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Runtime: 9:31
0:07 Nissan Earnings Not As Bad As Expected
0:48 Detroit Automakers Double Down on CDC Protocols
1:28 Rivian Announces Pricing for Truck & SUV
3:21 Small Van Sales Down More Than Overall Market
4:11 Porsche Designed a Van?
5:18 Renault Reveals All-New Kangoo & Express Vans
7:03 Tesla Finds Fix for Screens Going Blank
7:58 New Type of Spark Plug Makes Big Claims
8:48 Ford F-150 Hybrid Rated at 24 MPG
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NISSAN EARNINGS NOT AS BAD AS EXPECTED
We start today’s report in Japan where Nissan reported its latest earnings and while the numbers are ugly, they’re not as horrible as expected. It took in $18 billion in revenue, down 27% from a year ago. It posted an operating loss of almost $46 million, which was down significantly but analysts were expecting it to be about $1.4 billion. And it had a net loss of $385 million, a swing downward of almost $1 billion. While this was better than expected, Nissan warned that a second wave of Covid-19 racing around the world could hurt car sales and its recovery.
DETROIT AUTOMAKERS DOUBLE DOWN ON CDC PROTOCOLS
Now to Detroit where GM, Ford and FCA are doubling down on CDC protocols because of the sudden surge in Covid cases. Fortunately, there have not been any outbreaks in car plants, which are running flat out to try and catch up from lost production earlier this spring when they were shut down. Every worker going into every plant has to wear a mask, get their temperature taken, and keep their distance. Work stations have barriers between them where possible, and the working areas are sanitized before each shift. Automakers are also encouraging their employees to follow CDC protocols when they’re away from work.
RIVIAN ANNOUNCES PRICING FOR TRUCK & SUV
Rivian announced pricing for its electric R1S SUV and R1T pickup and is now taking orders. The SUV starts at $70,000 before incentives, while the Adventure and Launch Edition models carry a starting price of $77,500. Meanwhile, the electric truck starts at $67,500 before incentives and moves up to $75,000 for the Adventure and Launch Editions. All models have over 300 miles of range. Rivian will begin delivering the truck in June of 2021, while the SUV arrives a few months later in August. That’s for the Launch Editions, the other trims will start being delivered in January of 2022. Like Tesla, Rivian is selling directly to customers and is not using a dealer network. So to take care of maintenance and service, the company will use both purpose-built service centers and mobile service. And like Tesla, Rivian can also take care of software issues with over-the-air updates.
SMALL VAN SALES DOWN MORE THAN OVERALL MARKET
Car sales this year have been clobbered due to the pandemic but the small van segment is especially struggling. According to Wards Intelligence, through the first ten months of the year, sales are down nearly a third compared to a year ago in the U.S. That includes both minivans and small cargo vans. While minivans easily outsell small cargo vans by nearly a four to one margin, they’ve been hit harder by the downturn. Small cargo vans are down 15% while minivans have seen a 36% decline so far this year. Although, part of the minivan decline is due to the Dodge Grand Caravan being axed from the lineup. But even still the numbers are a bit bleak. The overall car market is down 17% but the small van segment is doing nearly two times as worse.
| U.S. Small Van Sales YTD | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sales | 277,603 | -32.7% |
| Minivans | 221,160 | -36% |
| Small Vans | 56,443 | -15.5% |
PORSCHE DESIGNED A VAN?
Speaking of vans, could you ever envision Porsche making a family hauler? Sounds crazy, but designers for the German automaker wanted to see if they could transfer its characteristic style to an entirely new vehicle segment. And in 2018, this is what they came up with. We love it. It’s like a modern interpretation of the Brubaker Box, a kit car from 1972 that was built on a VW Beetle chassis. But the Porsche is an all-electric vehicle, which provides a spacious interior, while the driver sits in the middle, like a McLaren F1. The reason we’re highlighting this van is because Porsche is releasing 15 different design studies from 2005 to 2019 that have been seen by very few people. Porsche Unseen, as it’s called, takes you through the entire design process, from the first sketch to the driveable prototype. These will be highlighted in a series of articles on the Porsche media site as well as published in a new book. It also dedicated an episode of its web TV series to a few of the design studies.
RENAULT REVEALS NEW KANGOO & EXPRESS VANS
Sticking with vans, Renault revealed the all-new Kangoo and Express. They’re offered as both commercial and passenger versions and as you can see styling is a little less bubbly than before. The Kangoo is offered in two body lengths, with manual or automatic transmissions and features gas, diesel and electric powertrains. It did not provide details about powertrains for either van. Renault is moving the Kangoo van a little more upmarket and that shows through in the interior with wood- and brushed aluminum-like accents. Another interesting feature is Easy Side Access. The B-Pillar has been removed between the front door and sliding side door to create a huge opening, double that of the previous model. The all-new Kangoo and Express launch in Spring of next year.
Be sure to join us for Autoline After Hours later this afternoon. We’ll be talking about the new frontier–mobility–and what that means for suppliers. Our guest is Brian Goldstine, the president of Mobility Solutions at Bridgestone. We’ll also look at which traditional car company has the best EV strategy to take on Tesla and we’ll speculate which models will survive at Fiat and Chrysler as they merge with Peugeot. Pete Bigelow from Automotive News will be joining John and Gary to provide you with some of the best insights in the automotive industry.
TESLA OFFERS FIX FOR SCREENS THAT GO BLANK
Back in June, NHTSA launched an investigation into touchscreens in the Tesla Model S and X after receiving complaints from owners that the screen would go blank, which resulted in losing control of certain functions. The issue involved models built prior to March 2018. Now Tesla has come up with a fix but it’s calling it a warranty adjustment program and not a recall. The fix involves replacing the 8 gig MultiMediaCard in the media control unit with a 64 gig one. It applies to vehicles with less than 100,000 miles that are within 8 years of their original in-service or delivery date. Affected owners complained that they couldn’t use the rear-view camera, climate control, navigation and infotainment after the screen went blank. But Tesla says it’s unaware of any accidents related to the faulty screens.
NEW TYPE OF SPARK PLUG DEVELOPED
Despite all the news about electric cars, there’s still new technology going into piston engines. A company called Pulstar came out with a new type of spark plug. It has a built in capacitor that releases a pulse equal to 5 million watts. That much power turns part of the air and gas mixture into a plasma which burns faster and more completely. The company claims the plugs increase throttle response and boost horsepower by 3.5% and torque by 3.8%. Usually we’re very skeptical of claims like these, but Pulstar says the technology comes from the Sandia National Laboratory and that lab is at the leading edge of technology. So that’s why we decided to report on this. HOW IT WORKS
FORD F-150 HYBRID GETS 24 MPG
The EPA rated the new F-150 hybrid and it gets 24 miles-to-the-gallon. In fact, it’s the same number for city, highway and combined. That ties the overall number for the diesel version of the truck. But the hybrid also offers an optional onboard generator that puts out 7.2 kilowatts power, which is enough to run a house.
And with that we wrap up today’s show. Thanks for watching.
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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.
