AD #2451 – Model 3 the Safest Car Ever? Ford Likely to Layoff Workers, Mercedes Makes Big Battery Investment

On today’s show… is Tesla’s Model 3 the safest car ever made?… Ford tells its salaried employees to get ready for lots of layoffs… and what we’ve learned about women who buy muscle cars. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.

TESLA TOPS SAFETY LIST
Is the Tesla Model 3 the safest car ever made? Even though NHTSA already gave it five 5’s, its highest crash rating, the agency went one better. It did a statistical analysis of the probability of injury and determined the Model 3 offers the lowest probability of injury of any car. In a frontal crash the Model 3 absorbs the impact, while the orange engine in an Audi A4 is thrust towards the passenger cabin. And in a side impact the Model 3 does a better job of absorbing energy than a Lexus ES 350. Not only is the Model 3 the safest car rated by NHTSA, the Model S and X are the second and third safest, respectively.

SHOULD FORD EMPLOYEES BE WORRIED?
Ford is telling its employees to get ready for a massive reorganizing of its salaried workforce, including eliminating layers of management which will undoubtedly involve a good number of layoffs. But Ford did not identify when or where or how many people will lose their jobs. It said the announcements will come in waves between now and the second quarter of 2019. Here’s our Autoline Insight. Ford says it does not want to wait and make one big announcement. Instead it will announce these layoffs as it identifies opportunities to streamline the organization. But we’d say this is a sure-fire way to drive fear throughout the entire Ford Motor Company over the next seven months.

MERCEDES MAKES BIG BATTERY INVESTMENT
Mercedes says it will build an all-electric SUV in the U.S. along with a new battery factory near its assembly plant in Alabama. The $1 billion investment is expected to generate about 600 jobs. This is part of a broader global battery production network, which will consist of 8 facilities located around the world. By 2022 Mercedes says it will offer at least one electrified vehicle in each of its model lines.

We’ll be back with this weekend’s racing results, right after this.

HAMILTON NEARLY A LOCK FOR 5TH F1 TITLE
In racing news over the weekend, Lewis Hamilton took what they call the Grand Slam in Formula One. He put his Mercedes on the pole in the Japanese Grand Prix, set the fastest lap in the race and was the first to take the checkered flag after leading every lap. Sebastian Vettel saw the championship slipping from his fingers as his Ferrari crashed with Max Verstappen’s Renault-powered Red Bull. Though Vettel rallied to finish 6th, Hamilton is now almost assured to win his 5th driving championship.

ELLIOTT TAKES THE CHECKERED FLAG AT DOVER
In NASCAR, Chase Elliott powered his Chevrolet Camaro to victory at the Dover International Raceway. Kevin Harvick had dominated the race but his pit crew broke a valve stem during a pit stop and his Ford Fusion came in 6th.

TOP FUEL RESULTS FROM TEXAS
And at the AAA Texas NHRA Nationals Steve Torrance took his first victory at his home race, posting a time of 325.92 miles an hour in his Top Fuel dragster. Click on the link in today’s transcript to get the other winners in the different categories.

INCOME BREAKDOWN OF NEW CAR BUYERS
In the US, the median household that buys a new car earns $108,000 a year, according to statistics from Wards. The highest earners are households who buy European luxury cars. They make a median income of $173,000, while those who buy Asian cars are at the low end of the list with earnings of $81,000 a year.

Coming up next, the kind of women that like to drive muscle cars might just surprise you.

WOMEN WHO DRIVE MUSCLE CARS
You might think that women who are into muscle cars would have personalities to match their fast, loud cars. But Chris Lezotte, our guest on last week’s Autoline After Hours, has found that it’s usually a much different kind of person you’ll find behind the wheel.

You can watch that entire episode on our website, Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel. And don’t miss this week’s AAH, which will be all about the new Ford Edge.

But that wraps up this show. Thanks for watching and we’ll be right back here again tomorrow.