This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
FORD HIRES NEW ADVANCED TECH OFFICER
We’ve got a couple of new executive hires to report today. First up, Ford hired Doug Field as its Chief Advanced Technology and Embedded Systems Officer. He actually started his career as a development engineer at Ford in the late 1980’s. He also worked at Segway, at Tesla as its senior VP of Engineering and most recently he was the VP of Special Products at Apple. Field starts immediately and will work closely with Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s chief product platform and operations officer.
CHRYSLER HIRES NEW CEO
And Stellantis just hired Christine Feuell as CEO of the Chrysler Brand. She previously was the chief commercial officer at the supplier Honeywell. She’ll have an uphill battle to turn around Chrysler, since it only has two models in its lineup, the Pacifica minivan and the 300 sedan.
HONDA LAUNCHES NEW OFF-ROAD BRAND
With most of the world turning away from sedans and into trucks, crossovers and SUVs, Honda is jumping on the off-road bandwagon. Later this year, it’s going to launch the TrailSport brand. At first it will just be minor stuff, like more rugged styling, including more durable exterior cladding and unique interior touches, like contrast orange stitching. But over the next few model years, upgrades will include more aggressive tires, increased ground clearance, off-road tuned suspensions, underbody protection and expanded all-wheel drive capabilities.
FORD READY TO SHIP SOME BRONCO HARDTOP REPLACEMENTS
Speaking of off-road vehicles, the Detroit Free Press reports that Ford is starting to get replacement hard tops for the Bronco. Testing has been completed and within a week it’s going to start shipping some tops for models that were already sold and install the rest on vehicles that were held back. But it’s still going to be a while before it gets all the replacements it needs as production is ramped up.
POLESTAR DABBLES IN LAST MILE DELIVERY
Now we have more from the Munich auto show.
Polestar, the premium electric brand from Volvo and Geely, has an unlikely vehicle on display. It revealed an electric transporter for last mile delivery called the Re:Move. The prototype has two wheels at the front, a flat floor in the middle to store cargo and a rider that stands on a platform at the back to steer it. It’s equipped with a 2.2 kWh battery and since this is meant for urban environments, it only has a top speed of 15 MPH. Polestar says the Re:Move is a design study, so no word on if it actually plans to produce this model.
MICROLETTA ELECTRIC SCOOTER FROM MICRO
Yesterday, we showed you the Microlino, a modern-day version of the Isetta, made by a company called Micro from Switzerland. That’s not the only product it had on display at the show. It also had this electric scooter called the Microletta. It is a three-wheeler and is equipped with a motor under 5-kW, so owners don’t have to have a motorbike license. Micro is targeting a price of 5,000 euros and says it already has 5,000 reservations.
PORSCHE REVEALS ELECTRIC RACE CAR CONCEPT
It looks to us like the Volkswagen Group learned a number of lessons from the all-electric ID. R race car and are now applying them to a new concept race car from Porsche, called the Mission R. The all-wheel drive racer features two electric motors; a 320-kW unit powers the front, while a 480-kW motor feeds the rear. Together they put out well over 1,000 horsepower and accelerate the Mission R from 0-100 km/h in under 2.5 seconds. That full power would only be used during qualifying and during the race it would be dialed back to about 675 horsepower. Even so, it’s able to turn the same lap times as the current 911 GT3 Cup car. An 80-kWh battery pack is what provides the power and thanks to a direct oil cooling system, which also goes to the electric motors, there’s no loss of power due to heat buildup. And lastly, to help keep weight down, a number of exterior and interior components are made from natural fiber reinforced plastic, which is also more sustainable than materials that are typically used.
CONTINENTAL DEVELOPS SUSTAINABLE TIRE
It’s not just automakers revealing new products in Munich, suppliers are also showing off new technology. Continental developed a sustainable passenger car tire concept called the Conti GreenConcept. More than half of the materials used in the tire are renewable or recycled. The renewable materials include natural rubber from dandelions, silicate from the ash of rice husks and vegetable oils and resins. And the recycled material comes from reclaimed steel, recovered carbon black and polyester from recycled plastic bottles for the tire’s casing. It only weighs 7.5 kilograms or about 16.5 pounds, which makes it up to 40% lighter than conventional tires. The concept’s rolling resistance is also 25% lower than Class A tires under the EU Tire Label system. And lastly the tire can be retreaded multiple times, to give it even more life.
MAHLE HELPS EVs CHARGE FASTER
And the supplier Mahle developed a new battery cooling system to make charging EVs even faster. The company relies on immersion cooling technology where an electrically non-conductive coolant flows around the cells, which drops the temperature of the battery while charging and the overall temperature is distributed more evenly. Not only does it improve charging times, batteries can be made more compact, which helps cut cost.
VOLKSWAGEN REVEALS AUTONOMOUS ID. BUZZ
Volkswagen revealed the prototype version of the autonomous ID Buzz it will use for its upcoming ride-hailing service, which it plans to launch in Hamburg, Germany starting in 2025. The self-driving technology for the electric van was developed by Argo AI, the AV company VW has a stake in with Ford. Argo says its lidar equipped in the vehicle can detect objects up to 1,300 feet away. While the autonomous version won’t come until 2025, the regular production ID Buzz goes on sale in the U.S. in 2023.
HONDA TO USE CRUISE VEHICLES FOR AUTONOMOUS TESTS
And in other autonomous news, Honda plans to start testing self-driving vehicles in Japan using autonomous Chevy Bolts from Cruise, GM’s AV startup. The first step is to create high-definition maps of the area where it will test. Once that’s complete, Honda will test the Cruise vehicles on public roads. In the future, Honda plans to launch a mobility service in Japan using the autonomous Cruise Origin shuttle.
But that’s a wrap for today’s show, thank you for watching.
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Comments (23)
September 8th, 2021 at 12:22 pm
The sustainable tire is great, provided the greenies remember that it is only partly sustainable. That often gets overlooked. ex bio-diesel is often only 10% sustainable and 90% diesel.
September 8th, 2021 at 12:32 pm
Poor Christine Feuell. What a horrible position to be given. Head of Chrysler with only two vehicles the 300 that is 17 years long in the tooth and a minivan which essentially started in 1983 so almost 40 years old.
I really expected Stellantis to wrap the Chrysler brand up at the end of the 300 and just offer the van under the Dodge name.
Hopefully she is gifted some cash to develop some new vehicles under the Chrysler name or she might as well be there to foresee the transition into dissolution.
September 8th, 2021 at 12:39 pm
Where is everyone driving these off-road package vehicles? I guess Honda determined there is a market but it seems to me most millennials prefer staying indoors in the A/C playing video games or on their phone. Is there a huge shift to go off-roading that I’m just not seeing? If so that’s great. Hopefully its not just the appearance that makes them appealing.
September 8th, 2021 at 12:54 pm
3) It is not off-roading in the classic rock bouncing mud bogging sense. It is called overlanding and it is insanely popular.
September 8th, 2021 at 12:57 pm
2 The current Chrysler vans are 6 generations removed from the first ones, and are very different. I know, owning a first generation van, and being around the new ones friends own. Should the new ones be called Chryslers, though? As you suggest, maybe they should be called Dodge Caravan.
The 300 very much fits the Chrysler brand, as it existed years ago, but 17 years with only a refresh or two is way too long. The best platform Stellantis has for a new 300 would be the Alfa Giulia/Stelvio, but maybe the current one is better, even though it’s ancient. Since Chrysler was historically a “premium” brand, like with my first car, a ’57 Saratoga, maybe they should sell a version of the Wagoneer as a Chrysler.
September 8th, 2021 at 12:58 pm
3 They’re driving all of these off-road vehicles to work, Walmart, and soccer practice.
September 8th, 2021 at 1:04 pm
4 Insanely popular where, and with how many people? I know zero people who are doing it.
3 It is just the appearance that makes these off road vehicles appealing to certain people. That’s why Wranglers sell so well, with only a handful of owners using them for off-roading. It’s also why Subaru greatly increased Legacy Wagon sales by bastardizing it into the Outback.
September 8th, 2021 at 1:37 pm
7. Subaru also just introduced extra ruggedized versions of the Outback and the Forester, so there has to be something the OEMs are seeing.
Interesting how by using a proven MB platform, the 300 has had such a long and profitable life. MB moved to a new platform shortly after the 300 so it really is old technology. Earned its keep.
September 8th, 2021 at 1:48 pm
Yeah the 300 has done well and is still a good looking car. However its very much due for a refresh and sedans in general are on the decline.
4 My last Ram was 2WD and I was fine with that. In the 20 years I owned it, I needed 4WD maybe 4 or 5 times. The one I own now I got 4WD because of resale and I do tow a boat so some boat ramps get slimy. But do I go off-roading or overlanding? No. I have no idea what that is or where its being done. No sarcasm here I am truly interested in what overlanding is.
September 8th, 2021 at 2:21 pm
Overlanding is usually making your vehicle a bit more rugged, adding camping equipment and driving into the woods, often down unused logging roads and other access points. People then kayak or mountain bike. It’s campsite free, get away from civilization for a bit. Actually it sounds interesting to me if I was 30 years younger.
September 8th, 2021 at 2:23 pm
Since most remote land in Canada is government owned, it’s rare that you come across fences or people
September 8th, 2021 at 2:47 pm
While I don’t personally know any ‘off-road’ people, and do live in a suburban environment where I see a lot of these type vehicles driven in and around town, if you are a You-Tuber and look around, you can definitely find an enthusiastic following (and quite sizable as well) that off-road their vehicles. They also spend a lot of money modifying their ‘rigs’ and are supported by many companies supplying those accessories.
September 8th, 2021 at 2:53 pm
10-11 Oh thanks! Well that sounds well and good but around where I live you cant just go off into the woods unless you know the owner. Most state or federal land is regulated and typically doesn’t allow motor vehicles to go just anywhere. Camping is also restricted.
I know of some parks with ATV trails and I’ve been to Silver Lake sand dunes. But I just don’t know of that many ORV trails that could possibly justify all the special edition vehicles.
Most of the serious ORV guys I know trailer their Jeep or whatever and do serious hill climbing/mud bog or trails these “off-road” Hondas would not be able to handle. So the overlanding must be parking in the yard at a friends BBQ.
September 8th, 2021 at 3:01 pm
9. I didn’t know what it was either. As luck would have it, a story about overlanding in the new electric Rivian R1T p/u just appeared in Motor Trend.
https://www.motortrend.com/features/2022-rivian-r1t-exclusive-drive-review-trans-america-trail-off-road/?wc_mid=4035:21924&wc_rid=4035:1436991&_wcsid=713B1DE006F50FB0126522EAB2C8C7A988DF1705492388E0
September 8th, 2021 at 3:01 pm
A lot of Americans just seem to like the rugged look of black plastic, etc. I’m not among them.
Chuck G., what’s the latest you’ve heard about the start of Corvette production? I’ve seen “week of Sept. 6″ mentioned on the internet.
September 8th, 2021 at 3:20 pm
15, Kit, that’s the same as I’ve heard but haven’t heard any confirmation that production has actually started. I have heard that status 3000, and I think 3300 (build sequence scheduled) has occurred. Here’s hoping for a more normal year for Corvette production; and I think I’ve heard (my memory not all ways ‘crystal’ anymore) that last years (2021) production was around 26,000.
September 8th, 2021 at 4:45 pm
16 A week or so ago, my dealer said their first two orders to go from 2021 to 2022 were scheduled, and mine would be next. I’m hoping they’ll build and deliver mine by mid-October, when I head for Florida.
September 9th, 2021 at 8:01 am
Kit We were supposed to start back up production Sept 6th but we supply GMs lansing plants and are now looking at the 20th. Not sure if that also applied to BG.
September 9th, 2021 at 9:31 am
Re: Overlanding; I know a lot of people here in North Georgia that do everything from a friends yard for BBQ to camping in the woods and some trails. My boys are in scouts and there are many times we end up off the pavement. I also have some friends that do the serious off-roading, but that is a small dedicated group.
Re: Chrysler; I rented a Pacifica when they first came out a few years ago, and they are a leap above the previous generation vans. I know both versions were available for a year or two, but the Pacifica styling was supposed to be the “new face of Chrysler” and it looked like their direction was a whole line of electrics with that styling. I was disappointed when I saw the revised Pacifica did away with the modern look and emulated the old van, and no other Chryslers came to fruition. Maybe Christine Feuell can implement the previous plans and upscale eChryslers can compete uith the eCaddys.
One last item (speaking of Caddys); I was reading about the Cadillac trucks brought up the other day, and found a blog from the son of the guy (James C Kribbs) in Beverly Hills that supposedly started doing those first conversions and also did the one Evil Kinevel owned. You can click on my name to see.
September 9th, 2021 at 10:08 am
19) I too wish that Christine Feuell can take Chrysler in an all luxury EV direction with exceptional styling and incredible interiors. There was a time when you would see an Imperial and it was an impressive sight inside and out. Years of decontenting, mainly starting in the K-Car period, has put zero daylight between what Chrysler offers compared to their corporate counterparts. You don’t notice when a 300 or pacifica goes rolling by. They are background cars.
September 9th, 2021 at 10:09 am
19 Interesting story about the custom Cadillacs.
September 9th, 2021 at 10:29 am
19 Yeah very cool story on the caddys. At the bottom sounds like the last one was up for auction. Wonder what it sold for?
Also was curious what they cost over sticker back in the day. I guess the first versions of pimp my ride. It would be cool to see someone do that today.
September 9th, 2021 at 7:14 pm
Surprised that a Toyota claim about hybrids and BEV disappeared along with my comment, a good thing as Toyota screwed up. Thanks!
I traded in my 2017 Prius Prime for a 2019 Tesla Std Rng Model 3 and brought the price to $24,000. The 25 mi EV Prime became driveway art compared to our 72 mi EV range BMW. Even today, the Tesla is 3x cheaper than the $24 BMW between Huntsville and Nashville.
If curious, I can provide more technical details but if we’re protecting poor Toyota management and engineering decisions, let it rest.