AD #2462 – Grand Cherokee Replacement Date, Most and Least Efficient EV Models, Nissan Shows Off New Maxima

On today’s show…We’ve got news on when Jeep will replace the Cherokee and Grand Cherokee…we’ll tell you how you can buy a Volkswagen XL1…and we’ll tell you which are the most efficient and the least efficient electric cars. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.

FORD CELEBRATES THE RETURN OF THE RANGER
Ford is getting ready to start building the Ranger pickup truck in the Michigan Assembly Plant. To celebrate the return of the truck to the American market, Ford invited 3,000 factory workers to take rides in a custom built, off-road course they made in the plant’s parking lot.

FORD CRITICIZES TRUMP’S TARIFFS
And during that event, Ford once again criticized President Trump’s import tariffs. Joe Hinrichs, the company’s presiden, said U.S. steel prices are now more expensive than in any other market. Last month, CEO Jim Hackett said the tariffs will cost the company $1 billion in profits. Ford started complaining about raw material prices long before Trump instituted the tariffs and it’s odd that other automakers really haven’t said much about it.

CHEROKEE AND GRAND CHEROKEE REPLACEMENT DATES
We got some good intel from Autoforecast Solutions on when FCA is going to redesign the Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee. The current Grand Cherokee will end production in April of 2021 and will get replaced shortly thereafter. The next generation Cherokee is scheduled to go into production in January, 2022.

NISSAN SHOWS OFF NEW MAXIMA
Nissan is showing off the new Maxima which will make its debut at the LA Auto Show next month. As you can see, the styling is pretty similar to the current model, although it does appear sleeker and the headlights have been updated. The company didn’t reveal many other details other than it will now be available with new driver assistance technology and it goes on sale in December.

We’ll be talking about the most efficient electric car, and the least efficient one, right after this.

DYSON PICKS SINGAPORE FOR EV PRODUCTION
Well this one is kind of curious. Dyson, the company most famous for its vacuum cleaners, just announced it will build its first electric cars at an assembly plant in Singapore. They should roll off the line in 2021. What an odd choice. No one else makes cars in the land-locked city-state. But Dyson already has a manufacturing site in Singapore that makes digital motors, so it’s familiar with the area. Plus, Singapore has the world’s 2nd largest container port, plenty of technology talent, strong intellectual-property protections and a free trade agreement with China.

MOST AND LEAST EFFICIENT EV MODELS
We all know how to measure the efficiency of vehicles with internal combustion engines. We just look at how many miles per gallon they get. But how do you measure the efficiency of electric cars. Well, the EPA has a measure. It looks at how many kilowatt-hours of electricity you’ll use to drive 100 miles. And by that measure the Hyundai Ioniq EV is the most efficient electric on the market. It only uses 25 kilowatt-hours to drive 100 miles. The base Tesla Model 3 is next with 26 kwh. But Tesla also makes the least efficient EV, the Model X with the large P100D battery pack–you know the one that can run in Ludicrous mode. It uses 40 kilowatt-hours to drive 100 miles. We’re going to post the entire list of EV’s and how efficient they are on Instagram. To get that list all you have to do is get on Instagram and search for the Autoline Network.

Coming up next, it’s been in production for months, but we’re only now learning about some of the new braking technology used in the Chevrolet Silverado.

SILVERADO’S NEW BRAKING TECHNOLOGY
Automakers like to keep their new technology kind of secret, even after a vehicle has been in production. That’s why we’re only learning now that the new Chevrolet Silverado is using a vacuum-less brake booster. It’s made by ZF and GM kept the lid on this until now. It’s called the IBC or Integrated Brake Control system, and it incorporates the electronic stability control system along with the vacuum booster and the associated cables, sensors, switches, electronic controllers and vacuum pumps. So not only does it free up a lot of real estate under the hood, it doesn’t need vacuum generated by the engine, so it improves fuel efficiency and reduces CO2 emissions.

VOLKSWAGEN XL1 UP FOR AUCTION
Do you remember Volkswagen’s uber-efficient car, the XL1? It’s the space-age-looking vehicle that boasted a whopping 261 MPG on the old European test cycle and it has a curb weight under 2,000 pounds thanks to extensive use of lightweight materials. Only 250 of them were made with prices ranging between $150,000 and $170,000. But you can get your hands on one. An XL1 with just 79-miles on the odometer is going up for auction in the U.K. It seems like the car has held its value pretty well. It’s expected to fetch somewhere between $120,000 and $150,000.

And that wraps up today’s report. Thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.