AD #3699 - Big Jump in EV Efficiency; Ford Dealers Fight EV Mandate; Toyota Unleashes New Tacoma

Just as Outline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.

Some dealers are ripping up their tickets to join Ford on its EV journey.

About a year ago, it set over two thirds or nine and twenty of its dealers had opted into its EV program that included mandatory chargers in training, but since that time, Ford has lost about four hundred of those dealers.

Last week, the automaker cut back on its requirements for that EV program, which it said was due to changes in the market and maybe more dealers backing out is one of the changes it was talking about. We keep hearing

about battery plants getting delayed or scaled back, and now our next energy or One is feeling the pain of trying to scale up its battery making operations.

It announced that it was forced to lay off a quarter of its workforce to market conditions, but said that it was necessary for its future growth. One

continues to establish its battery factory in Michigan, which just started production at the beginning of this month. It's eventually supposed to make twenty gigawatt hours of LFP

battery cells that are suited for energy storage systems and commercial trucks to help fund its transition into EVS. Reuter's reports that Toyota and other companies part of the

Toyota Group plan to sell a ten percent steak in the supplier Denso by the end of the year, which is estimated to be worth four point seven billion dollars. Denso is the second largest automotive supplier in the world. Toyota,

which has a twenty four percent stake in Denso, is expected to remain the number one shareholder even after the sale. This move seems to be a push

from the Japanese government to have companies use capital more efficiently, because Toyota certainly doesn't need the money. As of September, it had seventy six billion dollars

in cash on hand and cash equivalents. Tesla got good and bad news from

the National Labor Relations Board. The board dismissed claims from the Workers United union

that the company illegally fired workers over organizing efforts. The union said Tesla fired

autopilot workers at its gigafactory in New York just days after the union announced an organizing campaign, but Tesla said it fired the workers due to performance. The

NLRB agreed with Tesla on that claim. However, it found merit onto other

complaints that the company maintained an unlawful rule on the acceptable use of technology in the workplace, and that it tried to obtain grievances from workers to try and block support from the union. If Tesla doesn't settle those claims, the NLRB

will issue a complaint against it that will be heard by a judge. Meanwhile,

over in Sweden, a court ruled that the country's transit authority must deliver license plates to Tesla that are being blocked by postal workers. Tesla sued the

agency and the state run POSTNORED because the workers stopped delivering plates for its new cars. The court said the agency must deliver the plates within the next seven

days or it will be fined ninety five thousand dollars. The postal workers are

backing Tesla mechanics that are trying to get the company to sign a collective bargaining agreement. The mechanics, which are part of the if bttal union, went

on strike at the end of October and are refusing to service Tesla vehicles until it signs a deal, and members of other unions in Sweden, including the postal workers, are backing the mechanics in their fight. We're about to see

another jump in EV efficiency right now, the best evs get about four miles per kilowad hour or roughly fifteen kilowad hours per one hundred kilometers. The two

best are the Hyundai Iyanik six and Lucid Air, which are both rated at four point one seven miles per kilowad hour or fourteen point three kilowad hours per one hundred kilometers. But lux Seed, a division of Chinese tech giant Huawei,

launched a nusidan called the S seven that sets a new standard at just over five miles per kilowad hour or twelve point four kilowad hours per one hundred kilometers. And one thing that all three of these evs have in common is

a higher voltage electronic architecture. Many evs today use a four hundred volt architecture,

but Hyundai and lux Seed use an eight hundred volt system and Lucids is over nine hundred volts. These systems have less resistance and smaller wires and components,

which boost efficiency and lowers weight. At CES January ninth through twelve twenty

twenty four and Trupid's looking forward to seeing you at our booth three six sixty six Las Vegas Convention Center in the West Hall. We'll be demonstrating the latest

and greatest in the software defined vehicles and journal architectures, automotive ethernet technologies like ten based T one S and multi gigibbit CUS CS twenty twenty four Las Vegas Convention Center in West Hall, Booth three six sixty six or visit intrepidcs dot com slash sales. Toyota dominates the mid size pickup truck segment in the US

market, and it's all new redesign at the Tacoma is sure to keep it at the top of the sales charts. It now sits on Toyota's TNNGA F

platform, the same one that's used for the Tundra full size pickup as well as the Sequoia and land Cruiser SUVs, and for the first time ever, the Tacoma gets an optional hybrid power train. The standard engine is a turbo

two point four liter four It comes in four versions. The base SR version

with an eight speed automatic, delivers two hundred and twenty eight horse power and two hundred and forty three pound feet of torque. When equipped with a six

speed manual transmission, it delivers two hundred and seventy horse power and three hundred and ten pound feet of torque. And by the way, if you stall

that engine with a manual on steep grades or a technical off road section, you can start the engine while it's still in gear without using the clutch.

But most versions of the truck will get a version of the engine that delivers two hundred and seventy eight horse power and three hundred and seventeen pound feet of torque. And then there's the hybrid, which Toyota calls the I Force Max.

It adds a four forty eight horse power electric motor in the eight speed transmission, powered by a one point eight seven kilowat hour nickel metal hydride battery pack that brings the total power output to three hundred and twenty six horse power and four hundred and sixty five pound feet of torque, which is double the torque of the outgoing V six. Even more impressively, full time all wheel

drive is available with the hybrid. The frame is completely boxed in and for

the first time, rear coil springs are available on most trim levels. Maximum

towing is sixty five hundred pounds, while maximum payload is one thousand, seven hundred and ten pounds, and a wireless trailer camera is sold as an accessory.

The truck bed comes in five or six foot lengths. It provides seven

percent more volume. It's deeper and made from SMC or sheet molding compound,

while the tail game is aluminium and it can be raised automatically just by pushing up on it with your knee. There's an optional four hundred wat ac inverter

outlet in the bed and on the rear of the center console. The hybrid

comes standard with a twenty four hundred wat AC inverter. This truck was designed

with off roading in mind. Besides the TRD pre Runner version, there's a

TRD off Road, a TRD Pro, and an all new trim line called the Trail Hunter. The TRD off Road model comes with Mono two Bilstein shocks

that have remote reservoirs to prevent them from overheating. The TRD Pro takes that

to another level. It comes with fox QS three three way adjustable internal bypass

shocks with remote reservoirs. And hardcore off roaders will love that the front stabilizer

bar can be quickly disconnected at the push of a button from our articulation in the front suspension disc brakes are now standard at all four wheels, and skid plates are available for the engine, transfer case, fuel tank, and rear differential. Inside, the chunky interior comes with a standard eight inch screen or

an optional fourteen inch one wireless Apple carplate in Android Auto or Standard, and you don't get a key or a key fob. Instead, you can use

your phone or a smart card like Tesla pioneered years ago. To ensure that

the Tacoma continues to dominate the mid size pickup segment, Toyota offers an amazing model line. The truck comes in two and four door versions, and there

seems to be a trim line for just about anybody. There's the SR the

SR five, the TRD pre Runner, TRD Sport, TRD off Road, the Limited TRD Pro, and the Trail Hunter. That's a lot in This

overview is just a small sampling of all the features on the new Tacoma.

We've also posted three videos that show some of the coolest features. Check out

the Crazy off road seat that has unlike anything we've ever seen in any vehicle.

This was a top secret development project. Then take a look at the

removable Bluetooth speaker that's mounted on the top of the instrument panel and check out all the features that went into the Trail Hunter model. But that brings us

to the end of today's show. Thanks for tuning in. Auto Line Daily

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