AD #1484 – Tesla Hit with Bad News, Dodge Powers Up the Charger, Germany’s Top 10
October 22nd, 2014 at 11:58am
Runtime: 7:46
- Tesla Hit with Bad News
- How Did This Engine Get Under This Hood?
- Dodge Gives Charger More Power
- Top 10 Automakers in Germany
- Seat Time – 2015 Honda CR-V
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Tesla is hit with a double dose of bad news, the top 10 automakers in Germany and we go behind the wheel of the new Honda CR-V. All that and much more on Autoline Daily.
TESLA HIT WITH BAD NEWS
Welcome to Autoline Daily for Wednesday, October 22nd and we start off where things aren’t looking good for Tesla. Daimler announced it has sold its 4% stake in the EV automaker for $780 million. However, the German automaker will continue to use Tesla’s batteries to power the electric version of the Mercedes B-Class. And now to the other bad news for Tesla. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed a bill that bans the EV maker from selling cars to customers through company stores. The bill also prevents the company from setting up a gallery to display its vehicles
HOW DID THIS ENGINE GET UNDER THIS HOOD?
Well, we’re once again hoping to tap into the vast knowledge of the Autoline audience. We were sent these pictures of a diesel engine under the hood of a GM truck. Interestingly it’s an air-cooled unit made by German manufacturer, Deutz. But we’re not too clear on the history of the company and how that engine ended up under the hood of a GM vehicle. From what we could find, Deutz did offer its engines in commercial vehicles from the 60’s to the 80’s, so maybe that’s what this truck is? And we’ve also seen people on YouTube that swapped out an engine for a Deutz diesel, so that’s another possibility. But if you can help shed any light on the situation just head over to the comments section and we look forward to reading your replies.
DODGE GIVES CHARGER MORE POWER
We just got a chance to get behind the wheel of the all-new Dodge Charger but unfortunately our driving impressions are embargoed for another week. In the meantime here some of the highlights. It’s got a new design including a new front, which mimics the Dart a little bit as well as a new rear fascia. The roof and the rear door are the only parts that are carried over from the previous model. Several new models are available including the R/T Scat Pack models and the SRT 392, both of which are powered by a 6.4L HEMI V8 and the SRT Hellcat which has a 6.2L HEMI that cranks out 707 horsepower. But if you’re not interested in all that power, the Charger comes standard with 3.6L Pentastar V6. All the engines are mated to an all-new eight speed automatic transmission. The 2015 Charger has a starting price of $29,000 and tops out at about $65,000 for the SRT Hellcat. We’ll have more about the Charger next week.
TOP 10 AUTOMAKERS IN GERMANY
If you really want to understand the global automotive industry you need to know what’s going on in the most important markets, like Germany. We put together a list of the top 10 brands of passenger cars in Germany and we think you’ll be surprised by the relative rankings, as well as by which names don’t show up on the list. OK, here goes: Well, no surprise here, the Volkswagen brand dominates the market. Mercedes is up next. But who expected Audi to be so close? And ahead of BMW? For all its problems it’s kind of surprising to see Opel ahead of Ford. And Skoda? We sure didn’t see that one coming. Renault is barely ahead of Hyundai, and where are any of the Japanese brands? And finally SEAT, another surprise, rounds out the top 10.
Coming up next, a look at what changes Honda made to the 2015 CR-V and it’s more than just a few.
2015 HONDA CR-V
The Honda CR-V is a mid-size SUV that competes against the Ford Escape, Toyota RAV4 and Jeep Cherokee. Base price starts just over $24,000, while the new Touring model, which I drove starts a bit over $32,000. It’s powered by a 2.4L 4-cylinder engine mated to a new CVT transmission. Fuel economy is 27 MPG in the city, 34 on the highway and 29 combined. You can subtract 1 mile-per-gallon for all those numbers for all-wheel-drive models.
Honda is on pace to increase sales of the CR-V this year by 5% compared to last year, once again topping 300,000 units and with 60 all-new or improved components on the 2015 model I don’t see it missing that mark. While most of the front fascia was massaged you’d be hard pressed to tell the new model from the old at a quick glance. The most noticeable change comes in the form of new headlights that feature standard LED daytime running lights across all trim levels. Two new sets of wheels are also available and the rear fascia did see some minor tweaks as well.
On the inside the center console was not only redesigned with 4 compartments for better storage it was also raised to add air vents for rear seat passengers. A new 7-inch touchscreen display is available, which was nice but it doesn’t have a knob for volume control and I found myself pulling my eyes away from the road to adjust it. I did like the easy split rear seats that automatically fold flat to the floor with the pull of a lever. And maybe even better, Honda listened to its taller customers and added extending sun visors. I love this because I hate having to lean forward or adjusting my seat when the visor doesn’t reach far enough to block out the sun.
Gone is the 5-speed automatic transmission and in its place is a new CVT unit, which helped deliver more performance with increased torque and also helped improve cruising efficiency. And while I didn’t feel like the CR-V drove any better than its competitors, I did feel like it was less top heavy and better planted in turns thanks to some minor changes to the suspension setup.
Also new for 2015 is a top-of-the-line Touring model that has unique features like a power open and close rear tailgate and the automaker’s collision avoidance system called Honda Sensing. It includes features like Forward Collision Warning, Collision Mitigation Braking System, Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keep Assist, where the vehicle tries to keep itself centered in the lane. While Lane Keep Assist does work, I found that it steered in fractured segments thru turns rather than a smooth arcing movement and even had to fight against it at times. But with systems like these Honda hopes to cut its fatality rate in half by 2020.
The 2015 Honda CR-V is on sale now.
But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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Comments (46)
October 22nd, 2014 at 12:11 pm
Sure would like to read this story, but the show transcript link does not work for me and I’ve tried both I.E. & Google Chrome browsers. I wish you’d switch back to the old page format.
October 22nd, 2014 at 12:19 pm
So the Michigan governor signs House Bill 5606 preventing direct sales of autos to consumers. That little addition to the bill was dropped in so late that it prevented public consultation or Senate debate. But it’s okay because the good Governor is attaching a “letter” to the Bill encouraging discussion. WTF? Sounds like typical slimy political behavior to me.
October 22nd, 2014 at 12:20 pm
The link works for me using firefox.No problems…
October 22nd, 2014 at 12:22 pm
John,
Skoda and SEAT are both VW brands so it should come as no surprise they’d do well in Germany. And if making these vehicles in Spain and the Czech Republic results in prices lower than comparable VW models then this badge engineering makes even more sense.
October 22nd, 2014 at 12:24 pm
The link works for me using Chrome; keep looking Marshall, the problem must lie elsewhere.
October 22nd, 2014 at 12:31 pm
Happy to see that SEAT is in the top 10 in Germany. A sexy Spanish body on VW underpinnings… what could be better? To bad we don’t have SEAT here. I go to Mexico for my SEAT fix at least once a year.
October 22nd, 2014 at 12:39 pm
Michigan, what are you afraid of? Let Tesla win or lose on its own merits. This story is a frightening reminder of how the Big 3 managed to smash Nash.
October 22nd, 2014 at 12:43 pm
Air Conditioning vents for the rear passengers in a 2015 Honda CR-V. The 2015 Acura RDX does not even have that feature at it’s high premium price! Acura has to play catch up to Big Brother Honda.
October 22nd, 2014 at 1:06 pm
So Honda’s name for their i-Vtech technology is “Earth Dreams”? (That’s what I saw labelled onto that new CRV engine.)
October 22nd, 2014 at 1:06 pm
Re – Tesla and Daimler
While selling held positions can be a sign of changing confidence, it is not necessarily bad news unless the transaction occurs at a discount to the going share price. What insight did the stake unloading offer to future stock valuation? Does this position change indicate a forthcoming alteration in future relationships and orders or is it just cashing out of a relationship that has matured and no longer requires buy-in?
GM and Ford don’t have to own Takata shares to conduct business with them. What’s more, owning shares in suppliers could make for interesting future purchase contract negotiations.
Those are the kind of Q and A we should be postulating when reporting on a company ownership change.
(yeah I picked Takata just to spice things up)
October 22nd, 2014 at 1:07 pm
@MJB – I noticed that too – put it up there with Skyactive.
and, @Lex, my 2008 Mazda 5 has rear (2nd row) AC vents.
October 22nd, 2014 at 1:08 pm
no issues with the link (url below), Chrome, W7
http://www.autoline.tv/daily/?p=34100#more-34100
October 22nd, 2014 at 1:21 pm
I hope the pols in Michigan didn’t leave any dealer money on the table. And Snyder’s no dummy; it’s not like the conservatives are going to switch their votes to Schauer.
October 22nd, 2014 at 1:33 pm
Internet Explorer v8 works for me.
With respect to Daimler selling their shares of Tesla, I could see the executive board of Daimler thinkinking “Hey, we can get access to the technology without part ownership and we can sell our shares at a tidy profit.”
October 22nd, 2014 at 1:47 pm
Diamond Reo trucks last made in York, Pa. before they closed a long time ago came With Duetz diesel
engines. This truck looks like a conversion some body was doing in the eighties when diesel engines started to run better and make more power. People were trying to sell conversions as a cost savings but most of the small companies I remember doing them went under fairly quickly or got in to trouble from the epa over non-compliance issues.
October 22nd, 2014 at 1:49 pm
“lane keep assist” grrrreat. So if I’m paying attention to my driving and move in the lane to avoid a pot hole the car will fight me. If I’m not paying attention to my driving, say texting my wife that I’m going to see my girlfriend… I mean working late, the car helps me out. Reward for NOT paying attention, penalty FOR paying attention, anyone else see a problem with these systems?
October 22nd, 2014 at 1:49 pm
NADC
National Automobile Dealers’ Cartel
‘It’s the same rules for everyone’
(I’m pretty moderate, but please, lets not keep talking about free or fair markets when it comes to new cars. Here chickie chickie tax….., where are you hiding?)
October 22nd, 2014 at 1:52 pm
It’s not surprising that Snyder signed the anti-Tesla bill. He is a Republican running for re-election in a state with a lot of UAW members, and wants to maximize the number who vote for him. Signing a “pro-Detroit Three” bill will get him some votes.
October 22nd, 2014 at 2:10 pm
I’m not surprised that Opel is ahead of Ford in Germany. People there still think of Opel as a German brand. In the UK, it’s different. Ford outsells GM there, and the last I knew, was second only to VW.
October 22nd, 2014 at 2:11 pm
How is it bad news that Daimler sold their Tesla shares at a profit? Unlike Toyota, Daimler has affirmed that they will continue doing business with Tesla.
October 22nd, 2014 at 2:18 pm
#1 Marshall if your browsers have javascript blockers or javascript turned off then you can’t see the content of the transcript. It can be a browser setting and/or a browser add-on like NoScript that would cause the issue.
October 22nd, 2014 at 2:32 pm
I read that the UAW is working to get members and retirees to vote against Snyder based on the right to work law passed earlier. It’s shall we say ‘interesting’ that Snyder also signed a law protecting dealers. Should be quite a vote, as pollsters model past turnout to make sense of their raw data. (I guess I should say on a personal note, that my BiL is a college buddy of Schauer. So the MI governor race interests me. I have no inside dope on the campaign: just watching)
October 22nd, 2014 at 2:39 pm
In regards to the GM pickup with the Deutz diesel engine. Where was the truck found – what part of the country? Here in the midwest, Deutz sold quite a bit of farm equipment back in the 70′s and into the 80′s, including many tractors. Looks to me like an engine an old farmer may have pulled out of a tractor and shoehorned in to the truck. Farmers are quite creative in areas like this!
October 22nd, 2014 at 2:41 pm
The last time I was in Europe, in 2008, the area I visited seemed to be crawling with Audis, in both France and Germany. Most of them seemed to be cars that I would like, but that you can’t get here, A4 Avants with 4 cylinder diesels and manual transmissions.
Does anyone here know if the price premium of Audis over similar VW’s is as great in Europe as in the U.S.? The difference would be somewhat narrower, because you can get “less loaded” Audis in Europe.
October 22nd, 2014 at 3:08 pm
#1 & others – Marshall – Try this link http://www.autoline.tv/journal/?cat=789 which brings up Autoline Daily for the past 3 weeks or so, & then hit “Continue reading” below the one you want to read the full transcript.
October 22nd, 2014 at 4:19 pm
in early 80′s selling at ford dealership we traded for a 1978 dodge 2500 pk had from factory a perkins diesel w/5spd tranny customer that traded it in said it was trailer pullers dream.
October 22nd, 2014 at 4:42 pm
#16. I’m with you, Buzzard.
I know Lane Keep Assist is likely to help save lives and all, but DOGGONIT! If drivers would just pay attention behind the wheel they wouldn’t need such ridiculous corrective measures.
Reminds me of the active restraint seat-belts of the early ’90s. The only reason that was tried was to reduce crash fatalities from the scores of people who persistently refused to wear seat-belts on their own.
October 22nd, 2014 at 4:46 pm
I also had trouble reading the transcript.
Until I blew up the phone screen and discovered the blue show transcript under subscribe to podcast.
Hope that does it for you too.
October 22nd, 2014 at 4:56 pm
Tesla stock is seriously over-valued, so Daimler got out while the getting is good.
October 22nd, 2014 at 5:01 pm
This is not the time, nor the right place (Michigan), for Tesla to try to change the rules. To believe Tesla had only the buyers interests in mind is foolish at best. Wanting to maximize their profits by undercutting the accepted practices by ALL others is more truthful.
October 22nd, 2014 at 5:12 pm
Kit, from engrs I talk to, a lot of attension has been given to Opel over the past year to correct the brands prior shortcomings. As a result, sales and profits have noticbly increased over the past 6 months. From what I hear, GM has put Opel and the EU higher up on the priority list because they can no longer deal with past losses.
October 22nd, 2014 at 5:20 pm
Opel seems to do well enough with their mainstream offerings, like Corsa and Astra, but when they try to go up-market, they can’t compete. VW have been extremely successful with Audi, but Ford and GM Europe have never been able to compete with Mercedes mid and upper offering, at least not that I’m aware of.
October 22nd, 2014 at 5:30 pm
Kit, I think the goal of the American owned brands is to just get out of the hole. If I understood corectly, more efforts on the mid-sized are in the works.
October 22nd, 2014 at 5:36 pm
I just found that the 7th best selling car model in Germany is Opel Corsa. The top 5 are VW products, and the BMW 3 series is 6th. There were no Asian models in the top 20. Not one. That is surprising to me.
October 22nd, 2014 at 5:47 pm
Also, Kit, I didn’t buy an MKZ for status sake. My wife and I absorbed the expenses of my parents and continue to support my brother who has fought for disability for the past couple of years. Anticipating only about 13K miles/year, we thought we were deserving to treat ourselves, for a change, while we are still young enough to appreciate something we thought we could never afford. As far as the swanky house; We wanted something near 2000 sq. ft. nearer the beach, but this larger home further back was the only one having a level floor plan; Just in case we took in one of the wifes parents who may be wheelchair bound. We need little to be happy from experience.
October 22nd, 2014 at 6:11 pm
35, I understand. I tend to splurge on number of cars, rather than “premium-ness.”
October 22nd, 2014 at 7:11 pm
Corp. profits up. unemployment down, yet wages stagnant; Could COLA be a part of UAW negotiations? Would this be a draw for OEM’s in the south without making false promises? Maybe I just mistook the birdie chirps.
October 22nd, 2014 at 8:00 pm
There is not a link to click on in the transcripts to view the photos of the diesel engine in the GM truck.
October 22nd, 2014 at 9:26 pm
The photos are from a Picasa site,
https://plus.google.com/photos/101979966714916172424/albums/5211453798460834113?banner=pwa&authkey=COCx7qPWsOH3hwE
October 22nd, 2014 at 10:55 pm
I have spent time in Germany recently and can echo the list you guys have made.
Lots of Benz’, because they also sell their entry level A, B and CL in the country. That just adds to their overall sales numbers; the reason Daimler bought Chrysler in the first place.
I did also see lots of Fords too, but it didn’t make the list.
Skodas, Hynundai and Kia’s are popular with lower middle income families and individuals.
Skoda share VW drive-trains so it reduces the cost of getting a TDI for example.
SEAT is popular because they often more sporty than standard VW offerings.
Not too shocked about Audi being ahead of BMW, who’s enjoyed the biggest gains the last twenty years?
Audi
This started in the mid 80′s with a massive investment in motorsports.
BMW has made massive investments as well, but botched it’s F1 effort and increasing weight and technology in the M3/M4 makes quite a few Bimmer fans groan.
I find it funny though, even if the internet has brought niche marketing to the fore, that doesn’t mean an auto maker is going to start offering hard edged performance cars for price reduction.
This is where I have a falling out with many enthusiast.
October 23rd, 2014 at 12:03 am
Selling Tesla stock while its high, not bad news. The passing of a law in a northern state where you probably won’t sell many electrics cars anyway, not a great loss.
October 23rd, 2014 at 6:55 am
I had wondered the same thing about the lane assist features and how they would impact sudden lane change avoidance issues. I would think they could set them to only assist in gradual lane adjustments that you get by drifting from your lane but would overridden by a sudden steering input.
October 23rd, 2014 at 6:59 am
It almost sounds to me Germany has some kind of import system that keeps the Japanese companies from flooding the country like they have done every where else. Do they use Japan’s own import structure against? If so maybe other countries(US) should impose them as well. It would surely help domestic companies so they wouldn’t suffer the same fate as those in Australia.
October 23rd, 2014 at 8:50 am
Reguarding the Deutz diesel truck, I thought it might have been an odd factory option as GM was considering offering a diesel engine until I saw #39 (GND’s) Picasa pics. That truck is no where near factory, it had previously been extensively modified to keep in on the road with replacement door, steering wheel, dash setup, etc. I’m sure some midwest farmer swapped the engine at some point. I did find an interesting forum chat about Deutz engines, in which an old mechanic states that in 1984 he worked at a truck rental place and got two C-65 Chevy’s from GM powered with Deutz diesels as test units:
http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cgi-bin/viewit.cgi?bd=ttalk&th=404634
October 23rd, 2014 at 9:11 am
I bet that truck is really slow, and really noisy, but would be unique. I’d wouldn’t want to drive it in very cold weather, because it probably doesn’t have a heater.
October 23rd, 2014 at 9:20 am
43, On the list I found of car sales in Germany by brand for the first 3 quarters of 2014, Toyota, Nissan, and Mazda are 12, 13, and 14, with Mazda much closer to Toyota, percentage-wise, than in the U.S. Peugeot and Citroen are just below.