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Runtime: 7:35
0:30 Musk Unveils 1st Tunnel
1:01 Tata 1st Indian Company to Earn 5-Star Rating
1:34 Hyundai Axes Santa Fe Diesel
2:42 How to Avoid Trump’s Import Tariffs
3:41 Testing Tires with Autonomous Vehicles
4:27 Look for Discounts on These Vehicles
6:11 Why We Shouldn’t Subsidize Cars for The Rich
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On today’s show…Elon Musk just brought his Boring Company another step closer to reality…we give you a Christmas shopping list for the cars that dealers are most eager to get rid of…and why in the world are we subsidizing the rich to buy luxury cars? All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.
MUSK UNVEILS 1ST TUNNEL
Elon Musk took another step towards launching his high-speed underground transportation system. Last night his Boring Company unveiled the first tunnel its completed, a 1.14 mile stretch in Los Angeles. Last May, Musk promised there would be free rides once the tunnel opened but he did not offer any at the unveiling. Elon also revealed it cost $10 million to build the finished segment, by comparison he said it would cost $1 billion to dig a tunnel by traditional methods.
TATA 1ST INDIAN COMPANY TO EARN 5-STAR RATING
Automakers in developing countries continue to make big strides forward in vehicle safety. It wasn’t that long ago that Tata, the Indian car maker, made cars that would fold up like an accordion in a head-on collision. But Tata just became the first automaker in India to receive a five-star rating from Global NCAP, the organization that crash tests new vehicles. The Tata Nexon, a subcompact CUV, just got Global NCAP’s top safety rating.
HYUNDAI AXES SANTA FE DIESEL
More and more automakers are giving up on trying to develop diesels for the U.S. market. The Europeans pretty much gave up after diesel gate. Honda and Mazda tried for years before they threw in the towel. And now Hyundai is the latest to give up. It was going to put a turbo diesel in the Santa Fe, but those plans were deep sixed. Even so, sales of diesels are doing quite well, thanks to diesel pickup trucks. Last month sales of diesels were up 2.7% even though the overall market was down. So far this year 494,000 pickups and vans were sold with diesel engines.
There’s only 6 more shopping days to Christmas, and we’ll show you which cars might be the best to put on your shopping list. That’s coming up next.
HOW TO AVOID TRUMP’S IMPORT TARIFFS
If you’re a Chinese car company and want to get around U.S. import tariffs, here’s how you do it. Qiantu Motors and California electric vehicle manufacturer Mullen Technologies are going to build and sell an exotic electric sports car in the U.S. They will import components and use American sourced parts, which they claim will result in an unexpectedly affordable cost, but they don’t say what that cost will be. Called the K50, it features a mix of materials, from an aluminum frame to carbon fiber body pieces. Two electric motors produce just over 400-horsepower and the car can do 0 to 100 kilometers an hour in 4.6 seconds. A 78-kWh battery pack provides an estimated 236-miles of range. The K50 should launch in 2020 and will be sold through Mullen’s distribution networks.
TESTING TIRES WITH AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
Automakers aren’t just developing autonomous technology for transportation, they’re also using it for testing. Recently, BMW showed off a self-driving motorcycle it’s using to improve safety. And now the supplier Continental is using autonomous tech to test tires at a track in Texas. A lot of demand is put on test drivers because even small deviations on the test track can impact the quality and comparability of the results. But the autonomous technology allows researchers to accurately reproduce the test procedures. Maintenance costs for the test track will also be reduced because the vehicle’s route doesn’t vary by more than a few centimeters and that will help reduce wear and tear on the track.
LOOK FOR DISCOUNTS ON THESE VEHICLES
Automakers love to use Christmas as a selling tool. They run all kinds of ads of cars with big red bows on top and offer big discounts. There are now 6 more shopping days until Christmas and we decided to make a list of the 6 cars that will probably get the biggest discounts. But we’re not looking at their Christmas incentives. We’re looking at their days supply. The more those cars have been sitting on dealer’s lots, the better the deal you’ll get. The Fiat Spider is the slowest moving car in the industry, with 355 days supply. And the Honda Ridgeline is the slowest moving pickup truck. But even though there’s only 6 more shopping days, no need to rush down to your local dealer to get one of these vehicles. Take your time. They’ve got plenty of inventory.
| VEHICLES WITH HIGH DAYS SUPPLY | ||
|---|---|---|
| MAKE | MODEL | DAYS SUPPLY |
| Fiat | Spider | 355 |
| Fiat | 500L | 309 |
| Buick | Regal | 241 |
| Chevrolet | Spark | 222 |
| Chevrolet | Sonic | 205 |
| Honda | Ridgeline | 156 |
| Source: WardsAuto | ||
Don’t forget to join us for the last Autoline After Hours of the year, tomorrow. Our guest will be Bill Kozyra, a total gear head, and the CEO of the supplier company TI Automotive. You’ll really appreciate his insights into what’s going on in the auto industry. So join Gary Vasilash and me when we go live at 3 pm Eastern time and give you an insider’s view of what this business is all about.
Coming up next, why in the world are we subsidizing rich people to buy new luxury cars?
WHY WE SHOULDN’T SUBSIDIZE CARS FOR THE RICH
President Trump wants EV subsidies eliminated. GM and Tesla want them expanded. And I say they should only go to the average American. When you buy an electric car, Uncle Sam will give you a $7,500 tax credit. That’s a nice incentive to buy a shiny new car. But should the government be subsidizing wealthy Americans to buy a car that they probably would have bought anyway? Most electric cars cost anywhere from $50,000 to $120,000. Should we really be spending taxpayer money to subsidize luxury cars that the average taxpayer cannot afford? Seems to me those subsidies would be a lot fairer if they only went to average car buyers, those who could not afford an electric car unless they’re subsidized. That means EV subsidies should be limited to cars that cost $36,000 or less.
Anyway, that’s how I see it. And as always, we welcome your comments and input. With that we wrap up today’s show, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
John McElroy is an influential thought leader in the automotive industry. He is a journalist, lecturer, commentator and entrepreneur. He created “Autoline Daily,” the first industry webcast of industry news and analysis.
