AD #2384 – Aston Martin DBS Superleggera Details, Audi Delays e-tron Launch, Volvo Plans Level 4 AV

On today’s show…Automakers say that Trump’s import tariffs would cost them dearly…Audi delays its e-tron electric car…and Volvo announces plans for a Level 4 autonomous car. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

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

AUDI DELAYS E-TRON LAUNCH
Audi is delaying its e-tron electric car and it all has to do with the arrest last week of Audi’s CEO, Rupert Stadler. He was accused of interfering with an investigation into cheating over diesel emissions. Audi was going to reveal the e-tron in Brussels on August 30th but now the launch will happen in the U.S. at a later date. However, the sales launch is still on schedule for the end of the year, and the company is currently taking orders in some European markets.

VOLVO PLANS LEVEL 4 AUTONOMOUS CAR
It seems like every time you turn around autonomous cars take another step closer to reality.  Volvo is going to come out with a Level 4 autonomous car only 3 years from now. It will only work on highways that have been mapped, like Cadillac’s Super Cruise. Volvo is going to concentrate on mapping highways that are heavily used by commuters. And with Volvo’s L4 XC90 you will be able to take a nap when it’s in autonomous mode. Volvo will not say what it will charge customers, but hints that it will be somewhere between $1,000 to $9,000. Now we’ll see which market gets it first. Volvo says it will sell these cars to customers in countries that allow autonomous cars.

TRUMP TARIFFS COULD COST CONSUMERS BILLIONS
We estimate that Trump’s proposed tariffs could cause the price of the average car to rise by $6,000. Now, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents most automakers in the U.S., says those tariffs could cost American consumers $45 billion dollars in taxes annually. That’s because if car prices went up, so would the sales tax. The Alliance says this would largely cancel out the benefits of the Trump Administration’s tax cuts.

Autonomous cars look pretty goofy with all those sensors sticking out of them, but one supplier is working on changing that.

MAGNETI MARELLI DEVELOPS COMPACT AV SENSORS
I sometimes find it hard to put into words how important to safety I think autonomous cars will be, but damn are these things ugly! With sensors, Lidar and mounting brackets sticking out all over the place, it really does bastardize the original design. I know it’s important to first make sure this stuff works, but eventually I’d like to see some style put back in these vehicles and that’s exactly what supplier Magneti Marelli is doing with its Smart Corner technology. Magneti has been able to shrink the size of front lighting units to about the size of a fist, allowing it to put different sensors and cameras within the light housings as well. It’s also doing the same with rear lighting. And by moving all the pieces of the system out to the corners of the vehicles, it’s able to get a good “view” of the road and provide 360-degree coverage. As you can see, Smart Corner really cleans up the look of the vehicle and Magneti Marelli adds that it also eliminates extra wire harnesses and brackets.

FLIGHTS TO ROME PROJECT
Do all roads lead to Rome? Daimler’s mobility company, the moovel Group set out to answer the age-old saying in 2015 with its Roads to Rome design project and now it’s doing the same with air travel. The Flights to Rome project combined OpenStreetMap data with the worldwide flight network to create a map of the road and air infrastructure that shows the journey from any point to Rome across the entire planet. It also did the same with New York and Tokyo and if nothing else, it’s visually stunning to look at.

Coming up next, Aston Martin has some awfully impressive specs on its latest sports car.

ASTON MARTIN DBS SUPERLEGGERA
Have you ever wanted to go 211 miles per hour, 0 to 60 in 3.4 seconds and spend exactly $304,995? Now you can with the 2019 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera. With a V12 making 715 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque, the DBS Superleggera isn’t exactly slow. All that power goes through a modified 8-speed ZF gearbox and is then sent via a carbon fiber driveshaft to a rear limited-slip differential. Stopping shouldn’t be a problem thanks to its carbon ceramic brakes paired with grippy Pirelli P Zero tires. Superleggera means super light but this thing weighs a chunky 3,732 pounds not including fluids. Those who can afford this premium grand tourer can receive them at the end of this year.

RAM PROMASTER DITCHES CROSSHAIR GRILLE
The crosshair grille has been a signature icon of styling for the Ram brand. But now it’s starting to disappear. It was dropped from the new Ram pickup and now it’s disappearing from the ProMaster and ProMaster City. In its place is chrome “RAM” lettering. That’s not the only change. Capability wise, the ProMaster can take an increased payload and can haul greater weights.

Don’t forget to join us for Autoline After Hours tomorrow. We’re going to take a deep dive into the all-new Volkswagen Jetta. And a programming note here. Autoline will be off the air next week as the entire crew takes a well deserved summer break. Autoline Daily and After Hours will be back the week of July 9th.   

And that brings us to the end of today’s report, thanks for watching.