AD #2704 – Next-Gen VW Golf Debuts, Nissan Tests EV AWD System, GM Suppliers Hit Hard by Strike

This is Autoline Daily reporting on all aspects of the global automotive industry.

UAW STRIKE MAY BE ENDING SOON
The UAW strike against GM sure looks like it’s going to be over this weekend. The union will announce ratification results around 4PM today, and based on results that have already been reported, so far the ratification is 60% in favor and 40% opposed.

GM SUPPLIERS HIT HARD BY STRIKE
The end of that strike can’t come soon enough for GM’s suppliers. French company Valeo reported that the strike will cost it nearly $180 million in sales and around $55 million in operating profit. Valeo says it is cutting costs and scaling back on capital expenditures. We’ve talked with other suppliers who have done the same thing, but haven’t announced it publicly. The Anderson Economic Group estimates that 75,000 workers at supplier companies were temporarily laid off because of the GM strike. Unlike UAW picketers, those supplier workers won’t get any strike pay or an $11,000 contract signing bonus. Most of them lost close to a month’s worth of wages, which must be financially devastating for them. According to the Center for Automotive Research, the communities and states where GM’s plants are located collectively lost a couple of hundred million dollars in payroll and tax revenue. So while the UAW got a good raise for its members, the strike left a path of destruction in its wake. We think there has got to be a better way to settle labor disputes without hurting so many innocent bystanders. 

BOB KRUSE ABRUPTLY RESIGNS FROM KARMA
The CTO of Karma, Bob Kruse, resigned from the company two weeks ago. Kruse was recently a guest on Autoline After Hours where he spoke optimistically about the prospects for the Revero plug-in hybrid as well as the company in general. Karma did not put out a press release that Kruse left the company. It was first reported by Wards, which also reported that Karma’s owner, Wanxiang, slashed Karma’s funding from $400 million to $100 million. Kruse, who is a former GM executive with extensive EV and PHEV experience, tells Autoline he will soon announce that he’s taking on a new job.

ROGER PENSKE AWARDED MEDAL OF FREEDOM
Earlier this year, auto industry icon Roger Penske received the SAE Foundation’s Leadership of the Year Award. And now he’s received an even more prestigious honor. Yesterday, President Trump awarded Penske the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S. In addition to his racing accomplishments, Penske’s businesses touch all aspects of the auto industry including trucking, manufacturing and logistics. Penske said the medal “means more than any business success or motorsports trophy” he’s ever received. If you’d like to learn more about the career of Roger Penske, check out our interview with him on Autoline This Week from earlier this year. Look for the link in today’s transcript or description box below.

FORD TEASES ELECTRIC MUSTANG-INSPIRED SUV
Whether you’re sick of hearing about it or can’t wait to see it, you won’t have to wait much longer until Ford unveils that all-electric, Mustang-Inspired SUV. It will be revealed around the globe on November 17th and the automaker gave us a slightly better idea of what the vehicle will look like in this teaser video. 

NEXT-GEN VW GOLF DEBUTS
The 8th generation Volkswagen Golf made its debut. While the styling has been updated, most notably the head and tail lights, it still looks similar to the outgoing model. It’s the first model in the VW brand lineup to feature connected car technology, which comes standard. The new Golf offers a wide variety of powertrain options, including two four-cylinder gasoline engines, two four-cylinder diesel engines and a natural gas option. On top of that, there’s hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants available. The hybrid features 48V technology, it comes in three different power outputs and can cut fuel consumption by up to 10%. The plug-in hybrid features two different power outputs and is equipped with a 13-kWh lithium-ion battery that provides an all-electric driving range of 60 kilometers, based on the WLTP, which would be about 33 EPA miles. The new Golf will be available in Europe in December.

JAGUAR CREATES NEW EV FOR GRAN TURISMO
Jaguar created a sleek looking EV for the racing video game Gran Turismo Sport, called the Vision Gran Turismo Coupé. While it’s only going to be seen in the virtual world, it could pave the way for more futuristic designs. Styling for the GT Coupé was inspired by classic Jaguar models, like the C-Type and D-Type as well as the newer I-Pace. The GT coupé will be added to Jaguar’s lineup of Gran Turismo-specific cars in the game next month. 

LAMBORGHINI TESTS CARBON FIBER FOR OUTER SPACE
Lamborghini is the first automaker to develop advanced carbon fiber materials that will be used on the International Space Station. It’s working with the ISS U.S. National Laboratory and the Houston Methodist Research Institute. The project will test five different composite materials produced by Lamborghini under the extreme stresses of a space environment. The idea is to use the best performing composite in future Lamborghinis and in medical devices. 

ELON MUSK PREDICTS “CRAZY GROWTH” FOR TESLA ENERGY 
Tesla is starting to make good inroads selling solar panels and battery storage for homes and businesses. They call that business Tesla Energy and Elon Musk says it could grow to be as big as Tesla’s automotive business, maybe bigger. He says that as they went through production hell ramping up the Model 3, they actually stripped engineers away from Tesla Energy, and diverted battery cell production away from home batteries and over to car batteries. But now that the Model 3 launch is behind them Musk says they’re throwing more resources back into Tesla Energy and that we’re going to see “crazy growth” in that business for as far as he can see into the future.

NISSAN TESTS EV AWD SYSTEM ON LEAF
Nissan is testing an all-wheel drive system for its electric vehicles with a Leaf that has front and rear electric motors that are integrated with the chassis control system. It seems as though Nissan took the electric motor currently offered in the Leaf and added another one to the rear. The system produces a little over 300 horsepower and more than 500 lb-ft of torque. Nissan says it offers a “huge leap in acceleration, cornering and braking performance, on par with the latest sports cars” and that the dual motor setup will launch on a next-generation EV. 

NEW MEANING TO RAT RACE
Most human beings enjoy driving in their cars. But guess what? So do rats. They can already recognize objects, hit switches and make their way through mazes, but researchers at the University of Richmond wanted to see if rats could operate a moving vehicle. It turns out they can, and they seem to really enjoy it. Amazingly, once they mastered the task of driving, the rats showed a notable reduction in stress. The researchers also found the rats share something in common with many humans. They’d rather be driving than riding as a passenger.

And with that, we wrap up today’s show, thanks for watching and have a great weekend.