On today’s show…Hyundai gives the Elantra a new face…Geely is now the third largest automaker in China…and self-driving start-up company Aurora says thanks, but no thanks to Volkswagen. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.
GEELY MAKES A GREAT LEAP FORWARD
We keep saying that Li Shufu is the Henry Ford of China. He’s the guy who started the Chinese company Geely that went on to buy Volvo from Ford. He also has stakes in Volvo truck, and the company that makes London cabs, and in Lotus, and in Proton the Malaysian automaker and in Terrafugia an American company developing flying cars, and he owns almost ten percent of Daimler. Now Geely just became the third largest automaker in China, trailing only Volkswagen and General Motors. And that is really saying something about how fast Geely is growing.
FCA GETS OFFER FOR MAGNETI
FCA has been trying to sell Magneti Marelli, its in-house supplier company. But no one came up with a good offer. So it decided to spin it off. But now KKR, the private investment company, is looking into buying it. FCA could probably get a couple of billion dollars by selling. But it would also get hit with a big tax bill, so spinning Magneti off may still be the best option.
VW WANTS AURORA, AURORA SAYS NO
In an attempt to bolster its autonomous car effort, Volkswagen recently tried to acquire autonomous start-up Aurora, which was founded by former Tesla and Google employees. But Aurora said no thanks because it wants to remain independent, so it can sell its technology to multiple automakers. The two companies are already partners, VW announced at CES this year that it will use Aurora’s technology in its cars. But at the same event, Hyundai also announced that it will integrate Aurora’s system into its Nexo fuel cell vehicle.
And we’ll take a look at the updates Hyundai made to the Elantra, right after this.
HYUNDAI UPDATES THE ELANTRA
Hyundai just gave the Elantra a facelift. The front and rear styling was changed to give the car what Hyundai calls a catchy and confident image. We think the front end graphic kind of reminds us of the new Volkswagen Jetta. Inside it gets an 8-inch screen, one inch bigger than before. And it gets an optional suite of safety technologies, including automated emergency braking, or AEB. Hyundai offers a number of different models of the Elantra, but the car typically sells for about $20,000.
FEWER SUBPRIME CAR BUYERS
A year ago, some in the financial media were sounding alarms about subprime car buyers defaulting on their car loans. All kinds of hysterical stories bemoaned the fact that automakers relied too heavily on consumers with poor credit ratings. Fast forward to today. There’s no problem. Automakers and lenders tightened up their credit standards, and subprime buyers now account for 25% fewer of all borrowers. Another reason for the decline: consumers have built up their credit scores after taking a bath during the Great Recession.
Hyundai launched a refund program if you didn’t like your car and it worked great until car dealers said that’s enough. We’ll tell you more right after this.
DEALERS DON’T LIKE HYUNDAI REFUNDS
Last year, Hyundai introduced its Shopper Assurance program, that gave customers the option to return their vehicle within 3 days of purchasing it for a full refund. But WardsAuto reports that a number of dealers said they didn’t like it. They hated having to refund the money. So Hyundai revised the program. Dealers can now offer buyers to exchange the vehicle they bought for another one, as long as they do it within 3 days of the purchase. Shopper Assurance is a tool created by the company to streamline buying a car, by starting the process online before heading to the dealer.
Be sure to join us for Autoline After Hours this afternoon when we’ll have Stephen Frey, the Chief Engineer for the Acura RDX in the studio, along with an RDX. We’ll take a deep dive into how it developed that vehicle and the new technology it introduced. Lindsay Brooke from SAE Engineering will also be on the show. We’ll be taking your questions too, so start thinking about what you would like to ask.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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Comments (24)
August 23rd, 2018 at 11:43 am
In Jan 2015 I needed a cheap rental for week, the best deal (except for junk rentals) was Enterprise, and they gave me an Elantra (not what I was hoping), a 2015 model. It did start every time, but beyond that, what a worthless, cheap POS. The styling was way too busy and pretentious, the car felt too lightweight and tinny, the engine and transmission were less than memorable. I sure would not shell out $20,000 to buy one, when (I actually did this in 16 and 17)
I paid $10,500 and $11,000 respectively and got me two E class Bluetec Diesel 3-lts, these cars are hard to find and I have to drive 4 hours to get each one, but it was 100% worth it. A 2007 and a stunning white 2008, with about 110k miles each, these cars were in perfect shape (bought from the dealer) and have not failed once since.
These cars are omnipresent in Europe as taxis and as you can understand they go on for millions of miles with hardly any problems. In addition, the one I have in the summer home overseas (this is what started it, diesel there is 1.2 euros a liter, while gas is 1.65!), you can get used parts for next to nothing. A driver’s side mirror is over 1,000 Euros if you buy the 4 parts new and install it at the dealer, but I got a used one just like it for… 170 Euros and free installation.
August 23rd, 2018 at 12:17 pm
Then there’s the diesel that’s memorable because expensive fuel and noisy engine and dirty air? I guess really is a fun thing is everyone’s different and that’s what gives us a variety to choose from. But everybody is smarter than me LOL
August 23rd, 2018 at 1:31 pm
So now if you buy a Hyundai and decide you don’t like it after a few days your sole recourse is to trade for a different Hyundai model?
That makes little sense. Most buyers shop by price point and vehicle category, and cross shop different brands. In other words there would not be several models that interested a buyer from the same manufacturer.
August 23rd, 2018 at 2:06 pm
3 Hyundai’s thing is better than what most car companies offer, but yeah, still not too useful for many people.
August 23rd, 2018 at 2:33 pm
3 you seem to be really out of date in your view of diesels. In the US we had extra-clean diesel fuel with a 500 times reduction in emissions over your old diesel fuel. In many emissions, diesel is far superior than gas. AND in addition, to get the 400 lb-ft torque, you’d have to go high into 6 figures.
for the overseas car, I also considered the Prius plug-in hybrid, always used (I only drive 5k miles or less with each of my cars and it would be truly silly to shoulder all that depreciation), but its short EV range would not work, and its price was no different than the much larger and safer Merc, (it was 2012 or so model) and I was turned off by its worn-looking, cheap interior.
But feel free to believe that one Elantra at $20,000 is more fun than two E class diesels at $10 and $11k.. I suspect you never owned either.
August 23rd, 2018 at 2:34 pm
5 forgot to add, we had the clean diesel fuel since 2006 (October) and Europe had it long before that.
August 23rd, 2018 at 2:39 pm
more corrections, my response was to 2, not to 3, and in retrospect, I should better had ignored 2 and its ignorant description of the E class diesels, which, BTW, I did not buy for fun, nor even for their excellent economy, but for their safety. The one overseas replaced a tiny hatch we had bought new, was 25 years old with only 55 k miles, and was totaled by a careless young cop (!) driving his own ugly Mitsu COlt hatch, but with 3 more people inside, (I estimate that car loaded was at least 50% heavier than my very lightweight hatch), he hit the front axle and the driver’s door, his excuse is the sun blinded him and he missed his stop sign, but he was going fast and I was lucky not to break any bones, or suffer any other damage, but just have muscle pains for 2 months. But this meant no more hatchbacks for me. Don’t tempt your fate.
August 23rd, 2018 at 2:55 pm
6 “forgot to add, we had the clean diesel fuel since 2006 (October) and Europe had it long before that.”
They were starting to notice that the urban acid rain from the high sulphur diesel fuel was destroying the buildings and monuments in European cities. With about half the cars being diesels, that was a major problem. The ultra low sulphur fuel fixed that issue, but not another issue of diesels in cities, high NOx, especially “cheater” diesels.
I had a 2004 diesel, a Jetta wagon with the 1.9 TDI and 5-speed manual. While it was certainly clean, compared to older diesels, it was very dirty compared to gas cars of the time. It would smoke a little on cold start, and there was a little diesel smell, even warmed up. I got great mpg, though, over 50 at 60 mpg on the rural 2 lanes, and in the 40′s overall. The fuel tank was big enough that I have a few tanks of over 700 miles. Most of the time I had it, though, diesel fuel cost 30-40% more than gas, so I didn’t save much money on fuel compared to a similar gas car.
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:11 pm
The 4,000 lb, 208 hp- 400 lbft E Diesel is rated 37 highway but in my mixed driving I get 30 and on highway trips 34, and I don’t speed much. If I wanted more economy I would have to get the excellent E 250 bluetec of 2014 which CR tested and they got amazing MPG for a car of this size and power(Including the price difference overseas, the Prius gas hybrid would be more costly to fuel than the E 250!) but I would have to pay over 25k for a 2104 with about 60k miles, and for a car used 2-3 months a year for 4,000 miles or so, I thought it made better sense to get the 2008.
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:24 pm
As of a few days ago,diesel fuel was 30 cents cheaper than reg gas. When I buy my next truck,( a midsize),it will be diesel.
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:26 pm
In fact,for the last 2+ years,diesel has been running at least 10 cents cheaper than reg gas.
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:33 pm
9 They probably still sold those E diesels with manual transmissions in Europe in ’06-’08. At least they did not too long before that.
Yeah, the Prius doesn’t make a lot of sense for 4000 miles a year, unless you just “like” the car. I like the way the powertrain works, and I like the liftback body, but the fuel savings is small with so few miles.
Another car I recently drove, that impressed me, was the latest Camry hybrid. Compared to a Prius, it is quick, quiet, and comfortable, and gets within about 10% of Prius mpg in CR’s tests, and matches Prius “combined” EPA rating.
With any Toyota hybrid, if you park it more than a few weeks, you need to disconnect the 12v battery. It only gets charged from the big battery when the car is “on,” and there is enough residual drain to discharge it fairly quickly if the car sits. There is no drain on the big battery when a Prius sits, so it is fine, even after 6 months of non-use.
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:38 pm
10, 11 Where I am in Florida, diesel is 32 cents, about 12% more than regular at the cheapest places. I don’t know why the difference by location. I’m pretty sure the state tax is the same for gas and diesel in FL.
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:41 pm
13 Correction. Florida state gas tax is 3 cents higher than diesel tax.
August 23rd, 2018 at 4:53 pm
@ Kit: I haven’t a clue why diesel is cheaper than reg gas here in my valley in sw oregon. But it’s been this way for over two or more years,with a few exceptions for a week or so,than back down again. Even if it was the same price as regular,I will still buy a diesel next time around.
August 23rd, 2018 at 5:04 pm
15 My diesel Jetta probably got 40-50% better mpg than the gas version of the same car, but it was slow, even for 2004, probably about 14 seconds 0-60. It drove decently, though. Then engine felt “relaxed” with its 4000-4500 rpm power peak. There was no reason to take it much over 4000 rpm in the lower gears.
August 23rd, 2018 at 10:38 pm
@ Kit: Had a Dr’s appt this afternoon. Went by my local Shell station and today diesel and regular are the same price, $3.39.9. Go figure,lol…
August 24th, 2018 at 2:35 am
I’ll have to go to the dentist in 15 mins, just a couple comments
In the US where I live, diesel is at best same price as regular, but most of the time it is higher, up to 30 cents higher. But overseas, diesel is 1.2 Euros/lt and gas 1.65. these are both very high, more than $5 a gallon for diesel and almost $8 for gas, at $1.2/Euro. Diesel in Europe, unless you do a lot of city miles and a hybrid is better, makes most sense. The 320 Bluetecs have a huge tank, maybe 21.5 gallons, and at 37 MPG EPA it should have 800+ miles range, but with my driving conditions, when I fill the tank (always not fully, but exactly when it stops automatically), the gauges show 700-710 miles range.
Both the Camry Hybrid and the Accord Hybrid have impressive MPGs but they lose a lot of the useful trunk space. Maybe they should offer these hybrids as wagons.. but too little demand..If I had to choose, I’d get the Accord.
August 24th, 2018 at 6:29 am
The new (2018 and later) Camry hybrid does not lose trunk space, and the rear seat backs fold down like in the non-hybrid. Yeah, a Camry or Accord hybrid wagon would be great, but wouldn’t sell well in the U.S., unless vehicle tastes change.
August 24th, 2018 at 8:54 am
This business of the Camry Hybrid matching the Prius’ MPG seems to violate several laws of physics. Not only is the Camry heavier and has a much larger surface area (used in cd calculations for drag, In addition the Prius sacrifices styling to have optimal aerodynamic lines, which the Camry does not have. It makes zero sense that the two would have the same MPG. Are these MPG the phony EPA numbers, or did somebody do an accurate real-world test measurement?
August 24th, 2018 at 10:07 am
I suspect the “scaled up” powertrain of the Camry is just a little more efficient. That is the only thing that would explain the small difference in mpg between the Prius and Camry hybrid.
CR got about 10% better mpg with the Prius, but I’d expect a bigger difference for the reasons you mention. Also, the Camry is significantly quicker.
August 24th, 2018 at 10:24 am
10% better is significant. I’d believe the CR MPGs over the EPA’s.
August 24th, 2018 at 10:34 am
CR’s mpg numbers—overall/city/highway
Prius 52/43/59
Camry hybrid 47/39/53
CR’s “highway” test is at a steady 65 mph. Their “city” test is fairly severe, done from a cold start, with a number of stops. I normally beat it with most cars I’ve had.
August 24th, 2018 at 10:45 am
I rented a Prius twice in April and June 09 from LAX, two days each time, on business trip. It was an 09 and I did about 320 miles and filled the tank with 6 gallons the first time. They included a trip to San Diego at 75 MPH (on the way back, night) where the dash showed 47 MPG, stop-go in LA where it was most impressive over non-hybrids at 51-54, and country roads at low speeds (sort of) where it showed in the 60s mpg. The San Diego (Actually Del mar) trip was half the miles or more.