AD #2927 – Ford Deal w/ Unifor Was Predictable; Hyundai Forms New Mobility Division; Genesis Teases New GV70

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

FCA SLAPPED WITH ANOTHER DIESEL FINE
Last year, FCA reached an $800 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Department and California Air Resources Board to resolve accusations that it installed defeat devices in vehicles to cheat on diesel emission tests. And now the automaker is being fined $9.5 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission for misleading investors about its emissions. The SEC says in 2016 the company conducted an internal audit that said it complied with emission regulations, however it did not disclose the limited scope of the review. The SEC has been busy fining automakers recently. Last week, it fined BMW $18 million for misleading investors about its sales figures.

GM FORCED TO REPAY MILLIONS IN TAX INCENTIVES TO OHIO
GM is being ordered to repay the state of Ohio $28 million in incentives related to its former plant in Lordstown. The Ohio Tax Credit Authority says the company didn’t fulfill the terms of agreement for the incentives. Last year, the automaker closed the plant but it was supposed to keep it open until 2028. GM later sold the facility to EV startup Lordstown Motors. GM must also invest $12 million in the region where the plant was closed for workforce, education and other infrastructure needs. And in a separate announcement, GM said it will invest $71 million to upgrade a transmission and a casting plant in Ohio.

FORD DEAL WITH UNIFOR WAS PREDICTABLE
Well here’s some predictable news. The Canadian union Unifor ratified a new labor contract with the Ford Motor Company. Why do we call it predictable? Here’s the back story. Prior to negotiations Ford told the union there was no new product scheduled to go into its Oakville assembly plant, which set union members on edge. But it was an obvious bargaining ploy. Why? Because what are the hottest selling, most profitable products in the market right now? SUVs. And what does the Oakville plant make? SUVs–specifically the Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus. In fact, it makes about a quarter of a million of them a year. So was Ford going to walk away from that plant? No way. And were workers going to risk a strike in this time of Covid uncertainty? Nope. So the outcome was predictable, but it was also a win-win for both sides. Oakville is going to get a $1.5 billion investment and will start making electric SUVs and battery packs in 2025. There’s more details to the contract that you can follow up on in the link in today’s transcript or in the description box below.

FORD STARTS DETAILING NEW F-150 CAPABILITIES
Ford’s new F-150 is even more capable than before. Both the 5.0L V8 and 3.5L EcoBoost V6 see increases in power, but especially the latter which jumped by 25 horsepower and 30 lb-ft of torque. That helps bump the truck’s tow rating to 14,000 pounds, which is an increase of 800 pounds over the 2020 model. It also has a best-in-class payload of 3,325 pounds. A newcomer to the F-150 lineup is the 3.5L PowerBoost, which is a full hybrid setup that produces 430 horsepower and 570 lb-ft of torque. The new 2021 F-150 goes on sale this fall.

LUCID SHOWS AIR SEDAN BLAST THROUGH 1/4-MILE
It was only a week ago that Tesla teased the ridiculously fast Model S Plaid that will do 0-60 in under 2 seconds, and Lucid is showing that Tesla won’t be the only one with a super fast EV. The automaker released a video on Twitter of its Air sedan eclipsing the quarter mile in 9.245 seconds at over 157 MPH. That’s blistering fast. And Lucid says, “Stay tuned for more.” Could that mean it thinks it could eek out even more from the powertrain? I don’t know about that, but I do know we’ll be tuning in.

NEW HYUNDAI DIVISION TO DEVELOP WILD MOBILITY VEHICLES
The Hyundai Group announced it formed a new division, called New Horizons Studio to develop unique mobility vehicles. The first concept it’s working on is the Hyundai Elevate, a vehicle that debuted at CES last year and uses articulated legs to go practically anywhere. These are the kinds of vehicles New Horizons Studio will make, ones that target customers who travel in unconventional and off-road terrain. As the VP of the studio says, “We aim to create the world’s first transformer-class vehicle.”

MORE DETAILS ABOUT U.S. VERSION OF THE NEW GENESIS G80
Genesis released more details on the U.S. version of the handsome all-new G80. The base engine is a 2.5-liter turbo that produces 300 horsepower and 311 lb.-ft. The rear drive version delivers 26 mpg, while all wheel drive drops that by 1 mpg. Or customers can choose the optional 3.5-liter turbo V6 with 375 horsepower and 391 lb.-ft. It’s rated at 22 mpg, or one below that with all wheel drive. Both engines use an 8-speed automatic. Prices start at $48,700, while a fully loaded one will top out around $68,000. That’s a lot of value for the money, which will play a key role as Genesis tries to elbow its way into the luxury segment. And it is the same strategy that Lexus used when it got into the game 31 years ago.

GENESIS TEASES NEW GV70 CROSSOVER
And in other Genesis news, earlier today in Korea, the company unveiled a camouflaged version of its upcoming GV70 crossover. It plans to test it on public roads in the country for one month. But that’s about all we know because the company didn’t share any other details other than to say it will be coming in the near future.

HOW CADILLAC WILL STYLE ITS EV’S FRONT ENDS
Loyal viewers of Autoline Daily know that we think electric cars that look like they have grilles on them will go out of fashion very quickly. It’s one thing to have the brand reflected in the front-end design but do you really need a grille to do that? On last week’s Autoline After Hours we were joined by Brian Smith, the Exterior Design Director at Cadillac. The brand is transitioning to an all-electric lineup, so we asked him how Cadillac is handling the look of its front-ends.

“I think the Cadillac Lyriq that we just unveiled back in August is a good example of one way to be creative about the face of an EV, still representing the brand’s heritage and lineage. It’s got the shield shape in a very different face and it’s decorated by these pinstripes. We call it the ‘Black Crystal’ effect grille and it is in fact radar transparent for all the radar sensors that enable our excellent Super Cruise system and the advancements we’re going to take forward with that. One additional thing I would mention is that EVs don’t need airflow, so obviously you don’t need a grille. And aerodynamically less grille is better, so range is all about aerodynamics. So we try to minimize the actual airflow and openings but you can see how we’re decorating the surfaces differently than we would on an ICE vehicle.”

You can watch that entire show on our website or on our YouTube channel.

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