Nutson's Weekly Auto News Wrap-up - January 30-February 5, 2022
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Nutson's Automotive News Wrap-up - Week Ending February 5, 2022 Below are the past week's important, relevant, semi-secret, or snappy automotive news, opinions and insider back stories presented as expertly crafted easy-to-understand automotive universe news nuggets.
* DoE fact of the week: The average carbon dioxide emissions for 2021 model year light-duty vehicles is at an all-time low. The average production-weighted carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for new model year (MY) 2021 light-duty vehicles was 348 grams per mile, down from 681 grams per mile for new vehicles in MY 1975 ‒ a decrease of 49%. From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, there was a rapid decline in average CO2 emissions as manufacturers produced more vehicles with smaller displacement engines. From the mid-1980s to 2004, average CO2 emissions of new light-duty vehicles gradually rose as consumer demand favored light trucks over cars and vehicle performance increased. Although consumer demand for light trucks and higher performance continued unabated from MY 2005 to 2021, advanced technologies improved vehicle efficiency and reduced the average CO2 emissions of new light-duty vehicles by about 22% in that timeframe.
* An all-electric Porsche Taycan set a new Guinness World Record title for coast-to-coast charging. Officially recognized by Guinness World Records, the Taycan spent a total of less than 2.5 hours charging on a cross-country drive. Multi-Guinness Recoerd holder Wayne Gerdes completed the crossing from Los Angeles, California to New York City covering 2,834.5 miles in a 2021 Porsche Taycan with a cumulative charge time of just 2 hours, 26 minutes, and 48 seconds. Gerdes used the Electrify America charging network established by Volkswagen, who owns Porsche. Chargers capable of delivering between 150 and 350 kilowatts of power reduced the charging time. "The first time I charged on a 350KW charger the Taycan went from 6 to 82 percent charge in just 22 minutes,” said Gerdes.
* Car-shopping site CarGurus surveyed consumers and found that 43% of current truck owners expect to buy an electric truck within the next decade, up from 34% in a study last year. Millennials and compact truck owners are the most likely to consider an E-truck. Boomers, not so much.
* Electreon, a wireless and in-road wireless electric vehicle charging technology company, will deploy its first public wireless EV charging road system in Michigan. The company made the announcement, saying it will build the Electric Road System (ERS) in Detroit as part of a pilot program with the Michigan Department of Transportation, Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Electreon's charging infrastructure can wireless charge EVs while they are in motion and stationary. The company said it is the first in the world to be successfully demonstrated on public roads. Pilots for Electreon are already operating in Germany, Italy and Sweden.
* Kansas officials are expecting to see more EVs on the road in the years to come, as well as hybrid cars and those using alternative fuels. That might mean cost savings for drivers — but money not spent at the gas pump also has an impact on how the state builds and repairs its roads. Driving an electric vehicle has the same impact on roads in terms of wear and tear — but users are not paying gas taxes, one of the core mechanisms the state uses to fund infrastructure. Currently, electric vehicle users pay a $100 annual registration fee designed to offset what they would otherwise have paid in gas taxes. But KDOT secretary Julie Lorenz noted this is a temporary solution. Eventually, Lorenz said, there would be a national move to getting residents to pay a set rate for every mile they drive — and, in her ideal world, pay a different rate for busier roads at peak travel times.
* Reuters reports that Europeans bought more hybrid vehicles than diesels in 2021, the first time gas-electric hybrids have outsold diesel in the EU passenger vehicle market. Good news for European automakers that have stuck with gas-electric hybrid in the face of pressure from regulators and investors to go all-electric.
* Many new vehicles today feature driving assistance systems that can control some braking, accelerating, and steering. They make driving less stressful but increase the risk of driver distraction. New research from AAA shows that adding a driver-facing camera is the best way to make sure that drivers will still pay attention to the road. AAA researchers compared direct, camera-based driver monitoring systems with indirect systems that can detect only whether a driver’s hands are on the wheel. Systems without cameras were found to take up to 51 seconds longer to alert an inattentive driver than systems with cameras. Editor note: An example is a recent drive of mine in a vehicle with adaptive cruise control and lane centering. At an exit ramp the camera based guide system wanted to follow the white lane edge markings onto the off ramp. I had to steer back into the driving lane.
* Automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems that can detect pedestrians are preventing pedestrian crashes — but only in the daytime or on well-lit roads. In all light conditions, crash rates for pedestrian crashes of all severities were 27 percent lower for vehicles equipped with pedestrian AEB than for unequipped vehicles, a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found. However, when the researchers looked only at pedestrian crashes that occurred at night on roads without streetlights, there was no difference in crash risk for vehicles with and without pedestrian AEB.
* Plan ahead on your next new vehicle. Ford CEO Jim Farley has made a priority of convincing more customers to order vehicles, rather than picking over what's in stock on dealer lots. January's sales figures suggest the effort is starting to work. Ford said it sold 143,531 vehicles in January, and took orders for 90,000. The order figure is up 71,000 vehicles from a year ago.
* Cars.com says the inventory shortage that saw dealer lots emptied of new cars is leading to more pre-ordering in 2022. Online vehicle purchases are up and look like they’re set to gain even more popularity as dealers and buyers increasingly like the idea of speeding the buying process by doing it all electronically. Automakers and dealers are changing how they sell cars — specifically, they’d increasingly like you to order one instead buy one off a lot full of choices. Preordering allows customers to get all the features and trim levels they want without going through an arduous search process and without settling for more or less than you want, or a color that's not your favorite.
* One hundred years ago this week, on February 4, 1922, Henry Ford purchased the Lincoln Motor Company from Henry Leland. Henry's son Edsel Ford wa given free-rein torun Lincoln and create luxury cars with a sense of style and design.
* Reuters reports the chair of the White House council on environmental quality sent a letter to Postmaster General Luis DeJoy urging him to reconsider a plan to buy mostly combustion vehicles for the USPS's multi-billion "Next Generation Delivery Vehicle" program. The vehicles are to be built by defense vehicle maker Oshkosh at a factory in union-optional South Carolina. The EPA said the USPS's "Next Generation" petroleum fueled vehicles "are expected to achieve only 8.6 miles per gallon, barely improving over the decades-old, long-life vehicles that achieve 8.2 miles per gallon." In response the self-sufficient USPS basically said they would love to have EVs but they cannot afford them. However, if the USPS got more Federal money they certainly would give EVs consideration.
* Tesla is expected to recall 53,822 U.S. vehicles with the company's Full Self-Driving (Beta) software that may allow some models to conduct "rolling stops" and not come to a complete stop at some intersections posing a safety risk. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the recall covers some 2016-2022 Model S and Model X, 2017-2022 Model 3, and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles. NHTSA said the feature may allow vehicles to travel through an all-way stop intersection without first coming to a stop.
* Tesla is also recalling 817,000 U.S. vehicles over a malfunctioning seat belt alert. NHTSA said the Tesla vehicles -- some 2021-2022 Model S and Model X, 2017-2022 Model 3, and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles -- fail to comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard on 'occupant crash protection' because the seat belt reminder chimes may not sound when the vehicle is started.
* Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced a new $4 million grant program for the development of tourism, education, preservation, and promotion of the 100th Anniversary of Route 66. With more than 300 miles of Route 66 in Illinois from its starting point in Chicago to the Chain of Rocks Bridge, Route 66’s economic and historical impact is woven into the fabric of communities across the state. 2026 is the centennial year of Route 66.
* Helio Castroneves, 46, kept the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 ahead of the field during the final 30 minutes to lift MSR and co-drivers Tom Blomqvist, Oliver Jarvis and Simon Pagenaud to victory Sunday in the 60th anniversary of the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. It was Castroneves’ second consecutive Rolex 24 victory. Last year, he won the race as part of Wayne Taylor Racing. The No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura came in second giving Acura a 1-2 sweep. Loic Duval brought the No. 5 JDC Miller MotorSports Cadillac DPi-V.R in third place.
* Today, Sunday February 6, brings a momentous occasion — the first NASCAR race to be held in Los Angeles since Ascot Park closed in 1990. Not only that, NASCAR’s season-opening Busch Light Clash will be held at the Coliseum, one of the most storied venues in sports history. Before the main event a series of four heats will be held to determine qualifiers for the final race. There are 36 drivers entered into the Clash, but only 23 cars will rev up during the penultimate race. That’s an uncommonly low number for a Cup Series event, largely capped because the quarter-mile track is simply too cramped to host a 40-car armada. Do tune in to watch.
Stay safe. Be Well.
