AD #2637 – BMW iNEXT’s Polygonal Steering Wheel, Ghosn Sues Nissan, Cummins Wants to Buy MAN Energy

This is Autoline Daily reporting on the global automotive industry.

GHOSN SUES NISSAN AND MITSUBISHI
They say that revenge is sweet and so Carlos Ghosn is suing Nissan and Mitsubishi. Ghosn wants nearly $17 million in damages. But he knows better than to file his lawsuit in Japan. He filed in the Netherlands and for several reasons. The holding company for the Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance is incorporated in the Netherlands and Ghosn uses the country as his tax domicile. Also, in the Netherlands if you want to fire an executive you have tell them why and provide evidence, which Nissan hasn’t done. The court is currently reviewing the suit but hasn’t set a trial date yet.

CUMMINS MAKES OFFER TO BUY MAN ENERGY
Volkswagen is interested in selling off business units to raise money for its electric car investments, so Cummins wants to buy MAN Energy Solutions, which makes large diesel engines for ships and power stations. VW announced in May that it expects to get around 3 billion euros for MAN Energy. Two other companies also want the unit, according to Reuters, so there could be a bidding war.

MAHLE’S INTEGRATED THERMAL SYSTEM
One of the problems with electric cars is that their driving range plummets in cold winter weather. So the supplier MAHLE developed a heat pump that can increase the winter cruising range by 7 to 20 percent by reducing the load on the battery. They call it an integrated thermal system or I-T-S. It uses a refrigerant circuit, comprising a chiller, a coolant-cooled condenser, a thermal expansion valve, and an electric drive compressor. But instead of exchanging heat with air, the R1234yf refrigerant exchanges heat with the conventional vehicle coolant, which generates hot and cold coolant flows. So it can also cool the cabin in hot weather. The heat pump uses less energy than the heaters or A/C units in today’s electric cars.

BMW iNEXT FEATURES POLYGONAL STEERING WHEEL
Ford and Waymo have said they’re going to skip Level 3 autonomous driving because the handoff between the driver and vehicle is too complicated, but BMW has a simple solution it thinks will help. The BMW iNEXT, which launches in 2021 with autonomous driving capabilities, will have a polygon-shaped steering wheel. The automaker says this makes it much easier to recognize the steering angle based on the position of the steering wheel. The side sections of the wheel are also embedded with optical fibers, which lets the driver know when automated driving is available and when they need to take over. Other benefits of the shape include more room to enter and exit the vehicle and move your legs when driving autonomously and the driver gets a better view of the instrument cluster. 

LYFT ADDS NYC SUBWAY AND BUS INFO TO APP
Mobility providers want to be your one-stop-shop for any commuting or travelling services you may need and to that end Lyft is adding New York City subway directions and bus stops to its app. The information is provided in real-time, but users will not be able to pay for a ride through the Lyft app. The company says this is all about reaching its goal of offering the world’s best transportation.

WEEKEND RACING RESULTS
In racing news over the weekend, Kevin Harvick powered his Ford Mustang to his first victory of the season at the NASCAR race in New Hampshire. In IndyCar racing, Josef Newgarden dominated the short oval in Iowa in his Penske Chevrolet. And in NHRA Funny Cars, Tommy Johnson ran 4.102-seconds at 308.50 mph in his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat.

A PEEK INTO THE FORD DCT STORY
Did you see last week’s Autoline After Hours? We had a fascinating segment with Phoebe Howard, a reporter from the Detroit Free Press, talking about how she went about reporting on problems Ford is having with DCT transmissions in the Fiesta and Focus. Her story is a blockbuster and triggered a firestorm. Here’s a clip from that show.

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

That show gives you a good idea of the legwork it takes to dig up all the information and follow the leads for a story like this, and you can watch that entire interview on our website and youTube channel.

With that we wrap up today’s show, thanks for watching.