AD #2503 – Daimler Delivers 1st Electric Trucks to U.S., Ghosn Back Behind Bars, New Engine Breakthrough

On today’s show…there’s a radical breakthrough that breathes new life into the internal combustion engine…Elon Musk says he could buy GM’s Lordstown plant…and why the plug-in version of the new Lincoln Aviator will not be badged as a hybrid. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.

GHOSN BACK BEHIND BARS
What a difference a day makes. Yesterday it looked like Carlos Ghosn would get out of jail on bail but today he’s back behind bars. He was re-arrested once again by Japanese prosecutors on charges of getting Nissan to pay for $16.6 million he lost on personal investments. That means he could be detained for at least another 10 days. Japanese prosecutors keep arresting Ghosn on new charges because that way they can keep him in jail and deny him bail.

MUSK HINTS HE COULD BUY GM PLANT
Elon Musk is ready to ride to the rescue at GM’s assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio. Musk hinted in a “60 Minutes” interview earlier this month, that he could be interested in buying one of the GM plants that are slated to close. And in a Twitter exchange yesterday with Ohio Governor John Kasich, Musk said he will consider buying the Lordstown, Ohio plant next year. But that prompted GM to say that the fate of the plant is tied to negotiations with the UAW. That suggests GM could keep the plant open if negotiations go well. And don’t forget, Tesla has fought against union representation at its plant in California and there’s a lot of bad blood between Musk and the UAW.

NEW ENGINE BREAKTHROUGH
There’s a fascinating technology being developed in Germany that could breathe new life into the internal combustion engine, and it all has to do with ignition. Pulsed microwave ignition, that is. A company called MWI has developed a way to ignite the air-fuel mixture at multiple points in the combustion chamber. With a spark plug, the fuel is ignited at one point and a flame front has to travel across the chamber before that energy is converted into mechanical motion. With microwave ignition, the entire air-fuel mixture is ignited simultaneously. This results in faster, more complete combustion, and at much lower temperatures. MWI says it reduces fuel consumption by 13-20%, but theoretically can reduce it 30%. It also results in significant reductions of NOX, CO, CO2, Hydrocarbons and Particulate Matter. Importantly, this technology can be retrofitted to existing engines with no modifications. MWI says it can be used in all types of combustion engines including gasoline, diesel, 2-stroke and wankel.

Even though this technology could help the piston engine, the EV revolution continues and we’ll have more about that after this.

DAIMLER DELIVERS 1ST ELECTRIC TRUCKS TO U.S.
Daimler is delivering its first electric big trucks in the U.S. Penske is going to use the fully electric medium-duty Freightliner eM2 for local deliveries in the Pacific Northwest and in California. It has a 325-kWh battery pack, which can be charged to 80% in an hour and provides 320 miles of range. Penske will get a total of 20 electric Freightliner trucks in 2019: 10 eM2s and 10 heavy-duty eCascadias. The larger trucks feature 550 kWh battery packs, which provide 250 miles of range. In total, Daimler will test 30 fully electric medium-and heavy-duty trucks in the U.S. before series production starts in 2021. And this shows that the EV revolution is spreading to all sectors of the automotive industry.

TOYOTA & PSA PARTNER ON COMMERCIAL VANS
Every time you turn around car companies are announcing another collaborative program. We recently reported on how PSA will supply Toyota with a small commercial van for Europe and now we have more details on the deal. It will be a variant to come from PSA’s K9 light-commercial vehicle range, which includes the Peugeot Partner and Citroen Berlingo. About 20,000 to 30,000 examples are expected to be made each year at a PSA plant in northwest Spain. Toyota and PSA have collaborated on light commercial vehicles since 2012 and this new deal will last until 2022 or 2023.

Coming up next, Lincoln is coming out with a plug-in version of the Aviator. But it will not be badged as a hybrid.

WHY LINCOLN IS AVOIDING HYBRID BADGES
At the LA Auto Show, Lincoln revealed its all-new mid-size crossover the Aviator. And while it’s available with a plug-in hybrid, it doesn’t have a badge on it indicating it’s a hybrid, instead it’s called the Grand Touring model. On Autoline This Week, we’re joined by the head of the Lincoln brand, Joy Falotico, and she explained why the company is avoiding calling it a hybrid.

(The ATW preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)

For more about the Lincoln brand, you can watch that entire show right now on our website or you can find it on our YouTube channel.

And a programming note here. Autoline Daily will be off all next week as the Autoline crew takes a well-deserved holiday break. But we’ll be back on January 3rd, and by the way, we’ll also have Sandy Munro back on Autoline After Hours that very same afternoon, and that you won’t want to miss.

But that’s it for today, thanks for watching, Happy Holidays and we’ll see you next year.