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Runtime: 6:12
0:07 FCA Management Changes
0:41 Cruise Now Valued At $19 Billion
1:08 Porsche Fined Over Diesel Cheating
1:32 FCA Settles Diesel Lawsuit with Owners
2:54 New Driving Mode for Google Assistant
3:39 Ford Expands Medical Transport Business
4:22 Mack Trucks Unveils Electric Garbage Truck
5:05 C-Clamp Design Cue Makes Pickups Look Tough
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This is Autoline Daily reporting on the global automotive industry.
FCA MANAGEMENT CHANGES
Jeep has a new leader. It just named Christian Meunier, as its new Global President of the brand. Meunier was Chairman of Infiniti before joining Jeep. FCA CEO Mike Manley had been running Jeep prior to poaching Meunier. Christian Vandenhende, Nissan’s Chief Quality Officer, will run Infiniti until a new chairman is named. In other FCA management news, Steve Beahm, the head of the company’s passenger car brands in North America, announced he’s retiring from the automaker.
CRUISE NOW VALUED AT $19 BILLION
GM’s autonomous unit, Cruise, just received another big investment. It secured $1.15 billion from a group of investors including T. Rowe Price and current partners Softbank and Honda. The new investment brings Cruise’s valuation to $19 billion. Cruise plans to launch an autonomous ride-hailing service sometime this year.
PORSCHE FINED OVER DIESEL CHEATING
Another brand in the VW Group is being fined over diesel emission cheating. German prosecutors just imposed a nearly $600 million fine on Porsche for selling diesel powered vehicles that exceed emission standards. VW and Audi have already been fined 1 billion and 800 million euros respectively by German authorities.
FCA SETTLES DIESEL LAWSUIT WITH OWNERS
In related news, FCA just settled a lawsuit to compensate owners who bought vehicles that violated diesel emission regulations. Owners of Ram 1500’s and Jeep Grand Cherokee’s with a 3.0L EcoDiesel V6 engine from model years 2014 to 2016, are eligible to get up to $3,075 in compensation. FCA will update the emissions control software and provide an extended warranty covering up to 10 years or 120,000 miles. Owners have 21 months to file a claim with a deadline of February, 2021.
Make sure you tune into Autoline After Hours tomorrow afternoon. Joining John and Gary is Ryan Eustice, the senior VP of automated driving at the Toyota Research Institute. He’ll be bringing a modified Lexus LS equipped with its self-driving technology to the studio. So, if you have any questions, send them our way to viewermail@autoline.tv. That’s this Thursday at 3PM eastern time.
NEW DRIVING MODE FOR GOOGLE ASSISTANT
If you wish your car had Android Auto but it doesn’t have that capability, you may be in luck. Google has announced a new driving mode for Google Assistant. It has a very similar layout to Android Auto and performs many of the same functions. As it’s a driving mode, the system is mainly controlled through voice commands that are prompted by saying “Hey, Google.” Most people will use it for navigation, which also includes traffic warnings, but you’ll also be able to call and text people using your voice. Google improved the interface between Google Assistant and compatible vehicles as well. It now takes fewer words and/or steps to execute a command. An update should be coming this summer.
FORD EXPANDS MEDICAL TRANSPORT BUSINESS
Ford is expanding its non-emergency medical transportation business, called GoRide Health. It’s starting with Ohio and will move into major cities in Florida later this year. By 2020 it plans to add North Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, and California to the list of states it operates in. GoRide Health will also assist city transit agencies in parts of Ohio for residents who are unable to access other transportation options or need first- and last-mile solutions.
MACK TRUCKS UNVEILS ELECTRIC GARBAGE TRUCK
Mack Trucks unveiled a fully electric garbage truck based on its LR model. It’s powered by two 130-kW electric motors along with four lithium-ion batteries. The truck also features a copper colored bulldog hood ornament to signify that it’s an electric vehicle. The company has partnered with New York City to test the truck starting next year. A garbage truck is a perfect application for an electric drive. The vehicles travel on a fixed route, so range shouldn’t be a problem and the fleet can be charged in a central location. On top of that, the electric garbage trucks will help cut noise pollution, which could allow them to operate at night.
C-CLAMP DESIGN CUE MAKES PICKUPS LOOK TOUGH
Designers like to incorporate design cues that convey what a vehicle is all about. And for full-size pickups they’ve designed the headlamps to kind of look like a c-clamp, or a vise. Ford was the first to come out with a c-clamp design, on the 2015 F-150, and now Chevrolet and Ram have picked up on it. But Chevy and Ram wouldn’t be caught dead copying Ford, so they have their own design variations on it. The whole idea is to convey that these are tough work trucks, and incorporating a vise or a c-clamp into the design does exactly that. One more point, Toyota and Nissan don’t use this on their trucks, and their sales have never gone anywhere. Who knows? Maybe people don’t think their trucks look tough enough.
But that wraps up today’s report, thanks for watching and we’ll see you again tomorrow.
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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.