AD #2985 – Startup Unveils Retro Styled EV Coupe; Subaru Crosstrek Impressions; Musk Claims Apple Passed on Tesla
December 23rd, 2020 at 11:30am
Listen to “AD #2985 – Startup Unveils Retro Styled EV Coupe; Subaru Crosstrek Impressions; Musk Claims Apple Passed on Tesla” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 11:18
0:38 Musk Claims Apple Passed on Acquiring Tesla
1:53 BMW Sends OTA Holiday Cards to Customers
2:32 LG & Magna Form Joint Venture
3:14 Volvo Confirms New EV
4:07 DOE Battery Recycling Contest Phase II Winners
4:57 EV Startup Introduces Retro Inspired Coupe
5:38 Subaru Crosstrek Impressions
7:21 The Story Behind John Oates’ 1960 Porsche 356
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
MUSK CLAIMS APPLE PASSED ON ACQUIRING TESLA
Yesterday all the headlines were about Apple getting into the car business, but the iPhone maker had a chance to get in the game long before its targeted launch in 2024. Elon Musk said he once reached out to Apple CEO Tim Cook about buying Tesla, but Cook “refused to take the meeting.” This would have been sometime in 2017 or 2018 when Tesla was in “production hell” trying to ramp up manufacturing of the Model 3. And, as Musk notes, Apple could have purchased Tesla for a tenth of its current value. When we first saw this, we said, ‘Wow, could this be like Blockbuster passing on Netflix?’ But that would have required Apple keeping Musk on because Tesla is not Tesla without Elon Musk. Would there still be a Semi, Cybertruck and next-generation Roadster without him? I question it. Musk also threw a little shade at Apple’s monocell battery. He Tweeted the design “is electrochemically impossible as max voltage is about 100X too low.” Too bad we might have to wait until 2024 to find out if he’s right.
BMW SENDS OTA HOLIDAY CARDS TO CUSTOMERS
Here’s a unique use of over-the-air updates. This year BMW is saying ‘no thanks’ to the traditional boring old holiday card. Instead it’s sending holiday greetings right to the customer’s car. When a vehicle with BMW’s Operating System 7.0 starts their car up, a special banner pops up in the control display. Clicking on that banner plays a special New Year’s or Christmas message, depending on the market, accompanied by festive music and an orchestrated ambient light show. The Christmas messages start tomorrow, while the New Year’s message drops on the 1st.
LG & MAGNA FORM JOINT VENTURE
With governments imposing EV mandates and bans on ICE vehicles, the shift towards electrification is accelerating. That’s why LG and Magna are forming a joint venture to manufacture e-motors, inverters and on-board chargers for electric vehicles. Called LG Magna e-Powertrain, it will have operations in China, South Korea and the U.S. The companies say the JV will allow its customers to choose from a variety of EV components or integrate an entire electrified powertrain. The deal is still subject to shareholder and regulatory approval but it’s expected to close in July of 2021.
VOLVO CONFIRMS NEW EV
Volvo is continuing its push toward electrification. CEO Hakan Samuelsson confirmed that it’s coming out with another EV based on the same architecture as the XC40 Recharge. He also said the vehicle would be “more streamlined” than the XC40. We hope that means an electric station wagon.
DOE BATTERY RECYCLING CONTEST PHASE II WINNERS
Electric cars can be terrific from an environmental standpoint, but only if the batteries get recycled. Today only 5% of spent lithium batteries are recycled. What’s needed is an industrial scale recycling facility that can sell the raw materials for a profit. A couple of years ago the U.S. Department of Energy started a contest to encourage complete battery recycling and it just announced 7 winners for Phase II of the program. Each of them gets $357,000 plus another $100,000 worth of non-cash vouchers that they can use at National Labs to do R&D work for them. The next and final phase of the program will be for pilot validation, and we want to thank Autoline Daily viewer Dave Tuttle for bringing this to our attention.
| COMPANY | LOCATION |
|---|---|
| Li Industries | Blacksburg, VA |
| OnTo Technologies | Bend, OR |
| Powering the Future | Glendale, WI |
| Renewance | Chicago, IL |
| Smartville | San Diego, CA |
| Team Portables | Seattle, WA |
| Titan Advanced Energy Solutions | Sommerville, MA |
| Source: U.S. Department of Energy | |
EV STARTUP INTRODUCES RETRO INSPIRED COUPE
You can file this under ‘I don’t know if it will ever happen’ but an EV startup out of California, named Alpha Motor Corporation recently introduced a cool-looking car, called the ACE. It’s a small coupe that’s built on a modular platform, which can support a number of body types, including a sedan, crossover, truck or van. It’s also planning a commercial vehicle based on the same platform, called the ICON. There’s not a lot of specs right now, but the company projects the ACE will be able to do 250 miles on a single charge and 0-60 in 6-seconds. Alpha says it hopes to deliver its vehicles as early as 2023.
SUBARU CROSSTREK IMPRESSIONS
We just had the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek Limited in the Autoline Garage. The big news for 2021 is that it got an optional 2.5-liter engine with 182 horses which is a step up from the 152 horsepower 2-liter base engine. Thirty more horses is always a nice boost for any car and the Crosstrek was noticeably more powerful than before. But it still uses a CVT that has a rubbery response to throttle inputs. Other CVTs from Honda and Nissan have stepped shift points that react more precisely and it would be good for Subaru to recalibrate its CVT to provide a crisper response. The other updates for 2021 include some minor styling tweaks and some slight enhancements to its suite of safety technologies. Subaru really didn’t have to do much to freshen up the Crosstrek. It’s already found a place in the hearts of Subaru buyers. Last month it was the second best-selling model in the lineup, behind the Outback but ahead of the Forester. The Crosstrek will probably continue to outsell the Forester. They both are very similarly priced–our test model was $31,000–but the Crosstrek just looks sportier and better proportioned.
THE STORY BEHIND JOHN OATES’ 1960 PORSCHE 356
Last week John Oates was our guest on Autoline After Hours. He teamed up with Darryl Hall to perform a long list of smash hits as Hall and Oates. But John is more than a singer and performer, he’s a hardcore car enthusiast who was into cars as a teenager and even did some serious racing. He also told us about the custom car he recently built, a 1960 Porsche 356, and we’ll let him tell the story of how that came about.
(The John Oates soundbite is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
We ran into some internet problems during that show, but John Oates stuck with us through it all and recounted some of the great stories in his career. You can watch the entire show right now on our website or YouTube channel.
And that wraps up 2020 for Autoline Daily. Thanks goodness, I think we’re all ready to put this year behind us. We’ll be back here again on January 4th and until then, enjoy the holidays.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
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Comments (61)
December 23rd, 2020 at 11:45 am
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Thank you for the work that you do.
December 23rd, 2020 at 11:55 am
Autolinedaily has had many Tesla commentators piling on Tesla and its bznz model and QC control and financials for so long , guest like Montana Sceptic and that old Dinosaur
December 23rd, 2020 at 11:58 am
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all the Autoline crew and viewers. 2020 has been a very memorable year for mostly the wrong reasons (but not all). May 2021 turn out better but remember we’re not out of this yet; stay safe and act accordingly.
I’ll see Autoline next year and hopefully participate through the holidays here every now and then.
December 23rd, 2020 at 12:20 pm
Sean; Did the Ace also have a emblem on the side front fender of a spade? Like the ace of spades?.. Sharp looking little coupe. Reminded me of the 1970′s Datsun 510 coupes with fender flares.
Maybe rather than trying to get Apple to invest in Tesla Musk should have gotten into the cell phone business. Seems everything he touches turns to gold and if he has a superior battery it could make a Tesla phone desirable.
December 23rd, 2020 at 12:27 pm
Happy Holidays AW staff. Next year should be interesting for autodom, not the least will be seeing how well the Mach-E does against its obvious competitor, Model Y.
It looks like a number of Subaru fans go for “style” more than “function.” Crosstrek and Forester are about the same price, but Forester is much roomier. A strong point for Crosstrek is that it’s available with a manual transmission, but probably only about 2% are bought that way.
To me, fake “shifts” with CVTs are totally stupid, partially defeating the virtue of CVTs, but I guess I understand some people liking the fake shifts.
December 23rd, 2020 at 12:32 pm
4 Just the Tesla name should sell a lot of phones, if they were price competitive. Maybe Apple could work out a deal with Elon to use iOS, so there would be a second brand of iPhone. Hasn’t Apple been losing market share to Android?
Three weeks to the NACTOY announcements.
December 23rd, 2020 at 12:59 pm
Thanks for another great year!
Your AAH with John Oats was a great show. He was a captivating guest. And his audio was fantastic!! Maybe Autoline has earned a couple new mic’s for Christmas.
December 23rd, 2020 at 1:00 pm
I have to believe that FCA would object to ‘that’ Alfa, since it looks a lot like the 1960s Alfa Romeo GTV… but to my eye, Ford should also object, since it also looks a lot like the old Ford Escort MkII 2 door saloon !
December 23rd, 2020 at 1:01 pm
If LG/Magna will design and assemble EVs for anyone, why would anyone want to pay a premium for a proprietary solution (TESLA). Isn’t this Beta and VHS all over again?
December 23rd, 2020 at 1:04 pm
That custom Porsche 356 is fantastic! It’s too bad that Porsche can’t bring themselves to sell a restomod 356 using 718 parts. It would be amazing (and probably hugely expensive)
December 23rd, 2020 at 1:12 pm
Finally Subaru put a decent motor in the Crosstrek, why even bother with the smaller one, why not just make the one motor for several models??
December 23rd, 2020 at 1:17 pm
8 I remember those Escorts, or maybe they were MkI, when I was in Scotland in the US Navy in 1970-71. They were never sold in the US, but I think the Capri sold as a Mercury was related.
December 23rd, 2020 at 1:25 pm
11 The 2.0 gets only 1 mpg better mileage with the CVT, so yeah, what’s the point of the smaller engine? The 2.0 manual is a real gas hog. It must have really short gearing, though I suspect that driven properly, it should get decent city mileage.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=42606&id=42607&id=42605
December 23rd, 2020 at 1:28 pm
The battery recycling story I think shows where government money is best spent – research. Instead of trying to bribe people into buying electric cars invest in R&D to make them less sucky and people will want to buy them.
December 23rd, 2020 at 1:29 pm
10 About two years ago, I saw a 356 restomod at a show with some kind of turbo Subaru engine. It was nicely done, but a 718 engine would be much more appropriate. Maybe the car was built before the current 718 existed, or before it was possible to get an engine/transmission from a salvage yard.
December 23rd, 2020 at 2:23 pm
That Alpha coupe is very appealing, with its retro restomod styling. Perhaps we will soon enter another Golden Age for auto enthusiasts, with affordable, low-volume, fun-to-drive EVs that use off-the-shelf components from companies like LG Magna, and are then contract assembled by Magna or others in their factories. Could be fun times to come in the near future!
December 23rd, 2020 at 3:37 pm
great show and thanks for another year.
December 23rd, 2020 at 3:48 pm
John and Sean, many thanks for another year of great auto content. Merry Christmas to your team and we look forward to your fine work next year.
December 23rd, 2020 at 4:29 pm
I think the ACE is a 2 seater. Should make an interesting convertable.
December 23rd, 2020 at 5:30 pm
Thanks for all the great content to keep all of us here at my workplace and all your worldwide viewers informed and entertained in 2020. Maybe in the new year, we can get Seamus back in front of the camera for a brief cameo again. Warm wishes for a great McElroy Christmas.
Merry Christmas to the whole crew; enjoy your well deserved time off and here’s to a much better 2021!
December 24th, 2020 at 11:43 am
Merry Christmas everyone ! See you next year.
December 24th, 2020 at 12:16 pm
Will this save what’s left of the British auto industry?
Brexit Trade Deal Reached Between U.K. and E.U. https://nyti.ms/3aF0pE1
December 24th, 2020 at 6:42 pm
Thank you Autoline for the present of not having to deal with the Lord of Caps Lock any more. Merry Christmas everyone have a safe and healthy Holiday and see you all next year. Providing 2020 actually ends . LOL
December 25th, 2020 at 5:08 am
Thank you! A serene and hopeful Christmas, as well as peaceful holidays to all vroom and zoomkind.
December 25th, 2020 at 6:04 pm
Does anyone out there go to the big collector car auctions? If so, maybe you could answer a question. I am watching the Mecum Kissimmee, Florida auction from about a year ago on TV. Some of the cars are driven through, but a lot of them are pushed. Do the cars being pushed not run, do they sound bad or smoke so the sellers don’t want potential buyers to see, or what? I’m curious. If they pushed all of them, I’d think it might be to avoid fouling the air, but that seems not to be the case.
December 27th, 2020 at 3:34 pm
Happy New Year everyone….next year should be a much better one!
December 27th, 2020 at 8:41 pm
25 I guess no one here goes to the car auctions, doesn’t know about what I asked, or doesn’t want to talk about it. Anyway, happy New Year everyone. I always like New Years Day for a “drive to nowhere,” with generally light traffic.
December 28th, 2020 at 8:54 am
Kit, I too wondered why they drive some and push some, but hadn’t looked into why. From a quick internet search, most seem to agree that they usually drive them up onto the platform/center stage, but push them off to limit the exhaust fumes (and its usually easier to push them out than in). From what I’ve read, they then start them again after they pass the bottom of the ramp, make the turn, and head to parking.
Some of it may depend on the venue and how well the vehicle runs (how much exhaust). I did read that some vehicles are towed up and pushed off, but I haven’t seen that.
December 28th, 2020 at 10:06 am
28 Thanks for info.
December 28th, 2020 at 11:27 am
25,27,28,29 My observation as well, drive up and push off. Most of my watching is from Barrett-Jackson and occasionally, Mecum. Although I’ve seen drive-offs from Barrett-Jackson but maybe that’s when they are auctioning outside under a tent.
December 28th, 2020 at 11:49 am
The most recent auction I saw on TV was Mecum in Florida last January. It was hard to tell how “outdoors” the area was, as far as ventilation. They showed 3 or 4 Mopar muscle cars in a row, all driven off, but most of what they showed were pushed off.
The “star” of that show was the Mustang used in the Bullitt movie, which sold for $3.4M. That seems a lot of money for a beat up Mustang, even one that was a big movie star, but $3.4M is nothing to people who have a few hundred million.
December 28th, 2020 at 12:18 pm
For those who won’t give up having an ICE, looks like they will be shopping at one of these auctions before you know it!
Anyone notice Nikola is loosing one after another. Noone wants to get even close to them.
Poison!!!
December 28th, 2020 at 2:40 pm
32 I suspect new ICE vehicles will be widely available many, or most places for at least another 20 years.
December 28th, 2020 at 3:06 pm
Even though EV is the way of the future and will get much more mainstream in the next few decades, I am sure there will be ICE readily available probably for the rest of our driving lives, at least 20-30 years. After that, you could still probably get a kit or turn-key ICE vehicle as a hobbyist much like the old air-cooled enthusiast can get most any VW/Porsche configuration they want. No guarantee the price won’t go through the roof for ICEs, but the VW stuff has stayed relatively inexpensive.
(I’ve been saying since the 90s that Hydrogen won’t take off, but we’ll see how that goes.)
December 28th, 2020 at 4:50 pm
34 I remain a hydrogen skeptic, both because the hydrogen now comes mostly from hydrocarbons, and the need for very high pressure, or very cold storage. We shall see.
December 29th, 2020 at 2:18 pm
Did anyone catch the glitch on the Christmas Chevy comercial?
A new red suv and a blue truck were parked in the driveway that the fella bought. He was giving his wife the red suv as a gift, but she chose the blue truck instead.
At the end of the commercial the blue truck was replaced with a blue suv.
Wonder if it was intentional?
December 29th, 2020 at 2:31 pm
First side by side comparo of Mach-E and Model Y from the TFL YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUjDBYQkhwM
December 29th, 2020 at 3:53 pm
36 Yeah, I’d noticed that. Surely it was deliberate, replacing the pickup with an SUV, but why?
37 Interesting. The touch screen of the Ford seemed a little glitchy, but in general, it looks like they have a very serious effort. They don’t have the Tesla chargers, and it has a stupid name, but I expect the Ford to do well. I guess the TFL guys were saying they like it better than e-tron, i-pace, and Taycan. Did it sound that way to you, Chuck?
Tesla still beats almost everyone in efficiency. The one EV I know of that is more efficient than the most efficient Model 3 is the Hyundai Ioniq electric which is smaller and slower than the Model 3.
December 29th, 2020 at 4:21 pm
I wonder if the Fords rear door is strong enough to pop open if it gets iced over. At least there is a pull lever on the front.
December 29th, 2020 at 5:11 pm
38) At 170 mile range, why do you say the Ioniq is most efficient? It doesn’t even compare to the bolt in range nor comfort.
December 29th, 2020 at 5:14 pm
39 Also, I wonder what provisions they have for dead batteries or broken electrical gadgetry. A C7 Corvette has a cable release for the driver’s door that you get to from inside the rear hatch. You can open the hatch with a mechanical key.
December 29th, 2020 at 7:44 pm
38,41 I think that Ford has a competitor to the Tesla. The Tesla seemed to win on some things but the Mach-E in others (and especially in being a more comfortable ride). This could be the beginning of a real ‘horse-race’ (now). The Tesla has a manual override for the doors as does the Corvette (assuming the Mach-E also, but don’t know for sure but this would be a big oversight if not).
December 29th, 2020 at 8:52 pm
If there were a way to get to the 12 volt battery using a mechanical key, you wouldn’t necessarily need a mechanical way to open a door. If you get to the battery to jump it, you could get in.
I found that you can unlock the driver’s door of a C8 with a mechanical key, and there is a mechanical cable to open the frunk, where the battery is located.
One place Ford saved money vs Tesla is using resistance cabin heat, rather than heat pump. If you live in a warm climate, that doesn’t matter much.
Everyone (almost) say the Tesla Models 3 and Y ride bad. You’d think they could fix that. Other than build quality, no wiper switch, etc., the cars are very good, and you would think they could fix the suspension.
December 30th, 2020 at 5:19 am
Also mentioned was build quality on the Mach-E as being noticeably better. As time goes on, with the BEV inflection, that is going to be an ever growing differentiator.
December 30th, 2020 at 12:46 pm
You would think the Tesla dealer would have noticed the misaligned trunk lid and fixed it before it was sold. Don’t these people inspect every car off the truck? Pitiful!
December 30th, 2020 at 5:51 pm
45 Aren’t a lot of them delivered directly from the factory to the customer, without going to a store, where they might be checked over?
December 30th, 2020 at 10:14 pm
didn’t the guy say he bought it from a dealer?
I saw a Bronco sport first edition at my area dealer. It was a teal(or robins egg) blue with a white top. It looked better than I imagined. Through my eyes, it’s not all that big or as I imagined I couldn’t stop because my wife tested positive, thus I too am quarantined. Just to get out of the house and get some fresh air, I take a short ride along the lake front. By the beginning of the week I should be able to safely take it on a test drive.
I, myself, am well and my wife has been isolated, but just to be quarantined is just a BITCFH on its own!
December 30th, 2020 at 10:16 pm
wish this site had spell check
December 31st, 2020 at 8:22 am
47 I know they said they bought the car, but if they said how it was delivered, like from a store or by truck to his house, etc., I missed that.
Hope your wife doesn’t have any serious illness, and you don’t catch it.
December 31st, 2020 at 10:21 pm
There was a Lucid car ad just now on the CNN New Year’s Eve show. Has anyone else seen their ads?
January 1st, 2021 at 11:22 am
50, I did a YouTube lookup and found a Lucid ad with a women and a cell phone; “Introducing Lucid Air” listed from $69,900. Was this the one? A good looking vehicle (it appeared to be in a sandstone, light brown metallic color).
January 1st, 2021 at 1:03 pm
51 I think this is the ad.
https://youtu.be/9zUr4GG0wv4
I wasn’t paying much attention, but caught the end of it with the price displayed.
January 1st, 2021 at 3:06 pm
Yep, Kit, that’s the one. I watched it again and noticed the white roof…..ha! I’m still wondering whether there will be the buyers for all these BEV’s, but one thing is fairly sure, there will be plenty of choice and the competition may be fierce.
January 1st, 2021 at 4:30 pm
I think Tesla is the first successful US-based car company since Chrysler, in about 1924, so I’ll be surprised if Lucid makes it, even if the car is good. I don’t know their finances, but I doubt if they have the means to lose money for 12 years like Tesla did.
I expect the Ford to do decently. It’s a Model Y near-clone, that will have better build quality, and can be bought and serviced more conveniently than a Tesla. As everyone here knows, I think the name is stupid, but maybe it will attract more sales than it will run off. Their using that name might hurt sales of real Mustangs, though.
January 2nd, 2021 at 10:48 am
@25 Kit, from what I’ve noticed at Mecum Kissimmee is the cars are driven up to the staging lanes and into the entrance. They push many of the cars across the block due to pollution and noise concerns. Keep in mind they are filming a TV show and taking phone bids from a nearby phone bank, and The noise from a Big block, Hemi, or Coyote with no or small mufflers can be loud inside the building. Also, almost all of these cars lack any pollution controls so the carbon monoxide builds up pretty quickly.
January 2nd, 2021 at 2:36 pm
55 Thanks for info
January 3rd, 2021 at 7:26 pm
I twice saw the Lucid TV ad here in north central ohio.
At a glance, I saw another ev ad. I forget the maker, but it was a very small 2 seater city car about the size of a golf cart. Think the name was of only 3 letters.
January 4th, 2021 at 9:12 am
Happy New Years to all and I’m looking forward to 2021 having some sort of return to normalcy.
I watched a few movies over the Holiday break and noticed in the 2018 movie Rampage has Dawayne Johnson driving around in (what I thought was) the new Ford Bronco. Even more interesting was that after some digging I found out that it was a concept vehicle that was built for an auto-show back in 2004 and had been in storage and not crushed like they typically do. It was able to drive under its own power up to about 30MPH so not sure what they had for powertrain and I found it interesting that the design hasnt changed much from the 15 year old prototype.
January 4th, 2021 at 9:24 am
58 If the concept went up to about 30 mph, I bet was electric, most likely with lead-acid batteries.
January 4th, 2021 at 9:40 am
59 No, a C and D article says it has a 2 liter turbo diesel and 6-speed DCT. It should go a lot faster than 30 mph. Maybe Ford limited it to 30 for liability reasons, before lending it to the movie people.
January 4th, 2021 at 9:54 am
I read the same as Kit, the 2004 Bronco concept (used in the film) was a 2.0 turbo diesel, and it also had a nitrous oxide boost!