Auto Industry News: NHRA Finals Results, New EV Concepts, and Automakers Take Electric Charging Into Their Own Hands

Technology seems to be the name of the game this week. Hyundai shared a preview of its forthcoming all-electric Ioniq 7 Concept. The SUV will be the largest in the Ioniq line and is projected to drop in 2024. Ford, meanwhile, merged classic pickup looks with a high-tech engine by unveiling its F-100 Eluminator concept truck. The automaker used the vintage-styled ride to tout its new e-crate engine, which is already turning heads. Speaking of all things electric, GM took another step ahead in its $750 million EV expansion initiatives by partnering with dealerships to build out the country’s scarce charging station supply. What good is a car you need to charge for 12 hours, though? Ford’s working on that problem with Purdue by developing a heavier charging cable and advanced cooling system. Plus, dealers are reporting some impressive sales numbers, even in the face of major supply crunches.

But first…. The NHRA racing season might be nearing its end, but it isn’t closing without a roaring finish of classic internal combustion power.

Auto Club NHRA Finals Results

NHRA called it a wrap on the 2021 season this weekend, crowning its champions in a wild finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.

…In Top Fuel, Steve Torrence clinched his fourth straight NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series championship. The victory makes Torrence the eighth driver in NHRA’s 70-year history to win four (or more) consecutive NHRA world championships, and just the third in Top Fuel, after Joe Amato and Tony Schumacher. Torrence is also the first in 13 years (since Schumacher in 2008) to win at least half the races on the schedule. With Schumacher planning to return to racing full-time in 2022, we are certainly excited to see these two go head-to-head!

…In Funny Car, Ron Capps nabbed his second NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series championship title. Capps didn’t take the points lead until the tour’s first trip to Auto Club Raceway in late July. After that breakthrough victory though, he didn’t lose in the first round for the rest of the season. After a nail-biting showdown in which Capps lost to Don Schumacher Racing teammate Matt Hagan, Capps took the victory when Hagan lost in the semifinals to Alexis De Joria. This was Capps’ and Hagan’s last season together as teammates, as Hagan joins Tony Stewart’s new NHRA team for 2022.

…In Pro Stock, five-time champion Greg Anderson adds another trophy to his case – beating out archrival Erica Enders in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Pro Stock Motorcycle saw Matt Smith secure his fifth championship title with a holeshot win over Karen Stoffer in the final round.

Click here for full results of all NHRA classes.

Hyundai Unveils Ioniq 7 Concept

Hyundai recently shared a preview of the Ioniq 7, its new all-electric SUV concept. The automaker plans to fully unveil the new ride at the LA Auto Show later this month.

Photos don’t reveal much, but the company said the preview “hints at a new SUV model coming to the IONIQ family, the company’s dedicated battery electric vehicle (BEV) brand.”

The images showcase SEVEN’s lighting design (which Hyundai calls “Parametric Pixels”) and the interior touches certainly give off a luxury vibe. Hyundai also said the interior is made from sustainable materials for a “a refined, eco-friendly mobility experience that reflects the changing lifestyles of its customers.” The seats hint at more residential touches, with upholstery that looks more like a comfortable couch than a seat in an SUV. The one exterior rendering of the SUV, meanwhile, shows a very futuristic-looking grille and light cluster.

The Ioniq 7 is reportedly coming to market sometime in 2024. Hyundai expects to launch its Ioniq 6, an electric sedan in the same family, in late 2022. SEVEN will be the biggest in the lineup, somewhere around a mid-sized SUV like the Palisade. It will have the same 800V architecture as its Ioniq family members, which allows charging at up to 350 kW. The battery pack is estimated to be roughly 100 kWh.

Hyundai Motor said it will debut SEVEN during the AutoMobility LA press conference at 9:55 a.m., November 17 (PT). It’s holding an in-person press conference and a streaming event to unveil the SUV. The SEVEN will remain on display from November 19-28 for public viewing.

Ford Shares F-100 Eluminator Concept Truck

Ford also feels the sneak preview mood. The automaker shared its Ford F-100 Eluminator Concept, an all-electric and zero-tailpipe-emissions pickup powered by Ford’s new Performance Parts Eluminator electric crate motor – which it’s selling online.

Ford took a different approach with this all-electric truck, tossing futuristic vibes to the wind. The F-100 Eluminator looks more like a set-piece from Dazed and Confused than it does a vehicle of the future – sporting an Avalanche Gray paint job and old-school Ford badge on the hood. The automaker based the build on a heritage 1978 F-100 pickup, and the concept features AWD via the same two electric motors found on the 2021 Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition. Two electric traction motors drive the front and rear wheels for a rock-solid 480 hp and 634 lb.-ft. of torque. The e-crate motor from Ford Performance Parts, the automaker said, is based on the Mustang Mach-E GT’s traction motor.

“Our F-100 Eluminator concept is a preview of how we’re supporting customers as they go all-electric and embrace zero-tailpipe emissions performance, even for our heritage vehicles,” said Eric Cin, global director of Vehicle Personalization, Accessories and Licensing at Ford.

Ford went one step further with the customization and heritage vibes during conceptualization. The automaker collaborated with MLe Racecars, so the new F-100 sits on a custom chassis built by the Roadster Shop. For the wheels, Ford went with custom 19×10-inch billet aluminum three-piece wheels by Forgeline, wrapped in Michelin Latitude Sport 275/45-19 high-performance tires. Meanwhile, a sharp interior sports a billet aluminum dash by JJR Fabrication and avocado-tanned leather upholstery by MDM Upholstery.

The hip-looking truck must have turned a few heads. Just days after showcasing the F-100 with the Eluminator, Ford reported it already sold nearly all its electric crate motors and that demand had “exceeded expectations.”

Automakers Take Charging Into Their Own Hands

On the EV front, GM has big plans to expand its charging network. The automaker recently announced its new initiative called the Community Charging Program. The automaker plans to install 40,000 Level 2 EV chargers in the US and Canada.

Scheduled for 2022, GM said the initiative is part of its recently announced commitment to invest $750 million for expanding the home, business, and public-charging infrastructure through its Ultium Charge 360 ecosystem. The automaker said it will work with its dealers through the program to deploy the Level 2 chargers in each dealers’ community in strategic spots like apartment buildings, entertainment venues, colleges, and sports stadiums. Better yet, the program is open to all EV drivers, not just GM customers. The automaker estimates that 90% of the US population lives within 10 miles of a GM dealer right now.

GM feels the program will reduce what it calls “charging deserts,” urban and rural areas that have limited or no EV charging infrastructure in place. It believes that adding more stations across the US will also help spark more widespread adoption of EVs by US Drivers. Along with shipping its EV dealers up to 10 Level 2 destination charging stations, GM said it will help dealers apply for incentives and access to programs that will help speed up the deployment of EV charging in these areas.

Building Confidence

There’s been some skepticism on the dealer end whether EVs will lead to big profits in the long term. Still, some outlets have suggested that participating in GM’s Community Charging Program could be beneficial. As one Automotive News contributor points out, dealers could brand these chargers with dealership logos and use them as an extension of their business. Adding an “installed courtesy of” badge on the pump at other spots like schools or fire stations could help boost up a dealership’s presence in the community.

It’s a fair argument. If there are more places to charge electric cars in their community, then some buyers might be more swayed to take an EV for a test drive when they head into the showroom. And, if dealerships put their name on EV stations, buyers will file it away for future purchases.

Ford Gets In On the Action

GM isn’t the only one zeroing in on EV progress either. Late last week, Ford said it had formed a research alliance with Purdue University to build a new patent-pending charging station cable. The automaker said the cable could be combined with its vehicle charging technology to lower the average time to recharge EVs. Right now, EV charging moves at a slower rate because higher charging speeds can overheat the thinner charging cable and become a fire risk. Purdue researchers are focusing on an alternative cooling method by designing a charging cable that can deliver an increased current, the university said in a press release.

Researchers are exploring the possibility of designing a charging cable that uses liquid as an active cooling agent to speed up the charging time. That agent can help extract more heat from the cable by turning liquid to vapor. With the technology, Purdue said it hopes to make EV charging less time-consuming. Their goal is for the experience to be much more like that of topping off your tank at a traditional gas station. There’s no specific release date on the cable, but the lab expects to start testing prototypes within the next two years.

NADA: Average Dealerships Reporting $3 Million Profit Through September

Even with economic challenges like chip shortages and vehicle delays, it looks like dealers are churning out some serious revenue. The National Automobile Dealers Association said that the average US dealership reported a pretax profit of $3 million through September 2021. That’s more than twice what dealers reported for the first 9 months of 2020, which came in at $1.3 million. It’s also higher than the $2.1 million profit dealers reported for the full year 2020.

Granted, businesses dealt with a boatload of complications this time last year, thanks to heavier COVID restrictions and extreme supply drought. So, while NADA reports new vehicle department sales are up by 24.3%, that number is juxtaposed with historic shortages in vehicle supplies. Additionally, new vehicle sales prices increased 7.1% between September 2020 and September 2021. So, even if dealers sell less vehicles, they can make up the profit shortfall with higher prices.

Not Just New

The same could be said for used cars, too, which NADA said saw a climb of almost 36% in Sept. 2021. Used vehicles are currently in short supply, causing soaring prices. Some dealers even resorted to calling buyers and seeing if they’re interested in selling their older models back!

The trend looks like it’s surprising even the folks at NADA since they were quoted back in February 2020 saying that the trend of high new and used prices would level off. There’s some speculation by firms like LMC that automakers will continue to focus on premium vehicles and profitable body types like SUVs for better margins while gradually building up their stock of EV cars to meet that growing trend.

Might be time to invest in some good sneakers and download a podcast for the walk…

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