2017 Volvo V90 Cross Country first drive: Big Swedish wagons are back

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Tesla Officially Drops “Motors” From its Name

Tesla Motors has officially dropped the “Motors” from its name. The change was reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission today, Automotive News reports. Tesla already dropped the “motors” from its domain name back in July 2016 following the formation of Tesla Energy and just before CEO Elon Musk began the process of acquiring SolarCity, which was completed in November.

The move mirrors Apple’s decision to drop “Computer” from its name back in 2007, the same year it released its first iPhone. Similarly, Tesla no longer wants to be known as just a car company, but also as a sustainable energy provider. Tesla Energy offers a Powerwall system for both home and industrial use. The system uses a lithium-ion battery pack that can store electricity during off-peak hours to be used when the grid is more taxed, and when power is thus more expensive. The system can also be combined with solar panels, which is where solar city comes in. The solar energy company, which Musk’s cousins run and he himself helped found, is the number-one provider of residential and commercial solar energy systems, according to Tesla. In November, Musk unveiled Tesla’s Solar Roof product line, which integrates solar panels into roof shingles.

Of course, Tesla will still be a car company. The automaker is still targeting production capacity of 500,000 cars a year by 2018. Most of that production would be comprised of Tesla’s upcoming Model 3, a more affordable electric model with a starting price of $35,000 and a range as high as 260 miles.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription required)

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Ford’s Super Bowl Commercial is Not About a New Car

Ride sharing, electric vehicles, bike sharing, and self-driving cars take the spotlight in Ford’s 90-second Super Bowl ad that will air right before the big game’s kick-off. That’s right, this is not your usual “Ford Built Tough” F-150 commercial that’s been seared into many of our brains. Instead, Ford is taking a big step to showcase its commitment in becoming a big player with personal mobility services.

It’s a significant departure for the Michigan-based automaker which normally focuses its marketing on specific new vehicles. What better stage than the Super Bowl for Ford to spread its message of making life easier through multiple methods of transportation?

“Because we have this unique opportunity with the Super Bowl with 90 seconds to tell the story, we think it’s a great way to be able to connect it with this idea of helping people move freely in life. Because that is really what these solutions are about — giving different ways to make people’s lives easier as transportation frankly becomes more challenging in some places with congestion and other issues we are trying to solve.” Chantel Lenard, Ford’s director of U.S. marketing, said in an interview with Ad Age.

The commercial starts with a skier stuck on a lift and followed by a series of similar situations like a driver stuck in the snow and man marooned on a roof after a ladder falls. From there, the ad shifts to people getting unstuck from tricky situations, with some using Ford’s new mobility services. The accompanying narration provides further details.

Ford may have just started advertising its new technologies, but the automaker has been hard at work developing a 200-mile range electric car, an autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel, and launching a new mobility services subsidiary.

Source: Advertising Age

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Volkswagen Group to Pay $1.2 Billion for 3.0L TDI Settlement

The Volkswagen Group has agreed to pay $1.2 billion to fix or buy back approximately 78,000 vehicles equipped with 3.0-liter TDI turbodiesel engines affected by the automaker’s emissions scandal. Additionally, owners of those vehicles will receive up to $16,000 in compensation.

According to the company, it will fix model year 2013-2016 vehicles with “Generation 2” 3.0-liter TDI engines. Approximately 58,000 vehicles fall under this category and include the Volkswagen Touareg, Audi Q7, A6, A7, A8, Q5, and Porsche Cayenne. VW says it will buy back, offer a trade-in credit, or end leases for 2009-2012 Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7 SUVs with “Generation 1” TDI engines, though it says a fix may still be possible for these vehicles.

Automotive News reports that Volkswagen will pay $7,000 to $16,000 to anyone who chooses to get their vehicles fixed. The automaker will pay an additional $500 if the repair affects performance. Meanwhile, those who opt for the buyback option will get $7,500 in addition to the value of their vehicle.

The deal is still pending approval from regulators and a U.S. court. Volkswagen hasn’t revealed details of the possible fix, but Automotive News reports that the settlement could balloon to at least $4 billion if the proposed repair is rejected. Final approval should come by May 2017.

“We will continue to work to earn back the trust of all our stakeholders and thank our customers and dealers for their continued patience as this process moves forward,” said Hinrich J. Woebcken, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, in a statement.

Volkswagen will also spend an additional $225 million on environmental programs aimed at offsetting excess emissions emitted by the 3.0-liter TDI engines. The automaker will pay another $25 million to California to expand electric vehicle infrastructure in that state.

Volkswagen’s 3.0-liter TDI settlement mimics the larger one reached for its 2.0-liter TDI vehicles. That settlement involved approximately 475,000 vehicles at a cost of at least $14.7 billion.

Additionally, Automotive News reports that parts supplier Bosch has agreed to $327.5 million to owners affected by both the 2.0-liter and 3.0-liter TDI engine scandal. Owners sued Bosch claiming the company helped Volkswagen develop the cheat devices involved in the scandal. Bosch points out it’s not admitting guilt, but instead is settling the case.

Source: Volkswagen, Automotive News (Subscription required)

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2017 Porsche 911 GTS first drive: Jack of all trades

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The Moral Cost of Dieselgate – The Lohdown

The opening day of the North American International Auto Show was also the day the FBI arrested former VW emissions manager Oliver Schmidt and subsequently charged him with conspiracy to defraud the United States, defraud customers, and violate the Clean Air Act. The New York Times broke the story, and the news alert on my phone popped up as I stood on the show floor in Detroit. Just steps away from me was VW’s stand, a photo of which the Times used to lead the story, presumably because Schmidt’s mug shot was not yet available.

Two days later, federal prosecutors announced charges against five additional executives. VW management at the show was besieged with questions related to the indictments, and the 2017 show debuts and new product offensive were largely forgotten. It was hard not to wince as all of this came crashing down—again—and wonder how VW will ever get past this. Can America forgive and forget?

If the letter I received from future Eagle Scout Luke Morretta, a high school sophomore in Bedford, New York, is any indication, forgiveness won’t come soon:

I am writing to you as a requirement for my Communications Merit Badge but also to discuss Volkswagen’s Dieselgate. I am a big fan of cars (and your magazine), and my mom owns an affected Touareg TDI. I talked with my parents about the whole issue, and although they were upset at the thought of having their beloved car being bought back, they told me “that’s what happens when you cheat.” 

I’ve now come to realize the bigger moral picture to this whole scandal, and no matter what happens with the cars, the bottom line is that they cheated. Not once have I ever seen a car article discuss morals and the consequences of wrongdoing. I’ve realized that filling magazine readers’ heads with information basically has no impact on their lives and society. Now, for articles on brand-new cars with new technologies, it is practically impossible to bring that back to the big picture; but on scandals like these, I think it is imperative to impose a deeper message than just the fines that VW is faced with and which executive will be prosecuted.

For families such as the Morrettas, VW’s deception is a betrayal.

In order for society to progress and for the world to be a better place, magazines like yours must display a care for morals and should display what is right and what is wrong.

It would be easy to dismiss Luke’s letter as the well-written but naive musings of a neophyte not yet familiar with how the world works. After all, VW has pled guilty to charges of fraud, obstruction of justice, customs violations, and violations of the Clean Air Act. At last count, it is paying more than $20 billion in fines and settlements of various lawsuits. Top executives have lost their jobs, and a handful might see jail time. VW of America has dropped diesel from its lineup and has no current plans to ever bring it back. Surely these penalties are enough, right?

Not to families such as the Morrettas, for which VW’s deception is a deeply personal betrayal. The only thing Luke needs to understand is how right he is to feel outraged and how justified he is to act on these emotions.

Read our interview with one of the principals who discovered the software “cheat mode” HERE.

Underscoring what is right and wrong is not our job, but highlighting the consequences of wrongdoing certainly is. We pride ourselves on reporting news across the auto industry as squarely and soberly as we can, with no punches pulled but no extra shots delivered. Moral discussions we leave up to readers, and the passionate ones never fail to deliver.

In holding us accountable, readers such as Luke demand honesty from the companies we report on and vehicles we evaluate. After all, MT does not stand for moral turpitude.

Photo of Eagle Scout badge by Jane Nishimoto

More from Ed Loh:

• How Uber, Lyft and Cabs are Changing in the Sharing Economy
• Kaizen of the Year
• Crunch Time: Tripas Tacos, Por Favor, Hold the Stone Chips

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2017 Volvo V90 Cross Country T6 AWD First Drive Review: V90 is latest to get Cross Country treatment

It might be a wagon. But take it to a frozen lake in northern Sweden on a mild day when the ice is covered in a watery sheen, and the Cross Country version of the Volvo V90 wagon drifts with the best of them.

Recognizing that few will get to Lake Andsjön under these conditions, we’ll get back to how nicely the car glides later.

The V90 is the latest to add Cross Country to its model lineup—a nice addition to mark the 20-year anniversary of Cross Country and all-wheel drive. Cross Country is a distinction that comes with a promise that the wagon will perform like a premium car on the pavement but is prepped and ready to leave the beaten path.

To that end, the Cross Country has 8.3 inches of ground clearance compared with 6.0 inches for a regular wagon, putting it only 1.1 inches shy of the XC90 crossover without air suspension.

Given that Americans love their SUVs and have never fully embraced the station wagon, Volvo will stock U.S. dealers with the V90 Cross Country starting in March.

But if you want the regular but smaller-volume V90, you must either order online through the Volvo Concierge website or participate in the overseas delivery program where you travel to the factory in Torslanda, Sweden, to accept your new car. It’s then shipped to a U.S. dealer for the final consummation of the purchase. V90 pricing will be announced during the Chicago auto show, which opens to the media Feb. 9. The order books will also open at that time. The cars will start arriving in the summer as 2018 models.

The 2018 V90 can be ordered as a front-drive T5, meaning it has the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder (240 horsepower) or the T6 with the turbo and supercharged engine (316 hp) and all-wheel drive.

Those who want the 2017 V90 Cross Country, however, have one choice: the T6 (double boost) with an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. The 2.0-liter generates 316 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. The starting price is $56,295, including destination charges. Add $2,650 for the Bowers & Wilkins stereo, $4,500 for the luxury package, $1,950 for the convenience package, $1,200 for the air suspension, $900 for heads-up display, $560 for metallic paint, and $750 for 20-inch wheels, and you can get the Cross Country to almost $69,000. The target audience is an executive 35 to 60 years of age with a high net income and outdoor hobbies.

Buyers will also be able to opt for the Polestar Performance Optimization package—not to be confused with sending a vehicle to a Polestar facility for the roughly 70 mechanical changes to create the performance variant. Optimization can be done at the port or factory; it is largely a software program to change the throttle mapping, boost horsepower and torque, and adjust shift speed.

Volvo execs also say it is technically feasible to create a hybrid T8 version of the V90 as well, if Volvo feels there is enough market demand. No decisions have been made yet.

Volvo expects to sell about 4,000 Cross Country models in the U.S. compared with about 1,000 regular V90s. There isn’t much competition in the niche segment: the Audi A4 Allroad and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class wagon. For Volvo, it fills a gap left with the discontinuation of the smaller XC70.

It is not surprising Swedish-based Volvo created Cross Country; 80 percent of the country is forest and lakes, so all roads lead to them.

The wagon is not only higher off the ground to navigate any terrain, but the wheels have also been set wider, and the wagon has a new softer and rounder profile tire to absorb the uneven surfaces. Skidpads and hill descent control are standard.

There were more than 200 tweaks to the chassis system for the CC. When you adjust the ride height and chassis, it’s like engineering a whole new car, says Stefan Karlsson, manager of vehicle dynamics.

The V90 CC has a double wishbone suspension, and the integral rear link suspension is standard; there is an optional rear air suspension system with active chassis. Driving on roads with layers of old and uneven ice created a washboard effect, and our car with the air suspension sopped up the surface nicely. We can’t speak much to the smoothness on regular pavement given that the wheels were shod in Nokian double-studded tires developed for Nordic conditions. The tires affected everything from steering to noise to longer braking distance. But they sure kept the vehicle from stumbling in any way.

In terms of the suspension, engineers said because the wagon is so carlike, there was no need to spend the extra money for a full air suspension system; rear was good enough.

The wheelbase of the V90 is the same as the S90 sedan, but the wagon’s total length is actually shorter. The wagon weighs a bit more at 4,221 pounds, largely because of the standard fifth-generation all-wheel-drive system.

Drive modes include Eco, Comfort, Dynamic and Off-road, which transfers torque to the rear wheels at all times at speeds up to 25 mph. In other modes, the power is sent to the back axle only when needed. A full 100 percent is directed to the rear if the front wheels are on ice for maximum stability and traction.

We turned the stability control off on Lake Andsjön because it was really an exercise in pure hedonism. We can pretend we learned something about the characteristics of the vehicle on the makeshift slalom and handling courses set up with orange stakes stabbed into the frozen lake. Sure, the car showed nice control with a steady foot on the throttle to power the rear wheels out of the turn.

But the takeaway is that even with double-studded tires, this wagon is sheer fun on the ice, especially when there’s enough water on top to hydroplane. The rear slides out best if you cry out “wheeeee” loud enough to make your driving partner laugh.

Back on real roads, we were able to test the latest version of Pilot Assist, which offers semi-autonomous driving by offering corrective steering and braking up to 80 mph. The original Pilot Assist, by comparison, was only operational to 30 mph. Most of our driving was on roads with poor or no lane markings, but where roads were marked, the system did its job. Disconcerting is that when it could not read the lanes, it stopped working with no warning, so driver diligence was required at all times.

Visually, there are few cues to distinguish the Cross Country from the regular V90. The Cross Country adds black gloss and dons a metal stud grille as opposed to the waterfall grille on the V90. Black gloss replaces the chrome trim around the windows, and there is black or color-matched trim around the wheel wells. U.S. customers have a choice of 19- or 20-inch wheels with Pirellis.

The V90 Cross Country we drove had dark walnut open pore trim on the dash door, which is not easily recognizable as wood, especially after we had fallen in love with lighter, open pore woods in the XC90. The other choices include aluminum or flame birch with a grain native to the Swedish tree, and it is heavily lacquered. The detail-oriented will notice the Cross Country has unique pearl stitching, a combination thicker-thinner stitch designed to appear a bit more elegant.

Heated seats and steering wheel are standard, as are the Thor’s Hammer daytime running lamps. The rear hatch opens via key fob or a foot kick below the sensor.

Like all new models, the V90 Cross Country has the Sensus infotainment system with a large touchscreen and a number of screens to swipe though for assorted commands. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, and the optional Bowers & Wilkins stereo has 19 speakers.

Volvo can send over-the-air updates but only for the infotainment system—not critical vehicle systems.

In Sweden and Norway there is Volvo-to-Volvo connectivity, so alert other drivers of slippery conditions or anything dangerous enough to require hazard lights—perhaps, a lake that makes you cry “wheeee.”

2017 Volvo V90 Cross Country T6 AWD
BASE PRICE	$56,295
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door wagon
ENGINE	2.0L/316-hp/295-lb-ft/16-valve I-4
TRANSMISSION	8-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT	4,221 (mfr)
WHEELBASE	115.8 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	194.4 x 75.8 x 60.7 in
0-60 MPH	5.6 sec (MT est)
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB	22/30/25
ON SALE IN U.S	March, 2017

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