AD #2921 – Yukon Denali a Pleasure to Drive; Trevor Milton Leaves Nikola; Steering Wheel Hand Placement Debate

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

TREVOR MILTON STEPS DOWN AS HEAD OF NIKOLA
And we start off with big news today. Trevor Milton is stepping down as executive chairman of Nikola Motors and as a member of its board. He is being replaced with Steve Girsky, who is currently a board member at Nikola and the former vice chairman of General Motors. Milton’s resignation comes less than two weeks after Hindenburg Research accused Nikola of misleading investors about the capabilities of its fuel cell trucks. That led to the SEC and Department of Justice opening an investigation into the allegations. Milton, who voluntarily stepped down, said in a statement that he’s leaving Nikola because he doesn’t want to be a distraction and wants the focus to remain on the company. Nikola’s stock fell nearly 30% in pre-market trading after the announcement.

KIA LAUNCHES DEALER RENTAL SERVICE
Automakers see a big chance to make lots of money with mobility services. That’s why earlier this year Kia outlined a plan to offer a wide range of mobility services across the globe. And one of those services just launched. It’s called KiaMobility and allows customers to rent vehicles from dealers for a single day or up to a year. Users reserve a vehicle of their choice, pay via a mobile app and then pick-up and drop-off the vehicle at the dealer. It’s first being launched at select dealers in Italy and Russia and then next year Kia will expand it to other European markets as well as Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

VIRTUAL COMPANION FOR AUTOMATED DRIVING
Automated driving technology not only can help prevent accidents for passenger vehicles but commercial trucks as well. But one issue with partially automated systems is making sure the driver can take over control of the vehicle when necessary. That’s why Bosch, Volkswagen, MAN Bus & Truck along with university partners, launched a project to study SAE Level 2 & 3 autonomous capabilities in trucks and the best way to keep drivers engaged when switching between manual and automated driving. The researchers developed a virtual companion that keeps the driver alert, counteracts fatigue and makes the trip as pleasant as possible. And to make sure the driver isn’t tired or distracted, cameras and sensors monitor the driver, which issue audio or visual warnings if the driver isn’t paying attention. While this project looked at commercial trucks, the companies say the technology can also be applied to passenger cars.

BMW USING AUGMENTED REALITY TO SPEED UP DEVELOPMENT
In order to keep up with the competition, it’s important for automakers to get new products out in the market as soon as they can. To help speed up the development process, BMW is using augmented reality technology in concept and prototype engineering. By wearing AR goggles, engineers can overlay virtual parts on a real vehicle body, to see if it can be installed without problems. They can manipulate the augmented parts with their hands to modify the size, position and angle of the components. BMW says the technology can save up to a year on validation.

GMC YUKON DENALI A PLEASURE TO DRIVE
A bright chrome grille has always been the distinguishing feature of any Denali branded vehicle from GMC and you’d be hard pressed to miss the one on the all-new Yukon Denali. Hey, wrong picture. There that’s better. It’s kind of hard in these pictures to convey how big and bright it is, but in-person, it practically slaps you in the face. And while it might be gaudy to some, GMC seems to have the recipe for what Denali customers like locked down. Denali’s account for something like a third of all of GMC’s sales. And the all-new Yukon Denali shouldn’t detract from that success. It’s the latest vehicle to roll through the Autoline Garage that we had the pleasure of driving. And we do mean pleasure. Despite riding on massive 22-inch wheels and tires, the Yukon Denali soaks up the road like a luxury sedan thanks to the new fully independent rear suspension and the magnetic and air ride dampers. This is easily the best riding Yukon GMC has ever made. It might also be the quietest. You do get a hollow-sounding tinning kind of noise from those big wheels and anyone that’s ever driven a vehicle with large wheels and low-profile tires will know the sound I’m talking about. But overall, it’s so quiet and rides so nice that the Yukon Denali is one of those vehicles that you feel like you’re going slower than you really are. The interior is nicely laid out with quality materials and a large center screen. GM’s pickup trucks need to adopt this same look ASAP. As nice as the interior is, GMC designers added some utilitarian aspects as well. I think this is best highlighted by the blocky design of the instrument gauge cluster, shifter buttons and HVAC controls. Again, this goes back to GMC having the right recipe for Denali buyers. However, for me, when I look at the $86,400 price tag of our test vehicle, I wish the interior looked more like a luxury sedan. But I guess that’s what the Escalade is for.

SINGLE OCCUPANT SELF-DRIVING TAXI CONCEPT
Coronavirus is changing the way we travel. And could there someday be a whole fleet of single occupant, self-driving taxis running around town? That’s the idea of design graduate Marius Lochner who won Ford’s “New Norm Mobility Award” for their muvone concept. Designed for people with limited mobility in mind, the muvone concept features a minimalist interior with flat surfaces and easy-to-clean materials. And with only one person on board, there’s no need to worry about social distancing. Lochner received a 1,000 pound award and a semester of mentoring from two of Ford of Europe’s chief designers.

STEERING WHEEL HAND PLACEMENT DEBATE
I’ve got a question for you that people usually have a strong opinion about. Here’s a short video I shot the other day that will explain it all.

(Video about where to place your hands on a steering wheel is only available in the video version of today’s show.)

Before we go, I want to remind you to join us this Wednesday, for a special live 1-hour deep dive into Tesla’s Battery Day. We’re bringing in two of the foremost experts in EVs to help us understand Tesla’s latest technology. Bob Galyen and Sandy Munro will be on the show sharing their knowledge. And if you have questions that you’d like to ask Sandy and Bob, send an email to viewermail@autoline.tv or send a tweet to @Autoline.

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