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Runtime: 11:12
0:00 Tesla, Rivian, Lucid Lose Big Source of Revenue
1:06 Cadillac Names New Head of Global Design
1:35 Ram in Hot Water with The Police
2:34 VW & XPeng Expand Partnership to ICEs & PHEVs
3:32 VW Delivers 1.5 Millionth ID EV
3:57 VW Tries Monthly Fees for More HP
5:13 Cadillac Elevated Velocity Concept
6:19 Lucid Gravity X Concept
6:50 Mercedes-Benz Vision V Concept
7:19 Acura RSX Prototype
8:07 Ford Mustang GTD Liquid Carbon
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TESLA, RIVIAN, LUCID LOSE BIG SOURCE OF REVENUE
After the Trump Administration eliminated penalties for violating fuel economy standards, NHTSA stopped issuing the paperwork needed for finalizing EV credits. That’s having a huge impact on EV startups because they could sell the credits to other automakers who weren’t in compliance with the regulations. Rivian says the change is costing it $100 million in revenue and Lucid says the credits “represent a significant share” of its revenue. Both companies have filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals to force NHTSA to resume sending the paperwork. Tesla has also been hit hard and expects a $1.1 billion decrease in revenue from credit selling. NHTSA says it stopped issuing the notifications because it’s reviewing current fuel economy rules. The agency claims it will resume sending paperwork once it’s done with its review, however it didn’t give a timetable.
CADILLAC NAMES NEW HEAD OF GLOBAL DESIGN
Cadillac has a new head of global design, Dominic Najafi. He joined General Motors in 2022 and was head of studio and exterior design at GM Advanced Design Europe. Prior to joining GM, he spent 11 years at Jaguar Land Rover and before that he spent 8 years at Bentley. He is replacing Bryan Nesbitt, who was promoted to head of GM global design after Michael Simcoe retired from the position at the beginning of the year.
RAM IN HOT WATER WITH THE POLICE
Stellantis is in hot water with the police. Earlier this week, the automaker claimed a mechanical bull it created, which combines the look of the new Ram head logo with a HEMI V8, was stolen. Called the Bucking HEMI, the ride was part of Ram’s Roadkill Nights event in suburban Detroit. Ram said the bull was stolen during disassembly and it filed a police report and asked the public for any help finding it. But now the police say the whole thing was a hoax, that the “theft never occurred” and Ram had the bull in its possession the whole time. Ram has since come out saying that one of the show contractors took it by mistake, but returned it after hearing media reports about the theft. However, the police aren’t happy with Ram’s explanation. They called the situation a “tremendous waste of valuable investigative time” and said the company could face charges for filing a false report.
VW & XPENG EXPAND PARTNERSHIP TO ICEs & PHEVs
Last year Volkswagen and XPeng formed a partnership to develop a new electronic architecture for VW’s EVs in China, but with shifting consumer interest they’re now modifying that partnership to also include ICEs and plug-in hybrids. Like it did with Rivian, VW turned to XPeng for its software defined vehicle technology, which VW was kind of forced to do after its own software unit CARIAD took too long to develop an adequate system. By expanding the partnership with XPeng, it means that Volkswagen’s ICE and PHEV vehicles will have the same software capabilities and tech as its BEVs, which could help increase their appeal to consumers. And more scale and common parts also means lower costs and shorter development times. We think it will be interesting to see which markets get VW’s Rivian-based software defined vehicles and which markets get the XPeng-based vehicles.
VW DELIVERS 1.5 MILLIONTH ID EV
But until those new EVs actually get closer to production, Volkswagen will continue to rely on its MEB platform. And its ID family of electric vehicles just hit a pretty big milestone. Since launching in 2020, the 1.5 millionth just rolled down the assembly line. It was a station wagon version of the ID.7, which is called the ID.7 Tourer.
VW TRIES MONTHLY FEES FOR MORE HP
We try our best at Autoline to be advocates for the automotive industry, but here’s something that I hope goes down in flames. VW is making ID.3 owners in the UK pay an extra fee to unlock the vehicle’s full power. Standard output is listed at 201 horsepower, but for 16.50 pounds or $22 a month they can bump that up to 228 horsepower. So, it costs nearly $1 a month for every horsepower they get. Or owners can pay a one-time fee of nearly 650 pounds or $880. Mercedes does something similar, but at least if offered a much bigger bump in power, 60- and 80 horsepower, respectively. It feels like VW may be testing the waters in the UK before possibly expanding to other models and other markets, but as I said, I hope this effort is a complete failure.
Luxury brands love to unveil new models or concept cars at the Monterey Car Week which includes the Pebble Beach concours d’Elegance and the historic car races at Laguna Seca. Here’s some of what’s been unveiled so far.
CADILLAC ELEVATED VELOCITY CONCEPT
Cadillac showed off this all-electric off-road concept called Elevated Velocity. It says the concept hints at future design cues for the brand, but we’ll bet that doesn’t include the gull-wing doors. However, draw your attention to the extended rear end which reminds us of the Cadillac Celestiq and even that new Buick concept called the Electra Orbit. A tapered rear like that is good for aerodynamics, which makes a lot of sense for EVs, and could even become a design trend. GM CEO Mary Barra says the company is working on autonomous cars for retail customers, and the Elevated Velocity hints at that effort with a steering wheel and pedal can retract. There’s also an off-road driving mode that raises the car, and it even offers a feature that will shake all the dust off the car using acoustic vibration.
LUCID GRAVITY X CONCEPT
Continuing with the off-road theme, Lucid unveiled the Gravity X. Lucid says it shows rugged refinement and that it’s ready for adventure. It sits higher than the production version of the Gravity, and the front and rear fascias were changed for better angles. All terrain tires, skid plates and tow hooks help complete the look. Even though this is a concept, if customer reaction is good, it would be very easy for Lucid to put this into production.
MERCEDES-BENZ VISION V CONCEPT
In case you missed it at the Shanghai show in April, Mercedes brought its Vision V concept to Pebble Beach. While it looks like a van, Mercedes says it’s a chauffeur-driven limousine. And while limos traditionally exude understated elegance, this blingmobile features one of the most garish chrome grilles we ever seen. While massive grilles on passenger vehicles seem to be on their way out, they’re still popular with vans, especially in China and Japan.
ACURA RSX PROTOTYPE
When it comes to concept cars, Honda, or in this case Acura, never strays far from what the production version will look like. So, take a good look at this all-electric RSX Prototype, which is actually pretty important because it sits on Honda’s in-house EV platform, not the GM Ultium platform that it currently uses. It also marks the debut of Honda’s ASIMO operating system, which is the company’s first move into software defined vehicles. Other specs include dual-motor all-wheel-drive, double wishbone front suspension and standard Brembo brakes. While Acura calls this a prototype, you’re pretty much looking at what will end up in showrooms later this year when it rolls off the assembly line in Ohio.
FORD MUSTANG GTD LIQUID CARBON
And lastly, Ford is using Monterrey car week to show off a new trim line for its $325,000 Mustang GTD. They call it Liquid Carbon and it gets an unpainted carbon fiber body. Ford didn’t release any specs except to say that the doors are 13 pounds lighter. But we’re pretty sure there’s a lot more weight savings than that. And while the carbon body is undoubtedly going to cost a pretty penny, don’t forget that this is a track car. And as the old saying in racing goes, “Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?”
And that wraps up this week’s worth of reports. Thanks for watching, and a special thank you to all you members out there who support Autoline.
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I could see the Chinese Buick van being sold in the US as a high end luxury vehicle. Big, beautiful and lots of bling sells.
Oh no. EV manufacturers are going to have to make money selling actual vehicles not emission credits. The horror!
Willing to bet Ram will make a generous donation to the Detroit policeman’s fund and the “ misunderstanding” will quietly go away.
I too hope that VWs pay to play model for full capable HP crashes and burns a horrible death. If not I blame the idiots that fork over the cash blindly not knowing the Pandora’s box they are opening. If it’s successful you can bet it will be expanded to where you pay a monthly fee to get basic options to work on your vehicle that you’ve already paid for. Can anyone say new revenue in jail brake?
I’m with everyone else in hoping VW’s scheme to rent a few extra horsepower crashes and burns. You’d barely even feel the difference, if you’d feel it at all.
Too bad for ordinary trying to get along people if all the emphasis goes to the bling for affluent people. Henry got rich originally by putting the masses on wheels.
The Caddy concept looks silly and not promising that any serious production vehicle anybody would want to buy will come of it.
It is topped in silliness by the fugly Mercedes van that Merc wants to call a limo. (where have se seen this before To call a wagon a ‘crossover’ so you can sell it for more.)
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3zVDVjgP/2020-porsche-taycan-turbo
u and an update from my post earlier today: further proof that the Model S holds its value FAR, FAR better than its flasghip ev peers:
Here the Porsche Taycan So-called Turbo that had a 2020 sticker of $180,000, sold for $65.5k worthless 2025 $, ie, $45k 2020, so exactly a fourth of the price new. THis is a DISASTER for Porsche, as big as the godawful EQS for Merc.
Oh, and BTW, of course I hope that extortion scheme by VW crashes and burns, as much as those from other crooked makers.
Reminds me when I got my “Magnificent 7” an unwanted gift was the gear I needed to subscribe to Serius. It was an ugly little thing hooked on one of the vents on the dash, it really bugged me to see it, eventually I threw it away, and of course I never subscribed to the damned stupid talk shows. I hear my own stuff (classical and books on tape from my public library) when on long trips.
The Model S you posted from cars and bids lost a higher percentage of its cost new than the Taycan. Yeah, it was a 2019, a year older, but even taking that into account, the Porsche probably didn’t do any worse.
The ‘C’ pillar on the Cadillac concept is better and a lot more stately to my eye, then the hatch back on the Celestiq, yet the concept seems too shallow, especially with those big offload wheels on it.
As good as the standard Gravity looks, this offroad concept makes it look more like a minivan then it cab forward windshield ever did! IMHO, if Lucid wants to lean into the offload adventure side of things, they may do better, appearance wise, going the less is more route. I think it is safe to say that they will never offer any real challenge to Rivian R2S, the Hummer SUV, Jeep Rebel (?)) EV that is coming out, for True offload credentials! Perhaps they should be more focus on what a Gravity Sapphire might look and perform like.
While I’m warming to the Acura’s RSX concept, it is crazy how much better it looks in pictures then the boxy Honda SUV version.
When will this off-road “look” fad blow over? Only a small percentage of of Wrangler and Bronco owners ever drive them off road, and a much smaller percentage or Range Rover and G-wagen drivers do, but yet the off-road “look” fad is huge. Everyone wants to copy it for their grocery getter lifted wagons. I don’t get it.
The terrain gets rough in those Starbucks Drive Thrus, Kit. Gotta be ready to 4WD at any time.
This Porsche concept looks like that old AMC Eagle. Everything old is new again.
I don’t get the EV off-roader logic since off-roading involves going miles out into the desert or country side where , you know, not a lot of charging stations exist. You see gas cans on those rigs for a reason. Plus the real danger of rollovers and rock hits to that battery tray and wiring just seems like a completely incompatible combo. Meh, whatever.
What is a “Magnificent 7” ?
“Magnificent 7” is Regulus’s term for a certain generation of BMW 7 Series sedan, maybe the last generation before the “Bangled” one.
It is the legendary E38 model of the 7 Series, which, among many other things, may be the most beautiful sedan ever made, according to Doug De Muro of “Cars and Bids” fame.
Easy Reader was obviously addressing his question to me.
To correct another misconception here, I never called my E38 this name, “The Magnificent 7”. Rather, it was the name of a group of E38 owners.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=litO7FrTwDI
This is Doug’s entire review. He uses an E38 with one of the poorest colors then available. Mine was in “Arktis Silber”, a metallic sky-blue silverish color that looked far better on it than this brownish thing.
I listen to de Muro now, and he made several comments, one was that the nagivation system must have been difficult to use; not true, I used it all the time and it was a delight. He probably referred to its rather small screen.
As for what I called the car, it reminded me of a Decathlete, as it did everything perfectly (with the possible exception of fuel economy on short drives in the winter; on the highway even with close to three digit speeds, it still got over 23 mpg.
Speaking of the Lucid Gravity, Car and Driver has recent article about the Dream Edition. While they sing this vehicle’s praises, this model is the top of the line, yet a lot of what they rave about should carry over to the Pure and GT trims when they become available. For those who are interested in that type of thing.
That said, this is the product that Auston Martin should have in mind, with regard to their partnership with Lucid! While the CEO of Austin says that the buyers of their cars are not ready or interested in BEVs, I wonder if the same can be said about their SUV, the DBX? The Gravity DE has more power than the DBX 707, gets over 400 miles of range when properly equipped and is currently priced at the starting point of where DBX sells begin?! Should Lucid add a third motor and build a Sapphire version of the Gravity like it does for the Air, it could put up some impressive numbers and still be an efficient vehicle. The Gravity is three row, but a two row DBX based on the underpinnings of the Gravity might be an interesting proposition, for the two companies, I would think.
Regulus, yeah, Easy Reader’s question was directed to you, but he got an answer 14 hours earlier from me. As I thought, the E38 was the last 7 before the Bangle design.
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/98wLRMQ2/1998-bmw-750il
Here is one in a better color than Doug’s brown one. While I donated my 98 to charity in 2017 (bought in 2005, had 147k miles on it) and was only able to deduct $4k from my income (so, I paid about $1-2k less taxes), this one, 8 years later, is already at $16k with one day to go, and most bids happen in the final few hours of any auction. Although this particular one has a strange origin (Japanese market model, but LHD, used by “Throttle House” on Youtube)
Japanese market, but left hand drive? Interesting. Anyway, a cool car. It would be thirsty with the V12, but something special.
The V12 is a modest 5 liter engine, while the “40” V8 is actually a 4.4 lt. BMW should have approximated it more accurately, and in its favor, as the 745iL, as it did with later models.
The HP and torque of the v12 are not substantially higher than those of the V8
I expect the V12 to get well over 20 MPG on the highway vs the 23+ I saw with the V8, at 80-90mph.
Around town, cold starts and short drives, I expect the V12 to be as lousy as the V8, but who cares. Maybe 9 MPG vs the 10-12 I saw in such winter short drives.
BTW, before I saw that 7, I was not looking for one, but rather a 91-99 Huge S class, that imposing heavy tall car that the Environazis hated, forcing Merc to follow it up with the lamest S class ever, the 2000-2006 series.
Actually the v12 in the E38 was 5.4 lt, but still the HP and torque were much lower than those of the 6 lt V12 of the S class then. The prior 7 series had a 5.0 v12.
The EPA highway rating was 22 mpg for the 740il, and and 18 for the 750il. The EPA site shows regular gas for both of them. I’m surprised about that.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=14377&id=14376
Anyway, if one of those V12s showed up more locally, I’d be tempted, as a “something very different,” and rather special car. I’ve never had a 12 cylinder car, and at this point, probably never will.
I don’t remember the year, probably mid-1990s, but I saw a new V12, manual transmission 8 series coupe in the showroom at the Indianapolis dealer. I suspect those are quite rare.
Also, no buyer of the v12 would give a rat’s ass about the… MPG. BMW did not want the V12 to be more than just a halo car, and priced it much higher than the excellent 4.4 v8 (122k vs 5-75k in the mid 90s). Depreciation per mile driven usually was a far higher cost than fuel.
Ignore the EPA. Mine were actual, observed MPGs, and not even car computer MPGs. I always filled the tank and got the REAL mpg with one simple division of fuel bought over miles driven. Far more reliable than EPA, which are by its own admission, only estimates.
there are plenty affordable V12s you can buy, and some are reputed to be very reliable (as the 90s S class). I am looking more to an S600 V12 in the 2007-13 series, but even that is becoming old fast. its successor, not as good an S class.
There are also cheap huge bentley sedans from 2006, one sells tomorrow on C&B, no reserve, 550 hp W12, currently at $16k.
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/r4ewEevV/1992-mercedes-benz-600sel
this is also to be auctioned a few hours from now it will be over, same story (japanese Mkt) as the 750iL
I also check actual gas mileage of all cars I’ve had. Sometimes, I divide out the average mpg for several thousand miles of driving. Corvettes beat the EPA highway rating and Priuses, under-perform their EPA highway rating at 80 mph. No surprise. Anyway, I find it “interesting” to see what actual mpg I get, regardless of the car. I certainly agree that people who buy V12 7s and Ss don’t buy them for gas mileage.
Speaking of W12s, I guess I’d be hesitant to buy one of those. I had half a W12 in a GTi VR6, and it had head gasket issues. Of course, that was a sample of one.
Speaking of larger than V8 engines with a manual transmission, I saw a rare 8.3L V10 vehicle with a manual that I wanted to drive, but never got the chance. It was over 500 HP and used examples are currently selling for close to the original sales price. Any guesses?
The RAM SRT-10 was originally $47,795, and used ones are currently selling for around $30K-$45K, unless they are high mileage. The regular cab came with a 6 speed manual, the quad cab was an automatic.
The SRT-10 had the V10 from the Viper. There was a concept for a Viper powered RAM in the 90s, towing the Viper at various auto shows, but it did not hit production until 2004-2006.
I remember the SRT-10 trucks. I saw one with the manual at a show a few years ago. There are usually a few Vipers at an annual show at a local Chrysler transmission plant.
I looked into an SRT10 as a tow vehicle. I thought the tow rating and payload capacity was not that great so I moved on to another truck. It is a neat concept though. Very thirsty and of course comes with all the Viper V10 problems that are highly dependent on how the previous owner took care of them. Buying one of those could be the bargain of a lifetime or it could bankrupt you. It is definitely something you will want a PPI done prior to purchase. The regular cab manual is the one to buy to maintain exceptional resale value being that it is the most desirable specification. The quad cab automatic is much cheaper to get into the SRT10 club, but there will forever be a price offset because of the automatic transmission of at least $10-15K.
I figured out modern trucks are a much better option overall than the SRT10 Ram if one is needing a truck to do truck things. If one is just looking to be flashy and doesn’t care about fuel economy, there is nothing more flashy and thirsty than an SRT10 Ram truck.
They had mild, iron block, non-SRT V10 Dodge/Ram pickups. They towed well, but were horribly thirsty.