AD #1476 – Tesla Upgrades Model S, GM Sales Up in China, Toyota Most Valuable Car Brand
October 10th, 2014 at 11:59am
Runtime: 5:39
- Tesla’s Big Announcement
- Tesla Fights Michigan Dealer Laws
- GM Sales Surge in China
- Toyota Most Valuable Car Brand
- Mobile Car Shopping Ranks
- Autoline This Week Preview
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Tesla finally talks, GM gets a China bounce and who is auto’s MVB?
Welcome to Autoline DAILY for Friday, October 10th, I’m Nicole Geverink ready to wrap up this week so let’s get right to the news…
TESLA’S BIG ANNOUNCEMENT
“Autopilot, not autonomous.” Those are the words of Tesla CEO Elon Musk when he finally ended the speculation and revealed his latest car last night in Los Angeles. Well, it’s not so much a new car as it is an upgraded one. As so many have been guessing, including last night’s panel on Autoline AFTER HOURS, Tesla’s flagship all-electric Model S will — in fact — be all-wheel drive and receive a suite of driver-assisted technology including some features that walk right up to the autonomy line, but don’t quite crossover. And by the way, the whole Tesla “D” thing has to do with the S getting a second motor which sits over the front axle — duplicating the rear — and thus, making it All Wheel Drive.
TESLA FIGHTS MICHIGAN DEALER LAWS
And as much as Mr. Musk would love to sell those cars in the Motor City — right down the street from the Detroit Three — it doesn’t look like Michigan lawmakers are cooperating. The Wall Street Journal reports that Tesla executives flew to Michigan’s capitol city last week to battle a couple of bills that would prevent the automaker from opening any corporate stores — or gallery’s as the company calls them — in Michigan. Despite the personal lobbying, round one went to the opposition. We’ll see if that’s enough to keep the electric automaker out of the home of Henry Ford.
GM SALES SURGE IN CHINA
Now, we know how well auto sales are doing here in North America because that’s all anyone seems to want to talk about these days. However, over in the world’s biggest car market — and of course that’s China — GM is making hay, so to speak. Sales were up 15-percent in September — the most in seven months — with Cadillac leading the way with a 51-percent surge, however, both Buick and Chevy were up as well. And with the company speeding up the introduction of several new products there, we may be just months away from a Godzilla versus Mothra-type sales battle in China between GM and VW as they vie to become the top foreign automaker in the country.
TOYOTA MOST VALUABLE CAR BRAND
Now, when it comes to marketing, for those that say the brand is everything…just ask Toyota as it was once again named the most valuable automotive brand in the world. For the last 11 years in a row, Toyota has topped all other automakers on advertising consultant Interbrand’s survey of the 100 most valuable brands. And though numbers one, two and three — Apple, Google and Coke — don’t need to worry much about losing their positions, this year the Japanese auto giant did move up a couple of spots to 8th on the list. By the way, just behind Toyota, but still nonetheless behind, are German luxury competitors Mercedes Benz at number 10 followed by BMW at 11.
MOBILE CAR SHOPPING RANKS
And finally today, if you’re one of those people who do all their shopping on a smartphone — including looking for a new car — are you driving an Acura? J.D. Power released its latest study on just those type of shoppers — people who intend to buy or lease a vehicle in the next couple of years — and who use mobile technology to do it, and Acura finished on top. That means the test group liked Acura’s features and web content the most. Cadillac finished second on the list while Porsche came in third. Hmmm, all three premium brands…wonder if that says anything about those who use smart phones? Maybe that’ll be in the next study.
Anyway, we’ll be right back with a few words on the best way to lose weight…without “sweatin’ to the oldies” with Richard Simmons.
AUTOLINE THIS WEEK
Many of us are always looking to take off a few extra pounds…for vanity of course, because we all want to look better. But when it comes to cars and trucks…less pounds means more money and usually in the automakers pocket. So on the latest edition of Autoline THIS WEEK, three experts discuss lightweighting: what it means for the vehicle, the consumer and the process the automakers go through to achieve it.
Nizar Trigui: A lot of companies now have this thing called “the grand strategy” where every item is going through a much thorough – weight is no longer an outcome, weight is a design, weight is a process, and weight is technology. You see that in every aspect of engineering new products.
Dick Schultz: Every vehicle and every component has a cost target and a weight target. They balance that continually throughout the process to get the optimum.
Charles Evans: Exactly, and the other paradigm shift that’s happening right now is the move towards global platforms. Not only do suppliers have to be engaged early because of a technology driver but because of the globalization of these global platforms. We have to be involved much sooner to see if we’ve got the scale on the breadth to go ahead and supply this and hit launch on target, on time, on weight, on cost.
That’s Autoline THIS WEEK available on our website and Youtube Channel.
We’ll that wrap’s up my week in the anchor chair. John’ll be back on Monday. Thanks for all your great comments and hope to see you again soon. I’m Nicole Geverink…thanks for watching.
Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog and WardsAuto.com
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Comments (61)
October 10th, 2014 at 12:08 pm
Is there no federal restraint-of-trade law that is strong enough to trump Michigan’s war against Tesla?
October 10th, 2014 at 12:12 pm
Hmmm Porsche is number 3 as a car bought via smart phone, and I always thought it was a brand favored by people who like to drive, and who might want to actually check out the machinery.
October 10th, 2014 at 12:25 pm
After Nicole’s first week at the anchor chair, I think she did a credible job of reporting the news and sounds like she likes cars and the industry, a most important attribute when reporting on the subject. I would welcome her back anytime John is unavailable.
October 10th, 2014 at 12:29 pm
Nicole Geverink does an excellent job reporting. Gives an impression that she is interested in the subjects and presents well.
October 10th, 2014 at 12:37 pm
I think the Dealer laws need to be enforced universally; now if they are modified or repealed that would be fine with me, but as Tesla is (or should be) the same as any other manufacturer, so must they follow what others are required to do. They, Tesla, certainly have the right to not agree (with the current law) but should be held (to that law) until changed.
And as far as their “D” car, while impressive, I can’t wonder whether they will run out of buyers of this now more expensive hot-rod. And the cost of performance has to be its weight (nearly 5,000 pounds).
October 10th, 2014 at 12:47 pm
Why isn’t Tesla fighting the dealers at the Federal level? It’s hard to believe Musk hasn’t had lawyers look at this route. Going state by state takes so long and must be expensive.
October 10th, 2014 at 12:48 pm
2. Kit, I thought we all understood it was my job to bust on Porsche owners.
October 10th, 2014 at 12:49 pm
“making hay”
I love it Nicole.
John, don’t worry about the one who is “holding down the fort”. All went well.
As they say, no farmers, no food…..
October 10th, 2014 at 12:51 pm
I wonder if Productions-Plus has any male resources. That might keep the gushing down
.
Great Job Productions-Plus! (i.e. Nicole)
October 10th, 2014 at 1:27 pm
Why are the Detroit 3 so concerned about Tesla setting up their own stores in their turf, are they scared of the car or the concept? They should let them try and see if it succeeds, maybe they want to try it too.
October 10th, 2014 at 1:50 pm
With all the legal maneuvering Elon Musk us using to change things to his way of thinking, is he even a citizen of the USA? I thought he is from South Africa.
October 10th, 2014 at 1:56 pm
Well he was born in South Africa and then was a Canadian citizen, and was then naturalized citizen of the USA. Many other countries allow dual or even multiple citizenship. these people can claim to be a citizen of the world and go and take technology to the highest bidder, how freeing to only have to be loyal to oneself. At any sign of trouble you can flee to anyplace you like. Go Elon!
October 10th, 2014 at 2:08 pm
#10
Just like Tucker and the many others the Big 3 beat via good Lawyers. It is business.
At a minimum, they are costing Tesla a little bit of money by fighting them. As the burden of proof is on Tesla.
October 10th, 2014 at 3:27 pm
Tucker didn’t have a chance, even without the big 3 fighting him. The few cars he built were one-offs, using junk yard Cord transmissions, Olds fenders, etc. The engines were airplane engines modified with water jackets, and would be too expensive, even for a Rolls-Royce.
October 10th, 2014 at 4:03 pm
Y’all need to pay a little more attention. The Big 3 are not fighting Tesla. The state dealer organizations (including Michigan) are the ones fighting Tesla. They are also the folks that are behind the dealer franchise protection laws and are using those laws to try to keep Tesla from having Tesla-owned stores. They feel that it threatens the dealer franchise system and may open the door to GM or Ford or Chrysler setting up dealerships that they own and unfairly competing with franchised dealers on price.
October 10th, 2014 at 4:06 pm
Pedro, I think the Big 3 are concerned because their dealer’s are, but I wonder if there might be some in high positions who could be wondering; ‘Hmmm, what IF we can eliminate a layer between us and the consumer?’
October 10th, 2014 at 4:08 pm
#14
Feature wise, Tucker had a lot going for it. Headlights that looked into the turn, disc brakes, etc.
#15
You are correct that is what the “story” is saying. However, it would be very naive to assume GM isn’t lobbying at some level to someone about the issue of Tesla. This is more than just dealers.
October 10th, 2014 at 4:14 pm
If you let Tesla open ‘galleries’ across the country, then what stops Chinese carcos from doing the same thing in a few years? If I’m a Big-D exec, presumably that’s what I get paid to think about.
October 10th, 2014 at 4:23 pm
If the Detroit 3 are scared of the Chinese crappy cars competing against them, they got more problems than advertised.
October 10th, 2014 at 4:41 pm
I wouldn’t underestimate China. Think of the electronics being not only assembled, but designed there. They are designing and manufacturing the chips going into mobile and embedded devices. And what happens if the chicken tax goes away in the current trade talks?
October 10th, 2014 at 4:45 pm
HtG they say a car is a sum of its parts and if the Chinamobiles come with parts as poorly made as the ones they sent over here, they should have total system failures a few months after purchase, I have seen many cases of defective Chinese made parts installed by my mechanic in different cars, that now customers are asking for US made parts instead and paying more for them.
October 10th, 2014 at 4:52 pm
20 True. But I expect them to improve quality, at least among some brands. US carcos were making some cheap parts too. And if you look at Haider appliances, at one point they made a conscious decision to produce quality stuff.
October 10th, 2014 at 5:09 pm
Nicole Geverink did a super job reporting the news this week.
October 10th, 2014 at 5:20 pm
One of the main problems with Chinese parts is their steel, I’ve read that it’s just not as good as the Western made stuff and that is the basic material in many parts, which explains why my wheel bearings failed after only 2 weeks of use.
October 10th, 2014 at 5:27 pm
I think the west still has a considerable intellectual property advantage. Hopefully, we’ll maintain it.
at this point, we’d usually be reminded by our Denver friend that China is working day and night to ‘gather’ our secrets.
October 10th, 2014 at 5:31 pm
I know they can make quality stuff when they want, they have the only high-end tube CD player in the market which has received accolades from the audiophile community, also their HiFiMan line of headphones is world class and that is a Chinese company, perhaps they copied from the West and built it cheaper and just as good, but didn’t the Japanese do the same thing many moons ago?
October 10th, 2014 at 5:32 pm
No one should be afraid of Chinese cars initially, if/when they first show up. They will probably be crap, but so were the first Japanese cars we saw, especially in regard to body rust. The first Hyundais weren’t so hot either. My friend’s ’80′s Excel was simple, cheap, and unreliable, even though it was simple, but H/K are competitive in all ways now, at least their mainstream stuff. No one should discount what Chinese cars might be in 20 years.
October 10th, 2014 at 5:44 pm
Kit, don’t forget that both Japan and Korea are democracies and their business are free to prosper and innovate, not so the Chinese, their pseudo-capitalists ways where govt is involved in their industries is what is keeping them from being the # 1 economy right now, they sure have the population and resources but that completely private enterprise system is what is lacking there.
October 10th, 2014 at 5:49 pm
It’s hard to have the rule of law when one party has to be in charge forever. I wish I were younger, because China’s development going to be exciting to watch. Right now it looks like Xi’s deal is to consolidate power and crack down on corruption.
October 10th, 2014 at 5:53 pm
If Musk wasn’t such an upfront guy , he could have installed pseudo dealers. If I were he, I would create a mesmerizing national web site , sell on line , deliver any where w/buyer right
of rejection after test drive . allow full refund, no argument. necessary service centers
should not be a problem , if they don’t sell the vehicle.
October 10th, 2014 at 6:07 pm
I saw a Tesla boutique, or whatever they call it, for the first time yesterday. It is in Indy’s fanciest mall which has an Apple store, a Microsoft store, and Saks 5th Avenue. The Tesla place had a car and a rolling chassis on display, and two very pleasant and knowledgeable employees. They seemed prepared for, and willing to talk to people like me, along the the occasional actual buyer.
October 10th, 2014 at 6:29 pm
Tesla does not need a large, traditional dealership to operate, a kiosk type store is all they need, why the guy I met who bought one, did so from home,. online and never even took a test drive and he ordered exactly how he liked it, what a concept.
October 10th, 2014 at 6:36 pm
I didn’t think to ask if the car on display was for sale. I doubt if it was, unless they had another behind the curtain. I’m sure they would want to have a car on display at all times. The display car was a very pretty metallic red.
October 10th, 2014 at 6:41 pm
They can’t sell out of the store, as far as I know. But I believe you can go online at the store or anywhere and order a car. Hey, I bet I could do that to buy a Chevy Trax! Just like the dealer does! I bet I could even finance on that darn ‘mputer!
October 10th, 2014 at 10:16 pm
16, GM Vet said it best, as it was explained here on Autoline Daily. Implying that the Big3 are fighting Tesla either directly or indirectly doesn’t make sense to me. If they were in the fight, they would be on Tesla’s side. The DEALER network is fighting to keep vehicle MANUFACTURERS from selling their own products directly to consumers. The Big3 would probably be happy to cut out the middle-man and sell just the way Tesla is.
October 10th, 2014 at 11:22 pm
Would the OEM’s want to sell directly to consumers and keep the profits dealers make?
The correct answer to that question is yes.
Will dealers fight to the death to protect their system?
The correct answer is yes.
Why do you think Warren Buffett bought into dealerships in such a big way?
October 10th, 2014 at 11:41 pm
VW extended their JV agreement with Chinese FAW until 2041 !!! I have never heard of any agreement going that far out. Hard to believe.
October 10th, 2014 at 11:52 pm
John, take your time, see Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, heck see the world!! Nicole nailed it all week!!
October 11th, 2014 at 10:38 am
Autoweek
Did anyone who watched the show understand what the panelist seated closest to John meant when he spoke about shifting the mileage balance from 50/50 to 60/40, or the other way around?
And do the regs account for the weight of occupants?
October 11th, 2014 at 10:39 am
car/truck balance
October 11th, 2014 at 10:44 am
I must be the only one here who usually just reads the transcript, rather than watching the video. I watch the video when there is a note that an item will be only on the video.
October 11th, 2014 at 11:06 am
no you’re not, Kit
October 11th, 2014 at 11:33 am
it will be interesting to see if OEM’s attempt to introduce more 2 door models. If you have a 2 door version of a Fusion or Camry, reducing the 2 doors and associated hardware and wiring makes for a lighter and more fuel efficient vehicle. I see most vehicle driven with 1-3 people in them so it would not be much of a sacrifice for most owners.
October 11th, 2014 at 12:33 pm
40, It seems that everyone keeps dropping 2 door cars, I guess because they don’t sell well. Done properly, I think 2 doors look good, but apparently most people don’t want them.
It seems that Honda is wanting an excuse to kill off the 2 door and/or manual transmission Accord,given the way they are offered. The only color you can get a 4 cylinder manual 2 door Accord is black. WTF?
October 11th, 2014 at 3:04 pm
The doors on sedans are usually wider than a 4 door. This makes it tougher to enter/exit the doors inside a garage. Also,as a result of the added length, the door bottom often scrapes on the top of curbes if opened too far.
October 11th, 2014 at 4:14 pm
Back when there were a lot of big 2 door cars, I avoided parking next to them, because the long doors made them a big hazard for causing door dings.
October 11th, 2014 at 6:02 pm
No one buys 2 doors unless they’re sports cars and even then… the last 2 door sedan I can think of is the Altima and Accord and they sell in small numbers, even though most cars you see driving down the street only have one or two occupants, the majority of buyers want 4 doors, even when it comes to trucks.
October 11th, 2014 at 6:30 pm
The 2 door Civic still seems to sell fairly well, but other than that, the “pony cars,” MINIs, and sports cars are the only 2 doors that sell at all well.
October 11th, 2014 at 6:44 pm
Honda seems to REALLY be wanting an excuse to kill off the 2 door Accord. For 2015, the only colors available are black or grey, no matter how you otherwise equip it.
October 11th, 2014 at 9:02 pm
You are all correct.
All it takes is 1 OEM to design, market, and produce a great mid-sized coupe again (like the Thunderbird or Cutlass Supreme) or lower priced mid-size car (like the Chevelle or Torino) when 2 doors cost less than 4 doors.
Chrysler seems to be killing off any interesting cars under $35K
October 11th, 2014 at 9:46 pm
A Challenger is a lot like a Cutlass Supreme or Thunderbird, except that it’s made by a different company, and it has retro pony car styling.
October 11th, 2014 at 9:54 pm
The ’78-’88 Cutlass Supreme and ’89-’97 Thunderbird are nearly identical size to the current Challenger, within a couple inches in both length and width.
October 11th, 2014 at 10:33 pm
@ #49 The dimensions may be close, but from a marketing perspective a Cutlass Supreme customer is miles away from a pony car customer.
October 11th, 2014 at 10:38 pm
Porsche produced a 3.8L engine for the 911 and Chrysler produced a 3.8L engine for the minivan but they are not interchangeable.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:20 am
Boy, GM and Ford sure sold a lot of those mid size, 2 doors under different names, what the hell happened to them? FWD and downsizing, that’s what!!
October 12th, 2014 at 9:08 am
50, But Challenger is the “personal luxury cruiser” of pony cars, and a couple people I know bought them for that reason.
October 12th, 2014 at 9:37 am
52, For a few years, in the 70′s Cutlass Supreme was the top selling car in America.
October 12th, 2014 at 11:44 am
It was a great affordable personal coupe, but Monte Carlo also sold very well
October 12th, 2014 at 12:28 pm
The Cutlass Supreme in around 1977 was the car that begat the uproar about Chevy engines in Oldsmobiles. Funny thing is, the Chevy engine was probably better. At least it seemed that way, given the number of friends I had replacing those aluminum rocker arm pivot things in the Olds engines.
October 12th, 2014 at 1:35 pm
Back then, buyers still believed that you could get a much better and different car by buying an Olds or Buick over a Chevy or Pontiac, we were so silly!!
October 20th, 2014 at 5:01 pm