AD #2332 – Carmakers Call for High Octane Gas, Tesla Feuds with the NTSB, Big Oil Seeks Biofuels Waiver

On today’s show…Tesla is feuding with the NTSB over its Autopilot crash investigation…GM, Honda, FCA and Ford want 95 octane gasoline as the minimum standard…and color experts explain why it takes so long to pick a new color for a car. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

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

CHEVRON & EXXON SEEK BIOFUELS WAIVER
There’s a battle brewing between the oil and corn industries over biofuels. Last week we reported that the EPA gave Andeavor, one of the nation’s largest oil refiners, an exemption from the Renewable Fuel Standard. The law mandates that refiners blend biofuels, like ethanol into gasoline or purchase credits from other refiners. The exemption is reserved for small companies that would be hurt financially by the rule. But now Reuters reports, that Exxon Mobil and Chevron, are seeking exemptions for two of their smaller refineries. But it’s not known if they received a waiver since the EPA doesn’t disclose which companies receive exemptions. In the past, the EPA has awarded 10 exemptions a year but that’s now doubled. And proponents of the standard are worried more large oil companies will receive waivers.

AUTOMAKERS CALL FOR HIGHER OCTANE GASOLINE
And in other fuel news, at the SAE World Congress yesterday powertrain executives from GM, Honda, FCA and Ford called for 95 octane gasoline as the minimum standard in the United States. By making it the standard blend, this would add about 5 cents a gallon over regular 87 octane gasoline. But motorists would recoup that cost because automakers could raise the engine compression to 15:1, which would make them 3% more efficient. Wards reports that GM’s VP of Powertrain, Dan Nicholson, will be pitching the idea to the Energy and Commerce Committee in the House of Representatives today.

HAVE WE HIT THE TRANSMISSION GEAR LIMIT?
Those same executives also predict we have hit the limit with how many gears can be stuffed into a transmission. But it’s not a technical issue. They could actually make 12-speed transmissions if they wanted. But with most powertrains getting electrified, at least to some degree, the extra torque that provides, means the engines don’t have to work as hard, and so they can get by with transmissions that have fewer gears.

Still to come…Tesla and the NTSB are in a feud.

BIG TRUCK SALES INDICATE GOOD TIMES
Heavy truck sales in the U.S. continue to grow strongly. Overall, they were up 11% last month, and Wards reports that Class 8 trucks, the biggest semis, shot up 26%. As we’ve reported before, analysts use sales of Class 8 trucks as a leading indicator of how the economy will perform. Last summer sales of those trucks turned a corner and really started to climb, and we here at Autoline wondered if that was a signal that sales of light vehicles would turn around and start going up. Well, that’s exactly what happened. As you know, sales of cars and light trucks came in much stronger than anyone expected last month. So the latest sales numbers for the big rigs suggests that the good times will continue to roll.

TESLA FEUDS WITH THE NTSB
As we reported previously, the NTSB is not happy with Tesla over its disclosure of details related to a fatal accident involving one of its Model Xs in Autopilot mode. Things seemed to be getting put back together after the NTSB spoke with Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday, but it’s completely fallen apart since then. The NTSB has kicked Tesla off the crash probe after it says the automaker again violated its disclosure policy. That lead to a statement from Tesla, “It’s been clear in our conversations with the NTSB that they’re more concerned with press headlines than actually promoting safety,” and adds it has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to “understand the reasoning behind their focus on the safest cars in America while they ignore the cars that are the least safe.” This now seems more like a power struggle between the NTSB and Tesla rather than what the real focus should be on, figuring out what caused the accident and keeping motorists safe.

It can take two to three years to create a new car color. So why the heck does it take so long? We’ll have the answer coming up next.

WHY IT TAKES SO LONG TO CREATE A CAR COLOR
It takes an enormous amount of planning and engineering to create a new car color, anywhere from two to three years. On Autoline This Week, we’re joined by color experts from Axalta, BASF and PPG and they explain why it takes so long to create a new color.

(The ATW preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)

For more about new trends in vehicle color, you can watch that entire show right now on our website, Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.

But that’s it for today, thanks for watching, have a great weekend and we’ll see you again on Monday.