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Payne: Cruisin’ away the COVID-19 blues on Woodward and beyond
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 19, 2020
Birmingham — The Woodward Dream Cruise may look a little different this August as communities cancel events over COVID-19 virus concerns and corporate sponsors keep their distance. But the cruisers will come anyway.
Michigan motorheads are already hitting the streets this May as a cure for months of cabin fever.
Woodward Avenue — nicknamed “The COVID 500” by local residents — has been busy as spring weather brought out everything from classic sedans to modified hot rods to modern muscle cars. The Michigan Car Cruise Calendar Facebook page is teeming with posts as members share car gatherings and personal car updates.
In Rochester Hills last Wednesday a group of enthusiasts organized the “Afternoon Cruise” which attracted some 100 cars for a leisurely mid-day drive up and down Hamlin Street. Well, mostly leisurely. Some participants couldn’t resist the occasional tire-squealing burnout.
“We thought is was a cool idea, so quite a few of our staff members participated,” explained Kim Zeile, founder of Trans-Am racing engine maker Prefix Corp., who helped organize the event. “The area is slowly beginning to open back up, and this was a safe and fun way to get some cool vehicles out and interact with fellow car enthusiasts.”
Enthusiasts gathered over a typical smorgasbord of dream rides — Porsche 911s, Jeeps, jacked-up pickups, Ford Focus pocket rockets, ol’ ’50s jalopies — in the Prefix parking lot before cruising. Prefix provided a food truck for attendees to grab a quick lunch, and Mother Nature cooperated with a beautiful afternoon.
“It meant a little taste of feeling back to normal,” said participant Jhan Dolphin. “After all, not much can compare to the freedom of rolling down the windows and going for a drive in your favorite ride.”
Woodward Avenue is Michigan’s cruising main street and recent weekends have been busy. Growling street rods have been doing patented loops around the traditional, 16-mile parade route that runs from Ferndale to Pontiac. Others have gathered in Woodward parking lots — hoods propped open to display sparkling engines underneath — as owners swap stories and urge on passing classics.
The activity starts a slow build to the official, 26th annual Dream Cruise on Saturday, Aug. 15 this year. The cruise reportedly attracts up to 1.5 million people.
Those numbers may be down this year as enthusiasts — especially older demographics — weigh the risks of COVID-19 and as authorities pressure organizers to social distance. Organizers have declined comment to date, citing the virus situation as too fluid to make plans three months out from the Cruise.
An announcement is expected in early June. Insiders say there will be changes, with participants urged to stay in their cars while communities cancel most official events.
Woodward Dream Cruise Parking, which helps cruisers find spots on the crowded route, posted on its Facebook page this week that the “Woodward Dream Cruise is going to happen this year … however, you will see big changes. Most of the organized community events will be canceled, including entertainment, concerts, car shows, vendors, Emergency Vehicle show, kid zone, etc., to keep large crowd gatherings to a minimum.”
The Dream Cruise has always been controversial among some local residents who object to the noise and odors that the rolling traffic jam brings each summer. With added concerns over COVID-19, nerves are more on edge this year.
Paul Canvasser, a resident of Poppleton Park in Birmingham, recently wrote on Next Door that “I am fed up with the noise and racing that has overtaken Woodward. It is even more annoying since I have been isolated at home for several weeks. Everything else is shut down, but the cruising is the first thing to come back. It is time to alter this situation!”
The post received 310 community responses.
More gatherings are scheduled this weekend from Rochester to Woodward as the weather warms to 70 degrees. But critics may get their wish for a respite from the COVID 500 on Sunday. The chance of rain is 100 percent.
Payne: That’s a Camry? Wicked TRD trim transforms Toyota’s family sedan
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 14, 2020
The 2020 Toyota Camry TRD is so wicked looking you’ll be tempted to get in over your head.
I sauntered on to Woodward Avenue one recent Sunday at the wheel of the hottest Camry ever. Growly V-6. Massive black trunk wing. Torch red paint. Black roof, side skirts, front splitter and rear diffuser. Lowered 0.6 inches. Black locomotive cow catcher grille. Wheel wells engorged with huge, 19-inch rims — black, of course.
A hearse-black, 396-horsepower, all-wheel-drive Mercedes-AMG E 43 rolled up next to me at a stoplight. I looked at him. He looked at me. The light turned green.
The German rocket ship was gone before my front tires had stopped chirping from wheel spin. The global auto hierarchy is still intact.
But the point is that the Mercedes King of Beasts felt the need to assert its authority over … a Camry. Take a bow, Toyota. Next time, maybe the engineers will give you an engine upgrade to fight back with.
The mid-size Camry TRD is a sexy beast, but, to be honest, I would have preferred a pocket rocket.
Something to compete against the compact Honda Civic Type R hot hatch, VW Golf GTI and Subaru WRX. Toyota had that chance with the wee Corolla XSE that I tested last year. Painted in eye-searing Blue Flame with hot wheels and a boomerang grille, the hatchback had all the elements to be a contender — except a driveline.
Toyota was content to make the XSE a head-turning trim version of the volume-selling compact with the same 168-horse hamster wheel underneath. A manual made it fun to drive, but it’s hardly in the league of a Golf GTI.
Like XSE, Camry TRD also uses standard Camry equipment rather than stepping up to a unique driveline the way the Civic Type R does with its 306-horse turbocharged-4 or GTI’s wonderful 220-horse turbo-4. At least Toyota stuffed Camry with the model’s more powerful option — the 3.5-liter V-6 and not the standard 2.5-liter, 4-cylinder sewing machine.
The TRD may not belch flames — but with 301 ponies under the hood and an exterior that rivals the Subaru WRX STI for outrageousness, it’ll have to do.
After picking up my pride — and restoring the Camry’s doors that had been blown off by the Merc-AMG — I continued down Woodward, but with more humility. A 550-horsepower, 2011 Mustang GT500 sauntered by. I didn’t even try to provoke him. Then a 365-horse BMW M2. No mas.
But then a 300-horse, 2007 Subaru WRX STI blew by me. I took the bait.
This was more in the TRD’s wheelhouse. Sure, the third-generation, compact-class Subie had all-wheel drive and was lighter by 200 pounds, but the mid-size Camry is 13 years newer with a modern, 8-speed automatic transmission and more tire. Oh, it was on.
The rowdy ’Ru properly led me into a Michigan turn. We rolled northbound on Woodward. He slowed so I could tuck under his rear bumper. Then we floored it.
The rolling start helped me put the power down through the front wheels in order to keep up with the instant grip of his AWD. As he rowed his stick shift, I kept my foot buried as the smooth-shifting, auto 8-speed did its thing. Nearly a dead heat with the Subaru pulling away at 60. A later check of car specs confirmed the STI does 0-60 mph in 5.2 seconds versus my TRD’s 5.6.
The Camry is vanilla no more. Make mine cherry red with hot fudge sauce on top.
That sweetness carried into the twisties of northern Oakland County which I explored later that day. When the current-gen Camry debuted in 2018 it was noticeably tighter than its predecessor. TRD turns that inherent goodness up a notch. While there were no Subies to harass, the sporty Camry was surprisingly good through the curves.
Seems that Dr. Akio Frankenstein dragged the Camry into his basement lab and swapped in stiffer springs, updated shocks and larger-diameter anti-roll bars for an increase in TRD’s resistance to body roll by 44% in front, 67% in back. The gym-training didn’t stop there.
The TRD adds stiffer underbody braces and a V-brace behind the rear seats to keep that butt firm. Heck, even the custom-to-TRD, matte-black, 19-inch hoofs are three pounds lighter than the standard 19-inchers.
That’s a lot of engineering effort not to add a more capable engine — though I’m not sure there are more capable V-6s in Toyota’s stable. The twin-turbo, 354-horse, twin-motor hybrid unit out of the Lexus LS would be pricey and the wonderful, 335-horse inline-6 in the Supra is, well, a BMW product.
So Toyota makes the Camry TRD attractive the old-fashioned way: affordability.
My tester was $32,950. That’s right, just $33K.
That’s the same price as a much smaller 220-horse GTI, for example. Honey, I grew the pocket rocket. Which comes with certain advantages like more rear seat room. Typical of Asian automakers these days, Camry TRD also comes stuffed with standard features to complement its bodacious exterior: auto high beams, auto pre-collision braking, auto lane assist, adaptive cruise control.
The real thing — not the cheap adaptive cruise I had in a recent $67,000 Sequoia that turned off under 30 mph. Whoa, bessy! Toyota is learning fast, and that includes standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto navigation which you’d have to pay extra for on an Alfa Guilia Quadrifoglio costing twice a much.
Speaking of twice as much, I parked the Camry next to a $60,000 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat in Birmingham and the owner came out of his store to check it out. “What is that?” he said. If Camry is getting the attention of Hellcat owners, it’s doing something right. Naturally, he wanted to know what was under the hood.
I fired up the Camry with a rumble and he gave a thumbs up. But I didn’t challenge him to a drag race.
2020 Toyota Camry TRD
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front-wheel drive, 5-passenger sedan
Price: $31,995, including $955 destination charge ($32,950 as tested)
Powerplant: 3.5-liter V-6
Power: 301 horsepower, 267 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 5.8 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 135 mph
Weight: 3,572 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA 22 city/ 31 highway/ 25 combined
Report card
Highs: Cool black trim; pocket rocket specs with mid-size roominess
Lows: Polarizing front grille; more power, please
Overall: 3 stars
Payne: As California battle rages, Tesla celebrates Michigan win with its first store
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 14, 2020
Clarkston — The Tesla Inc. big top is open for business in Michigan.
The Silicon Valley automaker has opened its first service center in Michigan since the state overturned its ban on Tesla sales and service in January. The Tesla service center is located off Interstate 75 on Dixie Highway just west of downtown Clarkston in a former Chrysler-Jeep dealership.
Tesla’s raised profile in Michigan comes at a time when the company has been front and center in the COVID-19 shutdown wars for defying California’s Alameda County and re-opening its manufacturing facility there in Fremont. Long a darling of the green left for its embrace of environmentally-friendly electric cars, Tesla’s defiant stance on the Michigan and California fronts has made it a hero to free-marketers on the right as well.
Noted Lansing economic consulting firm, the Anderson Economic Group, has found itself on both sides of the barbed wire against Tesla in recent months. After arguing on behalf of dealer bodies that Tesla could not sell directly to customers in states like Michigan, AEG provided crucial fodder this week for Tesla’s California reopening. They found Alameda County COVID cases were substantially lower than those in similar auto manufacturing areas where plants have been authorized to reopen.
Tesla’s Clarkston location offers Michigan Tesla owners their first service location in the state. Previously, Tesla owners had to take their car to Toledo, Cleveland, or Chicago where Tesla was approved under state law. Customers also had the option of scheduling Tesla mobile units to come to their homes which can often take weeks.
Tesla Clarkston will also eventually open a showroom — windows are festooned with signs reading “COMING SOON” — so customers can browse Tesla’s lineup of Model 3 and S sedans and X and Y SUVs.
Under Michigan’s previous Tesla ban, enacted by Gov. Rick Snyder in 2014, Tesla employees were prohibited from assisting in any sale of a vehicle. Now employees will be able to assist in test drives, price discussions, and other sales activities. However, purchased cars must still be sold outside the state and delivered to customers who can then transfer the title in state.
Michigan had been one of 16 states to bar Tesla sales and service under dealer pressure. But Tesla has endeared itself to green politicians over the years, including the Obama administration which provided a crucial $465 million loan to the electric automaker during the depths of the Great Recession to keep it afloat.
That green cred appealed to incoming Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state Attorney General Dana Nessel who, in their settlement allowing Tesla stores, applauded the company’s “stated mission of accelerating the world’s transition to electric vehicles for the good of the environment.”
Free marketers also applauded the sales ban lift, and Musk’s defiance of Alameda County’s shutdown order has warmed conservatives’ heart, too. In this month’s earnings call with investors, he condemned California’s shutdown orders as “fascist” and said “it’s breaking people’s freedoms in ways that are horrible and wrong and not why they came to America or built this country.”
The conservative Wall Street Journal editorial page applauded Tesla’s move this week: “You can understand Mr. Musk’s frustration when Alameda County officials have allowed pot shops to stay open while shuttering his Tesla plant though the company has developed protocols to protect workers. Other governors including Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer have given the green light to auto plants run by Tesla’s competitors.”
Musk’s resistance has inspired businesses across the country in the shutdown reports the Associated Press. A “Stand with Tesla Freedom Rally” was organized for Fremont, California, Wednesday.
There were no signs of resistance at the Clarkston service center, however, as service members diligently worked through their caseload of EVs.
Tesla’s California pushback — and push into Michigan — come at a crucial time for the company: it has just begun production of its Model Y crossover which is sure to top its popular Model 3 sedan as the brand’s best-selling model.
Payne: Experts say Tesla has turned the corner on quality
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 14, 2020
Auburn Hills-based Munro & Associates took a 2020 Tesla Model Y into their shop and disassembled it piece by piece in order to assess technology and quality.
It seems that Tesla Inc. quality is catching up to its technology.
Quality issues have dogged the Silicon Valley automaker even as it has become one of the most coveted brands in the luxury market. Under the microscope as the new kid on the block, its fit and finish issues have lagged its foreign and domestic peers.
But as its all-new, $50,000, 2020 Model Y compact crossover comes to market, the electric automaker is not only getting familiar praise for its performance — it’s getting strange new respect from some of its loudest quality control critics.
More: Payne: Tesla Model Y charges luxury SUV market with roomy SUV version of its Model 3
Credit a culture of innovation and a deep bench of some of America’s best engineers, said Sandy Munro, CEO of Auburn Hills-based Munro & Associates, who has watched Tesla grow with a critical eye. He said the automaker’s investment in top talent cast off by Detroit and NASA during the Great Recession of 2008-2009 has paid dividends.
They have had good people for a long time,” said Munro, who runs one of the world’s premier industrial benchmarking companies. Tesla CEO Elon Musk “hired the cream of the crop and brought them back (to California) and listened to what they had to say. Under the skin was done really well … by these geniuses they picked up from NASA and the Detroit area. They don’t just have Silicon Valley guys — they cherry-picked the world.”
And now the skin is getting attention, too.
After dis-assembling a Model 3 in 2018, Munro declared that the electric sedan had “flaws we would see on a Kia in the ’90s” — a pointed reference to the cheap quality of early Korean entries in the U.S. market.
After taking apart a Model Y this spring, Munro has changed his tune. “It’s a well-designed car,” he said in an interview. “It’s so much better than the Model 3 — no comparison in fit and finish. They are miles apart.”
An auto manufacturing veteran and leading expert in integrated product development, Munro says Tesla still lags in some areas. But it has made a quantum leap from Kia ‘90s standard to the 21st century.
“Fit and finish right now is not the best — but is not the worst either,” he said. His engineering team will ultimately give the car a full grading. “My guess is it’ll will come out a 7-7 ½, something like that. Whereas a Bentley would be classified as a 9-9 1/2. So, you’re looking at something that’s now right in the middle.”
Quality issues have plagued Tesla over the last decade as its Fremont, California, plant sought to be innovative at the same time it rushed to bring cars to market to meet overwhelming demand. Tales of yawning panel gaps, blank screens and failed doors dogged its Model S, X, and 3 creations.
Consumer Reports — widely referenced for its reliability ratings — has given Tesla mixed reviews over the years. The Model 3, for example, has been on and off its recommended reliability list. For 2020, the customer guide rates the model 4th best in class out of 11 cars with only Lexus, Genesis and Audi superior. The Lexus IS topped the list at 84% reliability rating, Tesla came in at 59% while the BMW 3-Series and Alfa Romeo Giulia lagged last at 20% and 13% respectively.
Its critics have been fierce — and high profile.
The sentiment began to change last summer when ex-General Motors product guru Bob Lutz, a frequent critic of Tesla who has declared the company “doomed,” spied a Model 3 in an Ann Arbor parking lot.
“I was eager to see the oft-reported sloppy assembly work, the poor-fitting doors, blotchy paint, and other manifestations of … Musk’s ‘production hell,’” he wrote in Road and Track magazine. Lutz was pleasantly surprised at the 2019 model.
“Not only was the paint without any discernible flaw, but the various panels formed a body of precision that was beyond reproach. Gaps from hood to fenders, doors to frame, and all the others appeared to be perfectly even. This Model 3 measured up.”
The improvements in the Model 3 seemed a bridge to the Model Y, which — though containing the same fundamental chassis, battery and electronics as the tech-savvy Model 3 — has made significant changes to its architecture.
In an exhaustive, 37-part series of videos on the “Munro Live” YouTube channel, Munro and his engineering team tore down the Model Y module-by-panel. While Munro marvels at the state-of-the-art electronics and electric motor (largely unchanged from the Model 3) that he says are generations ahead of the industry, he meticulously cataloged Tesla’s quality upgrades.
Among the advances was consistent riveting, modular door construction, and trunk aluminum casting — efficient manufacturing processes Munro recommends.
“When I saw the Tesla 3 I was really, really unhappy with the way they did the back end,” said Munro on YouTube. “I saw hundreds of parts that shouldn’t have been there.”
The Model Y has reduced that construction monstrosity — Munro estimates it required 100 parts -— to two essential aluminum castings totaling about 30 parts when assembled: “They have done a phenomenal job,” he said, “and I love it.”
Tesla hasn’t solved all its issues. In late 2018, as Tesla tried to fill hundreds of thousands of orders for its popular, $40,000 Model 3, The Detroit News learned that about 20,000 models with a variety of paint blemishes piled up outside its Fremont factory. So flawed was the paint process that an outside company was brought in to buff sand the clear-coat while Tesla fixed its plant.
The plant has been reconditioned, but Munro says the paint finish still needs work. “Paint is still crap. I really don’t like it,” he said. “They really need to do something about that.”
Tesla declined to comment. Still, such details haven’t deterred consumers who have made Tesla the fourth best-selling luxury maker in the U.S. with 9.8% market share despite only offering three models. Its fourth, the Model Y, is expected to be its top seller. By comparison, BMW tops the market with 14.3% share selling 16 models.
Dick Amacher is a former GM engineer who worked in the late 1990s on then-General Motors Corp.’s first, 1990s electric car, the EV1 — a precursor to today’s Chevy Bolt EV. But when it came to buying his first electric car, he chose a Model 3. Impressed, he has also purchased a Model Y SUV.
“I had absolutely no problems with Model 3,” he said in an interview, but had a coolant leak in his Model Y from a new heat pump not used in the sedan. “It’s a new design and has certain amount of innovation in it.”
Pickup truck sales rebound to pre-pandemic levels
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 8, 2020
The coronavirus outbreak may have thrown millions onto unemployment rolls and shut down businesses across the nation, but people still need pickup trucks for their jobs. Sales of trucks in the United States have bounced back to pre-pandemic levels.
Ford, Chevrolet, GMC and Ram dominate the U.S. truck market, and pickups have led a broad recovery of autos since the sales trough in late March. After falling by one-fourth the week of March 29, truck sales rebounded quickly. About 24,500 trucks were sold last week — just 1% off pre-virus forecasts.
That boost has helped defy predictions that overall vehicle sales would crater by 80%. According to J.D. Power, overall retail sales have been on the upswing for five straight weeks, with sales off only 38% last week from predicted, pre-virus levels.
But the demand has eaten into truck inventory levels, which are now half their normal levels with production idled across North America. When plants of Detroit automakers begin reopening May 18, automakers say their first priority is to rebuild supplies of those trucks that have been so beneficial to their bottom lines.
“While there is considerable uncertainty around future demand for new vehicles, one certainty is that manufacturers need to replenish heavily depleted stocks of large pickup trucks,” said Thomas King, J.D. Power’s president of data and analytics. “Pickup truck production will be a focus for all manufacturers because of their depleted inventories and the major contribution that pickups make to manufacturer revenues and profit.”
To accelerate truck sales, manufacturers have offered 0% percent financing, seven-year loan terms and record incentives — $5,000 per sale on average — to move their best-selling, most-profitable products. With sales approaching normal levels, Ram has been the first to dial back truck incentives.
Park Cities Ford in Dallas reopened its showroom in late April with social-distancing measures in place. Unlike Michigan, Texas dealerships never shut down completely and maintained sales through appointments and online. Truck sales are strong and the dealership is carefully monitoring declining inventories that are down to two months versus the usual three to four months.
“Inventories haven’t hit red-alert yet,” said Park Cities General Manager Greg Tomlin. “But if plants don’t open back up soon it will be a real problem for us. We stock a lot of pickups, but it’s also Explorer and Escape inventories that have us concerned.”
Truck sales have boosted average transaction prices to a near-record $35,700. And they pushed the market share of Detroit automakers to 43% compared to 37% before the pandemic.
The stampede for pickups has depleted once-healthy inventories. According to J.D.l Power, truck inventory levels normally average 103 days; they are expected to be down to 68 days by the end of this month and remain there for most of the summer.
“I’ve reviewed the inventory across all of our regions at the end of April. I have not seen inventory levels that low for — well, I can’t remember when,” Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley said on a Tuesday earnings call. “When you get down to that level of inventory… you’re bound to be running short of certain high-volume truck configurations. But what it does mean is that we bring our plants up with a much higher level of dealer orders than people maybe expect.”
To meet demand, automakers will be prioritizing truck production as their plants come back on line.
“Dealers have done an exceptionally good job of selling from a low inventory base. But I would say that as we open back up here, prioritizing trucks and getting them out remains our priority among other vehicle lines,” General Motors Co. CFO Dhivya Suryadevara said in an earnings call Wednesday. “That’s what we’re going to prioritize.”
Ford’s F-series pickups are perennially the best-selling vehicles in America. Four Ford plants, supported by 2,000-plus U.S. suppliers, are devoted to pickup manufacturing that employs 19,000 workers.
“The F-series,” said Ford Motor Co. Chief Operating Officer Jim Farley, “will be critical in rebuilding our economy.”
Payne: Tesla charges luxury SUV market with nimble, roomy crossover version of its Model 3
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 7, 2020
The Tesla Model Y began making deliveries to customers before California’s government shut down its Fremont manufacturing facilities. This Model Y is one of the first in Michigan. (Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)
If the Tesla Model Y were a movie it would be called “Honey, I Blew Up the Model 3.”
I managed to get my hands on one of the first Model Y crossovers in Michigan: It’s cool. It’s nimble. It’s a tall Model 3 with a hatchback.
It was also one of the first models to roll off Tesla’s Fremont assembly line before California’s government shut it down as a non-essential business in the COVID-19 economy. No wonder Tesla CEO Elon Musk is pointing fingers at “fascist” Gov. Gavin Newsom for keeping his manufacturing line shut down. The Model Y should be Tesla’s most popular vehicle yet.
I’ve owned two Tesla Model 3s, and the Model Y should put to rest any question as to why people crave SUVs. It’s not because they want to load their camping gear and ford streams for a weekend of camping. It’s because they want a higher seating position, easier ingress and egress, all-wheel drive for Michigan’s endless winters and a hatchback to load lotsa stuff into a big cargo bay.
The Model Y sits 6.6 inches off the ground — just an inch higher than my Model 3. But slide into the Model Y and the difference is apparent. The leather seats (apparently identical to the 3) sit on 6-inch thrones, raising the driver hip point to 24 inches above the road, compared to the Model 3’s 18 inches.
That added height is not only easier for cabin entry, it also makes for a more comfortable seating position. Your 6-foot-5 reviewer sat with his knees at a 90-degree angle to the pedals instead of a more bent 45 degrees in the Model 3. Other height proportions follow with the Y’s roof 7.2 inches taller than the Model 3.
Being an unreconstructed motorhead, I prefer sitting on the floor of a sedan for closer proximity to the road surface and lower center of gravity. But battery-powered cars have an inherent advantage over their gas-powered peers: The battery weight is all in the bottom of the car.
As a result, the Model Y still manages a very low center of gravity despite its taller stature. Clever beast.
That dynamic was immediately apparent when I flung the Model Y into an I-75 cloverleaf. With less head toss than even my handling-standard Mazda CX-5 SUV, the Model Y stuck like glue through the long, 180-degree arc. Like the Model 3, the Y’s steering is pleasingly planted, allowing me to feel the road and explore the ute’s envelope.
At the limit — tires chirping — the Model Y’s taller head and added 344 pounds of weight become apparent, but an SUV has no business handling like this. My long-suffering wife says I should warn passengers before such neck-wrenching maneuvers, but otherwise I can assure you they will be quite comfortable.
True to its SUV mission, the Model Y is bigger in every dimension than the 3. Indeed, its dimensions are bigger than anything else in class. Its cavernous, 68 cubic-feet of cargo room (with rear seats flattened) dwarfs class leaders like the Mercedes GLC (56 cubic feet) and Cadillac XT5 (63 cubes).
More rear improvements over the Model 3 include a whopping 5.3-inch bump in legroom (also best in class) and a more robust carpet for sliding in luggage. Lift the cargo floor and — voila! — a sub-trunk storage cavity mirroring the forward “frunk.” Will that be a footwell for a rear-facing, kid-friendly third-row seat in 2021 models?
That clever packing is thanks in part to manufacturing advances over the Model 3, including a rear aluminum casting. Tesla still trails industry standards in areas like body panel gaps, paint quality and heat-pump noise. But ask owners if they care.
The retired GM engineer played a key role in some of the General’s most ambitious endeavors, including its IndyCar engine program and its first EV1 electric vehicle. True to his roots, he first looked at buying a Chevy Bolt EV before being blown away by Tesla’s superior technology and charging infrastructure.
He was one of the first in line for the Model Y, ordering online after Musk took the wraps off a year ago. While Amacher awaited delivery he bought a Model 3.
He compares the Tesla ownership experience to an iPhone: It’s unlike anything else on the market. Sure enough, my Model Y tester had just received the latest over-the-air update from the mothership that enables its Autopilot self-driving system to see — and stop for — traffic lights.
That wow factor is not lost on the next generation as we shot pictures on Oakland University’s campus. A car full of college kids rolled by, cheering Silicon Valley’s latest. They knew exactly what it was.
The beta-test autonomous system is in keeping with Tesla’s pact with customers: If you’re nervous about pushing the limits of tech, mobile repair and charging infrastructure, then this isn’t the brand for you.
Different as Tesla is from its peers, it is similar on one respect: Its SUVs come with a price premium over its sedans. In the Model Y’s case, the added sheet metal and hatch add $3,000 compared to the Model 3.
It’s all packaged under Tesla’s signature tinted, panoramic roof. Integrated into the body structure, the roof has helped earn the Model 3 the government’s top safety rating. Inside, the Apple-simple interior design carries over from the Model 3. The console is dominated by a 15-inch touchscreen controlling most functions save for two multi-purpose buttons on the steering wheel. They govern everything from self-driving to voice commands. Tesla has the best voice-recognition system in the game, so I rarely touched the screen.
I won’t be trading in my Model 3 Performance for a Y. I like the lower seating position, the better rear visibility, the ludicrous 3.2 second zero-60 versus the Model Y’s insane 3.5-second acceleration.
But if you’re an SUV buyer, the Y is the 3 for you.
2020 Tesla Model Y
Vehicle type: Battery-powered, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger SUV
Price: $50,115, including $1,125 destination charge ($68,700 Performance model as tested)
Powerplant: Dual-motor AWD with lithium-ion battery pack
Power: 473 horsepower, 471 pound-feet torque (Performance est. as tested)
Transmission: 1-speed direct drive
Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.5 seconds (mfr.); top speed, 145 mph
Weight: 4,417 pounds
Range: 280-315 miles
Report card
Highs: Best-in-class interior room; unique user experience
Lows: Tesla reliability; unpredictable EV range in cold/heat and high interstate speeds
Overall: 4 stars
Payne: Affordable Nissan Sentra makes your pulse accelerate, until you hit the gas pedal
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 30, 2020
COVID-19 times are lean times. Toilet paper is priceless. Attorneys general are on the lookout for price-gouging.
They won’t need to waste their time at the Nissan dealership.
The loaded all-new compact Nissan Sentra SR Premium that I tested is $25,325. I’m not making that up. That includes sunroof, 18-inch alloy wheels, chrome grille, LED everything, floating black roof. Heated six-way automatic seats, heated steering wheel, automatic box, leatherette seats, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, adaptive cruise-control, blind-spot assist, automatic emergency-braking, stitched dash with Mercedes-style rotary air vents and tablet screen.
Just $25,000. I’m still not making this up.
I had the Sentra in my driveway next to a $63,000 2020 Audi S4 rocket ship. I couldn’t believe these two cars were $38,000 apart. The Audi was flirting with the Sentra, it was so hot. Maybe because Hollywood starlet Brie Larson pilots a Sentra in its new ad campaign — but there’s more to it than that.
The interior is so nice I don’t know what it’s doing in a mainstream compact. When Mercedes debuted its sexy new CLA sedan a few years back — the German luxury brand’s first $30,000 entry-level sedan — we auto reviewers asked: Where are the savings? It didn’t take us long to figure it out. The interior was subpar with ill-fitting panels and a tablet screen tacked to the dash.
Not the Sentra. The attention to detail here is remarkable, from the aforementioned orange stitching to the subtle carbon-fiber trim around the instrument display to the graceful dash lines that seamlessly cups the tablet screen. No gouging here, Attorney General Nessel.
Nissan has long been a value leader in automotive, but style? It’s never been my first choice.
Sure, the Japanese brand has had its moments. I’ve been a Nissan Z sports car fan since it was called the Datsun 240Z. I was just a West Virginia boy in the early ’70s when the Datsun hottie started showing up at the local autocrosses my father competed in. With a lusty shape modeled after the legendary Ferrari GTO and a growly, inline-six engine to match, I was entranced.
The 240Z eventually evolved into the equally sexy 1990 Nissan 300Z. And then there was the 2004 Maxima, Nissan’s full-size sedan hot-rod that combined Cadillac good looks with V-6 voom.
But like Nicolas Cage’s acting career, the Nissan highlights have been few and far between.
With buyers eyeballing boxy, utilitarian, subcompact crossovers, however, Nissan has turned the designers loose on its car lineup. If the midsize Altima doesn’t flip your switch you need to get your switch checked, and the Sentra is better looking than the Altima. The purpose of this is not just to make pretty things, but because of the chance to hook entry-level buyers in a market abandoned by Detroit automakers.
The Mazda 3 is a $25,000 sculpted masterpiece that just beat out the $150,000 Porsche Taycan for World Car Design of the Year. The Mazda adds Michigan-friendly all-wheel drive to match the Subaru Impreza, which also has stepped up its style game. The always handsome Volkswagen Jetta has added value to its lineup with a new model that promises standard features just like Japanese automakers. Even Toyota’s Corolla has become easy on the eyes.
And watch out for Hyundai’s new Elantra. Though its spectacular Los Angeles debut was overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic, the little Korean is a rolling wonder with more angles than a Frank Gehry building.
But the big dog in the compact segment is the Honda Civic. Honda’s best-selling retail compact offers a dizzying array of models, not to mention important features like a configurable center console and sporty ride. The latter is courtesy of the entry-level car being designed with top-end performance badges like the Type R and Si in mind — hellions that will make you consider moving to Hell, Michigan, just so you have Michigan’s best roads at your doorstep.
To compete with the Civic, the formerly homely Sentra had to rely on rental fleets to find sales. But with its new bod, the Sentra deserves a look at the dealer as well. It’s so good looking it almost made me forget that the Sentra is not offered in hatchback form, my favorite dress for compact hatches.
If you’re looking for a hatchback, the Civic Sport, Mazda 3 and VW Golf are where you should be shopping. But if sedans are your thing, the Sentra now is in the hunt for more reasons than just price.
True to its value roots, the Sentra comes in a whopping $1,600 cheaper than a new Civic LS even as it offers standard goodies like that 7-inch infotainment screen, blind-spot assist and automatic high-beams.
The question is whether you’ll want to come back to the Sentra drivetrain day after day.
In my driveway, this was where the Audi started to snicker — and not because the S4 had 200 more horsepower than the Sentra’s meager 149.
Mated to a continuously variable transmission, the Sentra’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder is uninspired. The Sentra’s all-new chassis is ready and willing, but the engine shouted as if in protest whenever I floored it out of corners. Compare that to the Civic’s 174-horse 1.5-liter turbo, which — though also mated to a CVT — is always ready to play with punchy, 162 pound-feet of low-end torque.
Sentra’s four-banger doesn’t even allow you to claim virtue while putting up with its lack of excitement. Despite giving up 15% horsepower to the Civic, it lags by 12% in fuel economy: 32 mpg versus 36.
Highway cruising is more in Sentra’s wheelhouse, where I could engage adaptive cruise, settle back into the leatherette seats and contemplate the $1,000 I was saving in the Nissan’s luxurious confines. That inner sanctum includes a back seat that matches the Civic’s once class-leading 37.4 inches. That’s two more inches than the $63,000 Audi S4.
Who’s snickering now?
2020 Nissan Sentra
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front-wheel drive, 5-passenger sedan
Price: $20,015, including $925 destination charge ($25,325 SR Premium model as tested)
Powerplant: 2.0-liter four-cylinder
Power: 149 horsepower, 146 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: CVT
Performance: 0-60 mph, 9.2 seconds (Car and Driver)
Weight: 3,084 pounds as tested
Fuel economy: EPA 28 city/ 37 highway/ 32 combined (SR as tested)
Report card
Highs: Hot looks; bargain price
Lows: Needs more power, oh, that CVT drone
Overall: 3 stars
Rochester Hills’ Prefix Corp. retools from race engines to face shields
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 30, 2020
Before the COVID-19 crisis, Rochester Hills-based Prefix Corp. was looking forward to making race engines this spring for the Detroit Grand Prix Trans Am support races.
Instead, it’s making medical devices for first responders, hospitals and other businesses.
The 40-year-old firm is evidence that America’s massive “Arsenal of Health” mobilization to fight World War C has swept up Metro Detroit firms big and small. In addition to automotive giants like General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., pandemic demand has transformed Prefix’s plants in Rochester Hills and Auburn Hills from making engines and auto prototypes into assembly lines for face shields and face masks. It’s even making “foot pulls” that allow doors to be opened hands-free, thereby eliminating the necessity to touch potentially contaminated door hardware.
“We’ve always been considered a solutions company,” Prefix Vice President Jhan Dolphin said. “We’ve prided ourselves in being able to meet unusual challenges with often very unrealistic deadlines. So when the world changed rapidly as this COVID-19 issue happened, we had people within the organization that said, ‘Hey, I’m not going home. What can we do to make a difference?’”
Innovation and quick turnarounds for years have made Prefix a go-to company for automakers and performance customers. That ability — and its access to materials, suppliers and technology — allowed it to turn pivot quickly.
Prefix retooled to make critical devices in March, and by April 12 had already delivered 50,000 face shields.
“We’re the company that OEMs come to, whether it’s automotive or aviation or other industries when they want that first design — that new product to be built for the first time,” said Dolphin. “It’s a very unique operation, there are very few companies in the world that do what we do.”
The nimble capabilities have been seen across the auto manufacturing world among household names including GM, which has transformed its Warren Transmission plant to make face masks, and its Kokomo operations in Indiana to make ventilators. In Mexico, Volkswagen has partnered with supplier Faurecia to produce hundreds of masks and gowns for hard-hit communities like New York City. And in England, Mercedes-Benz’s high-performance AMG division is delivering CPAP devices to British patients.
Prefix may not be a household name to consumers. But Prefix’s big Auburn Hills paint facility paints the Ford GT supercar. Before Dodge discontinued its Dodge Viper, the Prefix plant painted it as well.
So speedy has the Arsenal of Health been in ramping up a mass medical device production that Prefix has struggled to find needed materials. With deliveries by April 25 topping 90,000, the company has been ordering thousands of pounds of plastics and other materials.
“It’s starting to get tough to get certain materials,” said Dolphin. “Elastic, for example, has become somewhat scarce. But our team won’t be told no.”
In addition to supplying critical protective gear for hospitals in Michigan, Illinois and Ohio, as well as sheriff departments, dentist offices and funeral homes, Prefix’s contribution to the COVID-19 battle has also been an elixir for Prefix’s employees.
“It’s important for them mentally to say ‘I’m doing something every day to make a difference,’” said Dolphin. “(They’re) doing something positive to help others. It’s cool to see.”
Working on the lines has been a voluntary decision. Prefix has made sure its work spaces are safe. Task have been spread across its four facilities.
“(We’ve) been able to set up small production facilities and make sure the distancing and cleanliness is kept,” said Dolphin. “People are showing up with ambulances and we’re filling them with face shields so they can be delivered around the area.”
Prefix is disappointed that the Detroit Grand Prix has been canceled for 2020. This year the Trans Am series was set to play a significant supporting role to the IndyCar main event – both with professional TA2 races as well as vintage races featuring Trans Am classics driven by legends like Lyn St. James.
In addition to providing the engines for the Chevy, Ford and Dodge muscle cars in the TA2 field, Prefix sponsors the No. 40 Dodge Challenger that won the TA2 title last year with Michigan racer Mark Miller behind the wheel.
“(It’s) a punch in the gut that we can’t do that this year. Being involved with Trans Am has been a big source of pride for us,” said Doplhin. “A lot of us are racers at Prefix. We are big fans of go-fast machines.”
Suiting its quick-turn prototyping ability, Prefix has expanded its performance division to so-called restomods: classic cars gutted and updated with modern technology and engines.
Some of that work continues as Prefix engineers work from home. But the same processes — tooling, stamping, water-jet cutting, CAD computers, 3D printing — necessary to build the wheels, interiors and electronics for, say, a concept car are now suited to staying open as an essential business making medical equipment and foot pulls for doors.
As Prefix’s regular clients reopen across the country, Dolphin said everybody is ready to get back to its usual work.
“It’s obviously going to take some time,” he said. “I have every bit of confidence that it will come back strong.”
Payne: Corvette C8 to get three high-performance trims — but expect delays
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 28, 2020
The mid-engine Chevy Corvette C8 is the most capable ‘Vette ever. You ain’t seen nothing yet.
General Motors Co. is planning to introduce three high-performance cyborgs in the next few years, according to insiders familiar with the plans who weren’t authorized to speak and a GM note to suppliers that was obtained by The Detroit News.
Those performance variants include a 1,000-horsepower, all-wheel drive, hybrid hypercar expected to be designated Zora. The model is named after Zora Arkus-Duntov, the legendary “godfather of the Corvette” who developed the first mid-engine Corvette prototype back in 1960. That’s in addition to the Z06 and ZR1 variants featured on past front-engine models.
Each car will introduce Corvette’s first-ever dual-overhead cam, flat-plane crank engines, the 5.5-liter LT6 and LT7. Compared to the traditional push-rod small-block V-8 in the standard C8 — and the previous, front-engine generation — the new design allows the engine to breathe better and spin to higher revs. The technology is found in some Ferraris supercars.
The LT6 scheduled for the Z06 is normally aspirated, according to industry sources. The LT7 variant for the ZR1 gains twin turbochargers for more horsepower, they say. The engines are similar to the high-revving V-8 found in the Corvette C8.R race cars that debuted at Daytona last January.
The mid-mounted LT7 is expected be mated with an electric motor up front in the Zora hypercar to give it an extra boost totaling up to 1,000 horsepower that’s channeled through all-wheel drive, industry sources say.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that, according to GM’s note to suppliers, the performance models will be indefinitely delayed due to the coronavirus crisis. The Z06 was originally scheduled for model year 2022, the ZR1 for 2024, and the Zora for 2025. The delay has also impacted other GM vehicle programs including refreshes on pickups, Chevrolet SUVs, Cadillac V-series Blackwing models and the electric Chevy Bolt hatchback.
A GM spokesperson had no comment on the company’s Corvette plans. On production delays, a statement from the automaker said: “As you would expect under these unprecedented circumstances, all of our development teams are looking for opportunities to conserve resources. We are not canceling any programs, but we are making some adjustments.”
Corvette Z06
The 5.5-liter LT6 engine that debuts in the Z06 will be distinguished by its Ferrari-like shriek thanks to that new dual-overhead cam, flat-plane crank powerplant that’s expected to spin at up to 8,000 rpms. That shriek was heard at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in January aboard the C8.R race cars that finished fourth and seventh. The LT6 is similar to the 5.5-liter engine in the C8.R that is restricted to 500 horsepower by IMSA sports-car racing rules.
Those rules require that the race engine appear in a production car, which News sources say are the performance variants. One source expects the Z06 engine to make about 650 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque.
The modern LT6 is an advance forward for a badge that has heretofore used push-rod engine technology shared with V-8 Chevy trucks. The standard 490-horsepower C8 on sale now is equipped with an updated version of the push-rod V-8 called the LT2.
The last-generation front-engine Corvette C7 drew its power from a 6.2-liter LT1 V-8 that developed 460 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. The Z06 and ZR1 versions of the C7 were powered by LT4 and LT5 engines making 650 and 755 horsepower respectively.
The 2020 Corvette stickers for $59,995 and has sold out until the 2021 model year. In addition to the high-performance Z06, ZR1, and Zora models, the standard C8 is due for a track-focused, 2023 Grand Sport model with a similar LT2 engine.
The last-generation front-engine Z06 started at $81,775.
Corvette ZR1
Originally due in model-year 2024 before delays, the ZR1 will be stuffed with the LT7 V-8 which adds twin turbochargers to the 5.5-liter LT6 for more power, industry sources say. The LT7 puts to rest rumors that a variant of Cadillac’s 4.2-liter V-8 Blackwing engine — orphaned by the Cadillac CT6-V, which has ceased production — would find its way into the Corvette.
The LT7 is expected to put out about 850 horsepower and 825 pound-feet of torque. It will be mated to the same dual-clutch Tremec automatic transmission found in the standard C8 and the Z06, according to the supplier note. The Tremec is Corvette’s first quick-shifting dual-clutch transmission.
The previous front-engine ZR-1 achieved its 755 horses with a supercharger.
Zora
The long-rumored hypercar is real according to sources, and was initially scheduled for 2025 before delays. When the News broke news of a mid-engine Corvette in 2016, sources said electrification was a key factor in moving the engine rearward so the sports car could take advantage of rapidly evolving hybrid-electric capabilities found in European supercars.
Meant to honor the engineer whose mid-engine dream was finally realized 70 years after it was first conceived, the Zora is expected to dial in an estimated 1,000 horsepower and 975 pound-feet of torque, according to one source. The twin-turbo LT7 will achieve its added power thanks to the electric motor mounted up front.
In concert with an all-wheel drive system to better maintain traction, the combination should make for under face-flattening zero-60 launches.
The 900-horsepower club is rare air, occupied by limited-production, million-dollar-plus hybrid hypercars like the Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1 and Koenigsegg Regera.
In line with the C8’s “affordable supercar” mantra, expect the Zora to match its European competition with similar performance and state-of-the-art interior technology for a much lower price.
Electric Mustang Cobra Jet dragster fries the quarter-mile
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 24, 2020
Run silent, run fast.
Ford introduced its first-ever electric dragster Friday, the Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 prototype, as the pony sub-brand expands its cred in the battery-powered world. The 1,400-horsepower Cobra Jet will stealthily shred a quarter-mile drag strip in just over 8 seconds, said Ford, while hitting a top speed of 170 mph.
Similar to Chevrolet’s eCOPO Camaro electric dragster, the Cobra Jet 1400 is expected to do exhibition runs this fall at National Hot Rod Association drag meets. The eCOPO has clocked a 9.8-second quarter-mile. Electric dragsters are an anomaly in NHRA where fans congregate to see ground-shaking, flame-throwing gas beasts do battle.
The Cobra Jet 1400 comes in a year when Mustang will deliver its first-ever electric production vehicle, the Mach E, as it goes head-to-head with the Tesla Model Y in the compact SUV space.
“Ford has always used motorsport to demonstrate innovation,” said Ford icons global chief Dave Pericak. “Electric powertrains give us a completely new kind of performance and the all-electric Cobra Jet 1400 is one example of pushing new technology to the absolute limit.”
Cobra Jet is a familiar name to drag-racing fans as Ford’s customer offering in the NHRA Factory Stock class since 1968. Most recently, Ford introduced the 5.2-liter, 1,000-plus horsepower 2018 Mustang Cobra Jet to honor the car’s 50th anniversary. The gas-powered Jet competes against other fossil-fueled beasts like cross-town rivals Chevrolet Camaro COPO and Dodge Challenger Drag Pack.
Notably, the Cobra Jet EVs specs are close to its gas sister which holds the NHRA Factory stock quarter-mile record of 7.7 seconds at 176 mph.
Credit the electric dragster’s eye-popping 1,100-plus pound feet of electric torque. The production Tesla Model S is notorious for causing dizziness under acceleration, so immediate is its 723-torque launches. The Cobra Jet is sure to cause more brain pain.
“This project was a challenge for all of us at Ford Performance, but a challenge we loved jumping into,” said Ford Performance Motorsports director Mark Rushbrook. “We saw the Cobra Jet 1400 project as an opportunity to start developing electric powertrains in a race car package that we already had a lot of experience with, so we had performance benchmarks we wanted to match and beat right now.”
The electric dragster is sure to give onlookers a break from the ear-drum rattling noise of gas rocket ships. That is, if it can find an open drag strip this fall. The NHRA season is currently under COVID-19 shutdown and local Michigan drag strips like Milan have locked their gates to racing.
When the ‘Stang does hit the strip, it will have its sights on the Camaro eCOPO that Chevy introduced in 2018. Chevy, too, is determined to advance its electric bona fides with the Chevy Bolt EV.
The eCOPO’s battery drivetrain boasts more than 700 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque. Chevrolet posted a 9.8-second quarter-mile last year. If the new Mustang performs as well as Ford says it does, it could break the National Electric Drag Racing Association (separate from the NHRA) stock record set by drag racer Patrick McCue, whose modified “Shock and Awe” dragster broke the tape at 8.3 seconds at 166 mph.
For now the Cobra Jet 1400 is a one-off exhibition car with no plans for customer deliveries like the $130,000 gas-powered Cobra Jet.
Ahead of the Cobra Jet 1400’s dragstrip debut this fall, fans can catch a sneak peek April 26 on MotorTrend On Demand’s “Hard Cell,” a showcase for innovative EVs.
2020 Detroit Grand Prix poster contest winner honors a race-less year
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 23, 2020
There won’t be a Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear in 2020, but there will be a Grand Prix poster.
The annual poster has been a collector’s item since 1982 when the Grand Prix began as a Formula One race through the streets of Detroit and has continued as the event moved to Belle Isle under the IndyCar banner. For the eighth year, the winner was selected in a Grand Prix contest from designs created by students at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.
Everett Robinson II, a 20-year-old Detroiter studying Illustration, designed this year’s winning entry. It’s a keeper.
In an explosive rendering, Robinson’s winning entry features multi-colored race cars screaming toward the viewer leaving a blur of green trees and red-and-white curbing in their wake.
“It’s odd that we’re not going to have a Grand Prix this year,” said the soft-spoken artist who remembers first visiting Belle Isle with his father for driving lessons. “I hope the poster can be a distraction from what is going on at the moment. It’s a bit of escapism. It tries to imagine what the Grand Prix drivers feel when they go at the speeds they do.”
More: ‘We have to be careful’: Grand Prix’s ‘Dr. D’ sees COVID-19 on front lines at Detroit Receiving
In a historic year in which coronavirus has impacted every major sporting event, the poster is proof the Detroit GP – and its charitable ambitions – won’t be forgotten.
Robinson’s artwork will be refined over the next few days for publication and then produced in a limited run of official 2020 posters. They will be available in May for purchase for $25 online via the Grand Prix’s official merchandise partner, Made in Detroit, as well as the event’s official website, DetroitGP.com.
Proceeds from the sale of the posters will be dedicated to COVID-19 relief efforts, continuing the Grand Prix’s charitable traditions that have brought millions of dollars to Belle Isle.
“The tentacles that the Grand Prix reaches run very wide and deep,” said Detroit GP chairman Bud Denker. “First, the impact to Belle Isle. Having the Grand Prix on (there) has allowed us to invest over $13.5 million in the Belle Isle Park the last 12 years. Having the Grand Prix allows us to give the Belle Isle Conservancy almost $6 million.
“That’s not going to happen this year. That money goes away.”
But the poster will do its part. The proceeds will be distributed via the United Way for Southeastern Michigan COVID-19 Community Response Fund, which provides pandemic relief in numerous ways – including food distribution to students affected by shuttered schools and assistance for health and human service agencies.
Robinson will be the recipient of a scholarship award – as will the second- and third-place winners: Josh Rose and Zijao Liu, both juniors in the CCS illustration program. Andrea Slomczenski and Ashley Neagle rounded out the five finalists chosen from the CCS Digital Illustration class entries.
In keeping with the state’s shelter-in-place order, the judging for this year’s contest was conducted online via a Zoom meeting. The students submitted their designs before April 6, when the decision was announced to cancel this year’s Grand Prix, originally scheduled for May 29-31.
Th eight-person judging panel included Denker, Grand Prix president Michael Montri, GM industrial design manager Stuart Cooper, Lear senior marketing specialist Claudette Kaado, WDIV-TV sports reporter/anchor Jamie Edmonds, Detroit Free Press assistant sports editor Ryan Ford, CCS Illustration Department chair Don Kilpatrick, and the author of this article. Detroit Grand Prix fans also weighed in by voting their choice via social media.
“The poster competition with the talented students at CCS has become one of our favorite traditions of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix,” said Denker. “Even though we aren’t able to host the Grand Prix weekend on Belle Isle this year, we felt it important to carry on this tradition.”
The 2021 Grand Prix has already been confirmed when, if all goes well, race cars will again be streaking across Belle Isles landscape.
“We hope there is pent-up demand for it in 2021 when we bring it back bigger than ever,” said Denker.
Payne: Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio vs. Audi S4 is a clash of personalities
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 23, 2020
Anyone who doubts machines have personalities hasn’t driven the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio and Audi S4. Though they are both of the luxury performance sedan persuasion, they are as different as Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton. Ginger and Mary Ann. Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele.
They are as different as, well, Italian and Germans.
Luxe sedans may be taking a backseat to SUVs these days, but there is simply no segment more fun than compact cars. With superb new performance models like the Cadillac CT5-V, Tesla Model 3 Performance and Genesis G70 3.3T complementing stalwarts like the Alfa, S4, Mercedes C 43 AMG and BMW N340i, there has never been more choice for the enthusiast.
For 2020, the Alfa Romeo Giulia line has received significant interior upgrades — in particular a new touchscreen, self-driving and console features. To be honest, I didn’t know they were lacking.
That’s because the Giulia is a riot to drive.
Whether the base $39,840 Giulia, $45,000 Ti, or my tester — the $90,840 Quadrifoglio performance model — the Giulia is the best-handling car in class. Particularly now that its nimble peer, the Cadillac ATS, has been rebadged CT4 and shipped off to the sub-compact class.
When you’re nailing apexes, gulping straightaways and obliterating ess-curves, who has time to notice the console materials?
Naturally, I showed up at the gates of Hell (Michigan) to stretch Giulia’s legs on Michigan’s best roads. As distinct as three-headed Cerberus, the Italian features its signature Trilobo grille. Where the Audi is a tidy German businessman with pressed shirt and necktie, Alfa is a raging Fabio Fognini: brash, talented and attractive. Go ahead and stare at its sexy, phone-dial wheels.
Nail the throttle onto Hell’s Glenbrook Road and the 443 pound-feet of torque from the twin-turbo 505-horse turbo-6 — basically a Ferrari V-12 sawed in half — slews the rear end sideways. The quick-ratio steering wheel and athletic chassis absorb the moment without drama, and the red Alfa rockets forward into a series of ess-turns, carving them like a knife.
Though the 3,806-pound Giulia weighs about the same as the all-wheel drive Audi — and just 100 pounds less than the bigger Cadillac CT5-V — it feels lighter on its feet than its competitors. Having 150 more horsepower on tap helps, too.
I whipped the Caddy on these same roads just a week prior, and its athleticism impressed even though it’s 11 inches longer than the Giulia. GM’s engineers have done supreme work on that big compact. Inherently smaller, the Alfa is a Russell Westbrook to the Caddy’s LeBron James — as talented but able to change directions more quickly.
The engine is one of internal combustion’s great personalities. Crank the mode dial to Race and the bratty V-6 snorts on upshifts, backfires on downshifts and generally trash-talks its way through a spirited drive. It learned at the knee of its master, the delightfully rude 4C sports car.
The Audi is a more fitting dinner partner at the club. It sports a turbo-6 as well, but a very well-mannered one. Its meaty, 369 pound-feet of torque are delivered civilly, sounding more like an angry vacuum cleaner than the hounds of Hades.
Indeed, I wasn’t tempted to take the S4 to Hell after a couple of loops around Metro Detroit cloverleafs. The Audi is a straight-line rocket, but it doesn’t like to be pushed too hard. Its heavy, all-wheel-drive platform understeers easily and is generally averse to dancing on the limit.
Not the Giulia. In Dynamic mode — up a notch from the standard Natural — it wants to cut some rug. In Race mode it wants to set the rug on fire. Selecting Race requires an extra pause on the dial — as if the Alfa is asking: Are you sure?
The car noticeably quivers when Race is engaged, the throttle on edge, the engine growl menacing, the suspension taut.
Social-distancing in Hell was never so much fun. But the Alfa’s quickness is owed in part to its diminutive size. There is no social-distancing in the Giulia’s cramped rear seat. The Audi isn’t much better with only a half-inch more knee room, making it a tight fit for my 6-foot-5- frame.
Buy roomiest-in-class Caddy CT5-V if you frequently ferry foursomes — Giulia is a driver’s car. But Audi still understands that its clients will spend most of their time on four lanes like I-96 or U.S. 23 that lead to Hell — sometimes in hellish traffic. This is where the Germans excel.
Like its exterior, the S4’s interior wardrobe is Brooks Brothers conservative. But Audi has long been on the cutting edge of electronic tech with configurable digital instrument display, Google Earth-like nav graphics and sharp voice commands. Audi faithful will blanch at the fact that the brand has ditched its remote rotary infotainment controller, but the new touchscreen is crisply responsive.
I’ve always liked the Giulia’s interior — its big, goggle-eyed instrument displays, rotary ducts and sweeping dash lines are uniquely Alfa. For 2020 the roomy console has been nicely upgraded with wood and carbon trims. But it’s tough to compete against Audi, which draws from the big electronics toolbox over at VW Group. The new Giulia is a major upgrade with German-like “pages” to flip through on its now-standard 8.8-inch screen — navigable by touch as well as rotary controller (and it’s a proper, multi-way rotary controller unlike, ahem, Caddy’s two-dimensional dial).
But the system is slow and the voice command system average.
Alfa’s big play is on a new self-driving system with ambitions to take on class-leaders Tesla Autopilot and Cadillac Super Cruise. Accessing these systems allows busy drivers to check their phone in traffic or just relax a bit. Alas, the Alfa’s system is a nervous Nellie.
It demands a hand be on the wheel at all times. Its constant nannying defeats the self-drive purpose.
Ultimately, the Giulia Quadrifoglio’s stratospheric price — a healthy $25,000 more than the S4 — means it’s accessible to fewer buyers. Given its small size, rear-wheel drive and lesser-quality reputation, the Alfa will be considered a niche vehicle compared to the Audi.
That’s the clinical case. But after going to Hell and back in the Giulia, I had a big dumb grin on my face I’ve had in few cars. Alfa’s my kind of personality.
2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
Vehicle type: Front-engine, rear- and all-wheel drive, 5-passenger performance sedan
Price: $39,840, including $1,295 destination charge; $75,740 Quadrifoglio ($90,840 Quadrifoglio as tested)
Powerplant: 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-6
Power: 505 horsepower, 443 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.6 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed: 191 mph
Weight: 3,806 lbs. as tested
Fuel economy: EPA 17 city/24 highway/20 combined
Report card
Highs: Balance of a ballet dancer; brash engine
Lows: Tight back seat; laggy infotainment system
Overall: 4 stars
2020 Audi S4
Vehicle type: Front-engine, all-wheel drive, 5-passenger performance sedan
Price: $50,295, including $995 destination charge ($62,840 model as tested)
Powerplant: 3.0-liter turbo V-6
Power: 349 horsepower, 369 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 4.4 seconds (mfr.); top speed: 155 mph
Weight: 3,847 lbs. as tested
Fuel economy: EPA 20 city/27 highway/23 combined
Report card
Highs: AWD rocket traction; state-of-the-art digital displays
Lows: Plows in corners; VW Arteon is better looking
Overall: 3 stars
As Michigan auto dealers start selling online, April shows an uptick
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 23, 2020
Detroit — After hitting a late-March low, sales of new vehicles are on something of an upswing in April, defying dire predictions: With the nation’s car buyers under stay-at-home orders, analysts predicted sales would be off 80% this month compared to pre-pandemic levels. Instead, they were off just 51% through Sunday, according to J.D. Power.
And around Detroit, where sales of new vehicles fell to next-to-nothing after Michigan’s governor ordered dealerships to close, things have gotten a little better after the state began allowing online sales April 9: Sales were down only 85%, compared to the 98% hit they took the previous week.
Extreme Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram in Jackson sells an average of 190 to 220 vehicles during a typical April. Last week, the first since online sales were allowed, the dealer moved 18 autos off the lot, according to general manager Mark Trudell.
“It’s a far cry from what we normally do,” he said.
Adapting to online-only sales has been challenging. “It’s good to be back selling cars again, don’t get me wrong, it’s just very cumbersome right now,” Trudell said.
Customers have been calling to ask questions about the online sales process, but many have said they plan to hold off until the stay-at-home order is lifted. Said Trudell: “It seems like we would have a little bit better grasp on keeping everybody safer if the governor allowed us to come in the dealership and designate an area for the customer to come in and sign paperwork or meet with a salesperson, that we would sanitize every time it’s used.”
Like many dealers, Extreme lets customers test drive their new car when it’s delivered to their home, before any paperwork is finalized.
Although Michigan dealers are seeing more online activity, most customers will still want to shop in person, believes Jim Seavitt, owner of Village Ford in Dearborn
“There will be a portion of people this will forever change,” he said. “But I think that’s a small percentage. I think online (sales) will still represent less than 10% of our business.”
Said Trudell: “People still want to test drive cars. They still want to come in and look at a few different vehicles. Negotiate. Put their hands on them.”
All states now permit at least online sales during the coronavirus pandemic, with 24 allowing open dealership showrooms. Michigan was one of the last to relax the rules to allow online sales.
With record numbers of workers filing for unemployment and the economy in a tailspin, new- and used-car dealers alike are sweetening the pot. Serra Chevrolet in Southfield, for example, is trumpeting 0% loans for 84 months in online ads, while online used-car site Carvana is running TV ads promising seven-day trials.
All major metro markets, including heavily impacted New York City, are improving except for Denver, according to J.D. Power. That’s due in part to low-interest loans, record incentives and extended 84-month loans as the industry moves toward May, typically one of the top sales months of the year and now more crucial than ever as states start to open up.
Late-March harbingers from early-shutdown states like California suggested sales might be off a staggering 80% this month. But against the odds, sales stabilized in the first two weeks of April and are now showing signs of recovery. As of Sunday, retail sales were down 48% for the week from the pre-virus forecast, an improvement of 3 percentage points from April 12 and 11% since the March 29 nadir, according to J.D. Power.
“The U.S. auto retail market is now in full recovery,” said Tyson Jominy, the company’s vice president for data and analytics
April sales have been driven by Detroit Three pickup trucks which have been off just 16% in sales compared to the national average. Credit huge discounts averaging $4,700 per vehicle.
The Detroit Three were the first to launch 0% financing on 84-month loan offers – now at a near-record 19% of sales, three times more than pre-virus levels — with payment deferrals. Others including Hyundai, Nissan and Genesis have begun to follow.
In part due to pickup sales and long-term loans, average transaction prices are near record-high levels of $35,200 during the week ending April 19.
Despite the relative good news, J.D. Power still estimates total 2020 sales will be down to 12.6 to 14.5 million versus a pre-virus outlook of 16.8 million. The year 2019 was the fifth straight year of 17 million-plus annual sales, a record.
But all is not well. Current owners are defaulting on their car loans.
“Auto loans that are severely delinquent by 60 days or more are up,” said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist of Cox Automotive. “Subprime accounts that are severely delinquent are up to the highest level since at least 2006.”
Detroit-area dealers say they are tentatively preparing to reopen in early May, which is when automakers are hoping to restart factories and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has said she intends to look at reopening sectors of the economy. Dealerships already are installing protective shields in showrooms, stocking up on sanitizers and thinking about how many customers they’ll be able to allow into a building at once. They expect customers will gradually act on pent-up demand after the state reopens for business
Still, caution abounds out of concern for employee safety.
“They’re trying to kill this virus,” said general manager Walt Tutak of Matthew Hargreaves Chevrolet in Royal Oak. “Why would you want to have it spike again?”
Blingtastic Cadillac Escalade comes with $77,490 price tag
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 21, 2020
The 2021 Cadillac Escalade starts at $77,490. The extended size model is $3000 above that. (Photo: Cadillac)
Cadillac this week announced that its all-new, 2021 Escalade land yacht will start at $77,490 when it opens for orders this coming Thursday, April 23.
Automakers are leaning on giant, profit-rich SUVs and pickups to tow them out of the COVID-19 sales hole. General Motors Co.’s Cadillac hopes the iconic Escalade, the best-selling full-size premium utility, will be a tonic for GM’s luxury line.
The hugely profitable Escalade is also important as Caddy retools into a battery-powered brand with ambitions to sell mostly EVs by 2030. Like the Escalade, the new stable of EVs will be stamped with names instead of alphanumeric badges — including the flagship Celestiq sedan and Lyriq SUV previewed to investors and media in March.
GM also previewed an as yet unnamed, three-row electric replacement version of the Escalade. But the money-making, 2021 Escalade is key to initially subsidize those new vehicles in a U.S. market where customers have thus far been cool to EVs.
In the currently frigid COVID-19 market, big vehicles have helped Detroit automakers gain 10 points of market share with transaction prices soaring to a record $35,800 as dealers have offered unprecedented volumes of 84-month loans with 0% financing.
Most of those sales have come in the pickup truck segment ($42,000 average transaction) which has seen sales decline only 18% in April’s shutdown economy compared to the industry-wide 56%. Premium vehicles have not shared in the love with sales off 60% in part due to the premium market’s higher lease rate and customers desire for lease extensions. But as shelter-in-place restrictions come off, analysts expect lease shoppers to be back in showrooms, and the Escalade — based on the same truck chassis as the Chevy Silverado — may be in the sweet spot of what they are looking for.
The $77,490 Escalade standard model for 2021 is $1,000 more expensive than the outgoing chariot. Supersize to the long wheelbase version and the sticker jumps to $80,490. The higher price reflects a new generation of Caddy stuffed with industry-first tech like a massive, curved, 38-inch, OLED screen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, heated-and-cooled leatherette thrones, 22-inch wheels, 19-speaker sound system, and 6.2-liter V-8 engine mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission.
True to its stature as the King of Bling, the Escalade then piles on the options including self-driving Super Cruise system, twin, 12.6-inch HD screens for second-row passengers, and a 36-speaker AKG Studio system with movie theater-quality surround-sound. Nine interior color and trim combinations are also available.
The big SUV even offers a stump-pulling, Duramax 3.0-liter Turbo Diesel option for those who want fewer visits to the gas pump.
Such details have famously attracted Hollywood celebrities and athletes alike, and no less than film director Spike Lee is the front for the new ute. “The Escalade is a star like no other,” the “She’s Gotta Have it” director says. “It’s not just okey-doke. Art leads to innovation as we like to say in the People’s Republic of Brooklyn.”
To accommodate Spike’s New York Knicks pals, the rear compartment gains 10 more inches of legroom and 68% more cargo space thanks to an extended wheelbase and a lowered floor courtesy of Escalade’s first independent rear suspension.
Famous for its vertical, edgy styling, the 2021 Escalade conforms to current, more horizontal Caddy design cues first seen on Cadillac’s Escala concept car — and now smaller utes like the XT4 and XT6.
The 38-inch glass screen stretches from the driver-side A-pillar across the dash and houses three separate information screens — including a 14-inch screen behind the steering wheel that can display instrument-gauge view, night vision, navigation and something called “augmented reality” which shows live street views to indicate where the driver should turn.
The new behemoth gets a smoother ride thanks to that independent rear suspension as well as standard magnetic shocks. An Air Ride suspension is available, which enables curb-side tricks like kneeling down 2 inches to assist customer entry and exit.
The latest Escalade follows Cadillac’s new marketing convention. The SUV is offered in a simple “Y” model format starting with standard Luxury trim, then splitting into either Sport or Premium Luxury. A blingtastic Platinum versions is available for both.
The Escalade box office opens Thursday here.
Payne: Infectious disease, not climate, emerges as globe’s greatest health threat
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 17, 2020
The US was totally unprepared for coronavirus despite years of infectious disease warnings. Michigan National Guard members move beds for patients with coronavirus at the TCF Center. (Photo: Max Ortiz, The Detroit News)
As late as early March, Michigan’s auto companies and government leaders were trumpeting a new economic course based on fears that climate change was the world’s greatest health threat.
Then came the coronavirus crisis wake-up call.
Auto companies and governments are now belatedly retooling to fight World War C, investing billions to combat a health crisis that has gripped the planet with citizens making radical changes in their behavior to reduce COVID-19 transmissions — not carbon dioxide emissions.
The new normal confirms what economic and scientific experts at the Copenhagen Consensus and other institutions have warned for decades: That infectious disease, not climate, is humankind’s greatest threat and where mitigation dollars can have their biggest impact.
At a March 4 investor event, General Motors Co. CEO Mary Barra laid out a 50-state, National Zero Emissions Vehicle Program to combat global warming: “We believe climate change is real, it’s a global concern and the best way to remove automotive ambitions from the environmental equation is an all-electric zero emissions future.”
But GM’s $20 billion gamble on electrification with the introduction of 20 EVs by 2023 was quickly drowned out by the coronavirus tsunami. Just six weeks later, all 50 states would be under a major federal disaster declaration for the first time in history — not for rising temperatures, but for fear of an infectious disease. Auto sales tanked and the industry transitioned plants to make ventilators.
GM’s climate change ambitions have been echoed by Ford Motor Co., Volkswagen AG, Honda Motor Co. and other automakers — and dovetail with international and state governments whose climate policies are forcing automakers to convert to electric vehicles.
In her first State of the State address last year, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer identified climate change, along with safe drinking water, as the greatest health threat facing the state: “Climate change and extreme weather are already putting Michiganders at risk.
“As a state, we must take that risk seriously. We cannot and will not wait to act,” she said. Her warning echoed that of presidential candidates like Joe Biden, who last September called global warming “the single greatest concern for war and disruption in the world.”
In the last year, the Whitmer administration has established a new state office of climate and energy and committed Michigan to the United States Climate Alliance, a group of 24 states and Puerto Rico that has vowed to comply with the stringent demands of the Paris climate agreement.
But the escalation of climate preparation — the federal Government Accounting Office reports the U.S. has designated $154 billion to climate-related projects since 1993 —came as scientific experts warned that predictions of global warming had failed to materialize — and that threats of global pandemics were increasing.
In the last 30 years, frightening forecasts of increased temperatures, hurricanes, and tornadoes haven’t occurred. For example, the U.N. International Panel on Climate Change, long an activist for global warming mitigation, admits there is “low confidence for the attribution of any detectable changes in tropical cyclone activity to (human) influences.” From 2005-2017, the U.S. experienced the lowest occurrence of hurricanes in recorded history. Closer to home in Michigan, turn-of-the-century predictions that the Great Lakes would dry up have been contradicted by record lake levels today.
Meanwhile, the evidence of infectious global pandemics in a connected world continued to rise with the China-sourced 2002 SARS virus, Mexico-origin 2009 H1N1, and Africa-sourced 2014 Ebola crisis.
As those fears heightened, prominent Danish environmentalist Bjorn Lomborg convened a regular international panel of economists and researchers called the Copenhagen Consensus to assess global challenges — then rationally prioritize them by economic analysis. For example, in 2012, the Nobel laureate-studded panel assessed the question: “If you had $75 billion for worthwhile causes, where should you start?”
The panel ranked the top 16 of 40 world problems. Climate change didn’t make the list, while five disease mitigation crises — including malaria, tuberculosis, and child immunization — did.
“The investments to combat infectious disease are very cheap and effective, even using conservative assumptions,” said Nobel laureate economist Thomas Schelling. “Policy-makers can achieve a great amount in this area.”
Yet America’s government and media institutions have hyped global warming fears above all else. As the COVID-19 spread in China in January, the influential New York Times continued a daily drumbeat of climate stories, its Business section warning on Jan. 24 that “Climate Change Could Blow Up the Economy. Banks Aren’t Ready.”
When the coronavirus hit the U.S. in early march, Michigan and the country were utterly unprepared. As cases accelerated, hospitals found themselves overwhelmed with critical shortages of ventilators. Despite the warnings of past pandemics, medical stockpiles and testing infrastructure were non-existent. The auto industry responded, pivoting quickly from producing vehicles to manufacturing ventilators, masks and face shields.
The federal government botched initial test kits desperately needed for the growing pandemic. Experts say that if the $184 billion in climate health had been spent on virus mitigation, the U.S. would be in much better shape today.
“Money should be spent anywhere else than climate change,” said James Taylor, who runs the Illinois-based Heartland Institute’s Center for Climate and Environmental Policy.
Despite dire warnings of climate catastrophe, U.S. consumers haven’t changed their behavior — continuing to buy SUVs as predictions of famine and disappearing lakes failed to materialize. Behavior changed dramatically in face of the very real COVID-19 threat, however, with Americans self-distancing, donning masks and figuring out new ways to work from home while businesses shut down.
The historic COVID-19 crisis may further stiffen Americans against climate expenditures like that advocated by Ann Arbor which plans to spend $1 billion over the next decade to make the city carbon neutral, including a 50% reduction in personal vehicle miles traveled. Global warming consistently polls low as a public concern with a 2018 Pew poll listing it 22nd of 23 issues. Polls show 30% to 40% of respondents say they are not willing to pay anything.
Even as coronavirus shifts priorities to more urgent needs, the climate change lobby has continued to resist the new paradigm. The EPA’s easing of expensive fuel economy regulations to 40 mpg on March 31 to aid the corona-crippled auto industry sparked outrage among greens like the Safe Climate Campaign’s Dan Becker, who said Washington “is rolling back the biggest single step any nation has taken to fight global warming.”
Yet the EPA’s own numbers show the original 54.5 mpg-by-2025 standard would reduce global temperatures by a negligible three one-thousands of a degree (0.003) Celsius of warming — within the margin of error — over the next 90 years.
Payne: Used, sub-$10K, feisty Ford Fiesta is best buy
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 16, 2020
The 2017-2019 Ford Fiesta SE gets alloy wheels which are good looking – and affordable on a $10k used car. (Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)
I miss the Ford Fiesta. But that doesn’t mean I can’t have one.
Ford makes some of the best cars on the planet, but, under pressure from America’s turn to SUVs (and small sales margins), it stopped Fiesta and Focus production for the U.S. market last year. Want a car? Buy used, says Ford.
Good idea.
The Fiesta subcompact cutie is one of the best bargains out there on used — er, pre-owned — car websites. Nimble. High-tech. Priced under $10,000. And that’s a good thing in these budget-sensitive coronavirus times. Michigan’s shelter-in-place order allows online selling. Let’s go shopping.
My wife and I rented a 2019 Fiesta sedan in Arizona earlier this year and had a blast. This tasty tamale was the last model year offered for the U.S. market — and the same car introduced in 2017 with two significant updates that put it right in my strike zone: Apple CarPlay/Android Auto app compatibility and alloy wheels.
The alloy wheels are the perfect complement for the subcompact class’ best-looking car. Crisp European lines, guppy grille, and … oooh, those eyes. Like Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra, the Fiesta’s big peepers are huge — stretching all the way back to the A-pillars. This is an affordable car you can wake up to every morning and admire.
Apple CarPlay and cousin Android Auto have transformed automotive infotainment systems in recent years, allowing mainstream cars superior nav systems to those found in some $60,000 luxury cruisers. My wife set our destination on her smartphone, plugged into the 8-inch infotainment system, and we were off.
I’ve been in the market for numerous, sub-$10K used chariots over the last couple of decades and can attest to the fact that Honda and Toyota cars are consistently pricier than their Detroit peers. Credit Japanese reliability, which helps maintain value. Look no further than Ford’s recent problems with Fiesta’s dual-clutch automatic transmission that, ahem, ultimately led to a $30 million class-action lawsuit settlement.
But here’s the thing: Ford has agreed to fix the transmission for free for the relevant 2011-16 model years. Or you can buy an upgraded 2017-19 model. Or you can just bypass the automatic transmission and opt for one of the finest six-speed manuals in the business (a rarity in the market today). Either way, you win.
And either way, you can find 2017-and-newer Fiestas with less than 50,000 miles (my personal target for a used car) for less than 10 grand on Cars.com. That’s a steal.
Especially because you won’t find a comparable Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris for that price. Look it up. The only available Fit and Yaris competitors I could find under $10K within 250 miles of Detroit were older than 2016 — meaning they are technologically challenged compared to the gaggle of 2017 Fiestas available.
Fit didn’t get Apple CarPlay until the 2018 model year. Yaris until this year.
But wait, there’s’ more. My must-have tech trifecta is smartphone app compatibility, adaptive cruise control … and blind-spot assist. We’ve covered the Fiesta’s smartphone app advantages, and you won’t find any car in our competitive set with adaptive cruise (though all feature basic cruise control). But on blind-spot assist, Ford has another trick up its sleeve.
The Fiesta SE came equipped with the original blind-spot assist — Ford’s clever, mirror-within-the-side-mirror solution that allowed me to safely monitor my blind spots. Locate a 2018-and-newer model and it’ll have a standard back-up camera, too.
My Fiesta rental was a sedan, but I prefer the hatchback, which was priced $300 higher new. The used market doesn’t seem to notice a difference — so get the hatch for its superior looks and utility.
The interior of the Fiesta is as sporty as the exterior. A big, motorcycle-like instrument display lurked behind the steering wheel as I easily folded my 6-foot-5-inch frame into the cloth seats. Pity the six-footer behind me, though — the Fiesta’s rear seats are tight.
The cockpit is carefully engineered with big control buttons and knobs within easy reach. Along with the big instrument gauges, it’s driver-friendly.
As I barreled along — the 120 gerbils (er, horses) under the hood screaming away — I could keep my eye on the road between the big gauges and infotainment screen high on the dash. Interior designers even shielded the screen from the bright Arizona sun with a shroud. Smart.
Back in 2014, my favorite Fiesta engine was the 1.0-liter, turbocharged three-banger — Godzilla in a box — that got insane fuel economy while also producing three more horsepower than the standard, 1.6-liter 4-banger. Alas, it was discontinued for the 2018 model year as its $1,000 premium must have spooked segment buyers.
Still, my 1.6-liter posted an impressive 434 miles of range with a full tank. That’s more than a $40K Lincoln MKC.
Despite my lead foot, the Fiesta got excellent fuel economy — an important attribute for penny-pinching consumers shopping for sub-$10,000 cars. EPA rates the Fiesta for 30 mpg, but Mrs. Payne and I managed 35 over a variety of highway, city, and country roads. On Interstate-10 South between Phoenix and Tucson I consistently got 40 mpg-plus when cruising at 80 mph. That’s impressive — especially for this Tesla electric-vehicle owner who is used to seeing range crater over 70 mph.
One of my wife’s favorite movie scenes comes from “National Lampoon’s Vacation.” Chevy Chase — aka, Clark Griswold — is pushing his Wagon Queen Family Truckster station wagon past 80 mph when his wife breaks his reverie: “SLOW DOWN!”
I have been similarly admonished. But Mrs. Payne also knows the joys that personal transportation brings to motorheads like me. So does Ford.
In addition to its good looks, Fiesta will never bore. With its short wheelbase and taught chassis, the subcompact is a mini-party on wheels — tempting drivers to push the limits when beyond the city limits.
For under $10,000, it’s all there for the entry-level, COVID-economy buyer: high gas mileage, high-tech, good looks, good ergonomics, hatchback utility, fun handling.
Lacking is power, but 120 horses will keep novice drivers out of trouble while they learn the joys of driving. The Fiesta SE will impress. And when you get a little more money in your wallet — and a thirst for better acceleration than Fiesta’s glacial 9.1 seconds zero-60 crawl — you’ll return to the used lot and check out what more Ford has to offer.
Let me show you the sensational, used, 197-horsepower Fiesta ST hot hatch… .
2017-19 used Ford Fiesta
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front-wheel drive, 5-passenger subcompact sedan or hatchback
Price: Under $10,000 with under 50,000 miles (2019 Fiesta SE with 24,000 miles as tested)
Powerplant: 1.6-liter inline-4 cylinder
Power: 120 horsepower, 112 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: 6-speed, dual-clutch automatic, 6-speed manual
Performance: 0-60 mph, 9.1 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed: 118 mph
Weight: 2,578 lbs. as tested
Fuel economy: EPA 27 city/37 highway/31 combined (35 mpg observed)
Report card
Highs: Easy on the eyes; modern tech, handling
Lows: Tight back seat; snail-like acceleration
Overall: 4 stars
Pressure to restart auto industry grows, but it faces major hurdles
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 16, 2020
Technician Cory Elsarelli manufactures face shields inside the prototype lab at Mahindra’s North American Technical Center in Troy on April 15, 2020. The shields are given to first responders to help provide protection when treating patients with COVID-19. (Photo: David Guralnick, The Detroit News)
As COVID-19 cases show signs of flattening even as deaths continue to rise, pressure is intensifying to restart the economy in Michigan and across the country.
Michigan CEOs, medical professionals and labor leaders are consulting with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, she said Wednesday. And President Donald Trump hosted a call with top executives of the nation’s four automakers and other industrial firms to push preparations to reopen the economy as early as next month.
The moves come as stay-at-home orders have grown to cover most Americans and as revenue-starved businesses cut back, forcing millions to lose their jobs. In few places is the pain more acute than Michigan, an industrial and politically vital state that is among the nation’s leaders in jobs lost so far.
“This is an unprecedented event in modern automotive times, even if you look back to World War II,” said Stephanie Brinley, principal analyst at IHS Markit Ltd. “The plants still operated and things still came out of it. Your workforce wasn’t sidelined.”
The urgency to return to work is rising as the threat from COVID-19 eases. Protesters crowded Lansing streets in vehicles and stood outside the state Capitol on Wednesday to protest Whitmer’s latest order aiming to protect public health being too restrictive. Meanwhile, Whitmer says she is in talks with the governors of neighboring Indiana, Illinois and Ohio over when and how to restart the economies in their major auto-producing states.
“The automotive industry is important to the U.S. economy, but it is also quite different than many other businesses,” said Doug Betts, president of J.D. Power’s automotive division, during a webinar this week. “The combination of high capital investment, heavy involvement of regulations, and the franchise model for going to the retail market makes it very different and somewhat non-intuitive versus other businesses.”
The industry also has a global supply base. Companies must navigate a patchwork quilt of rules determined by each country and state for which industries are “essential” during the outbreak. Some say auto manufacturing is essential, while others do not.
The bottom line, experts say, is that restarting vast chunks of the U.S. economy is neither easy nor uncomplicated. Sprawling supply chains, partisan political concerns and varying arcs of COVID-19 infections can influence the real-world balancing of prudent public-health policy with deepening economic concerns.
“There are larger partners that are at play, including federal guidelines, state guidelines, and as we’ve gotten into this, there’s county-wide rules that are baking into our process all the time,” said Jim Glynn, General Motors Co.’s vice president and global head of workplace safety. “The question about restarting for us, for me and our time is when we do get the green light to start up we want to make sure we are prepared — whenever that date comes.”
Interdependency
Ideally, Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Hackett previously has said, there would be a nationally coordinated approach to restarting the economy around a certain date. With that established, Ford would declare a new date for when it will build vehicles again.
GM and Ford have suspended production indefinitely after beginning to shut down North American operations on March 19. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV has said it hopes to ramp up progressively starting May 4 after Whitmer’s stay-at-home order expires May 1. Some state orders, however, extend into June.
If a supplier in one state doesn’t think it can operate under another state’s rules, it could prevent production from restarting in another — a tiny glimpse into the just-in-time, integrated supply chains of the global auto industry and other manufacturers.
“In a typical, well-run assembly plant, there may be only 20 minutes of on-hand inventory for any significant Tier 1 part,” Betts said. “Twenty minutes after a Tier 1 ships, the factory would be shut down for lack of parts.”
Production shutdowns are costly. FCA’s 47-day shutdown is longer than the United Auto Workers’ 40-day national strike against GM last fall during which the company estimates it lost $3.6 billion. And it is not just Detroit that’s sitting idle.
In the United States, Honda Motor Co. Ltd.’s 12 plants, Toyota Motor Corp.’s 10 plants and Hyundai Motor Co.’s one plant are closed through May 1. Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.’s three plants will remain shut down through late April. Subaru Corp. will resume production May 11 in Indiana. Volkswagen AG does not expect the shutdown of its Tennessee plant to last more than four weeks — a deadline of Saturday.
More: Honda extends US furloughs to thousands of salaried employees
Collectively, 53 U.S. auto plants produce $11 billion of vehicles per week, according to J.D. Power. Add the complex web of suppliers, and an estimated 10 million Americans depend on the industry.
Ford already has said it expects a $600 million adjusted earnings loss for the first three months of the year. The companies have taken out billions in loans, and some are deferring 20% of salaried employees’ pay in addition to executive compensation cuts. Companies are itching to get back to work as soon as possible.
But for the most part, it is up to government to decide when a lot of America can go back to work — and not even just the U.S. government. Mexico is the country from which the U.S. auto industry imports the most parts and vehicles. A Mexican executive order, however, has restricted that manufacturing through April 30.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said earlier this month auto plants in Mexico might be able to reopen a few days prior to restart of production in the U.S., though no order has yet to appear in the Mexico Official Gazette. And if they don’t, a restart north of the border could be delayed.
“He basically acknowledged the interdependency of the supply chains and the need for Mexican inputs in the assembly process of the U.S.,” said Raul Rangel, co-chair of the Butzel Long law firm’s Mexico team.
Mahindra Group, an India-based automaker, has a small manufacturing operation in Auburn Hills. It has parts on hand for several weeks, CEO Rick Haas said, but it continues to be in contact with its critical suppliers over restart plans.
“It’s like cooking a meal,” Haas said. “All of the dishes go out at one time. You can’t have everything done except the turkey.”
All of this necessitates constant communication with suppliers. Canada-based Magna International Inc. speaks with its automaker customers daily, said Jim Tobin, company executive vice president and president of Magna Asia.
“We’re talking to the OEMs No. 1 to make sure we have a realistic start-up plan,” said Tobin during a recent webinar with the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor. “The start-stop does not help liquidity because we start buying materials, employing people, then if they say we’re going to push it out another two weeks? We need a realistic start date that is in line with the containment of this virus.”
In mid-March, direct Tier 1 suppliers and their automakers kicked off efforts to develop a common “playbook” for the supply base, Tobin said. The Original Equipment Suppliers Association and Alliance for Automotive Innovation published guidelines on health and safety protocols for COVID-19. Southfield-based Lear Corp. published its own playbook online that outlines what disinfectant and protection materials to have on hand, social distancing measures and employee training.
The last thing a company wants is to be the source of a secondary outbreak, said Dave Andrea, a principal of the accounting firm Plante Moran and member of its automotive strategy team: “All of that safety apparatus that we built into the hard process of building an automobile, now we have to build the same kind of safety apparatus into a public health solution, and that’s a different animal.”
‘Very effective’
Some of the biggest concerns are ensuring workers feel comfortable returning to work. The companies are taking what they learned from China, which has restarted production. The ramp-up there, however, has been slow, taking about two months to return to a normal operating level.
The UAW has said the return-to-work must center on the contagion curve, not economic factors, and that employees should feel comfortable self-reporting symptoms without penalty. And the union leadership is pushing to be included in talks about how and when to restart the Detroit Three plants.
“The only litmus test that matters is whether you would send your own family, your own son or daughter, into the plant and be certain they will return home safely,” UAW President Rory Gamble said in a statement.
More: Detroit’s auto industry steps up against COVID-19
Protocols from China have been adapted for U.S. auto facilities making ventilators and face masks, GM’s Glynn said. They include no-contact temperature checks, questionnaires, masks, disinfectants at each work station, additional cleaning of common areas and distancing workers where possible. The company also is seeking out a potential partner for testing employees who see its medical team with possible symptoms.
“There have been no cases that we are aware of in China or Korea where we have these protocols,” Glynn said. “So far, it’s been very effective.”
Ford and Fiat Chrysler said they are communicating similar measures to their workers.
Meantime, automakers are relying on the data available to them and emphasizing the need to remain flexible and agile, said Chris Reynolds, chief administrator for manufacturing for Toyota’s U.S. division.
“In the course of a day, the assumptions tend to change,” Reynolds said in a statement. “Health of supplier network, day-by-day basis, might change. … We have to be agile and able to say what I’ve decided yesterday, may not work today or this week.”
Cadillac Blackwing goes to battle against German super sedans
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 16, 2020
GM VP for Global Product Ken Morris drives the blue CT4 performance variant around Belle Isle in 2019. In production trim, the car will be called the CT4-V Blackwing. (Photo: Eric Klauser, Cadillac)
Cadillac is upping its firepower in the premium performance wars with a track-focused variant of its CT4 and CT5 sedans called the V-series Blackwing.
Aimed at Europe’s iconic BMW M, Mercedes AMG, and Audi RS greyhounds, the CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing were first revealed — sans badging — at the Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle last year. Bristling with state-of-the-art aerodynamics and chassis tuning, they will likely cost $30,000 north of the standard sedan models.
However, they will not feature Cadillac’s state-of the-art, 4.2-liter, twin-turbo V-8 Blackwing engine that briefly appeared in the now defunct CT6-V sedan. The Blackwing engine appears to be homeless for now, but the name will live on as Cadillac’s pinnacle of performance.
“The Blackwing name has come to represent the very best of Cadillac performance engineering, craftsmanship and technology,” said Cadillac executive chief engineer Brandon Vivian. Slotted above the performance, V-series models, the Blackwing weapons will complete the rear-wheel-drive CT sedan lineups.
The CT4 will start at $33,990 when it arrives this year — well below the similarly-sized $36,490 ATS that it replaces — as it moves down a segment to compete against the likes of the BMW 2-series and Audi A3. The CT4 will be available in Premium Luxury and Sport trims. Buyers with a need for speed can then step up to the $45,490 CT4-V which makes 325 horsepower. The CT4-V Blackwing version will likely get the same 464 horse, 3.6-liter twin-turbo V-6 as the ATS-V it replaces — though expect the $68,790 sticker price to get slashed.
The CT5, currently available for sale, follows a similar path over little brother CT4 with a starting price at $37,890, well below the $47,990 of the CTS it replaces. That price also undercuts German competitors by some $5,000 before the CT5 options Premium Luxury and Sport models. The Blackwing will be priced above the $48,690 CT5-V which debuted this spring to critical acclaim from the motoring press.
The CT5-V Blackwing will likely get the same 640-horsepower, 6.2-liter V-8 monster stuffed in the outgoing CTS-V. That similarly-sized beast started at $88,990 and could top out at over $100k as it competed against the BMW M5. Expect that price to drop by maybe $20 grand as the Blackwing lines up against the compact BMW M3.
“The CT4-V and CT5-V Blackwings should be fantastic cars,” said IHS Markit senior auto analyst Stephanie Brinley, who has a lead foot and owns a Cadillac ATS-V. “Based on the same architecture as the CTS and ATS, they have great bones to work with.”
Brinley does not see the absence of the brand’s 4.2-liter V-8 Blackwing engine creating any confusion with the new badge. “The CT6-V was so short-lived,” she says of the brand’s flagship super-sedan that was introduced with much fanfare at the 2018 New York Auto Show.
The car’s 550-horsepower, 4.2-liter twin-turbo V-8 was the most advanced engine the brand had made — but it was shelved after just one model year as the CT6 was discontinued to make way for electric vehicle production at GM’s Hamtramck plant.
Blackwing sedans, however, will still come with plenty of juice as Car and Driver reports that spy videos of the cars testing confirm the powerful V-8 and twin-turbo V-6 engines from the outgoing CTS-V and ATS-V will carry over. At a surprise, on-track appearance at the 2019 Detroit Grand Prix — with GM President Mark Reuss and Global Product VP Ken Morris at the controls — media onlookers noted the familiar V-8 and V-6 exhaust notes from the two fully-camouflaged cars.
In addition to their bespoke engines, the Blackwings will feature specially-tuned chassis likely including the Performance Traction Management system found in the Corvette C8 and CT5-V. Cadillac says the new cars have proved faster than their predecessors in track testing at Virginia International Raceway.
Motorheads can rejoice, too, as the Blackwing cars will be optioned with rare manual transmissions. Some Corvette faithful bemoaned the end of the manual in the mid-engine C8 cyborg that went on sale this year.
Robots on the rise in the COVID-19 economy
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 16, 2020
The streets are empty of cars in Ann Arbor, but robot traffic is up.
Refraction AI’s robot restaurant food delivery service has seen demand increase by four times since the COVID-19 crisis shut down Michigan last month, and the company’s engineers are working furiously to expand the company’s small fleet of three-wheeled REV ‘bots.
Refraction is part of a surge in robot activity as the U.S. economy struggles to get back on track while maintaining self-distancing and exposing as few workers as possible in the workplace. The virus is accelerating robotics trends — from auto plant assembly lines to grocery store cleaning robots to security patrols — and that is likely to have enormous implications for the jobs of the not-so-distant future.
“This moment is a call to arms for robotics makers to really bring their technology to market that helps people. Particularly now in a time when there are so few options for doing tasks that we don’t want to put people at risk for,” said Refraction AI CEO Matthew Johnson-Roberson, an associate professor of engineering at the University of Michigan with 20 years of experience in the robotics field.
With the state’s closure of in-restaurant dining and subsequent shelter-in-place order, Refraction’s customer list has ballooned to 400, taxing the startup’s five robots which have been hustling to and fro along the edges of abandoned city streets.
“A bunch of new restaurants have said we have to have delivery now. The big limiting factor is the number of robots we have,” said Johnson-Roberson, 36. “We’ve been working to expand to groceries which is the more important need of the moment than takeout food.”
“It really changes consumer behavior across the board,” he said. “A lot of what we’re getting help with here is people getting comfortable with robots.”
That comfort has been reinforced with strict safety guidelines to mitigate virus spread. The robots are wiped down between every delivery; upon food delivery, customers can open the 5-foot tall robot’s door by phone instead of keypad; and the company has installed UV lights — a coronavirus killer — in the interior to disinfect the compartment and food.
With the added demand, the 15-person autonomous startup is looking to hire in these job-lean times. Some of its new employees come from the hard-hit restaurant industry.
“We’ve always thought about robotics as to how to improve people’s lives. It can do things people don’t want to do like bomb disposal robots, nuclear inspection robots,” said the robotics professor. “They’ve figured out a task that’s unpleasant for human beings and can do it better.”
One of those unpleasant tasks is cleaning grocery aisles after hundreds of patrons have filed through in a typical COVID economy day.
San Diego-based Brain Corp. is the world’s largest maker of autonomous navigation software for robotics giants like Minuteman, Tennant and Karcher. Its business has expanded as grocery retailers like Walmart have brought in more cleaning robots.
“As retailers are required to clean more frequently and deliver more cleaning coverage, BrainOS-powered autonomous floor care robots are providing 8,000-plus hours of daily work — over 250,000 hours over the next 30 days — that otherwise would have to be done by an essential worker,” said a company spokesperson. “This allows workers to focus on other tasks that are essential during this health crisis.”
Walmart is one of Brain Corp’s biggest clients and 110 BrainOS-powered robots are in service across Michigan in retail, grocery, and education applications.
Security robots are also in demand as companies have abandoned workplaces and employees work from home. For example, autonomous Cobalt Robotics bots are patrolling Metro Detroit businesses.
The U.S. auto industry is not likely to be immediately impacted with more robots in part because it is already heavily automated to reduce costs. Today, humans are scarce in giant assembly plants except at the assembly-line tail — and are therefore spaced safely. Stamping, painting, and body welding departments are crowded robot zones.
But with the enormous travel restrictions caused by COVID’s spread, industry insiders say the auto supply chain is going to change drastically — and robots will play their part. In pursuit of lower costs, the supply chain in recent decades has expanded to China, Vietnam, and elsewhere.
“Now, we see huge risk of the supply chain when something like this happens,” said Doug Betts, a manufacturing veteran and president of J.D. Power’s auto division. “The management of risk will reel the supply chain back in to the U.S. Labor costs are going to be high and that supply chain is likely to be established here with more robotics than what’s used in other markets.”
Example? A paint supplier abroad might use the cheaper labor of local people to spray paint onto parts. As those jobs move back to the U.S., they will be filled more by robots than people for safety, environmental and cost reasons.
Says robotics expert Johnson-Roberson: “Part of what we’re talking about is job displacement and that is something that is a concern. We want to be careful that whatever we are doing here is making life better on the whole.”
Amidst the coronavirus business devastation in Ann Arbor, he says robotics can help provide job and health security.
“People who run restaurants aren’t sure they can come through this,” said the Refraction CEO. “The fear that 25-to-50% (of) restaurants will go away is terrifying to me. And the jobs from dishwashers to bus people to caterers to line cooks — their livelihoods depend on their customers. If (the COVID crisis) goes on for six months — with one wave after another — we have to come up with a sustainable way to do this.”
In COVID-19 crisis, electric auto startups race to stay on track
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 13, 2020
COVID-19 has hit the U.S. auto industry hard, but the most precarious companies might be the handful of electric auto startups on the cusp of key vehicle launches.
Rivian, Lordstown Motors, Lucid, Bollinger Motors, Faraday Future, and Fisker are leading a historic wave of startups that, inspired by the success of Silicon Valley’s Tesla, see a new future of battery-powered sedans and trucks. But with their first products in the pipeline, the coronavirus threatens the capital flows and customer base they need to survive.
“We keep engineering but the big, big dollars you spend … we are holding on until funding is clear,” said Lordstown Motors CEO Steve Burns, who is converting General Motors Co.’s former Lordstown, Ohio, plant to manufacture electric pickups. “We don’t want to start something and not be able to finish it.”
No one has been laid off, but Burns has stopped hiring for now.
Most of the establishment industry’s assembly plants are idled; line workers are mostly sitting at home as their salaried counterparts continue to work remotely; and hundreds of dealerships have been severely impacted. J.D. Power estimates sales might be off 80% in April.
“It’s going to be tough for established companies to survive this,” said Navigant Research auto analyst Sam Abuelsamid. “For any startup that is still going to be relying on raising more capital, this is going to be an extraordinarily difficult environment to do that.”
Business models vary widely. Lucid, Faraday Motors and Fisker are focused, like Tesla, on retail sales with luxury, battery-powered products. As affluent buyers see their investment accounts swoon, they might put off disposable income purchases. Truckmakers like Rivian, Bollinger, and Lordstown, on the other hand, can bank commercial orders in addition to retail sales. Those fleet customers could put them in a more secure position.
“Fleets are much steadier, and if one thing has been proven during this [it’s] we still need fleets to do their jobs,” Lordstown’s Burns said in an interview. The Midwest has attracted three high-profile startups: Rivian, Bollinger, and Lordstown.
Pickup trucks have been a hot startup market as EVs seek to remake trucks with better storage room and torque. Plymouth-based Rivian captured the public’s imagination at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show — and millions in investment dollars from Amazon.com Inc.’s investment arm and Ford Motor Co.
“The world has changed a lot in these last few weeks,” wrote a determined Rivian to customers recently. “We’ve shut down all facilities to protect our team and to help slow the spread of COVID-19. While this situation has required us to redefine workflows and rethink the ways we collaborate, it hasn’t stopped us from making progress.”
Like establishment automakers, Rivian says the COVID-induced slowdown will impact its product timing. Rivian’s planned delivery of its $69,000-plus R1T pickup this fall has been moved back to 2021 due to the shutdown of its Normal, Illinois, plant.
Tesla, too, was ramping up production of its signature Model S sedan in Fremont, California, in 2008 when the Great Recession hit and capital markets dried up. Tesla required a $465 million loan from the federal government to survive.
Analyst Abuelsamid said he is confident Rivian will survive the pandemic: “They raised over $3 billion. Not only have they raised the money but they were really smart in offering up their platform to partner with other companies.”
Rivian has made its platform available to use for delivery vans and to Ford to make electric Lincolns. “That is going to give them a bunch of extra volume to generate some scale and help reduce their costs and improve their margin,” he said.
Bollinger Motors started on founder Robert Bollinger’s upstate New York farm as the successful cosmetics marketing entrepreneur sought to find an electric truck solution to his work needs. But as his product matured, Bollinger realized he had to move to Michigan — a decision that is paying dividends now.
“When it came time to engineer to the point of production, there were so many engineers needed,” he said in an interview. “The team moved out here — just a handful of us — and we hired 30 people. We are a Michigan company now. It’s so easy to just get in a car and go to a Tier One (supplier) for a meeting.”
Suppliers are shut down, as is Bollinger’s Ferndale plant, so the CEO expects some delays with plans to deliver the brand’s first luxury B1 SUVs and B2 pickups next year. But since initial financing has come out of Bollinger’s own pocket, work has been uninterrupted.
“We have everyone on board, everyone is still getting paid, everyone is still working full time,” Bollinger said. “We are unaffected in that way.”
Though some buyers have asked for returns on their deposits for the $125,000-plus EVs, Bollinger says that 70% of the first year’s production run is filled. The shutdown has enabled the company to process data from winter track and outdoor testing as well as solidify its dealer network. The innovative B2 pickup — which can load long cargo through the truck from bumper-to-bumper since batteries are located in the floor — will be sold through independent dealers in Detroit, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas.
Bollinger plans big news in the next month about its third-party production partner.
“Instead of us trying to figure out manufacturing … and have a huge learning curve, we’re going with someone who has been building trucks for decades,” Bollinger said. “We are crazy excited because it’s the best partner we could use for this.”
Lordstown Motors CEO Burns bears the twin burden of meeting orders — and of saving a town. The EV pickup maker has the hopes of Lordstown, Ohio, riding on its shoulders after GM abandoned production of the Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan and threw the northeast Ohio community’s future into doubt.
Now with the entire U.S. economy on edge, Burns says production of the Endurance pickup will likely not start until January 2021, a month later than originally slated. COVID-19 has delayed funding as well as prevented the startup from making modifications to the 6.2 million-square-foot plant.
“Orders are still coming in. That’s the one thing that hasn’t stopped,” Burns said. Akron-based FirstEnergy utility company has pre-ordered 250 trucks. Lordstown plans to produce 20,000 units in its first year with plant capacity to produce more than 400,000. The automaker has also received a letter of intent from Innervations, a Florida-based company specializing in fast DC and Level II EV chargers, to broker 1,000 Lordstown Endurances to their clients to convert their company fleets to electric vehicles.
Lordstown Motors recently posted a video of its Endurance truck in action. It uses a four-wheel-drive hub-motor system that reduces the number of moving parts in order to slash the lifetime vehicle service cost to commercial fleets.
A planned unveiling of the Endurance at the Detroit Auto Show in June — now canceled — will likely take place in Lordstown instead.
When he started Lordstown, Burns didn’t think if his business model was crisis proof. “We just did it because it was a market we knew and we thought it was attractive … if something is attractive to a fleet in good times, it’s probably just as attractive in tough times,” he said.
Perhaps the most Tesla-like startup is Lucid, which introduced its gorgeous Air prototype sedan at the New York Auto Show in 2017. CEO Peter Rawlinson and his San Francisco-based team have since secured financing for a production facility in Phoenix, Arizona — though work on the facility has stalled under the Arizona’s shelter-in-place order.
Rawlinson, vice president of engineering at Tesla before joining Lucid in 2013, is optimistic.
“The relationships with Lucid’s investment partners remains strong in the current business environment,” Rawlinson said in a statement, noting the plant’s machinery and tooling were well underway before COVID-19 struck. “Lucid is in a sound financial position, and has the financing needed to take it to start of production for the Lucid Air.”
Before the coronavirus pandemic, Lucid’s workforce had grown to more than 1,000 employees and the CEO says the brand is using the crisis’s social distancing challenges “to optimize connectivity and remote-work communication across the organization, including a range of disciplines from CAD computer design to CAE analysis and software coding.”
EV-maker Faraday Future has been a cat with nine lives since its 2014 founding — promising everything from supercars to crossovers. The China-financed startup is in the midst of transforming its Hanford, California, factory to vehicle manufacturing.
Fisker, a contemporary of Tesla found by legendary Aston Martin designer Henrik Fisker, showed off its latest Ocean electric SUV in January, with a plan to deliver its first vehicles to customers in late 2021.
“In general for the EV market it’s going to be challenging going into 2021 and even 2022,” Navigant’s Abuelsamid said. “We are going to be in probably a very deep recession in the second half of this year.”