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Runtime: 7:15
0:27 NADA Predicts Sales Drop
0:49 Car Dealers Mad at Car Companies
1:23 Trump Wrong About GM EV Effort
2:31 Honda Develops Autonomous ATV
3:05 Five Different Types of Hybrids
4:51 Care by Volvo More Popular Than Expected
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On today’s show…President Trump threatens General Motors yet again…Honda shows off an autonomous ATV…and Volvo’s subscription service turned out to be way more popular than they expected. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.
NADA PREDICTS SALES DROP
American consumers will buy over 17 million new vehicles this year, but car dealers predict that will drop to 16.8 million next year. The National Auto Dealers Association says this year’s tax cut helped keep sales steady, but rising interest rates and lower incentives will price some people out of the market in 2019.
CAR DEALERS MAD AT CAR COMPANIES
The chairman of the NADA, Wes Lutz, who recently appeared on Autoline This Week, is criticizing car companies for forcing dealers to spend millions to remodel their showrooms. He said it was ironic that some automakers are talking about closing factories, laying off employees and cutting spending at the same time they’re forcing dealers to spend heavily on brick and mortar. Wes Lutz is right. The automakers are following that old adage: Do as I say and not as
I do.
TRUMP WRONG ABOUT GM EV EFFORT
President Trump has General Motors in his crosshairs…again. He’s not happy that GM will close the Lordstown assembly plant in Ohio, a state that was crucial to his election. Trump repeatedly promised to bring more manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. and now threatens that “General Motors is not going to be treated well.” Trump also claims that GM is going all electric which he says is a mistake and will not work. Here’s our Autoline Insight. Trump may be right that GM’s push into EVs will not work, but he is incorrect in saying GM is going all electric. General Motors is going to build piston engines for many years to come.
Did you know there are at least 5 different types of hybrids? That’s coming up next.
HONDA DEVELOPS AUTONOMOUS ATV
Honda is showing off how autonomy can be used for more than just moving people. It’s created an off-road autonomous vehicle based on its ATV. Called the Honda Work Vehicle, the company has already tested it in several locations. It was used at a solar farm to help mow the grass. In agriculture settings, the vehicle can be used to transport food or fertilize the land. And it can help firefighters carry equipment while fighting wildfires. The Honda Work Vehicle will be on display at CES next month.
FIVE DIFFERENT TYPES OF HYBRIDS
The public talks about hybrid cars as if they’re all the same. But the auto industry uses very specific terminology to differentiate 5 types of hybrids. According to BorgWarner the simplest level is P0, which is a belt-alternator system, where the alternator doubles as an electric motor. Next up from that is P1, with an electric motor located between the engine and transmission but with no clutch between them. A P2 hybrid uses the exact same layout, but with a clutch that allows the vehicle to travel in pure EV mode. A P3 hybrid has an electric motor located on the back side of the transmission, and can also travel in pure EV mode. And a P4 hybrid uses an electric motor mounted on an axle that is not driven by the piston engine, for example on a front wheel drive car that uses an electric motor on the rear axle. Automakers like these different types of hybrids because it gives them a lot of flexibility with packaging and cost. That makes it simpler to convert different types of vehicles into hybrids at different price points. And we point this out to make sure all of Autoline’s viewers are up to speed with the industry’s terminology.
Volvo was caught off guard by the popularity of its subscription service and we’ll have more about that, right after this.
CARE BY VOLVO MORE POPULAR THAN EXPECTED
We’ve seen a number of automakers launch subscription services for its vehicles. The programs charge customers a monthly fee, that typically includes the car payment, insurance, and maintenance. On Autoline This Week, the head of Volvo’s U.S. operations, Anders Gustafsson, talked about how its subscription service, Care by Volvo, was much more successful than the company anticipated.
(The ATW preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
You can watch that entire interview right now on our website, or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and have a great weekend.
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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.