+++ Remember that V6 powered AUDI R8 that was supposed to come before the end of this year? Well, it ain’t happening, because the German car firm appears to have changed its mind. The supercar’s project manager, Bjorn Friedrich, recently confirmed that the R8 will only be offered with a V10 engine, claiming that: “it’s the best engine for the car” and thus they’ll “stick to it”. The R8 V6 was expected with the same twin-turbo 2.9-liter engine as the RS4 and RS5 models. In those, it produces 450 hp and 600 Nm, allowing them to sprint to 100 km/h in around 4 seconds. Friedrich didn’t confirm nor deny the rumor about yet another rear-wheel drive R8, so in all likelihood, this one is coming, too. The facelifted R8 was unveiled last month with a more aggressive styling, revised suspension, retuned power steering (and optional dynamic steering) and enhanced ESC. In the revamped R8, the naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10 is now good for 570 hp 550 Nm in entry-level form. The extra 30 hp 10 Nm allow the Coupe to hit 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 324 km/h. Using a more powerful version of the same engine, the Performance model has benefited from a 10 hp and 20 Nm raise to 620 hp and 580 Nm, accelerating from naught to 100 km/h in 3.1 seconds and maxing out at 331 km/h. +++
+++ AUTONOMOUS vehicles promise to improve safety and transform how people move place to place. They’ll also free people from the burden of driving and a new study suggests they’ll use this time for some hanky panky. A paper published in the Annals of Tourism Research suggests autonomous taxis could become mobile brothels. As the paper speculates, so called ‘hotels-by-the-hour’ could be replaced by autonomous vehicles which just drive prostitutes and johns around while they do their thing. That’s an unpleasant thought, but the paper suggests companies will likely install cameras in their vehicles to deter people from doing illicit behavior (drugs, sex, etc) in them. However, cameras are unlikely to be installed in autonomous vehicles owned by private citizens. If these vehicles are then put into commercial service, such as through a ride-sharing app, the study says it’s “just a small leap to imagine Amsterdam’s Red Light District on the move”. Of course, sex in cars isn’t unheard of and the paper cites a previous study that found 60 % of Americans have already had car sex. It’s also worth noting that prostitutes and johns won’t be the only people getting it on as couples will have plenty of time to kill on longer road trips. The leader of the study, Scott Cohen, said he doesn’t expect sex in autonomous vehicles will be an issue anytime soon. He estimates it won’t become a problem until the 2040’s. The other claims in the paper aren’t too surprising as researchers suggest autonomous vehicles will negatively impact hotels. Since people no longer have to drive, they can simply sleep in their vehicle while still traveling to their destination. +++
+++ CADILLAC has confirmed it is dropping the CT6 Plug-In in North America. In a short statement, the company said “For 2019, our focus for CT6 in North America is the launch of the comprehensive 2019 midcycle update and the first-ever V-Series variant of the top-of-range sedan”. The automaker went on to say: “Although production of the CT6 Plug-In for North America is discontinuing for the 2019 model year, alternative fuel vehicles remain a part of our future product portfolio as we move deeper in to our 10-year plan. GM has committed to 20 electric vehicles by 2023, some of which will be Cadillacs”. While Cadillac didn’t say why the model was being dropped, it could be due to a combination of slow sales and the trade war between China and the United States. Unlike regular versions of the luxury sedan, the CT6 Plug-In is built exclusively in China. There’s no word on how many plug-in hybrids Cadillac was able to sell in the United States, but the car had a base price of $75,095. This effectively put the sedan squarely in between the $53,400 BMW 530e iPerformance and the $91,250 740e xDrive iPerformance. As a refresher, the CT6 Plug-In has a turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine that produces 265 hp and 399 Nm of torque. The car is also equipped with an 18.4 kWh lithium-ion battery pack which powers 2 electric motors that each develop 100 hp. This setup enables the CT6 Plug-In to have a combined output of 335 hp and 586 Nm of torque. In terms of performance, the sedan can accelerate from 0-96 km/h in 5.2 seconds and travel approximately 50 km on electricity alone. +++
+++ Volkswagen chief executive Herbert Diess will take on responsibility for the carmaker’s business in CHINA , a source said as VW’s supervisory board met in Wolfsburg. Diess will take over the China role early next year from Jochem Heizmann, who will retire, the source told. “The Chinese government expects that company leadership is routinely present in China”, the source added. Volkswagen declined to comment on the news. +++
+++ DAIMLER said it plans to invest 1.1 billion yuan ($158.23 million) in a second research and development center in Beijing to help accelerate localization of Mercedes-Benz vehicle models in China. Daimler said in a statement the new tech center will be situated close to Daimler’s engine and vehicle assembly hub in China’s capital and is expected to start operations in 2020. China, the world’s biggest auto market, is Daimler’s single largest market globally. The company’s existing tech center in Beijing was established in 2014. “We remain positive for further growth opportunities in China and will continue with our investment here”, Hubertus Troska, Daimler’s chief for greater China operations, said in a statement. +++
+++ FORD chief executive Jim Hackett told the company was open to investment by automakers and others in its autonomous vehicle business, but cautioned that expanding partnerships with German automaker Volkswagen was a “delicate dance”. Volkswagen’s supervisory board is scheduled to meet to review a 10-year strategic plan by Chief Executive Herbert Diess that is expected to propose using alliances with rivals to cut development costs for electric and autonomous vehicles and potentially other types of vehicles. Ford and VW have acknowledged that they are in discussions. Hackett said a previously announced partnership to share development of future light commercial vehicles was “going better than we thought it would”. “Herbert and I had a great discussion”, about the commercial vehicle business, Hackett said. However, Hackett said expanding collaboration to other areas, such as electric vehicles or consolidation in Latin America, would have to be done carefully, and no broader deal had been agreed. “We compete in a bunch of areas as well”, he said. Ford’s share price has sunk 22 % this year, reflecting investor frustration with the company’s pace of rolling out plans to restructure money-losing operations in Europe, Latin America and China, and a strategy for funding investments in autonomous and electrified vehicles. Ford earlier this year created a separate unit for its autonomous vehicle operations, which include a majority stake in self-driving car software company Argo AI. Potential investors could put money into either Ford’s autonomous vehicle unit, or Argo, Ford executives said. Ford and Argo are currently testing vehicles in 4 cities: Miami, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Washington, Argo chief executive Bryan Salesky said, and the companies plan to expand the number of test cities in 2019. Ford has said it expects to launch self-driving vehicles for sale by 2021, when a new vehicle architecture designed specifically for autonomous systems is expected to be ready. In the meantime, Ford is testing different ways in which self-driving vehicles can be used to carry people and goods. In Miami, for example, the company is collaborating with local businesses to test designs for vehicles that can deliver food, laundry or flowers. Ford said it would work with Walmart to design automated delivery services. “We see equal opportunity between moving people and moving goods”, said Sherif Marakby, head of Ford’s autonomous vehicle unit. Among the lessons Ford executives have learned from nearly a year of testing in Miami: Customers who live in high rise apartment buildings are less willing to make a trip to the street to pick up a package stored in a locker built into a vehicle, Marakby said. At the same time, people living in suburban neighborhoods are often interested in getting food or goods delivered from businesses in the city. Signs that the U.S. auto market is heading for a cyclical downturn, coupled with higher steel costs due to U.S. tariffs, have ratcheted up pressure on all three Detroit automakers. General Motors chief executive Mary Barra last month launched a sweeping cost-cutting program, including offering buyouts to 18,000 North American salaried staff, and warning of outright layoffs if not enough employees leave. Since May, GM and its Cruise self-driving car unit have landed $5 billion in investment commitments from Japan’s SoftBank and Honda to develop a robot taxi service. Hackett acknowledged investor concerns, but said he wanted to be sure that Ford had worked out how to redesign its business before cutting anything. “Hacking off limbs of the organization gets you nowhere”, he said. +++
+++ Autonomous driving technology promises to significantly improve safety, but that doesn’t mean current systems should be overlooked. In a recent study, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety examined how effective FORWARD COLLISION WARNING systems with automatic emergency braking really are. The results are pretty impressive as they showed the technology can drastically reduce the number of accidents that occur every year. While the latest study only looked at 2013-15 GM vehicles, it found models equipped with a forward collision warning system with an automatic emergency braking function experienced 43 % less front-to-rear collisions than models without the technology. When it comes to front-to-rear crashes with injuries, vehicles equipped with the technology did 64 % better than their ‘dumb’ rivals. Even more basic models, with only a forward collision warning system (without automatic braking), did significantly better than vehicles without the technology. Front-to-rear crashes dropped by 17 %, while front-to-rear crashes with injuries fell by 30 %. Besides reducing the number of accidents overall, the technology significantly reduced the number of accidents that caused injured. This is likely due to the fact that drivers had advanced warning of a potential collision and could slow down even if they couldn’t avoid a crash altogether. The latest research builds on previous study which examined vehicles from Acura, Fiat Chrysler, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru and Volvo. In that particular study, forward collision warning systems with automatic emergency braking reduced the number of front-to-rear crashes by 50 %. Front-to-rear crashes involving injuries also fell by 56 %. According to the study’s author, Jessica Cicchino, “The evidence has been mounting that front crash prevention works, and it works even better when it doesn’t solely rely on a response from the driver”. While automatic emergency braking systems are becoming standard on more and more vehicles, they’re far from universal. That will change by September of 2022 as 20 automakers have pledged to make the technology standard equipment on virtually every new vehicle they sell. +++
+++ GENERAL MOTORS is planning to introduce 20 new electric cars over the next 5 years, but an electric pickup truck isn’t part of the plan. Mike Abelson, GM vice president of global strategy, told the company believes it will “lead the industry” in electric vehicles at some point in the next decade. Despite that, he categorically said there won’t be any autonomous or electric trucks. He stated “the core business is going to be the core business for a couple of decades to come”, with the company expecting to make most of its revenue from petrol-powered vehicles during that time period. Even so, the world is aggressively transitioning to electric power. China is heavily incentivising electric vehicles, while Europe may legislate a 40 % cut in vehicle emissions by 2030. Some parts of Europe are also looking to prohibit the sale of most non-electrified vehicles by 2040, while cities are looking to ban diesel vehicles on their streets. Not long after GM sold Opel and Vauxhall to the PSA Group in 2017, their new owners came out to say the German and British marques were not on track to meet the EU’s medium-term emissions targets. Mary Barra, GM CEO, recently told Harvard University students the company has given a “tiny bit” of thought to one day making an electric pickup. GM continues to invest heavily in autonomous vehicles and is planning to launch a fleet of self-driving electric cars for a ride-sharing service in a major US city next year. +++
+++ Like all other mainstream automakers out there, MITSUBISHI has to deal with the issue of growing crossover and SUV sales. The Japanese automaker already has a number of high-riding vehicles in its lineup to cater to its clients’ needs. However, passenger cars still account for a good chunk of sales worldwide, so they’re currently reconsidering the Space Star and Lancer. Mitsubishi chief operating officer Trevor Mann admitted that they’re not saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to anything just yet. Their plan is still being discussed and they’ve got “some ideas in the pipeline”. “Obviously, as a brand, you need entry vehicles, you need to ideally bring somebody into your brand and then walk through the brand as their lifestyle changes, be it financial or family-driven”, Mann said. Development of the Space Star ’s successor has already begun, and for the subcompact car, Mitsubishi is looking at the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance for the platform. “It’s likely that the next Space Star will be on the CMF-B platform, but not decided yet”, he commented. The CMF-B architecture will also underpin the upcoming Renault Clio, Captur and Nissan Juke. As for the next Lancer, Mann said “it wouldn’t necessarily be on the Megane platform. If we are talking about passenger vehicles, depending on the size, it would be on the CMF-C platform”. Mitsubishi’s intention to keep passenger cars in its lineup was further highlighted by corporate vice-president of Product Strategy, Vincent Cobee. “I know all of you guys write about the growth and emergence of SUVs, and it’s correct, it’s 35-37 % of the total market today, and it’s still growing. But that doesn’t eradicate the fact that there will be 40-50 million cars that will be traditional passenger cars”. Cobee added that they need to “cater to those 40 million customers”, so they will “investigate the possibility to look at passenger cars. We have in our wish list some intention to do passenger cars”. +++
+++ Volkswagen has a wide range of electric vehicles coming, and in order to start production, they need to shuffle some of things around. As a result, one of the vehicles affected by this move is the Passat. The midsize car is currently being put together in Emden, Germany, alongside the Arteon. However, production could shift to the Czech Republic, at SKODA ’s Kvasiny facility. This is where Skoda is making the Superb, and if the Passat crosses over, the factory will be operating almost at full capacity. Skoda’s other local plant is also nearing its production limits, so the Volkswagen Group is looking at a third assembly plant for its Czech auto brand. An official decision has yet to be made, but Bulgaria and Turkey are the likely candidates for the investment. Swapping the ‘Made in Germany’ label for the ‘Made in the Czech Republic’ one probably won’t be embraced by some VW Passat customers. Nonetheless, such a move could turn out to be extremely important for the automaker, which will eventually free up the space at its Emden and Hanover facilities step-by-step. According to Jato Dynamics, sales of the Passat fell by 5 % to 127,325 in the first 9 months of the year. Deliveries of the Arteon, which is the CC’s successor, went up from 12,770 to 17,751 in the same period. Deliveries of Skoda cars dropped 7.4 % in October, largely in European markets due to conversions to conform to the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test (WLTP) anti-pollution rules. Skoda Auto said that its overall 10-month deliveries rose 6.1 % to 1.03 million vehicles. +++
+++ My expectations were set pretty low by analysts’ projections for fourth-quarter car sales in the UNITED STATES . So far, they appear to be accurate. Well, with one exception. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles appears to be unstoppable. After a gangbuster September, the folks in Auburn Hills are at it again. If you’ve been tracking Jeep sales this year, you’re aware of how close the company is to clearing the 1 million unit mark for the first time in its history. At its current pace, it appears Jeep will fall just shy of that milestone, but 2018 will still likely be the brand’s best sales year ever. The industry as a whole seems to be sticking to its September pace, for better or for worse. Ford, Honda and Toyota remained relatively stagnant, though several truck and SUV models continue to post record months. Some are even posting record years with two months still to go. Even Audi isn’t immune to 2018’s fickle rhythms. After a 9 year run, the luxury Volkswagen subsidiary’s growth streak has officially ended. In October, Alfa Romeo was up 44 %, Fiat down 35 %, Genesis down 79 %, Infiniti up 15.4 %, Land Rover up 43.3 %, Maserati down 16.7 %, Mazda down 10.3 %, Mini down 13.7 %, Nissan down 13 %, Smart down 32.1 % and Tesla up 350 %. +++
+++ VOLKSWAGEN ’s supervisory board is due to vote on a multi-billion euro investment plan, including steps to retool three German plants to mass produce electric cars and to explore alliances with battery partners and rival carmakers. Labor unions, who control half the seats on Volkswagen’s supervisory board, need to sign off on the plan to create global production capacity for 1 million electric vehicles by 2025 amid their concerns that assembling battery driven cars will require fewer workers. Around 436,000 industrial jobs in Germany are tied to building petrol and diesel engined vehicles. Jobs are under threat because a combustion engined car has 1,400 components in the motor, exhaust system and transmission, while an electric car’s battery and motor has only 200 components, according to analysts at ING. Volkswagen’s management this week outlined plans to labor leaders for converting car plants in Zwickau, Emden and Hannover to build electric cars, providing job guarantees to workers until 2028. The first ID electric car is due to roll off the production line in Zwickau in 2019, as the plant ramps up to a production capacity of 330,000 electric vehicles. Zwickau currently builds the Golf. Volkswagen’s MEB electric vehicle platform is also being eyed by U.S. carmaker Ford as the 2 companies continue exploratory talks about an alliance to develop self-driving and electric vehicles and to complement each other’s global production footprints. +++