AD #3141 – New EV Credit Proposal Opposed; Magna Develops Radar-Based Vision System; New Toyota 86 Review

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

FOREIGN AUTOMAKERS OPPOSE NEW EV TAX CREDIT PROPOSAL
Foreign automakers don’t like the Biden Administration’s new rules for EV credits. The U.S. Senate Finance Committee approved a proposal that would boost the EV tax credit from $7,500 to $12,500 by adding $2,500 for EVs built in the U.S. and another $2,500 for union-made EVs. Foreign automakers don’t like the idea of credits for union-made cars because none of them are unionized. Volkswagen, Honda and Toyota all released statements asking Congress to apply the tax credits evenly among all automakers, and not add more for those with UAW workers.

HAINAN ISLAND TURNING TO HYDROGEN
Hainan Island is kind of like the Hawaii of China. It’s a tropical vacation destination. It could also emerge as a leader in hydrogen fuel cell cars. A startup called Haima is going to sell passenger cars powered by fuel cells and it will build 5 fuel cell stations on the island. Hainan is taking the long view. It hopes to have 2,000 cars for a pilot demonstration in 2025.

CHINA WANTS TO DOMINATE FUEL CELL MARKET
Meanwhile, China is laying the groundwork to dominate the supply chain for fuel cells and hydrogen as it has for batteries for electric cars. The city of Beijing just set a goal of having 3,000 fuel cell vehicles on the road by 2023 and 10,000 by 2025. China wants 1,000 hydrogen stations by 2025 and it’s going to use the winter Olympics which start in 6 months as a showcase for its hydrogen refueling.

MAGNA LAUNCHING RADAR-BASED VISION SYSTEM
Hey, maybe Elon Musk was right about lidar after all. Tesla has shown you can operate a vehicle hands-free without the technology. And now Magna will launch a radar-based vision system, called ICON, that reduces the need for lidar. It uses high def 4D digital radar units, which are more accurate than traditional radar, located in the four corners of the vehicle, the grille and one on each side. For example, traditional radar might see a wall rather than a tunnel up ahead, but digital radar can see the tunnel and a car that’s broken down just inside the entrance. It also has the ability to separate a pedestrian from a guard rail or more quickly detect a tire in the road. Magna says its ICON Digital Radar system minimizes the need for lidar in even Level 4 or 5 autonomous driving and it will debut on production vehicles next year.

FORD’S SPIN INTEGRATED INTO GOOGLE MAPS
E-bikes and e-scooters are really popular in busy cities and campuses where people travel short distances. And now those services will be even easier to use. Spin, which is the micromobility company owned by Ford, is being integrated into Google Maps. So, when looking for directions users will be able to see the nearest available Spin e-bike or e-scooter, including how long it will take to walk to it, its estimated battery range and expected arrival time. They’ll then be directed to the Spin app to pay for the bike or scooter and unlock it. Spin operates in 84 areas across the U.S., Canada, Germany and Spain.

BRONCO RIPTIDE CONCEPT SHOWS OFF AFTERMARKET ACCESSORIES
At the other end of the spectrum Ford is showing customers how they can trick out their Bronco with a concept called the Riptide. It’s fitted with aftermarket accessories like tube doors, surfboard roof rack, vinyl-trimmed seats and rubberized floor coating. Since Ford says the Riptide is designed for spontaneous outdoor adventures it’s also equipped with 35-inch mud tires wrapped around 17-inch beadlock wheels, Dana locking front and rear axles and a high clearance suspension system with Bilstein shocks. Like the Jeep Wrangler, you’ve got to believe aftermarket accessories for the Bronco will be wildly popular.

NEDCAR TO CONTRACT MANUFACTURE CANOO LIFESTYLE VEHICLE
EV startup Canoo found someone who will make its cars. It’s teaming up with Nedcar, which is based in the Netherlands, to build its Lifestyle vehicle by the fourth quarter of 2022. Even so, Canoo is also going to build its own assembly plant in Oklahoma. It’s getting $300 million in incentives from the state and promised it will employ 2,000 workers. Canoo says it has more than 9,500 non-binding pre-orders for its Lifestyle Vehicle, Pickup Truck and Multi-Purpose Delivery Vehicle.

ALPHA MOTORS WOLF PROTOTYPE TO BE DISPLAYED AT THE PETERSEN
We’ve got another electric pickup to add to the list. EV startup Alpha Motors will show off a prototype of its WOLF electric pickup at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles next week. The truck is a two-seater with ranges between 250 miles and 275 miles depending on the setup. It has a single motor that drives the rear wheels or dual motors for four-wheel-drive. Alpha plans to build the truck in the U.S. starting in 2023 and the company is now taking online reservations.

CYBERLANDR TURNS THE CYBERTRUCK INTO A CAMPER
Production of Tesla’s Cybertruck was recently delayed, but that’s not stopping one company from designing accessories for the pickup. Stream It, a software and AI company, developed a pop up camper, called the Cyberlandr, that fits right into the Cybertruck’s bed. It features a main area that can be used as a kitchen, sitting room or bedroom as well as a small bathroom with toilet, sink and shower. The Cyberlandr will use power from the truck’s battery and the solar array on its roof, which likely makes up for a significant portion of the camper’s 1,200 pound weight. But due to its conforming shape when not in use, it only expects to drag the Cybertruck’s range down by about 5%. Since Tesla has not revealed specs on the truck, Stream It says it has designed the camper so its dimensions can easily be changed. That means the Cyberlandr is only available in digital renderings and all the more surprising that so many people have plunked down money on a pre-order for the $50,000 camper. Stream It claims to have raised over $80 million in pre-orders so far.

NEW TOYOTA 86 BETTER IN EVERY WAY
Toyota and Subaru jointly developed the 86 and BRZ sports cars nearly a decade ago, and they’re finally getting around to updating them. We just got the opportunity to drive the new 86 and it’s better in every way than the outgoing model. By increasing the bore of the 2.4 liter Subaru boxer engine it now produces 228 horsepower and 184 pound feet of torque. That’s 23 more horses, and about 30 more pound feet, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but the manual transmission model is nearly 1 second quicker to 60 miles an hour while the automatic is 1.4 seconds quicker. The structure of the body was beefed up with additional braces around the front suspension as well as around the rear wheel wells. It also gets a more rigid rear subframe. The suspension was retuned and the center of gravity was lowered by 1.6 millimeters. Put it all together and you’ve got an affordable sports car that is a blast at the track. You can drive it fluidly and smoothly, or instantly put it on a knife’s edge by inducing oversteer with the throttle or steering. The base model’s 17-inch wheels make it easy to drift, but if you’re after the best lap times the 18-inch wheels of the Premium model will take you deeper and faster through every corner. A large duck-bill rear spoiler on the Premium model also keeps the car better planted through high-speed turns. The brakes are well sized for this car, are easy to modulate and a new brake pad composition improves their grip. In short, this is a car for true enthusiasts. In the US market the new 86 will go on sale in November. Toyota hasn’t settled on the price yet, but it will be around $30,000 including destination charges.

But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for watching and we hope you have a great day.