“We are taking this extraordinary step to help protect our attendees, exhibitors, and all participants from the coronavirus,” said Mark Schienberg, president of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, the organization that owns and operates the New York Auto Show.
The has been rescheduled to Aug. 28-to-Sept. 6, 2020. Press days are August 26-27, 2020.
“For 120 years, ‘the show must go on’ has been heavily embedded in our DNA, and while the decision to move the show dates didn’t come easy, our top priority remains with the health and well-being of all those involved in this historic event. We have already been in communication with many of our exhibitors and partners and are confident that the new dates for the 2020 Show will make for another successful event,” Schienberg added.
New York’s postponement will make Detroit’s North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in June the second major showcase of the year following Chicago. NAIAS had typically kicked off the auto show season, but falling attendance and lack of participation from automakers prompted organizers to shift the event until June.
NAIAS organizers say they’re working closely with the TCF Center venue and health officials to prepare for the show.
“First and foremost, we want our partners and visitors to have a safe, world-class experience in the Motor City,” said Doug North, chairman of the 2020 NAIAS. “Here in Detroit, we are monitoring the latest information about the novel coronavirus and are reviewing our policies and procedures. We are also in the process of meeting with city and state health and safety officials to develop the proper precautions for our show.”
Blaser Swisslube customers helping students destroy robots
$2,000 raised for National Robotics League to fund student robot fighting teams.
Goshen, New York – A recent promotion from Blaser Swisslube challenged U.S. manufacturers to test a Blaser metalworking fluid or to share a user experience to raise funds for the National Robotics League (NRL). The 2019 year-end offer raised $2,000 for the workforce development program.
“Like all growing companies, we are in need of and competing for new talent,” said Carsten Witthuser, managing director of Blaser Swisslube Americas. “Supporting the NRL is another way for us to be proactive and encourage the next generation in manufacturing.”
NRL is a program of the National Tooling & Machining Association (NTMA) designed to promote science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills for manufacturing by organizing student teams to design and build remote controlled robots (Bots) to face-off in gladiator-style competition. The program is supported by individual volunteers and donations from companies such as Blaser Swisslube.
“This is a fun and hands-on way to create excitement about technology careers,” said Roger Atkins, President of NTMA. “It engages young people while teaching critical skills we need in our future workforce. We appreciate all of the support for NRL from the NTMA membership.”
The NRL 2020 National Championship is set for May 15-16, 2020 at the California University of Pennsylvania.
GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra discusses the company's battery investments at an event near Detroit.
Photo courtesy of General Motors
GM announces battery technology, EV production plans
Automaker plans to launch several electric vehicles with lower-cost batteries within the next three years.
Detroit, Michigan – General Motors (GM) is promising a wide array of less-expensive electric vehicles (EVs) thanks to battery technologies it is developing, improved product design processes, and plans to scale EV production to the size of its truck business.
“Our team accepted the challenge to transform product development at GM and position our company for an all-electric future,” said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra. “What we have done is build a multi-brand, multi-segment EV strategy with economies of scale that rival our full-size truck business with much less complexity and even more flexibility.”
The heart of GM’s strategy is a modular propulsion system and a highly flexible, third-generation global EV platform powered by proprietary Ultium batteries.
“Thousands of GM scientists, engineers, and designers are working to execute an historic reinvention of the company,” GM President Mark Reuss said. “They are on the cusp of delivering a profitable EV business that can satisfy millions of customers.”
Ultium batteries use large-format, pouch-style cells that can be stacked vertically or horizontally inside the battery pack. By avoiding rigid, cylindrical cells, GM engineers can optimize pack shapes and layouts for each vehicle.
Energy options range from 50kWh to 200kWh – enough for 400 miles of range on the larger battery side. Motors designed in-house will support front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive, and performance all-wheel drive applications.
Ultium-powered EVs are designed for Level 2 and DC fast charging. Most will have 400V battery packs and up to 200kW fast-charging capability. Trucks will get 800V battery packs and 350kW fast-charging capability.
Developed with LG Chem, GM’s joint venture partner on a battery cell plant in Ohio, upcoming cells reduce use of expensive cobalt, a development the companies believe will drive cell cost to less than $100/kWh. At $100/kWh, GM’s 200kWh batteries would cost $20,000, before considering the cost of the rest of the vehicle, so lowering cell costs is critical to affordable EVs.
Reuss said engineers are designing future vehicles and propulsion systems together to minimize complexity and part counts compared to adapting gasoline-powered vehicles for electric drive. GM plans 19 different battery and drive unit configurations initially, compared with 550 internal combustion powertrain combinations.
GM’s technology can be scaled to meet customer demand much higher than the more than 1 million global sales the company expects mid-decade.
Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, and Buick will all be launching new EVs starting this year.
2021 Bolt EV, launching in late 2020, updating GM’s first mass-market all-electric
2022 Bolt EUV, launching summer 2021, larger crossover version of the Volt will be the first non-Cadillac GM to get Super Cruise semi-autonomous driving
Cruise Origin, self-driving, electric shared vehicle, debuted at shows but no production plans announced
Cadillac Lyriq SUV unveiling set for April 2020
GMC HUMMER EV debuted in Super Bowl ads, more details coming May 20, production to begin fall 2021
FCA Head of Engine and Transmission Manufacturing Brad Clark (left to right), joined by FCA North America COO Mark Stewart, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, Kokomo Mayor Tyler Moore, UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada, and UAW Director Rich Rankin, announces the name of the new engine plant in Kokomo., Indiana.
FCA US
FCA spending $400M in Indiana on engines
Converting idle transmission plants will create U.S. source for turbocharged 4-cylinder engines.
Kokomo, Indiana – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) will invest $400 million to repurpose an idled transmission plant in Kokomo, Indiana, to build the GMET4 engine – the company’s 2.0L, turbocharged, inline 4-cylinder available on the Jeep Wrangler and Cherokee.
With this investment, 1,000 Indiana jobs will be retained with nearly 200 new jobs added to support production, bringing total employment in the state to more than 8,300.
FCA North America COO Mark Stewart said, “The GMET4 will be a very important engine for us as we look to deliver on the promises we made as part of our five-year plan in 2018… A significant number of new technologies can be applied to this engine, making it relevant for the future.”
The new facility will be the source of all U.S. production for the engine currently built in Termoli, Italy. Production is expected to begin in Q2 2021.
For more than eight decades, FCA has built transmissions in Indiana, more than 90 million since record keeping began in 1974. Since 2009, the Company has invested nearly $2 billion in its four area plants to produce the eight- and nine-speed transmissions. When production of the GMET4 launches, it will mark the first time in the company’s history that it has built engines in the state.
Construction of Indiana Transmission Plant II (ITPII), which will be renamed Kokomo Engine Plant, began in 2002 and launched production of five-speed transmissions in November 2003. The plant also produced components for eight-speed transmissions. ITPII built its last five-speed transmission in August 2018 and was idled in the fall of 2019.
FCA currently operates three transmission plants and one casting plant in Indiana. The portfolio of transmissions includes four-, six-, eight- and nine-speed transmissions, as well as the SiEVT transmission for the Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid electric minivan, built at the Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada. The casting plant produces aluminum parts for automotive components, transmission and transaxle cases, and engine block castings.
BMW i4
Geneva-ish motor show roundup
The show might have been cancelled, but automakers still showed off several upcoming electric vehicles.
Cleveland, Ohio – Rapidly spreading COVID-19 cases in Europe might have cancelled the Geneva International Motor Show, but automakers had new electric vehicles (EVs) that they wanted to show off, so several of them have had webcasts and other unveilings in recent days.
Major announcements include:
BMW i4 (pictured above)
Every new electric car wins the Tesla-killer tag from some reviewer, and several are applying to BMW’s upcoming sporty coupe. That title ignores the excellent BMW i3 which beat Tesla’s Model 3 to the market by nearly a year for about the same price but failed to gain much traction.
Set for sale next year, the i4 is bigger than the i3 and more of a daily driving car than the i8 roadster. The big draw, though, will likely be its power rating. BMW is promising 390kW/530hp performance and a 270-mile range from the 80kWh battery.
BMW plans to make the car in Munich, Germany, a project expected to cost about $220 million in facility upgrades. Most of the car can be assembled on Munich’s existing lines, but the company needs specialized equipment to mount the massive battery pack under the car’s rear structure. So, the investment will go to removing existing equipment, upgrading existing lines to make up for those lost machines, and installing new battery-installation gear in the space that held more traditional assembly gear.
VW has invested heavily in a design called the modular electric drive matrix (MEB), a basic vehicle architecture that can be modified for a range of differently sized vehicles. So, the ID.4 will share many components and systems with the ID.3 that launched in Europe late last year.
The crossover will have about a 310-mile range, but VW hasn’t yet shared performance numbers for the crossover. The ID.3 starts at about $33,000 in Europe. VW hasn’t yet set prices for the upcoming ID.4.
Courtesy of Hyundai Hyundai Prophecy
Hyundai Prophecy
A concept car that may never enter production, Hyundai’s Prophecy is an attempt at a premium, luxurious, sporty EV sedan. More of a showcase for visual designs and interior creature comforts, Hyundai offered no performance or range specifications for the Prophecy.
The body, designed to be as aerodynamic as possible is highly rounded and, well, more than a bit familiar looking. Hyundai says the design offers “pristine surfaces and pure volume in combination with aesthetic harmony and functionality.”
I see a 2010s-era Volkswagen Beetle that’s been stretched at the edges to be more oval and less circle. Compressing the vehicle image by about 40% really highlights the Prophecy’s similarity to the off-the-market VW.
Compressed version of the Hyundai Prophecy (left), 2015 Volkswagen Beetle (right).
Hyundai officials have not announced any plans to make the Prophecy, but the company is expanding EV production of the Kona EV crossover to feed growing electric demand.
Ford Transit
One of the best-selling commercial van models in the world, the Transit will have an EV model for 2022 – about the same time Ford plans an EV F-150 pickup.
Ford builds the Transit in Kansas City, Missouri, and several locations outside of the U.S. The electric van will come from the U.S. plant, company officials said.
The automaker didn’t share details on specs, but that’s particularly difficult for commercial vans that have more size and shape options than most vehicles. The Transit has three roof heights, three length options, several wheelbase offerings, and drive options that could all impact battery sizing and placement.
That said, commercial vans are good candidates for electrification because they have more space for batteries than passenger cars, and the flat floors in the cargo area make battery arrangement simpler than in other types of vehicles.
About the author: Robert Schoenberger is the editor of Today's Motor Vehicles and Today's eMobility and a contributor to Today's Medical Developments and Aerospace Manufacturing and Design. He has written about the automotive industry for more than 19 years at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio; The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky; and The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi.
Posted by Robert Schoenberger
