Motoring News
Ford used Zoom last week to present the redesigned 2021 Ford F-150 pickup truck, the nation’s best selling vehicle for 38 years, to members of the New England Motor Press Association. On hand to do the presentation were Tim Stone, Ford’s CFO and Brian Bell, Retail Marketing Manager at Ford.
Bell noted that a “truck is a tool,” so Ford, in the redesign, sought to deliver best-in-class towing and payload capabilities. Helping achieve these goals is the continued use of an aluminum alloy for the body structure.
Its lighter weight allowed for increases in towing and payload ratings. The new hybrid model delivers the lineup’s best horsepower and torque ratings while delivering up to 700 miles of range without refueling. Properly equipped, it can tow up to 12,000 pounds. While the new styling may be the first element to catch the eye, several features suggest that people who use their pickup as a tool will find these new trucks exceptionally attractive. Optional Pro Power Onboard means that contractors will no longer need to carry and secure a separate generator. Depending on the system, the truck can deliver between 2,000 watts and 7,200 watts of electricity, running the engine in generator mode to keep the power coming. The 7,200-watt system provides both 110- and 220-volt outlets. Even the tailgate will get into the act. It can be used as a workbench, with measuring and clamping capabilities and an iPad holder, just in case a project requires Internet-based instructions.
Inside, Ford is offering office-styled work surfaces in bench and bucket seat models. A desk-like work surface in models with a center console is made possible by a folding shift lever. In some models, the Max Recline front bucket seats can be used for a nap.
Top trim levels get a 12-inch center screen, though Ford continues to provide redundant climate and audio controls for users wearing gloves. An 8-inch center screen is standard in lower trim levels. Other features sure to be of interest include Trailer Reverse Guidance, Pro Trailer Backup Assist and a new SYNC 4 infotainment system. Another first for Ford: The new F-150 can receive over-the-air updates for its operating systems. This 14th generation of the Ford’s pickup truck arrives this fall.
Nikola shakeup
Less than a month after General Motors took a cashless $2 billion, 11-percent stake in startup electric and fuel cell truck maker Nikola, a short seller’s scathing report on the company has prompted Nikola’s founder and chairman, Trevor Milton, to step down. The short seller, Hindenburg Research, cast doubt on Nikola’s claims for electric vehicle technology, saying the company was “an intricate fraud built on dozens of lies.” The charges have reportedly prompted a probe by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Milton called the charges a “hit job” while promising to respond. Steve Girsky, a former General Motors executive and current member of the Nikola board is the new Nikola chairman.
Having been thwarted so far in the federal courts, General Motors has moved to the Wayne County Circuit Court in Michigan to file suits against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Joe Ashton and Alphons Iacobelli alleging bribery and conspiracy. Earlier, at the federal level, General Motors had argued that these parties had conspired to force a GM-FCA merger. Failing that, General Motors alleges that these parties crafted a union agreement that would harm General Motors. The case was dismissed by the judge, calling it “a waste of time and resourced for years to come.” General Motors is appealing that decision.
Ashton and Iacobelli have entered guilty pleas to embezzlement in a corruption case that involved the United Auto Workers union. Ashton was a UAW vice president who became a board member at General Motors while Iacobelli worked for FCA in labor affairs. He later moved on to work for General Motors, where he spied for
FCA, according to GM. In a statement, GM said that the federal court made no determination on the merits of GM’s claims. FCA in a statement said this was a “rehash of preposterous conspiracy theories.”
Uber safety driver charged in Arizona
Rafael Stuart Vasquez, 46, has been charged with negligent homicide by the Maricopa County Attorney in the death of Elaine Herzberg. Herzberg was crossing the street when she was struck by an Uber test vehicle in March 2018. The vehicle was in self-driving mode at the time with Vasquez on board as the “safety driver.” In that role, he was to oversee the testing and serve as a human backup to the automated system. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to crash investigators, Vasquez was distracted when the fatal accident occurred. He was allegedly watching an episode of “The Voice” on a cell phone when the accident occurred. Video of the car’s interior shows him looking up at the last second when the collision was unavoidable. The death has raised questions for autonomous vehicle standards and on the wisdom of testing these vehicles on public roads. It has also raised the issue of “automation complacency,” a term used by the National Transportation Safety Board. The agency went on to charge that Uber had “an inadequate safety culture” at the time of the crash.
The vehicle involved was a Volvo XC90.
Volvo has noted that the factory installed safety systems had been disabled and were supplanted by Uber’s test systems.
PSA-FCA deal revamped
COVID-19 has strengthened the case for a merger between the PSA Group and
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, but it has also weakened the financial picture for the entire auto industry, these two companies included. As a result, the PSA Group and
FCA have announced a new financial structure for the merger last week. Rather than distributing cash dividends totaling $6.5 billion to FCA shareholders, as was planned when the deal was announced last December, the revised agreement will lower this amount to $3.4 billion. In addition a distribution of PSA’s 45 percent interest in Faurecia, a parts supplier, worth nearly $7 billion, will be split between PSA and FCA shareholders. Originally, the distribution was to be directed to PSA shareholders.
As a result, the new company, to be called Stellantis, will have an enhanced balance sheet. The boost of approximately $3 billion will come from a reduction in the payout to FCA shareholders. In a related development, major Faurecia shareholders have agreed to refrain from selling their shares for six months once the merger is completed and both companies have cut future dividend payments by approximately 47 percent, citing a slowdown in business caused by COVID-19.
Genesis electric G80
is showing photos of a camouflaged version of the Genesis G80 sedan that will, in addition to its gasolinepowered versions, be offered as a batteryelectric vehicle. Among the hints that there is an electric version are a blocked grille in front and missing exhaust discharge pipes at the rear. The sedan should offer a range approaching 300 miles and will be known as the eG80. It is to compete with the Tesla Model S.
Parent Hyundai has a goal of selling a million EVs a year by 2025. The vehicles would be sold under the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis nameplates. With the eG80 slated to take on the Tesla Model S, another planned EV, this one a hatchback, is expected to be a smaller and less costly competitor for the Tesla Model 3.
Meanwhile, Kia is on track to introduce its first dedicated electric vehicle next year. It will be the first of seven planned vehicles that will use electric power expected to arrive by 2027. Kia’s CEO, Ho Sung Song, has said that Kia’s goal is to have EVs account for a quarter of its sales by 2029. Kia already has an electric model, the Soul. But this model is also available with a gasolinepowered drivetrain. The new Kia EV will offer only electric power.
General Motors is once again talking about flying taxis and this time around, the flying vehicles would be electrically powered.
GM’s CEO Mary Barra broached the subject in remarks delivered at a virtual conference last week, sponsored by RBC Capital Markets. She suggested that such vehicles could use GM’s Ultium batteries, which are still under development. A GM spokesperson refused to issue a timeline for the vehicles.
Volvo is making a styling change on several of its 2021 models by hiding the exhaust tips behind the rear bumper cover. This gives the look of an electric vehicle. Volvo says the resulting appearance enhances its clean Scandinavian design and suggests that exposed exhaust tips, once a symbol of power, have outlived their usefulness. Volvo is aiming for half of its sales to be of electric vehicles by 2025.