AD #2990 – U.S. Transportation Secretary Resigns; Hyundai in Talks with Apple on EVs; Mercedes Details Massive Hyperscreen
January 8th, 2021 at 11:48am
Listen to “AD #2990 – U.S. Transportation Secretary Resigns; Hyundai in Talks with Apple on EVs; Mercedes Details Massive Hyperscreen” on Spreaker.
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Runtime: 9:44
0:07 U.S. Transportation Secretary Resigns
0:44 Hyundai in Talks with Apple on EVs
1:33 Blue Paint Color Grows in Popularity
2:51 Details on Mazda’s New Rear-Drive Platform
3:49 Biggest Investments in Automotive Companies
4:51 Elon Musk Now the Richest Person in the World
5:15 Mercedes Shares Details on Massive Hyperscreen
6:31 Cadillac Looks Outside Industry for New Display Screen
7:32 Yanfeng’s Interesting Way to Heat Interiors
8:51 Can You Spot the iPad?
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U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY RESIGNING
That riot at the Capitol building on Wednesday continues to impact the automotive industry. Yesterday we reported that the National Association of Manufacturers, which includes automakers and suppliers, called for President Trump to step down. Yesterday, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, announced she is resigning, after supporters of the president stormed and ransacked the Capitol building, which caused five deaths including a police officer. In an email to her staff she said the attack “has deeply troubled me in a way that I simply cannot set aside.”
HYUNDAI IN TALKS WITH APPLE ON EVs
Here’s a bombshell. Hyundai revealed it’s in early talks with Apple about a potential partnership. While the automaker didn’t reveal what the discussions are about, the Korea Economic Daily reported the companies are considering developing self-driving electric vehicles by 2027. They’re also looking at developing batteries which would be built in the U.S. at either Hyundai or Kia plants. Investors really liked the news, sending Hyundai’s shares up nearly 25%, which added about $8 billion to its market value. We know Apple wants to jump into the automotive market and needs a manufacturing partner to build its vehicle. Last month, Reuters reported Apple is moving forward with its EV program and plans to introduce an electric car by 2024.
BLUE PAINT COLOR GAINING POPULARITY
BASF released its annual color report for 2020, which looks at color trends in the global auto industry. It says that a wider range of chromatic colors are becoming more popular. Blue and yellow are making gains in some regions, while red and violet are also gaining in popularity. However, achromatic colors, while, black, silver and gray, are still the most popular colors in the world and overall white is still the top choice for consumers.
DETAILS ON MAZDA’S NEW REAR-DRIVE PLATFORM
Japan’s Nikkei newspaper is reporting details about Mazda’s upcoming in-line 6-cylinder, rear-drive platform. Through talks with the automaker’s suppliers, it learned production is scheduled to start in 2022 and Mazda hopes to produce about 300,000 vehicles off the platform by 2025. It should come as little surprise that the first model is expected to be a SUV and is likely going to be sold alongside existing models. Engine displacement is said to be somewhere between 3.0L and 3.3L and will come in gas, diesel and Mazda’s compression ignition SkyActiv-X setup. The Nikkei also reports the models will be priced significantly higher than existing models, but hopes to cut costs by expanding its supplier base. With production expected to kick off next year, we would expect to learn more information soon.
BIGGEST INVESTMENTS IN THE AUTO INDUSTRY
It’s amazing to see the kind of money going into automotive stocks as they become some of the hottest commodities on Wall Street. Yesterday investors plowed $323 million into buying shares of Aptiv, the automotive tech supplier. That’s a lot of money. But they spent over half a billion dollars investing in Carvana, the used car retailer. Pretty impressive. But they put even more into the Ford Motor Company, $693 million. Even so, that’s nothing compared to the $1.1 billion that went into the solid state battery company Romeo Power, or the $2.3 billion that went into another solid state battery company, Quantumscape. And now, are you ready for this? You knew we were holding the best for last. Investors poured almost $40 billion into Tesla. Stunning. And it’s even more impressive to see that all this represents just one day of trading on Wall Street.
ELON MUSK NOW THE RICHEST PERSON IN THE WORLD
By the way, that runup in Tesla stock yesterday turned Elon Musk into the richest person in the world. He now has a net worth of more than $188 billion. Here’s another way to put that into perspective. If Elon Musk was a country, he’d be Number 53 on the list and richer than 136 other countries in the world.
MERCEDES SHARES DETAILS OF MASSIVE HYPERSCREEN
Style and performance are still great ways to separate yourself from the competition but more and more infotainment systems are becoming important selling points. And Mercedes and Cadillac are showing off their latest offerings. Let’s start with Mercedes’ Hyperscreen, which will be featured in the all-electric EQS. At 141 centimeters or over 55-inches wide and nearly stretching from A-pillar to A-pillar, we think the name is quite fitting. It’s so wide the automaker even had to incorporate the side air vents into the screen. But all that space allows the passenger to have their own display and operating areas that can be customized for up to 7 people. Although, if there’s no one sitting in the passenger seat, the screen becomes a decorative element. The Hypersceen system also uses artificial intelligence to make suggestions to the owner. For example, if you call the same person on the way home every day, it will learn that and automatically prompt you to make the call. There are 12 actuators beneath the screen to provide feedback and Mercedes has what it calls a zero layer, meaning you don’t have to tap through multiple screens to get to the most important controls.
CADILLAC LOOKS OUTSIDE THE INDUSTRY FOR NEW DISPLAY SCREEN
Now over to Cadillac’s new in-vehicle display that debuts on the Lyriq EV. It’s 33-inches wide and is customizable with display themes that reflect the driver’s mood and personality. But what’s interesting is that Cadillac looked to sources outside of the auto industry to help it design the system. It tapped Territory Studio, which specializes in screen graphics and design and Rightpoint for its customer experience. Cadillac said it went this route because it felt it needed a fresh perspective and new ways of thinking, which it hopes will give it a system that’s not only good looking but intuitive to use.
YANFENG INTERESTING WAY TO HEAT INTERIORS
We had a great Autoline After Hours yesterday with Jeff Stout from Yanfeng, the interior supplier company. One of the things they’re working on is extending the range of electric cars by heating the interior surfaces, including door panels, arm rests, and headliner, not just the seats or steering wheel. We asked him if it’s more efficient doing that instead of heating up air and blowing it on you. Here’s what he said:
“We’re finding that it is actually, especially when you get into the algorithm to know ‘when do I need that?’ If you have a heated steering wheel today, boy that’s a great feature especially when I start the car. But the longer I’m in the car, the less important it is. But I can maintain comfort through those contact surfaces even if the air temperature in the cabin is quite low. And it also adds an element that we’ll see coming that, as an EV, plugged into my garage, it knows I’m coming so it can pre-heat all those surfaces while I’m plugged in, in my garage. So the energy load that’s getting the car to a comfortable state, that all happens with a straight electric pull. I get in and everything I touch is nice and warm. And again, the air temperature doesn’t matter so much to my comfort level.”
That show has a lot of great information in it and you can watch it on our website or YouTube channel.
CAN YOU SPOT THE iPAD?
And a little fun from our friend Kevin Hisel to wrap up the week. He posted this picture on Facebook with the caption, “When you spend three days looking for your iPad.” It’s amazing how well the color and stitch lines match up and we hope you got a chuckle out of it.
But that’s a wrap. Thank you and have a great weekend.
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Comments (31)
January 8th, 2021 at 11:57 am
I am glad to see blue gaining popularity. I am so tired of seeing black/white/and shades of silver/grey everywhere. Blue is my favorite and almost every car I own is blue. Admittedly though I would not want to live in a world with all blue cars either.
January 8th, 2021 at 12:07 pm
So Mrs. McConnell quit with 10 days before she would have been fired and a lobby group is all about keeping PC shit going SoWhat !
January 8th, 2021 at 12:07 pm
I’ve been seeing some medium and dark blue on newer cars, but light blue, like the “ice blue” on my 1989 Caravan is nonexistent. I’d like to see colors like that return, as a less boring, fairly light alternative to light metallic grey, often referred to as “silver.”
January 8th, 2021 at 12:30 pm
The I pad did make me chuckle. I know as I age my eyesight while still very good can’t pick up things like as well anymore. My wife and I try not to buy things like covers that are black and also duffel bags or computer bags that have black interiors. Doesn’t help when manufacturers use black plastic with black embossing on top to label switches eg emergency brake lever release next to the hood release.
January 8th, 2021 at 12:37 pm
how about the new colors coming out with new paint shops ?
January 8th, 2021 at 12:40 pm
The availability of light color cars has often been a consideration for sunbelt customers… white, silver, light blue, and beige. The latter two feel out fashion for a few decades. I’m happy blue is making a comeback, which I credit to Lincoln, as they showcased blue a few years ago during the Navigator launch.
Recent visits to the Sunshine State revealed a growing population of indigenous black vehicles. That has to be torturous in the heat of the summer.
As I recall, the Granola State tried to ban dark color cars, claiming they consumed more fuel and contributed to global warming. What’s worse – heat absorption or heat reflection!?!? By extension, someone needs to tell the fashion industry that black clothing is a danger to the environment! Fruity and nutty.
January 8th, 2021 at 12:40 pm
Loved that iPad pic. Hits a little too close to home.
Cheers.
January 8th, 2021 at 12:56 pm
They can come out with what ever colours they want but if the dealers won’t order them then we are far more likely to buy white, black, gray…
January 8th, 2021 at 1:03 pm
It’s been said before (here), that white, black shades of grey/silver are safe colors that don’t alienate buyers. Quite a few of the different colored cars come from customer ordered cars, so dealers when ordering ‘spec’ cars, usually keep it safe with the aforementioned. The biggest change is the number of ordered cars, that just doesn’t happen to the extent of yesteryear(s) ago, i.e., the 50′s and 60′s.
January 8th, 2021 at 1:17 pm
Like others, enjoyed the IPad picture, & hopefully it was found before someone used it as a seating surface.
In addition, shame if Mazda doesn’t include a sedan or coupe emulating the styling of the concept vehicle pictures shown. Much more attractive than another SUV.
January 8th, 2021 at 1:26 pm
@10 – Given Mazda’s recent ties with Toyota, I can imagine the new New I-6/RWD platform can spawn a better Supra… as Mazda is much more capable of controlling weight and cost than BMW. If the new platform is not capable of scaling down to a sports car, I can also imagine opportunities for a 4Runner or Land Cruiser replacement. Just speculating.
January 8th, 2021 at 2:02 pm
6 My 2010 Prius was beige, but they dropped that color the next year. For a few years, maybe in the 1990s, I think beige was one of the top three car colors in popularity.
January 8th, 2021 at 2:04 pm
the professional pols are covering their ass hoping to land a job in the biden administration. the libs have said they are going to black ball anyone that supported trump and make sure they never work again in washington
January 8th, 2021 at 2:10 pm
9 A lot of Corvettes are still factory orders, and I suspect Challengers might be. The only Challengers in stock at a dealer in Indiana last summer and fall seemed to be V6, 4wd, but in the same town, there are a number of R/T, 392, and a few Hellcat versions on the road. I suspect most of those are factory orders, especially the Hellcats.
When I bought my 2018 Camry, the dealer almost refused to order a car to get a color I’d rather have. At least it would have cost about $2000 more than the one they had in stock. I don’t know if that was typical for Toyota dealers, but it should be possible to order a car that is assembled in Kentucky.
January 8th, 2021 at 2:14 pm
I agree with #8. When my sister went to buy a new Corolla, all the dealer had were the usual silver, white and light brown cars. She wanted the dark pearl blue and they tried to get her to buy one off the lot saying it would take too long to bring one in. She stuck to her guns and a month later the car arrived. The dealer had to agree it looked a lot better than what he had. She later found out that the dealer colours where easier to keep clean on the lot!
My experience buying a new Suburban in 2017 was that the stock colours where black, white and silver. Any other colour was another $300. Would have like the pearl maroon but black looked just as good.
January 8th, 2021 at 2:18 pm
13 The Biden administration will be trying to hire back a number of the career people who were run out of State Dept, EPA, and some other agencies by Trump, but yeah, I’m sure they won’t want to keep Betsy DeVos or David Bernhardt.
January 8th, 2021 at 2:21 pm
A friend of mine bought by C6 – Red with tan interior. He is a salesman at the local Chev dealer. He needed a daily driver for his wife and decided to order a red Cruze with tan interior to match. His boss was quite nervous that the dealership would be ” stuck” with the car if my friend decided not to take it. Like it was some kind of weird colour combo. Anyhoo, while it was on the lot for a week of so he sold several more just like it. BOOM! mind blown. They still won’t order anything different. I wouldn’t expect them to stock the lot with every colour in the rainbow but the odd different colour or model would be a good idea in my mind… and my friend’s who sells cars.
January 8th, 2021 at 2:21 pm
15 Silver is certainly better than a lot of colors for not showing dirt, almost as good as tan.
January 8th, 2021 at 2:28 pm
17 Chevy charges a $590 “color combination override” for some combinations, like a red interior in a blue car. I think if you pay the $590, you can get a red interior in a yellow car, if so inclined.
January 8th, 2021 at 2:42 pm
19) That would certainly be a unique color combination. I could see a few people special ordering that.
I remember the Dodge viper that was red with yellow wheels. That was interesting. I wouldn’t own it, but I liked that Dodge dared to be different.
January 8th, 2021 at 2:52 pm
20 I’d consider ordering an Elkhart Lake Blue Corvette with red interior, but it might not be good to resell. I’ve seen a few cars, mostly BMWs with that medium dark blue/red combination, and I like it. I don’t think the new Corvette color, “rapid blue” would be good with red. The color is too “wild” to go with the red, at least to me.
It one time, color was “in.”
https://www.flickr.com/photos/87252067@N00/20055959546/in/photolist-wyh32Y-2jY1udb-2atZsBf-2ax8UZ3-27zFc8z-2hFJvPx-ETMeKU-ao8i99-4qqhmx-HP5q4s-2gMoABD-2bdk46F-2j5FrJc-2i3KuMH-2iYjqbv-2iFgdY8-2gT76jn-2koBVKW-2jMzYHg-2jW6Z9D-2hvqKoN-2koBVnb-2atZsao-Q9ooFc-2hiLLbM-RDSUgH-2jKgY5S-2it4XNM-2gbeapP-2hvn8VC-755PKr-oWxcXs-4X7Rbr-8WRXfK-2ieBVSj-2iMHYcE-2jPoz7Z-2ii1sYd-2k4zqPf-2jKgXtM-2iFqe8N-2iYjHTv-2eZco6c-2jW3HUC-GM8jfx-2ivq2bS-2jcvRUf-26VPD8M-2koBVz5-2koBV7M
January 8th, 2021 at 4:22 pm
You would think the white/grey/black problem would be better in Canada because a much larger percentage of cars are not bought off the lot. Smaller dealers with less stock means ordering is normal. They have a good system of swapping cars so it’s usually not ages to get what you want. Still, the uncoloured are most popular. Obviously, only the colour deprived comment on auto sites.
January 8th, 2021 at 5:25 pm
The dark red color of my wife’s 2019 TourX was a $1k option. Standard colors were white, black and crayon red. We’ll have it for at least a decade and it is beautiful. She says it’s a guy magnet, well an old guy magnet. She gets stopped a lot and asked “what kind of car is that?”
January 8th, 2021 at 5:45 pm
23 The TourX is a nice car. It’s too bad they made 4WD mandatory, but that saved a few bucks on getting it certified. Unfortunately, it didn’t sell very well, so it’s now gone, like all Buick cars.
January 8th, 2021 at 8:38 pm
My current cars are a medium blue Flex and a white Escape. I ordered the Flex. With the exception of the Flex, I usually buy cars that don’t show dirt, like white, silver and beige (geezer gold according to my wife), since we live on a dirt road. I read a story once about how out of touch with American tastes one of the Japanese companies was in the early years. They apparently shipped over a load of blue cars with green interiors, or maybe vice-versa.
January 8th, 2021 at 9:39 pm
It seemed like tan/beige/”geezer gold” cars disappeared from showrooms almost overnight. At one time, the color was very popular. Now, I see only one vehicle that color out of about 200 at my condo, an early Lexus RX, probably early 2000s.
My first car was a 1957 Chrysler, white with a green interior. My fourth car was a 1974 Plymouth Duster, green with a white interior, which I ordered. I liked the white interior, with optional bucket seats. The seats were smooth vinyl, so didn’t get very visibly dirty, and could be easily washed.
January 9th, 2021 at 6:00 am
In a couple of months, North Alabama will be in yellow, pine pollen mode. The first rain fills the gutters with the yellow streams. It is the only time I wish we had “pine pollen yellow.”
January 9th, 2021 at 8:08 am
27 The first time I saw that was in Atlanta and I thought someone had spilled a drum of yellow paint in the parking lot.
January 9th, 2021 at 9:25 am
The National Association of Manufacturers has suffered higher import fees (tariffs), increased taxes on exports as retaliation, and loss of productivity by the inadequate pandemic response. Those who have foreign business relationships are faced with loss of standing or face. So it makes sense they might want a change in current policies and practices.
On an individual scale, apparently more than one cabinet or administration members have decided their futures lie somewhere else. But this means long established relationships with government representatives are evaporating.
January 12th, 2021 at 11:32 am
22 Albermarle, curous to know what percentage of cars in Canada are ordered? I’ve read that in the US around 95% of vehicles are bought out of dealer inventory…wondering what’s different in CA
January 12th, 2021 at 11:34 am
JoeS and Kit, I loved that TourX. I don’t know why GM didn’t make a bigger deal of it in marketing. People who saw them liked them, but they were barely visible in Buick ads.