Jeff Sloan, Brand Vice President
Plastics Technology
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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
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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. 

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

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.

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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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Larry Dominique heads Alfa Romeo efforts in the U.S. He thinks EVs will be a successful path for the brand to follow. (Image: Stellantis)

Alfa Romeo, the 113-year-old producer of premium performance vehicles, made its return to the North American market after a hiatus of 13 years, in 2008.

The company’s impact on the market has been. . .marginal. Through Q3 2023 the Stellantis brand sold 7,590 vehicles in the U.S. That’s from three vehicles, the Giulia (a sedan), the Stelvio (an SUV) and the Tonale (an SUV introduced earlier this year).

(OK, it did sell the 4C sports car in 2023. One of them.)

How is the brand going to gain traction in the market?

Focus.

Focus on Quality

One of the bad reps that the company had been dealing with is quality.

Larry Dominique, senior vice president and head of Alfa Romeo North America, says they’ve been working hard to turn that around.

And it is working.

In the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Initial Quality Study (IQS) Alfa finished at the top of the rankings for premium brands and third overall with a score of 143 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100). Notably, the next premium brand on the overall brand ranking list was Porsche—tied for sixth place (with GMC) with 167 PP100.

The focus on quality can provide potential Alfa customers with a sense of confidence.

Dominique: “If you don’t have quality or customer satisfaction, you don’t have a brand.”

(While Alfa didn’t top the 2023 J.D. Power U.S. Customer Service Index, it did have the largest year-over-year improvement of any brand.)

What It Is

Dominique says there are three characteristics that are essential to the Alfa brand:

• Italian: It was founded in Milan as A.L.F.A.: Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili. If there is one thing that stands out about the vehicles it produces is the styling, which is distinctively non-German, non-Asian and non-American.
• Sportiness: The company has been involved in motor sports since 1911, or the year after its founding. All of its consumer vehicles have a bias toward performance.
• Rosso: While that is Italian for red, Dominique emphasizes that it is more about the emotion that the brand works to convey than the color of the cars (although rosso is certainly on the palette).

Looking forward, there is something that may make a bigger difference for Alfa in the U.S. than many other brands with which it competes:

Going electric.

Plenty of premium brands have announced the electrification of their portfolio at some point in the future.

Alfa’s point is by the end of 2027.

Why This Is Different

Dominique says that today, for example, you can buy a Giulia as a Sprint, Ti, Veloce, or Competizione. All of them are fitted with a 2.0-liter four that produces 280 hp. So how, he asks, is there differentiation? Tires. Wheels. Aesthetics. Other changes. But he says that there will be the opportunity as the brand switches to electric to provide true performance differences among the trims in the lineup in a way that isn’t particularly practical with an ICE powertrain. Thanks to electric motors: “The Veloce might have 500 hp and the Sprint 300 hp,” he says.

These differences are made all the more achievable for Alfa for the simple reason that it is part of Stellantis, which includes Chrysler, Citroën, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot and other brands.

Stellantis has announced the development of four battery-electric-specific platforms (STLA Small, Medium, Large, and Frame), three electric drive modules, and two battery cell chemistries. Stellantis plans to have 100% of its European sales and 50% of its U.S. sales to be EVs by 2030.

Dominique says the platforms (Alfa is most oriented toward STLA Medium and Large) are designed such that they inherently provide variability. He also points out, “The platform is where the money is”—meaning that platforms are expensive, so being able to share them across brands means there are economies of scale and the savings achieved can allow Alfa to focus on things that are important to its DNA (e.g., “I’m willing to sacrifice a little range for performance,” he says).

So the EV platforms and drive modules will allow Alfa to precisely tune and engineer vehicles.

Which brings us back to focus.

Dominique says when Alfa makes the transition to EVs there will only be EVs. There will not be an issue of trying to convince a prospective customer about the EV version of a given model rather than the ICE version that is right next to it.

“I don’t want to think ICE or EV.”

Focus.

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Kia’s Natural Approach

The interiors of two Kia concepts—EV3 on the top and EV4 on the bottom—which are proof points that using recycled and natural materials can be done without sacrifices in functionality or appearance. (Image: Kia)

The inside of the Kia Color, Materials, Finish (CMF) facilities probably smell more like a Whole Foods than a traditional studio.

Kia’s Concept EV3 and Concept EV4 vehicle interiors are chock full of nuts and other natural materials.

• Nuts: Walnut shells and madder (a.k.a., Rubia tinctorum) roots are used for dyes that are applied to the 100% recycled cotton material used in the Concept EV4 cabin
• Hemp: It is used to construct a console table in the Concept EV4
• Mushrooms: Not to be outdone by that hemp, the console table in the Concept EV3 is made with Mycelium, sourced from mushroom roots. Noted Marila Biill, head of CMF Design at Kia: “Using Mycelium enables us to mimic the processes we see in nature and leverage it to design more sustainable solutions—the material can be grown in any shape you want using a mold.”

The use of natural materials at Kia isn’t just conceptual.

The just-launched EV9 includes components for the dashboard, console, pillars, and trim produced with bioplastic—developed with such things as vegetable oils, corn extract, sawdust, and sugarcane.

A bio-polyurethane is available as a leather replacement.

Discussing the mushrooms, Biill said, “One day, by growing our own materials, we’ll be able to simplify processes, adapt forms and most importantly, be closer to nature in its essence.”

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Quick Quiz: Fuel Type Edition

The percentage of vehicles in operation (VIO) by fuel type as of July 1, 2023, that are powered by gasoline engines—and we’re talking light vehicles here—is 93%, according to S&P Global Mobility.

There are three other categories:

• Diesel
• Hybrid
• Electric

Given the preponderance of gas-powered vehicles, the remainder is consequently low.

• But what are the percentages for the remainder?
• What is the order of fuel types?

As for the percentage, here’s a clue: the non-gas vehicles combined is 6.8% rather than a full 7% because there is an “other” category not included.

The answers are found once you scroll all the way down (or simply read everything between here and there).

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Good Point, Mr. Ford

Bill Ford in front on an image of the legendary—and still operating—Ford Rouge Plant. (Image: Ford)

“A strong manufacturing base is critical to our national security. Building things in America matters now more than ever, especially in these uncertain times. We cannot take that for granted.

“In my lifetime, I have watched countries lose their auto industry, and then virtually all industries after that. Countries that once had vibrant industrial bases no longer make anything. They have become dependent on others for critical products, aspects of their supply chain, and even national defense.”-- Ford Executive Chair Bill Ford, October 16. 2023

Don’t want that to happen.

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Sorry, Suppliers

PwC recently released its “2023 Automotive Supplier Consolidation Study,” which includes assessments of what happened in 2022, and for those who work for suppliers aren’t going to be surprised at some of the findings.

Like:

• Nearly 50% of suppliers showed increasing signs of stress compared to 2021
• 42% had “deteriorating operational performance”
• 7% were “at risk” due to financial distress in ‘22
• Powertrain and chemical suppliers were in the category of “most distressed automotive supply subsectors”

But there was a bit of brightening:

“H1 2023 was showing positive signs of improvement. . .”

Then the other shoe drops:

“. . .but several industry headwinds and macroeconomic uncertainties present a significant risk for H2 2023.”

Like the UAW strike.

No surprise to suppliers.

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Chinese EVs for the Chinese

The BYD Dolphin. (Image: BYD)

3,606,680.

That’s the number of electric vehicles in the passenger car category sold in China during the first eight months of 2023, according to Inovev.

It represents 23% of the Chinese passenger car market.

The number in the U.S.? About 7%. According to Kelley Blue Book, during the first three quarters of 2023 there were 873,082 EVs sold in the U.S.

Of which 493,513 were from Tesla.

(Note that Tesla Shanghai, which produces the Models 3 and Y, started building vehicles in December 2019 and as of last month produced two-million vehicles, making it the most-productive EV plant on the planet.)

Twenty-six brands accounted for the other 379,569 EVs sold in the U.S.

Meanwhile, back in China, Tesla accounted for 17% of the EV sales, with Chinese OEMs having 72%--or 2,603,831 units—of the market.

Of the remaining 11% of the Chinese market that isn’t a domestic brand or Tesla, 8% are from European brands and the rest Japanese, Korean and American.

Clearly, Chinese consumers are interested in Chinese EVs.

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Going the Last Mile in Minimalist Style

Honda designers and engineers wanted to come up with an efficient, electric means of transport that is fun and functional. The result: the Motocompacto. (Images: Honda)

According to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, in 2022 e-scooters served 158 cities.

Odds are if you live in or have visited any one of those cities, at some point you saw—or perhaps tripped over—one of those devices, consisting primarily of handlebars on a stem that connects to the deck and wheels, that was ostensibly abandoned.

A paper published in Transportation Research Part A, “To scoot or not to scoot: Findings from a recent survey about the benefits and barriers of using E-scooter for riders and non-riders,” notes:

“Dockless electric scooters (e-scooters) are a relatively new transportation option rapidly changing travel in US cities and on university campuses. Hailed as a convenient, inexpensive solution for last mile (i.e., to/from transit) and other short trips, e-scooters are available in over 100 US cities and were used for nearly forty million trips in 2018 (NACTO, 2019; Sandt & Harmon,2019). A recent representative survey of ten cities found that e-scooters had achieved an adoption rate nearly equal to that of ridehailing i.e., much faster than past forms of shared mobility (Populus, 2018).”

That paper appeared in 2020, and the growth of e-scooter proliferation—based on the increase in cities served in just three years—is growing.

Mobility & OEMs

However, as Andrew Grant of BloombergNEF recently wrote, “In the years leading up to the pandemic, automakers were eager to cast themselves as more than just automakers. The CEOs of manufacturers including BMW, Ford and Toyota vowed to remake their enterprises into mobility companies.”

Grant goes on to note: “Some of the earliest and loudest backers of mobility services have shuttered or significantly reduced divisions managing these activities.”

While not anything near a full-blown mobility system (e.g., remember “Maven,” GM’s app-based car sharing service, which the company described as a “personal mobility brand” when announced in 2016 (shuttered in 2020)?), Honda has developed what is a personal mobility device that is in keeping with the e-scooter trend.

The Honda Approach

Called the “Motocompacto,”* the unit is an electric scooter that a rider sits on rather than stands on. (Nick Ziraldo, project lead and design engineering unit leader at Honda Development and Manufacturing of America, says that lowering the rider’s center of gravity makes it safer than a standing scooter. One thinks that a company like Honda is far more cognizant of things like safety than typical scooter producers.)

It folds into itself such that when collapsed it appears like a box measuring 29.2 x 21.1 x 3.7 inches with a handle. The “box” is the body of the unit. It is made with molded-in color ABS. It weighs 41.3 pounds so not only does that and the rectangular configuration make it portable, but it is readily storable (on a train, in an office, at home, or in a vehicle).

Providing strength and contributing to the low mass is a heat-treated aluminum frame.

The vehicle can accommodate a rider weighing up to 265 pounds.

The Motocompacto has a range of 12 miles—the Samsung 6.8-Ah lithium-ion battery can be fully charged with a standard 110-V outlet in 3.5 hours—and a top speed of 15 mph.

The scooter will be available at Honda and Acura dealers for $995.

Jane Nakagawa, vice president of the R&D Business Unit at American Honda:

“Innovation doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated.”

The teams in Ohio and California who developed the Motocompacto received 32 patents for the personal transportation device.

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*Its design is inspired by the Japan-market Honda Motocompo foldable gas-powered scooter (1981-83) that was engineered to fit within the hatch of a subcompact.

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MINI Countryman: Grows & Moves

Not only has the MINI Countryman grown over the years, but it has also been moved around from factory to factory during its lifetime. (Image: MINI)

In 2010 the folks at MINI recognized that the world was pretty much going BIG, so they launched the MINI Countryman, a five-door crossover that was still pretty small.

That initial offering is 161 inches long, 70.4 inches wide, 61.5 inches high, and features a 102-inch wheelbase.

Then in 2017 the second-generation Countryman launched and it was less mini than its predecessor: 169.8 inches long, 71.7 inches wide, 61 inches high (yes, ½ inch lower), and having a 105-inch wheelbase.

And last month the company introduced the third generation MINI Countryman and, yes, even bigger: 174.5 inches long, 72.5 inches wide, 65.2 inches high, and a 106-inch wheelbase. More than a foot longer than the first iteration.

But that isn’t entirely surprising. What doesn’t get bigger?

Plant to Plant to. . .

But what is somewhat atypical is the way the Countryman has had its production shifted.

The first-generation vehicle was produced by Magna Steyr in its Graz, Austria facility.

Gen-two was produced by Nedcar in the Netherlands. Nedcar is a contract manufacturer that has produced vehicles including the Mitsubishi Colt, smart Forfour, MINI Hatch and Convertible, and BMW X1.

And with this new Countryman, the production location has switched again, this time to the BMW factory in Leipzig, German, where the BMW Series 1 and Series 2 Active Tourer and Gran Coupe are also built. (As you probably know, BMW owns MINI.)

Quite a journey for the MINI Countryman.

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2023 Genesis Electrified GV70 AWD Prestige

The Genesis Electrified GV70. Great car. Awkward name. (Does this matter? Well, say someone asked what you drive and you answer “Electrified GV70.” And the person who asked drives a hybrid, so she could use that adjective in front of the name of her car, too. Which makes your driving an EV less special.) (Image: Genesis)

According to the folks at Upwork, a platform that connects talent with companies, there is a six-step method for coming up with a “great brand name.”

They are:

1. Identify your target audience
2. Define your brand personality
3. Make a list of brand name ideas
4. Narrow your list
5. Check for availability
6. Test your shortlist of potential brand names

Of course, this is pretty much a DIY list.

Corporations engage branding agencies, firms that specialize in doing all of these steps (and then some).

Which leads me to wonder what happened at Genesis HQ when the product, brand and marketing personnel were presented with:

2023 Genesis Electrified GV70 AWD Prestige

OK.

There are the model year and the brand name. Check. Check.

There is the model name, GV70, for the compact crossover, which is also available with either a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine or a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6. So again, check. Check.

Then there is the fact that it has all-wheel drive and the Prestige is the trim package. Check. Check.

But really:

“Electrified GV70”?

Sounds clunky.

(Genesis also offers the Electrified G80, a sedan.)

Of the items on the naming list I wonder about whether 1, 2 and 6 were really entertained.

The quibble about the name is because, this EV, which is being manufactured at a plant in Montgomery, Alabama, may be overlooked by those who are looking for a fully electric crossover, might think to themselves, “’Electrified’ tends to be used to describe hybrids, not EVs,” and consequently leave the vehicle out of consideration, which would be their loss.

• First, the vehicle has the superb Genesis design language that is confident, not trying too hard, as is the case with some OEM offerings.
• Second, there is surprising performance with 160-kW motors fore and aft that provide a combined 429 hp—and should you engage the “Boost Mode” button, for 10 seconds that goes up to 483 hp.
• Third, there is a comfortable leather-clad interior with such things as a 14-way power driver’s seat and 12-way for the passenger, both heated and ventilated, and heated seats for those sitting in the back. There are a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 14.5-inch HD infotainment screen. It is a nice place to be.
• Fourth, there is an array of standard tech including Lane Keeping Assist, Lane Following Assist, Blind-Spot Collision Avoidance-Assist, Blind-Spot View Monitor, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Avoidance-Assist, Highway Driving Assist, Smart Cruise Control with Stop & Go, Intelligent Speed Limit Assist, Driver Attention Warning, High Beam Assist, Surround View Monitor, Parking Distance Warning, Parking Collision-Avoidance Assist – Reverse, Remote Smart Parking Assist, Safe Exit Assist. . . .

Of course, anyone who is interested in getting an electric vehicle is concerned first and foremost, it seems, with range. This vehicle gets an estimated 236 miles from its 77.4-kWh lithium-polymer battery. Which is so-so.

However, a DC fast charger (800 V) can bring the battery charge from 10% to 80% in 18 minutes, so that means ~189 miles. (Here’s something of interest: the vehicle comes with three years of complementary DC fast charging at Electrify America stations, so there are plenty of those 80%+ charges on tap for free.)

Oh, and it is under $70K.

You can find less expensive two-row crossovers. But you’d be hard-pressed to find a nicer one.

If only there wasn’t that name. . . .

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Quiz Answers

The vehicles in operation that aren’t powered by gasoline by percentage:

• Diesel: 3.2%
• Hybrid: 2.6%
• Electric: 1.0%

Who would have thought there are that many light-duty diesels still out there?

And given all of the attention paid to EVs. . .1%?

A couple points about the number of electric vehicles, per Tom Libby, S&P Global Mobility’s associate director of Loyalty Solutions & Industry Analysis:

• There are 2,682,153 EVs out there (as of July)
• Some 25% of EV owners. . .get a gasoline-powered vehicle

But there are more reasons to run a webinar besides simply presenting your content. Your goal is to make connections with people in the industry who are looking for solutions. You want them to engage with you and your content — not just stare at a screen for an hour.

So, what can you do to engage your audience more while broadcasting?

Here are five tips to help boost interactivity and engagement with your webinar audience:

1. Turn on those webcams

In the last few years, there’s been a shift in comfort levels surrounding online meetings. More and more people are willing to turn on their webcams, regardless of their location. In 2023, 78% of webinars presented by the Gardner Business Media family of brands used webcams at least in part if not in full. A common trend is to have webcams on for the introduction and the Q&A session at the end. Plus — based on stats from 2023 — we see an increase in engagement scores calculated by our webinar software. Webcams alone can boost engagement by 2% (from 45% to 47% engagement on average for 2023).

2. Show, don’t just tell

Multimedia content, including videos and GIFs, are a great way to keep your audience’s attention. Showing how the process works can keep them focused and not reading their inbox while they listen in (we’ve all done it, don’t deny it 😊). Content such as composite layers/layup, twin-screw extruders, and CNC machining paths all work well as videos or GIFs. If those aren’t your forte, you could also consider a step-through set up in your presentation that shows the transition between steps. And for those of you who focus on software, we can work with you to do a live demo of your system.

3. Poll your audience

If you’re looking for more information from your live audience or are interested in progressive profiling, polls are a great solution. Polls can help you achieve a knowledge baseline for your audience, gauge how often your audience uses a specific solution, and help gather more data to share later for each user. Using polls as a progressive profiling tool can also help minimize the number of questions you need on your registration form — shorter forms tend to lead to fewer abandonments. We offer a number of formats in our webinar platform; just let us know what you’d like to include.

4. Chat them up

The most under-utilized tool available for webinars is the chat section. Many presenters are hesitant to use the chat feature in our webinars, and it’s perfectly understandable: they can be distracting, there could be crickets or there could be a rock show, and there’s always an underlying concern that a competitor may join and stir the pot. As this tool isn’t used as often, our audiences aren’t accustomed to using it, and are thus typically less interactive — unless you prompt them. Asking about their pain points and getting real-time feedback can be invaluable when a poll just doesn’t fit. We recommend having a chat-focused team member join alongside the presenter to focus on those conversations while the presenter continues to share their knowledge.

5. Share your knowledge beyond the webinar

A webinar only lasts so long, and more often than not you may have way more content that you’d like to present. Handouts are a great way to balance presented content and additional resources. We find that white papers, case studies, learning resources, and testimonials work well — however, you may share anything that you feel would be beneficial to the audience. Our system can support many different types of handouts, so just reach out if you have any questions. Check out our quick guide for the available formats.

Regardless of your comfort level with webinars, using these tips — even if you start by adding just one at a time — is a great way to engage your audience further while sharing your expertise. Next time you plan a webinar, be sure to think about these five tips and see where they might make the best sense in your webinar. While they won’t be applicable every time, they are good cards to have up your sleeve. And if you’re still new to webinars or want to reach a new audience, don’t be afraid to work with a partner that’ll help guide you through the process.

Abby recently presented this content as a webinar. You can watch that webinar on-demand. For more information about webinars, please reach out to Abby Hull.

Colors from the BASF ‘On Volude’ collection. (Images: BASF)

Let’s say that you’re at a company that is really keen on producing vehicles that will put it—at the very least—in the conversation with Tesla.

The ordinary approach is to think of things like big batteries and large screens.

While range and digitalization are certainly key attributes, there is something that ought to garner more attention. Because it can be a notable differentiator.

If you go to the Tesla site and configure a vehicle, one of the things that can be considered deficient is the number of exterior paint colors.

And none of them is particularly imaginative.*

Which brings us to the 2023-2024 BASF Automotive Color Trends collection.

It seems that the BASF designers—who collate information from a variety of sources, ranging from fashion and consumer products to technology and nature—determined that the traditional automotive color wheel is no longer sufficient to capture the shifts that they foresee.

Rather than the conventional colors, they anticipate there will be lighter shades and non-classic hues. There are colors that are not typically automotive. There are colors that speak to functionality.**

In North America

Liz Hoffman, head of BASF automotive color design for the Americas:

“In this year’s collection, red-leaning pastels and mid-tones are replaced by restorative yellow and green effects suggesting renewal. The connection complements both grounded color spaces and otherworldly escapes. It shows evolving mindsets in automotive design.”

In Asia-Pacific

Chiharu Matsuhara, head of automotive color design for APAC:

“This palette can create amazing color harmonies that are futuristic, modern and playful interactions between color and effect combinations. These sustainable concepts are re-imagined in a more realistic way, boosting BASF’s leadership in sustainability.”

In Europe, the Middle East and Africa

Mark Gutjahr, head of automotive color design, EMEA:

“Expressive colors reflect our will to communicate and speak up. When we bring non-automotive colors into the mix, we broaden that conversation even further into new and exciting color spaces.”

Perhaps if you’re that person considering taking on the dominant competitor, the qualities of color may be an advantage.

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*There is the availability of wraps for Teslas, but. . .

**One interesting aspect of the development of the colors for the collection that BASF calls “On Volude” is that a nontraditional approach was taken: “The colors were designed by humans who considered the possibilities raised by AI while creating their designs.”—Liz Hoffman, BASF’s Head of Automotive Design for the Americas.

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Charging Considerations

Although some people are interested in electric vehicles because of the reduction in carbon emissions, some people are interested in the instant torque that the vehicles provide and really don’t care that there is no tailpipe.

For those who are in the first category, an app developed by Electricity Maps, a Danish firm, should be of interest.

It provides information about the carbon emissions associated with charging in various places and at various times so people can make better decisions about their charging regime.

There can be a swing of as much as 91% depending on time and place.

While you can’t move from one state to another (well, it is unlikely) in order to reduce charging emissions, timing does play a role.

But we wondered: what if everyone started going for the optimal time?

So we asked the folks at Electricity Maps:

“If everyone starts charging at the same time, yes, it could ultimately raise some challenges regarding the balancing of the grid (if volumes become significant but this is so far not the case with the penetration level of electric vehicles), however:

“It's already a challenge (and even worse) if you don't optimize charging and many people start charging when they get home in the evenings. It would create a consumption peak at the same time as the already existing consumption peak (everyone gets home, starts using electric appliances and cooking food, etc...).

“The optimal times when following an average carbon intensity are usually when renewable production is high and/or electricity consumption is low, which helps the balancing of the grid if more consumption is shifted to these times.”

Even if you don’t (yet) own an EV and are simply interested in things environmental, you’ve got to look at the Electricity Maps app because it is a rabbit hole with plenty of surprising information.

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Additional EV Issue: Geopolitics

The MG Cyberster electric vehicle. The MG marque goes back to 1924 in the U.K. Today the company is owned by SAIC Motor Corp. of China. (Image: MG)

On January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom ended its membership in the European Union after being part of it for 37 years.

Apparently, Brexit hasn’t worked out so well for the finances of the people in the UK, as a recent YouGov poll has 62% of them saying it was a failure.

In just the few years since 2020 the automotive landscape on the east side of the Atlantic has massively changed, with EVs taking ever-larger portions of the market.

What’s more, Chinese companies have been increasing their imports to the EU and UK, which is giving serious concerns to those running OEMs based there.

They want to get as much volume as they can.

But it as of January 2024 there will be 10% tariff applied by the European Commission to EVs exported from the EU to the UK, thanks to “rules of origin” regulations.

The biggest rub is that for an EV the battery represents such a major part of the overall value of a given vehicle, and given that neither the UK nor the EU are exactly powerhouses of battery production right now, it isn’t unusual for the origin originating in the very place they’re trying to compete against.

This, of course, would not be an issue were the entities all part of the same bloc. Which came to a close on January 31, 2020.

(And you thought that developing EVs was about technology, not politics.)

How big a deal is this?

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) calculates:

• €4.3 billion is what it will cost EU EV builders exporting their vehicles to the U.K. over the next three years—and the U.K. is the EU’s biggest trading partner
• 480,000 EVs will be lost during this period—or the output of two average-sized assembly plants

Luca de Meo, ACEA president and CEO of Renault Group, put it:

“Driving up consumer prices of European electric vehicles, at the very time when we need to fight for market share in the face of fierce international competition, is not the right move – neither from a business nor an environmental perspective.

“We will effectively be handing a chunk of the market to global manufacturers.”

De Meo would like to maintain as big a chunk as possible because greater volume can lead to reduced prices.

But he also sees what’s happening with regard to the EU and China:

• ACEA stats have it that in 2022 500,006 Chinese-made cars were imported in the EU—63% of them were EVs

While the 2022 sales of Chinese EVs accounted for only 3.7% of total EU EV sales, in 2019 Chinese EV sales were 0.4% of the EU market.

Somehow squabbling with the U.K. over EV tariffs seem as a recipe for giving up more market share.

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Hybrids: What Do Ford Customer Want?

The Ford Maverick Hybrid is rocking it—literally and figuratively. (Image: Ford)

In announcing its Q3 2023 sales last week, Ford noted that its EV sales were up 14.8%, a “best ever” 20,926 vehicles.

However, hybrid sales were up 41.4%, to 34,861.

Of that hybrid number, 12,311 were F-150 Hybrids, an increase of 46.9% over last year.

And the F-150 Lightning—the electric version—had Q3 sales of 3,503 units, a decrease of 45.8% compared with last year.

The Maverick pickup is available either as a conventional ICE or as a hybrid: 56.5% opted for the hybrid, or 13,521 units.

In addition to which, Ford noted, “Escape Hybrid and plug-in hybrid sales are overwhelmingly selling on pre-sold customer orders.”

Still Charged Up

With the investment it has, and continues, to make in EVs, Ford noted the Mustang Mach-E sales were up 42.5% for the quarter (14,842 units) and “F-150 Lightning is expected to produce sales increases in Q4 as capacity actions at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center are realized.”

Still, it seems as though the customers are keenly interested in hybrids.

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AI Comes to Bearing Metallurgy

Although this might resemble an image from the Hubble Space Telescope, it is actually the microstructure of a steel sample analyzed by an AI system developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials. It was determined that the deep learning system does a better job of analysis than. . .people. (Image: Fraunhofer IWM)

Whether it is an internal combustion engine or an electric motor, a multi-speed transmission or a single-speed, there are bearings used in them.

And regardless of the propulsion system, there are also bearings in the wheels, steering system, pumps, and other applications.

All of which is to say that bearings are important (if not thought about a lot).

Roller bearings are typically produced with surface-hardened steels, with the surface hardening performed in order to prevent bearing failure. Surface hardening can be performed with quick cooling, which results in steel that is either martensitic or bainitic.

(Yes, now we’re going to get a little geeky about steel and bearings.)

Microstructures Matter

At the microstructure level it is important for the overall performance to know about the crystallites—non-metallic inclusions and larger-than-average grains—within the material.

Typically, the microstructural analysis is performed by metallographers. These people make visual inspections of the microstructures, looking for the larger grains or other flaws that could ultimately lead to bearing failure.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials (IWM), in collaboration with Schaeffler Technologies (which produces bearings, among other things), looked into the performance of this expert examination (as in those human metallographers). . .and discovered that it was (a) error-prone and (b) limited to comparatively small samples.

So they’ve developed a deep-learning model to determine grain size.

The model is being trained with image data from Schaeffler metallographers. It is capable of averaging the over- and underestimation of grain sizes, so the aforementioned errors are accommodated.

Dr. Ali Riza Durmaz, a scientist at Fraunhofer IWM: “The rolling bearings must meet the microstructural requirements, meaning that the grains must not exceed a certain size. The smaller the grain size, the greater the strength of the steel,”

That’s what they’re looking for.

The model is being used at Schaeffler to automatically ID defects.

Beyond Bearings

Durmaz: “Our deep learning model paves the way for AI-based and automated qualification, for example, in any situation where safety-critical components are subjected to high and cyclic loads, such as electric drive components or the B-pillar in vehicles.”

(You might point this out to anyone you know who may be thinking of a career at a metallographer. As the Magic 8 ball might put it: “Outlook not so good.”)

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2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid

The crossover you need if you (a) drive a lot and (b) don’t particularly like visiting gas stations on a regular basis: the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid. (Image: Toyota)

One of the things that amuses me about announcements for new electric vehicles is the proclamation of what the expected range is before you need to get the vehicle charged.

So if one were to apply that sort of feature-metric to the 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid—an electrified vehicle, as it has a lithium-ion battery and a 46-hp permanent magnet electric motor—Toyota would be able to boast of the highly competent hatch:

445 miles!

That’s right, someone could drive from Detroit to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, on a single tank of gas thanks to the hybrid system that has an EPA-estimated fuel economy of 45 mpg city, 38 highway and 42 combined and the 10.2-gallon tank.

(Can you imagine buying anything but a large pickup and having a concern about the size of the gas tank? But that’s essentially what a key consideration is for EVs: how “big” the battery is.)

Comfort Level

The things about the Corolla Cross Hybrid that are most certainly important are that (1) it is a CUV that is based on the Corolla sedan, a car that traces its roots back to a vehicle introduced in Japan in 1966, so this is something that has a solid track record; (2) it has a hybrid powertrain that is produced by the company that has been continuously putting them into vehicles since 1997 (year of the first Prius in the Japan market).

In other words, it is the sort of thing that someone can buy and not have to feel fidgety about.

(While people who read on Automotive know, hybrids operate just like “regular” vehicles, and in the case of the Corolla Cross, with “regular” gas. So there is nothing out of the ordinary required to operate a hybrid. Not everyone reads on Automotive.)

What It Is

A point about a CUV, even a small(ish) one like this (it has a 103.9-inch wheelbase, is 176.8 inches long, 71.9 inches wide and 64.8 inches high) is that it should have the means to deliver on that U: utility.

And so to that end it should be noted that the vehicle offers 21.5 cubic feet of cargo room with the second row in place and 61.8 cubic feet when that is folded.

There is another aspect of utility that the vehicle comes standard with: all-wheel drive. Which is nice to have whatever climate you live in. (And especially for a good part of the year were you to be commuting between Detroit and Fond du Lac.)

As this is a vehicle primarily meant for commuting (as distinct from, say, joy riding, which seems to be the sort of activity that some car reviewers revel in, even though people who buy a vehicle (rather than a small fleet)), it is also worth noting that the vehicle is robustly equipped with active safety systems, such as pre-collision with pedestrian detection (you get warned, and if you don’t act, the Corolla Cross will by getting on the brakes), lane departure alert with steering assist (drift over the line and not react and the system will do so), automatic high beams (light when you need it and not when the on-coming vehicles don’t), and more.

And, of course, there is the Toyota Audio Multimedia System, which was designed an engineered by a team of Toyota engineers in Texas, which pretty much means that they understand what’s needed when driving from Detroit to. . .

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Interesting Stat Proving Nothing

In the first three quarters of 2023 Acura sold 24,834 Integras (above). Cadillac has two sport sedans, the CT4 and the CT5. During the same period Cadillac sold 7,339 of the former and 14,397 of the latter, for a combined 21,736. Acura also sold 13,573 TLX models, so perhaps there is something to be said for sport sedans. (Image: Acura)

Through the third quarter of 2023 Cadillac, General Motors’ top brand from the standpoint of premium-ness, delivered 110,836 vehicles in the U.S.

During the same period, Acura, Honda Motors’ top brand, delivered 110,535 vehicles in the U.S.

A difference of 301 vehicles over nine months of sales.

Cadillac, of course, has pricier products than Acura.

The least-expensive Cadillac is the XT4, which starts at $37,895.

The least-expensive Acura is the Integra, which starts at $31,500.

Going in the other direction. . .

The most-expensive Cadillac is the Escalade, which starts at $80,795.

The most-expensive Acura is the MDX, which starts at $49,850.

Leverage

Getting to the 110,836 sales number took seven Cadillac models.

Acura got to its number with four.

Still, 301 units over nine months is interesting, if not informative.

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BMW Plays Fortnite

BMW is paying attention to a younger demographic by setting up space in Fortnite. (Image: BMW)

One of the things OEMs need to do is to make themselves relevant and appealing to a younger demographic because, well, they have the potential to buy more vehicles than those who are more. . .vintage.

So BMW has announced that it is “the world’s first Car Creator in Fortnite.”

Presumably that means the “world’s first” in the physical world.

The OEM has created a city on the island “Hypnopolis.” Players are able to complete game challenges which then allows them access the Car Creator to, if the image above is any indication, do some wrenching on a BMW.

The vehicle they work on is the BMW iX2—an electric version of the second-generation of the coupe-styled crossover, the X2—which will have its public world premiere at the Japan Mobility Show 2023 in Tokyo, and which was revealed yesterday (which explains the photo at the bottom of this).

Stefan Ponikva, vp of BMW Brand Communication and Brand Experience:

“Our island in the online video game Fortnite opens up new dialogue opportunities with Next Gen target groups and brings the brand to life in the hands of players.”

Why Does This Matter?

Simple.

It is reported that Fortnite has 400-million registered players, of whom more than 60% are in that highly appealing 18- to 24-year-old demographic.

If a fraction of that player base has a good perception of BMW, Hypnopolis (which includes versions of BMW HQ, BMW Welt and the BMW Museum) will make a big difference in the company’s future fortunes.

And There’s This

While it might be thought by some (likely not in the 18-to-24 demographic) that playing video games is an idle waste of time, a recent study published in “Transportation Research Part F: Psychology and Behaviour” titled “Do action video games make safer drivers? The effects of video game experience on simulated driving performance” finds:

“action video game players had better driving performance and increased spare cognitive capacity compared to individuals who did not play AVGs and highlight a potential avenue for improving driver safety through video game use.”

Yes, games can help people become better drivers.

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WAE fuel cell platform. Supplier suggests that this could help get FCEVs to market more quickly. (Image: WAE)

Sometimes you’ll see “BEV” rather than “EV” when the topic is electric vehicles.

One reason for that is simply because whether it is a Model Y or a Lightning, the energy for the motors is stored in a battery. B.

But there are also FCEVs: fuel cell electric vehicles.

Here the energy for the motors—and conceivably the very same motors found in a BEV—is stored in the form of hydrogen, that is then processed by a fuel cell stack to create electricity (and water, the emissions). FC.

While hydrogen had been at the forefront of R&D work by companies including General Motors and Honda, it has been simply eclipsed by BEV efforts, undertakings and investments.

Which doesn’t mean it is gone, however.

Hydrogen in the Desert

BMW recently announced its hydrogen pilot fleet—based on the BMW iX5—that’s been running in Europe, Japan, Korea, China, the U.S., and the Middle East since February, managed to deal with sand, dust and temperatures as high as 113 degrees F in the United Arab Emirates.

And nearly coincident with that announcement BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said in a speech at the China’s World New Energy Vehicle Congress that took place in Munich during the IAA, that just as China has facilitated the growth of BEVs, “The same policy incentives for electromobility are needed for hydrogen to make a breakthrough.”

BMW is pursuing what it terms a “technology open” approach to propulsion, “adapting to different customer requirements, infrastructure standards and political and regulatory landscapes in the various regions of the world.”

Trucks & Beyond

While there seems to be interest in using fuel cells for heavy-duty trucking by companies including Hyundai, Toyota*, Nikola, Paccar, Cummins, and others, the BMW fleet shows a focus on light-duty passenger vehicles.

An FCEV platform for passenger vehicles—sporty ones—was recently revealed by WAE Technologies. Its EVRh platform features a composite structure, a 120-kW fuel cell, and a battery capable of discharging 430 kW.

WAE, which was originally spun out of Williams Grand Prix Engineering Ltd., reckons that the EVRh would turn in a sub-2.5-second 0 to 62 mph time.

WAE claims that its platform could help reduce time and costs for OEMs—traditional or startup—who are interested in going FCEV.

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*The fuel cells in the BMW iX5 Hydrogen are sourced from Toyota. BMW and Toyota have been collaborating on fuel cell drive systems for 10 years.

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Another Fuel to Keep in Mind

Stellantis engineer working on eFuels. (Image: Stellantis)

Liquid fuel.

Not exactly gasoline. But something that goes through a hose into a vehicle, not a wire.

Specifically, eFuel.

Porsche, for example, is a company that is so interested in it that it has invested more than $100-million in help making it real.

In late December 2022 Porsche and partners opened a facility in southern Chile to produce the fuel that allow combustion engines to operate “nearly CO2 neutral.”

Although the amounts of fuel the plant will produce will be low—about 145 million gallons near the end of the decade (fun fact: according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the U.S. consumed 369 million gallons of gasoline per day in 2022), the opportunities are high.

Michael Steiner, member of the Executive Board for Development and Research, Porsche AG:

“The potential of eFuels is huge. There are currently more than 1.3 billion vehicles with combustion engines worldwide. Many of these will be on the roads for decades to come, and eFuels offer the owners of existing cars a nearly carbon-neutral alternative. As the manufacturer of high-performance, efficient engines, Porsche has a wide range of know-how in the field of fuels.”

Earlier this month an announcement was made by Aramco and Stellantis that is more applicable to those who happen to have cars than aren’t, say, 911s. (Probably something akin to whatever is in your driveway right now.)

The “energy and chemicals” company and the automaker (and “mobility provider”) have determined that 24 Stellantis internal combustion engine families that are in European vehicles sold since 2014—some 28 million vehicles—can use eFuel.

Aramco is working on developing both the chemistry for the drop-in synthetic fuel and two manufacturing facilities to produce it.

Ned Curic, Stellantis Chief Engineering and Technology Officer:

“Drop-in eFuels can have a massive and almost immediate impact on reducing the CO2 emissions of the existing vehicle fleet, offering our customers an easy and economically efficient option to reduce their carbon footprint — one as simple as choosing a different fuel pump at the station, with no additional modification to their vehicles.”

Yes, all of the aforementioned companies are pursuing vehicle electrification, but (1) the number of existing cars with ICEs is huge and not shrinking anytime soon and (2) there is a lot of existing investment in making thermal engines and providing the infrastructure to fuel them, so if there can be a reduction in emissions—Stellantis and Aramco say that using the drop-in eFuel can reduce carbon emissions “by at least 70% on a lifecycle basis” compared with conventional gas—then why not?

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Another Tech to Know: HADAR

An image created with a HADAR sensor. Plenty of fidelity. (Image: Purdue University)

While you might not know the acronym stands for “light detection and ranging,” you’ve heard of LiDAR, a tech that facilitates self-driving vehicles. Then there are radar, for “radio detection and ranging”, and sonar, “sound navigation and ranging.”

Coming to the list is HADAR, or “heat-assisted detection and ranging.”

Work on this tech is being conducted at Purdue University, where this thermal sensing approach was developed by Zubin Jacob, Elmore associate professor of Electrical and Computer engineering, and Fanglin Bao, a research scientist at the university.

Just saw a ghost

Thermal imaging isn’t new. It offers advantages over other sensors as it isn’t affected by darkness, inclement weather or solar glare.

But passive thermal imaging has limits.

Bao said: “Objects and their environment constantly emit and scatter thermal radiation, leading to texture-less images famously known as the ‘ghosting’ effect.

“Thermal pictures of a person’s face show only contours and some temperature contrast; there are no features, making it seem like you have seen a ghost. This loss of information, texture and features is a roadblock for machine perception using heat radiation.”

And if that is used for an autonomous vehicle, this ghosting can be problematic.

Bao:

“HADAR vividly recovers the texture from the cluttered heat signal and accurately disentangles temperature, emissivity and texture, or TeX, of all objects in a scene. It sees texture and depth through the darkness as if it were day and also perceives physical attributes beyond RGB, or red, green and blue, visible imaging or conventional thermal sensing. It is surprising that it is possible to see through pitch darkness like broad daylight.”

No ghosts.

Challenges ahead

While the researchers anticipate automotive application for HADAR at some point, they realize that there are some challenges ahead.

For example, the “hypercam” that is used has two main components: a hyperspectral module and a focal plane array.

According to Bao: “The hyperspectral module is usually bulky. Some focal plane arrays need a low-temperature working environment, and the cooling system is also bulky.”

So they have to figure out how to minimize the bulk for both.

Bao said that the system they’re working with is, “roughly speaking, a couple of cubic feet in size and tens of kilograms in weight.”

He thinks it needs to get down to the size and weight of a camera to get widespread application.

Cost, of course

And he is well aware of that other factor in the auto industry that makes or breaks a technology:

“The automotive industry is very sensitive to the sensor price. The functionality-cost balance is indeed a remaining challenge of HADAR. I hope in the next five years HADAR at the price level of $10K can start playing unique roles that cannot be replaced by other sensors.”

But this doesn’t mean the elimination of the other sensors. According to Bao:

“Practically speaking, I think HADAR would be supplemental to other sensors. For example, LiDAR has its unique advantage of accuracy. Cameras have wonderful performance in daylight. Combining them together would be a better solution to the automotive industry than using any of them to replace others.”

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Lots of Vehicles (And Not All New)

Yes, cars on the road are now teenagers. (Image: S&P Global Mobility)

While it might seem that one of the consequences of the pandemic is that vehicles stopped being acquired, and while there was admittedly a drop off of vehicles built and sold, there was still a remarkable aggregation of sheet metal.

The Dept. of Energy has compared the growth of the U.S. population, the number of licensed drivers, and the number of vehicles on the road from 1960 to 2021.

It discovered that the population was 1.8 times higher in 2021 than 1960, the number of licensed drivers was 2.7 times higher. . .and the number of vehicles was 4.3 times higher.

A non-trivial part of that increase in vehicles is a result of people holding on to them longer.

Nearly Teenagers

S&P Global Mobility has calculated that the average age of light vehicles on the road today in the U.S.—and it estimates there are some 284 million in operation—is 12.5 years.

This is the sixth straight year of an aging car parc and a three-month increase in age over the average age in 2022.

Todd Campau, associate director of aftermarket solutions for S&P Global Mobility, says, "There are almost 122 million vehicles in operation over 12 years old."

And the research firm calculates the volume of vehicles ages six to 14 will increase by 10 million units by 2028, and that vehicles over age six will account for about 74% of the fleet in that year.

What’s more, in 2028 they estimate that “at least” 70% of the vehicles in operation will be light trucks/utilities.

You may have noted Campau’s title includes “aftermarket.”

Given the number of aging vehicles out there, aftermarket-related firms certainly have tremendous opportunities.

And EVs?

S&P Global Mobility found that between 2013 and 2022 some 2.3-million EVs were registered. Of that number, 2.12 million are still on the road.

That means 6.6% have left the fleet.

When that’s compared with vehicles operating with combustion engines, during that same period 158 million were sold and 149.8 million are still in operation.

That means 5.2% have left the fleet.

Yes, a greater percentage of EVs are no longer rolling compared to ICE vehicles.

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Kia’s Critical Partnership

Tons and tons of this plastic waste have been taken out of the ocean. And there are tons and tons to go. (Image: Kia)

Vehicle manufacturers around the world have an array of sponsorship and partnership arrangements with organizations and events, many of which are related to sports (i.e., teams, tournaments).

Kia has its share of those.

But it has one sponsorship that is arguably more important.

With The Ocean Cleanup.

It is a non-profit organization based in Rotterdam with a goal that is as simple as it is massive: remove 90% of the floating ocean plastic by 2040.

The massive part can be realized by knowing there is what is called the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” which floats around between California and Hawaii.

• It has a surface area of 1.6-million square kilometers—twice the size of Texas.
• It has a mass of some 80,000 tonnes.
• It consists of 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic: hard plastics, sheet, lines, ropes, fishing nets, pre-production plastics, foam fragments.

Last month The Ocean Cleanup collected 55 tons of plastic from the Garbage Patch.

A record haul.

Kia is going to use some of the materials from this catch—after they’ve been recycled, of course—for future products.

The company already uses recycled and eco-friendly materials in its vehicles.

The EV9, for example, uses, by weight, 75 pounds of the stuff.

Realize that plastic waste continues to be thrown in the oceans, so this is a nearly Sisyphean task.

Using the waste materials is important. So is collecting it. Credit to Kia for this.

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2023 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring

The Mazda MX-5: one of the few vehicles that still provides driving enjoyment and a manual transmission. Fun, yes. Utility, not so much. (Image: Mazda)

In mid-August Ford announced that it will be installing its BlueCruise hardware on some 500,000 Ford and Lincoln brand 2024 model year vehicles. This will provide owners with the opportunity to access hands-free highway driving capability.

The BlueCruise software allows hands-free operation in stop-and-go driving, going around curves, and driving on narrow roads.

Not only is it expanding the availability of the technology, but it is also offering it with various subscription plans, ranging from $2,100 for three years at time of ordering or purchase to a monthly plan for $75.

When Ford made the announcement I was driving the Mazda MX-5 Grand Touring.

And it occurred to me that the diminutive two-seat cloth-top convertible sports car will soon need something like the Society for the Preservation of the Penny-Farthing to keep it going.

In the first half of 2023 Mazda sold 5,513 MX-5s—the cloth top and the folding hard top versions. In all of 2022 it delivered 6,171 in the U.S. market, so if it keeps at that pace it will do much better in 2023.

Yet if the second half is as good as the first half was, it would still be 11,026 vehicles for the entire year for a vehicle that has a likely transaction cost under $36,000.

Cars of this type simply aren’t all that popular.

For example, Toyota delivered just 5,263 GR86 models during the first half of 2023—fewer than the MX-5 (but a lot more for all of 2022: 11,996 GR86s vs. the 6,171 MX-5s).

It is hard to make a fair comparison to anything when it comes to how small these numbers really are.

It is easy to understand how Toyota can do it, given its scale.

It is hard to understand how Mazda does it because for the first half of 2023, even though its total sales were up 28.7%, it still only moved 183,783 vehicles.

Toyota sold a combined number of SUVs and trucks of 113,920—in June.

But the Miata, which goes back to 1989, is the spiritual soul of Mazda.

Meanwhile, back at the car. . .

To go back to the BlueCruise announcement in the context of this car—and it is a car, not a crossover (of which Mazda now has several)—it struck me that as I worked through the gears—clutch in/select gear/accelerate/rinse/repeat/then do it in the other direction—that knowing how to work a manual is, well, quaint.

While that will raise the hackles of many enthusiasts (and let’s be frank: there aren’t all that many, comparatively speaking), cars that run, say, at Le Mans have sequential gearboxes, so the drivers aren’t depressing and releasing clutch pedals such that their calves would otherwise become the size of Popeye’s forearms.

To be fair, the Miata is available with an automatic mated to the 181-hp, 2.0-liter four with variable-valve timing.

Zooming

The cloth-top and manual bring the curb weight of the car to 2,341 pounds, so that 181 hp is certainly fit for zooming around town or putting the double pinion electric power-assisted steering to work on the twisty roads that the Miata really wants to drive on. Which, of course, makes it somewhat problematic for those who, say, live in the Midwest, where such roads are the sorts of things that you have to assiduously seek.

It is a small car, measuring 154.1 inches long, 68.3 inches wide and 48.6 inches high. When you climb into it—although with a ground clearance of about 5 inches, climb may not be the appropriate word—it is pretty much like you’re sliding into and then enveloped by the Miata. It is in keeping with Mazda’s Jinba-Ittai approach, or the relationship between a rider and a horse. A oneness. This is not driving a couch.

Yes, the Miata is fun to drive.

But for many people, “getting to work” or “getting the kids to school” or “getting more groceries than can be accommodated by a single bag” are things that are more important than “fun.”

So it all comes down to a question of whether you can afford ~$35K to have fun in a 2023 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring.

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The Kids Are Alright

That tiny car goes like a full-size rocket. (Image: Alessandro Della Bella / ETH Zurich)

This is impressive: 0 to 62.15 mph in 0.956 seconds.

That’s a Guinness-certified world record for acceleration.

It was set by members of the Academic Motorsports Club Zurich (AMZ), which consists of about 30 students from ETH Zurich and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.

The electric vehicle, driven by student Kate Maggetti, reached that speed in just 12.3 meters.

The vehicle is constructed with carbon fiber and aluminum honeycomb.

It weighs just 309 pounds.

Perhaps more impressive than the speed is:

• The students developed the printed circuit boards, battery and chassis
• They developed the four-wheel hub motors that provide the car, named “mythen,” 240 kW of power

And speaking of power: Dario Messerli, head of aerodynamics at AMZ, said, “Power isn’t the only thing that matters when it comes to setting an acceleration record—effectively transferring that power to the ground is also key.”

Apparently the kind of aero kit that is used on things like Formula One cars work once the vehicles reach a certain speed. Given how quickly the mythen reached its top speed—12.3 meters is about 40 feet, and to picture that, know that the length of a pickleball court is 44 feet—it was necessary to develop a vacuum-like device that provides downforce through suction to keep the car planted.

Record upon record

Seems that European university students are interested in setting acceleration records. The AMZ team held the record in 2014 and 2016. In both cases students from the University of Stuttgart took it.

In September 2022 the University of Stuttgart set a new record 1.461 seconds.

Obviously the ATZ 0.956-second performance demolished that.

One wonders how long it will stand.

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