AD #2847 – Massive Layoffs Looming; Elon Musk Earns Historic Payout; Toyota Supra Requires Extended Test Drive

This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.

And we start in Europe, where the corona virus is causing havoc in the industry. Renault is going to get rid of 15,000 workers, to deal with slumping sales and to help boost profits. Around 4,500 of those cuts are expected to happen in France, mostly through voluntary buyouts or retirements. The German supplier ZF also said it plans to get rid of 12,000 to 15,000 jobs, about half of which would be in Germany. The company’s CEO said it expects heavy financial losses this year and the slump threatens its financial independence. Nissan is closing its plant in Barcelona, Spain, which will result in about 2,500 job losses. And in Formula One, Williams Racing said it’s considering putting its Formula 1 team up for sale.

ELON MUSK EARNS HISTORIC PAYOUT
Well it’s a good day to be Elon Musk. Tesla’s CEO just received his first performance-based payout which is worth more than $700 million. He earned that whopping bonus for keeping the company’s market cap at $100 billion on a 30-day and 6-month trailing average. We believe this has to be the biggest payout any CEO in a publicly traded company has received in the history of the world.

DRONES TAKE OVER THE MERCEDES-BENZ MUSEUM
Mercedes was forced to close its museum in Stuttgart, Germany because of coronavirus lockdowns. But It reopened a few weeks ago with social distancing restrictions. Obviously many people are still unable to travel and visit it, so Mercedes shot this cool drone footage of the museum and released it on its social media channels, where its already been viewed around 6 million times in the first few days. While it’s not the same as being there in person, it’s still cool to look at and hey, it’s also free!

COULD PHYSICAL AUCTIONS GO AWAY?
“Kicking the tires” before buying a vehicle is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Not only are new car sales moving online, but Wards Auto reports that so are used car auctions. Over the last 10 years, Manheim’s, which has over 80 auction locations, made a push towards all-digital sales. At the end of 2019 almost half of its sales activity came online, but as soon as the coronavirus hit Manheim went 100% digital and it could have a lasting effect. When asked if Manheim’s physical auction houses would open soon, the head of the company said, “I hope not.” It is an adjustment for some people, but online auctions are safer and faster than physical ones. But they also require absolutely accurate descriptions of vehicles and detailed condition reports.

KIA SOUL THE NEW PT CRUISER?
Is the Kia Soul the natural successor to the PT Cruiser? That’s what Chris Theodore thinks. He was in charge of product development at Chrysler when the car was done. He was also our guest yesterday on Autoline After Hours. Here’s what he had to say about the PT.

Chris Theodore, Theodore & Associates
“In fact, there is one. The closest thing to a PT Cruiser now is actually the Kia Soul. In fact, I kind of think of it as the legacy to the PT Cruiser. Obviously it’s a modern package, but the original intent of the PT CRuiser was, you know, we went with a retro package because you needed a different style… The thought was to bring it forward and modernize it and continue forward. As we’ve all seen, crossovers have flourished from that. And I guess I use the Kia Soul as the example of what the PT Cruiser could have become as time went on.”

Chris Theodore says the PT Cruiser was the only small car that Chrysler ever made any money on. By the way, in case you didn’t know, Chris was also responsible for the second generation Chrysler minivan, was heavily involved in the Dodge Viper, as well as the 2005 Ford GT and 2005 Mustang, just to hit some of the highlights. There’s a ton of interesting info in that show which you can watch on our website or YouTube channel.

ALL-NEW ACURA TLX REVEALED
After a week or so of teasing, the all-new Acura TLX made its full debut. It rides on a new dedicated sedan platform whose wheelbase is over 3.5-inches longer than the outgoing model. It’s also wider and lower than before. Styling is inspired by the Acura Precision Concept and the Type S Concept, which really shows through in the front fascia. The hard angles of the body are then picked up on the interior dashboard and door panels. Interior highlights include a 10.2-inch infotainment screen that sits high on the dash, a 7-inch instrument cluster, an optional Head Up Display and real aluminum, wood and leather. A 2.0L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that makes 272-horsepower and is mated to a 10-speed automatic comes standard in the new TLX. A 3.0L turbo V6 is also available in the Type S variant, which is returning to the lineup after 10 years. Acura has not released power numbers for the new engine, but the Type S will come standard with All-Wheel Drive and the same 10-speed automatic, but with special tuning. The 2021 TLX will start arriving this fall with a starting price in the mid-$30,000 range, about the same as it is today. However, the Type S won’t arrive until the spring of next year.

FORD BRINGS THE MACH 1 BACK
Some people wondered why Ford didn’t use the name Mach 1 for its new electric vehicle. Well, now we know why. And that’s because it already had plans to bring the Mach 1 back to the Mustang lineup. After being away for 17 years, the Mach 1 will return this year with unique styling elements, standard performance parts and a 5.0L V8 under the hood. Ford says this will be the most track-ready 5.0L Mustang ever. So, it sounds like this car should slot right below the GT350.

NISSAN TEASES ITS FUTURE LINEUP
And speaking of new vehicles, Nissan revealed pretty much its entire future lineup in this teaser video. It starts with the Ariya, then moves through the lineup, including the all-new Frontier pickup and finishes with exciting news that an all-new Z-car is making a comeback. That car looks like it will have some retro styling cues. And does anyone else think the headlights look similar to the ones on the Hyundai Prophecy Concept?

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE & THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
Artificial Intelligence could be the next major tech wave that changes the world, and the automotive industry. It’s being applied in many different areas of the automotive business, but one area where it’s paying off big time is in analyzing data to reduce warranty cost. AI is the topic we cover in Autoline This Week, take a look.

Greta Cutulenco, Acerta
“Yes, there are a number of Tier 1’s that we’ve been working with, around transmissions and axles and motors, where we’re using a lot of the performance testing data that they’re generating at the end of production lines or pre-production testing that they’re doing for durability. And that’s just huge amounts of data. So just imagine an engineer trying to create every rule and try to think of every possible failure. It’s just a lot of effort. And that’s just something that AI is fantastic at. So in some of our use cases we’ve been able to reduce the likelihood of warranties by as much as 30% to 40% which is, to your point, leading to millions of dollars saved for the manufacturers. It’s really improving their brand because you know that all those vehicles are not going to have those issues.”

That show, by the way, has three AI experts from Canada. Did you know that Canada plays an outsize role in the development of Artificial Intelligence? It’s a fascinating story, and if you’d like to learn more about that and AI, you can catch that show on our website or YouTube channel.

TOYOTA SUPRA REQUIRES EXTENDED TEST DRIVE
Now to the Autoline Garage where this week I’ve been test driving a Toyota Supra. Even though I’m not a fan of the styling, I find it a bit contrived and overdone, that car definitely has a boisterous following with young men. When I was driving around I got a number of them honking their horns, pointing at the car, and giving me thumbs up. So it definitely turns heads.

To me this is more of a track car, than a sports car for the open road. It’s hard to get into and out of. I constantly had to remind myself to tuck my chin on my chest so I didn’t bonk my head on the roof. I think that’s because the sides of the roof curve downward for additional structure and side window support. The door opening is not very big and the window opening is fairly small and short, too. That means you don’t want to drive this car with the windows open, not at speeds over 40 miles an hour, that is. The wind buffeting just becomes too much, which is a shame because one of the pleasures of driving a sports car, is driving with the windows down.

Once I was inside, it fit like a glove, but drivers who are over 6 feet tall tell me there’s just not enough seat travel or head room for them.

The car is fast and has cat-like reflexes. It’s 3-liter turbo six produces 335 horsepower and 365 pound feet of torque. There’s a sport setting that gets the engine revving higher and produces a noticeable snap, crackle and pop in the exhaust note. That’s fun when you’re really getting on the car, but I quickly grew tired of it in everyday driving.

The version I drove, a Premium model, came with a price tag of $57,570 including destination charges. That’s actually a pretty good price for a car with superb performance. But if you’re at all considering buying one you definitely need to take it for an extended test drive, for all the reasons I just listed.

But that’s the end of today’s show, thanks for watching, have a great weekend and we’ll see you again on Monday.