AD #2955 – Virgin Hyperloop Completes 1st Passenger Test; Telsa Taxis Hit NYC Streets; GM Battery Plant Ahead of Schedule
November 9th, 2020 at 11:46am
Listen to “AD #2955 – Virgin Hyperloop Completes 1st Passenger Test; Telsa Taxis Hit NYC Streets; GM Battery Plant Ahead of Schedule” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 9:44
0:16 BMW Helps Add ePower to Wingsuit
1:15 Virgin Hyperloop Completes 1st Passenger Test
2:06 Tesla Taxis Hit NYC Streets
3:38 GM Battery Plant Ahead of Schedule
4:08 GM Plant Reopening to Make Room for EVs?
5:24 Honda Consolidating North American Operations
6:24 Mopar Adds Redeye Crate Engine to Catalog
7:13 Dodge Durango Hellcat Order Books Open
7:47 How Lucid Improved Aerodynamics
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
We sure have been talking a lot lately about new types of mobility. And we start off the show today with one of the zaniest ways of getting around.
BMW SLAPS E-POWER ON A WINGSUIT
BMW and its Designworks subsidiary, along with professional skydiver Peter Salzmann, created a wingsuit with electric assist. You heard that right. Just about everything is going electric these days, including wingsuits which are used by base jumpers and skydivers. It features two encased carbon propellers that spin at 25,000 RPM and deliver a power output of 7.5 kW each. The power is available for five minutes and allows jumpers to glide farther and cover longer distances. The wingsuit took about three years to develop, which included wind tunnel tests at BMW’s test center in Germany. Divers wearing normal wingsuits can hit speeds of 100 km/h but with electric drive, BMW’s suit can hit speeds of 300 km/h when activated. And this is the kind of e-mobility we can get behind.
VIRGIN HYPERLOOP COMPLETES 1ST PASSENGER TEST
And this one too. Yesterday, Virgin Hyperloop successfully tested passengers in a hyperloop pod for the first time. Transporting people at high speeds in pods through low-pressure tubes seems like science fiction but it just took one step closer to reality. The test took place at Virgin’s 500-meter DevLoop test site in Las Vegas, where the company has previously run 400 unoccupied tests. For the test, a two-passenger pod was used but the production version will hold 28 passengers. While it may seem far off, hyperloop is gaining momentum. Back in July, the U.S. Department of Transportation introduced a guidance document for regulatory framework for hyperloop in the U.S. And now this test shows travelling in a hyperloop can be safe.
NYC TESLA TAXIS HIT THE STREETS
And we’ll stick with the topic of mobility for a moment, thought this one is a bit more conventional. A year ago, New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission approved the Tesla Model 3 to become a yellow cab, making it the first electric vehicle in its fleet. And now Electrek reports the first one has been spotted on the road in the city. More taxis operators are adding EVs, mostly Tesla’s, to their fleets because of the fuel and maintenance savings those vehicles provide. You may remember the Commission ran a pilot test several years ago using Nissan Leafs, but that failed miserably because drivers had to significantly alter their routes due to the low range of the Leaf. That’s obviously not an issue with the Tesla.
GM BATTERY PLANT AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
Mary Barra says General Motors is running ahead of schedule building its new battery plant in Ohio. That’s the place that’s going to make GM’s battery cells that it calls Ultium. But we don’t know if that means it can bring its EVs to the market sooner, which includes the GMC Hummer, the Cadillac Lyriq and several EV models that GM will build for Honda. Just because a battery plant is running ahead of schedule doesn’t mean you can bring the entire program forward, but it does open the door to that possibility.
GM PLANT REOPENING TO MAKE ROOM FOR EVs?
And here’s another GM development that caught our eye. Two years ago GM announced it was closing its assembly plant in Oshawa, Canada, as part of a restructuring program to cut costs by $6 billion. But now GM is going to reopen that plant, because it says it needs more manufacturing capacity for full size pickups. We think there’s something else going on. Last year GM sold just over 800,000 pickups, Ford sold about 830,000. But Oshawa will be able to build about 240,000 pickups. Does GM really believe it can sell that many more pickups? We think that’s highly unlikely. But if GM wanted to convert one of its pickup plants to make electric trucks, it sure would be handy to have Oshawa making conventional trucks while it made that conversion. The Oshawa plant will reopen in early 2022 and we’ll have a clearer idea at that point.
HONDA CONSOLIDATING NORTH AMERICAN OPERATIONS
Honda is consolidating its operations in North America. Its R&D and manufacturing operations are now run as separate companies, with their own corporate structure and financials. But under the new plan, they’re all merging together. Honda’s manufacturing operations, including engineering and purchasing, and its product development operations will come together into one new company, called Honda Development & Manufacturing of America. Under the previous system, R&D would do what was best for R&D and manufacturing would do what was best for manufacturing. But that wasn’t necessarily what was best for Honda. The new operation should improve communication within the company and cut costs by reducing redundancies. On top of that, its South Carolina manufacturing plant, which makes motorcycle, ATV and side-by-side products will become part of Honda’s Powersports division within American Honda.
MOPAR ADDS REDEYE ENGINE TO CATALOG
We know that a lot of you are sick and tired of all the electric coverage we’re providing. So here’s some good news for all of you who love piston power. Mopar is expanding its crate engine offerings. With the introduction of the 807 horsepower Hellcat Redeye engine to its catalog, Mopar now offers five HEMI crate engines with power ratings between 375 and 1,000 horsepower. The supercharged 6.2L is intended for pre-1976 street and off-road machines, where its 717 lb-ft of torque would be particularly useful. I’m sure some of you are saying, “that’s cool, but what does it cost?” MSRP comes in a shade under $22,000.
DODGE DURANGO SRT HELLCAT ORDER BOOKS OPEN
And if that price tag didn’t phase you, you either understand the value, are a very wealthy person or maybe you already slapped down the $81,000 needed, not including destination charges, for the new Durango SRT Hellcat. Orders for the 710 horsepower SUV, which will do 0-60 in 3.5 seconds, just opened up last week. If ever there was a need for a 3-row family vehicle capable of doing mind-bending burnouts, it’s no surprise it’s coming from Dodge.
HOW LUCID IMPROVED AERODYNAMICS
Lucid Motors claims its sedan, called the Air, is more efficient than a Tesla Model S. One of the reasons why it makes this claim is that the Air is more aerodynamic than a Model S. And one way it’s more aerodynamic is because it designed the front air-opening to generate a vortex. Peter Rawlinson, the CTO of Lucid, explains.
“And then the third thing is we have these really efficient ducts, which means that our real-world range is enhanced. And if you think of this vortex system that we’ve got–a lot of people are familiar with the vortex in this certain brand of British vacuum cleaner that has got this clear plastic so you can see the vortex–so if you imagine two of those vortexes laying flat, and that’s behind that narrow air intake at the front of the car, and it just speeds the air up into a vortex rotating this way and it fires over the area of the radiator. So what we get is a more even distribution of air across the radiator. So what we can have is more cooling, or we can have the same amount of cooling with smaller radiators, which gives us a smaller nose which gives us better aerodynamics which means we don’t need so much cooling in the first place which gives us a beneficial circle.”
Peter Rawlinson was our guest on Autoline After Hours along with his chief designer Derek Jenkins and that show is chock full of great information about their electric car. You can watch the entire show on our website or our YouTube channel.
But that wraps up today’s show. Thanks for watching and we’ll be right back here again tomorrow.
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Comments (32)
November 9th, 2020 at 12:14 pm
If the electrified wing suit guy can take off with a couple steps from flat ground, I’ll be impressed. Dropped from a helicopter, not so much.
November 9th, 2020 at 12:15 pm
The disaster with the Leaf taxis in NY was entirely PREDICTABLE, as their ranges were MINISCULE, the first gen got what? 100 miles at best? SO Why did the lazy MORONS who made the investment did not TEST it before they ordered the ugly things?? (the 2nd gen leaf looks much better AND has far better range than the 1st).
The Model 3 does NOT have a spacious rear seat, I read it can barely fit an adult. AND as NONE of the savings will be passed to the guy who hails a taxi, just like the case of the MANY Prius taxis, IF I ever wanted to take a taxi in NY, it would NOT be a Model 3, UNLESS i was allowed to sit up front (maybe they will have autonomous ones soon.. LOL)
In other news,
MARKETS are EXPLODING today, they were up 4% in Europe (very pleasing to me because I got lots of $ in international funds) AND the DOW also is up 4% currently, all thanks to a PFIZER announcement about their CV vaccine. I’ll give you the sordid details tomorrow.. crying all thw way to the bank again.. I know you can;t wait.
AND from the brilliant Pfizer Scientists, to the BLITHERING Idiot Joe Biden: I don’t know to whom (maybe even bigger idiots, but how is this possible?) he was speaking, but he claims ‘he’ will create one million jobs in the AUTO industry alone. The Jobs fairy, complete with wand. He will hit you over the head and presto, you will have a boring, poor paying job.
November 9th, 2020 at 12:30 pm
2 The election is over, and your guy lost. Can’t you STFU about it now. This isn’t supposed to be a political forum.
As far as the Model 3 taxis, they have Prius-like rear seat room, and should be fine for short trips for most people. Yeah, a taxi ride in a Model 3 or Prius should be cheaper than in something roomier, but with my limited taxi use, I take what is available. That’s what matters to me, if I’m taking a 15 minute trip. As far as NYC, I’ve only been there twice, but mainly used the subway and walked. Now, with covid, I’d walk more and ride less.
November 9th, 2020 at 12:35 pm
The ideal taxi is a WAGON, not a sedan, so it can take people and their luggage. Even better, a Van.
There were tons of Model S taxis in some European cities and they did huge hundreds of thousands of miles each in Amsterdam and else.
The 3 is much cheaper than the S and even more than the X, which is the most appropriate Tesla Taxi. ANd if cost is really an issue, (I doubt it because the medallion itself in NY is several hundred thou $, the permit.), they can get a Model Y for a few thou more than the 3
The Model Y is a far better taxi than the 3. it is much taller, has more passengeer and cargo space. In fact you can even order it with 3 rows of seats, I imagine the third is mostly for kids under 12.
November 9th, 2020 at 12:47 pm
A Model Y would make a good taxi, but costs more than a 3. I suspect they will be used as taxis in NYC and elsewhere in the near future.
November 9th, 2020 at 12:52 pm
1. Those guys usually base jump from mountain tops. I rarely see them dropping in from helicopters or airplanes as this video shows.
I’m interested to know how much benefit there is in the under-belly placement of the jetpack versus having it on the back though.
November 9th, 2020 at 1:06 pm
I could see the BMW ePower being used for all sorts of things, like Hang gliders, skateboarders, bicyclists, maybe even RC airplanes. Although 5 minutes is a pretty short period I’m sure on things like a bike they could add more battery capacity.
November 9th, 2020 at 1:09 pm
While I understand why taxi companies would be interested in using Tesla models as taxis, especially the Model 3 since they are now more affordable thanks to competition and slowing sales, I don’t know why Tesla would want any of their cars used as taxis. It doesn’t enhance their “futuristic luxury EV” brand. Who wants to buy a car that is used as a taxi? Its one of the primary reasons that Crown Victorias were rarely purchased by consumers. They were nearly all purchased for taxi and police duty.
November 9th, 2020 at 1:45 pm
6 That’s what I thought, that they usually jumped from mountain tops, rather than being dropped from helicopters. That would have been an expensive video to make.
7 I suspect those motors/fan units are “borrowed” from ones used on very large R/C airplanes, maybe something like this:
https://www.turbines-rc.com/en/epf-hobby/2238-epf-hobby-mercury-ii-14-blade-216mm-edf-ducted-fan-200kv-motor-22s.html
November 9th, 2020 at 1:49 pm
9 Looking at the specs, that unit I linked is probably bigger than the ones with wingsuit setup. It is about 13 kW in, so should be around 10 kW at the motor shaft.
November 9th, 2020 at 3:25 pm
Virgin’s Hyperloop isn’t leaving me with warm and fuzzy thoughts. I read the release and they seem in the very preliminary phase, and while they have a working model, it is currently just that, a working model. They aspire to offer city to city service (L.A. to San Francisco on their web page) but with only drawings and 500 meters of actual track, I can’t help but think this a very expensive option to convey people from place to place. They are not up to advertised speed yet either; claimed possible 1000 kph, test at 387 kph; and I don’t think it will be linearly scalable (but I could be wrong). This and Elon’s tunnel may be in our future, but I’ll be standing by at this point.
November 9th, 2020 at 3:45 pm
Please don’t forget the closed captioning for those of us who are hearing impaired. Thank you!
November 9th, 2020 at 4:00 pm
I thought hyperloop was a development project under Elon’s Space X. Is it in collaboration with Virgin?
November 9th, 2020 at 4:15 pm
12 I usually just read the transcript, even though my hearing is ok.
13 Little did I know that hyperloop was a generic term. Apparently both Elon Musk and Virgin use it, for two different projects.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperloop
November 9th, 2020 at 6:38 pm
I think Hyperloops have merit. If they can operate with efficiency, communities may develope around them. I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing.
November 9th, 2020 at 6:47 pm
Kit, I drove a hybred Fusion loaner car for a couple days. The ride was fine, quiet and MPG’s were great, but overall the car felt like a turd to me. My golf clubs wouldnt fit in the trunk. I wasn’t fond of the dial gear shifter and really disliked the regenerative breaking. I suppose it is good for basic transportation, but not for me.
November 9th, 2020 at 6:54 pm
16 Have you tried a hybrid Camry, which is what I have? It has the same trunk as other Camrys, with a split fold down back seat, and has a shifter about like a Corvette. I don’t know how the regen feels compared to a Fusion hybrid.
November 9th, 2020 at 6:56 pm
I hate to break it to the guys over in Munich, but that’s not how over-the-air updates are done.
November 9th, 2020 at 7:08 pm
16,17. What I said in #17 applies to 2018 and later Camry hybrid. I don’t know about earlier ones, but I think the battery takes up trunk space in 2017 and earlier ones.
November 9th, 2020 at 7:12 pm
2 Let it go. Biden is not an idiot. Grow up!
November 9th, 2020 at 9:58 pm
What is a hyper loop? I couldn’t find anything in the article that explains what it is, or how it is powered. I did my Masters thesis on a vacuum (low pressure) powered subway based on experiments that I conducted. That was in 1968!
#8, I agree. After WW2, Packard sold 6 cyl taxis for a few years. Most observers these days think that tarnished their image and was a mistake, especially during that 1946-1949 sellers market.
November 9th, 2020 at 10:18 pm
21. Packard never recovered at all after WW II. They were in the same class with Cadillac and Lincoln in the ’30s, but after that, they declined sharply. I suppose selling them as taxis didn’t help the image, but they were doomed at that point.
November 10th, 2020 at 4:42 am
I must read up on Packard. They built so many Rolls-Royce Merlins under licence during WWII that I doubt their financial position suffered. Curious to know why they couldn’t make it in the following sellers’ market.
Incidentally, it’s interesting that Lucid’s team is quite international in experience and presumably outlook.
Although I’m not so sure launching a sedan is the way to go nowadays that battery cells have progressed so much in all relevant metrics, with further steady accumulation of small improvements coming.
Access to sufficient supplies may be more of a challenge.
November 10th, 2020 at 4:47 am
Just one more thing – Tesla is driven by its mission. The unique challenges they take on are a result of that focus. I doubt Tesla taxis will be seen as detrimental by people who support it.
November 10th, 2020 at 5:36 am
22,23 I don’t know the answer but found a link if you are interested on why Packard failed (by Hagerty): https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/10-reasons-why-packard-died/
In a nutshell it appears bad choices, reduced quality and better competition.
November 10th, 2020 at 6:20 am
25 Good article with some things that I knew, and some that I didn’t. I grew up about 100 miles from South Bend, home of Studebaker, so heard some news about the decline and fall of Studebaker-Packard from semi-local sources.
23 Packard made Merlin engines, and Studebaker made made some of the Pratt and Whitney radial engines for B-17s. I didn’t know that until I saw the Studebaker tag on an engine at an air show 20-25 years ago.
November 10th, 2020 at 6:28 am
26 Correction. The Studebaker-built engines were Wright R-1820, not P & W.
November 10th, 2020 at 7:33 am
25 Thank you Chuck, that was an instructive article interspersed with fantastic pics. The 1932 Packard Light 8 coupe roadster is a jewel.
Quite amazing how rapidly the fundamentals of styling changed between that and the 1950 Custom 8, keeping in mind the intervening years of commercial deep sleep.
Later on, the connections to world markets were generally lost due to the growing differences in size and relative affordability.
I remember reading Akio Morita’s autobiography (the founder of SONY), were he mentioned his father’s Buick.
November 10th, 2020 at 7:34 am
*where
November 10th, 2020 at 7:58 am
Another thing thing that hurt Packard after WW II, was that they wasted a lot of money developing their own not-too-good automatic transmission, rather than using Hydramatic or Borg-Warner tranmissions. The Packard “Ultramatic” had a locking torque converter, unique at the time, but other than that, didn’t offer much. In normal drive, it was one speed, with a manually selectable low gear for better acceleration and hills.
November 10th, 2020 at 8:41 am
These hyperloops could very well provide a much needed mass transit system. However the only way to make them cost affectively would be to utilize the already mass highway system we have and use the median space or elevate over the existing highway. Im thinking the amount of property in California that would need to be purchased to run a route from LA to SF would put the cost too high. The problem with that though is it is likely not strait enough. If they truly want to travel at speeds close to air travel @600 mph they cant have any tight curves. Even changes in altitude will have to be slight.
I had read the goad at least for Elon’s hyperloop was to develop a route from LA to NY and doing it at speeds faster than air travel.
21 I don’t know the exact definition of hyperloop but I believe both Virgin and Space X versions are electrically elevated “trains” and move using electro-magnetic propulsion. I also believe they are using it in conjunction with a vacuum tube concept for the purpose of eliminating wind resistance.
November 10th, 2020 at 6:46 pm
#25, Chuck, thanks for that very interesting article. I’ve been a member of The Packard Club for nearly 60 years, and have read innumerable articles about why they failed. Packard was the top selling luxury car until WW 2, but their move into the medium priced field in the mid thirties cost them a lot of their prestige even though it saved their life (every other independent luxury car maker went out of business during the depression).