Although one of the claimed benefits of the Digital Current System (DCS) developed by Tueor Technologies is that it is “hack-proof,” what is possibly more compelling is that according to Dan Greene, chief operations officer for the company, is that it eliminates from 80 to 90% of the wiring needed for a vehicle’s electrical control system.
Just one loop of coaxial cable. It carries power. It carries data. It combines grounding and feedback.
There is a master control node running the system. There are sensor nodes, switching nodes and slave nodes. Each of the nodes has a varying level of intelligence, from obtaining information to essentially doing a single task, such as locking and unlocking a door.
Should the cable break, the DCS keeps working, Greene says.
The unhackability is predicated on the fact that it is a closed system and should there be an update necessary—over-the-air or otherwise—it cannot be loaded into a vehicle system unless there is explicit permission given by the owner. And to prevent something non-desirable from piggybacking onto a valid update, Greene says a check-sum system can be setup so if something is supposed to be X and it is seen to be X + 1, then it will not be permitted to load into the system.
According to Greene, Tueor began its work on the system to address the ability to hack medical devices like pacemakers and insulin pumps. Then they moved on to satellites. Then to military vehicles, working with AM General on the Stryker armored vehicle.
Auto application?
Not yet.
Seems that OEMs and suppliers are not engaging with the Tueor team.
Greene and his colleague John Dinkel talk about the DCS on “Autoline After Hours” to “Autoline’s” John McElroy; Henry Payne, auto critic for the Detroit News; and me.
Then John, Henry and I discuss a number of subjects, with a particular focus on electric vehicles, as Henry is an enthusiastic owner of a Tesla Model 3 and as on the day of the show GM’s Mary Barra announced that the corporation plans to be carbon-neutral in both its operations and products by 2040. Part of that undertaking includes “an aspiration to eliminate tailpipe emissions from new light-duty vehicles by 2035,” which means an increase in the number of vehicles it puts on the road that don’t have internal combustion engines but possibly frunks under the hoods.
We talk about innovation and corporate cultures. And a whole lot more.
Auto sales plummeted by one-third in the second quarter of last year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, and at the time it felt the like tip of disaster for the car business. The global pandemic stifled demand as the supply side was strangled by shuttered factories and parts and components that couldn’t be shipped to automakers.
General Motors had to shut its Chevrolet Corvette assembly plant for several weeks, but this turned out to be more a supply problem for the automaker than a demand problem, as consumers on the $60,000-plus end of the sports car market generally weren’t the people losing jobs and income.
This gets to a drum I’ve been beating for years. The idea of building brand-new cars and light trucks for working class and middle-class Americans, the very model incubated by the Curved-Dash Oldsmobile and brought to life by the automated assembly lines of Henry Ford’s Model T, the car that put America on wheels, is over.
Latest proof is the comeback of new vehicle sales from those dark days at the end of the first quarter in 2020 and through the second quarter, into much healthier third and fourth quarters. Calendar year 2020 vehicle sales in the U.S. dropped 14.4% from 2019, to 14,645,049 cars and light trucks says Automotive News, but that’s far better than anyone expected from that second quarter drop.
Even with a pandemic that most economists say created our most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression 90 years ago, the 14.6-million sales number is far more palatable to the industry than the 2008-2009 Great Recession, when sales dipped below 11 million at its nadir. With the current pandemic, the auto industry mirrors the economy in general, in which college-educated professionals, management and executive-level employees and their employers spend their workdays in home offices, seeing their colleagues and clients on Zoom rather than in person.
Presently, of Americans who can work at home, unemployment is 3.9%, but for those who have to report to a work site, the rate is 8.9%, KMPG chief economist Constance Hunter told The Washington Post. (Jan. 28, 2021).
About the same time that auto sales fell by one-third, the April 2020 U.S. unemployment rate reached 14.8%. By December 2020, auto sales climbed to near-pre-pandemic levels, but the U.S. unemployment rate was still high at 6.7%, compared with just 3.5% for January and February 2020, according to tradingeconomics.com. The rate for Black and Hispanic Americans is significantly higher, and the Congressional Research Service singles out heavy job loss in the leisure, hospitality industry and restaurants. Your favorite waiter or waitress at the local Olive Garden isn’t shopping for a new Kia, let alone a new Cadillac these days.
Meanwhile, tech barons and big-time investors in tech stocks like Amazon, Facebook and Apple are buying new cars, if the strength of the luxury market is any guide.
In its sales report issued the first week in January, General Motors boasts the all-new 2021 Cadillac Escalade that launched in the middle of the ’20 calendar year—when shutdowns and job losses were growing–“retook market leadership” in the fourth quarter, meaning it began to outsell the Lincoln Navigator again. And here’s the kicker: GM noted that 43% of the new Escalades have “a transaction price of more than $100,000.”
Clearly it was more supply problem and less demand accounting for the 14.4% dip for the year which included phase-out sales of the last of the old model as well as the new, ’21 ‘Slade. Before the pandemic, the average new car transaction price hovered around $38,000, already up significantly from the low-$30s earlier in the ‘10s. The current average is now $40,573, according to Edmunds. Meanwhile, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates the median household income was $68703 (latest figures). Yikes.
BMW was one of the few leading luxury marques that suffered a sales drop worse than the industry average in 2020, of 17.5%. Archrival Mercedes-Benz also had a sales decline, 8.9%, but that was better than the overall industry 14.4% decrease. Tesla was up 20.3%. Jaguar sales dropped 29.8% to 18,586 vehicles; its sister brand, Land Rover was down just—comparatively speaking–15.5%, to 80,034.
The boom in the SUV and truck market plays a big role in making luxury items of brand-new vehicles, even among the commodity brands. Small sedans and hatchbacks that many brands have cut from their lineups in the last few years were entry-level models. Small sport/utilities and crossovers generally are priced a size category up from their sedan counterparts. One surviving commodity compact sedan, the 2021 Honda Civic LX, starts at $22,425 (including destination charge), while the CR-V LX, a compact SUV sharing many of the Civic’s bits, starts at $26,525, and that’s with front-wheel-drive. Good luck finding a FWD compact SUV of virtually any brand on a dealer’s lot in the north. If you want an AWD CR-V, you must move up to the EX trim level, and that starts at $29,035 before adding floor mats, $6,610 more than the Civic LX sedan.
Toyota’s CR-V rival is the RAV4, America’s bestselling vehicle after full-size Ford, Chevy and Ram pickup trucks. Last year’s RAV4 sales were down just 3.9% to 430,387. Toyota’s luxury division undoubtedly more than made up for that dip with much higher profit margins on the 2,574-unit increase in Lexus GXes sold last year, up 9.9% to 28,519, a sport-utility that starts at $54,275. The Lexus GX was the only model among Toyota’s two North American-market brands to post a sales increase last year. The full Lexus lineup is off just 7.7%, compared with the Toyota brand’s 11.9% drop.
So what’s the average Joe to do? There’s always the used market, but even that is become a bit rich. According to Edmunds, in Q4 2020 the average monthly payment for a used car was $ 437, and that for a 68.1-month loan.—Todd Lassa
The UK has become the first European country to pass 100,000 deaths from COVID-19.
And while there is nothing good to say about that, the energy company bp (once known as “British Petroleum”) is doing something good:
Providing fuel free of charge for UK emergency services vehicles until March 31
Teaming with Deliveroo on its “Lunch for Lifesavers” program and donating 250,000 bp/M&S meals to staff and volunteers at vaccination centers and to front line NHS workers in the UK
The vehicles that qualify for the free fuel include police, fire, NHS ambulances, NHS trust non-emergency vehicles, blood bikes, and vehicles used by NHS-contracted companies involved in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year bp ran a similar program and supplied more than 10-million liters of fuel.
Explaining why the company is doing this, Bernard Looney, bp chief executive, said, “A year into this crisis, it continues to take a heavy toll on our neighbours and our nation. These latest initiatives use our resources and reach across the country to support essential services and the people who are working around the clock to keep us all safe. The UK has been our home for over a century and we feel it’s important that we do our bit to help.”
Polestar is a brand that you may not be familiar with at the moment. But that is likely to change, as it is dedicated to producing electric vehicles (EVs) that combine Swedish style with performance.
Polestar was established in 2017 as an independent brand by Volvo Cars and Geely Holding. (This is a little complicated because Volvo Cars in under the Geely umbrella, so the way to think about it is that it is a company that Volvo developed and that Geely is underwriting.)
The forthcoming Polestar Precept. Stylish. Electric. (Images: Polestar)
There are presently two models, that the company has on offer, the Polestar 1, a hybrid that is exceedingly limited in production, and the Polestar 2, a 2020 model that is a high-volume sedan that offers AWD and 300 kW from the motor. There will then be the Polestar 3, an SUV, and then the Precept, a car that emphasizes three definitional aspects of the brand: sustainability, digital technology and design.
Polestar has a factory in Chengdu, China. It calls it the “Polestar Production Centre.”
Inside the Polestar factory. Yes, factory.
But there’s something interesting about what they’re doing there: operating the plant on 100% renewable electricity. Some 65% of all of the electricity powering the factory comes from hydroelectric with the balance from solar, wind and other renewables.
What’s more, there is no industrial water discharge from the plant and they are establishing a circular approach to waste handling (including carbon fiber) so as to reduce landfill demands.
The factory, designed by Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta, has earned Gold status in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, the only automobile plant in China to do so.
Said Fredrika Klarén, Head of Sustainability at Polestar, “For Polestar, sustainability is not just about the electric powertrain. It impacts everything we do. We want to promote sustainable manufacturing in China. This objective entails a relentless pursuit of circular and climate-neutral solutions, and also being a responsible employer and presence in the area.”–gsv
Alfred P. Sloan was the president, chairman and CEO of General Motors, a company that he was to come to after having been the president and owner of Hyatt Roller Bearing, which just goes to show you that even things like ball bearings can lead one to places you’d never imagine you’d go. Prior to building bearings Sloan had obtained an engineering degree from MIT, so the fact that when he was at GM he came up with an idea that changed vehicle marketing is somewhat remarkable.
That is, the accumulated portfolio that was General Motors was rationalized. The phase “a product for every purse and purpose” was the organizational approach. The “purse” portion is probably the most powerful in that line in that it led to a stair-step approach to the brand organization.
Simply put, it was about affordability and rising incomes.
One would start with a Chevy and work his or her way through to Cadillac.
Sloan figured that this approach would keep people within the GM family through their entire lives.
In this organizational approach Buick was one position below Cadillac. It offered big, comfortable sedans that were aspirational to the upper middle class. Back in the proverbial day, a model with a name like “Park Avenue” really meant that someone was (1) going places and (2) had arrived.
2020 Buick Encore GX. Premium small crossover with a competitive price. (Images: Buick)
Times change, and so has Buick. Whereas it was once all about plush, floaty sedans with accoutrements like seats covered with a velour-like substance and exterior bling like ventiports, it has become a brand that is all about the crossover.
Go to a Buick dealership right now and you’re faced with four vehicles, all of which are (1) crossovers and (2) begin with the letter “E.”
And these vehicles are Sloanism in action, as you start with the Encore, work up to the Encore GX, move to the Envision and arrive at the Enclave.
This all-crossover approach has a customer advantage in that it not only simplifies the shopping experience, but it allows the Buick designers and engineers to concentrate on one type of vehicle.
Focus is helpful.
What is odd about the Encore GX is that it is rather different than the Encore. This isn’t a different trim level. It is actually one of those Sloan steps within the brand.
Consider the dimensional differences between the two vehicles:
Encore GXEncore
Wheelbase 102.2 in 100.6 in
Length 171.4 in 168.4 in
Width 71.4 in 70.1 in
Height 64.1 in 65.2 in
Those are not trivial differences, especially the length and the width, as there are significant differences where it really counts: the interior.
The Encore GX offers 94.3 cubic feet of passenger room, while the Encore is at 92.8 cubic feet.
The Encore GX offers 23.5 cubic feet of cargo room behind the second row and 50.2 cubic feet if that rear seat back is folded down. The Encore is at 18.8 cubic feet behind the second row and 48.4 cubic feet max.
These are distinctively different vehicles.
(And I would argue that the fact that the Encore GX is both wider and lower made it a more attractive vehicle.)
While it shares the “Encore” with the Encore, the Encore GX is a different vehicle.
The standard powertrain for the Encore GX is a 1.2-liter turbocharged I3 that produces 137 hp; the vehicle I drove had the optional 1.3-liter turbo that produces 155 hp. It is mated to a continuously variable transmission. The vehicle as driven was FWD. Were it an AWD vehicle, then the transmission would have been a nine-speed automatic.
For a small SUV it has a lot on offer. Even with the options. . .
Convenience package (automatic parking assist with braking; wireless charging, rear camera mirror with washer; rain sensing windshield wipers)–$770
Liftgate package (hands-free power)–$520
Upgraded exterior paint–$495
Upgraded engine–$395
. . .the vehicle, including destination ($995) came in at $34,965.
On the one hand, it is a bargain. Yet on the other hand, it is a well-appointed, reasonably well handling and powered vehicle that is in a premium category.
That rear-view mirror you have in your vehicle? It was probably made by Gentex Corp., a company on the west side of Michigan that completely dominates the market
And if you have a Homelink button that is fitted within the housing of that mirror (or elsewhere, for that matter), know that Homelink is a Gentex development.
If you’ve been in a Cadillac CT6 and saw that the rear-view mirror was not just a reflective surface but through activation was transformed into a video monitor showing what is behind the car even if there happens to be members of an NBA team sitting in the backseat and consequently obstructing the view, know that that was a Gentex development.
Gentex mirror that is both a typical reflective type as well as a video screen fed by a back-mounted camera. (Image: Gentex)
The company, which started out as a provider of smoke detectors, has become an instrumental part of safe vehicle operation (if you’ve ever tried to drive without your mirrors, you know that it is a dodgy situation—at best).
One of the things that’s interesting about Gentex is that while it has expertise in glass processing (no surpsie), it has extended its range to accommodate capabilities in electronics and microelectronics, software, chemistry, sensors and more.
This, explains Neil Boehm, chief technology officer, is driving the company to develop things that go well beyond what might be expected.
For example, imagine when there are shared autonomous vehicles. Nowadays, although there is a reduced number of people who smoke (and even vaping has taken a bit of a downward turn), let’s say that there is someone in an AV—one that you might be the next in line to get—who lights up a stogie. Boehm says that they’ve taken their knowhow in the smoke detector arena and have developed a system that can be embedded in the HVAC system: Smoke is detected and—remember, there’s that electronics capability (that goes well beyond Homelink)–a message is automatically sent to the AV service provider, which then knows it may have to bring that vehicle back to the depot. And another message—possibility along with the notification of a fine—can be sent to the phone of the cigar smoker.
Boehm talks about these and other developments (e.g., electrochromatic windows; V2I toll and gas pump paying technology; nanofibers that can detect explosives [think of an AV being used as a mobile bomb—an unfortunate thing to have to consider]) on this edition of “Autoline After Hours” with “Autoline’s” John McElroy, Lindsay Brooke, editor-in-chief at SAE International, and me. Gentex is obviously a company that is leveraging its people’s imaginations as well as the developed technologies.
McElroy, Brooke and I also talk about an array of other subjects, including Microsoft’s partnership with General Motors on the Cruise AV program, whether Apple is going to get into the automobile business and what company might manufacture the vehicle, and the implications of the microchip shortage on the auto industry, which has led to the stoppage of production at plants the world over, and something that may have implications going forward for the auto industry.
Hyundai, with Bryan Herta Autosport, is going to be campaigning the new Hyundai Elantra N TCR race car in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series.
Hyundai entered the North American Touring Car racing scene in 2018, and since then it won three back-to-back TCR championships and the 2020 Manufacturers title.
Hyundai 2021 Elantra. Won the North American Car of the Year (NACTOY) award; looking to win at tracks like Daytona. (Image: Hyundai)
To mark that big win, if you look closely you can see the NACTOY badge on the hood of the Elantra N TCR vehicle, shown here at the Daytona International Speedway, flanked by Bryan Herta Autosport drivers Michael Lewis and Taylor Hagler.
The first race of the IMPC series will be held on January 29 at Daytona.–gsv
According to Duncan Aldred, vice president, Global Buick and GMC, the Buick brand has been doing an excellent job of bringing in new customers, with 72% of those opting to buy from what is now an all-crossover lineup—Enclave, Encore, Encore GX and Envision—being new to the brand.
The 2021 Envision is the launch of the second generation of the compact crossover; it is competing in what Aldred describes as “one of the industry’s most competitive segments.”
Helen Emsley, executive director, Global Buick and GMC Design, says, “The new Envision has a more athletic presence that is full of character.”
Which is sort of the thing that one would say. After all, who wants a crossover that has a couch-potato presence with an undifferentiated persona?
All-new 2021 Buick Envision, shown here in Avenir trim. (Image: Buick)
That said, the designers took what is become a familiar shape (“most competitive segments” means that one hell of a lot of vehicles of this type are being sold) and put in some nice character lines on the bodyside as well created a highly styled but not fussy front fascia that provides differentiation.
What’s more, Emsley points out that the new Envision is lower and wider than the model it replaces, and while that, again, is the sort of thing that is often said, she really means it.
The first generation Envision is 72.4 inches wide and 66.8 inches high. The new one is 74.1 inches wide and 64.6 inches high, which is a visible, and substantial, difference, making the new vehicle look much more planted than its predecessor.
The vehicle is being offered in three trims: Preferred, Essence and Avenir, with the latter being the most luxe of the three and the preceding two being offered with a Sport Touring package.
The Avenir variant brings 20-inch wheels that have a Pearl Nickel finish. The Sport Touring versions of the other trims have darkened 20 inch wheels. That is a telegraphing cue of the approach. (There are also grille differences, but let’s face it: the wheels are a clear statement.)
The Envision comes with one powertrain choice: a 228-hp, turbocharged I4 mated to a nine-speed automatic. There are both FWD and AWD.
On the inside, there is Buick’s first 10.2-inch-diagonal color touch screen because, well, this is a new model and it would be unthinkable to go with something smaller.
One dimension is probably more notable to people who are going to take their Envision on a road trip, which is that for the cargo space. If the second row is in use, then there’s 25.2 cubic feet behind it. If the second row seatback is folded, then there’s 52.7 cubic feet. Nicely utile.
Here’s a feature that seems most timely: an air ionizer that includes an “air quality indicator.” It is standard on Essence and Avenir and available on Preferred. Here’s guessing it will be more engaging for Envision drivers than the Buick-exclusive Reese’s Book Club app. Were this, say, January 2020, it would probably be just the opposite.
When Marc Lichte, head of Audi Design, unveiled the Audi e-tron GT concept at the 2018 LA Auto Show, he described it as “The most beautiful car I have ever drawn.”
Audi RS e-tron GT prototype (Images: Audi)
Lichte even thinks that this vehicle—which will be unveiled in its production version on February 9—will become a new design icon for the brand, answering a question whether that is the case by saying, “Yes, without a doubt.” But he acknowledges, “A car must acquire this reputation on the road—in an overstimulated environment that creates the will to strive for orientation.”
Which presumably means: cars may look great in studios or on turntables at auto shows (remember auto shows?), but you’ve got to get them out in the real world where they exist in relation to other vehicles.
Lichte went on to day: “True design icons have something that is unmistakably clear: For example, it takes only three lines to characterize a VW Beetle or a Porsche 911. They stand for a clear attitude.”
Given that all of the brands are under the Volkswagen Group umbrella, Lichte is undoubtedly well aware of the vehicles like the Beetle and the 911, which are certainly good bars to work to equal or exceed.–gsv
The rumored Apple car notwithstanding, there are evident efforts being taken by OEMs to make their user interfaces large, icon-intensive and swipeable, just like a smartphone. Since Tesla rolled out with the 17-inch screen in the Model S, there has been an on-going effort to make screens big and familiar, perhaps with the most exaggerated example the 56-inch Mercedes MBUX Hyperscreen.
Whereas it was once said that a “car is a computer on wheels,” it seems to have transitioned to a “car is a smartphone on wheels.”
After all, OEMs are not only aggressively integrating apps that they can mine for data and otherwise monetize, but the ability to have over-the-air updates (OTAs) is becoming as de rigueur as standard Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
Tamara Snow of Continental. The complexity of vehicle compute, control and communications networks shouldn’t be underestimated. (Image: Continental)
But Tamara Snow, head of Research and Advanced Engineering, North America, Continental Automotive, points out that there are some substantial differences between that high-powered processing and communications device you carry around and that high-powered processing and transportation device you have carry you around when it comes to the compute architecture and application.
Snow notes that a smartphone has:
1 microprocessor
1 display
1 operating system
7 sensors
6.1-ounce mass
And the smartphone has a top speed of 0 mph.
A vehicle has:
100 microcontrollers
4 displays
4 operating systems
100s of sensors
2.5-ton mass
The vehicle has a top speed of 155 mph.
Snow says that when it comes to a smartphone, a software glitch can be “annoying.”
But the same for a motor vehicle can be “fatal.”
Making cars–and the systems that go into them–is hard.–gsv
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