William Maley

The head of Hyundai's N performance division, Albert Biermann said luxury automakers are too focused pm technology that doesn’t give value to customers. “It’s all marketing, first of all. “How many people really buy it later on? Much of this exists for media, to give a hype, to show the technology level. But how many people really buy it later on?" said Biermann to Australian outlet Drive. “If the tech will fail, you’re just adding the burden to the buyer, right?” We can assume some of the tech Biermann is referring to are things like gesture controls for the infotainment system or perfume diffusers. Biermann also brought up the example of a camera that looks at the road and makes adjustments to the suspension, calling it stupid. “In our G90 you will not find any air suspension, or active roll-bars, or active whatever. A camera sensing the road, and this stuff. It’s stupid. We have a solid Hyundai steel platform, tonnes of high-strength steel – okay, it’s a little bit heavier than the other cars – and we have adjustable shock absorbers, and that’s it. We still outpace the S-Class in the double lane-change in the Consumer Reports. We almost beat the BMW, without all the fancy stuff,” said Biermann. Biermann explained that Genesis will be focusing on simple technologies to make them reliable. He said Hyundai's chairman, Chung Mong-koo said he wants all Hyundai and Genesis models to be “like new” after a decade on the road. On one hand, Biermann has a point. Luxury cars are notorious for being expensive to keep on the road, partly due to all the technology equipment fitted to them. On the other hand, those technologies are a big selling point on these vehicles. Buyers use these to justify the price and they are a cool party trick to show to friends and family. Source: Drive.com.au View full article

Ford will be temporarily shutting down production lines at five of their North American plants to help cut down on the inventory of slow-selling models. According to Automotive News, Ford will be shutting down both of their plants in Mexico. The Cuautitlan assembly plant, which is home to the Fiesta will be down for three weeks. Hermosillo which builds the Fusion and Lincoln MKZ will take a two-week break. In the U.S., Flat Rock (Mustang and Continental) and the Transit production line at Kansas City will also be down for two weeks. Michigan Assembly in Wayne will be down for just a week. It is unknown when the shut downs will begin. "We are continuing to match production with customer demand, as we always do, and we are on track for our dealer inventories to remain at planned levels by year-end," a Ford spokeswoman said in an email. At the start of this month, Ford had an 87-day supply of Fusions, 103-day supply of Transits, 111-day supply of Mustangs, and a 162-day supply of Continentals. Automakers try to shoot for a 65 to 70-day supply of vehicles. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), Reuters View full article

That will be announced next week.

The head of Genesis, Manfred Fitzgerald reiterated that the brand would not be getting N performance models. “I don’t think so right now,” he said to Motoring at the unveiling of the G70. We first reported that Genesis wasn't going to get any N models back in May. Fitzgerald's reasoning as to why Genesis will not see any N models is interesting, to say the least. He sees electrification as the equalizer on performance, making high-performance variants kind of moot as they might not be faster than the standard models. “Performance will not be on the same forefront of differentiator as it is today for ICEs [internal combustion engines]. Everybody is capable of doing an electric motor and putting it in a car, so the performance values will almost be the same. Nobody’s going to be interested in ‘A’ or ‘B’, so I think that will come down to a level playing field," said Fitzgerald. “If you look at the performance value of an electric vehicle today, there are a lot of ICEs that really struggle to keep up with that.” The countless videos of Model S sedans smoking performance vehicles on the dragstrip attest to this train of thought. But many will argue that outright performance is only one part of high-performance models. There is also the character, handling, and heritage these models have. Fitzgerald acknowledges this, but he sees a change incoming. One where tech and environmental concerns take the spotlight. “I grew up in that era… that was all right at the that time. I’m just looking forward to the future and I just don’t believe that that will still have the same power and same meaning as it did back then.” Genesis is working on two dedicated platforms for electric vehicles that are expected to debut in 2021 or 2022. Source: Motoring View full article

Yes, we are an insufferable group.

As PSA Group - parent company of Citroen, DS, and Peugeot - gradually makes moves into possibly selling vehicles into the U.S., they are taking the next step by engineering their next-generation vehicles to meet U.S. regulations. "That means that from three years down the road we'll be able to push the button, if we decide to do so, in terms of product compliance vis-a-vis the U.S. regulations," said PSA Group CEO Carlos Tavares to Automotive News. Tavares also said PSA has decided which of three brands will be the first appeared in the U.S., but it isn't ready to announce which one. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article

If there is one thing that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is consistent on, it is their ability to change their future plans on a whim and cause us to scratch our heads. Case in point, Automotive News has learned that FCA has ditched plans on moving the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger/Challenger to the Giorgio platform - what underpins the Alfa Romeo Giulia. Instead, all of the models will get will one more refresh in 2019 that will cut weight and boost fuel economy. There is also talk about the 300 getting the option of the Hellcat V8 because FCA thinks we don't have enough vehicles with it?! In 2021, the Charger and Challenger will be (finally) redesigned. They'll be based on the platform the underpins the Maserati Ghibli. There is no mention about the 300 moving to this platform, possibly hinting that the 300 will be shown the door - something we reported on back in November. Will there be any Chrysler or Dodge model that will use the Giorgio platform? Yes and that will be the next-generation Journey that is possibly arriving in 2019. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), 2 View full article