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Runtime: 8:28
0:00 Tesla Owners Get Free FSD For a Month
0:37 Fisker Headed Toward Bankruptcy
1:26 China Price War Going Into Round 2
2:27 China Sales Forecast to Slow This Year
3:11 VW R Will Develop Performance Electrics
3:52 Genesis Shows Extreme Luxury & Sporty Concepts
4:50 Toyota Rushes EV Pickup for Thailand
5:22 New Porsche Suspension is “Mind Blowing”
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
TESLA OWNERS GET FSD FREE FOR A MONTH
To help customers get more familiar with its capabilities, Elon Musk announced that Tesla is offering a one-month free trial of its Full Self Driving technology in the U.S. In addition to that, Tesla staff are now required to demonstrate the driver assist system to new customers before they hand the vehicle over to them. Elon said this will slow deliveries but it’s a “hard requirement” that’s “very important.”
FISKER ON ROAD TO BANKRUPTCY
EV startup Fisker is going to need a miracle if it’s going to survive. The company announced that talks with a large automaker, reportedly Nissan, about a possible tie-up have fallen through. Because of that, trading of the company’s shares was suspended and the New York Stock Exchange is looking to de-list Fisker because its stock dropped to 9 cents a share before trading was stopped. And because it won’t be partnering up with another automaker, Fisker says it won’t be able to meet a condition of a $150 million financial commitment from an investor and says it needs to seek a waiver for that condition. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Fisker has hired advisors for a possible bankruptcy filing. And now that is looking more likely.
CHINA PRICE WAR GOING INTO ROUND 2
That price war in China shows no signs of letting up. In fact, it’s just the opposite. BYD has slashed the price of almost every car it sells, which includes 100 different models. China expert Bill Russo from the consultancy Automobility calls it round two of the price war. Bloomberg reports that BYDs strategy is to pull more customers out of ICE cars and into New Energy Vehicles, especially in rural areas where up to now most customers couldn’t afford electric cars. The strategy also threatens Toyota, Volkswagen and Nissan which have been slow to bring EVs to the market. Even though the first quarter is not even over, the number of price cuts in China have almost reached half of last year’s cuts. Bloomberg New Energy Finance says most EV makers in China are not profitable, and that could finally force those companies into mergers or bankruptcies.
CHINA SALES FORECAST TO SLOW THIS YEAR
Last year, car sales in China topped 30 million vehicles for the first time, which was a 12% gain compared to 2022. But this year, that pace is expected to slow down. Gasgoo is forecasting that sales in China will increase 1.8% this year. We know that sales of EVs are growing at a faster rate, which means that ICE vehicles will lose market share.
VW R WILL DEVELOP PERFORMANCE ELECTRICS
Well, color me embarrassed. Here’s something I feel like I should have known. Volkswagen’s performance division, called Volkswagen R, has been operating as its own separate brand since 2020. And I’m learning this now because Volkswagen R is growing even more. It produced more than 35,000 vehicles last year and in the future will show new performance and design concepts and small series production vehicles, which will include all-electric R models as well as performance parts and lifestyle accessories. It even built its first brand pavilion in Germany to hold events to show off some of those new vehicles for its fans and customers.
GENESIS SHOWS EXTREME LUXURY & SPORTY CONCEPTS
Speaking of concepts, Genesis revealed several new models that, to me, show that it wants to push its identities as “sporty” and “luxury” to their extremes. Extreme luxury is shown with the Neolun, a large 4-passenger SUV. I think the styling is simple and elegant, like the Range Rover. Hyundai calls it “reductive design.” The interior features cashmere in some places, plush leather seats and a large front display screen, but when the vehicle is not moving or possibly in autonomous mode, the front seats swivel around completely. As for extreme sporty, Genesis revealed a new trim, called Magma. It showed a version of the GV60 with improved motor and battery technology, that’s wider and lower and has better aero and cooling. But it also showed how the Magma treatment could be applied to its other cars.
TOYOTA RUSHES EV PICKUP FOR THAILAND
Isuzu revealed an all-new, all-electric 1-ton pickup truck concept, called the D-MAX, that it says will launch next year in the EU, Australia and Thailand. That last market must have scared Toyota a little because now it also announced that it’s coming out with an electric pickup for Thailand, where it expects to sell about 250,000 vehicles this year. Reuters reports it will be a battery electric version of the Hilux, which could be ready for sale by the end of next year.
NEW PORSCHE SUSPENSION IS “MIND BLOWING”
Porsche unveiled its Active Ride Suspension earlier this year. But now the media is getting the chance to drive it in the new Panamera, and Ward’s reports that the results are “mind blowing.” Porsche says the Panamera will lean into corners like a motorcycle, it will lean forward when accelerating and backward when braking like a helicopter, which it says makes driving more comfortable for the passengers. It automatically reduces pitch and roll so the car stays flat when cornering hard. And it does away with sway bars so that when a tire hits a bump or dip on one side of the car, it’s not transferred to the other side. This took some serious engineering to develop. Porsche spent six years getting it ready for production. Each corner of the car can be controlled individually. The active dampers can push a wheel harder into the road or retract them into the wheel well. Each damper has an electric, high-pressure hydraulic pump to actively control compression and rebound. Instead of using cameras to scan the road ahead, it uses sensors to analyze wheel and body acceleration. So it works in all visibility and road conditions. And it’s fast, running at 13 hertz, meaning it can make up to 13 adjustments a second. Porsche says it theoretically could get rid of the springs but that would be energy-intensive. So it uses a single-chamber air spring. The energy for the Active Ride Suspension comes from a 400-volt high-voltage battery, and it’s only available as an option on the plug-in versions of the Panamera. But Porsche says it’s already developed a version for future electric cars.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in.
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The Porsche suspension system sounds great. It also sounds very expensive to replace when it wears out.
Yes, I suspect $$$$$.
have replaced the front air suspension on my 2001 Audi allroad with 87,000 miles four times. It is expensive. The car is not drivable except for a very short distance at low speed with extremely limited turning due to tires binding on the wheel well, i.e., just enough to load onto a tow truck for AWD. Aftermarket kits replace the bags with springs but change the quality of ride obviously. The rear air bags have never failed. I’ve been told that is because they are not exposed to engine heat.
Sean: I’m someone is tracking it, but you should show the amount of EV manufacturers from 2020 to today. As it sounds like along with Fisker a bunch of Chinese manufacturers are about to go belly up. It would be interesting to see the rise peak and current state.
Sean, so what would it cost to buy Fisker at 9 cents a share? Also, the internet continues to have articles about the ‘Toyota Stout’ destroying the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz. Is Autoline going to talk about the Stout or is it vaporware? Also, wouldn’t that name be awful close to Scout?
I’m old enough to remember our neighbors’ 1958 Oldsmobile with air suspension. I remember them having trouble with it, even when the car wasn’t very old. Would the few of those, and similar age Buicks still in existence have been converted to coil spring suspension?
The Porsche system sounds very complex, making it very expensive to buy the car, and expensive to fix when it breaks. I’m sure it works well, when working properly, but I’m ok with steel springs. Even my ’89 Caravan with rear leaf springs rides decently, for a 1989 vehicle.
A question for you truck lovers, is there much difference in the ride quality between a Ford or Chevy with leaf springs, and a Ram with coils? If not, I’d rather have the leaves, without those arms, bars, and related bushings to locate the suspension. Maybe the coils would help with road noise compared to leaves.
is the fisker guy worth less $$$ or only the stockholders ??
Is it April 1st? Is that Toyota EV pickup for real or an April Fools joke? That has to be one of the ugliest designs I have ever seen. It is so ungainly and looks like it should be a development mule, not a finished design for production!
Agree with others here on the Porsche system. I am sure it is amazing to drive, and the price for that option will be equally stunning. As would the price of any service contract that would cover repairs to that system, if you could find one. Porsches with this option could become one of those used car bargains where they are cheap to buy, but you gamble on the system not breaking.
I am not surprised at the new demonstration requirement for Tesla sales outlets, or the free month evaluation period. I’m sure that activation rates for FSD have fallen faster than the prices of new Teslas as more rational consumers coming into the market after the first-adopters make an informed decision about the cost vs benefits of that partially self-driving system. Especially if the vehicle will be a family car that their teenagers may drive.
Here is a good discussion about the rumored Toyota Stout pickup. I didn’t realize it, but there is a history of Toyota Stout pickups. I don’t remember them in the U.S., though. If they were imported, there must have been very few.
https://youtu.be/ptGhimtiXrk?si=25prJnqMjSHdL8dv
That Porsche suspension sounds amazing.
I want to see the Porsche suspension tackle a pothole riddled Michigan road. Those nice sweeping humps are handled great but that’s not real life. Show how it handles what we really drive on.
Kit- The Ram is the best riding truck of the three due to the coils. Seems to handle the weight just as well. I’m not sure what the advantage of staying with leaf’s is other than its cheaper. Also once you go up to 3/4 and 1 ton they all use leaf anyway so the coil rear suspension is exclusive to the 1/2 ton.
GM Veteran,
I also assume that the take rate on the FSD is dropping as it is not transferrable to anyone you sell the car to. So you are just funneling money into the Tesla Furnace. What Tesla should do to increase the take rate is not to demonstrate the system. They can just simply allow it to be transferrable to the new owner once traded in or sold.
But Tesla is greedy and wants $10K from the original owner and every subsequent owner of that car. To add on top of that, if you have an accident while using FSD, you are responsible for it because you should have been “driving” the car and not relying on FSD. So between a feature that is not transferrable and the Tesla Lawyers that blame the owners for using FSD…..They made FSD completely worthless.
25 years ago, the somewhat more pedestrian Citroen Xantia Activa featured an active, computer-controlled hydopneumatic suspension, and scored phenomenally well on the ‘elk test’.
https://garagedreams.net/forgotten-heroes/citroen-xantia-activa
Sean, I’ve seen those when in Europe. I kind of like the appearance of those quirky French cars.
Lambo, yep, leaves would be cheaper, and also, probably less likely to need maintenance long term.
Your Sean, that GV90 concept does have the shape of the Land Rover Range Rover, but it also reminds me some what of a GLE and GLS, form the side and rear. I the article said that it will be based on the EV9’s bones, but the front axle to dash seems longer in these concept pictures. In terms of the actual vehicle, I hope the ‘face’ of the vehicle is more heavily influenced by the GV70 and 80, then that of the smaller GV60! While GV60 is not horrible or bad necessarily to look at, IMHO, there are prettier EVs out there and that look might not translate as well to such a bigger vehicle.
The ship that hit the bridge in Baltimore was built by Hyundai.
Kit,
What a tragedy that Bridge collapse was. Nothing wrong with the bridge at all. I don’t think anything could withstand a direct hit by a 165,000 ton mass. Kind of crazy that it hit the support pillar. The last report I saw stated that they dropped anchor to try and stop the boat but it caused it to pivot towards the bridge support instead. If you lose one support on any bridge, modern or old, you lose the entire bridge. I suspect that there will be a rule change in that the tug boats will need to get ships beyond the bridge and into open water before releasing them to travel under their own power.
I hope Hyundai has some very deep pockets. Looks like the ship experienced multiple electrical faults which set it adrift. The shipping company will need to show that it maintained that ship impeccably and Hyundai has to show that the electrical system as designed was not the issue. One of those 2 companies, or both, will be sued for billions of dollars. One of those 2 companies will not exist after the lawsuits.
One thing mentioned is installation of “dolphins” to prevent ships from hitting the stanchions of bridges. They would need to be tall and strong, but maybe should be there. I was surprised they didn’t use tugs, and was also surprised that the ship was going that fast. The ships I see up close are mostly cruise ships, but they are moving very slowly as they exit Port Canaveral. As heavy as the ship in Baltimore is, though, a hit at even 2 knots probably would have taken down the bridge, but dropping the anchor or other actions might have been more effective. I don’t know how long it takes to reverse the engines in those ships, or if it is possible. In most of them, the prop is connected directly to the engine crankshaft, so the only way to get “full astern” would be to reverse the engine. I’ve known of much smaller diesels in ships that are direct driven and can be reversed, but I don’t know about those huge ones.