The episode covers major impacts on EV startups like Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid due to halted EV credit paperwork from NHTSA, causing significant revenue losses and legal action. Cadillac introduces a new global design head, while Ram faces backlash over a false theft report of a mechanical bull. Volkswagen expands its partnership with Japung to unify software across EVs and hybrids. Highlights from Monterey Car Week include Cadillac’s futuristic Elevated Velocity EV concept, Lucid’s rugged Gravity X, Mercedes’ flashy Vision V limo, Acura’s new in-house EV platform prototype, and Ford’s lightweight Mustang GTD trim.
- Tesla, Rivian, Lucid Lose Big Source of Revenue - Cadillac Names New Head of Global Design - Ram in Hot Water with The Police - VW and XPeng Expand Partnership to ICEs and PHEVs - VW Delivers 1.5 Millionth ID EV - VW Tries Monthly Fees for More HP - Cadillac Elevated Velocity Concept - Lucid Gravity X Concept - Mercedes-Benz Vision V Concept - Acura RSX Prototype - Ford Mustang GTD Liquid Carbon
"... hundred and twenty five thousand dollars Mustang GTD. They call it Liquid Carbon and it gets an unpain..."
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Speaker 1: This is out Aligned Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. After the Trump administration eliminated
penalties for violating fuel economy standards, NITSA stopped issuing the paperwork needed for finalizing EV credits, and that's having a huge impact on EV startups because they could sell those credits to other automakers who weren't in compliance with the regulations.
Rivian says the change is costing it one hundred million dollars in revenue, and Lucid said the credits quote represent a significant share of its revenue.
Speaker 2: So both companies have filed a petition.
Speaker 1: With the US Court of Appeals to force NITSA to resume sending the paperwork. Tesla has also been hit hard
and expects a one point one billion dollar decrease in revenue from credits selling. NITSA says it stopped issuing the
notifications because it's reviewing current fuel economy rules. The agency
claims it will resume sending paperwork once it's done with its review. However, it didn't give a timetable. Cadillac has
a new head of Global Design, Dominic Najaffi. He joined
General Motors in twenty twenty two and was Head of Studio and Exterior Design at GM Advanced Design Europe. Prior
to joining GM, he spent eleven years at Jaguar Land Rover, and before that he spent eight years at Bentley. He's
replacing Brian Nesbitt, who was promoted to head of GM Global Design after Michael Simcoe retired from that position at the beginning of the year. Stilantis is in hot water
with the police. Earlier this week, the automaker claimed that
a mechanical bull that it created, which combines the look of the new ramhead logo with the hemy V eight, was stolen, called the Bucking Hemy. The ride was part
of ram's Roadkill Nights event in suburban Detroit. RAM said
the bull was stolen during disassembly and it filed the police report and asked the public for any help finding it.
But now the police say the whole thing was a hoax, that the theft never occurred and RAM had the bull in its possession the whole time. RAM has since come
out saying that one of the show contractors took it by mistake, but returned it after hearing media reports about the theft. However, the police aren't happy with Ram's explanation.
They called the situation a quote tremendous waste of valuable investigative time and said the company could face charges for filing a false report. Last year, Volkswagen and Japung formed
a partnership to develop a new electronic architecture for VW's EV's in China, but with shifting consumer interest, they're now modifying that partnership to also include ICs.
Speaker 2: And plugin hybrids.
Speaker 1: Like it did with Rivian, VW turned to Japung for its software defined vehicle technology, which VW was kind of forced to do after its own software unit, kari ED, took too long to develop an adequate system. By expanding
the partnership with Chapong, it means that Volkswagen's IC and P HAVE vehicles will have the same software capabilities and tech as its BEVs, which could help increase their appeal to consumers, and more scale and common parts also means lower costs and shorter development times. We think it will
be interesting to see which markets get VW's Rivian based software to find vehicles and which markets get the Japong based vehicles. But until those new evs actually get closer
to production. Volkswagen will continue to rely on its MEB
platform and its ID family of electric vehicles just hit a pretty big milestone since launching.
Speaker 2: In twenty twenty.
Speaker 1: The one point five millionth just rolled down the assembly line.
It was a station wagon version of the ID seven, which is called the ID seven Tourer. You know, we
try our best here at auto line to be added the kits for the automotive industry. But here's something that
I hope goes down in flames. VW is making ID
three owners in the UK pay an.
Speaker 2: Extra fee to unlock the vehicle's full power.
Speaker 1: Standard output is listed at two hundred and one horse power, but for sixteen and a half pounds or twenty two dollars a month, they can bump that up to two hundred and twenty eight horse power, so it costs nearly a dollar a month for every horse power that they get, or owners can pay a one time fee of nearly six hundred and fifty pounds or eight hundred and eighty dollars.
Mercedes does something similar, but at least it offered a much bigger bump in power sixty and eighty.
Speaker 2: Horse power respectively.
Speaker 1: Feels like VW, maybe testing the waters in the UK before possibly expanding to other models and other markets. But
as I said, I hope this effort is a complete failure.
Speaker 3: At CSP, we work with OEM and engineers across the country on their journeys to lighter, safer, and more eco friendly vehicles. Learn more at VCSP dot com.
Speaker 1: Luxury brands love to unveil new models or concept cars at the Monterey Carweek, which includes the Pubblebeach Concours to Elegance and the historic car races at Laguneseka.
Speaker 2: So here's some of what's been unveiled so far.
Speaker 1: Cadillacs showed off this all electric off road concept called the Elevated Velocity. It says the concept hiddens at future
design cues for the brand, but we'll bet that doesn't include the gullwing doors. However, draw your attention to the
extended rear end, which reminds us of the Cadillacs celeastic in even that new Buick concept called the Electra Orbit.
A tapered rear like that is good for aerodynamics, which makes a lot of sense for evs and could even become a design trend. GM CEO Mary Barises the comp
is working on autonomous cars for retail customers, and the elevated velocity hints at that effort with a steering wheel and pedals that can retract. There's also an off road
driving mode that raises the car, and it even offers a feature that will shake all the dust off the car using acoustic vibration.
Speaker 2: Continuing with the off road theme, Lucid unveiled the Gravity X.
Speaker 1: Lucid says it shows rugged refinement and that it's ready for adventure. It sits higher than the production version of
the Gravity and the front rear faces were changed for better departure and approach angles. All terrain tires, skid plates
and toehooks help complete the look. Even though this is
a concept, if customer reaction is good, it would be very easy for Lucid to put this into production. In
case you missed it, at the Shanghai Auto Show in April, Mercedes brought its Vision V concept to Pebble Beach. While
it looks like a van, Mercedes says it's a chauffeur driven limousine. And while limos traditionally exude understated elegance, this
bling mobile features one of the most garish chrome grills that we've ever seen. While massive grills on passenger vehicles
seem to be on their way out, they're still popular with vans, especially in China and in Japan. When it
comes to concept cars, Honda or in this case, Acura, never strays far from what the production version will look like.
So take a good look at this all electric RSX prototype, which is actually pretty important because it sits on Honda's in house developed EV platform, not the GM Altium platform that it currently uses.
Speaker 2: It also marks the debut.
Speaker 1: Of Honda's awesome O operating system, which is the company's first move into software defined vehicles.
Speaker 2: Other specs include.
Speaker 1: Dual motor, all wheel drive, double wishbone front suspension, and standard Brembo breaks. While Accura calls this a prototype, you're
pretty much looking at what will end up in showrooms later this year when it rolls off the assembly line in Ohio. And lastly, Ford is using Monterey Carweek to
show off a new trim line for its three hundred and twenty five thousand dollars Mustang GTD. They call it
Liquid Carbon and it gets an unpainted carbon fiber body.
Ford didn't release any specs except to say that the doors are thirteen pounds lighter, but we're pretty sure there's a lot more weight savings than that. And while the
carbon body is undoubtedly going to cost a pretty penny, don't forget that this is a track car. And as
the old saying in racing goes, speed costs money. How
fast do you want to go? And that wraps up
this week's worth of reports. Thanks for watching, and a
special thank you to all of you members out there who support Auto Line.
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