Follow us on social media:
Runtime: 6:30
0:07 UAW Strike Enters Third Week
0:27 Former UAW PR Directors Blast Leadership
1:27 Nissan Wants to Oust Ghosn Whistleblower
2:22 Volvo & Geely Merge Engine Operations
3:12 Ford Updates European Models
3:54 NASA Tests First Electric Plane
4:40 Dow Offers Parts for Battery Market
5:11 Toyota Teaching Robots with VR
Visit our sponsor to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bridgestone
This is Autoline Daily reporting on all aspects of the global automotive industry.
UAW STRIKE ENTERS THIRD WEEK
The UAW strike against General Motors is into its third week and going a lot longer than anyone expected. As we keep saying, it’s in the union’s leadership interest to drag this out as long as possible because once negotiations are wrapped up, all eyes will turn back to the corruption scandal in the union.
FORMER UAW PR DIRECTORS BLAST LEADERSHIP
On Friday, two former public relations directors of the UAW condemned the corruption in an editorial in the Detroit Free Press. They called for all the top leadership of the union and their direct reports to resign. They criticized the institutional code of silence where no one says anything about illegal activities in the union. And they especially complained that a senior union leader, Vance Pearson, who was indicted by federal authorities on corruption charges, was still an officer in good standing, and that not one union official publicly called for him to step down. On Saturday night, the UAW quietly put Vance Pearson on paid leave. To us, putting an indicted union official on paid leave is like giving him some vacation time. And it shows that the union leadership is merely circling the wagons rather than dealing with an existential crisis that could permanently cripple it
NISSAN WANTS TO OUST GHOSN WHISTLEBLOWER
Now over to Japan for another corruption story. Nissan wants to oust the executive who blew the whistle on former CEO Carlos Ghosn. Bloomberg reports that senior vice president, Hari Nada, is being pressured to leave and could be forced to resign, as early as tomorrow during the company’s board meeting. It turns out that he was involved in a scheme where he too was paid more money than he was supposed to get. And that’s how crazy this corruption case at Nissan is turning out to be. Now there’s whistleblowers calling out the whistleblowers.
VOLVO & GEELY MERGE ENGINE OPERATIONS
Volvo is going to spin off its combustion engine operations and merge them with a new company owned by its parent company Geely. The new engine operation will supply all of Geely’s brands including Lotus, Lynk and Proton. The engine group will build roughly two million engines a year which will save a ton of money on components and development. Volvo only makes about 600,000 engines a year. Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson says this, “is another step transforming our company in the direction of electrification.” But that’s the propaganda part of the announcement. The real news is that this is going to take a huge burden off Volvo’s books which is going to instantly make the company more profitable.
FORD UPDATES EUROPEAN MODELS
Let’s move over to Europe where Ford is updating its people movers, the S-MAX and Galaxy. Both get new front end designs, which includes changes to the grille and lower fascia. In fact, all trim lines get their own unique front end designs, including the Galaxy Vignale, which is new to the Galaxy lineup. That model also gets more premium materials and features added to the interior. Speaking of the interior, connectivity features have been enhanced in both models and new 18-way adjustable seats are available as well. The new S-MAX and Galaxy can be ordered now in Europe.
NASA TESTS FIRST ELECTRIC PLANE
NASA is developing an electric aircraft called the X-57 Maxwell, which is into its second modification stage. This means that NASA will start ground tests that precede actually trying to fly the plane. The idea is to use electric planes for regional trips. It’s designed to carry about 9 passengers and reach a cruising speed of 172 mph at 8,000 feet. While a plane like this is years away from commercial use, it shows that electric propulsion continues to make a lot of progress.
DOW OFFERS PARTS FOR BATTERY MARKET
Every automaker in the world is trying to bring down the cost of batteries for electric cars. And automotive suppliers see a lot of business opportunities. Dow is offering a host of different materials needed to make batteries, including faster curing adhesives that will speed up battery production. They even have electrically conductive adhesives. Dow also supplies silicones, foam and carbon fiber trays that go into battery production.
TOYOTA TEACHING ROBOTS WITH VR
The world’s population is aging at a fast rate, so to assist older people in their homes, Toyota is teaching robots to perform household tasks. But it’s difficult because each home is unique with different layouts. So the company is using virtual reality to train the robots. The system allows the human trainer to see what the robot sees live, in 3D, from its sensors. Instead of teaching the robots specific tasks, the trainers teach the robots arbitrary tasks with a variety of objects. This way the robot learns to link what it sees with the actions it is taught. The robots don’t need a map of the house, they only need to understand the objects around it that are relevant to a task being performed to maneuver. And once a robot is trained, all of the robots learn it. Toyota says this system could also be used in the factory to teach robots repetitive manufacturing tasks.
And that brings us to the end of today’s report, thanks for watching.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
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.