AD #2961 – PSA CEO Says No More ICEs; Jeep Wrangler Gets a V8; Tesla Getting Added to S&P 500
November 17th, 2020 at 11:51am
Listen to “AD #2961 – PSA CEO Says No More ICEs; Jeep Wrangler Gets a V8; Tesla Getting Added to S and P 500″ on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 10:01
0:07 VW Getting Ready to Sell Lamborghini & Ducati
0:34 UK Expected to Pull Forward ICE Ban
0:54 PSA CEO Says No More ICEs
1:10 BMW Wants to Increase Stake in Chinese JV
2:34 Ford Applies Customer-Centric Design to Max Recline Seats
3:49 Jeep Wrangler Gets a V8
5:08 Mercedes EQC Receives New Standard On-Board Charger
5:54 Tesla Getting Added to the S&P 500
6:50 NHTSA Expands Investigation Into Tesla’s Blank Screens
7:54 GMC Hummer SUV Goes Into Production in 2023
8:46 Does MINI’s Future Hold a MINIvan?
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
Speaking of global, let’s take a quick trip around the world.
VW GETTING READY TO SELL LAMBO & DUCATI
We start in Germany, where Volkswagen is getting ready to sell off Lamborghini and Ducati. The sports car and motorcycle makers will go into a separate legal structure that will make it easier to spin them off. VW says it has not decided to sell them yet, but it sure looks like that’s exactly what will happen. VW needs more cash in its quest to take on Tesla.
UK EXPECTED TO PULL FORWARD ICE BAN
OK, let’s cross the Channel to the UK where this week Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce a ban on internal combustion engines. The UK already issued an ICE ban for 2040, but in February Johnson moved that up to 2035 and now he’s expected to move it to 2030.
PSA CEO SAYS NO MORE ICEs
A trip through the Chunnel takes us to France, where Peugeot’s CEO Carlos Tavares says that’s it when it comes to internal combustion engines. He says they’re not going to spend one more euro developing ICEs.
BMW TO INCREASE STAKE IN CHINESE JV
Half a world away in China, BMW wants to increase its ownership in Chinese automaker Brilliance. BMW already owns 50% of its joint venture with Brilliance, but Reuters reports it wants to increase that another 25%, giving it full control. But there’s a fly in the ointment. Brilliance is part of a company called Huachen, and Huachen is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. But it’s also a state owned company and the government is expected to bail it out.
And that’s our quick trip around the world, back in a moment with more news.
FORD APPLIES CUSTOMER-CENTRIC DESIGN TO MAX RECLINE SEATS
A little over a year ago on Autoline This Week we highlighted a new process Ford is using in its product development process, called customer-centric design. It all starts with identifying traits and features that customers might want. And rather than spend time and money on expensive prototypes, they use cheap ones to get quick customer feedback. Then they come up with another quick iteration and get more feedback. Now we’re starting to see the fruits of that process. The big vertical screen in the Mustang Mach-E started out as a piece of cardboard with some things taped on to simulate knobs and buttons. And the Max Recline Seat in the new F-150 that we highlighted yesterday went through the same process. They used hot glue, foam core and pins to build up components on a standard seat frame. And once engineers nailed the design they made a fully functional metal prototype. They refined that for comfort and motion and then made production parts. We talk all the time about how vehicles are so competitive these days, and with customer-centric design, For is not necessarily looking for a home run innovation, but a lot of little improvements that will set it apart from everyone else.
JEEP WRANGLER GETS A V8
Speaking of giving customers what they want, Jeep says its customers wanted a V8 Wrangler, so that’s what they’re getting. The Wrangler Rubicon 392 will snap a nearly 40 year drought of an 8-cylinder in the Wrangler lineup. As you can guess, this new V8 is a little more powerful than the last one. It makes both 470 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque. That’s enough to move this vehicle from 0-60 in 4.5 seconds and run the quarter mile in 13-flat. A number of changes were required to shoehorn a V8 into the Wrangler. The suspension geometry is different, the springs and dampers are improved, a bigger rear sway bar and cooling fan is needed, the engine mounts got beefed up and a cross member was added to the front. The V8 took up too much space to fit Dana 60 axles, so it features Dana 44’s with thicker axle tubes and a beefed up gear set. Other highlights include a 1-inch lift over a standard Rubicon, 33-inch tires on 17-inch beadlock wheels, functional hood scoop, tuned exhaust and wheel-mounted paddle shifters, a first for Wrangler. The V8 Wrangler will be available in the first quarter of next year.
MERCEDES EQC GETS NEW STANDARD ON-BOARD CHARGER
It takes a lot longer to charge an electric vehicle at home, so Mercedes will upgrade its EQC to slash the time it takes to charge with alternating current. The electric crossover now comes standard with a water-cooled on-board charger. With an output of 11 kW the 80 kWh battery can be charged from 10% to 100% in 7 and a half hours. While that still is a long time, it’s 3 and a half hours less than before.
TESLA BEING ADDED TO S&P 500
Tesla is by far and away the most valuable automaker in the world and it’s about to get an even bigger boost to its market capitalization. Yesterday, the S&P 500 announced it’s adding Tesla to its index starting on December 21st. That caused the company’s shares to spike in pre-market trading. Reuters reports that Tesla’s shares jumped 11% this morning, adding about $40 billion to its value. If that holds, Tesla will be worth around $440 billion. This is also boosting CEO Elon Musk’s bottom line. The stock price surge increased his net worth by $15 billion, pushing it to $117 billion, making him the third richest person in the world, passing Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. This is great for Tesla but people who shorted its stock must be pulling their hair out over this.
NHTSA EXPANDS INVESTIGATION INTO TESLA SCREENS GOING BLANK
However, it’s not all good news for Tesla. NHTSA is expanding its investigation into the company’s touchscreens and still may force a recall. Some owners of Model S and Model Xs built before March of 2018, complained that the screen would go blank and they would lose control of certain functions. Last week, Tesla offered an extended warranty to repair or replace the touchscreen’s multimedia card free of charge for vehicles with less than 100,000 miles. But many owners didn’t think this went far enough and NHTSA seems to agree. The agency is viewing this as a safety issue since some important functions can only be accessed through the screen. In an update to the investigation, NHTSA says 10,000 owners have requested a replacement for the MCU in their vehicles and certain build months had a failure rate of 30%. Now NHTSA has expanded its investigation to include nearly 160,000 Model S and Xs and a recall is looking more and more likely.
HUMMER SUV GOES INTO PRODUCTION IN 2023
The new GMC Hummer pickup truck goes into production next September. We already knew that, but the SUV version is coming out later. Autoforecast Solutions says the Hummer SUV starts rolling down the line in January of 2023. Then 6 months later GM will start making long and short wheelbase versions of an electric pickup for Chevrolet.
As the automotive world transitions to electric vehicles, suppliers could be in a beautiful position. They can sell to traditional automakers and to startups. So join us on Autoline After Hours as we explore the future for automotive suppliers with Don Walker the CEO of Magna. Don is about to retire and can speak freely of where he sees things going. That’s this Thursday afternoon at 3 pm eastern time.
DOES MINI’S FUTURE HOLD A MINIVAN?
Could there be a MINI brand minivan or MINI minivan? When the automaker looks into its future it certainly sees a vehicle that would fit that description. MINI revealed the Vision Urbanaut, a space concept that can transform based on mood or environment. Designers started by taping the typical MINI footprint on the floor and then tried to maximize that space. So, basically it’s like a living room on wheels. The interior is very lounge-like and even features a moveable dashboard that can sink into the floor to create additional seating or raise up when manual driving is preferred over autonomy. Lighting on the outside, even elements in the wheels themselves, will change depending on the mood the passengers have selected. While this is clearly a way off concept, it is interesting to see MINI explore segments that it’s not ever associated with.
But that’s all for today. Thanks for watching.
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Comments (36)
November 17th, 2020 at 12:07 pm
Putting a V8 in the Wrangler would make the most sense for a lowered, street-optimized vehicle, but instead, the only way they will sell the V8 is in a lifted, off-road version. I guess that’s the best approach for getting people to pay lots of money for it, but for actual serious off-roading, you don’t need 470 hp. A 100 hp 4 cylinder would have plenty of power for going 5 mph in low range.
November 17th, 2020 at 12:27 pm
So the UK is going to try and ban ICEs in the next 9 years. I guess they figure mandating EVs will bring the price down? People already complain that the average cost of a new vehicle is too high. With EVs running about an additional 10 to 20K they will kill new car sales in the UK. Even if EVs resolve range and charging times a 25% increase in cost will prevent many people from buying them.
November 17th, 2020 at 12:33 pm
The Jeep Wrangler has been headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, ever since Willys-Overland launched production of the first CJ or Civilian Jeep models there in 1945. So plenty of Jeeps here in Toledo. Many have received a V8 swap so good to see FCA offering it from the factory. Glad to see they didn’t go with the 5.7 and just went all in with the 6.4L. Why not.
November 17th, 2020 at 12:40 pm
There are lots of Morris Minors from the 50s & 60s still trundling around the UK. If they stop selling ICEs in 2030, in another 70 years, most of the ICEs will be gone!
November 17th, 2020 at 12:42 pm
I guess some CJs had OEM V8s when AMC had Jeep. I know someone who has put a Chevy V8 in a newer Wrangler. I suspect there are a lot of those.
November 17th, 2020 at 12:43 pm
“BMW TO INCREASE STEAK IN CHINESE JV” is that a Porthouse, T-bone, or bone-in rib eye?
November 17th, 2020 at 12:46 pm
4 They were just ending Morris Minor production when I was in Scotland in 1970-71. In the summer of 2018, I saw a cool “resto-mod” at a show, a Minor with modern 4 cylinder, a GM 2.4 as I remember.
November 17th, 2020 at 12:46 pm
Sean, Can we assume that Jeep Europe will have Maserati build a “Wranglerati” instead of a gas guzzling V8 for European customers?
November 17th, 2020 at 12:48 pm
About the Tesla screens going black, the consensus in the Tesla community the root cause are flash memory chips used to store the controller logs. Flash memory has a maximum number of operations before the fail and these older chips are failing. If you’ve had a thumb drive fail, same mechanism.
November 17th, 2020 at 12:55 pm
Hey Shawn,
Is BMW really trying to increase its ‘steak” in chinese JVs? Is it also trying to find a ‘grill’, for its new offerings?
Re Musk’s net worth, fully deserved, but I was shocked to see that Facebook clown with his WORTHLESS product be so high up in the list.
November 17th, 2020 at 12:57 pm
6 Did not see you caught it first. Any steak, as long as it comes with a Foreman “grille”..
November 17th, 2020 at 12:58 pm
I would like to see what Subaru has on the horizon for electricification on it’s models.
One improvement I would suggest to Subaru designers is to add the Outback’s swing arm roof rail system to the Forester and Ascent. This would make is much easier for us Dad’s to pile more stuff on top of our Subaru’s for those outdoor adventures.
November 17th, 2020 at 12:59 pm
If the Wrangler has 33″ tires, why couldn’t they fit much larger than 17″ wheels? Like 20 or 22″s? And make the wheels brighter, the ones in the video look as dull and glum as the Wrangler’s joyless interior.
But it STILL looks better than either the Bronco or the so-called “Hummer” BEV.
November 17th, 2020 at 1:10 pm
9) TESLA was warned about that years ago and they didn’t listen. I guess they are listening now.
November 17th, 2020 at 1:24 pm
14 Baad, baad Tesla! Why can’t you be GOOD, like Bankrupt GM and FCA and crooked NIKOLA???!!!
November 17th, 2020 at 1:29 pm
14 How dare you say anything negative about the almighty Tesla his resident cheerleader is not going to take that sitting down. No doubt will have something lame to say.
November 17th, 2020 at 1:33 pm
@Bob Wilson – I guess I was more hungry than I though
November 17th, 2020 at 1:37 pm
#5 – Kit – Not sure what year Jeep stopped putting V-8′s in the CJ. We had a 1979 CJ-7 with the AMC 304 ci V-8 for a number of years.
November 17th, 2020 at 1:50 pm
13 I doubt if 40 series tires would be the best thing for those who use their Jeeps for hard core off roading. That’s why they use the 17s, with 70 series tires.
November 17th, 2020 at 2:03 pm
18 According to wikipedia, they used the AMC 304 in CJ-7s from 1976-1980. I thought they might have uses them until the CJ was replaced by Wrangler in ’87, but apparently not.
November 17th, 2020 at 2:09 pm
@ #18 Well if Sean’s numbers are right 40 years would be 1980 so I’d say in the 1980 to 1987 range when AMC still made Jeeps.
November 17th, 2020 at 2:36 pm
19 so that “Pretend Hummer” BEV thing, which uses the name of a serious vehicle (the H1), with its 22″ 36s, will be just for show at the Mall?
November 17th, 2020 at 2:50 pm
I’m sure Ford could have saved a lot of development money by using the old Rambler seat technology
Plenty of v8 Jeeps around here as a lot of 4×4 shops specialize in conversions
November 17th, 2020 at 2:56 pm
@1, 3, 5: agree with Kit, and the standard 4 cylinder engine is currently probably one of the best engines in the Wrangler for off-roading, since it is light-weight and has good low-end torque. 270 HP and 295 lb ft of torque should be very good for off-roading. I drive several Wranglers off road every year and all have been equipped with a Corvette V8 engine. The vehicles are owned by a drivetrain supplier which has modified the vehicles completely to put their drivetrain and suspension components on. Although I have never seen John McElroy drive those Jeep’s at the event, he has probably driven those vehicles as well.
I have a Wrangler with the 3.0 L Turbo Diesel engine myself, but have not driven it off-road, yet. It has 50% more torque than the 4 cylinder engine, but is also much heavier, so I do not know whether it performs better off-road. The videos on YouTube are promising, though.
November 17th, 2020 at 3:19 pm
22 36 inch tires on 22 inch wheels would have sidewalls only an inch less tall the the Jeep’s 33/17s. Of course, we don’t even know what the production Hummer will use.
24 I’ve done actual off-roading only once ever, in an old FJ Land Cruiser with the engine that was a near-clone of a Chevy “blue flame” six. I don’t know how much power it had, guessing about 100 hp, but it was plenty, and it had linear throttle response.
November 17th, 2020 at 3:21 pm
24) The 392 V8 Wrangler has less ground clearance than the standard wrangler. That is due to the larger axle size required for the added power. Less ground clearance is not necessarily what you want in an off road vehicle. They really should have paired the engine up with taller tires but I am sure the customer base will retrofit those later.
November 17th, 2020 at 3:52 pm
26 I suppose people will put larger tires, and the necessary aftermarket fender flares on those 392 Wranglers to make them look more “macho,” but most of them will never go off-road. They will just be used to race older Corvettes at stop lights, and similar things. People who want to race Teslas and newer Corvettes at stop lights will need to put smaller, sticker tires, to effectively gear it shorter, and have better traction on pavement.
November 17th, 2020 at 4:27 pm
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2020/11/progress-thy-name-is-zeta-new-electric-vehicle-lobbying-group-hits-the-scene/
Founding ZETA members include 28 major corporations, including ABB, Albemarle Corporation, ChargePoint, ConEdision, EVBox, Lordstown Motors, Lucid Motors, PG&E Corporation, Proterra, Rivian, Siemens, SRP, Tesla, Vistra, Uber, and WAVE
November 17th, 2020 at 4:42 pm
https://www.autonews.com/automakers-suppliers/tesla-join-sp-500-december?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20201117&utm_content=article6-image
While the incorrigible and pathological Tesla haters here never mention any of the DAILY HUGE Good news about the company, its inclusion to the S&P 500 is NO ordinary triumph AND will have HUGE COnsequences.
INDEX FUNDS alone will contribute to a demand for $51 billion worth of Tesla shares.
Have a hard time understanding this? Here is a clip from the article:
“Tesla’s inclusion in the widely followed stock market index means investment funds indexed to the S&P 500 will have to sell about $51 billion worth of shares of companies already in the S&P 500 and use that money to buy shares of Tesla, so that their portfolios correctly reflect the index, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. Tesla will account for about 1 percent of the index.”
And while the Index funds will HAVE to buy the above shares, by their own RULES, all OTHER funds, automotive or general market funds, will ALSO invest varying but significant amounts in Tesla.
Conclusion? THe current lofty price of more than $2,200 for an OLD Tesla share (the new is fter a 5 for one split, at $441), is going to go MUCH HIGHER, if that’s possible.
Some Tesla haters here and elsewhere may need urgent medical care (assuming they can begin to understand the above)
November 17th, 2020 at 6:20 pm
Fortunately, Tesla will constitute only about 1% of the S&P’s value, so when the stock drops to closer to what it should be for a car company, the index fund investors won’t be affected much.
November 17th, 2020 at 7:16 pm
Yes, Tesla will make up about 1.5% of the index.
Larry’s statement about the $51B exchange sounds good but can be a double edged sword.
One should view this from the oposit direction to see the pit falls; Tesla can be a risk to the S&P index.
… Tesla is way over priced. Its market cap of $400B way exceeds other manufactures while revenues are below $30B.
…Its high stock price is based upon its P/E ratio which is crazy high. This is due to Teslas sale and reliance on the sale of tax credits to show a profit over the last 5 quarters. In short, Tesla would have never shown a profit if it were not for the government-induced side markets.
While investors only see Tesla potential, they overlook the fact that competition is nipping at it’s heals in both manufacturing and battery cells. At this time, Tesla is still buying batteries from Panasonic.
If Tesla’s luster fades and competition keeps growing at a faster and faster rate, Tesla’s market cap and P/E ratio could be real trouble for the S&P and the US stock market.
So Larry’s comment that I pointed out will turn out for the best in the future, but if Tesla’s competition and and fewer credi sales become problematic, the whole idex could pay the price.
November 18th, 2020 at 3:41 am
30 you seem to be dragged down by a naive belief in what is cheap and what is overvalued and you are BLIND to the WINDS OF CHANGE and the WILL of all kinds of governments, widely dispersed around the world, to ELECTRIFY their fleets.
You seem to be an investor that would consider GM a ‘bargain’ in 2008, only to see 100% (not 99%, 100%!) of your savings WIPED OUT when it went bankrupt, and while Obama protected his fat cat UAW contributors, he did NOT protect ANY of the small investors who lost their LIFE SAVINGS.
You seem to believe that the markets are some kind of seedy Las Vegas casino where investors have no clue what they are doing, and when they become multi-billionaires like Musk, it is always “luck” or “coincidence” and not his TRUE BRILLIANCE AND GENIUS as BOTH an engineer AND an Econ Literate CEO that made him worth $115 billion today, and who knows, a trillion 10 years from now.
“Success is just a matter of luck. Just as any failure”
(from “Murphy’s laws on work)
November 18th, 2020 at 3:50 am
30 PS Tesla is not a car company. That is another reason you cannot understand its valuation.
it is a HIGH TECH company that HAPPENS to provide what the whole world demands, AFFORDABLE, High-Tech BEVs
that can be made AT A PROFIT and NOT at a loss like the LUTZ model that grabs profits from GM’s SUVs to fund the losses of his LOSER compliance BEVs.
And if it is so successful now that oil prices are DIRT CHEAP, imagine how successful it would be the next time oil is at a peak like in 2008, when it reached $150 a barrel,only to fall with the financial crisis soon after.
November 18th, 2020 at 8:17 am
32,33 You seem to be dragged down by a naive belief that no one is ever going to compete with Tesla in the BEV market. VW is well on their way, and others will follow. I’m not saying that Tesla will go the way of Enron, which you may have worshiped at one time, but that, when the competition gets going, Tesla’s stock is likely to be more like other successful car companies, like Toyota.
November 18th, 2020 at 8:25 am
33 What a joke.. YES GM does grab profits from its SUVs to offset the huge BEV costs because it has them and people want their SUVs. More than the amount of people that want a Tesla.
What you continually fail to see Larri is Tesla in no different other than it uses other manufacturers to make those desirable SUVs and then they buy Carbon credits from Tesla. So Teslas losses just get offset by carbon credits that get bought by the manufacturers you detest. Tesla no different when it comes to how they make a BEV affordable you fool. Face it the BEV market could not survive currently without the sales of ICEs. ICE’s are keeping BEVs afloat. Its just a shuffling of money to support electrification.
November 18th, 2020 at 8:33 am
35 Exactly. GM SUVs, Jeeps, and other ICE vehicles subsidize Tesla, as they subsidize the legacy companies’ in-house BEVs.