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Runtime: 8:42

NHTSA is proposing that all large commercial vehicles, coaches and other buses be equipped with electronic stability control systems, just like cars. It’s estimated over the next three years Ford will come out with more new models faster than anyone else. Everybody knows Volkswagen makes cars, but did you know they’re also in the food business? All that and more, plus John McElroy sounds off on some internet nonsense.

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Welcome to Autoline Daily. I’m John McElroy and do I have a rebuttal to an internet video that’s making the rounds. But that comes later in the show. Now, the news.

ESC FOR ALL
A few years back the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration mandated that all new light-passenger vehicles in the U.S. must be equipped with electronic stability control by this year. Now the agency is proposing that all large commercial vehicles, coaches and other buses be equipped with the system, too. Research shows that ESC could prevent up to 56 percent of roll-over crashes and 14 percent of loss-of-control accidents. If it becomes law, the rule would go into effect two to four years after it’s enacted, depending on the type of vehicle.

WATCH THE FORDS GO BY!
A new report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch says that over the next several years Ford will come out with more new models faster than anyone else. For models years 2013 through 2016, Ford will replace 26 percent of its lineup. But the company is not that far ahead of its competition. GM is next at 25 percent and Toyota is third at 24 percent, while the industry average is a 23 percent replacement rate. By the 2015 model year Ford will replace vehicles that make up close to half of its volume. The study also says Ford’s market share this year should jump from 15.3 percent to 16 percent thanks to new introductions like the Fusion, Escape, C-Max and Lincoln MKZ.

ATLANTIC STORMS
Uh-oh. Bad news for Fisker. Top secret investor documents have been made public, and they point to serious trouble inside the company. The most damaging revelation to surface has to do with production. The company’s new Atlantic model was supposed to start rollin’ down the line at the company’s plant in Delaware in the middle of 2013, but that date has allegedly been pushed back by another year! As troubling as this information is, some of the car’s other numbers are pretty impressive. The Atlantic, which will be priced between $50,000 and $60,000, should feature a 300 horsepower drivetrain, which is good for a zero to 60 sprint of 6.5 seconds. Tailpipe emissions are estimated at 50 grams of CO2 per kilometer.

A HERO’S FUNERAL
An outfit called Molinelli Design has created a very unique piece of automotive art. They’ve made a coffee table out of a crushed Ferrari. The sculpture has been likened to a dead hero in a coffin. I see what they mean. As grizzly as this sounds, I’m sure any gear head would be proud to have this piece of art in their home.

KETCHUP AND CURRYWURST
We all know Volkswagen makes cars. The German brand is best known for its iconic Beetle, but did you know it also makes ketchup, and sausage? I never knew this until I saw the article posted on Jalopnik. Apparently Vee Dub is in the food business, too. It mostly sells the condiment and currywurst at its factories, but they’re also available in supermarkets. Last year they sold nearly 5 million sausages compared to a paltry 3 million cars. The ketchup has been bottled since 1997.

Coming up next, I am going to debunk one of the stupidest internet videos that is making the rounds.

FUEL-ECONOMY FAIL
There’s a video on the internet getting a lot of attention. In fact, a number of you have asked me what I think about it. It’s about a guy who took a vacation in the UK where he rented a Volkswagen with a diesel that got 52 miles per gallon. He claims to have done more research and learned that other European diesels are rated as high as 78.5 miles per gallon. If you search for “VW Passat 78.5 MPG in the UK” you’ll find the video. He then rants about how we can’t get these cars because the Obama Administration won’t allow them for fear of losing tax revenue from gas taxes. He goes on to say a lot of other things, but too bad this guy has no clue what he’s talking about.

First off, he’s comparing U.S. gallons to Imperial gallons, which is what they use in the UK. And an Imperial gallon is 20 percent larger than a U.S. gallon.

Second, the European fuel economy figures he’s quoting would be substantially less if he used EPA figures, even if he used the exact same car for comparison. The European fuel-economy test cycle is an easy-breezy one, compared to the EPA’s adjusted FTP 75. And that’s one reason why you see eye-popping mpg numbers coming out of Europe. Also, European cars tend to be lighter than their Americanized versions because our tougher crash standards require more chassis and body structure. That weight advantage also helps boost European MPG numbers and performance.

Third, he’s completely wrong when he says VW makes most of the cars in the U.S. that it sells in the U.S. VW just started making the Passat here, it’s not even up to line speed yet, and it does not make 1.6 TDIs for export. The Passat is the only model VW makes in the U.S., period. He also claims Ford makes high-mileage diesel cars in the U.S. but has to export them because it can’t legally sell them here. That is completely not true. Where does he come up with this stuff?

The primary reason why diesel engines are not as common here as they are in Europe is that U.S. emission standards are substantially more expensive to meet than they are in Europe. For this reason, OEMs typically chose one engine displacement they want to emissionize for the American market. In 2014, when Europe goes to its Euro 6 emission standards, they will pull even with the EPA’s Tier 2 Bin 5 standard, at which point the U.S. and Europe can use the same emissions equipment, which will drive down cost substantially.

Diesel proponents in the U.S. forecast that diesel sales in the U.S. will double by 2015 and will easily outsell hybrids. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, VW and Porsche already sell diesels in the U.S. market. You can buy diesel pickups from Chevy, Ford and Ram and have been able to for years. The Chevrolet Cruze, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Mazda will offer diesel models in the next year or so. Infiniti is looking into it as well. And if those vehicles sell well, you can bet that almost everyone else will jump in, too.

You know, normally I would just ignore this kind of video except that a whole lot of people are taking this seriously. Unfortunately this is just another maddening example of a know-nothing blabbermouth spouting urban legends on the internet.

Hey don’t forget to join me and the Autoextremist, Peter DeLorenzo, for a fantastic Autoline After Hours tonight with Ralph Gilles, the head of design for the Chrysler Group, and the head of SRT. We’re already getting questions for the Rapid Fire part of the show, so make sure to get your question in, too. That’s tonight starting at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Autoline After Hours.

And that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com

Runtime: 9:07

Nissan is going to run its North American assembly plants on three shifts to give the Altima the capacity to become the best selling car in the U.S. Porsche revealed the prototype version of its 918 Spyder. Kia may be considering bringing a diesel to the U.S. market. All that and more, plus John answers your questions and comments in “You Said It!”

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Welcome to Autoline Daily for May 16th, I’m John McElroy and here’s the news.

NISSAN AIMS TO PASS CAMRY
Nissan has the Toyota Camry in its crosshairs. It’s going to run its North American assembly plants on three shifts, and that will give the Nissan Altima the capacity to become the best-selling car in the U.S. market. Camry sales have plummeted 30 percent over the last four years, starting well before Toyota ran into problems from last year’s earthquake. Four years ago the Camry had a sales lead of 167,000 units over the Altima. So far this year that lead has shrunk to under 30,000 units. Nissan will probably not pull it off this year, since it’s undergoing a model change for the new Altima, and the three-shift operations are not yet in place. But until Toyota figures out how to solve the Camry’s sales slump, it’s just making Nissan’s job all the easier.

FORMER FORD CEO PASSES AWAY
Red Poling, former chairman and CEO of the Ford Motor Company has passed away at age 86. He was one of those rare finance guys who knew how to slash cost, but with a scalpel, not a hatchet. In 1987 he delivered a pre-tax profit for the company that I believe is still a record today on an inflation-adjusted basis. When he retired in 1993 Ford had five of the top-10 best-selling vehicles in the American market, including the best selling car and truck. Today it has three of the top ten.

PORSCHE 918 SPYDER PROTOTYPE
Yesterday we reported Ferrari is throwing its hat in the hybrid ring with a 12-cylinder supercar. Today, Porsche’s making news, revealing the prototype version of its 918 Spyder. The car is all dolled up with a retro-themed black-and-white livery. This plug-in hybrid is powered by a 500-horsepower 4.0-liter V-8 and two, yes TWO electric motors. Zero to 60 miles an hour should take a scant 3.1 seconds. Top speed should be 199 miles an hour. Fuel economy is alleged to be in the neighborhood of 78 miles per gallon on the EU test cycle. Naturally, all this speed and technology ain’t cheap. Porsche’s asking price is $845,000 a piece – comparable to Ferrari’s hybrid monster.

KIA CONSIDERS DIESEL FOR U.S.
Who wants more diesel-powered cars in the U.S.? Can I see a show of hands? Oh, ALL OF YOU! Well now Autoblog reports that Kia may be the next company to offer an oil burner in the U.S. Apparently some PR reps were asking fans on Facebook if they’d consider driving a diesel. Naturally, the answer was “YES!!!!” Now, here’s the part of the story where I let you down gently. Nothing is official. Yet. But it’s important to note that Kia already sells diesel Optimas in other markets.

FORD’S IDENTITY CRISIS
Ford is taking a unique approach with its advertising. The automaker just launched a series of ads that feature the new Escape, Fusion, as wells as the Fiesta and Focus, that don’t reveal the identity of the automaker until the end of the commercial. In fact, we found some online ads that don’t identify Ford at all. It’s an effort to grab the attention of car buyers who tune out an ad as soon as they realize it’s about Ford.

JAGUAR’S SALES SLUMP
So far this year Jaguar sales are up 17 percent in the American market, but worldwide, it’s a different story. The British brand’s sales fell over 30 percent in April compared to March, its worst performance in nine months. And as a result, Tata’s stock is getting pounded.

Coming up next, it’s time for You Said It!

YOU SAID IT!
And now it’s time for some of your feedback.

A number of you commented on the data crash recorders, those black boxes the U.S. government is going to require on all new cars by 2015. Todd T. says. “Remember all those lovely folks that claimed their cars accelerated like possessed demons, even though they were stepping on the brake pedal? They did this to avoid responsibility for an accident, THEY caused.”

Todd’s right. That’s exactly why a number of automakers have had those black boxes in their cars for well over a decade. It was to protect them from lawsuits.

Chuck wonders if this regulation means that “Someone will have to retrofit one into their 1965 Mustang?”

Nope, Chuck, it only applies to new cars. You need cars with anti-lock brakes, electronic throttle control and a computer be able to use those black boxes.

We got a lot of comments on the new Nissan Altima, too. Lex wants to know, “Why does the new Altima look so good and rich while the Versa look so crappy and cheap?”

Lex, I would say that’s because the Altima costs twice as much as a Versa. A base Altima is over $21,000 while a base Versa is under $11,000.

Earl worries about the transmission in the Altima. “I hope the Altima doesn’t have a CVT. I haven’t heard a positive comment yet about those CVT’s that a lot of people refer to as rubber band transmissions.” And Tango R34 agrees. “I will NOT get a car with a CVT. It’s the most horrific transmission that may sound great on paper but hopeless in the real world.”

For the most part I agree with you guys, but in cars with larger displacement engines and good torque CVTs work a lot better. Plus, Nissan has made giant strides in improving the CVT, along with its supplier partner JATCO. Besides, the Altima, like a number of cars with CVTs, has a Sport position on the gear shift lever that makes the CVT behave like a seven-speed step transmission, so you can sort of have the best of both worlds.

Speaking of transmissions, Kit Gerhart saw our report on Porsche coming out with a 7-speed manual and wonders, “Is there really any need for that 7-speed manual? 6 seems like plenty, but I guess I thought the same about 3, and then 4, and then 5.”

Mack heard me report on the Job One ceremony for the original Chrysler minivan in 1983 when top executives in the company couldn’t get out of the minivan that rolled up on stage for the ceremonies. He wonders, “As for inability to get out of the back of the minivan, was it not because of the child safety lock on the door and not a quality issue?”

Mack, this is a great story. After that humiliation Chrysler’s public relations called everyone in the media who attended that ceremony to tell them that it was a child lock issue. Since I was at the event I got a call, too, and I had to remind the poor PR guy who called me that those vans did not have child locks when they launched. And that violated one of the cardinal rules in PR. You can spin it all you want, but you should never lie.

Don’t forget to join us for Autoline After Hour Thursday night when our guest will be Ralph Gilles the head of design for the Chrysler group and the CEO of the SRT group. Ralph is one of the true gear heads in this business, so join me and the Autoextremist, Peter De Lorenzo, for the best insider discussion on the hottest cars in the business.

And that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com

Runtime: 7:13

Watch out, this year’s annual transportation bill has a section mandating that every car in the U.S. must have a black box – what’s formally known as an event data recorder. The automotive industry is the engine driving America’s economic recovery. Hyundai just inked a deal with a Norwegian battery-recharging company to supply the country with hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. All that and more, plus a walk around the brand new 2013 Nissan Altima.

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This is Autoline Daily for Tuesday, May 15, 2012. I’m John McElroy, and here’s the news.

LARGE MALE SIBLING IS OBSERVING
This year’s annual transportation bill has a section mandating that every car in the U.S. must have a black box – what’s formally known as an event data recorder – by 2015. According to Car and Driver, the Senate has already passed the bill and the House of Representatives is expected to do the same when it votes. The bill more clearly specifies the owner of the vehicle owns the data in the black box and that authorities will have to get a court order to retrieve data. It also states that data collected must be related to vehicle safety. This may sound like Big Brother, but most new vehicles are already equipped with black boxes anyways.

FERRARI GOES GREEN
With more stringent fuel economy rules on the horizon, even supercar makers have to adapt. According to Bloomberg, Ferrari plans to replace the Enzo with a hybrid which will use technology it developed in Formula 1. The car will be powered by two electric motors mated to a 12-cylinder gasoline engine that the company says will produce the most horsepower of any Ferrari ever, while slashing fuel consumption by 40 percent. The hybrid will go on sale next year and is expected to cost more than the $850,000 Enzo.

CHEVY TRAX
General Motors announced it will add an all-new small SUV called the Trax to its global line-up. The vehicle, which will debut in September at the Paris Motor Show, will be sold in 140 markets, but not the U.S. due to overlap with the Equinox. The Trax will first go on sale in Canada and Mexico at the end of this year.

AMERICA’S ECONOMIC ENGINE
The global economy is finally starting to dig itself out of recession, and in the United States at least, the automotive industry is engine driving this growth. According to Bloomberg, vehicle output contributed to half of our 2.2 percent economic expansion in the first quarter of the year. HALF! The SAAR has topped 14 million units every month this year, the best it’s been since 2008. To keep up with demand, the Detroit Three are adding shifts at assembly plants, hiring more workers and raising sales forecasts. Analysts say the auto industry is helping boost consumer confidence AND more importantly, spending. Everyone that says manufacturing is outdated or irrelevant can shut their mouths now.

SAVE THE PLANET, RUIN THE ECONOMY
While things are looking up in the U.S., there are storm clouds on the horizon in the UK. According to The Daily Mail, British motorists could face a 50 percent duty hike on fuel in the coming years! There’s supposedly a 13-billion pound deficit in the works. The hole is blamed on drivers switching to more efficient vehicles. Currently, the fuel duty is 58 pence per liter – about 93 U.S. cents. In the future, it’s estimated a hike to 87 pence would be needed to fill the budget hole. Isn’t it ironic? By saving the planet people are wrecking the economy.

NORDIC PACT
In more international news, Hyundai is expanding its collaboration with Scandinavian countries. According to The Korea Herald, the automaker just signed a memorandum of understanding with a Norwegian battery-recharging company to supply hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles across the country. Hyundai already has business relationships with the governments of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland, and now it’s moving into the private sector. It wants to ink MOUs in the rest of these countries as well as in Germany.

Coming up next, a look at Nissan’s redesigned family sedan, the 2013 Altima.

2013 NISSAN ALTIMA
(This feature is only available in the video version of today’s program.)

On next week’s episode of Autoline we’ve got a very special guest, Dr. Walther Kiep, who’s been on the Volkswagen supervisory board longer than anyone else. He’s just written a fascinating book about his life in business and politics called “Bridge Builder.” We’re giving away three copies to three lucky viewers. If you’d like a chance to win one of these books, send us your name and address to contest@AutolineDetroit.tv. We’ll announce the winners on Monday.

Thanks for watching. We’ll see you tomorrow!

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com

Convert a Toyota Prius (or any other vehicle for that matter) into a wintertime workhorse. A man in Japan has created an incredibly detailed model car that actually transforms. This thing has to be seen to be believed — so listen up. And this week’s panelists duel to the death in another round of A CAR BY ANY OTHER NAME.

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Play RoundAbout Episode 128

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Featuring: Jason White, Christiaan Conover, Craig Cole and Ben Sanders

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RoundAbout records LIVE on Fridays at 6:30PM ET/3:30PM PT. Visit RoundAboutShow.com and click Watch Live to watch our webcast and look in on all the antics.

Get this week’s full show notes at RoundAboutShow.com

Runtime: 8:26

A new supplier survey shows that while they still remain the best, Toyota’s and Honda’s popularity with suppliers is plummeting. Sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks were up big last month in the U.S. and Canada. Bentley’s new Continental GT V-8 is a lot less damaging to your wallet and the environment. All that and more, plus consulting firm KPMG explains what’s driving mergers and acquisitions in the auto industry.

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Thank you for joining us for another week of Autoline Daily. I’m John McElroy and here’s the latest news.

R.I.P. CARROLL SHELBY
Well you probably heard this one already, but motorsports legend Carroll Shelby passed away at the age of 89. Best remembered for his Cobra sports cars and Shelby Mustangs, I actually got to know Carroll on a first name basis back in the 1980s when he was working with Lee Iacocca at Chrysler to come out with a performance version of the Dodge Omni, known as the GLH. That stood for “Go Like Hell.” Carroll always was a blunt and colorful speaker. When I asked him why he felt the need to do a performance version of a car like the Dodge Omni he said, “Sheet John, that car couldn’t pull a wet string out of a cat’s ass.” And that sounded like as good a reason as any to me. Carroll was one of the greats and he left the car business in better shape than how he found it.

TOYOTA & HONDA SLIP IN SUPPLIER SURVEY
Supplier companies have always rated Toyota and Honda as the best automakers to do business with. But that is changing fast. The latest supplier survey from a company called Planning Perspectives shows that while they still remain the best, Toyota’s and Honda’s popularity with suppliers is plummeting, while GM, Ford and Chrysler are climbing quickly. This rings true to me. I’ve heard suppliers complain recently that Toyota and Honda are pounding them to cut prices and treating them like General Motors did back in the 1990s, which is to say, with no sense of partnership whatsoever.

BUY A SIERRA DENALI, GET 5 TONS OF GAS!
Car dealers love to come up with gimmicks to sell vehicles but this is one of the crazier ones I’ve seen. A GMC dealer in Shanghai is giving away five tons of gasoline with the purchase of a new Sierra Denali. Yes, five tons! A gallon of gas weighs about six pounds so that’s either 1,600 or 1,800 gallons of gas, depending on whether it’s a metric ton or not. In either case, that’s worth about $8,000 in China. It may seem like a lot, but with the Sierra Denali costing about $130,000 in China, dealers have to come up with gimmicks like this to get someone to pay that much for a pickup.

BIG TRUCK SALES UP
We’ve been tracking this for some time now but sales of big trucks are still screaming ahead. According to WardsAuto, they were up close to 40 percent in April compared to a year ago in the U.S. And it’s the same story in Canada where big truck sales jumped 38 percent. As I keep saying, this a good sign that the economy will continue to grow

CONTINENTAL’S IMPRESSIVE EPA NUMBERS
Yin and yang, give and take, that’s the way it is in the automotive industry. Supercars for instance come with super-sized price tags. Their ferocious performance is tempered by frightening fuel consumption. But Bentley’s new Continental GT V-8 is a lot less damaging to your wallet and the environment. According to the EPA, this British Bruiser stickers at a not unreasonable 15 miles per gallon around town and 24 on the highway. The W-12-powered version musters just 12 in the city and 19 on the open road. The GT’s twin-trurbo 4.0-liter V-8 delivers 500 brake horsepower. From a standstill, 60 miles an hour is attainable in just 4.6 seconds. The car gives up very little performance compared to the 12-cylinder model. What it does sacrifice though is expense. It costs about $18,000 less!

PORSCHE DROPS SMALL CAR PLANS
Porsche’s plans to offer a smaller, cheaper sports car have been scrapped. Reuters reports the proposed sub-Boxster-sized model has been jettisoned because the company is worried about diluting the brand and alienating existing customers. Porsche wants to sell about 200,000 vehicles annually, and a more affordable car would be a great way to boost volume. But, apparently, not the right way.

Say, has all that merger and acquisition activity finally died down in the automotive industry? The consulting firm KPMG doesn’t think so, and coming up next you’ll see why.

KPMG MERGER & ACQUISITION SURVEY
KPMG is a company that provides tax and audit and advisory services for all kinds of corporate clients. It also keeps a very close eye on what drives M&A, mergers and acquisitions, in the automotive industry. Gary Silberg, with KPMG, conducts a survey of automotive executives to track what’s driving M&A and the latest survey turned up some interesting results.

Hello, I’m Gary Silberg the National Automotive Sector Leader at KPMG, here to talk to you about some key strategic issues facing the automotive industry today.

Whether it’s Geely acquiring Volvo, Tata buying Jaguar and Land Rover, GM taking an equity investment in PSA, or other tie-ups that seem to be announced on a regular basis, mergers, acquisitions and alliances are alive and well in the automotive industry.

We believe there are three primary trends driving all this M&A: First, Growth. Manufacturers want access to new markets and customers. Second, new technologies. Access to new technologies and products will be critical for success in the marketplace. Third, cost savings. Management sees acquisitions or alliances as a means to reduce risk, share development cost and gain scale.

To validate our hypothesis, our 2012 KPMG Global Automotive Executive Survey interviewed 200 senior executives from the world’s leading automotive companies, suppliers, dealers, financial service providers, and, for the first time, mobility service providers.

They confirmed the shift towards partnerships. A large majority — 68 percent– view joint ventures and strategic alliances at an OEM level as a key strategy to compete in the marketplace.

Tier 1 suppliers responded strongly in favor of mergers and acquisitions. With most of their restructuring behind them, they now have the profits, strong balance sheets and cash to do them.

Interestingly, previous respondents saw joint ventures and alliances primarily as a way to minimize debt and risk of bankruptcy. But in our most recent survey this was barely mentioned, a sign the industry is now looking to grow, rather than merely survive.

To survive and thrive in this intensely competitive market, automotive companies must move to the next level of product innovation, quality and cost competitiveness. Keeping strategic core competencies in house will remain critical. However, companies must also be able to look outside and see what others are investing and innovating in. The ability to balance internal and external competencies will determine the winners and losers. We believe that through collaboration, acquisitions, joint ventures and alliances, companies will be better able to compete and win in the marketplace and we believe you will see more announcements about this in the headlines in the future.

Thanks for your interest and I look forward to updating you again.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com

Runtime: 8:41

We have more information on that 7-speed manual transmission ZF supplies to Porsche for the new 911 – the world’s first 7-speed manual for a passenger car. Magna Steyr will build a new compact model for Infiniti starting in 2014. To show off the durability of its new i30, Hyundai parked the car in the middle of a safari park to let a pack of baboons have fun with the car. All that and more, plus a preview of Autoline This Week about some of the tricks to make the interiors of cars look as good as they can.

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Ah yes, Friday. We’ve come to the end of another week of Autoline Daily. It’s May 11, I’m Craig Cole, and here’s the news.

ZF 7-SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION
We have some more information on that 7-speed manual transmission ZF supplies to Porsche for the new 911 – the world’s first 7-speed manual for a passenger car. It’s based on ZF’s 7-speed dual clutch transmission, which, thanks to modular design, allows both versions to share a lot of parts. The 911 will actually hit top speed in 6th gear, the 7th is merely there to improve fuel economy. And by the way, it has a stop/start system built into it. The 911 with the 7-speed manual is rated at a combined 22 miles per gallon, which is exactly the same as the dual-clutch version. Personally, I’d stick with the stick.

GET OFF MY LAWN!
Hyundai thought it came up with a great way to pamper customers who bought its Equus luxury sedan. It wanted to make it convenient to buy the car, so it planned to send sales people to the homes of potential customers, and if their cars needed any service, a rep would come pick their car up and drop off a loaner. But as it turns out, a lot of upscale buyers don’t want strangers coming to their home and seeing where they live. They’d rather go to the dealership. So far this year Hyundai has sold almost 1,700 Equuses in the U.S. market, putting it ahead of its target to sell 2,000 to 3,000 thousand a year.

GM-PSA DETAILS
We have more details on the GM-PSA alliance. GM will build a replacement for the Citroen C5 midsized sedan and Peugeot will make the next-generation Opel Zafira compact minivan. GM denies the partnership will lead to job cuts at Opel’s development center.

MAGNA TO BUILD NEW INFINITI
Speaking of sharing costs, Magna Steyr will build a new compact model for Infiniti starting in 2014. It will be based on Daimler’s compact platform that’s used for the new Mercedes A- and B-Class models. Nissan, Daimler and Renault have partnered up to share platforms and powertrains.

BATTERY BREAKTHROUGH YEARS AWAY
Researchers are hard at work on the next-generation batteries for EVs, which promise lighter weight, lower cost and longer range. Steven Chu, the U.S. Secretary of Energy, has been saying that we should see a big breakthrough by 2015. But it doesn’t look like that is going to happen. Researchers at the Kentucky-Argonne Battery Manufacturing Research and Development Center say any significant battery breakthrough is at least a decade away. For now – and probably for the next 20 years – it looks like lithium-ion will remain the dominant technology for electric cars.

CAST-IRON DIFFERENTIAL BENEFITS ATS
The Cadillac ATS is GM’s latest effort to best BMW at its own game. And as part of that effort, the ATS should hit the road this summer with a curb weight less than 3,400 pounds. Engineers trimmed fat from parts and assemblies throughout the car, but curiously the rear end features a cast-iron differential case, as opposed to one made of aluminum. This sounds like a step in the wrong direction, but it’s actually beneficial in more ways than one. First, it helps with weight distribution. Carmakers are always shooting for that perfect 50/50 balance for better handling. Second, it’s stronger than aluminum – no surprise there. And third, cast iron is more efficient. How’s that? Well, it expands and contracts half as much as aluminum. Greater stability allows the ring and pinion gears to operate more quietly, which means they consume less energy.

HYUNDAI’S MONKEY BUSINESS
To show off the durability of its new i30, Hyundai parked the car in the middle of a safari park to let a pack of baboons have fun with the car. Dozens of them were in and outside of the car for 10 hours, but surprisingly there wasn’t much damage done to the i30. Ok, we admit, there’s no news here. But hey, it’s Friday and that’s as good a reason as any to put monkeys in the show.

Coming up next, some of the tricks of the trade to make the interiors of cars look as good as they can.

AUTOLINE THIS WEEK
On Autoline This Week, the discussion is all about interior design. In the following clip, Klaus Busse, the head of interior design for the Chrysler Group and Fiona Doskocz from the supplier company Benecke Kalico, discuss new manufacturing techniques and new technology that can make the interiors of cars look better without increasing cost.

(Today’s Autoline This Week preview is only available in the video version of the program.)

That holographic manufacturing technique is not out yet but we should see it showing up in cars very soon. By the way you can watch that entire episode on our website right now, or check you local public television listings because Autoline is seen from coast to coast in Canada and the United States.

And make sure you check out RoundAbout, tonight. The LIVE broadcast starts at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time at Autoline.tv. Our special guest is that car designer of a thousand voices, Jason White. He’ll be playing one of our audience-favorite games, A CAR BY ANY OTHER NAME. That’s the one where we name a fictitious vehicle and our panelists have to come up with a convincing explanation of what it is. You, the audience, gets to vote on who did the best job. Again, it all starts tonight at 6:30 and we hope to see you there.

And that wraps up this week’s reports. Thanks for watching and please join us again on Monday.

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Engines of Change is the new book by Paul Ingrassia. In it he names the 15 cars he thinks have had the biggest impact on American society and culture. Paul is our guest this week in the AAH studio, and this conversation is could be a big debate! What 15 cars would you pick? Plus, you know we’ll be digging deep into the hot topics of the week including Dan Akerson blaming Detroit’s downfall on the car guys. To discuss this and way, way more, John McElroy is joined in studio by co-host Peter De Lorenzo, the one and only Autoextremist, and Todd Lassa from Motor Trend and Motor Trend Classic.

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Runtime: 7:22

The woman that took Honda to small-claims court over the fuel economy of her Civic Hybrid is in the news again. The difference between official EU fuel-economy numbers and what drivers get in the real world is growing. A company called Bracketron has developed a clever way of mounting smartphones and tablets in a vehicle. All that and more, plus John McElroy test drives the Mercedes-Benz CL-550.

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Hello and welcome to Autoline Daily for May 10th. I’m John McElroy and here’s the news.

BLINDSIDED BY JUSTICE
Well, this didn’t take long. Remember the woman who sued Honda over the disappointing fuel economy of her Civic Hybrid? She won nearly $10,000 in small-claims court, but an appeals judge just overturned that ruling. He says most drivers DO get the fuel economy posted on the window sticker. Some 1,700 other hybrid owners have followed the woman’s lead. But I think that Honda finally put this story to bed by winning that appeal.

YOUR MILEAGE WILL VARY (subscription required)
Speaking of how your mileage may vary, it WILL VARY in Europe. The difference between official EU fuel-economy numbers and what drivers get in the real world is growing. Back in 2001 the delta was about 8 percent, but in 2010 it was a whopping 21 percent! The New European Driving Cycle is a precisely calibrated fuel-economy test, but some argue it’s too easy. Acceleration speeds and shift points do not match real-world driving, plus automakers know how to game the system to get better results. Another problem with the European system has to do with the vehicles tested. EPA ratings are based on the best-selling version of a vehicle. In Europe they only test the base model. Interestingly, it’s reported the United Nations is working on a new global fuel mileage test. But In my experience, the current EPA ratings system in the U.S. is VERY accurate.

CLEVER CUP HOLDER MOUNT
Here’s a clever way to put your empty cup holder to use, although the anti-distracted driving crowd will hit the roof. A company called Bracketron developed a mount to hold a smartphone or tablet to use for navigation. Some phones and tablets are too large to mount on the windshield with a suction cup. Some states have even outlawed them, which is why the company created what it calls the Universal Tablet Cup Holder Mount. It can fit into just about any size cup holder and costs about $50.

FORD DROPS DOWN UNDER (subscription required)
Two different car companies in Australia and two different business results. Ford is struggling. Net profit dropped by over $290 million, and revenues fell by half a billion dollars. The company blames payouts to laid-off workers, slumping demand of the Falcon and the flooding in Thailand, which has limited sales of the new Ranger pickup.

HOLDEN HIGH ON THE HOG
But GM Holden posted a net profit of close to $90 million despite a revenue drop of 100 million dollars. Holden also sold 5 percent fewer cars in Australia, but that was offset by exports which shot up 50 percent. Looks like Ford Australia needs to export more.

AUTOMOTIVE QUALITY: THEN (subscription required)
There’s a big story in the Wall Street Journal today about how Chrysler is quickly improving its quality. My favorite quality fiasco story was at the launch of the original minivan back in 1983. Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca drove up on a stage in a minivan at the assembly plant in Windsor, Canada. Inside the van with him were the vice presidents of manufacturing, engineering and quality, as well as some top UAW officials and the plant manager. Iacocca and another exec got out of the front seats, but the other officials in back could not get out because the sliding door wouldn’t open . . . with hundreds of dignitaries, line workers and the media looking on. Finally someone was able to open it from the outside and some very embarrassed executives sheepishly got onto the stage, only to sing the praises of the company’s quality.

AUTOMOTIVE QUALITY: NOW
That was then. These days it’s hard to buy a car with poor quality. In fact, the quality gap from best to worst is very minor. In the latest Vehicle Dependability Survey from J.D. Power the difference between the best brand, Lexus, and the worst brand, Chrysler, is one defect. The difference from best to average is less than half a defect per car per year. And while the industry should keep on improving quality, we need to remember how much progress has been made.

Coming up next a look at what has got to be one of the biggest coupes in the world, the Merdeces CL.

2012 MERCEDES-BENZ CL-550

(This feature is only available in the video version of today’s program.)

You don’t see a lot of CLs out on the road. It is the lowest sales volume car Mercedes-Benz has in its line up. So far this year in the American market they’ve sold fewer than 300.

Don’t forget to join us for Autoline After Hours tonight. Our guest is Paul Ingrassia who’s written a book on what he says are the most important cars in the history of the automotive industry. That ought to generate some good arguments. So join me and the Autoextremist himself, Peter DeLorenzo for the best arguments in the industry.

And that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

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Runtime: 7:25

Toyota announced its financial earnings for its fiscal year and it didn’t do all that well, but the company is very bullish for this year. Opel revealed that the name of its new small car will be the Adam, the same name as the company’s founder. Audi outsold its luxury rival BMW on a global basis in April. All that and more, plus John McElroy responds to your questions and comments in “You Said It!”

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Well, we’re halfway through the work week. It’s May 9th, I’m John McElroy and this is Autoline Daily.

TOYOTA POSTS LUKEWARM RESULTS (pdf)
Toyota announced its financial earnings for its fiscal year and it didn’t do all that well. No surprise there, what with the impact of the earthquake in Japan and the flooding in Thailand. Global vehicle sales hit 7.3 million units, an increase of 0.6 percent. Despite that increase, revenue dropped 2 percent to $232 billion. And net profits fell over 30 percent to $3.5 billion. But Toyota is very bullish on this year. It says global sales will jump 18 percent to 8.7 million vehicles. It forecasts that revenue will jump by the same percentage amount to $275 billion, and that profits will nearly triple to $9.5 billion. Even so, that would provide a net profit margin of only 3.5 percent, meaning Toyota even has more upside potential.

AUTO INDUSTRY BOOSTS RAILROADS
Like the saying goes, a rising tide raises all boats. U.S. railroads are enjoying a banner year thanks to strong car sales. Those cars and the parts needed to make them pushed train traffic up 21 percent in April. And it’s really a NAFTA story. The same sort of increases are happening in Canada and Mexico.

HYUNDAI UPDATES SONATA
As competition in the midsize-sedan segment heats up, Hyundai is making some minor changes to its hot-selling Sonata. For 2013, certain lower-level models get more content, including fog lamps and heated front seats. The range-topping Limited trim comes standard with a traditional sunroof, but a panoramic version is also available as an option. As strong as Sonata sales have been, I think Hyundai is running scared. Last month, John Krafick, the CEO of Hyundai Motor America said the competition is closing the gap with their advantage in fuel economy and styling. He said his message to the troops was they better react quickly, and I think this is part of that reaction.

ASTON MARTIN REVEALS NEW DBS
In an uncharacteristic move, Aston Martin went to the web to reveal the new DBS Ultimate. Usually automakers push out press releases, unveil vehicles at auto shows or invite the press to ride-and-drive events. But this time the company posted details on its public website. Is this an example of cost cutting? Maybe, but according to Autoblog this model is probably in its last year, so a proper introduction for what’s effectively a new trim line is arguably unnecessary.

ADAM OPEL ADAM
Opel revealed that the name of its new small car will be the Adam. It did so in a unique way on its media site with a comic strip as well as a prototype of the car driving a special route on the streets of Frankfurt to spell out its name. The car is expected to debut at the Paris Motor show in September. As you may know, Adam Opel was the founder of the automaker, which is also the formal name of the company. So I guess technically the car’s name is the Adam Opel Adam.

AUDI OUTSELLS BMW
And staying in Germany for the moment, Audi outsold its luxury rival BMW on a global basis in April. Audi sold just over 125,000 cars last month while BMW sold over 121,000 units. It was the first time in over a year that Audi outsold BMW. For the year, BMW has sold just 7,000 more vehicles than Audi.

Coming up next, it’s time for You Said It!

YOU SAID IT!
And now it’s time for some of your feedback.

Chuck Grenci pulled out an old rule of thumb to figure out the value of the newest Cadillac. “Entry level ATS at $33,990; at a dollar a pound (announced weight at sub 3400 lbs), sounds like a pretty good deal. Coincidence, maybe, but still a pretty nice correlation.”

You know, I think that dollar-a-pound rule has held true for nearly 50 years. Somebody check that out for me.

Kit Gerhart thinks he knows why the electric version of the Toyota RAV4 has that outrageous $50,000 price tag. “The RAV-4 EV, if it actually has 100 mile range in normal driving, would have a battery about 4 times as big as the one in a Volt or Leaf. No wonder it’s expensive.”

Why would anybody buy an electric RAV4 at 50 grand, which is nearly $13,000 more than a Nissan Leaf, and 25 grand more than a RAV4 with a gas engine? That’s why I get the feeling Toyota was forced into this project for political and public-relations reasons, not because it believed that working with Tesla would produce a superior EV.

W L Simpson saw our report of Formula One driver Nico Rosberg showing the driving position in an F1 car and had this comment: “Formula 1, a luge on wheels.”

No kidding, W L, I wonder why they just don’t drive head first!

A bunch of you reacted to our report about the plan to use aluminum wiring in cars to save weight compared to copper. There’s a lot of good feedback in the comments section on this one, but I think GPL captured it best. “Aluminum wire to save weight… Why don’t they just make thinner fuel and brake lines while they’re at it? What could go wrong?”

Thanks for your letters and comments, we really get a kick out of reading them.

We’re giving away a number of copies of Paul Ingrassia’s new book “Engines of Change,” which highlights some of the most historically important automobiles ever created. All you have to do to enter the contest is send your name and address to contest@autolinedetroit.tv. The winners will be selected at random and announced on Autoline After Hours since Paul is our guest on the show this Thursday night.

And that wraps up today’s report, thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

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Runtime: 8:13

Cadillac announced pricing for its new BMW 3 Series competitor, the ATS.  An Indian company just introduced a new low-cost hybrid system that can be paired with all kinds of different batteries and engines.  The electrified version of Toyota’s RAV4 seems pricier than it should.  All that and more, plus John McElroy chooses a winner in the Race to Replace GM CEO Dan Akerson.

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Welcome to Autoline Daily for May 8th. I’m John McElroy, and here’s what’s going on out there.

PRICED TO SELL
Cadillac announced pricing for its new BMW 3 Series competitor, the ATS. It starts at $33,990 when equipped with the 2.5-liter engine and six-speed transmission. With the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder the price jumps to $35,795 and with the 3.6-liter V-6 it costs $42,090. All prices include destination charges, and bravo to Cadillac for including those charges, which other automakers omit to make their prices look better.

HIGH-VALUE HYBRIDS (subscription required)
Indian company KPIT Cummins just introduced a low-cost hybrid system it calls Revolo. According to Ward’s, it’s similar to GM’s eAssist technology but it can be used with several different types of batteries and with gasoline, diesel or bio-fuel engines that range from 0.8- to 3.0-liters. Fuel economy is improved by 30 percent. The company is making Revolo available both to OEMs and the aftermarket. Pricing for the system will be between $1,200 and $2,800 in the aftermarket.

NOT PRICED TO SELL
And now for some Toyota news. The company just released pricing information on its all-electric RAV4. This amped-up crossover will sticker for nearly $50,000 when it goes on sale in California later this year. That’s twice as much as a conventional, gasoline-powered version. The company plans to deliver 2,600 RAV4 EVs over the next three years. That works out to a modest annual sales target of about 900 units a year. Hell, they probably sell more Camrys than that in an hour! But how come this thing costs so much? The Nissan Leaf and the Focus Electric are considerably less expensive. Even the Chevy Volt, which comes with an internal-combustion drivetrain costs about $10,000 less. Maybe it has to do with range. Toyota claims the RAV4 EV will go 100 miles on a charge, considerably farther than the Focus or Leaf EPA rating. Even so, somehow I get the feeling Toyota really doesn’t have its heart in this project.

SIGH-ON AYE-CUE (subscription required)
In related news, Scion’s diminutive iQ city car is rolling right along. According to WardsAuto.com, the youth-oriented brand has sold more than 3,700 copies since it hit the market in the Western U.S. last October. Its sales targets are conservative at about 1,000 units per month. To help introduce the hatchback to more drivers, the company is looking into car-sharing services. So far they’ve met with Zipcar, probably the best known of these firms, but nothing is official yet. When the time is right the brand wants to go whole-hog by really committing to a car-sharing service. You can bet we’ll keep you posted . . .

Coming up next, it’s time to name names in the race to replace GM’s Dan Akerson.

RACE TO REPLACE AKERSON
For the last week we’ve been showing you who the candidates are to replace GM CEO Dan Akerson when he retires, presumably in a couple of years. And now it’s time to forecast who might get the job. It’s not as easy to figure out, because the situation at GM is still very much in a state of flux. But here goes.

Tim Lee would seem to have it all – tremendous operations experience and extensive overseas experience. But people who come up on the manufacturing side of the business never make it to the top spot at General Motors. Moreover, at 60 years old, Tim Lee would probably be about 62 or 63 if he got the top job, and with a corporate retirement age of 65, this would seem to take him out of the running.

Dan Ammann would be an obvious choice since he’s got such a strong financial background. But Ammann has the opposite problem of Tim Lee. He is only 40 years old. If the board were to put him in as CEO he would be in that position for over 20 years, and it’s unlikely any board would leave an individual in that position that long. Dan Ammann’s time may come, but for now the board will look for an older candidate.

That brings us to Mark Reuss, who would be my choice, because I believe it’s very important that a car company be run by someone who truly knows cars. But Dan Akerson was recently quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying it was the car guys who drove the company off a cliff. I think he’s wrong, it was the finance people who did that. But Akerson’s view probably reflects the board’s thinking. So even though Mark Reuss runs the biggest and most profitable part of the company, my guess is he will not get the job.

The executive the board is most comfortable with is Steve Girsky. A brilliant finance guy, he speaks their language. Better still, he’s an outsider with no ties to the old GM and its bunker mentality. Even the UAW likes him! But Girsky hitched his horse to keeping Opel, and Opel is a basket case right now. In fact, it’s likely to be a basket case for years to come since any solution will be stymied by European politicians who don’t want to hear anything about lay offs and plant closing. Boards like to nominate CEOs with a string of recent successes under their belts. So, in my read of the situation, Opel will take Girsky out of the running.

And that brings us to Mary Barra. A very capable executive who has proved herself in a variety of assignments in different parts of the company, she is in the perfect position to become the next CEO at General Motors. Mary is known as someone who can get the job done. If Akerson and board would like to leave themselves a legacy, naming the first women executive in the automotive industry would assure them a footnote in the history books. And that’s why I believe that Mary Barra will win the race to replace Dan Akerson.

Before we go, I want to remind you that you can get Autoline Daily e-mailed directly to you everyday, along with reminders of our other shows. Just go to our website, Autoline.tv, and scroll down the left-hand column to where it says “Daily Email” to sign up.

And that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching we will see you tomorrow.

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Runtime: 8:40

A judge dismissed class-action claims in Florida and New York that unintended acceleration problems hurt the resale value of their Toyotas. Chevy engineers ran an 11.93-second, 116-MPH quarter-mile with a showroom-stock Camaro ZL-1 with an automatic. We’ve got car sales from around the globe and the results are mixed. All that and more, plus a clever new design for an electric motor that could get around China’s chokehold on those all important rare-earth metals.

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Well here we are at the start of a new week of Autoline Dailies. It’s May 7th, I’m John McElroy, and here’s the news.

JUDGE DISMISSES TOYOTA SUITS
And it’s good news for Toyota. A judge dismissed class-action claims in Florida and New York that unintended acceleration problems hurt the resale value of their Toyotas. He said they can’t sue the company for “economic loss” if they didn’t experience an actual event or if they didn’t lose much when trying to sell their car. But the ruling doesn’t affect claims in other states or those who say they were injured in accidents.

CAMARO ZL1 BY THE NUMBERS
And from unintended acceleration we go to absolutely, deliberate intended acceleration. Chevy engineers ran an 11.93-second, 116-MPH quarter-mile with a showroom-stock Camaro ZL-1 with an automatic. With a manual it blasted down the 1,320 in 11.96 seconds at 117 miles an hour! Zero to 60 takes just four seconds while the top speed is 184 miles an hour! Keep in mind, this car is completely stock, right down to its street tires. As the old saying goes, “Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?” The ZL-1 stickers for about $55,000, including destination and delivery charges.

TAKE A SEAT
Speaking of fast. Formula 1 cars are insanely fast, cost mega dollars to make and put their drivers through intense challenges, like how they have to contort themselves into the cockpit. Look at Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg demonstrating the seating position. I knew they sat low to the ground, but I had no idea they’re practically lying down! It’s amazing that those guys spend two hours going as fast as they can lying down like that.

CAR SALES UP IN U.K. (subscription required)
Now for a quick update on car sales around the world. Despite Europe’s economic problems, car sales in the United Kingdom eked out a 1 percent gain last month. And that’s a very encouraging counter-cyclical sign.

SALES SAG IN SOUTH AMERICA
But it’s a different story in South America. Sales of passenger vehicles and trucks fell 1.4 percent in March. That’s mostly due to slowing sales in Brazil which accounts for two-thirds of South America’s volume. Sales there have declined for three straight months. And that’s a very dangerous sign because Brazil has really helped out global sales growth.

SOUTH KOREAN SALES SLIDE (subscription required)
The same goes for South Korea. Sales there dropped nearly 9 percent in March. That especially hurts Hyundai, which has 43 percent market share in Korea.

FORD & HONDA SELL “CLASSICS” IN CHINA
Ford and Honda are doing something different in China. They’re selling outdated versions of certain models to keep the prices low. Ford just launched the Focus Classic – the previous model of the Focus – which starts at about $16,000. Honda is selling the eight-generation Civic, through its Dongfeng partner. Typically automakers hate doing this because it hurts the residual value of the new model. So we’ll have to watch how long Ford and Honda keep up this practice.

RACE TO REPLACE AKERSON
For a week now we’ve been presenting you with the top officers at General Motors who are clearly in a position to replace current CEO Dan Akerson when he retires, presumably in a couple of years. Today we’re going to look at the last of those candidates, and one of the most interesting ones. Dan Ammann, who is only 40 years old, is the youngest member of GM’s senior management team. A native of New Zealand, he spent his entire career outside of the automotive business until he joined GM in 2010. He was the managing director and head of industrial investment banking for Morgan Stanley, which was the alma mater of GM’s vice chairman, Steve Girsky. Ammann especially specialized in mergers, acquisitions and restructuring, experience that will serve him well since he now serves on Opel’s advisory board. Despite his financial background, Ammann is also considered a car enthusiast. A year ago we also reported that he owns a 1961 Cadillac convertible, and at that time at least, commuted to work in a Cadillac CTS-V wagon. Ammann is currently GM’s chief financial officer.

Coming up next, a clever new design for an electric motor that could get around China’s chokehold on those all important rare-earth metals.

COPPER ROTOR INDUCTION MOTOR
China dominated the rare-earth metal market and started limiting exports of these critical raw materials. Rare-earths are needed to make magnets that are used in electric motors for hybrids and EVs. Those export limits caused the price of rare-earth metals to soar and forced automakers to find alternatives. That’s why the Copper Alliance says automakers should use copper rotor induction motors instead of permanent magnet motors.

Interestingly the average car in North America uses about 50 to 55 pounds of copper. In hybrid and electric cars that number more than triples to between 150 pounds and 180 pounds. It’s good to see that the auto industry has alternatives it can turn to.

We’re giving away a number of copies of Paul Ingrassia’s new book “Engines of Change,” which highlights some of the most historically important automobiles ever created. All you have to do to enter the contest is send your name and address to contest@autolinedetroit.tv. The winners will be selected at random and announced on Autoline After Hours.

And that wraps up today’s report. Thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

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TechShop is for doers. If you want to make something with your own two hands and you don’t have the thousands of dollars to spend on a top-of-the-line workshop, then this is the place for you. Think of it as a gym membership for the DIY crowd. Now, TechShop, in partnership with Ford, will become an incubation lab for new ideas that will fuel R&D. To get to the bottom of this, we’ll talk to the man who’s behind this new plan, Bill Coughlin, President and CEO of Ford Global Technologies. Plus, you can bet we’ll be getting to the news of the week including a rundown of what companies kicked ass in April sales and which companies got their asses kicked. Also, we’ll talk about which companies are doing a beautiful job building their brands and which ones don’t seem to have a clue. John McElroy is joined in studio by co-host Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, and Charlie Vogelheim from Digital Air Strike.

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Runtime: 10:22

Remember JAC’s blatant F-150 rip off? Turns out that Ford does a bang-up job protecting intellectual property. Delphi’s aluminum wiring solution can save a ton of weight over the copper alternative — find out how much. BMW’s first-quarter results are very impressive and we’ll have the breakdown. All that and more, plus Craig Cole has Autoline’s first look at the Scion FR-S!

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Hello and welcome to Autoline Daily for Friday on May 4th. I’m John McElroy.

HIT THE ROAD, JAC
Remember this blatant rip-off of a Ford F-150 from a Chinese automaker named JAC? Well, turns out it never went into production. And that’s because Ford has an arsenal of patents in China protecting its intellectual property. On Autoline After Hours last night, Bill Coughlin who heads up all of Ford’s intellectual property, said companies can absolutely protect themselves by properly registering and patenting their IP through the correct agencies in China. In fact, Ford has never faced any kind of copy cat designs in China going into production because it has properly protected itself.

THE BMW BUMP
We’ve got more to report on first quarter earnings. BMW sold over 425,000 vehicles in Q1, an 11% gain over last year, which includes MINI and Rolls-Royce. Motorcycle sales were up nearly 8%. Total revenue topped 18 billion euros which translates to over $24 billion, and that’s a 14% increase over 2011. Net profits were 1.3 billion euros or about $1.7 billion, which is 18% higher than a year ago. Bravo BMW, that is very impressive.

ALUMINUM WEIGHT-LOSS PLAN
There sure is a lot of wiring in a typical car. And all that copper adds a lot of weight. That’s why Delphi is showing off aluminum cables. Compared to copper, aluminum wiring reduces mass 48% while achieving the same conductivity. A typical car in North America has about 25 pounds of copper cabling, so switching to aluminum would save about 12 pounds! Better yet, aluminum is cost competitive with copper but doesn’t suffer from the same price volatility. Aluminum cables haven’t caught on because over time they have a tendency to become brittle and corrode at the connecting points, so Delphi developed a sealant to prevent this from happening.

RACE TO REPLACE AKERSON
All week we’ve been introducing you to the top officers at General Motors who are in the running in the race to replace current CEO Dan Akerson. Next week I’ll tell you who I think is going to win the race, but today we have to look at one of the strongest contenders, Mark Reuss. He brings a fascinating history to the company in that his father, Lloyd Reuss, was president of GM two decades ago. You’ve got to believe that the father can provide the son with some pretty astute advice of how to climb the corporate ladder. Even so, Mark Reuss has done a pretty good job of that on his own. A complete gearhead, he’s one of those rarities in American car companies: a senior executive who truly knows and loves product. He came up on the engineering and product development side of the business, and played pivotal roles in creation of the V-series Cadillacs and SS Chevrolets. He is even a certified industry pool test driver on the North Course of the Nürburgring. But to be CEO at any automaker these days you should have extensive global experience and Reuss’s only assignment overseas was as chairman and managing director of Holden in Australia for a little over a year. Even so, Reuss runs the biggest and most profitable part of the company and that will weigh heavily in the board’s decision.

AUTOLINE THIS WEEK
On Autoline This Week, my guest is Larry Dominique from TrueCar, a company that generated quite some controversy with some dealers accusing it of stealing data from them. Steve Finlay from Ward’s Dealer Business and Craig Trudell from Bloomberg also join me on the show, and here’s a clip from that program.

(Today’s Autoline This Week preview is only available in the video version of today’s program.)

SCION FR-S
(Our first-look at the new Scion FR-S is only available in the video version of today’s program.)

Thanks for that report, Craig. Well that wraps up an eventful week of developments in the automotive industry. Thanks for watching, and join us back here again on Monday.

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