AD #2528 – VW Adds More Power to The Jetta, VW Willing to Share EV Platform, Winter Weather Kills EV Range

This is Autoline Daily reporting on the global automotive industry.

Hi I’m Sean McElroy. It’s February 8th, 2019. And now the news.

VW WILLING TO SHARE EV PLATFORM
Hey, would you like to start your own electric car company? It should be pretty easy. Volkswagen says it’s willing to share its MEB platform with any car company that wants to use it. The MEB platform is a flexible architecture to accommodate different kinds of EVs. And Tesla says it will share its electric powertrain technology with anyone who wants to use it. So put the two together and badda-boom, badda-bing, you’ve got an EV without paying a penny for R&D.

GHOSN IN TROUBLE OVER WEDDING COSTS
Uh-oh, now Renault is turning on Carlos Ghosn. Renault told authorities that it had a sponsorship deal with the Chateau de Versailles for 50,000 euros, and now it found out that the money also paid for Ghosn’s wedding costs. Ghosn threw an extravagant wedding party for his second marriage in 2016 at Versailles where everyone was dressed up in Marie Antoinette-era costumes. Remember her? “Let them eat cake,” she said of her starving countrymen. But that was before she went to the guillotine. A spokesman for Ghosn says that he’ll now reimburse Renault the cost of the wedding.  

JOHN DINGELL PASSES AWAY
The auto industry lost one of its staunchest supporters. John Dingell, the former congressman from Michigan, passed away yesterday at the age of 92. Dingell, a Democrat, was a voice of reason who had a long track record of getting legislation enacted by working with both sides of the aisle. He was equally comfortable talking with corporate executives or factory workers. And he’s in the history books as the longest serving congressman ever, winning 30 consecutive elections.

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young once sang, “Won’t you please come to Chicago for a ride.” Coming up next, we’ll show you the new rides that just got unveiled at the Chicago Auto show.

KIA REFRESHES THE SPORTAGE
There were a number of new vehicles unveiled in Chicago. Let’s start with the new Kia Sportage. As you can see the styling has been refreshed at both the front and rear. It also adds new convenience and driver assist features. The Sportage has two engine options, a 2.4L gas engine or a 2.0L turbo, which are both mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. It will go on sale sometime in the first half of this year, with pricing to be announced closer to its on-sale date.

KIA TELLURIDE PRICING
Speaking of Kia, it revealed pricing for the all-new Telluride. The base, two-wheel drive LX model starts at a little under $33,000, including destination charges. A top-of-the-line SX with all-wheel drive will start at about $46,500. The Telluride goes on sale this spring.

VW ADDS MORE POWER TO THE JETTA
Volkswagen took the wraps off a performance version of the Jetta called the GLI. In addition to its sportier look, it features a sport suspension, which lowers the car by about half an inch compared to the standard Jetta. It also uses the same brakes as the GTI and Golf R. The Jetta GLI is powered by a 2.0L turbo engine which can be mated to a six-speed manual or a seven-speed DCT. It’s black interior with red stitching on the steering wheel, shifter, armrest and floormats, also helps set it apart from the regular model. The new Jetta GLI will start hitting dealer showrooms this spring.

SUBARU UPDATES THE LEGACY
Subaru revealed the new Legacy. It’s now built on Subaru’s Global Platform and comes standard with an updated 2.5L BOXER engine. XT models are powered by a 2.4L turbocharged BOXER that cranks out 260 horsepower. Both engines are mated to a CVT and come with stop/start technology. The interior is highlighted by a big 11.6-inch touchscreen for the infotainment system. The new Subaru Legacy hits dealerships this fall.

NEW NISSAN ROGUE SPORT REVEALED
Nissan refreshed the 2-row Rogue Sport. The hood, V-motion grille and bumper are all-new up front as is the lighting signature at the rear. ProPILOT Assist, Nissan Safety Shield 360 and an updated audio system are now available features as well. The Rogue Sport goes on sale this fall.

Say, do you use Waze? Well the New York City Police just slapped a cease-and-desist order on one of the features that Waze offers, and that’s coming up next.

WINTER WEATHER KILLS EV RANGE
We all knew that cold weather hurts the range of electric vehicles. And now the AAA has put some hard numbers on it. It tested a BMW i3, Chevy Bolt, Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model S and the Volkswagen e-Golf on a dynamometer and found that at 20 degrees Fahrenheit, the average range drops by 41% when the heater is on. That means owners have to charge more frequently at those temps, which AAA found adds $25 more for every 1,000 miles driven compared to when it is 75 degrees outside. But it’s not just cold weather. Hot temps can hurt range too. At 95 degrees Fahrenheit, range decreased 17% with the air conditioning on.

TOYOTA INTRODUCES NEW SAFETY SOFTWARE
Toyota’s Total Human Model for Safety software or THUMS for short simulates body injuries caused by crashes. The first version came out in 2000 and it’s now showing off the 6th iteration of the software. Updates include internal organ modeling and a new muscle model combined together, which allows it to simulate a variety of occupant postures, including braced and relaxed. As automated systems and vehicles continue to advance, passengers will not always be riding in their traditional positions and this software will help to understand how that has an impact on injuries.

NYPD SENDS CEASE-AND-DESIST LETTER TO WAZE
The popular navigation app, Waze, which is owned by Google, is under fire from the NYPD. Streetsblog reports that the New York Police Department sent a cease-and-desist letter to Waze demanding that it disable the feature that allows users to warn other drivers about police checkpoints. The NYPD says posting the location of DUI checkpoints could be considered illegal. No legal action has been taken yet and as of now it doesn’t sound like Google plans make any changes.

But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and have a great weekend.