It is still a vehicle brand, not a superhero. But it is interested in more sales, so. . .
By Gary S. Vasilash
The second biggest grossing film of all time is Avengers: Endgame (2019). It brought in about $2.8-billion.
Number five on the list is Avengers: Infinity War. It launched in 2018 and took $2-billion.
And at eight is The Avengers (2012): $1.5-billion
If we go beyond the top 10 there is Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) at 11 and $1.4-billion, Black Panther (2018) at 12 and $1.3-billion, and Iron Man 3 (2013) at 20 and $1.2-billion.
Five movies. $10.2-billion.
No matter how you look at it, a lot of people have seen Marvel movies.
So when you hear that Lexus has created cars for all of the key characters in Marvel’s forthcoming Eternals and think, “Lexus is a luxury brand. What is it doing with a comic book movie?”
Think this: Just imagine if a small percentage of the Marvel Universe fans go out and buy Lexuses.
A wide-ranging discussion that’s concentrated on pickups
By Gary S. Vasilash
Although “essential courage” may sound a bit exaggerated when it comes to the design theme for a vehicle, Scott Anderson, design manager at Ford, explains how that term describes what the team did in developing the design of the 2022 Ford Maverick—the interior design, in particular.
The Maverick is a compact truck. Unibody, not body-on-frame, like its sibs, the Ranger and the F-150.
While those two vehicles are designed and engineered primarily for those who are focused on, primarily, vocational uses (OK: there are plenty of people who buy pickups and never use the beds for anything beyond groceries or Christmas trees), the Maverick is designed and engineered mainly for urban dwellers who like to do recreational things (the Maverick can tow 4,000 pounds: like a small trailer) and whose recreation may include making things, not only with sheet metal and 2x4s, but also 3D printers.
It is a different proposition.
One of the things to know about the Maverick is that in the base model, which has a starting MSRP of $19,995, has a hybrid powertrain.
And as has long been the argument by some OEMs that have not gone the hybrid route, the nature of that, which combines an internal combustion engine (in this case a 162-hp 2.5-liter four) and an electric motor and battery (all in for the Maverick: 191 hp), hybrid powertrains are more expensive than, say, a 162-hp 2.5-liter four all by itself.
But the base Maverick is a hybrid and the base Maverick starts at under $20K.
And because it is a truck and because Ford has a lot riding on its reputation of building trucks (i.e., “Built Ford Tough”), there could be no skimping on the engineering of the Maverick.
So no surprise they had to do some things differently on developing and executing the interior.
Functional design and clever use of materials in the ’22 Ford Maverick. (Image: Ford)
For one thing, Anderson says, they decided that they would be honest about the use of plastic. They wouldn’t make it appear as though the material is something that it isn’t—but at the same time, they made it appear, through color and texture choice, as something both interesting and fit-for-purpose.
In addition, they did lots of observation about how people use their interiors, including storing objects of various sizes and configurations and so make the means to accommodate them, even if it meant things, as in the case of the front arm rests, are not what is typical: the front arm rests are truncated so as to make it more convenient to have large water bottles in the map pocket below.
So there is the essential part. And the guts, because when you decide that fasteners, for example, are going to be part of the design, not something hidden (often in a half-assed manner), then you’ve got to stand up for it.
Anderson talks about all this and more on this edition of “Autoline After Hours” with Rain Noe of Core77, freelance writer Mark Williams and me.
In addition, Noe, Williams and I discuss the coming onslaught of electric trucks, including the F-150 Lightning, the Rivian R1T, the HUMMER EV pickup, the Bollinger B2, the Silverado electric, the Tesla Cybertruck, and the Lordstown Endurance.
Apparently, when it comes to the material used for seats in vehicles, leather is the leader. However, according to the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Seat Quality and Satisfaction Study, fake leather, which goes by a number of names depending on the OEM (hint: if you’re in the showroom and you ask what that seat is made of and the name of the material sounds like something out of an episode of the Mandalorian, know that it isn’t leather), seems to be gaining some adherents.
Thanks to COVID.
“With a heightened sense of awareness to surface cleanliness due to COVID-19, synthetic leather seats lend themselves well to cleanability, but it is ultimately about providing benefits which address notable industry challenges such as providing durability, soil resistance and, most importantly, cost-effectiveness. Our study shows that synthetic leather out-performs cloth seating in select areas while offering benefits similar to those of leather.”
That’s Brent Gruber, senior director of automotive quality at J.D. Power.
Hyundai Elantra seats. (Image: Hyundai)
Clearly, cleaning is become all the more relevant nowadays.
In case you’re wondering what the top seats (and the manufacturers of said seats) are in the survey:
Mass market compact: Hyundai Elantra (Hyundai Seat Div.)
Mass market midsize/large car: Honda Clarity (Tachi-S Co.)
Mass market SUV & truck/van: Nissan Rogue (NHK Spring Co.)
Mass market midsize/large SUV: Chevrolet Blazer (Lear Corp.)
Mass market truck/van: Ram 1500 (Bridgewater Interiors)
There isn’t a heck of a lot known about the Acura Integra, a sport compact with a five-door design, which will be launched next year.
One of the things that is known is that unlike the other vehicles in the Acura lineup—the ILX, TLX, RDX, and MDX—the Integra has a name. Yes, it is a made-up name, but not sequence of three letters.
1986 Integra RS–the original (Image: Acura)
The name goes back to the model introduced in 1986 and had a run until it was renamed. . .RSX in 2001.
Remember: Alphanumeric designation, with or without one or the other, was long thought to denote luxury, and Acura has been working for decades now trying to make people understand it is a luxury brand.
(Arguably, of the Japan-based company brands, only Lexus has achieved that with Infiniti and Acura trying to make their way to that category.)
The current tagline of Acura is “Precision Crafted Performance.”
The last word in that—performance—has a lot to do, no doubt, with the fact that the Integra will be offered with a six-speed manual.
Let’s face it: people who bought sport sedans in 1986 liked to slam though the gears.
But today. . .?
Yes, there is performance cred still associated with manuals. At least for some people.
According to LMC Automotive, global light vehicle sales in September 2021 were 6,229,029 units—which is down 20.3% compared with September 2020.
Think about that.
2020, which will be forever known as the year COVID hammered the world, had higher September sales than in September 2021. (Read that again.)
In the U.S. sales were comparatively down 25.1%. Canada was off 19.9%. Western and Eastern Europe down 24.2% and 20.9%, respectively. Japan down 32.2% and Korea off 30.5%. China sales were down 16.5%. Brazil/Argentina off 26.1%. And wherever Other is, that is down 11.3%.
Essentially, this all goes to the lack of microprocessor supply the world over.
Historically, it would be something like energy prices or a lack of steel driving a diminishing of sales.
But no, silicon.
Yes, the world’s auto industry is advanced, given the evident dependence on chips.
Although the folks at Lucid Group probably don’t think about Elon all that often. . .
By Gary S. Vasilash
Lucid Group, which is producing its Lucid Air electric vehicles in its brand-new plant in Casa Grande, AZ, put Tesla in second place in the range department as it got a 520-mile range rating from the EPA, and the Model S Long Range is 412 miles.
(To be sure, 412 miles is nothing to sniff at, as it is the sort of thing that most OEMs would give up an engine plant to achieve.)
And now there is another numeric–and arguably functional–difference.
Elon Musk is famously sensor thrifty, as Tesla models dependi on cameras and ultrasonic sensors (it had been using radar, but evidently that went away earlier this year). Which make the nomenclature “Full Self-Driving” and “Autopilot” all the more troubling for those who actually think about the implications of those names.
Lucid announced the details of its “DreamDrive” advanced driver assistance systems, the base and Pro versions (Pro is standard on Lucid Air Dream Edition and Lucid Air Grand Touring, so the “dream” in the name goes to the model, not some sort of suggestion that one can sleep behind the wheel).
Lucid DreamDrive sensor suite provides a comprehensive scope. (Image: Lucid)
The system can utilize as many as 32 sensors, including 14 visible-light cameras, five radar units, four surround view cameras, ultrasonic sensors throughout the vehicle exterior, and, for DreamDrive Pro, solid-state lidar.
Of course, sensors are only part of an ADAS system. Processing capability is essential.
Lucid is using its proprietary “Ethernet Ring” system, which is a high-speed data network for four computer gateways to communicate at gigabit speeds so that the processors can assure that the sensor input gets translated into the steering, braking and accelerating functions as required.
When it comes to driver assistance, the more support—and sensors—the better.
. . .because (a) you’re going to be spending more than you might think and (b) you may be buying something that you aren’t necessarily considering
By Gary S. Vasilash
If you’re thinking about buying a new car, ute or truck—and “new” may mean “new to you,” as in “used”—then you ought to hear what Charlie Chesbrough, senor economist and senior director of industry insights for Cox Automotive has to say about the current market conditions.
As Cox Automotive encompasses a variety of businesses that know more than a little something about, as they say, the conditions on the ground—as in Kelley Blue Book and Manheim Actions—Chesbrough’s observations and understanding are grounded in what’s really happening, not some theoretically calculations.
The fundamental thing is this: Although it might seem that COVID is behind us, that everything, with a few hitches here and there, is getting back to normal, that is far from being the case with regard to the availability of some things. Things like motor vehicles.
This is because COVID helped cause a semiconductor chip shortage. In part this came from everyone working or playing from home, which led to a sudden demand for PCs and PlayStations, both of which use silicon.
Because the auto companies faced shutdowns of their factories last year, they canceled their orders with the semiconductor providers, who then readily found anxious customers who were making things like PCs and PlayStations.
So the vehicle manufacturers had to go to the end of the line.
It is also worth noting that some of the chips that go into vehicles don’t have the types of margins that chips that go into other products do, so the semiconductor manufacturers realized that they’d do well by just serving the non-automotive customers fulsomely while providing the auto manufacturers—who are famously thrifty when it comes to paying suppliers—with a reduced number of chips.
This has led to two things, Chesbrough notes:
Overall reduced number of available vehicles
Overall increases in the prices being charged for vehicles—new and used
While the first part of the year seemed to be improving when it came to the availability of vehicles (relatively speaking—2020 was a horrible year for sales and 2021 was an improvement on that), things have gone south since then.
Chesbrough suggests that things won’t get back to what may be considered “normal” until sometime next year (if at all).
At present, OEMs are concentrating on putting chips in vehicles that are high-ticket items, which is good for returns, but which put many consumers in a bind (unless they are high-end buyers).
There are some companies, like Ford, which are recommending that people order vehicles, something common in Europe but not a practice that is at the basis of the auto market as it has developed in the U.S., which is all about moving the metal.
In addition to which, Naughton, White and I talk about Ford’s massive investments in electric vehicle/battery manufacturing capacity in Kentucky and Tennessee—and how Michigan didn’t even make a proposal for the investments, as well as about GM’s Investor Day presentations, which were clearly designed to make Wall Street look at GM more as a “tech company” with a wide range of product in the pipeline and technology and capacity that will make money sooner rather than later.
Who wants to spend time cooling their heels at a charging station?
By Gary S. Vasilash
Although there is something to be said for electric vehicles (as in the previous post below), one thing that is a bit of a nuisance with EVs is not the driving but the charging.
Not even the fastest fast-charger is going to stuff electrons into a battery as quickly as gasoline goes through the nozzle at your local gas station.
What’s more, there is a bit of a problem with the whole notion of fast charging in that the faster you stuff those electrons in, the more the battery is affected, and not in a good way.
One of the alternatives to a battery electric vehicle is a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle.
Yes, a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is an electric vehicle, too, with the battery being replaced by a fuel cell stack and a cylinder (or two or more) of compressed hydrogen. The hydrogen goes into the stack, is turned into electricity, and that powers the motors that drive the wheels.
And refueling a hydrogen vehicle is quite analogous to pumping gasoline.
As for time:
A 2021 Toyota Mirai went to a hydrogen pump at the Toyota Technical Center in Gardena, California, on August 23, 2021.
The tank was filled. It took five minutes. The tank was sealed with a sticker by the observer from the Guinness World Records.
Toyota evp Bob Carter, a Guinness certificate and the Mirai that earned it. (Image: Toyota)
Over two days of driving the two drivers drove around SoCal under a variety of conditions (yes, including the legendary traffic jams). When they returned to the start point, they had traveled 845 miles on that single tank of hydrogen.
A tank that was filled in 5 minutes.
Admittedly, the drivers are hypermilers (Wayne Gerdes and Bob Winger). Their driving techniques are not those that most of us—not even the most diligent of us—are likely to use with any consistency.
But it underscores the fact that hydrogen can get you much further with less time spent at a station than electricity can. Even for those with a lead foot.
A huge concern in the auto industry—always and everywhere—is cost. The cost of batteries for EVs is showing an impressive decline.
By Gary S. Vasilash
One of the things about electric vehicle development that doesn’t get quite the amount of attention that it deserves is the rate at which the prices of lithium-ion battery packs are declining.
According to the US. Department of Energy Vehicle Technologies Office, the cost of a Li-ion battery pack declined 87% between 2008 and 2021, based on 2021 constant dollars.
The DOE estimates that the cost of a Li-ion battery pack circa 2021 is $157/kWh based on a usable energy basis (i.e., the battery pack may have more stored energy but it is not used because it is important to maintain the health of the battery).
Back in 2008 that number was $1,237/kWh.
Impressive decline in battery costs. (Image: DOE)
Recognize that what is happening is that there are improvements in technologies and chemistries, as well as in manufacturing economies of scale. (Did you notice that when people are talking about battery plants they typically refer to them as “gigafactories”? They’re big and make lots of batteries, which leads to the economies of scale. It is somewhat odd, if you think about it, to know that Mars makes about 15 million Snickers per day and there is no mention of a “megafactory.”)
The improvements in technologies and chemistries are probably the real, as they say, game-changer in batteries.
Realize that you have vehicle manufacturers, Tier One suppliers, battery companies, chemical companies, electronics companies, utility companies, energy suppliers, research organizations, universities, and undoubtedly others working on batteries.
Nowadays only a fraction of them are working on eking out improvements for internal combustion engines, which leads to the hypothesis that with time ICEs are going to run out of time.
That 87% is a big number. And the decline in price-performance will undoubtedly continue to change for the better.
We can’t put it any better than this, which comes from the House of Rolls-Royce about its latest addition to the Rolls-Royce Connoisseur’s Collection, the Rolls-Royce Cellarette:
The polished aluminium chassis, enveloped by embossed Rolls-Royce Havana leather complete with an Obsidian Ayous Open Pore veneer serving tray with Spirit of Ecstasy inlay, makes the Cellarette the perfect accessory for any Rolls-Royce owner with a passion for convivial hosting.
A Cellarette from Rolls-Royce. (Image: Rolls-Royce)
Said Cellarette can be fitted in the back of one’s Rolls, however the company notes that “it truly comes into its own as a centrepiece at an al fresco dining experience, or as an accompaniment at an intimate gathering.”
Cellarette?
It is something that carries bottles of whisky and holds cigars.
shinymetalboxes 