AD #2319 – California Ready to Fight EPA, Affordable AVs Coming Soon, New GMC Off-Road Brand to See Entire Lineup

On today’s show… automakers face a patchwork of fuel economy regulations in the U.S…. Waymo says autonomous cars will be affordable soon… and we’ve got a number of new reveals from the New York Auto Show. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

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

LET THE BATTLE BEGIN
The battle between the Trump Administration and the state of California over fuel economy regulations is heating up. Bloomberg reports that the EPA is likely to rollback standards enacted during the Obama Administration and will announce its decision on Sunday. California had agreed to follow the federal standard but its prepared to not comply with the revised rules if they’re weakened too much. And this is a nightmare scenario for automakers which don’t want a patchwork of standards to follow. Nine other states have adopted California’s standards and account for a third of the U.S. car market. So automakers could be in for a big headache if both sides can’t come to an agreement.

AFFORDABLE AVs COMING SOON
Autonomous cars will soon be affordable. Speaking at the NADA convention last weekend, Waymo’s CEO John Krafcik said, “If we can extend the life of the vehicle from 150,000 miles to 250-300,000 miles it really has a huge impact.” That amortizes the cost and that goal is in sight. Waymo has a partnership with Autonation to service its autonomous Chrysler Pacificas that it operates in Phoenix, Arizona. Mike Jackson, the CEO of Autonation, says the autonomous Pacificas, “Show little wear and tear. They’re easy on the brakes, they don’t squeal the tires.” Waymo says its autonomous Pacificas can now operate in 600 square miles covering the Phoenix area and it will soon announce other cities where it will open its autonomous service. Krafcik says, “It won’t be long” before Level 4 autonomous Pacificas will be affordable for retail sale. But he says “Level 5 is very far out. We joke at Waymo that not even humans are Level 5.”

Still to come… GMC adds an off-road version of the Sierra to its lineup.

HONDA REVEALS PRODUCTION INSIGHT
Honda revealed a prototype of the Insight hybrid at the Detroit auto show. And now the company is introducing the production version at the New York Auto Show. It’s powered by Honda’s third-gen hybrid system, which consists of a 1.5L engine, an electric motor and a lithium-ion battery. Final EPA numbers aren’t in yet but Honda expects it to deliver up to 55 MPGs in the city. The Insight, which shares its platform with the Civic, will be built at Honda’s plant in Indiana. And both the hybrid battery unit and the engine will be made at separate plants in Ohio. The new Insight will be in dealer showrooms this summer.

GMC DRIVES OFF THE BEATEN PATH
And speaking of new models, GMC is adding a new off-road trim to its lineup, called AT4. Like Denali, GMC calls AT4 a brand and says it will be seen on every GMC vehicle in the next two years. The first is the 2019 Sierra and off-road highlights include a 2-inch suspension lift from tuned Rancho shocks, standard 4WD with a two-speed transfer case, locking rear differential, skid plates, Hill Descent Control and a Traction Select System. Most of the unique exterior styling cues come in the form of blacked-out trim pieces. A 5.3L V8 engine is standard, but the new 3.0L inline-six cylinder Duramax diesel and 6.2L V8 are also available. The GMC Sierra AT4 goes on sale this fall.

Coming up next, Toyota updates the Yaris and Lynk & Co adds a new vehicle to its lineup.

LYNK & CO DEBUTS NEW SMALL CROSSOVER
Lynk & Co, the new luxury brand from Chinese automaker Geely, just introduced the third vehicle in its lineup, the 02. The company didn’t reveal many details about the model but as you can see it’s a small crossover. And it will be built at Volvo’s plant in Belgium starting next year. Lynk & Co, which currently sells vehicles in China, also revealed that Amsterdam will be the first city in Europe to open a store, followed by Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels and London.

YARIS SAYS iAIN’T NO SCION
Like the Corolla iM turning into the Corolla Hatchback, Toyota is dropping the old Scion moniker iA from the Yaris and is just going to call it the Yaris. With the fresh name comes three trim levels, which is up from the previous one and slightly refreshed exterior styling. A 7-inch touchscreen is standard and every Yaris will get an Active Safety and Low-Speed Pre-Collision System. The new Yaris goes on sale in the fall.

But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.