AD #2676 – Mercedes Creates Wild Retro Concept, UAW Strikes Against GM, Audi Names New CEO

This is Autoline Daily reporting on all aspects of the global automotive industry.

Before we get into the news today, we’d like to ask you a question. At Autoline we try to give you good insights into what’s going on in the automotive industry. We have our ideas on what’s important but we’d like to get yours, too. So what do you like about Autoline Daily? What don’t you like? What would you like to see more of? We’re open to any and all suggestions. You can put them in the comments section, or send an email to viewermail@autoline.tv. We very much value your input and are looking for good ideas. OK, now to the news.

UAW STRIKES AGAINST GM 
Just as everyone expected, the UAW decided to strike against General Motors, with 46,000 union workers walking off the job. GM said it negotiated with a sense of urgency and was disappointed the union chose to strike. That suggests union officials were more preoccupied with corruption charges against union officials than with bargaining. The Detroit News reports there was a high-level union meeting on Friday to remove Gary Jones, the union president, from office. He’s been implicated in the corruption scandal. While the UAW kept Jones in place, the union officials in that meeting were not at the bargaining table with GM.

General Motors says it offered the union over $7 billion in investments in U.S. plants, including a battery cell manufacturing plant in Ohio. It said it had solutions for two assembly plants that were closed in Lordstown, Ohio and Detroit, Michigan with the latter getting new products allocated to it. In total GM said it would create 5,400 more UAW jobs, increase wages, improve profit sharing, and a pay a ratification bonus of $8,000. 

The union rejected that, but this may be more about UAW leaders wanting to show the rank and file they’re looking out for their interests despite all the corruption charges. Wall Street says the strike may be more symbolic than strategic, and if that’s the case, it won’t last too long. Merrill Lynch says GM is likely to get strong support from investors to take a tough stance with the union.

The strike will definitely be a hardship on union members. Most of them earn about $1,200 a week. But their strike pay is only $250 a week, meaning they’re losing nearly a thousand dollars a week while on strike. Here’s our Autoline Insight. Why is the union only paying $250 a week? It has a reported $721 million in its strike fund, that’s enough to pay for 62 weeks, well over a year. But the strike will never last that long, so why not pay them more?

MERCEDES CREATES WILD RETRO CONCEPT 
Here’s a concept we sure wish we could get in and drive. The Mercedes 35 PS is considered by some as the first modern car and the Vision Mercedes Simplex is a modern interpretation of that car. Four large wheels bolt to the 2-seater’s monocoque body and the radiator grille is actually a 3D display that shows information on the vehicle’s status. And the driver is shown only the information they need on a digital instrument panel. Mercedes will never make the Simplex but it would be cool seeing it roll down the road with other modern cars.

CANADA MAY ADOPT CA FUEL ECONOMY STANDARDS
President Trump wants to freeze U.S. fuel economy standards at 2022 levels, and WardsAuto reports that the Canadian government may decide to adopt California’s instead. Historically, Canada pretty much adopted the U.S. standards. But Canada may join Ford, BMW, Honda and Volkswagen in supporting California’s standard.

NEW SUN VISOR FEATURES HUD SYSTEM
The interior technology in cars is rapidly changing, especially in luxury cars. But there’s one item that has not changed for decades: sun visors. They’re the same shape they’ve always been and use the same materials. So a company called Design HMi created a translucent visor made from the same material as sunglasses. The visor can be set to a custom tint anywhere from 10% visibility to 70% at night. It even offers an optional HUD system to show speed and direction. You can even pair the visor with your smartphone or through the OBD port. Design HMi plans to offer this in the 2020 model year.

INFINITI NAMES NEW HEAD OF DESIGN
We’ve got some personnel changes to report on. Karim Habib recently left as head of design at Infiniti to go to Kia. Replacing Habib at Infiniti is Taisuke Nakamura. He’s responsible for concepts including the QX Inspiration, Prototype 10 and Qs Inspiration. He’ll report to Alfonso Albaisa, who is the Senior Vice President of Nissan Global Design.

GM CHINA DESIGN STUDIO GETS NEW DESIGN DIRECTOR 
And in related news, General Motors named Harry Sze director of Design at its China Advanced Design Studio in Shanghai. The studio is responsible for creating concept and new energy vehicles for China and other markets. Prior to joining GM, Sze was the director of BMW’s Designworks Shanghai studio.

MARKUS DUESMANN NAMED CEO OF AUDI
You’ll remember that Audi’s CEO Rupert Stadler was forced to step down in June as part of VW’s diesel scandal. He’ll be replaced by Markus Duesmann who was previously an engine development expert at BMW.

But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching and we’ll see you again tomorrow.