AD #3611 – New Mustang EcoBoost Driving Impressions; Buick Redesigns the Regal in China; Acura Models Going All-Electric

This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.

TESLA OFFERS 72-MONTH CAR LOANS
If you thought 72-month car loans sounded crazy, get ready for this. Automotive News reports that Tesla is now offering 84-month car loans. And in Canada it’s offering 96 month loans. That’s 8 years, which is longer than most people keep a brand-new car. It’s all about trying to get that monthly payment down as low as possible. With today’s higher interest rates and the overall rise in car prices over the last couple of years, monthly payments are running at record high levels. So by extending a loan out by years, the monthly rate comes down, even though the overall cost of paying it off goes up.

SAY GOODBYE TO ICE VERSIONS OF ACURA MDX, RDX, TLX
Acura will soon begin weeding out some of the ICE vehicles in its lineup. According to Automotive News, the next-gen versions of the MDX, RDX and TLX will be all-electric. The models will be switching to Honda’s e:Architecture platform and will no longer be powered by an IC engine. The new RDX will likely debut in 2025, the TLX is expected to be redesigned in 2026 and the new MDX could launch the following year.

STELLANTIS ADDS ANOTHER BATTERY PLANT IN U.S.
Legacy automakers keep building up their EV infrastructure. Stellantis announced it will build a second battery plant in the U.S. with Samsung SDI. The two companies haven’t chosen a location yet but it will have an initial capacity of 34-GWh and will start producing batteries in 2027. Stellantis and Samsung will also open a battery factory in Kokomo, Indiana in 2025, which will have 33-GWh of annual production. Stellantis plans to introduce 25 new BEVs in North America by the end of the decade and it’s aiming to be carbon neutral by 2038.

GM CRUISE EXPANDS TO MIAMI
I know people’s opinions of autonomous driving can be all over the map, but we do continue to see progress. And GM’s AV unit Cruise announced that it started initial testing in Miami, Florida. Since its system requires HD maps to operate, it will first be mapping the area and collecting other data, before offering rides to customers. But Miami will eventually expand Cruise’s current operating base, which includes cities in Arizona, California and Texas. Cruise recently revealed that it took the company three months to go from a million driverless miles to 2 million, but about half that time to go from 2 million to 3 million driverless miles. So, the more it expands, the more miles it should be able to rack up. And just to put some perspective on those numbers. As of February of this year, Cruise said it had a fleet of over 300 vehicles, which would mean they’re driving about 70 miles a day, if they’re operating 7 days a week.

FOXCONN BUYS 50% OF ZF’S AXLE BUSINESS
Foxconn is expanding its automotive business. The Taiwanese contract manufacturer is buying a 50% stake in German supplier ZF’s axle unit for passenger vehicles. Called ZF Chassis Modules, the business is valued at $1.1 billion and operates in 25 locations worldwide. Not many details were shared but Foxconn and ZF say the partnership will help them expand product offerings for both ICEs and EVs.

BMW OPENS NEW CHINA R&D CENTER
Foreign automakers are losing sales in China to domestic companies, especially when it comes to EVs. That’s why we’re seeing brands like Mercedes, GM and now BMW starting to develop cars in China with Chinese consumers in mind. And with a new R&D Center in Shanghai, China is the only country outside of Germany in the BMW Group network that has full-process R&D capabilities. It will be able to do everything from design, EV testing, to how people interact with its cars. In fact, BMW says that 70% of the functions in its current operating system are tailor-made for Chinese customers.

BUICK REDESIGNS THE REGAL IN CHINA
Buick gave up on passenger cars in the US market, but not in China. And it just unveiled the latest version of the Regal. The refresh was completely done in China and it looks like the designers were heavily influenced by the front-end design of the 2021 Toyota Camry with its gigantic grille. Inside, the car has a wraparound design, with more soft materials and premium stitching to give it an upscale look. OnStar and Baidu AI voice assistant are also part of the infotainment package. It’s priced to sell, with the base model starting at just over $22,000 and the next trim line up starting at $24,500.  Even though the Chinese market is going crazy for electrics, the updated Regal is powered by a choice of either a turbocharged 2-liter or 1.5 liter four-cylinder engine.

NEW FORD MUSTANG ECOBOOST DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
I missed several days of hosting last week because Ford was nice enough to invite me out to California to drive the new Mustang and now I can start to talk about my experience. The embargo for the EcoBoost version lifts today and the GT is tomorrow. If I had to use one word to describe the new Mustang it would be fun. I know that’s what I should expect from a Mustang, but let me explain. This feels like the perfect storm of performance and technology coming together to make what is the best Mustang I’ve ever driven. In a previous show, we highlighted the new digital displays, so we’ll provide a link to that. But just to re-highlight a couple things; you can record a ton of data and there’s a lot of personalization options, including an old Fox-body gauge setting, which I think is really cool. One of the things Ford said during its presentation is that it knows Mustang customers really well. I think that shows in new tech like the Fox-body gauges but other things too, like remote rev, which allows you to start and rev the engine with the key fob, and a new drift brake. Ford worked with drifting professionals from Vaughn Gittin Racing to develop the brake so it appeals to a wide range of skill levels. Out in California Ford had a little course set up for us to test and I had a blast, even though I’d never drifted like that before and was terrible at it. It seems like one of those things that must feel really good once you start to get the hang of it. On the other hand, I felt much more at home carving up an autocross course and some twisty canyons on our road drive. Our car had the performance pack, which has a number of upgrades, the most important to me were the MagneRide suspension and Brembo brakes. With that setup, the car stopped and handled weight transitions like no EcoBoost or GT Mustang I’ve even driven before, even while driving pretty fast and through some pretty quick transitions, which can easily unsettle a car. The 2.3L 4-cylinder, which has been used in everything from the Bronco Sport to the Focus RS, makes a healthy 315 horsepower in the Mustang. It gets off the line pretty well, but it really needed to rev for it to feel truly sporty while carving up canyon roads. I hope that gives you a little bit of a better feel for the new Mustang and I’ll have a little more to add about the GT tomorrow.

But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.