AD #2651 – Toyota Supra Impressions, IIHS Crash Tests First Fuel Cell Vehicle, EVs Need Cleaner Electric Grid

This is Autoline Daily reporting on the global automotive industry.

EVs NEED CLEANER ELECTRIC GRID
If you buy an electric car manufactured in the U.S., you will need to drive it 85,000 miles before its carbon footprint falls below that of a car powered by an internal combustion engine with a 48-volt mild hybrid. That’s the conclusion of a well-to-wheels study conducted by AVL. Here’s what Ewe Grebe from AVL told us.

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

AVL, which is a prominent powertrain consultancy based in Austria, included all the energy needed for mining lithium and refining oil. But it did not include the energy needed for recycling because currently no one knows how to fully recycle EV batteries. The study used the U.S. electric grid for the comparison, and on average 30% of that electricity is generated by coal. AVL says this shows the need to make the grid cleaner, especially with renewables. In China, roughly 66% of electricity is generated by coal, so presumably motorists there would have to drive much farther before their EVs were cleaner than mild hybrids.

That interview with AVL is part of our coverage from the Management Briefing Seminars this week. And you can check out all the other interviews we did with industry experts on our website www.Autoline.tv or YouTube channel.

IIHS TESTS FIRST FUEL CELL VEHICLE
Hyundai’s new fuel cell vehicle, the Nexo, just received a Top Safety Pick Plus award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. This is the first time it crash tested a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. The IIHS says it wouldn’t normally test a vehicle like this, since it’s only available in California, but Hyundai wanted it to be evaluated and the IIHS was happy to oblige. The Nexo earned a good rating in all six crashworthiness tests and it earned a superior rating for its standard front crash protection system. This is important to show that fuel cell vehicles are just as safe as ones with more traditional powertrains.

CHINA CAR SALES DOWN IN JULY
Car sales in China continue to slump. Passenger vehicle sales fell 5% in July to 1.5 million units, according to the China Passenger Car Association. Local carmakers like Geely and BYD have been among the hardest hit. We came across some pretty good insight at the Management Briefing Seminars as to why China’s new car market fell by over a million units since 2017. Up to now, China did not have much of a used car market. But now China has a larger car parc than the U.S. and Chinese consumers have plenty of good used cars to choose from. For consumers with not as much money to spend, a used car is now a great alternative to buying new. 

TOYOTA SUPRA IMPRESSIONS
A very interesting car rolled through the Autoline Garage this week, the all-new Toyota Supra. People are quick to criticize the Supra as an uglier version of the BMW Z4, which it’s based on. But I don’t agree with that. I like the bold look. And we had random people stopping in the parking lot to take pictures, drivers slowing down to take a look and smiles and thumbs up all over the place. The one thing I wish, that the fake air vents on the front fenders, below the doors and by the taillights were actually functional. And you really have to fold yourself up to get in and out of it. I also admit it’s a bit odd to see BMW logos and badges under the hood and BMW controls, display screen and steering wheel. But I think the BMW iDrive system is better than anything Toyota has and is a welcomed feature. It’s also odd to hear the BMW sound of the engine in a Toyota. It sounds like a well-tuned BMW, but still a BMW. Does any of this take away from the Supra being a fun sports car? For me, it did not. Dropping it in Sport Mode gives it a little extra burble and this car goes like stink. Its 3.0L turbocharged inline-6 is rated at 335-horsepower, but I’ve seen videos of people that put the car on a dyno and got significantly higher ratings than what Toyota is claiming. We even saw a report yesterday from a company offering software that boosts it to 420-horsepower. We only got to push the car a little bit, but it behaved like a powerful rear-drive sports car: a little twitchy in the corners, but you could feel the rear end squat, which gave good feedback to the steering wheel and gives you a feeling of being in control. Like the last Supra, the new car seems like a good base for someone to make an absolutely wicked car. To the critics I’d say, go out and drive one before you knock it. Our GR Supra test car priced out at a little over $57,000.

CAN YOU IDENTIFY THIS CAR?
Time to show off your automotive knowledge of classic cars again. Autoline viewer John B sent us this picture he snapped in Southern Italy a few years ago. Do you know what they are? We’ll admit we didn’t know and it took about 45 minutes of searching to figure it out. It is a little bit of an obscure brand, but is one that we’ve heard of before. So, I’m sure you all will nail it. Leave your guesses in the comments and we’ll reveal the answer on Monday.

AUDI DROPS A3 CABRIOLET
BMW recently took an axe to some of the vehicles in its lineup and now Audi is trimming its portfolio. The company will no longer offer the A3 Cabriolet in the U.S. after the 2019 model year. Audi doesn’t separate Cabriolet and sedan sales, but the A3 as a whole has only sold 5,650 vehicles through July of this year in the U.S., which is less than half compared to 2018. Look for more of this to happen. BMW and Audi are getting rid of models and using the savings to invest in EVs, AVs, connected cars and mobility services.

VW GOLF R GOES ON HIATUS
In related news, the Volkswagen Golf R is going on hiatus after the 2019 model year. The company says the R will be back at some point but did not give a timeframe. So if you want one, you better get it now or you’re going to wait a while.

HOW FORD IS SPEEDING UP PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Ford is trying to revolutionize the way it develops new vehicles. It calls the process EPLM or Enterprise Product Line Management, and it could bring new models to the market much faster and at a much lower cost. On Autoline This Week, we’re joined by Jim Baumbick, the VP of EPLM at Ford and he explained how the process is speeding up product development.

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

For those of you not familiar with the term “white space,” it means it’s a vehicle that fits into a segment where an automaker doesn’t currently one. You can watch that entire show right now on our website, Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.

But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and have a great weekend.