AD #2510 – Lexus Reveals LC Convertible Concept, Bell Nexus the Hit of CES, Cadillac To Become GM’s Tesla Fighter

On today’s show…we’ll show you what we thought was the biggest hit at CES…we’ve got news on exactly when and where Tesla will build the Model Y…and GM wants Cadillac to take on Tesla. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.

TESLA IN THE HEADLINES
Tesla continues to make headlines. No doubt you saw that Elon Musk says the upcoming roadster will be able to hover using thrusters from his SpaceX program. Musk says he’s serious about doing this, but admits it may not be street legal, so maybe it will never go into production. In news that’s more down to earth, Tesla is eliminating the 75-kilowatt hour battery pack from the base level versions of the Model S and X. Presumably that will lure those buyers into the Model 3. And here’s the latest we have on Tesla. Autoforecast Solutions reports that the SOP, or start of production, for the Model Y will be in August of 2020 at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Nevada. Some were wondering where Tesla was going to build the Y, which is an SUV based on the Model 3. And now we know where and when they’ll make it.

Did you see our coverage of CES brought to you by ZF? One of the wildest things we saw there was this autonomous motorcycle that BMW developed. Why in the world would they do that? You can learn all about it, and see all our CES coverage on our website and our YouTube channel.

BELL NEXUS HIT OF CES
But from a transportation standpoint, the hit of the show has to be the Bell Nexus. It literally stopped show goers in their tracks. It’s a drone that carries 4 passengers plus a pilot. It uses a hybrid electric powertrain that can travel twice as far and twice as fast as a helicopter with the same payload. It would also be far quieter than a helicopter. Bell is developing it but Uber wants to use it in a pilot program that should go into operation in Dallas, Texas in about two years.

And we’ll be back with more right after this.

FORD SHUTS DOWN CHARIOT
Passenger drones like the Bell Nexus we showed you could be the next disruptor in mobility services, and we’re already seeing some startups fall by the wayside. In a stunning announcement, Ford says it’s closing down its ride hailing van service called Chariot. It reportedly had trouble attracting enough customers, though right up until this announcement, people at Ford continued to talk glowingly about Chariot. And that makes us wonder if this could be related to the upcoming announcement Ford is supposed to make next week about its collaboration with Volkswagen.

CADILLAC TO BECOME GM’S TESLA FIGHTER
Chevrolet has pretty much led the EV charge at General Motors, but according to Reuters, Cadillac will become GM’s lead electric vehicle brand. Cadillac is expected to get the first vehicle based off of GM’s new BEV3 platform. The vehicle will go up against the likes of Tesla, but it’s not currently known where it will be built, whether it will be a sedan or crossover or when it will come out.

LEXUS REVEALS LC CONVERTIBLE CONCEPT
Lexus’ LC Coupe has received tons of praise since it came out and soon it could be getting another model. Lexus will display a concept convertible version of the LC at the Detroit auto show next week. It calls it a concept, but it sure looks like it’s ready to start rolling down the production line to us. The only thing that’s not really shown is if it’s a hard or soft top.

On Monday we’re going to learn which automakers will win the coveted awards for North American Car, Truck and Utility of The Year. And coming up next, we’ll have some jurors predict the winner.

NACTOY WINNER PREDICTIONS
On our program Autoline This Week, the topic is the North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year awards. We invited Sharon Carty from Automotive News, Lindsay Brooke from SAE Engineering and Chris Paukert from Roadshow by CNET, to talk about the all the vehicles that were up for the award. Early in the show everyone agreed that the Ram will win Truck of the Year, but here are their predictions for Car and Utility.

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

You can watch that entire show right now on our website and YouTube channel, and there’s a lot of good information. Also, a programming note here. The Autoline crew with be at the Detroit auto show on Monday and Tuesday, so we will not be doing Autoline Daily, as we concentrate on bringing you the top news as it breaks at the show. Be on the lookout for our barrage of coverage coming out both days, all day long.

And that wraps up today’s report, thanks for watching.