Listen to “AD #3025 – Jeep Introduces Half Doors for Wrangler; Nissan Claims Engine Breakthrough; Peugeot Unveils New Logo” on Spreaker.
Follow us on social media:
Runtime: 10:50
0:08 Nissan Claims Engine Breakthrough
1:16 Auto Stocks Dip
1:44 Peugeot Unveils New Logo
3:33 Mercedes Creates Apps for Wary EV Customers
4:26 Jeep Introduces Half Doors for Wrangler
5:33 Lordstown Reveals Race Truck
5:57 Toyota Partners to Test Mobility in Indiana
7:10 Magna Breaks Ground on New Plant in Michigan
7:33 Fisker Wants to Form Battery Cell Partnership
8:02 Tesla Shifting More Cars to LFP Batteries
8:42 LG Preparing Tesla 4680 Cell Pilot Production
9:18 The History Behind the Manual Pedal Setup
Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: BorgWarner, Bridgestone, Intrepid Control Systems and Magna.
This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
NISSAN CLAIMS ENGINE BREAKTHROUGH
Nissan claims it achieved a breakthrough for a production piston engine. It claims its e-Power system has 50% thermal efficiency. That puts it in Formula One territory. Up to now, Toyota claimed the best thermal efficiency with its 1.8 liter Prius engine, which achieved 41%. Nissan’s e-POWER system uses its on-board engine only as an electric generator. It does not power the wheels. So the engine almost always operates in a very narrow rev range. And that allows for much more complete combustion under all conditions. Nissan claims its e-Power system can match the life-cycle CO2 emissions of a battery electric vehicle. That includes the CO2 generated during manufacturing because EV batteries are extremely energy intensive to make. Nissan’s calculations are also based on Japan’s electrical grid, 87% of which comes from petroleum, coal and natural gas.
AUTO STOCKS DIP
Yesterday we reported how well automotive stocks were doing on Wall Street. Today, it’s the complete opposite. Automakers, suppliers, retailers and EV startups posted broad losses. There were some exceptions like Workhorse, which jumped 25%. Even so, it’s trading at nearly half the price it hit on Monday. The Autoline Stock Index fell 171 points, down 5%.
PEUGEOT UNVEILS NEW LOGO
Peugeot is changing its logo from the standing lion, which was introduced in 2010, to this new coat of arms with a lion’s head. There’s quite a history to that logo. Peugeot started using it in 1847 and registered it as a trademark in 1858. It’s gone through all kinds of changes over the last 174 years. So what do you think of the new one?
MERCEDES CREATES APPS FOR WARY EV CUSTOMERS
Some consumers are still a bit leery about making the switch to an electric vehicle. So Mercedes created several new apps for its electric vans, the eVito, eSprinter and EQV, to help customers decide if an EV is right for them. The EQ Ready App records the user’s journey in their current ICE van and uses that data to calculate individual energy or electric consumption, as if the journey was in a real electric van. The eCost Calculator helps compare the operating costs of an electric to a combustion-engine vehicle. And with the eCharging Planner, all aspects of the transition to an EV can be planned, such as where to charge, costs and CO2 emissions. The apps are available now and are free to use.
JEEP INTRODUCES HALF DOORS FOR WRANGLER
Jeep continues to add new features for the Wrangler. It recently introduced a V8 powered version called the Rubicon 392 and now Mopar is offering swappable half-doors for the SUV. The doors have lower window ledges to give riders an even more open-air experience. Full-steel doors are installed on the Wrangler and the half-doors are packaged within the vehicle. Jeep says it only takes a couple of minutes to swap the doors using existing hinges and the same wiring connections. That means features like power mirrors, blind-spot detection and power locks can work with the half-doors in place. The new feature is available in Sport, Rubicon, Sahara, Rubicon 392 and 4xe versions of the Wrangler. It costs between $2,350 and $2,550 for two-door models and between $3,995 and $4,395 for four-door Wranglers.
LORDSTOWN REVEALS RACE TRUCK
Lordstown is taking more than just its bare EV skateboard off-road racing like we originally thought. It previewed this sweet-looking Endurance-based race truck that’s going to compete in the San Felipe 250 in Mexico. I have a feeling people are going to ask what it will take to get their hands on one of these.
TOYOTA PARTNERS TO TEST MOBILITY IN INDIANA
Toyota is launching a new mobility pilot program in the state of Indiana. In May of this year, May Mobility will start operating a shuttle service on a fixed route around its capital city that will be open to the general public. They’ll use 5 Lexus 450h’s equipped with May Mobility’s autonomous system and one of its wheelchair accessible shuttles. A second route in another city opens up in November as well. Toyota is also partnering with Udelv, a company that’s come up with a contactless delivery solution using a unique shelving system. It will use its setup in a single Toyota Sienna minivan and begin making deliveries sometime this year. Udelv also has an autonomous system, but it’s a little unclear at this time if it will be equipped on the Sienna as well.
MAGNA BREAKS GROUND ON NEW PLANT IN MICHIGAN
Magna just broke ground on a new plant north of Detroit that will build battery enclosures for the upcoming GMC Hummer EV. The company is investing $70 million to build the 345,000 square-foot facility, which will bring in more than 300 new jobs. Production at the new plant is expected to kick off early next year.
FISKER WANTS TO FORM BATTERY CELL PARTNERSHIP
And speaking of batteries, Fisker CEO, Henrik Fisker told Reuters that his company is looking into forming a partnership with a major supplier in Europe or the United States to manufacture battery cells. He says that it will use prismatic battery cells from one of the four major global suppliers. It’s all about securing a stable supply of cells, Fisker says “We did not want to take any risk on batteries.”
TESLA SHIFTING MORE CARS TO LFP BATTERIES
In other battery news, Elon Musk says Tesla is shifting more standard range cars to iron phosphate or LFP batteries over nickel supply concerns. Last year, Tesla began building Standard Range Plus Model 3s in China with LFP batteries but in the U.S. the company is producing Model 3 Standard Range Models with lithium-ion batteries with nickel cathodes. However, Musk’s tweet suggests it will use LFP batteries in vehicles built outside of China. The price of nickel is up 16% this year, partly due to electric vehicle demand.
LG PREPARING TESLA 4680 CELL PILOT PRODUCTION
And according to a report from Equal Ocean, LG is building a new pilot production line at one of its plants in South Korea to make Tesla’s 4680 battery cells. LG is aiming to complete the line before Panasonic starts producing the same battery for Tesla in Japan, which is expected to begin in April. In addition to LG and Panasonic, Tesla will also build the 4680 cells in pilot production at its plant in Fremont and plans full-scale production at its Gigafactories in Germany and Texas.
THE HISTORY BEHIND THE MANUAL PEDAL SETUP
Anyone that’s ever driven a manual knows, the clutch is on the left, the brake pedal is in the middle and the accelerator is on the right. But how did we get to one standard setup? In the very early days of the automobile, each manufacturer had their own arrangement. Some didn’t even have pedals, they had levers. Well, like many things, the standard setup was designated by the military. According to Mercedes-Benz, in 1908 the Prussian military specified a standard pedal arrangement so drivers would not get confused going from one model to another. So, all German Imperial army trucks emerged with the setup we know today. Now, of course, this didn’t catch on everywhere right away, there were still many different setups, even through the 1920’s, but obviously it eventually won out.
But that’s all we’ve got for this week. Thanks for watching and have a great weekend.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
John McElroy is an influential thought leader in the automotive industry. He is a journalist, lecturer, commentator and entrepreneur. He created “Autoline Daily,” the first industry webcast of industry news and analysis.