Listen to “AD #3229 – Rivian Delivers 1st R1S SUVs; BMW Teases New LMDh Race Car; NHTSA Opens Investigation into Tesla” on Spreaker.
Follow us on social media:
Runtime: 8:41
0:08 NHTSA Opens Investigation into Tesla Over In-Car Video Games
1:11 New Mines for EV Materials Face Opposition in U.S.
2:08 EU Developing Own Sources for Microchips
3:29 New Technology Could Help AV Systems Operate More of The Time
4:21 BMW Teases New LMDh Race Car
4:55 VW Invests $20 Million In U.S. Dealers for EV Transition
5:44 Bridgestone To Provide Maintenance to Fisker Owners in Europe
6:37 Chevy Bolt Software Update Available to All Owners Now
7:14 Rivian Delivers 1st R1S SUVs
Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bridgestone, Intrepid Control Systems and Schaeffler.
This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
NHTSA OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO TESLA OVER IN-CAR VIDEO GAMES
Tesla keeps pushing the boundaries of what’s considered safe to do in a car, and that’s prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to open a formal safety investigation. This one involves Tesla allowing owners to play video games on the center screen while the car is being driven. Up until a year ago, those games were only enabled when the vehicle was parked. But Reuters reports that an OTA update last December changed all that. There’s a prompt on the screen that asks if you’re a passenger, but the driver can still easily access the game. Here’s our Autoline Insight. Safety experts tell us that anything that takes the driver’s eyes off the road for up to 3 seconds is dangerous. And they don’t even like it taking 3 seconds. Three seconds doesn’t sound like a lot. But pretend you’re driving in heavy traffic. Now close your eyes and count one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi, three-Mississippi. I hope having your eyes off the road that long doesn’t sound safe to you because it sure doesn’t sound safe to us.
NEW MINES FOR EV MATERIALS FACE OPPOSITION IN U.S.
The United States wants to develop its own supply chain for the raw materials needed to make electric vehicles. And it has plenty of copper, nickel, lithium and even manganese that it can mine. But there is significant opposition to opening new mines. Environmentalists, ranchers, native Americans, local landowners and even some government agencies are opposed to opening new mines. Here’s how crazy the situation is. Reuters reports that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to block the opening of a lithium mine in Nevada at the same time the U.S. Department of Energy is looking at lending $300 million to the company that wants to open it. Meanwhile, automakers will significantly ramp up production of EVs in the next three years, and the work on opening those mines has to start now, or those EVs will be built with raw materials that mostly come from China.
EU DEVELOPING OWN SOURCES FOR MICROCHIPS
Meanwhile, the European Union is making solid progress to develop its own sources of high performance microchips. What’s called the European Processor Initiative involves 28 companies and universities from 10 countries. The initiative covers multiple industries and the automotive effort is being led by German chip maker Infineon, which is the largest chip supplier to the auto industry. They’ve already developed a high-performance chip integrated into a modular computing platform that’s being tested in a Level 4 autonomous BMW X5. The initiative is a 3-year effort, but as test results and findings come in, it’s expected to go on to more projects.
NEW TECH COULD HELP AV SYSTEMS OPERATE MORE OF THE TIME
Autonomous driving features have made great strides and OEMs keep working towards higher levels of automation. But there are still scenarios where the cameras or sensors can be blinded, in a sense, and the features shut off, like with really heavy rain or poor lane markings. Now there’s a company that’s using ground penetrating radar to help make vehicle positioning even more accurate, except it calls its technology Ground Positioning Radar. The system is packaged underneath the vehicle and sends out pulses into the ground that create a detailed map of what’s under the road. It can then be compared to what the forward-facing radar is seeing, any previously mapped area and/or the vehicle’s navigation system to accurately position the vehicle. With GPR technology an autonomous system could operate more of the time.
BMW TEASES NEW LMDh RACE CAR
BMW seems to care more that you notice its vehicles rather than what you think of their styling. Case in point, check out this official rendering of the new LMDh race car BMW will field in 2023. We think it has a bit of a batmobile vibe, both from Bruce Wayne and Panoz, and you can see it juxtaposed beneath BMW’s LMR race car from ‘99 and 2000. There’s definitely a nickname coming for this car and it probably won’t be flattering. Let us know what you think it should be.
VW INVESTS $20 MILLION IN U.S. DEALERS FOR EV TRANSITION
Volkswagen says it needs its U.S. dealers to help bring their communities into electric vehicles, so it’s launching a co-op program to help them improve the customer’s EV experience. It’s pumping $20 million into the program so dealers can upgrade service centers, train technicians and install chargers. It’s a good move, but if all of VW’s 600 U.S. dealers opted in, it means each one would only receive $33,333.
BRIDGESTONE TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE TO FISKER IN EUROPE
Earlier this year, Fisker picked Bridgestone as its official tire supplier for the upcoming Ocean electric SUV. And now the two companies are deepening their partnership. They just announced that Bridgestone will provide after-sales service and maintenance for Fisker owners in France and Germany through the tire company’s Speedy, Pitstop and Reiff-ABS networks. This is a significant development for Bridgestone. It’s in the process of making the transition from being a company that just makes round, black tires, to becoming a mobility services company. It’s going to leverage its retail stores to provide services for fleets and regular customers. And we expect it to do something similar with Fisker in the U.S. market through its Firestone stores.
CHEVY BOLT SOFTWARE UPDATE AVAILABLE TO ALL OWNERS NOW
All Chevy Bolt owners now have access to a software update that lifts parking and charging restrictions. GM just rolled out the update for 2020 to 2022 model year Bolt EVs and EUVs. 2017 and 2018 model year owners got the update last week, while 2019 model year vehicles received it last month. Owners have to go to the dealer to get the software update. It limits the state of charge to 80%, which allows owners to charge indoors overnight, park indoors after charging and use their car with less than 70 miles of range. The battery module has to be replaced before owners can charge back up to 100% again.
RIVIAN DELIVERS 1ST R1S SUVs
Well that didn’t take long. Rivian tweeted that it just delivered its first R1S electric SUVs that were built at its factory in Normal, Illinois. The first two models went to Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe and CFO Claire McDonough. RJ Scaringe also received the first R1T electric pickup Rivian built back in September. Over the next few months, the EV startup says it’s working on ramping up production to reach full volume.
Before we go I want to tell you that this is the last Autoline Daily for 2021. And there will not be an Autoline After Hours tomorrow. We’re off for the holiday break, but we’ll be back in the saddle on January 3rd. We can’t thank you enough for making Autoline a part of your day and hope you have a great holiday yourself.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
Seamus and Sean McElroy cover the latest news in the automotive industry for Autoline Daily.