AD #2435 – Illuminati Motor Works’ Wild EV, Volkswagen Drops the Beetle, Top Automakers in Europe in 2018
September 14th, 2018 at 11:33am
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Runtime: 8:57
0:31 VW Drops the Beetle
1:22 Illuminati Motor Works’ Wild EV
3:16 Car Sales Strong in Europe
3:59 Big Truck Sales Soar in August
4:39 Daimler and Bosch Test Automated Valet Parking
5:40 Building Trust Between Humans & Automated Systems
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On today’s show…Volkswagen is squashing the Beetle in the U.S. but it’s sending it off with a couple of special models…big truck sales in the U.S. show no signs of slowing down…and we’ll tell you all about this wild electric car we spotted recently. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.
VW DROPS THE BEETLE
Back in April of 2016, we got word from Autoforecast Solutions that Volkswagen would end production of the Beetle and the automaker has finally confirmed there will not be a 2019 model. As we said at the time, sales of the Beetle in the U.S. have dropped off steeply over the years. VW sold 109,000 in 2013, 64,000 in 2015 and so far this year just over 11,000 have reached customer hands. But the automaker is sending the iconic car off with a couple of special models, the Final Edition SE and Final Edition SEL, which feature a number of unique touches. And as the CEO of VW points out, the I.D. Buzz is a modern interpretation of the Bus, so never say never with the Beetle.
ILLUMINATI MOTOR WORKS’ WILD EV
Here’s something fun before the weekend. Check out this wild EV we saw the other day. Its name is Seven and was designed and developed by Illuminati Motor Works for the Automotive X Prize, which was a set of competitions put on by Progressive Insurance in 2010, that aimed to inspire a new generation of fuel efficient vehicles. Power comes from a 40-kW electric motor and 99 lithium-iron-phosphate batteries sitting in the center tunnel that add up to 33 kWh. It has over 200 miles of range and received an EPA mileage rating of 207.5 miles per gallon equivalent. For the competition, Seven featured a foam and fiberglass body, but in 2013 it switched over to carbon fiber and Kevlar. It now sits at 17.5 feet long and just over 2,900 pounds. While it has a number of parts and pieces from other vehicles, I’m sure you can guess where the headlights and door handles came from, we’re really impressed with how well the styling came out. I think jsegaldesign on Instagram summed it up the best, it looks as though a Karmann Ghia and a Buick Riviera had a baby.
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Still to come…Daimler and Bosch show off automated valet parking in China.
CAR SALES STRONG IN EUROPE
Car sales in Europe are going strong. According to WardsAuto, automakers sold more than 1.6 million light vehicles in July, which is up 6% compared to a year ago. And through the first seven months of the year, sales hit 12.5 million units, which is nearly a 4% gain. Volkswagen is having a strong year so far, with an 11% increase in sales. Peugeot Citroen is behind VW and though sales are up, it’s below the overall market, which means it lost some share. And it’s the same story with PSA’s French rival Renault. Ford and FCA round out the top five, and they’re down about the same percentage so far in 2018.
| 2018 EUROPE LIGHT VEHICLE SALES | ||
|---|---|---|
| July | 1,646,046 | +6.3% |
| YTD | 12,535,165 | +3.7% |
| YTD TOP OEMs | ||
| Volkswagen | 2,214,666 | +10.8% |
| PSA | 1,943,062 | +1.7% |
| Renault | 1,033,485 | +2.5% |
| Ford | 912,353 | -1.5% |
| FCA | 835,891 | -1.7% |
| Source: WardsAuto | ||
BIG TRUCK SALES SOAR IN AUGUST
And speaking of sales, the medium and heavy-duty truck segment in the U.S. continues to soar. WardsAuto reports that big truck sales were up nearly 19% in August compared to a year ago. And that’s nearly all because of the Class 8 segment, which was up a whopping 40%. Class 4 through 7 saw just a 1.7% increase last month. But overall, it’s been a great year for big trucks. They’re up 18% so far in 2018 and as we keep saying, this is great news because this segment is a leading indicator for car sales and the economy. It suggests we won’t see a slowdown in growth.
DAIMLER AND BOSCH TEST AUTOMATED VALET PARKING
Daimler and Bosch demonstrated automated valet parking in China for the first time. The technology allows the vehicle to park itself. To use it, the driver parks the car in a designated drop-off area, then sends it to an assigned parking spot using a smartphone app. Sensors in both the parking garage and car guide it to its spot. Then when you’re ready to pick up the car, you just summon it with the app and it will automatically return. The companies say parking garages equipped with this technology can accommodate up to 20% more vehicles because they can park closer together.
And speaking of autonomous driving, coming up next, a look at how trust can be built between humans and technology.
BUILDING TRUST BETWEEN HUMANS & AUTOMATED SYSTEMS
Automated driving systems are starting to make their way into vehicles. But many studies show drivers are still reluctant to give up control of the car. On Autoline This Week, Jada Smith the VP of Advanced Engineering at the supplier Aptiv, shares how trust can be built between humans and the vehicle.
(The ATW preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
For more about the role Aptiv is playing in bringing driver assistance and automated systems to market, you can watch that entire discussion right now on our website, Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching and have a great weekend.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
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Comments (21)
September 14th, 2018 at 11:47 am
Re the silly EV concept, they should modify the prize rules to include being able to manufacture it and produce it at a price the market can pay. This concept is at best one they may make 5-10 copies of, if they are lucky. I see such concepts every day at the Top Gear site, btw, but there they generate more interested, since it seems the average age of their audience is 14 and two-thirds of them do not even have a driver’s licence, let alone own any car.
September 14th, 2018 at 11:59 am
1 after seeing the concept in the video (on mute, because I am listening to AAH on my other computer), I revise my comments in 1. This so-called concept looks like it was put together by a bunch of high school students, whose ambition is not matched by their talent and resources. The thing looks positively ugly and unrefined, unlike professionally made concept vehicles from automakers, which are eye candy that will never see production, at least not in that form.
This one makes even the Nissan leaf (1st generation) look good. And that Leaf looked like the product of unnatural sex between a pig and a bathtub.
September 14th, 2018 at 12:41 pm
The New Beetle was just not a compelling model. A good throwback style, but that was it. It was cramped and cost a few hundred dollars less then the roomier and more useable Golf. Then came the reliability issues of the first generation and people lost interest.
If the beetle had a roomy and useable back seat, it may have had a chance. But it was a 2 seater at best and there is not a large market for 2-door 2-seater non-performance cars with reliability questions. Basically this was VWs version of the Ford EXP which also did not succeed for very similar reasons.
September 14th, 2018 at 12:47 pm
They need to add a parallel park test to the contest.
September 14th, 2018 at 12:50 pm
The new beetle had run its course, kind of like the PT Cruiser did after a few years.
I’m wondering how MINI will do, long term, for similar reasons. I have one, and like it, but I’m unlikely to buy another.
September 14th, 2018 at 12:54 pm
I think the Illuminati Wild EV is really interesting. Not particularly practical with its rear overhang, but that’s not important. I think it would look better in a shiny paint job in a perky colour, like lime. No question everyone’s golf bags would fit into that trunk.
If my car could park itself in an automated garage, why did I have to drive it there? Just drop me off ‘oh car of mine’ and go park yourself. Do I have to do everything?
September 14th, 2018 at 1:39 pm
3, 5 While the ‘new’ MINI was rather faithful to the original concept, even though much bigger and roomier than the tiny one of the late 50s, the New Beetle was a FRAUD that sickened me from day one. The original Beetle was a RWD vehicle. The so-called “new Beetle” was a GOLF with less room and much less trunk space, a FWD vehicle. A total fraud. Only old maids did not mind the deception and were happy to buy the car, that only looked “beetlish” and had the stupid vase on the dash.
6 I just noticed the name of the highschoolers that put this concept together. “Illuminati” motors? Give me a break. What are these conspiracy theorists, fans of those silly Dan Brown books and even worse Tom Hanks movies?
September 14th, 2018 at 1:49 pm
Re ATW, John and Sean, I believe the last dozen or not shows have all been about AVs and Mobility and all this peripheral stuff auto enthusiasts do not care about. I don’t know if PBS is putting pressure to have this kind of content, instead of discussing real cars, but if you want to maximize your audience, they way to do it is by returning to mainstream auto discussions and far fewer AV and mobility shows.
September 14th, 2018 at 1:56 pm
7 I agree about the new beetle. I feel the same about the new Fiat 500. The real Fiat 500 was rear engine, air cooled. The new one has no connection, and is a styling exercise, like the new beetle.
Yep, the BMW MINI is the same configuration as the old, but though much larger on the outside, the rear seat of the new one is less roomy. I knew I was basically buying a two seater when I bought mine, so I don’t have a problem with it.
September 14th, 2018 at 2:39 pm
The retro styling fad is over and bringing the beetle back was cool back in 1998 but its been 20 years and the as with many other retro styled cars like the HHR, PT Cruiser, and SSR they have all been axed with the exception of the Challenger. The retro Mustang, and Camaro, have evolved their designs but The beetle just lowered the roof a bit.
They should bring it back as a hybrid with an actual air cooled engine RWD subsidized with an electric giving it some decent acceleration. Go back to its roots of making it a car for the people and pursue the most affordable hybrid available. IMO
September 14th, 2018 at 2:50 pm
Building trust with automated systems might seem as simple as acceptance however I know many people that are still very uneasy taking an elevator ride that has been automated for decades.
To that point if we cannot build elevators that don’t break down “get stuck” and we cant seem to prevent computers from locking up, Or the gas pump from accepting a credit card than how do you trust a car to hurl you down the road at 70mph without a glitch? Or do you just sit back comfortably, until you crash and accept that you were just a much smaller percentage of fatalities than when people drove?
September 14th, 2018 at 3:55 pm
I don’t know if it would interest people in the US, but I read an article (the link on my name) about a small economical Uniti One electric city car coming out in Europe that sounded interesting.
September 14th, 2018 at 6:07 pm
beg to differ on class 8 sales, this time may not be same as in past, trucking company’s are replacing their clunkers, new purchases were delayed so long they no longer have a choice.
September 15th, 2018 at 8:15 am
I think the Illuminati needs a longer tail. LOL
September 15th, 2018 at 8:22 am
11 Good points.
In addition, AVs are definitely not ready for prime time. They are run under ideal weather and traffic conditions.
There is a whole lot of cheerleading about them by the Auto media, and big automakers waste billions on them instead of improving their cars and/or cutting their exorbitant prices.
Reminds me of the story about the old lady and the three boy scouts, who reported to their leader or whatever the good deeds they did that day. “All three of us helped an old lady cross the street”, they said. “Why did it need all three of you?” asked their leader. “Well, Tom was holding her left hand, Mike her right one, and I was pushing her from behind, because she did not want to cross the street”. Same with AVs. The Almighty Dog, ie. the Consumer, is not eating this dogfood!@
On AVs there have been serious studies at MIT (I know of that one) and elsewhere, but the cheerleaders never mention them. They raise serious, deadly ethical questions about AVs. For example, if I own an AV because I am a 95 year old incompetent and cannot drive myself, and the AV has a situation that it either goes off a cliff to avoid hitting a bus stop with 35 waiting schoolchildren, possibly killing many of them, will it fall of the cliff and kill its owner and master, OR will it kill up to 35 10 year old children to save the life of the 95 year old who has about 1 or 2 years left?
What say you, AV cheerleaders?
September 15th, 2018 at 10:59 am
https://www.topgear.com/car-news/electric/woman-drove-her-tesla-20396km-around-australia
Today’s top gear webpage has a review of the Tesla S (very glowing) as well as the above feat of an older woman and her Tesla S. here is a preview:
“The fully electric saloon covered a ridiculous 20,396 kilometers (12,674 miles) in 110 days, making Sylvia the first woman to drive an electric car around Oz. Most impressively, the entire fuel bill for the journey was a measly $150.90 AUD, or about £82.
The Round Australia Electric Highway is a network of EV charging stations, suitable for any electric brand, spaced on average 200km (124 miles) apart. Some of the remote charging stations Sylvia visited had never been used before, or lived up to the same impeccable standard (read: broken) as you get in the UK.”
September 15th, 2018 at 11:16 am
I wonder if she had to do some of her charging at farm houses along her route, because of the charge stations being broken. She averaged only a little over 100 miles a day, but maybe she did a lot of sight seeing, etc. on the trip.
September 15th, 2018 at 9:06 pm
The Illuminati, this must be an article that was saved for foolishness Friday.
I believe we have run out of great iconic cars and trucks to bring back. After all the pent-up demand for a modern Beetle has been satisfied it has to stand on its own as a competitive car and sales prove where it lies. Mini, I think, has a better strategy by offering a variety of competitive modern vehicles while only using a few design elements from the original. Let’s face it, the successful awd Mini Countryman is nowhere near the original Mini concept. The Mustang and Challenge are similar in execution.
September 16th, 2018 at 11:08 am
Mini got carried away with new models a few years ago, with the strange looking “coupe,” the almost redundant “roadster,” and a two door Countryman called Paceman. The Countryman is probably the best selling Mini in the US, but not in the UK and other markets. I expect the Clubman to be dropped at some point. It’s “cute” and retro, but the hinged rear doors create a blind spot in the inside rear view mirror, the reason I wouldn’t buy one.
September 16th, 2018 at 11:39 am
17 She did take an inordinate amount of time to do it. I don’t know if there are enough sights on the way to justify 110 days. The distance is 4 times driving X-country in the US, which I did in a hurry (zero sightseeing) in summer 2003 in 3 days, with an old Accord coupe 5-sp, one day I did more than 960 miles. I also did a return trip from Long Beach CA to Wash DC (Arlington VA to be precise) in 4 days.
The article says she was a widow who had talked about doing the trip with her husband, so she did it kind of in his memory. She claims there are more places to charge the car than gas stations along the way, so she must include not just the superchargers but every little house or store along the way.
September 16th, 2018 at 2:07 pm
20 I drove 1100 miles in a day, once, but I will never do it again. I did that trip, in my 1989 van, about 15 years ago when I was in my 50′s.
In today’s USA, you’d might get shot if you went to a house, asking to charge your car, but I suspect Australia is a lot different. It looks like Australia has superchargers mostly along the southeast coast, so she would have needed a lot of other charge locations if driving around the circumference of Australia.
https://www.tesla.com/supercharger