AD #2538 – Whistleblowers Speak Up at Ford, Trump Breaks Off Talks w/ CARB, New Porsche 911’s Active Aerodynamics

This is Autoline Daily reporting on the global automotive industry.

WHISTLEBLOWERS SPEAK UP AT FORD
Uh-oh, looks like somebody is in trouble at Ford. The company put out a statement yesterday saying its computer modeling for fuel economy and emissions tests might not be right and it alerted the EPA and the California Air Resources Board. Here’s where it gets interesting. Ford knew about the problem back in September. The company became aware of it when a handful of employees used an internal communication protocol called Speak Up to tell the higher-ups about problems in the company. Here’s our Autoline Insight. Let me translate. Speak Up is the equivalent of an internal whistleblower program. It’s there to use when your boss is doing something wrong, or trying to cover something up. Ford is also hiring outside technical experts to evaluate its modeling. Clearly it wants an independent evaluation of its own procedures. But that also suggests it doesn’t trust its own managers. Even though the Sierra Club is criticizing Ford for taking months to report this, I actually commend the company. First, for establishing the Speak Up system. Secondly, for alerting the EPA and CARB that it had a problem. Far better you tell the authorities there’s a problem, then to have them come tell you there’s a problem.

TRUMP BREAKS OFF TALKS WITH CARB
Speaking of the California Air Resources Board, the Trump Administration broke off negotiations with it over greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy regulations. The White House said the talks were going nowhere. This is a bad result for the automotive industry. While it does want some relief from the current regulations that run until 2025, it did not want to see this end up in court, where it will take years to settle. Besides suing the EPA, California will set its own rules, which will be followed by 13 other states. The last thing the auto industry wants to see is two different sets of rules for emissions and fuel economy, because that is going to turn into a logistical and regulatory nightmare.

We’ll be back after this message from ExxonMobil about how to improve the fuel economy of cars or how to get more range out of electrics.

FCA PAYS FIRST EVER DIVIDEND
Good news at FCA. For the first time in Fiat-Chrysler’s history it’s going to pay a dividend to shareholders. That’s what you can do when you pay off all your debts. FCA will pay 74 cents per share, which translates to a 5% yield based on yesterday’s closing price.

CR YANKS TESLA MODEL 3 RECOMMENDATION
And there’s bad news and good news at Tesla. First the bad. Consumer Reports yanked its recommendation for the Model 3, citing problems with body hardware, paint and trim. Tesla stock dropped $10 a share on the news. And yet, Model 3 buyers don’t seem to care that much. The Model 3 has the highest customer satisfaction rating on Consumer Reports’ survey. It’s kind of like the Jeep Wrangler. It doesn’t get good quality ratings, but they can’t build them fast enough.

TESLA MODEL X MORE EFFICIENT THAN AUDI e-Tron, JAGUAR I-PACE
Meanwhile, the German rental car company nextmove compared a Tesla Model X to a Jaguar I-Pace and Audi e-Tron. They drove the vehicles on the autobahn for about 54 miles at 75 miles an hour and found that the Audi e-Tron used 23% more energy on that trip, while the i-Pace used 26% more. That’s amazing. The Model X came out in 2015, yet it’s more efficient than the latest and greatest 2019 EVs from Audi and Jaguar.

NEW 911 MORE AERODYNAMIC
Porsche is gearing up for the intro of the new 911 with this detailed video of it’s adaptive aerodynamics. The air vents in the lower front bumper feature active grille shutters that provide the right amount of air flow depending on the speed of the vehicle. They’ll stay open at slow speeds, but close up completely at 70 km/h to provide the least amount of drag. At 90 km/h the rear spoiler kicks up slightly to keep drag at a minimum, but still keep the car stable. And finally at 170 km/h, the grille shutters open all the way for maximum cooling and the rear spoiler tilts up even higher to help keep the rear tires planted. There’s even an Air Brake position for the rear spoiler that helps improve stopping distance from 170 km/h. As you see in the video, this could be useful for those times slower traffic cuts you off.

MASERATI GOING ELECTRIC
Maserati announced it’s making upgrades to its plant in Modena, Italy to make way for a new electrified sports car. It’s going to be based on the Alfieri concept that debuted in 2014. While that vehicle featured a V8 engine, the production car will have the choice of a hybrid V6 powertrain or a all-electric option. Performance is said to be in the 2-second range for 0 to 60 with a top speed around 185 MPH. Production will start in the first half of 2020 with cars hitting North American shores early the next year.

KIA’S NEWEST EV
Speaking of EVs, Kia showed this teaser image of a new electric vehicle it will have in Geneva. We really like how it’s using light to define the front end, rather than a big, useless grille. Kia says the concept will be a signpost for its approach to electrification.

FORD LEARNED A LOT FROM CHARIOT
A little over a month ago, Ford axed Chariot, its on-demand shuttle service because it wasn’t profitable. But that doesn’t mean it was a total bust. On Autoline This Week, Jim Farley, Ford’s President of Global Markets, told us it learned a lot from the service.

(Clip from ATW #2305 can only be viewed in the video version of today’s show.)

Jim Farley shares a lot about where Ford is headed in that show and you can watch it right now on our website, Autoline.tv or on our YouTube channel.

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