AD #4190 - Ford Making Europe-Only Bronco; "The Big Short" Investor Targets Tesla; Toyota Teases 3 New Sports Cars

Speaker 1: This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Researchers at the University of Michigan

are going to test new traffic light technology in the Detroit area, which could help reduce congestion and wait times.

The technology doesn't rely on infrastructure based sensors. It uses

AI in vehicle GPS data to recalibrate the signals to make them more efficient. The data is collected from roadside

assistance and navigation systems, including drivers using their phones for directions and ride share companies, but it doesn't track a vehicle's trip to protect privacy. Intersections where the technology has

been installed have seen a significant reduction in delays and stops, and more intersections will be added in the coming months.

Did you ever see the movie The Big Short. It

was all about what caused the Great Recession in two thousand and eight, and it focused on a hedge fund investor named Michael Burry who saw the whole thing coming.

He shorted mortgage based securities on a massive scale, and when the market collapsed, he made a fortune for himself and his investors. Fast forward to today and Michael Burry

is taking aim at Tesla, saying its stock is ridiculously overvalued. However,

he's not shorting the stock. He tried that back in

twenty twenty one and probably got burned when Tesla's shares surged at the end of the year. Tesla isn't the

only company Burry is criticizing. He also says the big

tech companies are overvalued. Meanwhile, Tesla had a great November

in China. Sales including exports shout out forty one percent

compared to October and nearly ten percent from a year ago.

That may not be enough to offset Tesla's massive sales drop in Europe, but it is an important turnaround for the company. So far this year, the world's automakers have

manufactured seventy nine miss million vehicles, and thirty eight percent of them were made by Chinese companies. According to the

China Passenger Car Association, three of China's automakers now placed in the top ten car companies in the world based on market share, including Byd in sixth place, Glian eighth, and Cherry in tenth. And not only as China selling

a lot of cars, its technology is showing up in cars made by non Chinese automakers. Car News China reports

that Huawei's UX and infotainment stack is being developed for international markets. It's now mapped out those areas. It's putting

labels and routing in English, while lane markers and speed limit signs are like the ones you'd see in North America or Europe.

Speaker 2: At CSP, we work with OEM engineers across the country on their journeys to lighter, safer, and more eco friendly vehicles.

Learn more at these dp dot com.

Speaker 1: Excluding commercial vehicles, Ford seems to have lost its way a bit in Europe, so to help make the region more sustainable, it's cutting production and slashing thousands of jobs.

The company even ended production of the Focus in the middle of last month. However, most of Ford's European restructuring

will be done around twenty twenty seven, which is the same time it's launching an all new compact SUV for the region. Automotive News reports the company will be taking

the Bronco nameplate overseas. While the Big Bronco can be

purchased in Europe right now, it's only in limited quantities in select markets and only in left hand drive. Other

than the boxy styling, the new model for the region will be nothing like the North American Broncos. It's going

to be built alongside the Couga in Spain and will be offered with a plug in hybrid powertrain. The model

will slot between the Couga, which is Europe's version of the Escape, and the Puma, which is Ford's best selling model in Europe. An all electric version is not said

to be in the cards, but other powertrains are expected to be. Chinese autonomous vehicle company Momenta has filed for

an initial public offering in Hong Kong, but details like offering size and timetable are not known. Momenta considered filing

for an IPO in New York, but it changed plans due to trade tensions between the US and China. We

find Momenta filing for an IPO significant because tear down specialist caresofts say it's the best autonomous vehicle company in China and possibly even globally. And In other AV news,

chip Maker and Vidia released new open source software to help speed up development of self driving cars. The software

is what's known as a vision Language Action AI model, which translates what the sensor see on the road into a description that uses natural language. This model makes it

easier for engineers to understand why an avy chooses a particular path on the road, which will help them improve the safety of the technology. On Friday, Toyota is going

to reveal three all new sports cars. So far, we

only have this teaser image to go on, but one is expected to be the production version of the GRGT three concept and will be called the GRGT and another is expected to be a Lexus version based on the same platform that will be called the LFR, so similar to the old LFA and could look like the Lexus Sport concept that debuted recently at the Japan Mobility Show.

We're not sure what that third vehicle is, which also looks like it has luvered fenders, but at least we don't have to wait long to find out, and that brings us to the end of today's show. Thanks for

making autoline a part of your day.

Speaker 3: Auto Line Daily is brought to you by Bridgetone Solutions for your Journey CSP the Composites solution partner Intrepid Control Systems over the Air Engineering boost your game and thanks to the following YouTube and Patreon members.

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AD #4190 - Ford Making Europe-Only Bronco; "The Big Short" Investor Targets Tesla; Toyota Teases 3 New Sports Cars

Ford Puma

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