William Maley

Another piece of the next-generation Jeep Wrangler has been unearthed. The Truth About Cars has uncovered a document submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which reveals some partial details on the JL Wrangler's powertrains. The documents revealed that the Wrangler would come with a 3.6L V6 with 285 horsepower and a turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder offering up 368 horsepower. No, this isn't a misprint. The other bit of information that can be gleaned from this document is that the Wrangler will only be initially offered as a four-door model - something we first we reported back in August. Before anyone begins to panic because the two-door and diesel engine are not listed, we know both are happening thanks to spy shots and other leaks. Source: The Truth About Cars View full article

Between now and 2022, at least 50 electric vehicles will be launched. They'll be coming from the likes of Volkswagen, Diamler, and General Motors. Heck, even Dyson is getting into the game. But why this rush to get EVs on the road? It comes down to two things, Tesla and upcoming regulations. “Nobody doubts that the future will be electric. The car companies dragged their feet with electric. Now they are being dragged into it by Tesla and by regulations,” said Erich Joachimsthaler, founder and CEO of brand-strategy firm Vivaldi to Bloomberg. Tesla makes sense as they have created a cult of personality with rabid fans and somehow selling vehicles like hotcakes. As for the regulations, various countries such as France and Great Britain have announced bans on internal combustion engines in new vehicles in the near future. Other places such as China and the state of California are considering similar bans. China has also introduced regulations meant to cut emissions and pollution by 2030. One of those is for automakers to sell a certain percentage of "of so-called new-energy vehicles -- which include electric cars" to obtain credits to sell models with internal combustion engines. But there are questions about this move. For one, how is any automaker going to make money with EVs? At the moment GM loses $9,000 for every Chevrolet Bolt EV sold, while Fiat Chrysler Automobiles loses an eye-watering $20,000 on each Fiat 500e sold. Battery tech is one of the key reasons for this, but new technologies and improvements are helping bring the price down. Also, will consumers embrace this onslaught of EVs? Last year, EVs only made up less than one percent of the U.S. market. “Companies are committed to electric cars, but there is little evidence that there is a lot of consumer demand for it,” said Kevin Tynan, senior analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. Source: Bloomberg View full article

Earlier this week, Tesla announced its quarterly production figures and the Model 3 is getting off to a slower start than expected. In a statement, Tesla said that it had delivered a total of 26,150 vehicles in the third quarter. Here is how it breaks down, Model S: 14,065 Units Model X: 11,865 Units Model 3: 220 Units Only 260 Model 3s were built in the third quarter. Tesla said the reason for the small production of Model 3s was due to "production bottlenecks." The company didn't go into detail as what the bottleneck is. This isn't a good start as Tesla promised to build 5,000 Model 3s by the end of the year. "It is important to emphasize that there are no fundamental issues with the Model 3 production or supply chain. We understand what needs to be fixed and we are confident of addressing the manufacturing bottleneck issues in the near-term," said Tesla. Source: Tesla Press Release is on Page 2 Tesla Q3 2017 Vehicle Deliveries and Production PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In Q3, Tesla delivered 26,150 vehicles, of which 14,065 were Model S, 11,865 were Model X, and 220 were Model 3. This was our all-time best quarter for Model S and X deliveries, representing a 4.5% increase over Q3 2016, our previous best quarter, and a 17.7% increase over Q2 2017. We had previously indicated that second half Model S and X deliveries would likely exceed first half deliveries of 47,077, but we now expect to exceed that by several thousand vehicles. In total, we expect to deliver about 100,000 Model S and X vehicles in 2017, which would be a 31% increase over 2016. In addition to Q3 deliveries, about 4,820 Model S and X vehicles were in transit to customers at the end of the quarter. These will be counted as deliveries in Q4 2017. Q3 production totaled 25,336 vehicles, with 260 of them being Model 3. Model 3 production was less than anticipated due to production bottlenecks. Although the vast majority of manufacturing subsystems at both our California car plant and our Nevada Gigafactory are able to operate at high rate, a handful have taken longer to activate than expected. It is important to emphasize that there are no fundamental issues with the Model 3 production or supply chain. We understand what needs to be fixed and we are confident of addressing the manufacturing bottleneck issues in the near-term. Our delivery count should be viewed as slightly conservative, as we only count a car as delivered if it is transferred to the customer and all paperwork is correct. Final numbers could vary by up to 0.5%. Tesla vehicle deliveries represent only one measure of the company's financial performance and should not be relied on as an indicator of quarterly financial results, which depend on a variety of factors, including the cost of sales, foreign exchange movements and mix of directly leased vehicles. View full article

We're now into the third week of the strike at GM's CAMI Assembly in Ontario and neither side appears to be budging. There are rising concerns that GM could be running out of the stockpile of the Chevrolet Equinox. GM's second-best selling nameplate. According to data from Automotive News, GM had 43,453 Equinoxes (about a 41-day supply) at the beginning of this month. Chevrolet dealers sold 27,512 Equinox models last month. If this trend continues, there could be some serious problems towards the end of the year. "That's going to be hard on Equinox to compete on such a limited quantity in such a hot segment. We would expect sales to pick up in the last quarter of the year," said Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst and director of pricing and industry analysis for Edmunds.com. GM has been downplaying this issue since the strike started. "We believe we have sufficient inventory and production to meet demand while negotiations continue and we continue to work closely with dealers to ensure customers continue to be well served," the company said in a statement. A small number of dealers that spoke with Automotive News said their inventory of the Equinox models hasn't been directly affected, but that could change if the strike continues. GM is ramping up Equinox production at two plants in Mexico - San Luis Potosi and Ramos Arizpe. The company declined to provide production capacity or change in plans due to the strike. But neither plant can compete with the output of CAMI. Through August, the two Mexican plants produced 40,017 Equinox models since production began in April. Compared to CAMI which produced an estimated 132,388 models in the same timeframe. "We don't know the ramp-up at the other production facilities in Mexico. That's the X factor," said Caldwell. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article

Land Rover is introducing a number of updates for the 2018 Range Rover Sport including an updated version of the In Control infotainment system and a slight power boost for the SVR variant. But the big news is for a new model that will be joining the lineup next August. Meet the 2019 Range Rover Sport P400e, the first plug-in hybrid model from Land Rover. The P400e is part of a new nomenclature that will be appearing on Jaguar and Land Rover models in the coming years. The P represents petrol (gas to us Yanks), 400 is the power output, and e represents some sort of electrification. We're not fans of this new system, but it makes much more sense than Audi's two-digit system. Power comes from a turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder and an electric motor producing a total output of 398 horsepower and 472 pound-feet of torque. A 13.1-kWh lithium-ion battery pack provides 31 miles of electric-only range. No mention of recharging times however. Land Rover quotes performance figures of 6.3 seconds to 60 mph and a top speed of 137 mph. The P400e features a special calibrated version of Land Rover's Terrain Response 2 off-road system. This version takes advantage of the electric motor's torque from zero rpm to provide better control during low-speed off-road maneuvers. Details on fuel economy, recharging times, and pricing will be announced closer to the release date. Source: Land Rover Press Release is on Page 2 2019 MODEL YEAR RANGE ROVER SPORT PHEV The 19MY Range Rover Sport is the first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle to be announced by Jaguar Land Rover. Badged P400e, the new model provides sustainable performance by combining a 296hp 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder Ingenium gasoline engine with a 114hp (85kW) electric motor. The 398hp total available power output4 – available through the permanent four-wheel drive system – delivers 0-60mph acceleration in 6.3 seconds (0-100km/h in only 6.7 seconds) and a maximum speed of 137mph (220km/h)3. With an impressive 472-lb. ft. of torque available, the new powertrain mixes dynamic and sustainable performance with traditional Land Rover capability, comfort and refinement. Thanks to its electrified powertrain, the Range Rover Sport P400e offers an all-electric range of up to 31 miles (51km)1. For the first time Land Rover customers can experience zero-emission off-road luxury with uncompromised all-terrain capability. Drivers can select from two driving modes to best suit their needs: Parallel Hybrid mode (the default driving mode) – combines gasoline and electric drive. The driver can optimize battery charge or fuel economy by utilizing one of two charge management functions: SAVE function – prevents the battery charge dropping below a pre-selected level. Predictive Energy Optimization (PEO) function – entering a destination in the navigation system enables the feature, which utilizes built-in GPS altitude data for the selected route, to intelligently combine the electric motor and gasoline engine to maximize fuel economy. EV (Electric Vehicle) mode – enables the vehicle to run solely on the electric motor using the energy stored in the battery, the ideal solution for zero emission journeys. The new PHEV derivative also includes access to the 7kW on-board charger hidden behind the Land Rover badge on the right of the grille. The Land Rover Terrain Response® 2 technology has a unique calibration to intelligently and precisely distribute torque from the electric motor, which has no creep speed and maximum torque from zero rpm, to all four wheels. This gives greater control during low-speed off-road maneuvers, reaffirming the outstanding breadth of capability of the Range Rover Sport. "The new Range Rover Sport strikes a compelling balance between dynamic capability, passenger comfort and efficiency,” said Nick Collins, Vehicle Line Director, Jaguar Land Rover. “The introduction of our advanced plug-in hybrid powertrain is a watershed moment in the history of our performance SUV.” The motor is powered by a 13.1kWh high-voltage lithium-ion battery. Land Rover engineers delivered a set-up that maximizes interior space and provides ideal weight distribution. The 2.0-liter Ingenium gasoline engine is longitudinally mounted, with the 85kW electric motor housed in the ZF® automatic eight-speed transmission at the center of the vehicle alongside the 7kW on-board charger. The access point for the cable is at the front of the vehicle, while the prismatic cell lithium-ion battery is mounted at the rear beneath the trunk floor. Designed and engineered by Jaguar Land Rover in the UK, the new Range Rover Sport will be produced at the company’s Solihull production facility. View full article

I wouldn't mind that so much, but then I would be wishing for the return of the Chevrolet Avalanche.

Are we really arguing about heavy-duty trucks and S-Classes... again? What kind of planes are we talking about? Boeing Dreamliner? Airbus A380? I really don't want a Cadillac truck, and this is coming from someone who likes the EXT. I get it would bring in piles of cash, but I don't want a Mercedes X-Class situation. It would dilute the brand a bit too much and make me wonder what they're trying to be aside from following every single move from luxury automakers.

The first spy shots of the production Mission E have made their way onto the internet and those hoping that it would resemble the concept will be pleased if what they see. The photos were taken outside of Porsche's Weissach facility in Germany where a few Mission E mules were driven alongside a Tesla Model S and Model X. Despite Porsche's best efforts of trying to make us think it is something else with paper headlights covering the real ones and fake tailpipes, we can make out various details quite clearly. For one, Porsche is keeping the basic design profile of the concept. The only difference between the concept and this are the lack of the rear suicide doors. The production model will use a new platform known as J1. This electric only platform is different from Audi's C-BEV that is being developed for the e-tron crossover. The powertrain is expected to be similar to the concept - two electric motors producing a total output of 600 horsepower. The battery pack could provide a range of 311 miles on the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC). Reportedly, Porsche is working on giving the production Mission E an 800-Volt charger that allows the vehicle to receive an 80 percent charge in 15 minutes. Various outlets say Porsche will launch the production Mission E either in late 2019 or 2020. Source: CarScoops, Motor Authority, Motor1 View full article