About Gardner

Gardner is a leading B2B media company with a long-standing legacy of serving industrial manufacturing audiences through trusted brands, high-quality journalism, events, and marketing services. Our growth depends on building direct relationships with discrete manufacturing professionals and developing monetization models grounded in credible engagement and audience insights.

The Opportunity

Gardner is seeking a Vice President of Digital Content Strategy & Innovation to join our Strategic Leadership Team. This executive leader will shape and drive the future of our digital content ecosystem, strengthen direct audience reach, support the company’s event portfolio, and enable repeatable revenue programs across our brands.

This role is ideal for a media leader who can translate strategy into clear priorities, playbooks, and measurement across editorial, audience, events, and revenue teams to drive growth without compromising editorial integrity.  

Key Responsibilities

Digital Content Vision & Strategy

• Develop and execute a comprehensive digital content strategy aligned with Gardner’s business objectives and audience needs.
• Identify and lead innovative content formats, platforms, and distribution strategies that can be executed consistently across owned, partnered, and syndicated channels.
• Ensure content strategies are scalable, data-informed, and adaptable to evolving B2B audience behaviors.
• Partner with audience and data teams to strengthen direct audience reach (email/newsletters, event registrations, and other owned channels).

Events-to-Digital Integration

• Partner with the events team to align programming and content strategy so each event supports year-round digital engagement and revenue.
• Implement repeatable workflows for content creation and post-event publishing, with clear sponsor deliverables and reporting.
• Coordinate cross-functional planning for event-related products, including pre-event audience growth and post-event lead and content programs.

Innovation & Growth

• Explore and pilot new avenues for content monetization, including sponsorship models, paid content, licensing, syndication, and emerging platforms.
• Serve as a catalyst for experimentation while maintaining strong editorial and brand integrity.

Creator & Partner Relationships

• Build and foster mutually beneficial partnerships with independent contributors, industry experts, associations and external collaborators that expand expertise and scale content and event programming
• Develop frameworks for onboarding, disclosure, quality standards, revenue sharing, and long-term partnerships.
• Represent Gardner as a trusted, innovative partner to industry communities and partners across content, events, and marketing programs.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Serve as a key member of Gardner’s Strategic Leadership Team, contributing to company-wide planning, prioritization, and decision-making.
• Collaborate closely with editorial, sales, marketing, audience development, events, and product teams to align content strategy with revenue goals and execution capacity.
• Lead, mentor, and inspire high-performing teams while fostering a culture of clarity, innovation, collaboration, and accountability.
• Develop a culture of experimentation, accountability, and continuous learning with talent equipped for modern digital and manufacturing focused media.
• Work closely with Audience Development and Data teams to leverage offsite readers into first-party data

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in B2B media, digital publishing, agencies, events, or content-led organizations, with demonstrated strategic leadership.
• Proven track record developing and scaling digital content strategies that drive audience growth and revenue.
• Deep understanding of digital media trends, creator economies, content monetization models, and syndication strategies.
• Experience building partnerships with independent creators, contributors, associations, and external content networks.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to balance editorial excellence, audience trust, and commercial outcomes.
• Exceptional communication, relationship-building, and executive leadership skills.
• Ability to prioritize and execute in a lean, multi-brand environment.
• Passion for industry travel and networking (up to 25%).
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree a plus.

Why Join Gardner

• Be part of a respected, evolving B2B media organization with a strong foundation and ambitious future.
• Shape the next generation of digital content strategy and innovation at an executive level.
• Work alongside a collaborative leadership team committed to growth, experimentation, and long-term success.
• Competitive compensation and benefits package.

Please send cover letter, resume and any relevant supporting application materials to Kate Hand, EVP, Customer Success. 

Location: Cincinnati, Ohio (Priority given to candidates located in or willing to relocate to the Cincinnati area)

About Gardner

Gardner is a leading B2B media company with a long-standing legacy of serving industrial manufacturing audiences through trusted brands, high-quality journalism, events, and marketing services. Our growth depends on building direct relationships with discrete manufacturing professionals and developing monetization models grounded in credible engagement and audience insights.

The Opportunity

Gardner Business Media is seeking a full-time Senior Editor to help grow and evolve our Products Finishing industrial business magazine and associated media platform. This role is ideal for an experienced editor and writer who thrives in a deadline-driven publishing environment, enjoys working independently, and is eager to develop deep expertise in manufacturing technologies and processes.

The Senior Editor will write and edit across print and digital platforms, develop original story ideas, and build trusted relationships within the manufacturing community. This position is based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and offers comprehensive benefits, a friendly, family-oriented work environment, and strong opportunities for long-term career growth.

Responsibilities

The Senior Editor will:

• Write and edit content across multiple formats, including print magazines, digital editions, e-newsletters, blogs, and social media

• Independently identify, report, and develop original story ideas; pitch and pursue self-discovered leads

• Travel to machining and manufacturing facilities to report firsthand on finishing technology, processes, and business success stories

• Develop sufficient technical and industry knowledge to write and speak confidently about manufacturing topics relevant to our audience of facility owners and managers

• Produce a wide range of content lengths and styles, from short blog posts and social media copy (800 words or fewer) to long-form feature articles (approximately 2,000 words)

• Build and maintain strong industry relationships, including working with outside contributors and subject-matter experts

• Manage multiple projects simultaneously, often with long lead times, while consistently meeting deadlines

• Represent Gardner brands professionally in meetings with advertisers and industry partners

• Participate comfortably in live and on-camera formats, including video shoots, webinars, and public speaking engagements

• Be available for domestic and occasional international travel, including industry events and facility visits

Qualifications

The ideal candidate is curious, self-motivated, and highly organized, with strong editorial judgment and communication skills. Required qualifications include:

• Four-year college degree with 5+ years of experience in journalism, editing, or a related technical field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience

• Proven magazine or newspaper experience

• Excellent writing, developmental editing, and communication skills

• Strong copy-editing, proofreading, grammar, and fact-checking abilities

• Exceptional organizational and time-management skills with close attention to detail

• Comfort working independently with minimal oversight

• Familiarity with major social media platforms, including LinkedIn and Facebook

• Interest in or aptitude for mechanical, technical, or manufacturing-related topics

• Comfort engaging with audiences and sources both in person and on camera

What We Offer

• Be part of a respected, evolving B2B media organization with a strong foundation and ambitious future.
• Hands-on experience producing impactful, data-driven journalism
• The chance to build a strong portfolio in a respected B2B media organization
• Competitive compensation and benefits package.

Please send cover letter, resume and any relevant supporting application materials to Kate Hand, EVP, Customer Success. 

The Data Reporter will play a key role in turning datasets, surveys, and breaking news into clear, accurate stories that help our audience understand what’s happening in their industries right now. Priority will be given to candidates based in or willing to relocate to Cincinnati, Ohio.

Key Responsibilities

• Produce a high volume of daily and weekly data-driven and news-focused stories under tight deadlines
• Analyze datasets, surveys, and industry reports to identify timely, newsworthy insights
• Write clear, accurate, and engaging stories for digital publication
• Support recurring data features, charts, rankings, and dashboards
• Collaborate closely with editors to meet daily news priorities and deadlines
• Assist with data cleaning, validation, and basic analysis using spreadsheets and other tools
• Create or support simple charts and visuals to accompany stories
• Promote published stories through social media and assist with content marketing efforts
• Monitor industry news, data releases, and public data sources for story opportunities
• Uphold journalistic standards, accuracy, and ethical use of data

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or a related field (or equivalent experience)
• Demonstrated experience working in a deadline-driven newsroom or news environment writing high-volume content (internships count!)
• Strong writing and reporting skills with the ability to explain data clearly and concisely
• Comfort working with numbers, spreadsheets, and datasets
• Ability to manage multiple assignments and deadlines simultaneously
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy
• Familiarity with Excel
• Experience with content marketing and social media, including writing promotional copy and understanding audience engagement
• Interest in business, manufacturing and B2B journalism

What We Offer

• Be part of a respected, evolving B2B media organization with a strong foundation and ambitious future.
• Hands-on experience producing impactful, data-driven journalism
• The chance to build a strong portfolio in a respected B2B media organization
• Competitive compensation and benefits package.

Please send cover letter, resume and any relevant supporting application materials to Kate Hand, EVP, Customer Success. 

This survey ranks the world’s countries in machine tool production, consumption, imports and exports, taking reported and estimated machine tool economic data and adjusting for exchange rates and inflation to enable year-to-year (and country-to-country) comparisons in real U.S. dollars.

Criteria for inclusion in the survey are that the country has imported at least $100 million of machine tools over at least one year since 2001, and that the Gardner Intelligence team can access or reasonably estimate the country’s data. For countries that do not report import and export totals, data comes from the International Trade Centre (ITC). The ITC reports imports and exports at the machine tool category level for all countries, calculating production estimates when data is not provided. Historic data is adjusted for inflation using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index for capital equipment, which provides high-quality comparisons over time.

Imports and exports at the machine tool category level typically add up to numbers less than or equal to the totals reported. The Gardner Intelligence team says these differences usually stem from reporting the top five machine tool categories rather than all eight. In rare cases, imports and exports at the category level can also exceed the totals reported. The team believes these mismatches occur when machine tool category-level data includes parts and components that are not included in totals. These mismatches can also occur when using different data sources.

 Key insights include:

• Industry Overview – Trends, U.S. impact, and strategic takeaways.
• Trade Insights – Top importers, exporters, producers, and consumers.
• Country Analyses – YOY changes in machine tool trade and production.

Machine tool builders, international trade associations, investment firms and banks from around the world use this full-year 2024 global machine tool data to identify trends and takeaways to inform which international markets show the most promise and growth and which markets are losing ground. 

The data and report package includes: 

• Global machine tool trends and takeaways from full-year 2024 data. 
• Country ranking of Top 20 machine tool producers, consumers, importers and exporters
• Country ranking of largest trade balances
• Detailed data summary page for each country
• Listing of top import / export by machine type per country

For more information and download, visit: https://www.gardnerintelligence.com/report/world-machine-tool

Research Solution

Gardner Intelligence, in collaboration with Canon and its marketing agency, designed, conducted and analyzed research that informed Canon’s initiative to promote partnerships.

Gardner Intelligence conducted 1:1 interviews with Canon’s prospects in Gardner’s database that, in combination with the agency’s interviews with Canon’s customers, yielded depth of understanding and input to survey design.

Gardner lead the development, administration and analysis of a survey to quantify partnership objectives, development processes, ongoing practices and other characteristics to gain additional insights and expertise about partnerships.

Gardner Intelligence is committed to leading research that delivers knowledge and insights that meet customer objectives.

“Gardner Intelligence is committed to leading research that delivers knowledge and insights that meet customer objectives. Informing decisions for better customer outcomes fuels us. It is super exciting to have the opportunity to help distribute the white paper Canon Virginia Inc. developed using data and insights from our collaborative, multi-component research program with CVI and its agency,” said Jan Schafer, Director of Market Research.

Insights Applied

Canon applied Gardner’s research insights to:

1. Grow and optimize its own partnerships
2. Develop a white paper to promote partnerships for the benefit of the moldmaking industry as a whole (including Canon!)

The White Paper includes:

• Elements of partnerships
• Common catalysts for partnerships
• Market dynamics
• Engineering the experience

> Download Canon’s White Paper, Harnessing the Power of Partnerships

Jeff Sloan, Brand Vice President
Plastics Technology
LinkedIn | Email

Jeff Sloan has been named Brand Vice President of Plastics Technology. Sloan’s experience in manufacturing and media span nearly three decades beginning with leadership positions in Injection Molding and Modern Plastics magazines. Since 2006, Jeff served as Editor-in-Chief for Gardner Business Media’s CompositesWorld (CW) brand and since 2023 operated as CW’s Brand Vice President, a role he will retain through this appointment. Gardner and Jeff are excited to apply his expertise in advanced materials media and marketing to the plastics industry to help guide what has become the most dominant media brand in the global plastics marketplace.

Plastics Technology Editorial Director, Jim Callari, commented, “I’ve known Jeff for more than 25 years — first as a friendly competitor when he led Injection Molding magazine and Modern Plastics, and then as a colleague at Gardner since 2006, when he joined CompositesWorld. With his background in both the commercial and editorial sides of the business, Jeff is ideally positioned to take on the role as brand leader for Plastics Technology. I look forward to working with him to further enhance all of our content platforms: print, digital and in person.”

Dale Jackman, Brand Vice President
MoldMaking Technology
LinkedIn | Email

Dale Jackman has been named Brand Vice President of MoldMaking Technology. Dale joined Gardner Business Media’s sales team in 2017 working in the mold making and composites markets. In 2018, Dale’s role expanded to Regional Sales Management within the plastics team. Recently, in addition to becoming an integral and vital part of Plastics Technology and MoldMaking Technology’s success, Dale led the sales efforts for the Official NPE2024 – The Plastics Show Integrated Media Products Gardner Business Media delivers in partnership with the Plastics Industry Association

Christina Fuges, Editorial Director of MMT, says, “Dale’s background as l manager and NPE Show Products Sales Director has prepared him well for this role. I look forward to the new ideas and perspectives he will bring, marking a new chapter for us. I'm optimistic about the future of MMT under Dale's leadership.”

Reflecting on both promotions, Rick Kline, Jr., President of Gardner Business Media, says, “One of Gardner’s enduring strengths is the company’s ability to cultivate the leadership our brands need to grow and thrive. Ryan Delahanty provided that leadership for many years and we appreciate all that did for PT, MMT and Gardner. Both PT and MMT are stable and dominant in the markets they serve, but the publishing world demands that we continue to be adaptive and nimble. In Jeff and Dale we have two people who will help both brands — staff, audience and customers — take the next steps in their evolution. We are excited to see where they will take these important Gardner brands.”

Under Jeff’s and Dale’s leadership, Plastics Technology and MoldMaking Technology are looking ahead to May media issues, finalizing preparations for unmatched coverage of NPE2024 – The Plastics Show and collaborating on growth opportunities for Gardner Business Media’s plastics processing and manufacturing media business.

For more information on either brand or to learn more about about Gardner Business Media, please visit the other pages of Gardnerweb.com, follow us on social or contact us direct. 

The end. (Image: Ford)

This is the last edition of “on Automotive,” as I leave Gardner Business Media, which has been my journalistic home for more than 35 years. During this time I’ve had the opportunity—and honor—to work on Production Magazine, Automotive Production, Automotive Manufacturing and Production, Automotive Design and Production, and AutoBeat, all with first-rate colleagues on the editorial, business and managerial sides of the house (and the latter, I’ve got to say, gave me considerable latitude over the years, sometimes grudgingly and sometimes happily, but always respectfully: and I am certainly grateful for that).

I’ve had the opportunity to meet and learn from people in a variety of industries, from machine tools to robots, from automation to ADAS. And yes, of course, many of the women and men who design, engineer, produce, manage, and market vehicles.

While the “day job” comes to an end, this doesn’t mean I will stop covering the industry. I will continue to co-host “Autoline After Hours” and post at my site, shinymetalboxes.net. And who knows what else?

When I talk with colleagues covering auto who are similarly aged they say, to a person, that they want to stay in it because “This is the most exciting time in the auto industry in 100 years.”

Actually, that phrase isn’t entirely accurate because in the 1920s the industry was in a phase of regularization, not innovation. It was pretty much decided that there would be an engine under the hood, and the engine would be powered by gasoline. There would be steering wheels inside cabins. Steel became the material of choice. The assembly line was 10 years old by 1923. Alfred Sloan became the president of General Motors, which gave rise to the ladder structure that continues today (“a car for every purse and purpose”).

But let’s face it: to say “This is the most exciting time in the auto industry in 110 years” just doesn’t have the same impact.

What is particularly interesting about today is that there are changes occurring both organizationally and technically: who would have ever imagined that a company like Tesla—established in 2003—would become the automotive behemoth it is today, a company that has radically changed the ways vehicles are manufactured and marketed? Who would have imagined that companies that were around in 1923 (as well as some established since) would be aggressively chasing Tesla (and one could argue not doing a particularly good job at closing the gap)?

The acronym that is meant to encompass where the industry is focusing—for better or worse—right now is “ACES.” That’s for Automated, Connected, Electric, Shared.

So how’s this working out?

Automated

In 2017 Ford announced a test program with Domino’s Pizza in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Oddly, the Ford Fusion Hybrid Autonomous Research Vehicle was manually driven by a Ford safety engineer and there were researchers on board, so there were clearly more people to tip than in the non-autonomous arrangement. (Image: Ford)

Is this answering a question that no one is asking? Well, that depends who you ask.

Ford announced in 2016 that by 2021 it intended to have “a high-volume, fully autonomous SAE level 4-capable vehicle in commercial operation in 2021 in a ride-hailing or ride-sharing service.”

The key adjectives are “high-volume” and “commercial.”

In 2016 Argo AI, a company created for the development of autonomous driving tech, was established. It had a $1-billion investment from Ford. In 2019 Volkswagen joined with Ford with an investment in money--$1-billion—and $1.6-billion by adding its Autonomous Intelligent Driving company into the mix. Two of the technically most capable OEMs I the world were going in big on autonomous driving tech.

But in October 2022 they didn’t see a path forward, so the whole thing was dissolved. 2021 had come and gone with no high-volume, commercial autonomous ride hailing from them. (Ford created a subsidiary last March, Latitude AI, presumably figuring it has to keep its hand in the game.)

There was no “high-volume, fully autonomous SAE level-4 capable vehicle in commercial operation in 2021 in a ride-hailing or ride-sharing service” from Ford. Nor in 2023.

“High-volume” is something that just hasn’t happened

Meanwhile, GM’s Cruise AI, which the OEM has owned since 2016, has lost some $8-billion since then. It has also lost its ability—weeks after achieving it—to have its self-driving vehicles operating in California due to a horrendous accident involving one of its vehicles in San Francisco in early October.

In late November GM CEO Mary Barra, talking about Cruise, told investors “spending will be substantially lower in 2024 than it was in 2023.”

Still, the corporation has a commitment to Cruise.

In early December, during an Automotive Press Association meeting in Detroit, Barra characterized the $8-billion loss as an “investment.”

GM had earlier claimed that by 2030 Cruise could generate $50 billion per year in revenue.

Given what’s occurred in this space in general, not just at Cruise, that is something that can be described as a “stretch goal.” A long stretch.

And there’s more. According to a fact sheet developed by the University of Michigan’s Center for Sustainable Systems:

“There are several limitations and barriers that could impede adoption of AVs, including: the need for sufficient consumer demand, assurance of data security, protection against cyberattacks, regulations compatible with driverless operation, resolved liability laws, societal attitude and behavior change regarding distrust and subsequent resistance to AV use, and the development of economically viable AV technologies.”

Yes, lots of things to address and resolve.

Having an array of sensors and processors on vehicles that provide the abilities of Ford’s BlueCruise and GM’s Super Cruise—both Level 2+ systems—are useful. But is there truly more than isolated demand for Level 4 driving abilities?

That’s the question that needs an answer.

Connected

Cadillac, in 2017, announced it was installing V2V communications tech in its CTS sedans. Of course, the benefit of V2V tech is based on an array of vehicles being so equipped, otherwise there isn’t a whole lot of use. Cadillac, incidentally, stopped building the CTS in 2019. (Image: Cadillac)

This is the one that is curious. Essentially, a given vehicle is “connected” to other vehicles (V2V) and infrastructure (V2X) through a communications protocol. A vehicle would broadcast information about its condition such that if it was stalled around a curve, vehicles behind it would be aware of it and could slow down even though the drivers in those other vehicles wouldn’t be aware of the potential hazard.

And the V2X part of this could be as simple as a vehicle “knowing” when a traffic signal was going to change—or a traffic signal could “decide” not to change because it would “know” that vehicles weren’t coming from the cross direction. Smoother driving for everyone.

In January 2017 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard that light vehicles would be equipped with V2V capability. It pulled the proposal last month, citing “new V2V communications protocol” and “a recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision regarding the regulations governing the 5.850–5.895 gigahertz (5.9 GHz) band.”

One imagines that were there to be bullish support on behalf of the OEMs there would be V2V and all of this discussion of bandwidths would be worked out. But while it is functional, it isn’t particularly sexy like self-driving vehicles are perceived to be.

This could be an example of the best being the enemy of the good—were it that the best (autonomy) actually had some widespread potential sooner rather than (considerably) later.

Electric

One of the things that people sometimes say about Tesla is that it is like Apple in terms of customers perceiving it as something worth paying more for compared with traditional products. (Remember when IBM was going to crush Apple in PCs?) Like Apple’s success in creating the iTunes infrastructure, Tesla built the Supercharger network: an advantage for getting people to buy the hardware to get a better experience (musically; electrically). (Image: Tesla)

There are two things at play. One is regulation. The other is market demand. So far there seems to be little in the way of intersection, at least in the United States.

When Motor Trend, in the fall of 2012, named the Tesla Model S the Car of the Year, things shifted. Not only was this the first electric vehicle that MT had selected for that honor, but think about it: Tesla was founded in 2003 and it built a car that outperformed contenders including the BMW 3 Series, Cadillac ATS, Mercedes SL, and Porsche 911 in an exceedingly short period of time.

And Tesla hasn’t looked back since.

The market demand for its vehicles has pretty much gone sharply up.

Slowly and sporadically other OEMs have followed with EVs.

But then the California Air Resources Board became more demanding regarding what was coming out of the tailpipes of vehicles, so the other OEMs had to become more serious after they had their “compliance car” play (i.e., putting mediocre EVs on the road that checked the box to meet California regs).

This past April the U.S. EPA came out with a proposed rule for light- and medium-duty vehicles staring in model year 2027. If the rule goes from a consideration to being on the books, it would require, in effect, that 67% of all passenger cars, trucks and SUVs being sold in the U.S. be EVs. By 2032.

So companies that want to sell vehicles in the U.S. would have to be really serious about an EV portfolio.

Given that Tesla is a company founded and based in the U.S. one might imagine that other auto companies in the U.S. would have the same sort of capabilities and be able to create the same sort of products that Tesla has on offer. But so far, that’s not the case.

Meanwhile, over in China and western Europe, EVs are taking off at a considerable pace. In the case of the former, much of this was predicated on government inducement. In the case of the latter, there seems to be greater environmental sensitivity among regular folk, and there is certainly an awareness of the greater price—by far—of gasoline compared to the U.S.

While there are seemingly headlines galore about some increase in EV sales, it is worth noting that according to the U.S. Department of Energy, which complied numbers of light-duty vehicle sales, in 2022 there were 2,442,300 EVs registered in the U.S. and 7,156,900. . .diesels.

This is not to say that EVs aren’t going to rise, but one really needs to be realistic about this whole thing. And to consider the role that government is playing.

The U.S. government not only wants to have a stick (EPA regs) to drive EV creation by the OEMs, but also a carrot for those in the market, which takes the primary form of the Inflation Reduction Act. Consumers can get up to $7,500 in a tax credit.

And manufacturers of batteries can get tax credits amounting to $35 a kilowatt hour (kWh) for battery cell production and an additional $10 kWh for battery modules. What’s more, there’s a 10% credit on costs associated with mining and processing materials for the batteries.

On December 1 the U.S. Department of the Treasury noted, “Since the IRA was enacted [August 16, 2022], nearly $100 billion in private-sector investment has been announced across the U.S. clean vehicle and battery supply chain.” Those credits are awfully appealing, apparently, because those investments aren’t being made in such abundance simply because the companies think they’re going to get an ROI from building batteries absent the monies from the government.

Here’s a question bringing us back to the top of this: Does the market want EVs or is this a function of incentives, to the individual consumer, as well as to the OEMs (with part of the OEMs’ incentives taking the form of having to meet the regs and another the money associated with battery production—and know they’re not getting that for building gasoline engines)?

Do people want to buy electric vehicles—or do they want to buy a Tesla?

Shared

The future of shared vehicles will be, more or less, rectangular, like this, the Cruise Origin. For one thing, the tech is expensive (and is likely to remain that way for a while), so being able to carry more passengers and move them in and out quickly and efficiently is necessary. (Image: Cruise)

Speaking of Elon Musk, in his “Master Plan, Part Deux,” posted in mid-2016, he wrote:

“When true self-driving is approved by regulators, it will mean that you will be able to summon your Tesla from pretty much anywhere. . . .You will also be able to add your car to the Tesla shared fleet just by tapping a button on the Tesla phone app and have it generate income for you while you're at work or on vacation, significantly offsetting and at times potentially exceeding the monthly loan or lease cost. This dramatically lowers the true cost of ownership to the point where almost anyone could own a Tesla. Since most cars are only in use by their owner for 5% to 10% of the day, the fundamental economic utility of a true self-driving car is likely to be several times that of a car which is not.”

That estimate of a vehicle being parked for 90% to 95% of the time isn’t just referring to Teslas. The thing that you spend tens of thousands of dollars on you drive, on average, 61.3 minutes per day. Which means it is not in use for nearly 23 hours.

(Fun fact for context: According to Nielsen, the average American spends 4 hours and three minutes per day watching TV.)

In 2019 Musk said, “I feel very confident predicting autonomous robotaxis for Tesla next year.”

Last year during his Q1 earnings call he said there would be volume production of a purpose-built Tesla robotaxi.

And this past May in an interview with CNBC he reiterated the economic benefits that can accrue from the people using their Teslas as robotaxis, which they still can’t.

But sharing doesn’t necessarily mean this is something that needs to be done autonomously, which is proving to be vexing.

Sharing is also related to ride hailing, like Lyft and Uber, and while those companies took a heavy hit when COVID arrived, there has been recovery by both companies.

According to McKinsey estimates, because of alternatives to private vehicle ownership (a.k.a., “mobility,” including sharing and ride-hailing (as well as scooters and bikes and. . .)), “In 2035, for example, car sales in the European Union are forecasted to be almost 20 percent lower than 2015 levels, and the United States could experience an even greater drop of 30 percent.”

Thirty percent. A huge hit to an industry predicated on volume (although given average transaction prices of late, one could argue that volume is now in second place to margins—by some distance). All because of transportation alternatives, including sharing.

Clearly, the impact of changes in modes of mobility are going to have profound consequences on the industry.

One of the creditable and credible things that Cruise has done is develop the Origin (with the assistance of Honda, as well as parent GM), a vehicle purpose-built for carrying six passengers. While there’s lots of attention to the fact that there’s no steering wheel or pedals, similarly notable is the functionality of the design for ingress and egress: people can move in and out quickly, thereby minimizing load/unload time. (While Cruise announced last week that due to the restructuring predicated on a horrible accident in San Francisco that it is “ceasing work on the Origin MY24” and focusing on the Chevy Bolt platform, ergonomically the Origin makes better sense.)

If shared is going to become as big as predicted, then there is going to need to be more Origin-like vehicles, regardless of their propulsion system and piloting approach.

///

Coda

An exciting time. But a challenging one.

Let me end with two quotes from Henry Ford, which seems apropos for an automotive newsletter.

The first quote is something that I hope leaders at OEM companies keep in mind as they are aggressively chasing ACES:

“I will build a motor car for the great multitude...constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise...so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one-and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces.”

To build vehicles that are affordable only for the few undercuts one of the pillars upon which the industry rests.

And this for those who may be starting their careers, regardless of what their undertakings are:

“The short successes that can be gained in a brief time and without difficulty, are not worth much.”

Even in the age of TikTok, endurance matters.

Farewell.

“’Badass adventure machine,’ that says it all about what this new Tacoma is. There was a lot of close collaboration between engineering, planning, marketing and design. We worked together as a North American unit to make this all-new Tacoma come to life.”--Kevin Hunter, president, CALTY Design Research (Images: Toyota)

At the 22,000-sq. ft. Toyota Collaborative Benchmarking Center in southeast Michigan, teams representing Engineering, Manufacturing, Purchasing, and local suppliers get together and (a) analyze parts and components (physical and digital models) that constitute competitive vehicles and (b) work on developing parts and components for Toyota vehicles.

Like those for the forthcoming 2024 Tacoma pickup truck.

Here are some elements of the new truck:

• ISO Dynamic Seat. The objective is to keep the head stabilized particularly in off-road conditions. The seat is engineered so the cushion rotates around the inclined roll axis so the hip and torso are disconnected from the head and spine, consequently maintaining alignment. The seat provides vertical movement of 30 mm, lateral 20 mm and the upper back 19 mm; it moves in all three axes. The seat includes an air reservoir that can be adjusted with a hand pump to accommodate the driver’s weight and the type of terrain conditions.
• Exterior Lighting. There are three aspects: appearance, performance and functionality. LED headlamps are standard across all grades. Compared with the 2023 model standard halogen lamps, the LED low beam reach and width are increased 22% and 73%, respectively. Power consumption is down 58%. An LED lightbar is available that’s located in the grille below the brand badge; it provides lighting assistance under all conditions and nearly doubles the coverage of high beams alone. In the back there are LED backup lamps, LED bed lighting and LED scene lighting (these are positioned in the deck rails and provide illumination around the truck). Lighting for the Tacoma serves the primary function of plenty of illumination and the secondary one of styling.

• Hybrid Powertrain. There are three powertrains available for the ’24 Tacoma, including the iForceMAX, a hybrid. But what’s notable is that this is an instance where “hybrid” means “performance,” as this is the most powerful propulsion unit ever available on a Tacoma—even though it uses a 2.4-liter four, it produces considerably more torque than the 3.5-liter V6 available in the last-gen Tacoma: 465 lb-ft vs. 265 lb-ft. And there is a non-trivial boost in horsepower: 326 hp vs. 278 hp. The iForceMAX features a 48-hp motor in-line with an eight-speed automatic transmission. There is a 240-cell, 1.87-kWh NiMH battery (yes, nickel-metal hydride—tech that Toyota has had proven positive experience with in several generations of Prius models).

Big Numbers

One thing to know about Tacoma and the midsize pickup market: It dominates.

Through the third quarter of 2023, the U.S. sales of vehicles in the category looks like this:

• Tacoma:                  179,681
• Chevy Colorado:      58,685
• Ford Ranger:            31,503
• GMC Canyon:           19,351
• Nissan Frontier:      45,895*

Given that the 2024 Tacoma was specifically designed and engineered for the U.S. market and given that it is available in eight grades (SR, SR5, TRD PreRunner, TRD Sport, TRD Off-Road, Limited, TRD Pro, and Trailhunter), odds are there will be a lot of people finding the model for them, which should keep the Taco at the top.

*It is notable that Nissan is in a solid third position when it comes to sales. For some reason the brand doesn’t get the attention that it deserves as it outsold the Ford Ranger by 14,392 units and the GMC Canyon by 26,544, non-trivial deltas in both cases.

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Money Can’t Buy Me Love

Wanting to have a better understanding of what consumers think about their lives, Ford has been producing the “Looking Further with Ford Trends Report” since 2013. It isn’t about selling pickup trucks. Rather, it is to get a read on how people think about things that impact their lives. (Of course, the findings can be cleverly extrapolated into whether they might be interested in pickups.)

And some of the results of the survey taken in 16 countries among >16,000 people in August and September are more than a bit surprising.

As in:

In the next 10 years, my ideal living / family situation looks like…

• Having children:      26%
• Having pets:              34%

(Maybe three-row SUVs will not be all that important in the next 10 years: dog cages, yes.)

But one finding probably caused considerable pause among the Ford C-suite.

As in:

To achieve a lifestyle that prioritizes my quality of life, I would be willing to take a 20% pay cut.

• 52% of those employed agree

Now, that 52% is a global average, ranging from a high in Thailand (69%) to a low in Mexico (40%).

The U.S.?

• 51%

That’s right, more than half of American workers would be willing to have their salaries reduced for purposes of lifestyle.

Wonder if Shawn Fain knew?

(Note: This finding may be of use to the non-Traditional Three the UAW will work to organize: focus on making sure that workers recognize there’s quality of life on offer.)

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AI Comes to Predictive Maintenance at BMW

AI helps the BMW production line producing the iX2 running with minimal downtime. (Image: BMW)

Back in the days when “lean production” was a topic*, the term “preventative maintenance” came up every now and then (fixing stuff, apparently, isn’t as engaging as making stuff).

However, if a machine unexpectedly goes down, that results in “no production,” lean or obese.

Preventative maintenance gave way to “predictive maintenance.”

Predictive maintenance uses everything from sensor data collected from the equipment to historical downtime to figure out when something needs to be attended to—before it needs attention.

At the BMW plant in Regensburg, Germany, they are taking this one step farther by performing “smart maintenance.”

That’s essentially predictive maintenance taken to another level through the use of artificial intelligence.

Non-trivial Benefit

What does this get them?

“We are currently avoiding at least 500 minutes of downtime per year in vehicle assembly alone,” said project manager Oliver Mrasek.

While 500 minutes over the course of a year may not seem like a big deal, it is.

The production rate at the plant is one vehicle per 57 seconds, so that’s about 525 BMW iX2s that aren’t lost to downtime.

BMW is currently using the AI-supported system at Regensburg to monitor its vehicle conveyor systems.

As it had a predictive maintenance system in place, there was no need to add any sensors or hardware for the AI system.

Mrasek: “The only costs are for storage and computing power.”

Hard not to do it.

*”Lean production” was synonymous with the “Toyota Production System” (TPS) which some people argue is passé in light of the advances being made in manufacturing by Tesla, such as gigacastings and a process combining serial and parallel assembly for the next-gen Tesla, the “unboxed process” that is claimed to reduce the manufacturing footprint by >40% and reduce cost by 50%. Those numbers are remarkable if achievable. However, I’d argue that TPS is as relevant to consumers today as it ever was. It is widely known anecdotally that Tesla owners give their vehicles a pass on build issues that would be unacceptable for other brands. According to the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study—which looks at how model year 2020 vehicles have held up in terms of quality, component replacement and appeal—based on a metric of problems per 100 vehicles (PP 100), Lexus is the top brand with a score of 133 PP 100 and Toyota is in seventh place, with 168. Tesla? 242 PP 100. According to S&P Global Mobility, the average age of cars and light trucks on the road now is 12.5 years. Which means that dependability is important. And TPS certainly contributes to making vehicles that are dependable.

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Plugless Charging Positioning Standard

New standard helps with the orientation of an EV and an inductive charge pad. (Image: MAHLE)

Thirty-six percent of Americans surveyed last year acknowledged their garages are so cluttered that they can’t park their vehicles inside them.

What’s more, 62% who took part in the survey conducted by CRAFTSMAN brand, which makes among other things tools that can be used to fix cars, said their garage is the most cluttered place in their home.

Which may make the deployment of the MAHLE Differential Inductive Positioning System (DIPS) less widespread than it might be.

The what?

MAHLE, a company that focuses on electric drives and charging, vehicle thermal management, and internal combustion engine tech (“we will remain a reliable partner to our customers around the world as long as demand exists” for ICEs), has developed a system that allows electric vehicles with inductive charging capability to be precisely positioned over the charging coil on (or in) the floor.

Say in one’s garage. No plugs required.

DIPS has been selected by SAE International as a global standard for the application.

The driver simply follows directions provided by a special navigation system screen for the positioning. (And were one to have an autonomous parking-capable vehicle, it works with that, too.)

Of course, this requires a vehicle be capable of inductive charging.

(Briefly: there is a magnetic coil in the charger on the floor that communicates with a receiver installed in the vehicle, which also has a coil: when the two are aligned, the charging begins: No plugging in required. But the vehicle requires that capability.

(One snag: there is no EV you can buy that comes with inductive charging capability standard. According to the folks that organize the EV Charging Summit, “only one EV sold in America has wireless charging as a factory option – the BMW 530e hybrid sedan.”)

Which brings us back to the garage.

Don’t most people simply use a tennis ball hanging on a string from the ceiling to properly position their vehicles?

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Callum Knows Function, Too

One thinks that there probably aren’t a whole lot of learnings that Ian Callum took away from his stint heading Jaguar design for this, his Skye. (Image: CALLUM)

Although legendary designer Ian Callum is associated with vehicles including the Aston Martin DB7 and the Jaguar XF, it is worth noting that his first job in the industry was at the Ford Dutton Technical Center in the U.K. where, among other things, he designed things like the side mirrors for the Ford Transit Van.

Or said another way, Callum isn’t all posh.

So it isn’t entirely surprising that although it is certainly upscale, there is functionality as part of the first branded vehicle from the eponymous design consultancy he heads: the CALLUM SKYE.

It’s a multi-terrain electric vehicle.

Callum:

“At four metres long, the CALLUM SKYE is dramatically proportioned with a concise exterior aesthetic driven by its capabilities. It has been designed to exceed expectations: minimal mass, maximum capability--exceptionally usable and an absolute joy to drive.

“The exterior features a striking accent loop, intersected by a strong horizontal structure, flanked by organic forms front and rear. It is pared down to a level of necessity and understatement.”

Said like the designer he is.

From a more operational point of view, there’s this from Adam Donfrancesco, CALLUM head of Engineering:

“We set an uncompromisingly high bar with our functional targets for the CALLUM SKYE, creating a compelling, unique, versatile and durable vehicle. Throughout the development journey, we have held steadfast to the principals of simplicity and integrity, ensuring the CALLUM SKYE conquers the rigorous demands of a variety of off-road terrains, while still delivering the ride comfort and handling that transforms winding country roads into captivating experiences for both the driver and passengers.”

Specifics about the vehicle (beyond such things as a 42-kWh battery, a weight of 1,150 kg, an anticipated range of 170 miles, and a <4-second 0 to 60 time) will be released in spring 2024.

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Electrifying the Trailer

BMW is testing electric trailers for transport. Provides an emissions advantage especially when the tractors are powered by diesel. (Image: BMW)

BMW Group Logistik recently performed an interesting test—in real logistics operations—in which it deployed an electric semi-trailer.

That’s right: the trailer is electric, not the tractor.

The trailer was developed by Trailer Dynamics GmbH.

Operating around the BMW plant in Dingolfing and running between Mamming and Leipzig, Germany, it was determined that if a diesel truck was used with the electric trailer there was an average fuel savings of >46% in the short- and medium-distance runs and >48% in the long run.

Then they did the same combining the trailer with an electric tractor and were able to achieve a range of >600 km (>373 miles).

Elements of the Trailer

The trailer is fitted with 400/600 kWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery modules, an electric axle up to 580 kW, and a control unit that coordinates the e-axle with the tractor’s powertrain.

Although using batteries in the trailer means additional mass, which means that (a) the amount of cargo is reduced and (b) there is the need to use extra energy to move it, it was determined that there is a beneficial reduction in carbon emissions.

“As the BMW Group, we are—as the first German car manufacturer—a member of the ‘Business Ambition for 1.5°C’ of the Science-Based Targets Initiative and are committed to the target of complete climate neutrality throughout the entire value chain. Therefore, we are using visionary projects to consistently accelerate the BMW Group’s Green Transport Logistics strategy. The pilot testing with Trailer Dynamics’ e-trailer showed that using this kind of electrified semi-trailer significantly reduce the fuel consumption of standard diesel tractors and noticeably increases the range of e-trucks.”—Michael Nikolaides, Head of BMW Group Production Network and Logistics

As for the potential for reduced cargo because of the batteries, while there are regulations regarding the amount of weight that a trailer can carry and while 16 tons of battery modules can take a non-trivial amount of available capacity, according to a BMW spokesperson:

“This payload reduction would only be relevant for weighed-out transport, which play a minor role for BMW Group Inbound logistics.”

Why?

“Most transports are cubed out.”

In other words, it is a matter of package size more than package mass.

Given that there are a whole lot of diesel tractors out there, the utilization of electric trailers can certainly help logistics companies reduce their emissions while keeping their diesels.

Not ideal to continue burning diesel. But given the number of tractors with diesels out there, a practical solution.

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Cleaner Commercial Vehicles

Schneider operates its EV trucks out of its Southern California Intermodal Operations Center, where it has constructed a charging depot with 16 350-kW dual-corded chargers. The trucks can get to an 80% charge in about 90 minutes and have a range of up to 220 miles. (Image: Schneider)

Speaking of trucks. . .

Although there is plenty of focus on electric light-duty trucks, big rigs do have promise for emissions reduction.

According to a recent report in Electrek there have been approximately 70 Tesla Semis built. . .which makes it all the more impressive that Schneider National, a hauling and logistics firm, has a fleet of 94 electric trucks: 92 Freightliner eCascadias and two electric yard spotters.

Schneider worked with Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) on the development of the eCascadia, including piloting a vehicle in service for six months in 2020-2021.

Its fleet—running goods for companies including Goodyear and Frito-Lay North America—has now racked up more than 1-million zero-emissions miles in service.

The company calculates the eCascadias have avoided about 3.3-million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. That’s equivalent to what some 330 gasoline-powered cars emit annually.

From California to London. . .

An electric black cab in London. (Image: LEVC)

Still in the commercial vehicle space. . .

Meanwhile, the London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC), which produces black cabs that are EVs, has calculated that since the vehicles were introduced in 2018, the >10,000 cabs (more than 7,500 of which are in London, which means that more than half of the black cabs in London are electric) have prevented more than 220,460 tons of carbon dioxide emissions during the total of >700 million miles traveled.

To help provide a visual of what 220,460 tons represent, LEVC says that it is equal to more than 110,000 passenger flights from London to Sydney.

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2024 Hyundai Kona Limited

The ‘24 Kona is available with ICEs under its hood—though it was originally designed to accommodate an electric propulsion system. (Images: Hyundai)

Sometimes the front and rear of vehicles appear to have been designed by two people who have never met, have nothing in common and appear to have been working from entirely different briefs.

If there is anything from a design perspective that I give the all-new 2024 Kona full marks for it is the symmetry of the front and rear designs.

There are what are called “horizon lamps” on each, with the lightbar in the front positioned so that the hood seam is essentially invisible, and with the rear pixelated lamp a few inches below the backlight.

This Kona was designed first to be an EV and then an ICE, and so the term “futuristic” is absolutely apt for what they’ve achieved with the styling of the vehicle.

The bodysides, however, leave me somewhat less than enchanted. There are large swaths of cladding on the front and rear quarters and along the sill. That and the use of a Z-shaped character line running from the top of the front quarter across to the rear door handle, then diving down to a spot just above the sill cladding near the bottom of the front door, then back, ending at the cladding on the rear door is a bit fussy. If the front and rear evoke a sensibility about the future it is one of spacecraft. And what the side signifies is, perhaps, some sort of all-terrain vehicle designed to clamber over geologic formations on Mars. Rocket vs. rock-crawler.

Full disclosure: I really like the design of the first-generation Hyundai Kona, which was introduced as a MY 2018 subcompact crossover SUV.

That said, although I am not as taken with the styling of the all-new MY 2024 Kona,  (1) it certainly is time for a change and (2) I suspect that Hyundai figures it has the Venue, Tucson, Santa Fe, and Palisade, all of which have more conventional SUV styling, so this allows them to appeal to a different segment.

Sizeable

A big change is that the second-gen Kona is. . .bigger.

Specifically:

• Length: 171.3 inches, up 5.7 inches
• Width: 71.9 inches, a 1-inch increase
• Height: 63.6 inches, an additional 2.6 inches
• Wheelbase: 104.7 inches, 2.3 inches added

The place where this is really notable, valuable and useful is on the inside.

Passenger volume has gone from 94.1 cubic feet to 101.2 cubic feet.

Cargo volume was 19.2 cubic feet and now it is 25.5 cubic feet (which Hyundai says can accommodate two golf bags and four duffels or three 28-inch suitcases).

Under the hood there are two choices: a base 147-hp 2.0-liter engine mated to a CVT or a 190-hp 1.6-liter turbo mated to an eight-speed automatic.

Affordable

The vehicle really has a remarkable amount of standard safety tech on board, including forward collision-avoidance assist, blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic collision avoidance assist, lane-keeping assist, lane-following assist, high-beam assist, safe-exit warning, driver attention warning, and rear occupant alert. Realize that all these are standard and there is an abundant number of options that one might imagine would be available only on higher-end vehicles.

What’s more (or less): the starting MSRP for a front-drive Kona with the 2.0-liter engine is $24,100. The the top-of-the-line Kona Limited with all-wheel drive and a 1.6-liter turbo is $33,150.

There are more aspects of the Kona that can be characterized as “striking” than one would expect in its category, whether it is content or capability.

Styling, of course, is a matter of taste.

Subscribe to the Lynk & Co 01, then use it to generate some additional income. (Image: Lynk & Co)

Lynk & Co is a Geely-owned company that produces cars. Oddly enough, it is apparently more interested in providing subscriptions to its vehicles than in selling them, particularly in Europe.

What’s more, it is promoting that those who have its model 01 to share them—for income.

Alain Visser, CEO of Lynk & Co:

“Car sharing isn't just a service—it’s about enabling mobility and committing to sustainability. It's our way of revolutionizing the very essence of car ownership, paving the way for a more sustainable and inclusive tomorrow, one ride at a time.”

There have been a reasonable number of singular rides in Lynks:

The company reports that over the past 12 months subscribers who are sharing their 01s have earned €850,000. Which can be then used to pay for their subscription fees.

Lenders set their own prices. In Sweden they’ve found the average price is €9 per hour. In Italy €30.

The Netherlands leads in Lynk & Co car sharing: 22% of the 01 owners there are lending.

A Change in Mobility Models?

Which leads to a comment made by says Dr. Stefan Penthin, Global Leader Automotive and Industrial Manufacturing at Amsterdam-based consultancy BearingPoint, which recently released a paper titled:

“What happens to your business when users prioritize the consumption of mobility services over ownership?”

Penthin said:

“All industries must adjust to the mobility ecosystem of 2030. They must look at their current business model now to ensure they are fit for purpose in a future driven by services rather than hardware alone. This will mean all players will have to reorganize to face the future, focusing on the customer, whether it is B2B or B2C, ensuring they are sustainable and embrace an ecosystem that incorporates data and forecasting.”

Lynk & Co may be ahead of the game.

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Bentley and A Lot of Yacht

Contest 67CS—yes, there is an automotive connection. (Images: Bentley)

In a review of the Contest 67CS, a 21-m sailing yacht, that appeared in Yachting News in 2020, author Luc D’Ambrosio described it as “the perfect example of how all sailboats should be built.”  

And he noted (remember, this goes back a few years), “The base price of the Contest 67CS is equal to 2.6 million euros which, considering construction, equipment and finishes, is not so high.”

(Just to put that €2.6 million in 2020 into context: that would be some €3.2 million in today’s euros. Guess that’s the price of “perfect.” But it seems more than “not so high.”)

Now, as you may be wondering what an expensive yacht has to do with the auto industry, know that a particular version of the Contest 67CS that was recently commissioned probably has an even higher sticker price (or whatever the nautical analogy of the Monroney is called) than the reviewed boat:

It has a bespoke interior crafted by the design team from Bentley Motors.

“Yacht interiors, like that of a car must be exact with precision detail. Whilst it was a challenge for our design teams to adapt their craft skills to an interior, providing a totally bespoke extension to our automotive interiors for the water we are delighted with the result. The finished article is a testament to the incredible talent and skill of our craftsmen and women who rose to the challenge and pushed the boundaries of what is possible.”-- Dr Matthias Rabe, Member of the Board for Engineering at Bentley Motors

Contest 67CS below deck. How the other half sails.

Even the tissue box and drink coasters for the yacht were specifically crafted for the application.

Guess that’s what being “bespoke” is all about.

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From Cars to What Powers Them

That ExxonMobil announced last week that it will start drilling in Arkansas—drilling for lithium, not oil—wasn’t entirely surprising.

Even though the number of EVs in the U.S. still remains comparatively low—exceedingly low if you take Tesla out of the calculation—there is undoubtedly incremental upside for ExxonMobil’s fortunes.

And there is, of course, that Inflation Reduction Act money that makes battery production exceedingly appealing for both battery companies and OEMs.

“Lithium is essential to the energy transition, and ExxonMobil has a leading role to play in paving the way of electrification,” is a statement from a company exec.

Clearly the company is, as they say, covering its bets as in October ExxonMobil invested approximately $60-billion in the acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, which owns more than 850,000 acres in the Permian Basin. This gives ExxonMobil a potential of 16-billion barrels of “oil equivalent resource” and provides the ability to double its production volume to 1.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MOEBD), going to 2 MOEBD in 2027.

2027 is the year it plans to start producing lithium.

(How will it do it? By using the oil and gas drilling methods it is familiar with to go down about 10,000 feet to access lithium-rich salt water. They’ll bring the salt water up, use direct lithium extraction technology to separate out the lithium, then, onsite, convert the lithium to battery-grade material. The salt water will be re-injected in the ground.)

Back to the “Lithium is essential” quote.

It was made by the president of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions, Dan Ammann.

You may recognize that name.

Ammann* was previously CEO of Cruise, General Motors’ currently troubled autonomous driving/services company. Ammann was named CEO of Cruise until the start of 2019, having been the president of GM.

Ammann unexpectedly left Cruise in December 2021 (at least unexpectedly to the outside world).

In March 2022 ExxonMobil announced the hire.

And There’s This. . .

Fill up with H2. (Image: First Element Fuel)

What’s completely coincidental but interesting is how another former GM executive went from the vehicle manufacturer to a vehicle energy company.

Back in 2012 Joel Ewanick was the GM global head of marketing and quite a hot commodity.

Ewanick, an imaginative marketer, struck a $559-million, seven-year deal to put the Chevrolet logo on the uniforms of Manchester United soccer players. (See: he was way ahead of “Ted Lasso” and Ryan Reynolds and Wrexham.)

The deal ended in 2021, but Ewanick was gone weeks after the arrangement was orchestrated in 2012. The speculation was that then-GM CEO Dan Akerson had some issues with the deal. GM stopped selling cars in the UK—and other European markets—in 2015. In 2017 it sold GM Europe to PSA Peugeot-Citroën, which subsequently became Stellantis. Apparently those bowtie logos on the uniforms weren’t all that useful.

Ewanick? He went on to become a co-founder of First Element Fuel, a California-based hydrogen fuel company for vehicles. He’s presently the company’s CEO and chairman. First Element Fuel operates True Zero, a company that operates a network of hydrogen fueling stations in California. Among its partners are Toyota and Honda.

Not GM.

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*Ammann hails from New Zealand. So he could be added to the list in the item below.

Hot Wheels Winner

Well, maybe the future won’t look exactly like this. . . . (Image: Hot Wheels)

While unlikely to join the ranks of Peter Jackson, Lorde, Russell Crowe, and Lucy Lawless, credit to New Zealander Chris Watson who transformed a 1990 Mazda MX-5 roadster, working in a shed in northern New Zealand, into a vehicle he nicknamed “Chimera.”

The car was modified using elements of the Japanese Kaido racer style—which includes lowering the vehicle and putting on emphatic wheels: Watson deployed 15 x 13-inch turbofan wheels under 100-mm arches that he designed—and a cyberpunk aesthetic (e.g., he airbrushed the exterior so the exterior looks futuristic. . .but weathered: the future will apparently be more like Blade Runner than “Star Trek”).

Why Is This Notable?

Watson’s car was selected as the winner of the global 2023 Hot Wheels Legends Tour design competition, which encompassed 16 countries, five continents, and thousands of vehicles.

The car will become a 1:64 Hot Wheels diecast vehicle.

Among the judges were Mercedes-Benz designer Dalal Elsheikh, automotive photographer Larry Chen, and a man who probably owns as many full-size vehicles as most Hot Wheels collectors own 1:64-scale cars, Jay Leno.

A Few Fun Facts

(1) The first Hot Wheels was produced in 1968, a Camaro; (2) there are some 519 million vehicles produced every year, clearly dwarfing the 1:1 global vehicle production rate; (3) according to NPD, which tracks such things, Hot Wheels vehicles were the number-one selling toy in the world in 2022: perhaps young people really do like cars.)

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M-B at Work with AI

Mercedes is bringing ChatGPT to its employees. (Image: Mercedes-Benz)

Mercedes-Benz has determined its employees need to know more about AI, so it has developed an internal web app for them, “Mercedes-Benz Direct Chat.”

It is based on OpenAI’s ChatGPT and is accessed through Microsoft Azure OpenAI service.

Among the things that the app will do for its employees are the creation of emails, reports and other work documents.

An assumption is that it will save time and thereby boost efficiency.

“Artificial intelligence won’t just support in taking over repetitive and routine tasks, it can also support more complex processes. This will increasingly free up time and capacity for more creative and more demanding activities.”-- Sabine Kohleisen, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG responsible for Human Relations and Labor Director

This just isn’t a matter of putting an icon on homepage (like the one that exists on the top-right of Bing), but the company is providing training courses for all employees through its Turn2Learn qualification initiative so that they can understand what Direct Chat is and what it can do for them (and, of course, the company).

As Kohleisen described Turn2Learn when it was launched last year:

“Everyone can continue their education dependent of times and space, and across all units and levels.”

Main focus areas are digitalization and AI.

Mercedes is serious about this: It is investing €2 billion on a global basis by 2030 in getting its workforce up to date by 2030.

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The Crown(s)

The 2025 Toyota Crown Signia hybrid crossover. (Images: Toyota)

The 2025 Toyota Crown Signia SUV had its North American debut last week, making it the second Crown model in the Toyota lineup, with the Toyota Crown sedan becoming available earlier this year.

Both models are available only with hybrid powertrains. When it becomes available in summer 2024, the Crown Signia will be the 19^th electrified model in the Toyota lineup.*

(The Signia features a 2.5-liter DOHC four-cylinder engine with two electric motor generators providing 243 hp; it has a manufacturer-estimated rating of 36 mpg combined.)

While the Crown nameplate was absent from the U.S. market for 51 years, Toyota has been selling Crowns in Japan (and elsewhere) since 1955.

Over In Japan. . .

In Japan, there’s a Crown with a fuel cell-based propulsion system.

Which brings us to another Crown introduced in Toyota City earlier this month, its “flagship” Crown sedan powered by a fuel cell.

The fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) Crown features three high-pressure hydrogen tanks that provide a range of approximately 510 miles. And they’re filled from a pump in about three minutes.

The second-generation solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell system used for the Crown is also available in the Mirai, which is available in the U.S.—well, at least you can get a Mirai in California.

Toyota also introduced a new Crown hybrid sedan in Japan that’s powered by an all-new 2.5-liter multistage hybrid system.

It is interesting to note that last year Toyota announced four new Crowns for the Japan market—it started with the SUV.

*Speaking of Toyota and hybrids, last week it also announced the 2025 Camry—the ninth generation of the sedan that has been the best-selling car in the U.S. for 21 years running. It will be available as a hybrid. Period. There will be a FWD version with a net horsepower (from a 2.5-liter four cylinder engine and its electric motors) of 225; the AWD variant produces 232 hp. For the AWD setup it is noted that the electronic all-wheel drive system used produces 30 more hp than the current Camry hybrid with a mechanical AWD arrangement.

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How Green Is the U.S.?

People in the U.S. like to think that at the very least they are environmentally aware to a superb degree.

After all, the world’s first Earth Day was held in the U.S. back in 1970.

But it seems as though America may not be so green, at least according to British firm DriveElectric, which analyzed an array of research, ranging from bp’s Statistical Review of World Energy to the OECD’s Environmental Policy Stringency (EPS) Index.

In fact, the U.S., compared to other countries, is light green at its darkest when it comes to things including percentage of renewable energy consumption to percentage of emissions reduction.

Specifically:

• Greenest Country in the World. This is based on target percentage of emissions reduction by 2030; EPS index; percentage of total energy consumption from renewables; percentage of total energy consumption from solar; YoY difference in electric vehicle sales; railway usage; percentage of total energy consumption from hydro; percentage of energy consumption from nuclear. The U.S. doesn’t make the top 10. Surprisingly, China is at 9. This is largely predicated on its targeted emissions reduction by 2030, YoY difference in EV sales, and railway usage.
• Countries with the Highest Level of Nuclear Energy Consumption. The U.S. isn’t in the top 10. France is #1.
• Countries that Use the Most Renewable Energy. U.S. doesn’t make it. (Denmark is #1 with 40.3%. Finland is #2—back at 21.6%.)
• Countries with the Highest Solar Power Consumption. While it isn’t surprising that Australia is #1, it is surprising that while Hungary (2), Netherlands (4), and Japan (8) are on the top-10 list (let’s face it: these aren’t exactly places you go to to get a tan), the U.S. isn’t. And we have Hawaii.
• Countries with the Highest Hydroelectricity Consumption. Nope. Norway is #1.
• Countries with the Highest Railway Usage. Not one of the 10. China is #1.

But it isn’t a complete wash:

• Countries with the Highest Increase in EV Sales. “We’re number 10! We’re number 10!. . .” Yes, the U.S. makes it on this list. Behind:India, Brazil, New Zealand, Japan, Israel, Turkey, South Africa, Poland, and Australia.

Well, there is a lot of upside opportunity.

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Removing Rare Earths

Put them together and get a car audio speaker. Without rare earths. (Image: Warwick Acoustics)

“More and more inquiries are coming in from OEMs wishing to eliminate sources of REE from their vehicles due to the toxic waste generated in the mine-to-magnet process and supply chain stability. The big target has been permanent magnets in electric motors, with each motor containing roughly 500 g of REEs.”

That’s Mike Grant, CEO of British audio technology firm Warwick Acoustics.

REE? Rare earth elements.

So why is he talking about REEs in electric vehicle motors when his company is in the audio business?

Because he also says this:

“As much as 30% of the total REE content in a premium EV is actually in the audio system.”

More specifically, in the magnets used in the moving-coil speakers.

Warwick Acoustic has developed what it calls “ElectroAcoustic panels” that eliminate the need for magnets in a loudspeaker because it uses an electrostatic transducer that vibrates air via a 15 µm membrane that is centered between two electrically conductive stators. Those vibrations lead to acoustic output, a.k.a., sound.

No magnets needed.

The loudspeaker is said to be 90% lighter than a traditional device.

What’s more, the company’s chief technology officer, Ben Lisle, says:

“Our technology doesn't just eliminate REE content. We also use ‘100% by mass’ upcycled and easily recyclable materials in the manufacturing process to produce a final product that is highly sustainable, and, given its very simple design, easy to disassemble at end of life.”

Speakers that are light, sustainable and thin. Sounds interesting. No pun intended.

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2024 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring

Eleventh-generation Honda Accord. Year after year, better and better. (Image: Honda)

If we were to turn back the clock a few decades and looked at the roads, we’d see things were significantly different. People were generally driving cars. Some had four doors. Some had two. Some were convertibles. Some had giant engines. Some were small and propulsionately anemic.

But they were cars.

Then some product planners in Detroit came to a recognition that the few vehicles on the roads back then, now widely known as “SUVs,” were transacting at much higher sticker prices than cars were. Those SUVs were typically based on pickup truck chassis and had additional square inches of sheet metal and glass, but all the other elements that were being put into cars (steering wheel, seats, engine, transmission, etc.) were being used, yet the prices paid for the vehicles were more than proportionately higher.

Of course, some of these SUVs came with the ability to drive on terrain that had previously been pretty much ceded to drivers of Jeeps, and Jeeps back then were far from being as comfortable as they are now (yes, today’s Wranglers are comparatively luxe).

And then there were the pickup trucks from those days. They were generally Spartan compared with cars. Consequently, they were less expensive. Turned out that many people who would never need the utility of an open box on the back of their vehicle (a run to the grocery store was readily accommodated by a trunk) were buying trucks for their daily commute thanks to the afforability.

So some product planners in Detroit decided that if they made trucks nicer inside—replacing the vinyl and plastics that resembled sheet metal—they could, as was the case with SUVs, charge more for them.

The operative sense of thinking was “Trucks and SUVs provide better margins than cars.”

So the efforts of the Traditional Three focused on SUVs and trucks. Cars became something of an afterthought. . .at most.

Ford? There’s the Mustang. Chevy? Do you think the Malibu gets a whole lot of attention nowadays when every other announcement out of GM seems to be about EVs and SUVs? Chrysler? No cars are available from that brand, so you have to go to the Dodge side of the dealership for the Charger and Challenger.

Meanwhile, Honda has been producing the Accord in its factory in Marysville, Ohio, since 1982. It is now building the 11^th generation, which was introduced earlier this year.

And year in, year out, the Accord has been getting better. Part of this improvement, no doubt, was inspired by the competition (mainly things like the Camry and Sonata), with all of them upping their game in sedan styling and amenities.

Style & Size

While probably not something cross-shopped with the Accord, arguably the styling of this 11^th gen was predicated on more than a glance at higher-priced German vehicles. (Yes, the Germans still build cars, too.) It has levels of sophisticated sportiness that the model has not carried before.

Seeing it for the first time evokes a “That’s an Accord?!?”

And I suspect that for those who have one in their driveway the stance and sheet metal styling provoke a smile even long after the new-car smell has gone away.

In the case here, it is the Touring model, which means that it has a long list of interior amenities, but what’s more to the point is that there is the classic Honda attention to ergonomic detail such that the things inside are place or engineered for optimal use: even the vent controls are designed for ease of use. When you’re living with something for several years, those little things take on a major importance.

While this is a good-sized midsize sedan (length: 195.7 inches; width: 73.3 inches; height: 57.1 inches; wheelbase: 111.4 inches; passenger volume: 102.8 cubic feet; cargo volume: 16.7 cubic feet), the hybrid powertrain provides impressive fuel-efficiency numbers.

The EPA puts it at 46 mpg city, 41 mpg highway and 44 mpg combined.

The propulsion system is based on the fourth generation of the Honda two-motor hybrid system. There are a 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine and an electric power unit that combines two electric motors. It produces 204 hp. The car moves well on neighborhood streets as well as interstates. The hybrid is absolutely transparent to the driver.

It's good to still have cars. Especially really good ones like the Accord.

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Erp!

The interior of the Mazda CX90 is not the sort of place where you want to have to deal with the consequences of. . .car sickness. It is just too nice. (Image: Mazda)

As Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. is this week. . .

With the holidays come more road trips. Eighty-five percent of parents or caregivers plan to hit the road this holiday season—and 93% of those who have three or more children to transport.

A concern that 61% surveyed have?

That one of the kids will get carsick.

And this isn’t a theoretical concern.

For 48% of those surveyed, an erping child is something they’ve had to deal with at some point.

Mazda North American Operations, which sponsored the survey taken last month that provides those data points, partnered with pediatrician Dr. Mona Amin to get her suggestions for dealing with carsickness, which she says is caused because “your brain receives conflicting information from the nerves—essentially your body cannot infer whether it is in motion or not.”

Her recommendations:

• Increase airflow. Keep the air flowing in and the temperature in the vehicle down.
• Look straight ahead. This is said to address some of the sensory conflicts.
• Avoid reading or looking at screens. Doing either of those things can create confusion between visual cues and the inner ear’s sense of movement. An audiobook or music are alternatives.

(Mazda sponsored the survey in relation to its new CX-90 SUV, which has three rows and can accommodate eight—an ideal road-tripping vehicle. It has a really nice interior, something you wouldn’t want to have erp in.)

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Yes, it goes without saying that this is an atypical pickup truck. (Image: Tesla)

No, the headline doesn’t go to the point of the Tesla Cybertruck, which was introduced in November 2019 and was to go into production in late 2021. But soon. Soon.

Rather, to the EV trucks from the Traditional Three.

Ford was first out of the gate with the F-150 Lightning, which went into actual production in April 2022. It was so popular that Ford had, at times, to pause orders. This past summer it expanded the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center to tool it to build as many as 150,000 of the electric pickups per year.

The company was running three shifts. In early October it announced it was cutting one of the shifts. It mentioned such things as supply chain constraints and quality checks.

There are also reports the truck isn’t selling as well as had been intended.

Through Q3 Ford sold 12,260 Lightnings, a number that is not particularly robust.

And after its Q2 2023 earnings call Ford CEO Jim Farley said, “We have been surprised, frankly, at the popularity of hybrid systems for F-150.” So there was a slight shift in its messaging. And so the F-150 Hybrid is garnering more attention from the corporation.

While Rivian aggregates its numbers so it is not clear what the breakdown is for the R1T (pickup), R1S (SUV) or cargo van, it did report that through Q3 it delivered 36,150 vehicles. Not apples-to-apples by any means, but still a bit of context when you consider that F-150 number. So there should be little surprise that the Hybrid now matters.

Later, Later

Meanwhile, GM announced that it was going to be pushing back the production of the Chevrolet Silverado EV and the GMC Sierra EV at the Orion Assembly Plant by a year, to late 2025.

The Detroit Free Press quoted GM spokesman (and former editor of on Automotive’s predecessor publication) Kevin Kelly: “We’re looking at EV demand and the trendline for EVs is stabilizing. It is not rising as fast as originally forecasted.”

GM probably wishes it still had some hybrids around.

The good news for Stellantis is that it announced the Ram 1500 REV wouldn’t be available until Q4 2024, so it has time to adjust its forecasts as necessary. (See next item.)

And There’s the Professor. . .

Which brings us to comments made by Rahul Kapoor, management professor at the Wharton School who specializes in industry disruptions and related ecosystems predicated on new technologies and business models.

Speaking on “Wharton Business Daily” in mid-October during the UAW strike against the Traditional Three Kapoor said:

“We’ve been at the emergence of the EV market for more than two decades, and we were just about to start the take-off of the growth process here in the U.S., and now we are in the midst of the strikes.”

But the strike notwithstanding, Kapoor said, “We are in an environment of high interest rates, high inflation, and consumers are taking more of a wait-and-see approach in terms of their decision whether to adopt EVs. The ones who wanted to get in have already gotten in earlier on.”

Seems like the road to EVs is going to be longer than some evidently anticipated.

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“Electric” or “Electrified”?

The 2025 Ramcharger. Look closely at the front and rear quarter panels. You’ll see a fuel (energy?) filler door on each. The front is for electricity. The back gasoline. (Image: Stellantis)

“The ultimate battery-electric truck.”—Tim Kuniskis, Ram Brand CEO, on the 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger.

Sort of.

The Ramcharger features:

• 250-kW front and 238-kW rear electric drive modules (EDMs), each of which combines the motor, gearbox and inverter. Check
• 92-kWh liquid-cooled battery. Check
• 400-V fast-charging capability at up to 145 kW providing up to 50 miles of range in about 10 minutes. Check
• Vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-home bi-directional charging. Check
• On-board power panel in the bed providing up to 7.2 kW. Check
• 663 hp and >615 lb-ft of torque. Check
• 14,000-pound towing capacity. Check
• 2,625-pound payload capacity. Check
• 0 to 60 mph time of 4.4 seconds. Check
• 690-mile range. Check

Wait a minute.

690-mile range?

Yes, that’s what they’re saying.

That’s a long, long way for something powered by electricity.

Max ranges:

• Ford F-150 Lightning: 320 miles
• Silverado EV: 450 miles
• Cybertruck: 500 miles

The currently available electric vehicle with the longest range is the Lucid Air Dream, at 520 miles and it is a sleek uber-luxe sedan, not something with a box on the back .

What Is It?

Which brings us back to that description of this being “The ultimate battery-electric truck.”

Yes, it has electric drive modules that drive the wheels.

Yes, it has a pouch-cell battery pack format that’s under the floor.

Yes, the EDM on the front axle has an automatic wheel-end disconnect that allows the front wheels to spin freely under certain conditions, thereby increasing vehicle efficiency.

But 690-mile range?

And this is when the “Sort of” comes into play.

The Ramcharger has 145 miles of electric-only range.

The other 545 miles?

Well, the wheels are electrically driven by those EDMs at all times.

But the truck makes use of a 130-kW generator. . .which is powered by a 3.6-liter V6 Pentastar engine.

As in gasoline engine.

Which seems to mean the truck is really a hybrid. A series hybrid:

There are different ways to combine the power from the electric motor and the engine. Parallel hybrids—the most common HEV design—connect the engine and the electric motor to the wheels through mechanical coupling. Both the electric motor and the internal combustion engine drive the wheels directly. Series hybrids, which use only the electric motor to drive the wheels, are more commonly found in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.—Alternative Fuels Data Center, U.S. Dept. of Energy 

The Electric Ram

The Ram 1500 REV is an electric truck.

It has dual 250-kW EDMs, one in the front and one in the pack, that are powered by either a 168-kWh battery pack that’s standard, or a 229-kWh battery pack that will provide an estimate 500 miles of range. It has 800-Volt DC fast charging capability (up to 350 kW) that provide 110 miles of range in about 10 minutes.

The Ram 1500 REV offers vehicle-vehicle to-vehicle, vehicle-to-home and vehicle-to-grid bi-directional charging.

Both the REV and the Ramcharger are based on the STLA Frame platform, which was engineered specifically for electric vehicles.

But there is no internal combustion engine for the REV.

Tim Kuniskis says that when everything is right—infrastructure, costs, etc.—full electric vehicles are going to take off so that there will be sales charts with graphing that resembles a hockey stick.

But when that is going to happen—well, he doesn’t know.

But he does know that people are still concerned with electric vehicle range.

So that’s where he says the Ramcharger excels.

The standard fuel tank size for a gasoline-powered Ram 1500 is 23 gallons. The combined fuel economy for a 2024 Ram 1500 with a Pentastar V6 Etorque is 22 miles per gallon. Which means a range of 506 miles.

That’s the sort of range people are familiar and comfortable with.

So the 690 miles that the Ramcharger provides is beyond comfort.

What’s more, Kuniskis points out that the 145 miles of electric-only range that the Ramcharger provides is more than sufficient for most day-to-day driving needs. It is conceivable that the generator in the truck will be the least-used element of the vehicle.

Still, at what is still arguably an early stage of electric pickups, referring to the Ramcharger as an “EV” and not a “hybrid” could cause consumer confusion (and competitor criticism).

As this is something that is not going to appear until late in 2024, there is certainly plenty of time to adjust the messaging strategy.

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Clever Nomenclature

The 2024 Silverado EV makes much of its underlying structure. (Image: Chevrolet)

Speaking of EV pickups. . .

“Ultibody.”

That, says Matt Perelli, lead development engineer for the Silverado EV, is what the team referred to the structure for the electric pickup.

The Ultium battery pack (200+ kWh; 24 modules) is integrated into the truck’s frame, thereby enhancing the structure of the vehicle, which is certainly a beneficial for the truck, especially the WT (work truck) version, which has the ability to handle 10,000 pounds of towing and 1,400 pounds of payload. The WT propulsion system provides 510 hp and 615 lb-ft of torque. It has a 450-mile range.

While driving an unladen pickup (the Silverado EV WT has a 5-ft, 11-in. bed) can be an experience that brings an unpleasant amusement park ride to mind when on an rough surface, the lower center of gravity provided by the Ultibody approach makes the ride and handling of the truck something that doesn’t cause that coffee in the cupholder to make its way into the center storage compartment.

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2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Limited

2024 Toyota Grand Highlander: When you need something that has plenty of wide-open spaces. (Image: Toyota)

In 1957 Toyota began selling cars in the U.S. The Toyopet. Things, of course, have certainly changed since then.

Consider the dimensions of the Toyopet:

• 169 inches long
• 66 inches wide
• 60 inches high
• 99.6-inch wheelbase

Of course, the landscape was different back then. Volkswagen had established its U.S. operation, Volkswagen of America, in 1955, and while there were still the big, brash sedans rolling out of dealerships with Big Three badges, there was a slow-but-sure build-up of people buying diminutive cars like the Beetle.

So the Toyopet made sense.

However, with time, things have gotten bigger and the things that were smaller—like the Toyopet and even the Beetle—have become the stuff of history.

And a perfect example of this is the latest vehicle from Toyota, the Grand Highlander.

Consider its dimensions:

• 201.4 inches long
• 73.3 inches wide
• 70.1 inches high
• 116.1-inch wheelbase

The Grand Highlander can swallow plenty of cargo:

• 97.5 cubic feet behind the first row
• 57.9 cubic feet behind the second
• 20.6 cubic feet with all rows (yes, there are three) up

It would be an exaggeration to say that it could accommodate a Toyopet (it couldn’t), but the imposing size of this SUV certainly seems as though it could.

And interior space is what this vehicle is really all about, as in having a third row that can actually seat full-size adults without having them feel as though they are in a penalty box.

The Toyota Highlander “seats” seven or eight, as the Grand variant does.

But this puts that in perspective.

Highlander passenger volume:

• 144.5 cubic feet without moonroof
• 142.2 cubic feet with moonroof
• 138.9 cubic feet with panoramic moonroof

Grand Highlander passenger volume:

• 149 cubic feet with panoramic moonroof
• 153.3 cubic feet with normal roof

So the “Grand” moniker is earned. Those seated in it are, well, seated.

Another thing to think about regarding the Grand Highlander in relation to earlier days of Toyota.

The first Prius hybrid vehicle arrived in the U.S. in 2000 (it was launched in Japan in 1997).

Its propulsion system: 72 hp.

But it was a small car:

• 163 inches long
• 66.9 inches wide
• 58.3 inches high
• 100.4-inch wheelbase

About the size of a Toyopet.

Toyota hybrids have gotten bigger and more powerful over the years.

The Grand Highlander is available with three powertrain options, two of which are hybrids.

There is the base 2.4-liter four-cylinder turbo that produces 265 hp.

Then there are:

• Hybrid, which has a 2.5-liter four that, combined with its electric motor, produces a system horsepower of 245
• Hybrid MAX, with a 2.4-liter turbo and motor system for 362 hp

Yes, a substantial SUV with more than five times the horsepower of that first Prius.

We’ve established that it is roomy. It has power suitable to its size. (And the least fuel efficient, a gas-powered Limited or Platinum trim with AWD is 20/26/22 city/highway/combined mpg, while the most fuel efficient is a hybrid XLE with FWD: 37/34/36 mpg.) It has amenities, both comfort (nice seats, I must say) and convenience (a standard 12.3-inch touchscreen for infotainment purposes).

All in, it deserves the “Grand” moniker.

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AM Analyzed at the Atomic Level

Setup at ORNL that uses neutrons to analyze the structure of parts made with additive manufacturing.(Image: ORNL/Jill Hemman)

According to the American Iron and Steel Institute, about 54% of an average vehicle is made of. . .Steel.

One of the manufacturing processes for vehicles that holds increased promise for automotive is additive manufacturing (AM). This is particularly the case for making metal components with AM.

However, there is a bit of a challenge. To perform additive, the material used is heated, applied, cooled, then another layer that’s applied on top goes through the same sequence. All of which puts residual stresses in the final part should it be made of metal. Which can be problematic during the use of said part.

The tricky thing is determining where those stresses are. And then once identified and understood being able to design in the stresses so they can be managed.

This led to a two-year research project at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Material Science and Technology Div. aimed at figuring this out.

And to that end they created the “OpeN-AM” platform, which allows the researchers to observe and measure the creation and location of residual stresses in a 3D printed part.

“There’s only so much you can learn about a material after it’s processed using traditional characterization tools. The goal of the OpeN-AM project is to provide a new, more advanced way of characterizing the process that enables us to see inside the materials as they’re being produced.”-- ORNL project lead Alex Plotkowski.

It’s worth noting—if for no other reason than to know how complex this undertaking is—that this involves using the ORNL Spallation Neutron Source, infrared imaging and computer modeling.

Yes, they’re studying at the atomic level.

Back to Steel

The ORNL researchers are using AM to make parts with low-transformation temperature (LTT) alloy steel. Which is typically used as a filler material in welding.

Which made us wonder why they’re using it. After all, a part is a part and a filler material is. . . .

So we asked Plotkowski.

Who told us:

“Yes, LTT was originally designed as a filler metal to help control residual stresses in steel welds. However, we are looking at is as an opportunity for construction of bulk components, where we can utilize its characteristics to help manipulate the residual stress distribution. More generally, a primary concern for selecting materials for additive manufacturing is the ‘weldability’ or ‘printability.’ Since materials historically designed as filler metals are often made specifically to be weldable, they are generally good choices for AM, and we are now using a lot of materials that might have been historically considered fillers as the main material for large components. Of course, beyond just the weldability constraint, we care very much about other properties, such as strength, creep resistance, or corrosion resistance.”

While all of this may be seriously technical and has caused you to roll your eyes, the point is simply this:

Using AM for automotive parts (or other industrial applications) is serious business, so while there are essentially DIY applications to make things out of various polymers (e.g., customized badges) for vehicles, functional components need to be fully understood—even at the atomic level.

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Radical Exterior Design Then and Now

BMW Project GINA. Note the geometric body panel configurations. (Image: BMW)

In 2008 BMW Group Design unveiled a concept vehicle named “GINA Light Visionary Model” that was radical then—as now—for both its styling and because the vehicle is based on a moveable metal substructure that is able to reconfigure the exterior skin, which is made with what was described as a “special, highly durable and extremely expansion-resistant fabric.”

The body consists of four components: (1) from the front of the vehicle to the windshield, then down the sides to the rear edges of the doors (2 and 3) on either side of GINA from the front where the rocker panels are to the rear wheel arches; (4) the rear deck. Seems that using fabric rather than metal can simplify the number of parts needed.

Panels could be shifted around by electro- and electro-hydraulic control.

GINA (an acronym for “Geometry and Functions In ‘N’ Adaptions”), is highly, well, geometric in a way not seen even on a concept until now, with the Nissan Hyper Punk, a concept shown at the Japan Mobility Show last month.

Nissan Hyper Punk concept: While it is hard not to look at the shapes of the wheels, look at the body panels. (Image: Nissan)

The electric compact crossover, “tailored for content creators, influencers, artists, and those who embrace style and innovation,” has “an exterior aesthetic defined by multifaceted and polygonal surfaces.”

Although GINA has physically changing body panels, Hyper Punk is painted with a silver coating that has tones “that shift depending on the viewing angle and light source.”

It has been 15 years since GINA first appeared. Will the Hyper Punk still seem radical in 2038?

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2024 Dodge Hornet R/T Plus Blacktop EAWD

2024 Dodge Hornet: bringing the style. (Image: Dodge)

Speaking of design. . .

One of the things that is surprising about today’s mainstream compact crossovers—of which there seems to be an endless stream—is that with very few exceptions, there is a homogeneity of design. A tuck here, a twist there, and unless you can see the logo badge, it could easily be the case that you don’t know what brand you’re looking at.

There is also, again generally speaking, a certain consistency in the capabilities provided, as though there is some Master List of Compact CUV Characteristics that program managers have that they make certain their designers and engineers understand and execute: After all, if these attributes are what the market wants, then those attributes are what the market is going to get. But maybe there’s that tuck or twist.

The Dodge brand doesn’t have a whole lot going for it in terms of product in showrooms. For the past few years there have been the Charger and the Challenger and the Durango. Two cars and a mid-size SUV.

But one of the things that the folks at Dodge have done with their limited offerings is expand the bandwidth through pulling a variety of levers, from powertrains to in-your-face paint and graphics to clever packages.

It is, in effect, the “Go big or go home” ethos, one predicated on raw power and performance. Someone looking for subtlety can go over to the Chrysler side of the dealership and look at a 300 or a Pacifica.

But now there is the Hornet, a compact crossover.

While the marketing message about the vehicle coming out of the Auburn Hills HQ is that this is another sworn member of the Brotherhood of Muscle, I think it is far more than that.

The Hornet is quite simply a mainstream compact crossover with character.

Which makes it special simply because of that.

There are two versions of the Hornet. One that is a straight ICE model with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that produces 268 hp. And the other the one driven here, a plug-in hybrid that is equipped with a turbocharged 1.3-liter four that produces 177 hp but which is supplemented by two electric motors so that the system output is 288 hp.

Both vehicles are standard with all-wheel drive. The ICE-only vehicle has a nine-speed automatic and the plug-in hybrid a six-speed.

While I am charmed by the exterior design and amused but understanding of the interior, which combines eye-popping red and black materials (which explains the “Blacktop” edition nomenclature: this is a go-fast appearance), I found the hybrid powertrain to be somewhat less integrated that I would have liked. The estimated 33 miles of full electric driving is certainly nice to have, but once that’s gone the vehicle is rated at 21 city and 29 mpg highway (which is far from, for example, the EPA numbers for the Toyota RAV4 Prime plug-in, which offers an EV range of 42 miles and then 36/40 mpg).

But that said, it is rather stylish, which certainly matters.

Perhaps that goes back to the Brotherhood of Muscle notion. That cadre isn’t going to buy something that looks like most everything else. So the design of the Dodge Hornet delivers.

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Rimac in Reverse

In July, the Rimac Nevera—a high-performance EV designed, engineered and produced in Croatia, a two seater with two 307-hp motors on the front axle and two 612-hp motors on the rear—participated in the Supercar Shootout at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and did the hill climb in a record 49.32 seconds, better than other production cars participating, regardless of powertrain.

In August the Nevera set a production-vehicle speed record on the shorter track at the Nürburgring, beating the previous record by 20 seconds. (It did the 12.8-mile track in 7:00:928.)

So what did it do most recently?

It went to the Automotive Testing Papenberg facility in northern Germany (where it broke more than 20 acceleration and braking record in a single day earlier this year) and set a Guinness World Record:

The fastest speed. . .in reverse.

Yes, 171.34 mph going backward.

As Goran Drndak, Rimac test driver put it:

“On the run itself, it definitely took some getting used to. You’re facing straight out backwards watching the scenery flash away from you faster and faster, feeling your neck pulled forwards in almost the same sensation you would normally get under heavy braking. You’re moving the steering wheel so gently, careful not to upset the balance, watching for your course and your braking point out the rear-view mirror, all the while keeping an eye on the speed. Despite it being almost completely unnatural to way the car was engineered, Nevera breezed through yet another record.”

Ah, yes. . . .

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