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Runtime: 6:34
0:07 U.S. Vehicle Sales Drop
0:57 UAW Rejects Latest GM Proposal
2:06 Volvo Teases Electric XC40
2:50 Toyota C-HR Updated For 2020
3:41 Nissan Develops Manufacturing Breakthrough
4:32 Suzuki Shows Off Tokyo Concepts
5:09 Amazing BMW Isetta Cold War Story
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This is Autoline Daily reporting on all aspects of the global automotive industry.
U.S. VEHICLE SALES DROP
Sales of new vehicles in the U.S. slowed considerably last month. Of course, that was expected since the Labor Day holiday fell in August this year, not September, and that’s always a strong sales weekend. But European luxury brands had a great month. Mercedes, BMW, JLR, Porsche and Volvo all posted double digit gains. On a daily selling rate basis, which provides a better comparison to a year ago, total sales were down 3.6%. For the entire year, sales are now down about 1%, whereas they had been up until now. The only good news is that the seasonally adjusted annualized rate or SAAR, came in at 17.1 million vehicles. And anything over 17 million is still a really good number.
U.S. SEPTEMBER, 2019 SALES | |||
---|---|---|---|
Sales | 1,270,000 | -162,000 | -3.6% |
SAAR | 17.1 M | ||
Source: Wards Intelligence |
UAW REJECTS LATEST GM PROPOSAL
Meanwhile the UAW strike at GM grinds on. But maybe both sides are getting closer to an agreement. General Motors presented the union with a comprehensive proposal, which the union rejected, but presented GM with a counterproposal. At least they’re both at the stage where they’re negotiating entire proposals and not just arguing about individual issues.
We’ve got a great Autoline After Hours coming up tomorrow. We’ll have Bob Kruse, the CTO of Karma with the new plug-in hybrid Revero in the studio. And we’ll have Steve Lietaert from Hella talking about some of the revolutionary ideas they have about how to use lighting in cars. So join John and Gary for the best behind-the-scenes insights that you can get about what’s going on in the automotive industry.
VOLVO XC40 SWAPS ENGINE FOR BATTERY
Volvo is teasing the upcoming all-electric version of the XC40, the first fully electric vehicle in its lineup. It looks a lot like the gas and diesel powered versions, but there are some key differences. The front end is sleeker and has a cleaner look, it also houses the sensors for the crossover’s advanced driver assistance technologies. And there’s a “frunk” of front trunk for more storage space. On the inside, the company added a new driver interface that’s specifically designed for electric vehicles, which displays info like battery status. Volvo will be revealing more info about the electric XC40 over the coming weeks before its makes its official debut on October 16th.
TOYOTA C-HR UPDATED FOR 2020
Not much changed for the 2020 model year Toyota C-HR, but here are the updates. A lightly refreshed front-end gets standard LED headlights and Toyota’s Safety Sense on the base LE model. A new wheel design is optional for the LE, and the Limited trim gets an optional 18-inch wheel. Toyota updated the interior styling which they now call “MeZONE,” giving customers the option to have either blue or brown accents with black soft touch material. The C-HR also gets a standard 8-inch touchscreen now including Android Auto, Amazon Alexa capability, and 3 months free of SiriusXM. New color choices like Supersonic Red and Hot Lava should make the new C-HR stand out when it arrives at dealers.
NISSAN TO MAKE OLD PARTS WITHOUT DIES
Nissan developed a new manufacturing technique that could make parts for discontinued models more widely available. Known as dual-sided dieless forming, it involves two robots working from opposite sides of a steel sheet, using diamond-coated tools to shape the steel. In the U.S., automakers are required to make sheet-metal service parts available for 10 years. But keeping old dies around for a decade can be pretty expensive. This new technique is more flexible, has shorter lead times and lower upfront costs, which could make it commercially viable to produce replacement parts for discontinued models for a long time to come.
SUZUKI SHOWS OFF TOKYO CONCEPTS
Suzuki will have some interesting concepts at the Tokyo auto show, which kicks off at the end of the month. A few are just modified versions of existing vehicles, but the Hanare is an autonomous van-like vehicle that kind of reminds us of a VW Bus. Hanare is Japanese for detached cottage or room and fits the concept well. The one we like best is the Waku SPO, which is a compact plug-in hybrid vehicle with retro styling. We see a bit of the Nissan IDx concept from 2014 that was inspired by the Datsun 510.
AMAZING BMW ISETTA COLD WAR STORY
If you needed an escape car, what would it be? We’re willing to bet that none of you thought of a BMW Isetta. But that’s exactly the vehicle one man used to help his best friend escape from East Berlin to the West in 1964. Klaus-Gunter Jacobi figured the little vehicle would not raise suspicion with border soldiers because, who could ever suspect an Isetta for smuggling people? But Jacobi modified the area behind the bench seat, right next to the engine to provide enough space for one person to squeeze in. He pushed the rear shelf upwards, removed the spare tire, as well as heating ducts and the air filter, and he swapped the gas tank out for a 2-liter canister. It’s an amazing story that inspired others to modify Isettas in a similar way to help more people escape. It also inspired a new video called “The Small Escape,” which is available on BMW’s YouTube channel right now.
But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching and we’ll see you again tomorrow.
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John McElroy is an influential thought leader in the automotive industry. He is a journalist, lecturer, commentator and entrepreneur. He created “Autoline Daily,” the first industry webcast of industry news and analysis.