AD #2317 – Toyota Introduces Corolla Hatchback, Ford and Mahindra Team Up, Auto Industry at War Over Talent
March 23rd, 2018 at 11:39am
Runtime: 9:05
0:32 Ford and Mahindra Team Up
1:07 Nissan Reveals EV Strategy Details
2:00 BMW EV Mass Production Not Viable Until 2020
3:07 Toyota Introduces Corolla Hatchback
4:11 MIT Develops System That Can See Through Fog
5:43 Auto Industry Talent Gap Causing Fights
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On today’s show…Ford teams with India’s Mahindra to develop SUVs and a small EV…one of Scion’s castaways gets new look and a new name…and automakers fight to protect their IPs and it has nothing to do with interiors. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
FORD AND MAHINDRA TEAM UP
Ford is hoping to establish a greater foothold in India and other emerging markets. It just signed an agreement with Mahindra, India’s largest automaker, to develop SUVs and a small EV. One of the SUVs will be a mid-size vehicle, built on a Mahindra platform and sold independently by both companies as separate brands. The two will also develop a small SUV and electric vehicle, share powertrains and develop connected car solutions for customers. The plan is to work together for up to three years.
NISSAN REVEALS EV STRATEGY DETAILS
Nissan revealed details about its EV strategy. It’s aiming to sell 1 million electrified vehicles annually by 2022 and will develop 8 new pure electrics, including a global crossover based on the IMx Concept. And starting in 2021, Infiniti will add electrified vehicles to its lineup. Nissan expects that by 2025, half of its sales in Japan and Europe will be electrics, in the U.S. it will be 20 to 30% and China will reach as high as 40%. And Infiniti expects half it sales will be electrified vehicles by 2025. In addition to the EV news, Nissan said it plans to offer autonomous technology in 20 models in 20 markets. And it will add connectivity to all Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun models in key markets by 2022.
BMW EV MASS PRODUCTION NOT VIABLE UNTIL 2020
And in other EV news, BMW says it won’t start producing electrics in large numbers until 2020 because its current technology isn’t profitable enough to scale up for mass production. Reuters reports that the company is working on making the technology more modular and scalable so it can build them in large numbers. It’s also developed a new manufacturing technique that will allow it to build all of its models with a pure electric, a hybrid or an internal combustion engine powertrain. Sounds to us like a modular architecture. BMW plans to add 25 electrified vehicles, including 12 BEVs, to its lineup by 2025.
Still to come…Toyota introduces a hatchback version of the Corolla.
TOYOTA INTRODUCES COROLLA HATCHBACK
Remember not that long ago when Scion went away? The brand’s remaining vehicles were absorbed by Toyota, with one of them, the iM getting rebranded the Corolla iM. And now with an all-new model comes an all-new name, the Corolla Hatchback. It rides on Toyota’s New Global Architecture and is longer, wider and lower than the outgoing model. You’ll notice a similar look in the front and rear lighting with a sharp inward kickdown and the automaker’s signature hexagonal grille. The Corolla Hatchback comes standard with an 8-inch touchscreen, which features Toyota’s Entune 3.0 Audio system. Under the hood, a new 2.0L 4-cylinder engine replaces a 1.8L unit, but it’s actually smaller in size and lighter than the 1.8L. It gets mated to a 6-speed manual transmission or Toyota’s new CVT we talked about the other day, that has a launch gear. The new Corolla Hatchback will make its debut at the New York Auto Show and then go on sale this summer.
MIT DEVELOPS SYSTEM THAT CAN SEE THROUGH FOG
The fatal accident involving Uber’s self-driving car earlier this week, demonstrated that the technology still needs more refinement. And one area that needs improvement is driving in fog. Most imagining systems get confused because the light reflecting off water droplets in fog makes it impossible for the system to discern objects in the road. That’s why researchers at MIT have developed a new imaging system that can gauge the distance of objects in fog and see through fog that humans can’t. To test its system the researchers placed objects in an enclosed box and then gradually filled it with thick fog. Outside, pointing into the box, is a laser that fires pulses of light into the fog and a camera measures the time it takes for the reflection to return. As you can see in the video, the system is still able to recognize the objects in the box even after they’re not discernable to the human eye. And its technology like this that will help autonomous cars operate safely in future.
But there’s a shortage of engineers developing this new technology. And coming up next, we’ll tell you why this is causing a lot of fighting behind the scenes in the auto industry.
AUTO INDUSTRY TALENT GAP CAUSING FIGHTS
There’s a lot of fighting going on behind the scenes in the auto industry over the patents, the trade secrets and the intellectual property that backs up all the new technology being developed. But one of the reasons why this is happening, is there isn’t enough talent to go around. On Autoline This Week, our panel of experts discuss the need for more engineers.
(The ATW preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
For more about how automakers are protecting their patents and trade secrets you can watch that entire discussion right now on Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
And also be sure to check out our coverage of the NADA Convention that’s going on right now in Las Vegas. We’ll be posting interviews from the annual car dealers show, starting this afternoon on our website and YouTube channel.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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Comments (34)
March 23rd, 2018 at 11:55 am
Corolla hatch = U. G. L. Y. Toyota, Nissan, and Honda are so desperate for distinctive styling, they are designing some really goofy shapes… IMHO. The door is wide open for Subaru and could be wide open for Mazda if Mazda had a stronger dealer network.
March 23rd, 2018 at 12:19 pm
The Corolla hatch should be a nice, practical car, and you can even get a manual transmission. When Scion went away, I thought they should call the iM Toyota Matrix, rather than keeping a remnant of the Scion “brand.” Now, it looks like Scionism will be retired.
March 23rd, 2018 at 12:19 pm
Drew hit the nail on the head.
March 23rd, 2018 at 12:25 pm
What is the red SUVey thing with the strange black area in the C pillar? I guess it is some kind of Nissan.
March 23rd, 2018 at 12:26 pm
The corolla hatch looks very similar to the Mazda 3 hatchback.
I think BMW is smart to wait a few years on the full EV production. Until an EV is quickly charged and can get that charge as available as a gas station and is priced closely to an ICE I don’t see selling anymore than the current market. In fact I bet unless major improvements are made sales will decline.
March 23rd, 2018 at 12:36 pm
Toyota had a Corolla hatchback before, it was called the Matrix.
March 23rd, 2018 at 1:06 pm
The Corolla had lot’s of hatches in the past, the Matrix was just one of the more recent one’s. As to styling, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It’s interesting one comment was that it leaves the door wide open for Subaru, when I see an awful lot of Subaru queues in the Corolla Hatch. Kudos to Toyota for keeping a manual transmission option!
Car makers say customers don’t want manuals, I say that’s only because the price equation has changed. In 1988 the average price of a new car was $7,500 and the automatic transmission option was $1,200, doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see why the take rate was so much higher, then that it is today. The average price of a new car today is $30,000 and guess what, the “premium” for auto when it’s an option is the same $1,200 never mind automatics are more complicated and expensive than ever before. The reality is, car makers can more easily certify automatics for EPA and emission standards, so they have shifted the pricing paradigm in favor of automatics.
March 23rd, 2018 at 1:17 pm
6 Also, there used to be a major mpg and performance advantage with a manual, especially with small engines. Now, there is not. I have a manual in my Mini, not for performance, mpg, or to save $1200, but because I like driving manual transmissions, especially in cars with small engines.
March 23rd, 2018 at 1:27 pm
Corrolla hatch looks good to me and it will at worst be a decent car.
March 23rd, 2018 at 1:30 pm
I don’t mind a manual in a small sporty car but I will probably never own another, there’s really not much point. If I ever own a vette again it will be a paddle shift.
March 23rd, 2018 at 1:37 pm
My impression is that comparing the gas mileage between an automatic and manual in most cars is an apple and orange thing. Gearing is totally different with automatics set up for lower rpm at equivalent speeds. We have both 6 speed and CVT versions of the latest WRX’s in the family. When the CVT WRX is set in its whimpy mode, it keeps its revs below the onset of the turbo. No one really sets up a 6 speed for economy but rather engine response.
March 23rd, 2018 at 1:49 pm
Hey bring back a small pickup with a manual column shifter so you can still have three across seating.. Yeah will never happen.
March 23rd, 2018 at 1:49 pm
10 The 6-speed manual in my Mini has about the same gear spread from low to top as the automatic version, also a 6-speed. Also, top gear is about the same in manual and automatic current Corvettes.
Most of the time, I drive my Mini similar to what your CVT WRX would do. I use the highest gear that the engine isn’t “lugging,” to maximize mpg. Then, if I need to accelerate quickly, I down shift a few gears.
March 23rd, 2018 at 1:55 pm
10 Most people would get better gas mileage with an automatic than with a manual, because, with the manual, they would spend a lot of time in too low of gear for best mpg. I make it a point to drive for gas mileage, most of the time, and I consistently beat the EPA ratings of my manual cars.
March 23rd, 2018 at 2:36 pm
A manual transmission will always be favored by me when I engaged in spirited driving and an automatic for all others. I like a manual for being able the choose the next gear I’m going into in anticipation of the need. Matching the revs when you are going down a gear or two when you need the power at an instant is much smoother than an automatic. In automatics, there is usually a slight lag between the request and the execution. Depending on the road conditions, the automatic may shift too harsh, unsettling the balance. But if I’m stuck in traffic, gimme that automatic.
March 23rd, 2018 at 3:09 pm
For those of you that have been watching the industry for awhile, you may recall comparisons between GM and Toyota. In fact, Toyota has often been called the GM of Japan, due to their size and dominant home market share.
I find it interesting to note that Toyota has now followed a major marketing tactic GM executed a decade or so earlier. They launched a new brand to appeal to the youth that were not interested in buying the perceived “older folks brand”. Then after a decade of trying to woo the youngsters, the new brand was absorbed back into the parent brand and the remnants quickly faded away.
In GM’s case, it was the GEO brand available only at Chevrolet dealers. With Toyota, it was the Scion brand, now swallowed back up by Toyota brand dealerships. In both cases, the results were not very satisfactory, and not financially advantageous.
One further irony: some of the GEO models were manufactured by Toyota for GM in the Fremont plant that is now the home of Tesla. How things change in this industry!
March 23rd, 2018 at 3:28 pm
#15 I thought you were referring to the Saturn division of GM which was created to appeal to the folks that were enamored by the Japanese imports and not necessarily aimed at youth. Saturn was a bit more successful than GEO but I only remember the GEO tracker and GEO Metro which both seem to be a slight step up from a Yugo.
March 23rd, 2018 at 3:44 pm
16) There was the Storm, the (Isuzu Impulse) and the Spectrum (I-mark) and Prizm (Toyota Corolla). All source brands were sold concurrently with the Geo products. Initially the Geo brand was successful but quickly began to fade as the yen-to-dollar ratio became more unfavorable.
March 23rd, 2018 at 3:44 pm
Did you ever drive a manual in rush hour traffic,i did and my leg got cramps and felt like i had run 20 miles!
March 23rd, 2018 at 3:47 pm
Most GEO’s were pretty forgettable. The Storm was a minor hit for them, but tiny two seaters will always have limited sales potential. The Prizm was an arguably better looking Corolla, and was built for GEO by Toyota. A good car under a tarnished brand by the time it hit the market.
March 23rd, 2018 at 3:49 pm
I had a Geo Spectrum, aka Isuzu I-Mark. It was a very basic car, with manual trans, non-power steering, and no a/c, but it was much different from a Yugo in an important way. It was reliable.
While Geo and Scion were both intended to attract younger people, from my knowledge of people who bought either sub-brand, buyers were middle age or older.
March 23rd, 2018 at 3:55 pm
My favorite Geo was the Metro, with the 1.0 triple and manual trans. It would easily get 40+ mpg in almost any type of driving, at a time when that was quite good, even for a very small car.
March 23rd, 2018 at 4:29 pm
#18. I’ve driven manuals in heavy traffic, but not as a regular thing. If I drove in heavy city traffic on a daily basis, I wouldn’t want a manual.
FWIW, I’ve never had a manual trans car with a very “heavy” clutch, like many ’60′s muscle cars. Probably the hardest pushing clutch I’ve had was in a six cylinder Plymouth Duster. I’ve driven recent manual transmission Corvettes, and a Challenger R/T. It’s impressive how “light” they can make the clutch effort in those big engine cars.
March 23rd, 2018 at 4:39 pm
#22 Cause they are all hydraulic now.
March 23rd, 2018 at 5:12 pm
#23 Yep, hydraulic, and with geometry that moves clutch parts the minimum needed distance through pedel travel to make the clutch work decently.
March 23rd, 2018 at 5:52 pm
My 118 hp Mini’s hydraulic clutch isn’t a lot lighter than the one in a Corvette, I’m sure because it wouldn’t feel right if it were too light.
March 23rd, 2018 at 6:51 pm
Just read that BMW is pulling out of the Detroit auto show. Given the warm and friendly greetings given to new technology versus sheet metal art, it is quite understandable. The only thing harder to recycle than a battery is a trade show stuck in yesterday’s technology.
March 23rd, 2018 at 7:42 pm
The new Cadillac engine is very similar in design to BMW’s 4.4L twin turbo V8. The BMW twin-turbo V8 had a number of teething problems upon introduction. Some of these engines had premature valve seal failures (heat hardened them and oil leaked into the combustion chambers causing excessive oil comsuption), oil line failures, coolant line failures (BMW fitted a separate cooling system for the intercoolers with its own pump), among other issues. Hopefully Cadillac has learned from BMW and has corrected these potential pitfalls. Otherwise warranty costs are going to be exorbitant. I leave it up to you to Google BMW V8 twin turbo problems.
March 24th, 2018 at 9:37 am
Mercedes/AMG turbo V8′s are also “hot V” layout. I haven’t heard about reliability issues, but I don’t know many Mercedes owners.
March 24th, 2018 at 9:57 am
I still have an old manual sports car in the garage and it is still fun to drive. But, the problem is, whether new or old, traffic has increased to the point that manual trans looses some of its appeal. Sad to say. Hence, autonomous vehicles and all that bad jazz.
March 25th, 2018 at 9:13 am
It looks to be an interesting F1 season, especially mid-pack, with McLaren and Renault back in the hunt ,and Haas in there,based on qualifying results.
I was glad to se Ferrari off to a good start. Merc, and Hamilton still seem the ones to beat, with the pace advantage they have in qualifying, but maybe others can do some “catching up” in that regard, while Ham and Bottas and their team catch up in points.
It looks like Honda still have a lot of catching up to do.
March 25th, 2018 at 10:46 am
One, Two and three: Vettel, Hamilton and Kimi this morning (early race; started 1:10 am eastern. Haas was 5 and 6 till the first pit stops where they both had left rear loose wheel and retired after going back onto the track. I don’t know why the second Haas had the same non-tightened left rear (but it did). Not an entirely interesting race, Vettel passed Hamilton while a virtual safety car (and Vettel gained the lead during a pit stop). Australia is not known for passing and there wasn’t much.
March 25th, 2018 at 1:43 pm
I happened to wake up at two-something, and caught the last two laps on the small screen, and then found out how Vettel gained the lead. I suspect Haas will be having some serious conversation re. their pit performance.
March 25th, 2018 at 2:44 pm
The Haas cars were very competitive (they were even holding off Redbull) but their pit-work sure let them down. I could see an error on the first car in, but with the second car in after a couple of laps (they had plenty of time to make sure they got it right) they just didn’t. It would have meant big points (had they finished). Like you said, they got some ‘plaining to do (to Mr. Haas).