William Maley

Autonomous vehicles could be getting a large boost thanks to a new alliance between Ford and Google to build self-driving vehicles. Yahoo Autos has learned from three sources that the two companies will be announcing a partnership at the Consumer Electronics Show next month. Details of this new partnership are scarce, but it is understood that the partnership would be legally separate from Ford to shield it from concerns about liability. The deal is also non-exclusive as Google has been talking to other automakers about using its self-driving technology. Automotive News adds that both companies have been working on a contract manufacturing deal “for a long time” according to a source. It should be noted that two former Ford executives are in leadership roles at Google. Former CEO Alan Mulally joined Google's board last July. John Krafcik, whose resume includes being the chief engineer during the development of the Ford Expedition and CEO of Hyundai was brought into Google this September to become the CEO of the company’s Self-Driving Car Project. Gartner's lead automotive analyst, Thilo Koslowski tells Automotive News that this deal is a win for both parties. Automakers like Ford would like to work with Google as a way to catch up to rivals that ar working on autonomous driving tech as a way to differentiate their products. For Google, Koslowski says that “the focus has shifted to looking for OEM partners to deploy the technology, rather than considering building their own vehicles. That makes sense. If Google is interested in bringing the benefit of the technology to consumers, then they need as many partners as possible.” Google declined to comment. Ford spokesman Alan Hall neither confirmed or denied a deal. “We work with a lot of tech companies all over the world. We keep these discussions private for obvious competitive reasons and we do not comment on speculation,” said Hall. Source: Yahoo Autos, Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article

The clock is ticking away before the end of the Holden Commodore and the Elizabeth in 2017. But Motoring.com.au says a Belgian Entrepreneur wants to buy GM's Elizabeth plant and the assets to the Commodore to build out a range of rear and all-wheel drive vehicles. In late November, Motoring first got wind of this plan. The person in question is Guido Dumarey, owner of the Punch Group (also known as Punch International). He has been working on a plan to buy the plant and all of the tooling since GM announced the end of Australian production and the Commodore. To understand why Dumarey wants to save the Elizabeth plant and all of the tooling, we need to set the stage. In the portfolio of Punch Group is a former GM transmission plant that was bought in 2013 and is now called Punch Powerglide Strasbourg. The plant produces the automatic transmission for the V6 Commodore. It is through this that Dumarey has developed an understanding of a number items and factors such the plant, the Zeta platform, and the support by the Australian government to keep automotive production going. The report says Dumarey began making inquiries about buying the plant and all of the tooling in 2013. In 2014, he began to meet with government officials to discuss his plans. It is believed that former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott wasn't interested in the plan. But with a new Prime Minster, Dumarey may get some interest. Now at the time of the first report, Dumarey decline to comment on the record about this plan. But as an aside, he said 'the project was at an early and delicate stage and bringing it to fruition would be a massive challenge.' General Motors said at the time they haven't been approached by Dumarey or his company, and any government officials. This brings us to December and Motoring's second report. They had a chance to speak with Dumarey and he confirmed his bid to buy the plant and the assets for the Commodore. He knows time is against him to buy up the assets. “Everything is planned. The next step is to inform all the parties with the right plan, and it happens next year. The announcement is that they will close in the end of 2017. In the first six months of next year we must work very hard to find solutions. Two thousand and sixteen is the key year. After ’16 we must not think about it, because all the programs have started to stop and it’s too late,” Dumarey said. Dumarey believes there is a lot of life in the Zeta platform for which a range of rear and all-wheel drive vehicles could be sold in Australia and elsewhere in the world. The name would be changed from Commodore as GM still holds the rights to it. “To me rear-wheel drive is premium," said Dumarey. “I think with the platform you have from Zeta… It’s the perfect platform.” Durmarey also revealed that he hasn't officially approached GM or Holden with a bid. Rather, he has been working with the government of Australia to gain support to help make his bid successful. This would explain why GM hasn't gotten a bid at the moment. But there a number of questions that still need to be answered. Would GM allow Durmarey to have the licensing rights for Zeta and the tools? How much is Durmarey offering? If he does get Elizabeth and the rights for Zeta, how long before we start seeing cars? We recommend reading both Motoring stories as we have only scratched the surface to this big and developing story. Source: Motoring.com.au, 2 View full article

Yes

AutoGuide recently found two new trademark applications from General Motors. The applications were filed on December 16th and are for the 'Tourx' and 'Regal Tourx' trademarks. The applications say the trademarks are for “Motor land vehicles, namely automobiles.” AutoGuide speculates the Tourx name could be for a wagon variant of the next-generation Buick Regal. GM is currently hard at work on the next-generation Opel/Vauxhall Insignia - the model that the Regal is based on - and is expected to come in a five-door and wagon versions. We believe AutoGuide is on the right track with the wagon, but we're going to take it in a different direction. A couple years back, Opel and Vauxhall introduced the Insignia Country Tourer. Starting with a standard Insignia wagon, Opel and Vauxhall added a new all-wheel drive system, body cladding, and increased ground clearance. At the time the Country Tourer was announced, we said that GM could make a business case for it as a competitor to the Subaru Outback. If there is a next-generation Country Tourer, we wouldn't be shocked if came over as a Buick. But automakers trademark a number of names and symbols, only to be never used. This could be the case here. It will be interesting to see if GM uses this name for the next-generation Regal. Source: AutoGuide View full article

Hyundai has given us a teaser sketch of their upcoming Ioniq - the hybrid/plug-in hybrid/electric model. But Autoblog got their hands on some new spy shots that give us our best look at the final product. The Ioniq's front end follows the same design as seen on the Tucson with a hexgonal grille and slim headlights. The side features a roofline that is similar to the Chevrolet Volt and Toyota Prius. Around back is a high decklid. Hyundai will show the Ioniq in South Korea next month. From there, it will hit Geneva and the New York auto shows. Source: Autoblog View full article

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles knows Jeep is one of the hottest selling brands in the U.S. and they have been thinking about ways to exploit that further. According to Automotive News, one possible way the company is thinking about is to allow dealers to open satellite centers for the Jeep brand. According to a source, this move mirrors an effort by FCA where they encourage dealers in truck-heavy marketplaces to open up satellite stores for their Ram Trucks brand. This allows dealers to create a storefront that can cater to truck buyers with a lot filled with a number of trims and configurations of trucks, and truck specialists to help buyers. By doing this for Jeep, it could help differentiate the brand from the other brands. This is a key point as Jeep is readying to launch a $100,000+ Grand Wagoneer in 2019 according to a source. Al Gardner, FCA's head of network development said in a intervicew that satellite centers for Jeep has been disscused and are under consideration. "Would I consider doing Jeep as a stand-alone, same structure, same business unit, same entity? Maybe. By the way, I think a whole bunch of dealers would consider it too," Gardner said. "But it doesn't mean that we're going to go out and do it, and it sure as hell doesn't mean that we're going to go out and add Jeep stores." Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article

It isn't that hard to outshine the Nissan NV200.

You do realize styling is the last thing many buyers care about with a utility van, right?

If you needed a cargo van in the past, you could only get one in either large and extra-large. There wasn’t really an option for something smaller, which left a number of business in a tough spot. They needed something that could carry deliveries or equipment, but be somewhat maneuverable and get decent gas mileage. Sure, some automakers offered a cargo version of their minivans. But they were not big sellers and some worried about the overall durability. In 2009, Ford introduced the Transit Connect to the U.S. marketplace. This small van was aimed at small businesses who needed something that delivered good gas mileage, but was still capable of holding a fair amount of cargo. The van became an instant hit not only with small business, but also large corporations who saw the Transit Connect as a way to lower their fuel bills for their fleet. Now other automakers are throwing their hat into the small cargo van ring to serve this audience. The most recent is Ram with the introduction of the ProMaster City. Based on the Fiat Doblo sold in Europe, Ram hopes the ProMaster City can give the Ford Transit Connect and Nissan NV200 a run for its money. We spent a week in a ProMaster City Tradesman Cargo to find out. The basic shape of Fiat Doblo is unchanged. Ram has made some changes such as front bumper with a crosshair grille, and lights that are DOT compliant. The ProMaster isn’t going to be taking home any awards for design, most business/commercial buyers won't care. They're just looking for a flat surface to paint a logo. What they do care about is cargo space and that’s where the ProMaster City shines. Ram quotes total cargo space at 131.7 cubic feet which is larger than any other cargo van in the class, even the long-wheelbase Transit Connect. Other specs that make the ProMaster City perfect for cargo carrying duties include a low floor height (21.5 inches), wide cargo floor (60.4 inches and 48.4 inches at the wheel well), and payload capacity (1,886 lbs). The ProMaster also is very versatile thanks to split opening doors in the back, and sliding doors on either side. It was just the right vehicle for the week as the ProMaster was put on IKEA duty and easily swallowed the flat-pack furniture that we bought. Move up front and you’ll find a sparsely furnished interior with seating for two. Much of interior is carried over from Doblo. The only changes Ram made are a new steering wheel with audio controls and an AM/FM radio. Hard plastics line the dashboard and door panels, which should stand up to the hard work this van will be put through. Seats provided decent comfort and support. Our only complaint is with the adjustment knob for the seat. It's too far back to reach easily and the narrow space between the knob and door pillar makes adjusting the seat a pain. Our ProMaster City tester came equipped with the optional Uconnect 5.0 system with a backup camera. This system offers AM/FM/Bluetooth/USB/Aux and a trip computer. The system is very easy to use with large touchpoints, quick performance, and redundant buttons around the screen. The backup camera is a godsend as the rear windows in the ProMaster City Cargo are covered. The camera makes it easy to backup into tight spaces or when you are pulling out from a parking space. For power, Ram called in the 2.4L Tigershark MultiAir inline-four with 178 horsepower and 174 pound-feet of torque (available at 3,800 rpm). This is paired to a nine-speed automatic transmission. The inline-four does feel torquey and willing to get up to city speed limits in a flash. Anything above that and the ProMaster City feels slow. Ram quotes a 0-60 MPH time of under ten seconds and it feels like it. The nine-speed automatic has been improving with every Chrysler vehicle that we have driven. The transmission smoothly transitions from gear to gear is willing to downshift when needed. Still, we weren’t able to get the vehicle into the mythical ninth-gear in our testing. Even doing an 80-Mile round trip on the freeway, we found the transmission would only go into eighth gear. The EPA rates the ProMaster City fuel economy at 21 City/29 Highway/24 Combined. Our average for the week landed around 22 MPG in mostly city driving. Ram made a number of changes to the suspension to get the ProMaster City ready for the U.S. Including raising the ride height and changing a number of components. It has paid off as the van provided a smooth ride even over some of the roughest roads. The ProMaster City also has one of the tightest turning circles of 32 feet, perfect for urban environments. However, the ProMaster isn’t what you would call fun to drive. There is an abundance of body roll when cornering, due to van’s height’s exceeding its width. Also, the steering a bit rubbery when you turn the wheel. This is pretty much expected for the class. Again, this isn’t a priority for most buyers. While Ram is late to small van party, it has very capable van in the form of the ProMaster City. It offers a number of best-in class figures, a comfortable ride, and decent performance. Paired with a lot of features for the price, the ProMaster City will give buyers what they want in a small van at a surprising price. Considering Ram has moved 8,113 ProMaster Cities through November, buyers seem to agree. Disclaimer: Ram Trucks Provided the ProMaster City, Insurance, and One Tank of Gas Year: 2015 Make: Ram Trucks Model: ProMaster City Trim: Tradesman Cargo Engine: 2.4L Tigershark MultiAir Inline-Four Driveline: Front-Wheel Drive, Nine-Speed Automatic Horsepower @ RPM: 178 @ 6,400 Torque @ RPM: 178 @ 3,800 Fuel Economy: City/Highway/Combined - 21/29/24 Curb Weight: 3,512 lbs Location of Manufacture: Bursa, Turkey Base Price: $24,130 As Tested Price: $25,475 (Includes $995.00 Destination Charge) Options: Tradesman Cargo Van Package 24C - (-$1,000) Rear Back-Up Camera Group - $565.00 UConnect 5.0 AM/FM/BT - $495.00 Speed Control - $225.00 Front Carpet Floor Mats by Mopar - $65.00 View full article

It should be. I sat in the back seats and lived to tell the tale.