AD #2330 – VW Jetta Driving Impressions, California Ready to Compromise, Hub Motors Breakthrough?

On today’s show…Volkswagen is tossing out its CEO Matthias Mueller…California says it’s ready to compromise with Trump on fuel economy standards…and a new hub motor design could revolutionize electric cars. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.

VW OUSTS CEO MATTHIAS MUELLER
Despite hitting record sales and profit last year, the VW Group will toss out its CEO Matthias Mueller. The 64-year-old has been head of the company since 2015 and actually had his contract extended recently until 2020. But Mueller did not seem like the executive who could change VW’s corporate culture that tolerated cheating on diesel emissions and colluding with other German automakers. Mueller’s replacement is 59-year-old Herbert Diess, who is currently head of the VW brand and came from BMW. VW’s shares jumped over 4% on the news.

CALIFORNIA READY TO COMPROMISE
Could the California Air Resources Board and Trump’s EPA find common ground? Bloomberg reports that the CARB is willing to compromise on fuel economy regulations as long as California is allowed to keep its own standards. Part of any deal could include California giving automakers more credits and removing some rules, like forcing automakers to include pollution from power plants that generate electricity for electric cars. Who knows how this will turn out? But it’s significant that California signaled it’s ready to compromise.   

TENNECO ACQUIRES FEDERAL-MOGUL
There’s more fireworks happening in the supplier industry. Yesterday, Tenneco bought Federal-Mogul for $5.4 billion. But the plan is to split them into two independent, publicly traded companies, one focusing on the aftermarket, while the other focuses on selling powertrain technology to automakers.

Has a California start-up cracked the code on hub motors for EVs? That’s coming up next.

CES TEAMS UP WITH PARIS AUTO SHOW
Holy Moly! The auto show wars are going thermonuclear. CES just signed a deal with the Paris Auto Show to do a tech show that coincides with press days on October 2 & 3. They’re calling it MONDIAL.TECH. The organizers of NAIAS were considering moving the Detroit show from January to October but this obviously complicates those plans.

BUICK TEASES VELITE 6 IN CHINA
A little over a year ago we showed you the Buick Velite 5. It’s actually a rebadged version of the Chevy Volt that Buick sells exclusively in China. Now Buick is going to offer a vehicle for China, called the Velite 6. It’s unclear if this vehicle is just the next-gen version of the Velite 5 and still based on the Chevy Volt, but interestingly, it will come as both a plug-in hybrid and a full battery electric. The styling is based on the Velite Concept shown back in November of 2016. And before you go telling me that this might be Buick’s version of the Bolt EV, we think the Enspire Concept it just teased could be that vehicle.

HUB MOTORS BREAKTHROUGH?
In-wheel electric hub motors are not a new concept but they’ve never caught on due to weight and cost constraints. Now, California startup Orbis Driven hopes to have cracked the code. It splits the wheel into a stationary hub and an outside ring. The ring is driven by an electric motor around the stationary hub. A traditional hub motor weighs about 65- to 70-pounds, but Orbis Driven’s setup comes in at 35-lbs. The company is currently testing two 70-horsepower units on the rear of a Honda Civic Type R, converting it from front-wheel drive to all-wheel. But says it’s ready to move from the prototype phase to production and hopes to attract automakers looking for an easy way to convert an existing car or platform into a hybrid. Let us know in the comments if you think Orbis Driven has cracked the code for electric hub motors.

Coming up next, we’ll take you behind the wheel of all new Volkswagen Jetta.

2019 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
Yesterday we gave you some of the engineering and marketing background on the new Volkswagen Jetta, today let’s talk about driving impressions. The Jetta is everything you’d expect from a Volkswagen: tight, connected to the road, and responsive. It’s tiny 1.4-liter turbo is up to the task for almost any driving situation. The power comes on quickly and the engine feels smooth almost all the way up to redline. The steering is crisp, precise and linear. The car goes exactly where you want it to. The brakes are firm and well-modulated. And the chassis is impressively solid. Inside the seats are wide and comfortable with very good thigh support. All the controls are simple and easy to find. And there is a noticeable lack of wind noise even above posted highway speed limits. Volkswagen owners will love this car. The only critique we have is the styling. It’s not off-putting, but compared to the competition it looks a bit stodgy. But if VW can convince shoppers to come in and take test drives the 2019 Jetta can sell itself.

You won’t want to miss tomorrow’s Autoline After Hours. Joining John and Gary is Rich Silbert, the Engineering Development Manager for the new Jeep Cherokee. If you have any questions, send them our way to viewermail@autoline.tv. And then join us live at 3PM eastern time at our website, Autoline.tv, for some of the best insider discussions in the automotive industry.

But that brings us to the end of today’s show, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.