AD #2689 – Corvette Shows Off Convertible C8, UAW Officials Turn on Their President, Silverado Closes Gap with Ram
October 3rd, 2019 at 11:41am
Follow us on social media:
Runtime: 7:35
0:07 UAW Officials Turn on Their President
0:53 GM Posts Strong Q3 Sales. Ford and FCA Not
1:27 Silverado Closes Gap with Ram
2:03 NHTSA Concerned with Tesla Summon Feature
3:49 AAA Finds Problems with Safety Systems
4:42 Ford Gives Us Peek at Its Mobility Business
5:47 Corvette Shows Off Convertible C8
6:42 Racing Version of Corvette C8
Visit our sponsor to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bridgestone
This is Autoline Daily reporting on all aspects of the global automotive industry.
UAW OFFICIALS TURN ON THEIR PRESIDENT
The corruption scandal at the UAW just took an ominous turn for union president Gary Jones. The Detroit News reports that senior union leaders are helping the feds built a case against Jones. And that raises new questions on whether the UAW’s leadership can sell a new labor contract to rank and file members. Meanwhile, the strike against General Motors continues to bleed money from the company, inflict financial hardship on union workers, cause financial distress at supplier companies, force them to lay off thousands of employees and hurt the tax base of the communities and states where GM has plants. Let’s hope they get this settled soon.
GM POSTS STRONG Q3 SALES. FORD AND FCA NOT
GM, Ford and FCA finally reported their sales for the last quarter. General Motors had a good quarter, sales were up 6% while the entire market was up less than 1%. That helped GM gain nearly a full point of market share for the quarter, which is a huge gain. Meanwhile at Ford, the news wasn’t that good. Its sales dropped 5% and it barely outsold FCA which essentially held flat. In fact, FCA was only about 1,600 vehicles behind Ford.
| U.S. SALES, Q3 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|
| General Motors | 735,731 | +6% |
| Ford | 561,353 | -5% |
| FCA | 559,771 | -0.1% |
| Source: Wards Intelligence | ||
SILVERADO CLOSES GAP WITH RAM
And let’s dive into their most profitable products, their full-size pickup trucks. Ford continues to lead that sales race by a wide margin, but its sales were down nearly 6%. There’s a new F-150 coming next year, so Ford probably believes whatever it loses in the last year of production with the current truck, it will make back up with the new one. And the Ram pickup continued to outsell the Chevrolet Silverado, though Chevy is clearly closing the gap. Both Ram and Silverado posted healthy gains over the last three months.
| U.S. SALES, Q3 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ford F-150 | 199,523 | -5.9% |
| Ram | 156,372 | +13.3% |
| Silverado | 153,849 | +15.4% |
| Source: Wards Intelligence | ||
NHTSA CONCERNED WITH TESLA SUMMON FEATURE
Last month Elon Musk sent an email to employees saying orders from customers were tracking at 110,000 cars for the quarter and that the company had a shot at selling more than 100,000. But it fell a bit short. It sold 97,000 cars, yet investors largely shrugged off the news. But with Tesla there’s always some sort of drama. NHTSA is now looking into growing complaints of Tesla’s Summons feature, which allows owners to summon their parked car with an app and have it drive to them in a parking lot. Owners have posted videos online of one Tesla scraping a garage wall as its being summoned and Tesla backing into another car.
AAH FEATURES KARMA, HELLA
Be sure to join us later today for Autoline After Hours. We’re going to take a deep dive into the Karma Revero. As you probably know this car started out life as the Fisker Karma, but after that company went bankrupt the new company completely revamped the car. We’ll show you all the changes they made on this $150,000 sedan. We’ll also be joined by Steve Lietaert, the president of Hella’s Corporate Center in the U.S. That company is doing some intriguing things with automotive lighting that are going to show up on cars in the near future. So join Gary Vasilash and me for some great insights on what’s going on in the automotive industry.
AAA FINDS PROBLEMS WITH SAFETY SYSTEMS
On average, nearly 6,000 pedestrians are killed in the US every year, which accounts for 16% of all traffic deaths. That’s why automakers added pedestrian detection technology to their automatic emergency braking systems. But a study from the AAA found that these systems are inconsistent and are completely ineffective at night. It evaluated four mid-size sedans with the technology on a closed course. Not only did they have trouble at night, the systems faltered in real-world situations, like a vehicle turning right into the path of an adult. AAA found that the systems did not react at all, colliding with the pedestrian every time. Because of this AAA says more needs to be done to improve the systems, especially at night.
FORD GIVES US PEEK AT ITS MOBILITY BUSINESS
Ford is letting us peek under the curtain a bit on what it’s doing with mobility services. It built a model of the city of Ann Arbor, using 3D printing to make plastic models of every building in the city. They even have a model of the University of Michigan’s gigantic football stadium. The model shows traffic flows, parking spots, pedestrian traffic and just about everything you can think of that relates to mobility. Using this model, Ford and the city can plan out how to improve traffic flow, reduce congestion and improve pedestrian safety. Ford sees a tremendous business opportunity in helping cities and other communities improve their mobility, and this helps explain why the company is getting into e-bikes and electric scooters. Ford wants to be a mobility company, not just a car company.
CORVETTE SHOWS OFF CONVERTIBLE C8
Just a few months after introducing the first-ever mid-engine Corvette, Chevy revealed the first hardtop convertible version of the iconic model. It maintains the same storage space as the coupe even with the top down and it shares the same powertrain. You can open or close the top at speeds up to 30 MPH and the top can retract in just 16 seconds. The chassis has been tweaked with the springs and dampers tuned to provide nearly the same ride as the coupe. Production of the convertible kicks off late in the first quarter of 2020, a right-hand drive version will also be made available at a later date, which is smart. That opens up the global market for Chevrolet to sell more Corvettes. The convertible is priced $7,500 more than the entry 1LT Stingray coupe.
RACING VERSION OF CORVETTE C8
Chevy also revealed the racing version of the new Corvette. Called the C8.R, it will make its debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January. Unfortunately, the company did not reveal any technical specs but the Number 4 car will sport a new silver livery that’s inspired by Corvette concepts like the 1973 Chevrolet Aerovette and the 1959 Corvette Stingray Racer. The number 3 car will have the team’s traditional yellow paint job.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and we’ll see you again tomorrow.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
Share
Permalink
Comments (54)
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:14 pm
the AAA story is in direct contrast with the foolish Ford story after it, Foolish Ford is wasting billions on the stupid mobility fad instead of designing a bunch of SUPERIOR sedans that would SELL like the Camry, Accord, Civic and Corolla STILL DO.
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:15 pm
I really think the GMC Sierra sales should be included in Silverado numbers or at least list the numbers separately.
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:16 pm
I do not buy the fairy tales that GM is losing even a DIME from the strike, and the data (Q3 results) fully support me in this. The only loser is the UAW workers who idle, get fat and unhealthy, and get only $250 a week.
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:20 pm
I guess my Camry has pedestrian detection technology, but I don’t know what it’s supposed to do. I figure pedestrian detection is one function of the driver. If this tech is ever actually needed, hopefully it will work.
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:23 pm
Pickup trucks remain strong, competition tightening so what’s in store in the long run; Autoline will be there first when something happens.
Tesla summons feature does appear to need some work, and the clip shows it heading against the grain of the parked cars (in the frame shown).
Petty impressive that the convertible Corvette C8 can add a hard convertible top and retain its already spacious (for a sports car) storage space. Maybe a little pricey but if you want a true convertible probably worth it. (the premium falls to around $7,000 for the 2LT and the 3LT).
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:24 pm
Wasn’t the Fisker Karma a really crude, noisy, unreliable plug-in hybrid? Is the renamed Mk II version any different?
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:26 pm
6 It’s a sad joke, then and now. All hat and sure no cattle, as they say in TX.
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:27 pm
Hey Larry Ford has always been a laggard when it came to innovation. Keeping models in production way after they were in desperate need of replacement. Not adding safety systems when everyone else was way ahead of them I loved the “pre-charged braking system” they had instead of automatic emergency braking it was great but it only worked if you happened to see the accident coming and slammed the brakes on, otherwise you just slammed into the car in front of you. This was while every other manufacturer at all price levels had automatic emergency braking that actually slowed down or stopped the car. I agree that the entire autonomous thing is a joke and may never come to pass at any reasonable production level.
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:28 pm
I fail to see why the UAW leaders may not sell a new contract to the members. Helping the Feds shows an effort to clean house and reflects upon the intended concept that the UAW’s only goal is to represent the worker. If a fair deal is offered it will be accepted, regardless of internal troubles.
The marketing people of car company’s made a ton of money selling these worthless safety devices, so I wonder how long it will take the buyers to join together demanding their money back? I see a law suit coming!
Ford may have something worth while 3-D printing cities, like Ann Arbor, to deal with congestion problems. After seeing the stadium was included, I quickly noticed the over crowded area around “Zingerman’s Deli” a perfect example. Geez…I love that place!
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:32 pm
9 Congestion in… Ann Arbor?? LOL. the idiots at Ford are truly clueless.
As the late great MIT Prof. Al Drake put it, when he visited AA and gave a talk, “you lucky dogs, Ann Arbor does not have a rush hour, it has a rush MINUTE.”
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:35 pm
The Q3 results given here hide the massacre at Ford, whose September was 12% down, despite the fact that it was GM that had the strike.
In September 2019, FCA was way Ahead of both Ford AND Toyota, with a 14.14% market share, vs. 13.26 for Ford, and 13.30 for Toyota, who was down but still came ahead of Ford!
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:35 pm
1. Sales of Camry, Accord and other similar sedans are declining, not growing; therefore, Ford is looking for broader marketing opportunities rather than a narrow-vision attack on the sedan market, where they know that they can’t compete.
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:36 pm
9 Apparently the safety devices are now pretty cheap to make, since most are standard in a Base Corolla. The expense may be in law suits, if their effectiveness is over-promised too much.
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:37 pm
Just a word of caution about early, non-SEC filed reports on Tesla. The ‘SHORTS’ have spread so much fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD), everything not SEC filed is just an unreliable rumor including internal Tesla emails and tweets.
In contrast, tracking Tesla SEC filings, we see production continues to increase Q1, Q2, and now Q3. In four weeks, we’ll see the Q3 financials.
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:40 pm
12 No. While they are off their stellar peaks, they still sell very well, and the Hondas in particular, who never sold to fleets at bargain basement prices, are still very protitable. The New CIVIC in particular is RED HOT.
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:41 pm
12 Camry sales for the last 4 months are up over last year. Maybe sales of sedans are starting to stabilize. Of course, Ford helped Camry sales somewhat, but getting out of the car business.
http://carsalesbase.com/us-car-sales-data/toyota/toyota-camry/
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:42 pm
13 Some very useful safety options such as lane departure warning are available even in the cheapest Hyundais and Kias.
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:44 pm
I have a great idea for pedestrian detection technology…or shall I say, technology-less. It’s called keep your eyes the road, your hands upon the wheel and always assume the other person can’t see you. But this would mean no texting or emailing. In fact, you might have just leave your phone in the console. Nah, that would require a deliberate effort to focus on driving, and that’s too much work for too many drivers. Heck, around where I live it seems like a bicyclist or pedestrian is killed by a hit and run driver every week. So then again, I guess its not too much work when you’ve caused damage, injury or death.
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:47 pm
18 People here, especially college students, never seem to look where they are going when they cross a street or walk in general. They are always looking at their stupid i-phone. I am amazed we don’t have hundreds of them in crutches, from all the falls they should have been having.
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:48 pm
John; I’m still unclear on how GM is losing any money right now. They have inventory and continue to sell vehicles and are not paying any labor. Should be rolling in cash. The only way I could see them justifying a loss is if they pushed all inventory to the dealers and consider it already sold.
The Ram outsells GM basically on discounts. The Ram is almost always cheaper and it would be interesting to see sole profits generated by each truck manufacturer. So although Ram moves more product I bet GM made more money.
Ford 3D printing of Ann Arbor is cute but surly they know it could have all been done in a solid model computer image. But I guess when you have money to burn.
I wonder how GM managed the engine heat with the top folded down? Probably not as much of a problem for the hard-top but a soft-top might not fair so well.
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:49 pm
18 Where I am, many of the bicyclists are riding on the wrong side of the street, so it’s no wonder drivers sometimes pull in front of them when turning right from a stop sign. Drivers are used to looking left, not right, when doing that.
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:51 pm
20 100% right. I challenged the fairy tales in 3. above. it is actually quite healthy for GM to trim the inventory, each extra month of it is the thing that Actually is losing billions for GM.
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:52 pm
21 I do this as a pedestrian when I hike with friends, so we can see the oncoming traffic, while if we walked with the traffic we would be unable to see the cars coming behind us fast.
October 3rd, 2019 at 1:00 pm
There goes Tesla again doing something no other auto makers would dare do by using customers do the testing of their “Smart Summon” feature. If other auto makers tried to do the same thing, they’d be get some very serious negative responses. But with Tesla, they seem to get away from that. Tesla has little concerns about people’s safety. All they want to do is make people think they are so smart and are the first. GM is probably way ahead of Tesla in doing this, but they know it’s not ready for prime time, yet.
Larry, I expect you as a fan boy of Tesla come to Tesla defense.
October 3rd, 2019 at 1:15 pm
Tesla sales may have risen for the last 3 quarters, but only the model 3 barely exceeded expectations; The higher profitable models did not. Tesla stock was about 5% lower today.
Analysts worry that the lower gross margins of the model 3 may limit flexibility and net profits. They predict the loss/share will triple in 2019 from the year earlier.
For sure, there will be no Tesla stock in my portfolio! …But again, there are the Tesla lovers foolish with their money.
October 3rd, 2019 at 1:18 pm
John, you said a Tesla backed into another car while being summoned. This is false, the Tesla stopped and another car backed into it. Even the Reuters article you cite got that correct, so there’s no reason for you to have screwed it up.
October 3rd, 2019 at 1:18 pm
Teslas are on top of the EV heap, but did anyone see the article and video showing the deplorable paint jobs Tesla is putting on their cars? ; Thin paint and a slew of areas showing nothing but primer…. ugh!!!
October 3rd, 2019 at 1:22 pm
FORD’S part in city planing is where to throw down your scooter spots— your in the car business stupid——
October 3rd, 2019 at 1:30 pm
23 Yep, while walking at 4 mph, it is proper to go against the traffic. When riding a bike at 15 mph, or faster, you should go with the traffic, for the reason I mentioned, and others.
October 3rd, 2019 at 2:23 pm
2 Yeah I’m not sure how any automaker can sell autonomy when it doesn’t work 100% of the time and the risks involved when it doesn’t could be deadly. Personally I would not use a summon feature even if I had it simply because I would not want to be involved in the lawsuit when it hits someone. Its still my vehicle and although the manufacturer should bear that burden you know you would be named too. I don’t trust the legal system and could see it being like a dog attack and its your dog so your responsible. Its your car operating under your command. I’ll pass for now.
October 3rd, 2019 at 2:23 pm
My comment 30 was in response to Joe 24
October 3rd, 2019 at 2:47 pm
Lambo2015,
Your absolutely right. You think like a lawyer.
October 3rd, 2019 at 2:58 pm
24,32 Lawyers at GM have been extra careful about some things for years. They were late in having one touch up power windows, for that reason.
October 3rd, 2019 at 3:02 pm
Just got back from KSC and the public intro to the 2020 Corvette Convertible. Got to meet Tadge Juechter and the team. Convertible looks great! And the C8R was an unexpected plus.
October 3rd, 2019 at 4:29 pm
34 They need to settle that strike, so they can start building them.
October 3rd, 2019 at 4:35 pm
34 Where did they have it at KSC, the shuttle landing runway, for some top speed testing?
October 3rd, 2019 at 5:03 pm
34,36 Never mind. I found that it was at the visitor center.
October 3rd, 2019 at 7:03 pm
The new corvette is absolutely beautiful and awesome; At a good price too. If I was only a few inches taller and sold my boat I may be tempted. But then I have a 68 Jag in my radar, yet fishing has not grown old.
I just read the labor involved in building a vehicle is only 4-5% of the total manufacturing cost. If manufactures reduce forced OT and find an agreeable medium in hiring more people and use of temps, it is said the difference between union and non-union costs would almost be aligned. If the so called Big 3 invested more into improving their processes it is possible for them to have lower costs than all the others. If the UAW and automakers could possibly share a common goal, I believe they could find a harmony just like Honda has or better.
October 3rd, 2019 at 7:33 pm
The new corvette is absolutely beautiful and at a fair price!
Speaking of fair price, the UAW labor cost per vehicle is only 4-5% of the total manufacturing costs. If the union and the once ‘Big 3″ could only reach a fair agreement on reducing forced OT buy hiring more people or by seeking an understanding of the use of temp workers, it was reported the labor costs would become more aligned with the non-unionized. And, I believe, if these auto makers would invest more into their processes there is the possibility they could even surpass the contentment between laborers and Honda in the U.S.
Lets us just watch what transpires from the negotiations and see just how wise the workforce is in settling an agreement that is for every ones future.
October 3rd, 2019 at 7:35 pm
that is ; good for every ones future,
October 4th, 2019 at 6:27 am
38 Corvettes were historically at not just fair but bargain prices. In comparison tests they were never compared to any domestics (that was the Camaro-Mustang racket) but to far more expensive 911s. But there were important details where they lagged, esp the interiors. Don’t know if the latest has seriously addressed this issue.
October 4th, 2019 at 6:29 am
BTW last night we were invited at a really good dinner (a fancy soup, Salmon Rockefeller, key lime pie etc) and next to me sat a couple, former GM engineer and realtor wife, and he 100% agreed with me and Lambo here that the fairy tales about GM losing $ due to the strike are just that, fairy tales,
It is making a bundle and trims its inventory in the process.
October 4th, 2019 at 7:14 am
40 The interiors of current Corvettes are much better than earlier ones. The “fit and finish” of mine is pretty good, but not like a 911 would be. The Corvette’s interior generally seemed about equal to the Cayman I recently test drove, but the red/black seats of the Porsche were more attractive than my red-only Corvette seats.
October 4th, 2019 at 7:18 am
41 Strikes would have affected GM (and Ford and Chrysler) much more in the ’50s-’70s when a lot of people factory ordered cars. Now, about the only factory orders GM would get are Corvettes, and maybe a few Camaros. So far, the biggest cost to GM might be that the new Corvette is being delayed.
October 4th, 2019 at 8:52 am
25 I cannot believe how you make DAY seem like NIGHT. Tesla sales were not just excellent, o clueless and biased one, they were STELLAR. DO not waste my time to repeat the numbers.
TESLA HAS HUMILIATED EVERY OTHER BEV OR ICE MAKER of cars in the SAME PRICE RANGE as its models. AND KEEPS DOING SO.
The numbers don’t lie. Tesla haters do.
Un-effing-believable!
https://www.autonews.com/video/first-shift-ny-comptroller-investor-urges-gm-settle-strike?utm_source=antv-first-shift&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20191004&utm_content=hero-image
October 4th, 2019 at 8:54 am
42 the 911 is a luxury sports car. Its interior is much better than the Boxster-Cayman, but those two still have very high quality interiors. I did read some time ago that Chevy finally did something about those interiors in the Corvette. Camaro and Mustang continue to look cheap tho.
October 4th, 2019 at 9:26 am
41, 43 I think that organizations like to speak in terms of potential losses when they float these ridiculous numbers around like GM is doing now. They know when a plant is running it generates $X.XX amount of money per day in the quantity of cars or trucks it produces. So with 33 plant down they can say they are losing out on what those plants would produce per day which would be millions of dollars but when you carry inventory your not losing out on sales. In fact in preparation of a potential strike GM increased its inventories. So until consumers are going to the dealerships not seeing the vehicle they want and going elsewhere, to me they haven’t lost anything.
Meanwhile the supplier plant I work in sits 80% idle with over 100 employees laid-off which also means we are not using the trucking firm that ships our parts and the local restaurants sales are down as the folks laid off are not going out to eat not knowing how long the strike will last. Our dumpster pickups are on hold. The company that fills our vending machines have had to remove expired product as we are heading into week 4. It affects a lot more than just GM and its workers and to float this bogus loss to GM is just insult to injury.
October 4th, 2019 at 9:28 am
Not sure how the posting numbers keep shifting but my post 47 was to 42 and 44.
October 4th, 2019 at 10:27 am
Larry, you never mentioned you were now a stock analyst. My posts come right from analysts of the stock market. Apparently they judge Tesla by what they do rather than what they say they’ll do…and not like the tea leaves you’re reading.
October 4th, 2019 at 10:52 am
49 are you pretending you don’t understand? I have absolutely NO need of any “tea leaves”, I will Again tell you to go get A CLUE before you speak, by looking at the DATA, you know, the FACTS, that show beyond ANY Doubt how STELLAR Tesla has done AND continued to do last month.
DId you even see the sales nos I posted????
You must be living in some alternate universe, along with this “joe” character… and, above all, the guy who wrote the title of yesterday’s AAH “Karma takes on Tesla” (SIC!)
dream on…
October 4th, 2019 at 11:10 am
Forbes had some article trying to guess the net worth of the 24 candidates for 2020 (some have dropped out already), and many of them are assigned ridiculously low numbers such as … $100k or $500k (about a dozen of them have net worth less than 1 mill). Eliz Warren and her husband are listed as a more believable $12 mill, more than the low-ball $9 mill assigned to old Joe Biden. $3 mill of their $12 is their Cambridge MA home. Not too shabby, those starving teachers at Harvard are not doing bad.
October 4th, 2019 at 11:42 am
#51 – I used the EPA site, fueleconomy.gov, to compare the 2019 Karma Revero and BMW i3-REx. The BMW beat the Karma in every metric but total gas and EV range: Karma 37 mi EV, 240 mi total; and BMW i3-REx: 126 mi EV, 200 mi total.
Karma proves looks does not equal performance.
October 4th, 2019 at 11:49 am
50) Yes, Tesla had a STELAR month. They only were a little short of the 100,000 sales mark. But the market looks at the future. It sees the only gains were the Model 3, a car having a lower gross margin. This means their REAL earnings are probably less than they expected.
This also means they have less to invest in equipment and R&D (which has been decreasing)
Q3 profits are expected to drop and expectations for Q4 are doubtful.
This doesn’t mean they are going under, not improving, or less demand (though demand seems flat, they say). so STELAR….sure, but the market worries it’s not good enough.
October 4th, 2019 at 11:54 am
52 Bob – Karma is the dictionary definition of “All Hat and no Cattle”.
53 wrong again. Tesla had a stellar EIGHT YEARS since it brought out the S, then the X (even I am surprised at how well it sells) and the MASS market Model 3, despite its high price. AND, more importantly, it has ANNIHILATED and HUMILIATED ALL rivals, BEVs OR ICEs of similar price point. Deal with it.