AD #2509 – Ford Reveals All-New Explorer, Valeo Makes Trailers Disappear, FCA to Pay Big Diesel Fine

On today’s show… Ford takes the wraps off the new Explorer… FCA is hit with a hefty fine over diesel emissions… and the supplier Valeo comes out with new technology to make towing trailers easier. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

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FORD REVEALS ALL-NEW 2020 EXPLORER
Ford introduced the 2020 Explorer yesterday that’s been completely redesigned from the ground up. As you likely already know, it’s now built on a new rear-drive architecture, which, when seen in person, changes the stance of the vehicle a little bit. We’ve already highlighted a few of the styling changes to the front, but at the rear you’ll notice the chrome bar below the window no longer extends all the way to the taillights, which now have a blocky, C-shaped design more like Ford’s trucks. The character line below the taillights and liftgate handle have also been removed, which cleans up the look. Despite all this, the new Explorer still looks very similar to the outgoing model. But one place you’re likely not to mistake old for new is the interior, especially with vertically mounted optional 10.1-inch touchscreen and 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. The standard system comes with an 8-inch touchscreen. Speaking of standard, a 2.3L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine is available that’s expected to produce 300-horsepower. But a 365-horsepower 3.0L twin turbo V6 will also be available on Platinum trim levels. Both engines are paired to a 10-speed automatic transmission. There will also be hybrid and ST models for the first time as well. Look for the new Explorer in dealer showrooms this summer.

FORD & VW TO ANNOUNCE ALLIANCE IN DETROIT
And speaking of Ford, we’re going to get details about its long-rumored alliance with Volkswagen at next week’s Detroit auto show. The two companies have been in talks since last year about co-developing vehicles and technology in order to cut costs.

FORD TO MAKE BIG CUTS IN EUROPE
And just ahead of that announcement, Ford revealed its going to cut thousands of jobs in Europe. The company will stop making transmissions at its plant in France and it’s considering closing other plants in the region as well. In addition to that, Ford will exit the MPV segment, which are vans, to focus on crossovers. The cuts are part of a turnaround plan to achieve a 6% operating margin in Europe.

JLR SLASHING JOBS IN THE UK
But it’s not just Ford making cuts in the region. Jaguar Land Rover also plans to slash thousands of jobs in the UK as well. Slumping sales in China and a drop in diesel sales, which the company relies heavily on, is forcing it to make the cuts. JLR lost $450 million between April and September of last year.

Still to come… Hyundai develops new technology to help hearing-impaired drivers.

Don’t forget to check our our coverage of CES provided by our signature sponsor ZF. We get the inside scoop about the new technology automakers and suppliers are showing off at the show. Look for those reports in the Autoline on the Road section of our website at Autoline.tv.

VALEO MAKES TRAILERS DISAPPEAR
French supplier Valeo wants to make it safer and easier to tow a trailer. Its XtraVue technology mounts a camera on the rear of the trailer and stitches the image together with the other cameras on the vehicle to display a feed inside that makes it look as if the trailer is not even there. It allows the driver to see lane markings, road signs, traffic at intersections and even the vehicles directly behind you. And I’ve got to imagine that it makes backing up a trailer a lot easier.

HYUNDAI IMPROVES DRIVING FOR HEARING IMPAIRED
People with poor or no hearing can develop a better sense of touch and sight and Hyundai is tapping into those highly developed senses to help improve driving for the hearing impaired. It used artificial intelligence to to analyze external sound patterns and convert them into ways to communicate with the driver. For example, sounds of emergency vehicles are shown as pictograms in the head-up display. The steering wheel is also equipped with lights that indicate navigation directions and will vibrate to give information about things outside the vehicle, like distance from obstacles.

The U.S. government just slapped FCA with a big fine and we’ll share those details, right after this.

FCA TO PAY ABOUT $650 MILLION IN DIESEL FINES
Yesterday, we reported that FCA is nearing a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over cheating on diesel emissions. And now we know what the penalty will be. According to the AP, FCA will pay over $650 million in fines. Around $310 million will go to the federal government and the state of California, while $280 million will be set aside for compensating vehicle owners, about $2,8000 per owner. And another $72 million will go towards settling claims with other states. FCA won’t have to admit any wrongdoing as part of the deal. The company is accused of equipping diesels with software that allows the engine to pass emission tests in the lab but allow it to exceed standards in certain situations on the road. More than 104,000, Ram and Jeeps were equipped with the software.

And a programming note here. There isn’t a new Autoline After Hours this afternoon. But the show will be back next week, January 17th, with David Twohig, the Chief Vehicle Engineer at the EV startup Byton.

Also, Autoline Daily will be off next Monday and Tuesday because we’ll be down at the Detroit auto show. So be on the lookout for that coverage on the 14th and 15th on our website, Autoline.tv.

But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.