AD #3144 – Hyundai Reveals New Elantra N; Tesla Shows Off Humanoid Robot; Ford Performance Plans Electric Crate Motor

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

GM MEXICO WORKERS REJECT UNION
This could be the beginning of the end of super cheap wages in Mexico. Workers at GM’s plant in Silao, Mexico rejected their union contract yesterday. And they also rejected their union. The AP reports that workers are organizing to get a union they feel really represents them. Most unions in Mexico are compliant to whatever management wants. Workers at the plant were paid as little as $115 a week in wages. That’s less than $6,000 a year for people assembling full-size pickup trucks that typically sell for over $50,000. But the USMCA could change all that. The US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement was in part designed to give Mexican workers a greater say in choosing their unions. The idea is to raise wages there, so American and Canadian companies don’t move more jobs to Mexico.

HAGERTY IS GOING PUBLIC
Big news in the automotive media world. Hagerty, the company that insures classic cars, owns major classic car shows and publishes a monthly magazine on classic cars, is going public. In fact, just like so many EV startups, Hagerty is doing a SPAC. The deal puts a value on Hagerty of just over $3 billion. It recently bought the Amelia Island Concours as well as the St. John’s Concours, and Hagerty says it’s going to take the money it raises on the New York Stock Exchange to grow even more. The stock trades under the symbol HGTY.

TESLA SHOWS OFF HUMANOID ROBOT
Tesla held its AI Day yesterday where it touted its progress in advanced technology. It revealed its Dojo supercomputer that it created to train its neural networks to develop autonomous technology. Elon Musk says it should start operating next year. It also showed off a new chip it developed in-house that will be used to power the brains of its advanced driver assistance features. The company said it’s considering licensing the technology to other automakers. But the thing that’s grabbing most of the headlines is the humanoid robot, called Tesla Bot. It’s designed to help humans perform what Elon Musk calls “repetitive and boring tasks.” Its head is equipped with cameras it uses for Autopilot and its body is fitted with its Full-Self Driving computer. Elon Musk says it will have a prototype sometime next year. Several years ago Toyota and Honda also demonstrated humanoid robots that they’re developing. Honda’s robot, called Asimo, even directed the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

HYUNDAI REVEALS NEW ELANTRA N
Hyundai finally revealed the new Elantra N for the U.S. market, so let’s dive right into the highlights. It features a similar 2.0L turbo engine as the Veloster N, but with some tweaks, including to the turbo. It makes 276 horsepower, same as the Veloster, but its 289 lb-ft of torque is nearly 30 more. There’s also what amounts to an overboost function that pushes horsepower up to 286 for 20 seconds, but requires a 40 second recycle time before it can be used again. With launch control, the Elantra N is able to go from 0-60 MPH in 5 seconds. And there’s a lot more going on under the skin than just a powerful engine. It can be had with either a 6-speed manual or 8-speed wet dual-clutch transmission, which sends power through the electronic limited slip differential and on into the drive axles, which are integrated into the wheel hubs. This cuts down on weight and is also more durable and improves ride and handling. Further improving the ride is electronically controlled dampers, a new 5-link rear suspension setup and lots of reinforcement to the chassis. In fact, torsional rigidity is up 29% compared to the standard Elantra. The Elantra N is scheduled to go on sale in the 4th quarter, although Hyundai hasn’t released pricing yet. It also says the Kona N will come out before the end of the year.

DODGE WON’T DITCH ENGINES RIGHT AWAY
During a presentation on its future plans, Stellantis revealed that the Dodge Charger and Challenger would be going electric in 2024. But it sounds like customers that still want a fire breathing Dodge won’t be out of luck right away. In an interview with Muscle Cars and Trucks, brand CEO Tim Kuniskis said, “The new platform comes in 2024. The new car comes in 2024. We didn’t say that the current cars are going to die in 2024. There might be a little overlap, but you’re not going to have years and years and years of the classic and the new one at the same time.” He goes on to say that Dodge will probably lose some customers with the changeover, but he thinks as long as he can deliver on brand positioning, i.e. performance, it doesn’t matter if its vehicles are electric, non-electric or any type of electrification, the brand will be ok. 

FORD PERFORMANCE COMING OUT WITH ELECTRIC CRATE MOTOR
In other electric muscle car news, Ford Performance revealed it’s going to come out with an electric crate motor. It didn’t provide any specs yet, but we’ll likely get some soon enough when the Eluminator, as it’s called, makes its debut at the SEMA show in Las Vegas. We think there’s going to be a lot of classic car owners that convert their ride to electric as ICE bans start going into effect. 

MUSTANG & MACH-E GET ALL-WHITE APPEARANCE PACKAGE
In one last bit of muscle car news, Ford is going to offer an all-white appearance package for the Mustang and Mustang Mach-E. It’s been 28 years since it offered a white-on-white package for the Mustang and I’m sure many of you remember those triple white convertible Fox bodies that were quite popular in the 90’s.

BMW OFFERING MORE PAINT COLORS TO CUSTOMERS
Most car companies batch paint their cars. They’ll do a batch of blues, then a run of reds and so on. That’s because each time they change colors they have to purge the paint guns of any paint left over from the previous color. And purging the guns frequently can end up wasting a lot of paint. But BMW is now offering customers a lot more options when it comes to what color they want for their car. There’s 160 options for the 1 Series and 2 Series Gran Coupe, including two matte finishes. Customers can also create their own colors, which will only be used on their car. BMW had to expand its paintshop team at its plant in Leipzig to accommodate the new colors because they require more service and supervision than traditional paint finishes. BMW says it can paint five vehicles a day that have the new colors. Despite having to wait 10 weeks for their car to be painted, BMW says the new paint options are popular with customers. And BMW loves it because it can upcharge them to get the color they want.

GM BRINGING 5G TO ITS LINEUP
GM is partnering with AT&T to bring 5G connectivity into its vehicles. It will first be available in select 2024 model year vehicles. GM says current owners in the U.S. with 4G LTE in 2019 model year or newer vehicles will be able to easily migrate to the new network once the infrastructure is in place. 5G is expected to unleash a torrent of digital services for both retail and commercial vehicle users.

AUSTRALIAN MYSTERY CAR REVEALED
If he stays true to his word, viewer Warwick Dundas will no longer try to defeat the Autoline viewer motoring experts. A number of people recognized the mystery car he sent to us as a JWF Milano GT. Ken Terrens provided some good details in his YouTube comment, they “were built by JWF Fibreglass in Sydney, Australia in the early 1960’s. Approximately 30 were built and we believe around 10 survive. They were sold as a body/chassis kit to which purchasers fitted their own engines/transmissions/rear axle assemblies.” Thanks to everyone that participated, your knowledge is amazing.

But that wraps up today’s show. Thanks for watching and I hope you have a great weekend.