Motoring News

IIHS: More safer vehicles

Compared to this time last year, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has found more than twice as many vehicles worthy of its “Top Safety Pick+” designation, the highest rating it gives for vehicle safety. Last year at this time there were 23 vehicles on the list. This year, the number has ballooned to 49, despite the Institute adopting stricter criteria for the award. In addition, 41 more vehicles have earned the “Top Safety Pick” designation. To gain a “Top Safety Pick” designation, a vehicle must earn the top “Good” rating in the Institute’s six crash tests, have “advanced” or “superior” front crash prevention technology and have available headlights that are graded “good” or “acceptable.” The get the “+” designation, all of the “Top Safety Pick” criteria must be met and the “good” or “acceptable” headlights must be standard equipment for all versions of the vehicle. A list of the winning vehicles can be found on the Institute’s Website, iihs.org.

Nissan claims a cleaner engine

Nissan has announced a breakthrough in engine technology that could boost fuel economy while significantly reducing CO2 emissions. The company claims to have achieved a 50 percent thermal efficiency with its e-POWER hybrid technology. Achieving this entails burning a lean mixture in a gasoline engine with a high compression ratio.

In a statement, Nissan said that its “latest approach to engine development has raised the bar to world-leading levels, accelerating past the current auto industry average range of 40% thermal efficiency, making it possible to even further reduce vehicle CO2 emissions.” In Japan, Nissan’s current e-POWER system, introduced in 2016, uses a gasoline engine to charge a battery that powers the vehicle. Left unsaid was when the advanced system that achieves 50 percent thermal efficiency would be offered to the public. Nissan has pledged to electrify its new models in key markets by 2030 and be carbon neutral by 2050.

King Ranch moving to Explorer

Ford is expanding the King Ranch trim designation, currently confined to its large pickups and sport utility vehicles, to the 2021 Explorer. Despite this addition, the Platinum trim level remains at the top of the Explorer lineup. However, the King Ranch versions will come in just under this trim level.

Standard interior features on the King Ranch Explorer will include leather upholstery and wood accents, while exterior trim upgrades include a unique grille and quad chrome exhaust tips. On the safety front, Co-Pilot 360 Assist+ with its array of driver technologies will be standard. Under the hood, Ford will offer the 3.0-liter EcoBoost engine with rear-wheel drive, a first. Availability begins this spring with rear-wheel-drive models starting at $53,595 and four-wheel-drive versions starting at $55,595, destination charges included.

Hyundai to change batteries in EVs

Hyundai is recalling 82,000 electric vehicles worldwide to replace battery packs that present a fire risk. The recall is estimated to cost the company

$900 million and primarily affects the Kona EV. This model was recalled earlier for software upgrades intended to address the fire hazard. However, a vehicle in South Korea caught fire after being recalled. Battery supplier LG Chem, in an effort to deflect blame, said in a statement quoted by Reuters that Hyundai had improperly used its suggestions for fast charging protocols and that the battery should not be blamed for the fires. However, South Korean government investigators said that some defects had been found in batteries produced by LG Chem in China. So far, there have been 15 cases of fires reported, with 11 in South Korea, two in Canada, one in Finland and one in Austria. Hyundai is recommending that owners of the affected vehicles not charge beyond the 90 percent threshold until the batteries are replaced.

It’s Oshkosh, b’gosh, for the Postal Service

Oshkosh Defense has been awarded a 10-year contract to provide the U.S.

Postal Service with a new generation of delivery vehicles. The contract, which could be worth $6 billion, includes an initial expenditure of nearly $500 million for finalizing the design, testing and tooling needed for the vehicle. Under the terms, the company will deliver between 50,000 and 165,000 of the vehicles over a ten-year period.

The vehicle will be “purpose build,” meaning that it will not use any other vehicle’s platform as a starting point. Earlier, Oshkosh had collaborated on a postal vehicle design with Ford Motor Company, using Ford’s Transit van as the starting point. However, the winning design is not based on this vehicle.

The current postal fleet is approaching 30 years of age. Maintenance costs in a recent audit were averaging $5,000 a year per vehicle. The U.S. Postal Service has a fleet of 190,000 mail delivery vehicles. Wall Street reacted to the news by pushing Oshkosh shares up by 6 percent. It also pummeled Workhorse Group

Inc., which had been expected by some investors to be awarded the contract with its design for an electric delivery vehicle. Workhorse shares decline by 48 percent on the news.

Lexus boosting IS power option

The Lexus IS sedan will, for 2022, get a new engine to power the F Sport version. Power for this model now comes from a 3.5-liter V6. For 2022, the Lexus IS

500 F Sport Performance model will use the 472-horsepower 5.0-liter V8 that also does duty in the RC-F. The engine upgrade will add 161 horsepower and 115 lb-ft of torque to the drivetrain that powers this model. This version, which can reach 60 miles per hour in 4.5 seconds, according to Lexus, will be limited to the North American market. Pricing will be announced closer to the vehicle’s introduction.

Lucid Air delayed

Lucid Motors, which has started advertising its luxury EV sedan, the

Air, has announced in a filing that the vehicle’s production will not start until late this year. Initially the company, which is valued by investors at $62 billion, said production would begin this spring. The announcement came in tandem with a deal that merged Lucid with Churchill Capital IV. The deal was the largest yet involving special-purpose acquisition companies.

Lucid’s CEO, Peter Rawlinson, said in a CNBC interview that the Lucid Air Dream edition is nearly sold out. Lucid officials have said that the company expects to see positive cash flow in 2025.

Native Americans calling on Jeep

It is not just sport franchises using

Native American names and images that have drawn the ire of Native Americans. Now Jeep finds itself a target for its Cherokee models, which the company has offered for nearly 50 years under six different owners. Currently, Jeep is part of Stellantis, which is the company formed by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and

PSA Group.

In an interview with Automotive News, the principal chief of the Cherokee

Nation, Chuck Hoskin, Jr., confirmed that Stellantis, which was formed earlier this year, reached out to the Cherokee Nation in late January. The resulting discussions centered on the use of the Cherokee name. Hoskin said he informed Stellantis that he thought its use was inappropriate and that the name should be dropped. Stellantis declined to make that move, but according to Hoskin, kept the door open for further discussions.

In a statement, Jeep said, “Our vehicle names have been carefully chosen and nurtured over the years to honor and celebrate Native American people for their nobility, prowess, and pride. We are, more than ever, committed to a respectful and open dialogue with Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.” The outreach and discussions started just as Jeep is about to introduce a new Grand Cherokee.

The name, however, does not guarantee success. In the face of a pandemic depressed market, Jeep Cherokee sales were down 29 percent last year, which has prompted the layoff of 150 workers at the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois that makes this model.

Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid and PHEV

Hyundai has taken the wraps of its 2021 Santa Fe Hybrid and plug-in electric vehicle version of this midsize crossover. In plug-in hybrid trim, it can go up to 30 miles on electric power alone. The hybrid version will be offered this spring. The plug-in version comes later this summer.

Buyers of the plug-in version will get a power meter in place of the tachometer and can specify when the vehicle uses gasoline or electric power. They could, for example, reserve electric power for urban travel. This would allow their use in some cities throughout the world that are moving toward banning emission producing vehicle operation within their boundaries.

Both the hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions will feature all-wheel drive as standard equipment. They will compete with a growing number of hybrid crossover models, including the Toyota RAV4 and RAV4 Prime and the

Honda CR-V.

Ford Recall

Ford is recalling nearly 88,000 of its 2021 F-Series pickup trucks because improper bonding of the windshield to the vehicle during manufacturing could result in the windshield separating from the vehicle in a crash. Affected are F-150s made at the Dearborn Plant between October 27, 2020 and February 3, 2021. Also affected are Super Duty pickups assembled at the Kentucky Truck Plant from October 12, 2020 to January 23, 2021. Of the nearly 88,000 trucks involved, more than 79,000 are in use in the United States. Recall notices will go out to owners starting early next month.