AD #2849 – Lebanon Given 10 Billion Reasons to Extradite Ghosn; Automakers Charge Too Much for Safety; Infiniti Will Become Less-Exclusive ‘Nissan-Plus’

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

JAPAN COULD WITHHOLD LEBANESE BAILOUT FOR GHOSN
We start today in Lebanon, where former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn could be in deep trouble. One of Nissan’s lawyers in Lebanon, in an interview with the Arab News, said that Japan would veto Lebanon’s plea for a $10 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund, unless Ghosn was extradited to Japan. Lebanon is going through an economic crisis and desperately needs the money. So if Japan follows through on its threat, it’s goodbye Carlos. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Carlos Ghosn is going to come to regret the day that he ran away from Japanese authorities.

SWEDEN’S DECISION TO STAY OPEN BACKFIRES
Now we move to Sweden where new car sales could be a bad omen for the rest of the auto industry. When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, Sweden took a different path than other countries. It did not mandate quarantines and it kept its economy open. For a while it looked like the Swedes were pretty smart, but now it doesn’t look that good. As of today, Sweden has a Covid-19 per capita death rate that is 7% higher than in the U.S., according to data from Johns Hopkins University. And Bloomberg reports that new car registrations in Sweden fell 50% in April and May, which is a slightly bigger drop than in the U.S. So even though it kept its economy open, car sales crashed.

CONNECTED SERVICES FOR EVs GOING TO EXPLODE
So far automakers are struggling to make a profit on electric cars, but here’s one area that could help bring in more revenue. ABI Research forecasts that connected services for EVs will grow 270% globally from 2020 to 2024, reaching 7 million subscribers by 2024 and over 26 million by 2030. It says those subscribers will be spending $222 million on those services, which includes charging-station location, eco-routing, EV telematics, and vehicle-to-grid communication.

TESLA MODEL 3 CRASHES INTO FLIPPED OVER TRUCK
Maybe you saw this video on Twitter yesterday, but it shows a Tesla Model 3 plowing right into a truck that is laying on its side on a highway in Taiwan. Local media reports say the driver had Autopilot engaged. This is not the first time that Autopilot failed to detect a truck blocking the road. And while the driver should have been paying attention we think a lidar unit would have certainly detected something that big blocking the road.

CR SAYS AUTOMAKERS CHARGE TOO MUCH FOR SAFETY TECH
As we reported yesterday with the introduction of the new Buick Envision, more automakers are offering safety technology as standard equipment. But a new study from Consumer Reports says some automakers are still taking advantage of buyers by bundling these safety systems into expensive packages. Using automaker’s configurator websites, it looked at the added cost for equipping a vehicle with blind spot warning and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection. It picked those two systems because they’ve been found to significantly reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities. CR found that only 3 of the 15 top-selling vehicles in the U.S. offered blind spot warning on the base trim of 2020 models. The average cost to equip that feature on the other models is over $2,500, with Ford charging $12,200 on the F-150. Automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection on the other hand is standard on 13 of the 15 top-selling models, but it’s not offered on the Ram 1500 and costs over $16,700 on the Chevy Silverado. Consumer Reports is calling on automakers to stop this practice and wants Congress to require safety systems on all cars.

FORD OFFERS BETTER REPLACEMENT AIR FILTERS
Ford is now offering a new air filter in Europe which can trap allergens, germs and even viruses. It’s capable of trapping particles as small as 0.05 microns, which is less than one thousandth the thickness of a human hair. The system uses carbon, which helps protect against pollution like particulates and acid gases. And it has a special active layer made from citric acid, which traps smaller particles, dust and pollen. Customers can go to the dealer to have the filter installed and it’s currently available for most of Ford’s line-up in Europe.

TOYOTA REVEALS LIMITED-EDITION RED-HOT-HATCHBACK
Toyota and Porsche introduced a couple of special-edition models and they both happen to be red. Let’s start with Toyota. The 2021 Corolla Hatchback Special Edition features an exclusive body kit and Supersonic Red paint. The body kit includes a front splitter, side skirts, black rear roof spoiler, unique rear bumper and Special Edition badges. Toyota will offer just 1,500 of them for the 2021 model year and says there’s more to come in the hatchback segment.

PORSCHE TAKES INSPIRATION FROM THE PAST FOR NEW LIMITED TARGA MODEL
And Porsche revealed the 911 Targa 4S Heritage Design Edition, which comes with styling elements from the 50’s and 60’s. Seen here in Cherry Metallic paint, the sports car has a total of five color options, which is paired with gold badges and a white livery inspired by its racing history. The Porsche Crest used all over the car is the same one from 1963 and the Heritage badge on the luggage compartment grille is a reinterpretation of the one given to 356’s when they reached 100,000 kilometers. Moving to the interior, the two-tone leather is a nod to the past as is the corduroy inserts in the seats and doors. Even parts of the instrument cluster are backlit in green to make them look older. Porsche will make only 992 versions of the limited-edition 911 Targa and there’s also a watch to match the car.

POLESTAR EXPANDS ITS SHOWROOMS IN CHINA
Polestar, the electric luxury brand from Geely, is planning a big expansion in China to take on Tesla. It plans to add 20 showrooms, mostly in shopping malls, with the majority of them opening in the third quarter. It currently only has one showroom in Beijing compared to Tesla which operates more than 50 showrooms in China. The EV maker will launch its Polestar 2 sedan in July and like Tesla it will sell directly to customers.

INFINITI’S WILL BE RE-BADGED NISSAN’S
It appears Nissan is happy with Infiniti being a premium brand instead of a full-on luxury brand which takes on the German automakers. In an interview with Automotive News, Nissan’s Chief Operating Officer, Ashwani Gupta said “We will bring back Infiniti as Nissan-plus in terms of product and technology.” Well let’s hope that strategy works. He’s talking about badge engineering, where they gussy up a Nissan and put an Infiniti badge on it. The company’s sales were down 21% in 2019 and are down 25% the first quarter of this year. And it’s likely that we won’t see new products until 2023. So it could be a tough couple of years for Infiniti.

GORDON MURRAY FIXES WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE MCLAREN F1
The McLaren F1 is seen by some as the ultimate supercar, but Gordon Murray, the designer of the F1, says his new T.50 fixes “the things we knew were wrong with the F1.” Specifically, his team focused on weight. They optimised the 900 titanium fasteners on the car so they have just enough material and also cut weight from the windshield and the box that houses the brake and accelerator pedals. The engine, transmission and brakes are all lighter than the ones used in the F1 as well. Gordon Murray set a target weight of just over 2,200 pounds for the T.50. They were able to beat that number by 45 pounds. So, the car weighs 2,160 pounds or 980 kilograms and has 640 horsepower. That’s only 3.3 pounds per horsepower which means it’s crazy fast. For those wondering, the F1 tipped the scales at a little under 2,600 pounds.

But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.