AD #3332 – High Gas Prices Give Sedans a Boost; Buick Revives Electra Name; Bronco Raptor Power Numbers Revealed

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

HIGH GAS PRICES GIVE SEDANS A BOOST
Gas prices have a big impact on the types of vehicles consumers buy. And with the price of gas spiking in the U.S., it’s not too surprising that car buyers are now more likely to consider buying a sedan or an electrified vehicle. Kelley Blue Book released its Brand Watch for the first quarter of the year, which is a consumer perception report that includes shopping behavior data. It found that 37% of non-luxury buyers considered a sedan in the first quarter, up from 31% in the fourth quarter of 2021 and the highest it’s been in a while. That was just ahead of pickups at 35%. At the end of last year, no sedans were on the list of top-ten most shopped vehicles. But in Q1, the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord and Civic made the most shopped list. And one-quarter of buyers considered an electrified vehicle, with Tesla, Toyota and Ford being the most popular brands with EV shoppers. However, SUVs remain very popular, 66% of non-luxury buyers considered an SUV, despite higher gas prices.

FORD REVEALS BRONCO RAPTOR’S POWER NUMBERS
When Ford revealed the Raptor version of the Bronco earlier this year, it said its 3.0L twin-turbo V6 engine would deliver more than 400 horsepower. And now we know its official power numbers. CEO Jim Farley tweeted that the SUV is rated at 418 horsepower and 440 lb-ft of torque. But as you can imagine fuel economy isn’t that great. It has an EPA rated 15 MPG combined, but that’s one more MPG than its competitor, the Jeep Wrangler 392, which is powered by a 6.4L V8. Ford will start delivering the Bronco Raptor this summer, which has a starting price of just under $70,000. That’s about $3,000 more than the F-150 Raptor.

FORD SETTLES FUEL ECONOMY & PAYLOAD CAPACITY LAWSUIT
And in other Ford news, the automaker agreed to settle a lawsuit in the U.S. over allegations it overstated the fuel economy of the C-Max Hybrid and the payload capacity of Super Duty pickups. Ford is paying $19.2 million in the settlement, which includes 40 states and the District of Columbia. They claim Ford falsely advertised how far owners could travel on one tank of gas in 2013 and 2014 C-Max Hybrids and that it used a deceptive method to calculate the payload capacity of 2011 to 2014 Super Duty trucks. However, Ford did not have to admit any wrongdoing.

HONDA TEASES NEW CR-V
Here’s a better look at the all-new Honda CR-V, which it says has increased versatility, a more advanced hybrid system and more capability. To us it looks like styling is more of a refresh with updated front and rear ends, but we’ll find out more when it debuts this summer.

BUICK REVIVES ELECTRA NAME FOR FIRST ULTIUM EV
Buick’s first EV from the Ultium platform will be a crossover, called the Electra-X. Many of you I’m sure will remember the Electra name. It was featured in Buick’s lineup from 1959 until 1990. But going back to the new model, it has a more shark-nose front end than we’ve seen from any other Ultium-based vehicle and it appears to have a camera-based side view mirror system, which would also be a first for Ultium vehicles. And we’d note, from what we’ve seen, it doesn’t have anything in common with the Electra concept that debuted almost 2 years ago. The Electra-X will be revealed in early June.

GM PATENTS DUAL CHARGING PORT FOR EVs
Speaking of GM, it filed a patent for a dual port charging outlet for electric vehicles. The first port can handle either low- or high-voltage charging, while the second only does low-voltage. So, the vehicle could take high- and low-voltage charging at the same time or low- and low-voltage charging, depending on what the station can put out. This is meant to speed up charging times and would be great for GM’s Ultium vehicles that use its large battery pack, which is essentially two battery packs sandwiched together. 

MARELLI SHOWS OFF WIRELESS BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Sticking with EV architectures for a moment, the supplier Marelli launched a new wireless battery management system. By eliminating the need for wires that allow communication between the batteries and their control unit, Marelli says automakers can simplify battery cell construction and installation, add more flexibility for battery module placement and reduce the wire harness by 90%. The wireless BMS is available this quarter and could hit the market by 2024. And the name Marelli might sound familiar. Magneti Marelli was the in-house parts supplier for Fiat, then FCA, for many years before it was sold off in 2018 to merge with Japanese automotive company Calsonic Kansei, which is now just Marelli and one of the largest automotive suppliers in the world.

FORVIA DEVELOPS INTELLIGENT SEAT
The seat is probably one of the most important components in a car, if you’re not comfortable you’ll have a lousy time riding around. So to make driving more pleasurable, the supplier Forvia, which is the new company formed by Faurecia’s acquisition of Hella, is showing off an intelligent seat that’s focused on enriching the driving experience and wellness of the driver. Called Seat for Me, it’s equipped with an all-in-one sensor that’s linked to software which is able to monitor the position of the body and measure fatigue or poor posture. It can then automatically adjust seating position, bolster the seat or start a massage function to improve comfort and prevent driver drowsiness. In addition to that, it can vibrate to alert the driver and it features speakers in the head rest which only the driver can hear. Forvia says the seat technology could hit the market in the next 2 to 3 years.

HYUNDAI ISSUES RECALL OVER EXPLODING SEAT BELT PART
We usually don’t cover vehicle recalls because they’re so frequent, literally several times a week. But here’s one that’s so unusual that we decided to report on it. Hyundai is recalling 281,000 Elantras and Accents in the U.S. and Canada because the seat belt pretensioner can explode. Three people have already been injured, two in the US and one in Singapore. The pretensioner uses a small pyrotechnic device to drive a spool that quickly pulls in all the slack in the belt the instant a collision occurs. But in this case, the pretensioner doesn’t just drive the spool, it explodes and can send shrapnel flying in the passenger cabin. Hyundai also had a recall for the same problem with the Venue and Genesis GV70 and GV80.

BMW PARTNERS TO RECYCLE USED EV BATTERIES IN CHINA
Battery recycling keeps making progress. BMW is teaming up with the Chinese company Huayou to recycle used batteries from EVs. Huayou will extract nickel, cobalt, and lithium and deliver them to BMW which will use the materials to make new batteries. It says this will reduce the carbon footprint of those raw materials by 70% compared to mining them out of the ground. Since there aren’t that many used EV batteries for them to recycle right now, they’re going to start with used batteries from fork-lift trucks. 

A programming note here. There will not be an Autoline After Hours show this Thursday as John and Gary have decided to take an extended Memorial Day weekend. But they’ll be back next week with 4 entrepreneurs who were voted as the most innovative automotive startup companies, and the technology they’ve developed will make your jaw drop.

But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Please like, comment and/or subscribe.