AD #2069 – What’s Really Going on with CAFE, Automakers Cut Production, France Clears Opel of Diesel Wrongdoing
March 20th, 2017 at 11:46am
Runtime: 6:15
To watch this episode on YouTube click here.
- Automakers Cut Production
- France Clears Opel of Diesel Wrongdoing
- Lexus Tests Sewing Operators with Origami
- Lexus RX Made with Aluminum Panels
- What’s Really Going on with CAFE
Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bridgestone , Dow Automotive Systems and Lear Corporation.
»Subscribe to Podcast | 
| 
| Listen on Phone 
| 
On today’s show…with slowing sales, automakers are cutting production in North America…if you want to work at Lexus you better be good at origami…and what the hard-core environmentalists don’t want you to know about the CAFE standards. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for those who support the automotive industry.
AUTOMAKERS CUT PRODUCTION
Earlier this month we reported that inventory levels in the U.S. are starting to creep up. There are 4.1 million vehicles sitting on dealers’ lots right now. We said automakers have two choices: ramp up incentives or start cutting production. They’re definitely choosing the latter. Wards Auto reports that car production in North America was down 4.4% in February. U.S. production was down 7.5%, Canadian production fell 12.5%, but Mexico was up 14%. Through the first two months of the year, total North American production is down 1.4%.
FRANCE CLEARS OPEL OF DIESEL WRONGDOING
In response to Volkswagen’s diesel emission cheating, authorities in France started investigating other automakers for possible wrongdoing. German automaker Opel was one of those companies, but Reuters reports that a French consumer watchdog just cleared the company of any wrongdoing. How interesting. The French accuse a German automaker of cheating. But then a French company wants to buy the German automaker and suddenly it’s cleared of any wrongdoing. Are we trying to say the two are connected? Heavens no! We would be shocked, shocked to learn there was any connection.
And we’ll be back with more right after this.
CAN YOU GIVE ME A HAND?
I’ve heard of strange questions being asked during a job interview, but how about having to fold an Origami cat with one hand in under 90-seconds? And it has to be your non-dominant hand. This is actually a test that each Lexus Takumi operator must pass in order to be considered to become a sewing machine operator. Takumi means “artisan” in Japanese. The test helps prove that they have the “dexterity and carefulness of craftsmen.” And it’s no easy task. It appears as though this was first used to find workers for the hand-sewn upholstery on the 2013 Lexus ES and only 12 people were able to fold an Origami cat with their non-dominate hand in under 90-seconds.
LEXUS RX MADE WITH ALUMINUM PANELS
Looks like Ford and Jaguar Land Rover aren’t the only ones going to aluminum bodies. Did you know the exterior panels on the new Lexus RX are mostly made of aluminum? Lexus didn’t make a big deal of announcing this. But to make sure it has access to plenty of aluminum, Toyota signed a deal with supplier Arconic to make it the sole aluminum sheet supplier to the company for the Lexus RX.
Coming up next, John says environmentalists don’t want you to know what’s really happening with fuel economy standards.
WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON WITH CAFE
Environmentalists are on the warpath, accusing Trump of rolling back fuel economy standards in favor of dirty SUVs that will pollute the planet. But these are gross exaggerations designed to get people riled up, not inform them of what’s really going on.
This past January, the EPA pulled a fast one, reneging on its promise to hold a mid-term review of CAFE standards in April of 2018. Instead, it declared the standards were good to go even though it did not get input from automakers. So the automakers, and I mean all of them, asked Trump to reinstate the mid-term review, something he will probably do this week.
What the hard-core environmentalists never mention is that U.S. emission and fuel economy standards are the toughest in the world. There’s a misperception out there that European standards are tougher. They are not. And this explains why Volkswagen can “fix” the cheating diesels it sold in Europe, but can’t fix them in the U.S.–the U.S. standards are that much tougher.
Also, no matter what Trump does, the U.S. standards will continue to get tougher every single year up until 2022. That’s because the mid-term review only affects the standards from 2022 to 2025. That’s when those standards really get tough–so tough that every single automaker, not just the Detroit Three, are asking for relief. And they’re asking for one national standard, meaning they don’t want California to set its own rules.
But the automakers are not asking for a roll back. They just don’t want such a steep increase. As I keep saying, don’t make it a 2025 CAFE standard, push it back to 2030. Five extra years would give the industry enormous relief yet we’d still get to the same goals. The hard-core environmentalists don’t want you to know this, but even if we delayed CAFE by five years the United States would still have the toughest fuel economy and emissions standards in the world.
That’s how I see it and as always we welcome you to weigh in with your comments. And that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
Share
Embed
Permalink
Comments (29)
March 20th, 2017 at 12:10 pm
Sean, as I was reading the bullets for today’s show, the “France Clears Opel of Diesel Wrongdoing” one made me say “Imagine that”. Guess we are on the same page…
March 20th, 2017 at 12:12 pm
Thank you …again! for telling like it is. CAFE standards are destined to yield little golf cart vehicles that will have no “Zoom!Zoom! or individuality. If you are going to ride around in a Denny’s food booth …why would you even consider road performance or handling?
March 20th, 2017 at 12:21 pm
“The hard-core environmentalists don’t want you to know this, but even if we delayed CAFE by five years the United States would still have the toughest fuel economy and emissions standards in the world.”
Indeed we do.We as a country have really ‘cleaned up our act’,but not the rest of the world.We as a country have done our share and more,not the rest of the world.
Until such time as our already tough standards are met by the rest of the world,dirty air will prevail.
As I’ve said before,we as a country have done our share.It’s time for the rest of the world to get serious about air pollution.
March 20th, 2017 at 12:31 pm
There is one more connection missing in the story about Opel being cleared by the French authorities for emission violations: the French government’s ownership stake in PSA. This fact just makes it that much worse, and lends credibility to those who suspect there could be some non-factual basis for what companies were suspected in the first place. I wonder if Opel will be cleared by the EU authorities as well?
March 20th, 2017 at 12:32 pm
#3: Well, when it comes to automobiles at least. We are still one of the top all-time polluters in the world overall. Lots of work to do in the energy production field!
March 20th, 2017 at 12:35 pm
The US has the toughest fuel economy ‘standards’ but, because of cheap fuel, the US uses far more fuel per vehicle than Europe, and many other parts of the world.
As far as smog-causing emissions, the US has the most strict standards, and the lowest real emissions. I suspect people in many European cities wish they had the US standards, and fewer diesel cars. The air quality in Paris was not very good the last time I was there, about 8 years ago.
March 20th, 2017 at 12:54 pm
Emission standards: sounds good, but am wondering what the fact base is for these statements? I noticed this is highy complex when checking just two sources of information:
1 http://delphi.com/docs/default-source/worldwide-emissions-standards/delphi-worldwide-emissions-standards-passenger-cars-light-duty-2016-7.pdf
and
2 http://transportpolicy.net/index.php?title=Global_Comparison:_Light-duty_Emissions specifically the graph under “2 Timeline” and “3 Limit values”.
It I shard to compare the standards due to: different units (mpg in the U.S., g/km in the EU), different test cycles, different definition of vehicle categories, and exceptions for certain vehicles in the U.S.
Would love to learn more about this, but believe that thorough study, or checking with those who have studied this in detail, will be needed. You may have done just that before making the statements, but just wanted to check.
March 20th, 2017 at 12:56 pm
@7 “It is hard” instead of “It I shard”
March 20th, 2017 at 1:32 pm
@ Kit: Given that our country is so big,of course we will have more vehicles on the road.When gas was more expensive,people such as myself didn’t drive unless I had too.But I’ve been that way now for decades.
But other folks didn’t have the luxury of staying home.That would be especially true for folks that live out in the country.
Then there is our agriculture which is far bigger than anything in the EU.But on the bright side,all the newer diesel powered farm equipment is clean.Up to standards.
But as of now,still not sure what or how cow fartz will be taken care of,lol ;}>
March 20th, 2017 at 1:43 pm
9 Because of our cheap gas, we use much more fuel per vehicle than many, or most other parts of the world. We have more vehicles per person than most parts of the world, but I suspect part of that is the result of “occasional use” vehicles, like my van.
March 20th, 2017 at 1:47 pm
If gas consistently cost $5-6/gallon in the US, there would be fewer huge SUV’s and pickups used to carry one person to work, and to buy groceries.
March 20th, 2017 at 2:11 pm
If manufacturers want to stick to California they should stop selling new cars and trucks there period. Let it turn into Cuba. California’s smog problem isn’t cars as much as stationary idling cars stuck going no where in their massive traffic jams. The amount of time, fuel and money wasted going no where could probably pay off a lot of Cali’s debt. They need to fix their roads.
March 20th, 2017 at 2:23 pm
#7. Wim, you can’t just look at the g/mile or g/km values. The key difference is in the testing procedures. In the U.S. emissions are measured from a cold-start. In Europe they’re measured with a fully warmed up engine. The driving cycle is also very different, with U.S. cars measured over a full 20 minutes or so, while in Europe emissions are sampled at different points but not continuously. Here’s a paper that goes into more detail:
https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmtrans/69/6907.htm
March 20th, 2017 at 2:41 pm
@13 That was exactly my point: my question was how you can be so sure that U.S. regulations are the most stringent before the Worldwide Light-vehicle Test Procedure has been implemented and the same unit of measurements are used?
March 20th, 2017 at 2:44 pm
#12
I believe the manufacturers would characterize that as “cutting off your nose to spite your face.”
What “Cali debt”?
March 20th, 2017 at 2:45 pm
12 California is about 1/6 of the US market. If some mfgs, like Ford and GM quit selling there, Toyota will gladly take up the slack.
March 20th, 2017 at 3:01 pm
The automobile has been an easy target ever since it WAS the leading smog producer. Even though that has changed, the stigma remains. As earlier discussed, the auto industry is cutting edge clean (and getting cleaner). John, put me down as fully on-board to your present and previous commentary(s) on this subject.
And changing the subject, with a smile. Now I see where Lexus has gotten their new design sense (or should I say non-sense); the designers are using origami as their influence, and of course, the large mouth bass for its grill. Still I see them on the road so someone out there doesn’t seem to mind.
March 20th, 2017 at 3:05 pm
#13 Thanks for the link, John. Interesting stuff.
March 20th, 2017 at 3:22 pm
John,
How much are these Big Rigs polluting while delivering all the packages to customer’s homes from every country in the world?
I think the environmentalists need to go after all the shipping barges chugging half-way around the world to bring off shore products.
March 20th, 2017 at 3:26 pm
The article points out that real world NOx emissions from diesel cars are about 4 times the regulated level. They can devise a more representative test, but it might be hard to make diesels comply. Maybe Europe should re-think their incentives to buy diesels, at least in urban areas. At least they got rid of the urban acid rain, which was damaging buildings, monuments, etc., when they mandated low sulphur diesel fuel.
March 20th, 2017 at 6:11 pm
Brett, Cali Debt is the huge financial hole the state is in. They tax the crap out of everything and are still broke. It maybe as you say cutting your nose off , but if you can’t achieve the numbers without costing you a fortune when you meet the requirements of the other 49 states , I mean come on. Your in business to make money . We already have read that EVs cost more to make then they can sell them for. Then they have to build 2 kinds of vehicles one for Cali and ones for everywhere else. At some point you have to stop the bleeding or you die. If Cali wants clean air so much then maybe they should all start riding bicycles .
March 20th, 2017 at 9:21 pm
California is not broke. How about Michigan?
March 20th, 2017 at 9:29 pm
California has too much debt, but they are not alone. A number of states have more debt than CA, as a percentage of gross state product.
http://www.usgovernmentdebt.us/state_debt_rank
March 21st, 2017 at 5:06 am
The article “AUTOMAKERS CUT PRODUCTION” shows one exception, Toyota. We’re also trying to get a handle on a report that Prius Prime inventory is running at 16 days and California dealers are asking for more. We are seeing a lot of people flying to CARB states to buy a Prius Prime and drive it home.
#12 – As for California traffic jams and idling cars, the Prius family has always been turning the engine off when stopped. Hybrids don’t run their engine in a traffic jam and EVs don’t have an engine. Ordinary gas cars that idle in traffic jams require CARB credits which makes hybrids, plug-ins, and EVs affordable.
Full disclosure, we just passed 3k miles in our Prius Prime and we are seeing better than 60 MPG all the time. In #13 John reports how Europeans fool themselves testing a warmed up engine. Well the Prius Prime uses EV mode to off-load a cold engine until the warmed engine can deliver +60 MPG.
March 21st, 2017 at 7:45 am
Thank you John for clearing up the misinformation about what the automakers have asked for. It would be good to know where the low hanging fruit is. Is it coal and oil electricity production, or manufacturing, or worldwide shipping? We have cars handled as well as we can, so let’s get aggressive on the next industry in line.
March 21st, 2017 at 8:44 am
#24, Bob, I considered going to California, or somewhere away from FL to get a Prius Prime, but ended up getting a non-Prime. If I had a place to plug it in most of the time, I would have traveled to get the Prime. The Prime may be better in some ways, as with the “clean warm-up,” even if you never plug it in, but the regular gen 4 Prius is an improvement over the gen 3 in ride, handling, quietness, and in having semi-useful gadgets like adaptive cruise control. It’s too early to really know the mpg, with only 500-some miles on the car, but the readout is showing 55.xx in mixed driving, at least 10% better than the 2010 in similar driving.
March 21st, 2017 at 8:57 am
The “low hanging fruit” for greenhouse emissions may be coal-fired power plants or shipping, but vehicles remain the major source of ground level “bad air” in cities, but the sources may well be commercial trucks and buses, more than “light vehicles.”
When the wind is from the wrong direction, the biggest source of bad-to-breath pollution where I am may be the cruise ships parked about 3 miles to the north. They often belch smoke, even when in port.
March 21st, 2017 at 9:38 am
California probably has a lot of debt because the supply siders spent too much time in the driver’s seat in Sacramento before sensible governance replaced blind ideology.
March 21st, 2017 at 1:19 pm
LOVE the Casablanca reference during the France/Opel story! Thanks for the laugh, John and Sean!