much. Most lawn equipment wouldn’t even run on E85. My almost new lawn tractor still has a carburetor, which is jetted for E10.
A friend runs E10 a drag car with a carburetor. I’ll probably see him next summer, and I’ll ask him what precautions he takes regarding water absorption. I suspect he runs the fuel out of the carburetor after he’s done racing for the day.
April 14th, 2022 at 12:05 pm
E85 is not compatible with low carbon steel fuel lines, so they will be damaged over time. E85 rated vehicles will have stainless steel or nickel coated low carbon (or nylon). The fuel level sender resister card also needs material upgrades or it will stop working. The wires to the pump also need upgraded insulation since high concentrations of ethanol will degrade it. Non of these problems will be apparent from occasional use, but it will be a problem over time.
And Kit, the lean issue melting cats is not just from misfire. Under high loads, engines need to switch to open loop fuel with richer than stoic air fuel specifically for cat cooling. It even needs to be documented that way on cart paperwork so as not to be considered a defeat device.
April 14th, 2022 at 12:13 pm
@23. Please consider getting your information from less biased sources. The price of gas is primarily due to the covid shutdowns causing demand volatility (and a huge uptick now that things are returning to normal) as well as the Russia situation. The president has little, if anything to do with it. Of course it make for great political fodder in an election year, so political hacks will spin this as a Biden/Dem/Green issue.
Also, energy independence is largely a myth. Oil prices are set based on the global market. Even if the US used no Russian oil, increased demand from other countries avoiding Russian oil will drive prices up for everyone. And even if the US produced every drop of oil it used (which it has not), its not like all that oil stays here. The oil companies sell to the highest bidder (you know, capitalism and stuff).
April 14th, 2022 at 2:05 pm
#27 Bollocks, The price of gas was well below any levels since the current administration took over even before the plannedemic. It began climbing the day he took office and grabbed a pen and starting EOs one after the other.
April 14th, 2022 at 9:34 pm
28 Come on. Get serious. Oil companies shut down production in 2020 when oil had negative value, because driving and flying were way down. Now, with covid more under control and driving and flying back to normal, or maybe record highs, oil prices are high. Supply and demand, you know. Also, the Ukraine invasion isn’t helping.
Gas is still too cheap, though. I still see people sitting in their vehicles with the engine running, when the weather is perfect for, you know, open windows. No A/C or heat needed.
April 15th, 2022 at 3:19 pm
8 etc. The O2 sensor is used to control the stoichiometry of the mixture, that is the ratio of carbon and hydrogen to oxygen. If there is more or less oxygen (via ethanol) in the fuel it will commensurately adjust the air flow.
A slightly perverse side effect is that if your air filter is dirty, flowing less (maximum) air, you will get less maximum power because the control system will allow less fuel.