AD #3139 – Acura Reveals NSX Type S; More Ford Bronco Issues; Musk Hopes German Production Starts in October

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

FORD TO REPLACE ALL HARDTOP ROOFS ON BRONCOS
The people at Ford must be pulling their hair out. It has two smash hits on its hands but it can’t build them. The Bronco has big problems with the hardtop version. Ford delayed production earlier this year because its supplier Webasto ran into problems making the molded-in-color hardtops due to COVID restrictions. Now Ford has to replace all hardtops because of a quality issue that results in an “unsatisfactory appearance when exposed to extreme water and humidity.” The good news is owners can still drive their Bronco but the bad news is the replacement roofs won’t be ready until October. Soft top versions of the Bronco aren’t affected by the issue.

MUSTANG MACH-E SHIPMENTS DELAYED
And then there’s the Mach-E. Ford has to delay shipments due to the chip shortage. It sent letters to customers telling them they’ll have to wait an extra six-weeks for delivery. To compensate them, Ford is giving them 250-kWh of free charging which is the equivalent of about 700 miles.

MUSK CALLS OUT CHIP SUPPLIERS OVER DELAYS
Elon Musk is hopping mad about the chip shortage. He Tweeted out that Japanese chip maker Renesas and German supplier Bosch are to blame. Musk was responding to a tweet from the CEO of Ark Investment Management about Tesla’s sales slump in China last month. He said the automaker is “operating under extreme supply chain limitations” and added “most problematic by far are Renesas and Bosch.”

TESLA HOPES TO START GERMAN PRODUCTION IN OCTOBER
But that’s not the only beef Elon Musk has right now. As we reported yesterday, Tesla’s CEO is in Germany trying to prod officials to give the company the green light to start production in the country. And it looks like his lobbying paid off. Musk says he expects production to start in October or soon after. The factory has been delayed due to red tape and resistance from environmental groups.

BIG TRUCK SALES UP IN U.S.
Looks like manufacturers of big trucks have figured out how to work around the chip shortage. Wards Intelligence reports that sales of medium and heavy-duty trucks in the U.S. market jumped nearly 9% last month. And so far this year, sales of Class 4 through Class 8 trucks are up 26%. Meanwhile, sales of passenger vehicles are plunging because of a lack of inventory due to the chip shortage. Economists consider sales of big trucks as a 6-month leading indicator of the economy, so this suggests we’ll see strong GDP growth in the months to come.

VOLKSWAGEN DIGITIZES NORTH AMERICAN PLANTS
Volkswagen is going digital with its plants in North America. It’s launching a cloud-based IT platform that allows VW and its suppliers to share data and real time information. It also supports software apps that monitor machinery and cameras that check components for quality. VW is deploying collaborative robots or cobots to check and measure gaps on the Tiguan at its plant in Puebla, Mexico. And an AI tool that looks at training levels, time off and other factors to suggest schedule changes to help take some of the workload off plant supervisors. Volkswagen is aiming for a 30 percent increase in manufacturing performance in North America by 2025 as it gets ready to make EVs.

ACURA REVEALS NSX TYPE S
Now for some supercar news. The Type S version of the NSX debuted last night. It features more aggressive front and rear styling. That’s so people know there’s something special about this car. It gets a reworked powertrain, including new fuel injectors, intercooler and turbos, that bumps output to 600 horsepower, which is 27 more than before and also boosts torque by 16 lb-ft. Engineers improved the aero as well and retuned the Adaptive Damper and all-wheel-drive systems. Only 350 NSX Type Ss will be made and pricing starts at $169,500. A lightweight package that lowers weight by nearly 60 pounds or about 26 kilograms bumps the price to $182,500. Acura also revealed that it will bring back the Integra in 2022 but provided no other details.

ASTON MARTIN UNVEILS VALKYRIE SPIDER
Let’s shift to Aston Martin which just unveiled the Spider version of the Valkyrie. They call it a Spider thanks to a removable carbon fiber roof panel. While it’s only one panel, the doors on the coupe version hinge at the roof, so it required a complete redesign for the Spider. Not only did the carbon fiber tub have to be modified so it could provide more support but the doors were moved to a front-hinged layout. Additional modifications to the active aerodynamics and chassis system were also required. But the heart of this beast, a 6.5L hybrid V12 that makes a combined roughly 1,150 horsepower remains unchanged. Deliveries are scheduled to kick off next year and only 85 will be built.

MINI TEAMS UP TO CREATE CUSTOM-MADE COOPER SE
And sticking with British brands for just a moment, MINI teamed up with designer Paul Smith to create a custom-made 3-door Cooper SE. What makes this a bit interesting is that the car was stripped to its absolute bare bones and built back up with sustainability in mind. There’s not a single stitch of leather or chrome on this car. Instead it features recycled cork, knitted fabric, recycled rubber and even a simple mesh covering where the door panel would normally be. Maybe more impressive, this designer has no automotive experience at all, yet we think this interior looks pretty darn good.

CLEVER SOLUTION TO REDUCE CONFUSION AT ACCIDENT SCENES
Have you ever come upon a traffic accident at night with several cop cars on the scene, and maybe even an ambulance or fire engine and they’ve all got their flashers going? It can be a confusing and even disorienting experience. So a company called Soundoff Signal developed a way to synchronize those flashers that greatly reduces the confusion. The flashers in this video clip are not synchronized and are very disorienting. It’s hard to tell what’s going on. But once the flashers are synchronized it seems to slow everything down and make the scene less chaotic. It really helps in rainy weather too. Everything looks calmer when the flashers are synchronized. This technology can make things safer for both motorists and first responders. Soundoff Signal says some drivers actually drive right towards the flashing lights, like moths to a flame.   

EV CHARGING BREAKTHROUGH?
They say one of the biggest roadblocks to EV adoption is a lack of charging stations. So a startup called Change Wind wants to plunk down these huge wind generators at truck stops, dealerships and other big parking lots. The wind generators also have solar panels on top of them. The company says each tower can charge 8,000 EVs a year and offers Level III fast charging. Want to learn more? Check out yesterday’s Autoline After Hours. Jim Bardia, the CEO of Change Wind, told us all about them. 

ARGO AI DEVELOPS UNIQUE WAY TO TEST DIRTY SENSORS
Autonomous vehicles have to go through a battery of tests to make sure they perform properly when out on the road. And the folks at Argo AI have come up with a unique way to dirty up its sensors. They created a mud cannon that uses compressed air to shoot mud all over its big sensor unit on the top of the car. Its construction looks similar to a spud gun or potato cannon, so we’re guessing they had a good ol’ time putting it together.

CAN YOU GUESS WHAT KIND OF CAR THIS IS?
We got a bit of a unique Barn Find submission. This picture comes from viewer Richard with no explanation and only a subject line that reads “One for car identification corner.” Now you know as much as we do. But what do you think? Have any guesses for Richard and his mystery car?

But we’ll have to circle back on Monday because that brings to the end of this week’s shows.

Thanks for watching and I hope you have a great weekend.