AD #2455 – Volvo S60/V60 Impressions, NHTSA OKs Adaptive Beam Headlights, Rinspeed Shows Off microSNAP

On today’s show…NHTSA gives the green light for adaptive beams headlights…3D printing is helping GM make manufacturing more efficient…and we’ll share our impressions of the new Volvo S60 and V60. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.

NHTSA OKs ADAPTIVE BEAM HEADLIGHTS
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is finally making a move we believe it should have made a long time ago. It’s going to allow headlights with adaptive driving beams. These are lights where the high beams are on at all times, but use sensors or cameras to detect objects and turn off a portion of the light as not to blind other drivers. Lights like this have been legal in Europe and other parts of the world for over a decade. NHTSA says it’s still working to finalize the rules and is also proposing new testing procedures.

FULL TESLA EV CREDIT STILL AVAILABLE…FOR NOW
Tesla is going to run out of its federal tax credit soon after reaching the 200,000 units sold mark. So the automaker is putting the word out that if you place an order for a Tesla by October 15th, you’ll still be eligible for the full credit and get your car before the end of the year. Tesla has struggled with production and a big jump in orders could strain the company even more, but damn if it’s not a smart way to boost sales as much as possible before the year is out.

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And for those of you that do follow our social media, you saw that we just got behind the wheel of the new Volvo S60 and V60. And we’ll have our impressions right after this.

VOLVO S60/V60 IMPRESSIONS
We just a chance to drive the all-new Volvo S60 and V60 and here are the highlights. The new models are completely new from the ground up and are built on the company’s Scalable Product Architecture. We really like the new design. We think the vehicles have a more upscale look. The cars are powered by a 2.0L, four-cylinder gasoline engine, which is available in several variants. Front-wheel drive models come with the turbocharged T5 engine. All-wheel drive models come with the T6 engine, which has a supercharger in addition to the turbo. And there’s two plug-in hybrid options for the S60. One with 400 horsepower and the Polestar Engineered trim which cranks out 415 horses. We got to drive the T6 and Polestar Engineered engines in the S60 and the T5 in the V60. Each of the engines performed well but the plug-in shined the most and even helped the transmission shift more smoothly. The interior is comfortable and has a sleek, minimalist look. It’s dominated by a 9-inch infotainment system in the center of the dash. If you like button controls, this isn’t the car, or probably brand, for you. There are buttons for the audio and on the steering wheel, however, most functions need to be done through the touchscreen or with voice activation. The S60 is the first Volvo built in the U.S. and production just kicked off at the company’s new plant in South Carolina. It will start hitting dealer showrooms toward the end of the year and will have a starting price just under $36,000. The V60 on the other hand will be made in Europe and won’t arrive in the U.S. until the first quarter of 2019.

RINSPEED SHOWS OFF MICROSNAP
Last year, we showed you a wild concept from the Swiss company Rinspeed called the Snap. It’s an electric, autonomous, ride sharing vehicle that can separate the chassis from the body. That way the chassis, which houses all the components and technology, can be swapped out and recycled once that tech becomes outdated. And now the company is giving a preview of the next evolution of that concept called the microSNAP. It’s about the same size of a Renault Twizy and is designed for last minute deliveries or to carry two passengers for short distances. Rinspeed will display the microSNAP at CES in January.

General Motors is using 3D printing to make vehicle production more efficient. And we’ll have more about that right after this.

GM USING 3D PRINTERS ON FACTORY FLOOR
Automakers are starting to introduce new technology in their factories that is making working safer, faster and more productive. On Autoline This Week, we’re joined by Dan Grieshaber, the Global Director of Manufacturing Integration at General Motors. And he talked about how it’s using 3D printers in some of its plants, not to make parts for cars but to make the tools that build them.

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

For a deeper dive into how technology is reshaping the factory floor, 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.