AD #1570 – BMW i3 Passes Model S, Chevy Teases Malibu, Ford ST Products Attract Millennials
March 5th, 2015 at 11:50am
Runtime: 7:05
- BMW i3 Overtakes Model S In February
- Porsche Introduces 911 GT3 RS
- Ford Attracts Millennials with Performance
- NanoSteel Starts 3D Printing Metal
- Chevy Teases New Malibu
- A Dive Into Jeep’s TrailRated Hardware
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On today’s show…Chevy teases the new Malibu, the BMW i3 passes the Tesla Model S in February and Ford is attracting millennials with performance cars. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily for March 5th, 2015.
BMW i3 OVERTAKES MODEL S IN FEBRUARY
Electric vehicle sales continue to grow in the U.S. According to Wards, automakers sold 4,400 EVs last month, an increase of 45% compared to a year ago. But that big growth was mostly thanks to the BMW i3 which wasn’t on sale at this time last year. However the big news is, that model outsold its luxury rival the Model S. Tesla still holds the overall sales lead in 2015 but its just 34 units ahead of BMW. So it won’t be surprising to see the i3 overtake it this month. But to be fair to Tesla it is limited by the number of states it can sell in. And look out Nissan, the i3 is hot on you heals too. The BMW was just over 100 units shy of the LEAF for the top spot last month.
PORSCHE INTRODUCES 911 GT3 RS
Porsche revealed a new 911 variant called the GT3 RS. It’s packed with as much motorsport technology as the company could put in it while still being street legal. The car is powered by a 4.0L six-cylinder engine that cranks out 500 horsepower and 338 pound feet of torque. It’s able to scream from 0 to 60 miles-per-hour in just 3.1 seconds. To keep weight down it includes a magnesium roof and carbon fiber hood and rear deck lids. You can order the car now, however U.S. customers won’t get the car until July. The 911 GT3 RS has a starting price just under $177,000 in the American market.
Hey be sure to watch today’s Autoline After Hours. Our special guest is Art Anderson, the chief engineer of the new Jeep Renegade. The live show now starts at 3PM eastern time, so if you’ve got any questions send them via Twitter or send us an email at viewermail@autoline.tv. So tune into Autoline.tv today at 3PM for some of the best insider discussion in the industry.
Still to come…one company starts 3D printing metal parts, Chevy teases the new Malibu and we’ll dive into some of the hardware on Jeep’s TrailHawk models.
FORD ATTRACTS MILLENNIALS WITH PERFORMANCE
We hear a lot about young people not being interested in cars but here’s one way to appeal to the younger generation. Performance cars. Millennials are purchasing Ford ST vehicles at twice the rate of the other products in its line-up. Ford’s head of racing activities, Jamie Allison, tells Autoline that the ST cars are “a great entry point to get new customers into the Ford brand.” And once they’re ready for a new vehicle, the hope is those millennials will stick with the brand as they get older.
3D PRINTING METAL
3D printing metal parts from a powder is nothing new, but making them strong is. A company by the name of NanoSteel can now 3D print complex high hardness metal parts that are fully dense and crack free without being heat treated. Meaning it can even make parts that are impact and wear resistant, like bearings and impellers. We saw Bentley use metal 3D printed parts on its new sports car concept, so it probably won’t be too long before we see the process used on a production vehicle.
CHEVY TEASES NEW MALIBU
Well it looks like we need to brace ourselves for another long stretch of teaser shots and little pieces of info scattered along the way leading up to the introduction of a new vehicle again. Because Chevy just announced the all-new Malibu with this image of its silhouette. What we do know is that it will be built on an all-new architecture that’s almost 4-inches longer and should help reduce overall weight by about 300-pounds. But that’s about all for now. The 2016 Malibu will make its debut at the New York auto show in April and go on sale by the end of this year.
Coming up next, a look at some of the hardware that helped a couple of Jeeps earn their TrailRated badges.
A DIVE INTO JEEP’S TRAILRATED HARDWARE
I remember at the introductions of both the Jeep Cherokee and Renegade many wondered if they’d live up to Jeep’s off-road prowess. But with the introduction of the TrailHawk, those concerns were pretty much put to bed. While at FCA’s winter drive event I learned about some of the hardware that helped these vehicles earn their TrailRated badges for completing the Rubicon Trail. Up front is the Power Transfer Unit or PTU, which bolts to the transaxle and provides a method to drive the front wheels and send power to the rear axle. To help improve efficiency a shift sleeve can couple and decouple power to the rear of the vehicle. Unique to the Cherokee TrailHawk when in Active Drive 2 or Active Drive Lock mode a mechanical planetary reduction gear is activated. This multiplies the torque and reduces the speed to the front axle for crawling over rocks. Moving to the back we’ll find what the company calls a Rear Drive Module or RDM. Among the typical bearings and gears, it also houses the clutchpack that when actuated by a hydraulic servo unit allows the clutches to open for 2-wheel drive mode or close to modulate torque in 4-wheel drive. The clutchpack was also relocated from the typical pinion yolk location to be in line with the ring gear for better weight distribution. As with the front PTU, a mechanical planetary reduction gear is unique to the Cherokee TrailHawk in the rear RDM as is a mechanical locking rear axle. And once out on the course you can really start to understand what the engineers were talking about in all those presentations, diagrams and cut away models.
But that wraps up today’s report, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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Comments (18)
March 5th, 2015 at 12:13 pm
Nerd request
Sean, is there any way for a local nerd to see those engineering presentations like the one you had to sit through before hitting the snow?
Asking for a nerd.
March 5th, 2015 at 12:30 pm
HtG – Not that I’m aware of. My guess is that you’d have to catch some of these guys while their out showing off new product to get the low-down, like at the Easter Jeep Safari or similar. But I’ll ask the folks over at Jeep if they ever do things like that for the public.
March 5th, 2015 at 12:34 pm
question- if you park 3 different porsches next to each other can anyone, other than a porsche aficionado, tell them apart?
March 5th, 2015 at 12:37 pm
” it probably won’t be too long before we see the process (3D printing) used on a production vehicle.”
Unless I’m missing something, about the only production use of 3D printing might be to make a personalized Spirit of Ecstasy as a $5000 option for your Rolls-Royce. It takes about two hours to make a small plastic part using the process.
It is great for prototyping, since you can make any shape, no matter how complex, if you have a proper CAD drawing, but it would be a very expensive way to make more than a few parts.
March 5th, 2015 at 12:51 pm
Autoline Daily: I love your show!
March 5th, 2015 at 1:02 pm
Common Sean just purchase a drone with a HD camera and hang around the test tracks for new vehicle photos. Forget the teasers.
March 5th, 2015 at 1:16 pm
I was very disappointed that the new 2016 Honda Pilot is almost a Carbon Copy Side View of the current Chevy Traverse. Does this mean that the All new Chevy Malibu will be a copy of the Honda Accord?
I believe Nissan, Mazda and Mitsubishi need to partner up in order to survive and grow. Earlier this week it was mentioned that Nissan and Mazda may partner. I think that Subaru needs to look for a partner also, maybe Mitsubishi. The Outback and Outlander would make good siblings.
March 5th, 2015 at 1:20 pm
@7 Why would Nissan “need” to partner with anyone? they have been on a steady sales growth for quite a while now and have a fairly diverse product range. Subaru is also selling a lot of vehicles and if they need help Toyota would be there savour.
March 5th, 2015 at 1:39 pm
When Mazda and Ford parted ways, I thought Mazda would need a new partner, but they seem to be doing ok without one. Time will tell if they can stay competitive.
Subaru is very successful with their niche of selling “affordable” AWD vehicles. I suspect they are happy with their 1.5-2% U.S. market share, and whatever they have in the rest of the world.
Mitsubishi sales are increasing a little in the U.S. market, but they are still tiny for a brand selling “mainstream” vehicles. It is time for them to leave the U.S. market. The parent company has deep pockets, so they just don’t want to let go.
March 5th, 2015 at 2:12 pm
#4 Kit – I stand by what I said. You’re probably right that it will first be used on some low production ultra-luxury machine. But I think it will be more than just a fancy hood ornament. As you say “you can make any shape, no matter how complex.” So, if you can make something really unique and stand out from the crowd that’s exactly what the people making and buying those machines want and are willing to pay for. And when you’re only making a handful of vehicles a day that cost 100′s-of-thousands-of-dollars, a few hours to make a part is not the biggest deal in the world. To add to that, you never know when there will be some big advancement in technology, so cost could become less of an issue. Anyway, that’s how I see it. I look forward to what you have to say.
March 5th, 2015 at 2:44 pm
#3 Answer: Depends on which 3 Porsches. If they are different versions of the “911″, the answer is no, and that is OK.
March 5th, 2015 at 3:10 pm
#10 Sean, I certainly see it being used for various parts, beyond hood ornaments, for low volume expensive cars, where one-off, or very small numbers of a part are wanted.
It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few years, as far as making parts more quickly, and with higher quality than now. My main direct experience with 3D is with relatively cheap equipment, using PLA and ABS material, so the “state of the art” in 3D printing is way beyond what I have experienced directly.
March 5th, 2015 at 7:10 pm
Jeep Renegade
Want
March 5th, 2015 at 7:31 pm
Jeep Renegade Redux
3200 lbs?
HS!
HtG stands and applauds
March 5th, 2015 at 8:38 pm
Gary V. said of the Geneva show…
“this is Switzerland and they got a lotta banks….’
Money launderers and welfare queens, is what I’m seeing, Gary.
March 5th, 2015 at 9:05 pm
@8 & 9: The problem is that Mazda is just doing OK! They could be doing a whole lot better. The same can be said for Subaru. They can not meet demand so customers are turning away to competitor products. Mitsubishi needs to broaden it appeal to customers. The added production capacity that Mitsubishi would enhance Subaru’s product line especially in the larger seven passenger vehicle segment. The Outlander could replace the Tribeca.
March 5th, 2015 at 9:35 pm
16 I don’t think Subaru wants to become truly “mainstream.” If they did, they would quit having AWD mandatory on everything they sell. They do well in places where it snows a lot, like Colorado, but they don’t do very well in places like Florida. Yeah, some people want AWD in Florida so they can floor it on loose gravel and not spin the tires much, but most don’t feel that need.
The main product where Subaru is not meeting demand is Forester. My sister had to wait a few weeks to get one equipped as she wanted. They will probably “catch up” with demand, after they have all production from the Lafayette, Indiana plant that is now building Camrys for Toyota.
March 6th, 2015 at 6:31 am
It looked, to me, like the Malibu tease resembled the new Volt (shape), and as others mentioned, maybe a little ‘Honda’ish’ in look. Guess we’ll have to wait to be sure, and hoping that the styling works for one of Chevy’s mainstream vehicles. It certainly wasn’t ‘off-putting’ (to my eye).