AD #2299 – Ferrari to Add More Hybrids, GM is Going to Lose Pickup Sales, Denso Develops Better Night Vision

On today’s show… Ferrari takes another step towards electrifying its entire lineup… GM is going to lose at least 70,000 full-size pickup sales this year… and Lexus shows off its latest CUV. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.

FERRARI ADDS HYBRIDS
Ferrari’s first hybrid car was LaFerrari, priced at over $1 million. But that hybrid is more about performance than fuel economy. The EPA rates it at 14 miles to the gallon. Now, Autoforecast Solutions says Ferrari’s next hybrids will be the 488 GTB and Spider, which go into production in Maranello in June of 2019. Ferrari says it will eventually electrify its entire lineup.

NO ADAM FOR BUICK
Buick was supposed to get a version of the next-generation Opel Adam, but with GM having sold Opel to PSA, plans have been axed. Autoforecast says it was going to be built in Spain and shipped to the US market starting in 2025.

GM TO LOSE TRUCK PRODUCTION
Sales of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra are going to go down this year because they’re going onto a completely new architecture that requires all-new body shops in the plants where they’re built. GM will lose 130,000 trucks of production as those plants are converted. But it’s also going to start assembling 60,000 trucks a year at its plant in Oshawa, which cuts the net loss to 70,000 trucks. They’re calling it the “Oshawa shuttle” because the trucks will be partly made at GM’s plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana and shuttled to Oshawa for final assembly. GM is also going to going to increase production of crew cabs at all it’s plants, which it says will add $2 billion a year in revenue. Isn’t it amazing that just a couple of bigger doors can bring in two billion bucks more than before?

Coming up next, Toyota has a clever idea to make CVTs drive a whole lot better.

EV NOISE REGULATIONS
Remember all that talk about having electric cars make some sort of noise so that they wouldn’t run you over? Well, the U.S. Department of Transportation finally finalized rules that requires EVs and hybrids to emit a sound while travelling at low speeds to warn pedestrians they’re approaching. They must emit a noise at speeds up to 18 MPH. 50% of vehicles must emit a sound by September 2019 and after that they all have to comply. The new rule is expected to prevent 2,400 injuries annually.

TOYOTA’S POWERTRAIN IMPROVEMENTS
While we keep hearing about the move to electrification, Toyota is not at all giving up on the internal combustion engine. It’s making a number of powertrain improvements for everything that rides on its New Global Architecture, including the Avalon, Camry and C-HR. Most interesting is a new CVT that features a launch gear. The drive gear is only used when starting from a full stop, which gets rid of the sluggish feeling when only the belt was used. And because the gear reduces load, the size of the belt and pulleys are reduced, which results in 20% faster shift speeds. Toyota is also showing off a number of new 2.0L gasoline engines for both conventional and hybrid applications. With all the improvements, Toyota says the engines will be ahead of future emission regulations. And speaking of hybrids, the automaker is reducing the size and weight and improving efficiency of its hybrid system for 2.0L engines. By 2021 Toyota will have introduced 9 new engines, 4 new transmissions and 6 new hybrid systems.

FIRST GLIMPSE OF LEXUS UX
Lexus is giving us a look at the production version of the all-new small UX crossover. While the styling is not quite as radical as the concept, I’m sure a number of people will find the “fangs” on either side the large spindle grille rather polarizing. The interior is a fairly clean layout with the controls pushed to the driver’s side and the infotainment screen mounted high on the dash. We’ll know more when the UX debuts in a week at the Geneva show.

Suppliers continue to drive so much innovation in the auto industry and we’ll show you some of their latest tech, right after this.

CONTINENTAL’S CONCEPT TIRES
Continental is showing off a couple of concept tires that can adapt to different conditions. Called ContiSense and ContiAdapt they use sensors to monitor tread depth and temperature, which sends signals through electrically conductive rubber to a receiver in the car. It can alert drivers of over- or under-inflation, and can also warn of a puncture because a circuit in the tire would get closed. In the future, the sensors will be able to detect road conditions. Micro-compressors in the wheel and a variable-width rim will change the pressure of the tire and adjust the size of the contact patch to meet the needs of any condition. High pressure and a small contact patch for low-rolling resistance can change to low pressure and a large contact patch for slippery roads.

DENSO DEVELOPS NEW VISION SENSOR
The supplier company Denso has developed a new vision sensor that improves safety while driving at night. It uses a unique lens designed for low-light use and a solid-state imaging device to help detect other road users, pedestrians and signs. This allows automatic emergency braking to perform better at night. Denso’s sensor is available on the new Toyota Alphard and Vellfire vans, which are primarily sold in Japan.

Be sure to join us for Autoline After Hours this Thursday for some of the best insider information on what’s going on in the automotive industry.

And with that we wrap up today’s report, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.