AD #2513 – Nissan Equips Altima With Snow Tracks, Hyundai Updates the IONIQ, Tesla Slashes Workforce

On today’s show…Nissan puts snow tracks on the Altima…Hyundai updates the IONIQ…and why the 5.0L V8 powering the Mustang is one of the best engines you can buy. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.

TESLA SLASHES WORKFORCE
In an effort to cut costs and save cash, Tesla announced its cutting 7% of its workforce. This is the second job cut in the last seven months for the company. Tesla is still trying to stabilize Model 3 production while making the company profitable in the long term. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company also expects its fourth-quarter profit to be lower than the previous quarter. He said thanks to shipments of higher priced variants of the Model 3, and with some luck, the company should post a “tiny” profit.

NISSAN CUTS JOBS IN MISSISSIPPI
But it’s not the only company making cuts. Nissan announced its laying off 700 contract workers at its Canton, Mississippi plant due to slow sales of its commercial vans and Titan pickup. Production of its NV vans will be reduced to one shift from two and the Titan and Frontier will have shifts cut from three to two. According to Bloomberg, Nissan sold more than 165,000 Titan, Frontier and NV vans in the U.S. last year. Even though it exports some of those vehicles to other countries, the total is well short of the plant’s capacity to build 450,000 vehicles annually.

Still to come…Ford creates a camper version of the Transit van.

Be sure to check out our coverage Detroit auto show, brought to you by Continental Structural Plastics. Just look for those videos in the Autoline on the Road section of our website or on our YouTube channel.

HYUNDAI UPDATES THE IONIQ
Hyundai is giving the IONIQ Hybrid and Plug-in models a slight refresh. The exterior remains mostly unchanged, but you will notice a new grille pattern as well as new lighting designs in the head and taillight assemblies. The interior sees a new, optional 10 and a quarter inch display screen with voice recognition software and over-the-air updates. It’s also equipped with Green-zone Drive Mode, which automatically switches the vehicle’s driving module in designated areas to use more energy from the electric motor, rather than from the engine. The new IONIQ hybrid models will first be introduced in Europe in the second half of the year.

FORD CREATES CAMPER VERSION OF THE TRANSIT
Commercial vans can seemingly be outfitted in an unlimited number of ways and here’s the latest from Ford and Nissan. The Ford Transit Custom Nugget is a camper van that will now be available right from Ford’s European dealers. It comes with either a pop-up or fixed roof and in a standard or long wheel-base, which provides even more storage and a built-in toilet. Other creature comforts include two fold out beds, a kitchenette and an outdoor shower. With new motorhome sales topping 100,000 units for the first time in Europe in 2017, we can see why Ford would want to offer a van like this.

NISSAN REVEALS NV300 CONCEPT
As for Nissan, the NV300 Concept-van showcases how the cargo area could be converted into the ultimate woodworker’s space. Most interesting to us is this portable power pack that’s made from second-life Nissan LEAF batteries. With a capacity of 700Wh it would be able to power a number of tools or devices.

NISSAN EQUIPS ALTIMA WITH SNOW TRACKS
And speaking of Nissan, it’s converting another one of its vehicles to drive on a track system. But it may not be what you’re expecting. This time they’re using a Nissan Altima as a way to promote its all-wheel drive system. I know some of you will scoff at this, but, come on, embrace the ridiculousness of it. Have some fun, it’s Friday. Think how sweet it would be to rip through the snow in this thing. I know I am.

We’ll be back with more, right after this.

WARDS 10 BEST ENGINES
Every year, the staff at WardsAuto chooses the 10 Best Engines you can buy. Making a return from last year’s list is the 5.0L V8 in the Ford Mustang. This year they got to test it in the Bullitt and we’re blown away by how much fun it is drive. In the following clip, several editors from Wards explain why it made the cut.

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

To learn about the other 9 engines and propulsion systems that made the list, you can watch that entire discussion right now on our website, Autoline.tv or just look for it on our YouTube channel.

And after you watch that, check out our latest Autoline Spotlight from WardsAuto and Ally, which looks at whether dealers can sell financing and insurance without a dedicated F&I person. That discussion is available to watch right now.

But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching and have a great weekend.