AD #2902 – Porsche Investigated Over Gas Engine Emissions; Peugeot Celebrates 210 Years; Rivian Focuses on Interior Luxury

This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.

PORSCHE INVESTIGATED OVER GASOLINE ENGINE EMISSIONS
Porsche is under investigation for using illegal software and hardware to cheat on emissions regulations. And this time it involves gasoline engines. Last year, Porsche was fined over $600 million for cheating on diesel engines. Authorities are looking at engines made from 2008 through 2013 that were used in the 911 and Panamera. Here’s our Autoline Insight. Maybe Porsche will get off a little easier this time around because it was Porsche that actually alerted the authorities that something was wrong. That’s kind of like turning yourself into the police after committing a crime. And the courts tend to go a little easier if you turn yourself in.

SATO WINS INDY 500
Honda went to the Indianapolis 500 loaded for bear. Not only did it win the race, with Takuma Sato taking his second win at the 500, Honda took the first four positions and eight of the top ten. In fact, Chevrolet powered cars were never in contention for the win. 

C8 CORVETTE TAKES TOP SPOT IN IMSA RACE
But Chevrolet got some consolation with the C8 Corvette taking its fourth win in a row at IMSA’s Sports Car Championship race at the Virginia International Raceway. It takes good luck, fortunate timing and perfect teamwork to win in that series, but winning four in a row shows that the C8 is one super competitive car. 

HAMLIN & HARVICK WIN AT DOVER OVER WEEKEND
In NASCAR, Denny Hamiln powered his Toyota Camry to win Saturday’s race at the Dover International Speedway, while Kevin Harvick took the win on Sunday in his Ford Mustang.

CORNING LOOKS TO DOUBLE AUTO BUSINESS
You’re about to see a lot more Corning glass inside your car, your truck or your utility vehicle. The company has been involved in automotive for over 100 years and by 2023 expects to double its business in this industry. Almost all new concepts feature curved display screens and Corning sees that as a big growth area. It’s automotive-grade Gorilla glass can be cold-formed for these kinds of applications and since September of last year, Chinese customers have been able to buy an example of Corning’s work in GAC’s Aion LX SUV. But one complaint I always see about display screens is that they get washed out by the sun. So, we often see those little hats that automakers put over them to block sun out. But Corning is working on anti-reflective coatings so that even if a screen is in direct sunlight the driver would still be able to see the necessary readouts. Lastly, the company is expanding into gas particulate filters. It uses ceramic substrates or that honeycomb mesh you see when you look into a catalytic converter, to neutralize pollutants and filter particulates. Right now, Corning says it generates about $15 of revenue per car that its technologies are used in. But with these new areas of business it thinks it can up that to $100 per car.

RIVIAN FOCUSES ON INTERIOR LUXURY
Tesla is clearly the leader in EVs, but we’re starting to see other EV makers attack its weaknesses. Rivian’s director of crafted quality says that it’s “benchmarking the greatest” luxury interiors, like Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini and Lincoln to “ensure our new vehicles are truly world-class.” To do that, Rivian will use rich textures, quality materials, develop solid-feeling controls and even draw on sounds generated from moving parts and the user interface. Tesla has always been knocked for its interiors and so we’ve seen Lucid and now Rivian say the interior is one of their main focuses. 

CONTINENTAL DEVELOPS BLIND-SPOT WARNING FOR TRUCKS
It can be difficult for commercial truck drivers to see cyclists and pedestrians in their blind spot while making a right turn. That’s why the supplier Continental has developed a retrofit system to help truck drivers and protect road users. Called RightViu, it uses a radar system to detect whether a cyclist or pedestrian is in a blind spot and warns the driver through audio and visual warnings on the A-Pillar if someone is in their path. Continental says the system can be connected to other warning systems in the vehicle and thanks to its flexible design, it can be adapted to any vehicle model.

JAGUAR LAND ROVER TESTING NEW ALUMINUM RECYCLING METHOD
Jaguar Land Rover is testing out a new recycling method that it says helps reduce carbon emissions. It takes aluminum waste from cans, bottle tops and end of life vehicles and upcycles them into car parts. For those of you who don’t know what upcycling is, it’s repurposing old materials while maintaining some of their original characteristics. In Jaguar Land Rover’s case, it’s using old aluminum parts and mixing it with a lower amount of primary aluminum to form a new, prototype alloy that’s comparable in grade and quality to what the automaker currently uses. Not only does it pass strength and quality test standards, it reduces CO2 emissions from aluminum production by up to 26%.

FORD INTRODUCES POP-UP ROOF FOR TRANSIT CUSTOM
The Covid-related lockdowns have triggered a boom in products related to outdoor activities. Sales of bicycles, motorcycles and motor homes are going through the roof. And just in time to take advantage of all that, Ford of Europe is coming out with a pop-up roof for the Transit Custom van. It was developed with Westfalia, the company that helped make Volkswagen vans famous for their pop-up roofs. Ford also makes a version with a permanent tall roof, but the pop-up means the van can fit in more garages. 

PEUGEOT CELEBRATES 210TH ANNIVERSARY
Automakers such as Ford, Fiat, BMW, Daimler and General Motors have celebrated their 100th anniversaries. Pretty impressive. Very few companies survive for 100 years. But they ain’t got nothin’ on Peugeot. On September 26, it’s going to celebrate its 210th anniversary. That’s right, Peugeot was founded in 1810 when it started making hoops for women’s skirts which was all the rage then. It started making cars in 1889 and is still going strong today.

That’s all we’ve got for you today, but we’ll be right back here again tomorrow with more automotive news.