Daimler R&D Chief: G-class Could Go &ldquoSustainable&rdquo, V-12 Lives On, and No Three-Cylinders

We lately sat down with Daimler’s R&D chief, Thomas Weber, who told us that the automaker will continue to produce V-12 engines but won’t do a 3-cylinder, that it’s considering a more complete update to the G-class, and that it isn’t interested in a tiny 6-seat men and women-mover.

C/D: BMW has shown a compact, 6-seat folks-mover with its 2-Series Gran Tourer. Will Mercedes have a competitor?

Thomas Weber: It’s true that we deemed a 6-seater, but we produced a clear selection not to do it, and we are sticking with that choice. There are cooler approaches to transport far more than 4 or 5 men and women. And for us, emotion counts.

What are you preparing at the other finish of the spectrum, with the G-class?

We have periodically revisited the thought of ending its production, but this discussion is actually more than. The basic notion is established and confirmed, the only question is how to carry it forward. It is feasible that we will, at some point, place it on a far more sustainable technological base. But the G will often remain a correct G.

Can you talk about your powertrain method?

The path toward downsizing is irreversible. Worldwide, looking at the industry as a complete, a lot more than 90 percent of powertrains will have 4-cylinder engines. But as a luxury brand, we will continue to offer you 8- and 12-cylinder engines, and we are effectively established with our 4- and 6-cylinder engines.

Does your 4- and 6-cylinder engine technique rely on a single engine architecture?

No. Our consumers like a range of models and engines, and we undoubtedly need a huge 4-cylinder engine, from which 6- and 8-cylinder engines will be derived. To construct a smaller sized engine, it would theoretically be possible to “cut off” one particular cylinder, but such a 3-cylinder engine would not even be close to where we would like it from a expense viewpoint. Furthermore, it would not meet our standards for noise and vibration. We have as a result decided to comply with a downsizing method based on modest and large 4-cylinder engines.

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Will you join forces with other producers to create battery technology?

Within the framework of the NPE (a German platform for e-mobility), we are discussing how to move this crucial and innovative subject forward. It is undoubtedly achievable to harmonize cell formats, material combinations, safety and regulatory aspects—to make things less complicated for our supplier base and to reduce fees. But it becomes far more difficult when you look at the entire battery. Every single carmaker must optimize their batteries for the certain car package and specifications.

Do you see a future for battery-charging stations, as propagated by Tesla?

The German auto market has often been criticized as getting too obtuse to pick up on them. But we have studied them intensively and located that a lot of arguments speak against these concepts. We have decided not to adhere to this approach.

Daimler R&D Chief: G-class Could Go &ldquoSustainable&rdquo, V-12 Lives On, and No Three-Cylinders

Hyundai’s Work to Fire Up Competitor to BMW M, Mercedes AMG Gets Boost from Former BMW M Chief Engineer

For effectively over a year, Hyundai has contemplated how to tackle the efficiency vehicle segment after announcing its new “N” sport-model series. Every choice was on the table, from adding graphics and a louder exhaust to otherwise regular cars to using bigger engines from higher-positioned models, up to a complete-fledged work that would rival—at least in concept—BMW M GmbH, Audi Quattro GmbH, and Mercedes-AMG. It appears that Hyundai’s efforts are about to get a excellent sturdy kick in the shorts, as the automaker just announced the hiring of BMW M’s chief engineer, Albert Biermann.

To be stationed at Hyundai’s R&D center in Namyang, South Korea, Biermann will be accountable for the improvement of high-efficiency derivatives for the Hyundai and Kia brands he is also tasked with the common improvement of ride and handling, as nicely as safety and comfort, of mainstream Hyundai and Kia models. The Koreans have made fantastic strides in dynamics the past handful of years—look no additional than the newest Genesis sedan—but they still have a techniques to go prior to sporty competitors like Honda and Mazda have something to be concerned about.

That said, we are excited over the prospect of higher-overall performance models for the 2 Korean brands, which we fully count on to rival the offerings of the German competition, as effectively as Cadillac’s V-series and Lexus’s F models. “N,” by the way, is a moniker derived from the Namyang R&D center but it could also stand for “Nürburgring,” exactly where Hyundai operates a new testing center.

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But back to Biermann—clearly, Hyundai-Kia’s gain is BMW’s loss. With Biermann’s departure, BMW loses its second passionate auto guy from prime management ranks this month. Just 2 weeks ago, R&D chief Herbert Diess deserted BMW to head up the Volkswagen brand in Wolfsburg. Biermann, who is 57, apparently figured he wouldn’t have a lot of a profession left at BMW when the company announced that outgoing M GmbH chief Friedrich Nitschke would be replaced by Franciscus van Meel (48 years young) on January 1, 2015 (a move we 1st reported in May possibly 2014). At BMW, senior managers retire at 60, and it is a rule with couple of exceptions.

At Hyundai, Biermann will be the most prominent Western executive to be head-hunted soon after design chief Peter Schreyer abandoned VW for Kia. (Schreyer now heads up style for both Kia and Hyundai.) His hiring at Hyundai is serendipitous, for last year we were told that the automaker’s N models would attempt to emulate BMWs’ dynamics. To that end, Biermann’s crowning achievement at BMW might have been the current M3 and M4 with their downsized, turbocharged straight-6 engine and bespoke manual transmission and steering technique. We’d be okay with a little M3/M4 in some Hyundais. Would you?

Hyundai’s Work to Fire Up Competitor to BMW M, Mercedes AMG Gets Boost from Former BMW M Chief Engineer

Gearhead and Former AMG Chief Ola Källenius Named to Daimler Management Board

Daimler’s shooting star Ola Källenius will join the company’s board of management on January 1, 2015, which will at that point have grown to 8 members. He will be responsible for international advertising and marketing and sales for Daimler’s automobiles. The appointment runs through the end of 2017. At age 45, Källenius will be by far the youngest member of Daimler’s board. Daimler’s truck chief Wolfgang Bernhard and China boss Hubertus Troska are each 9 years his seniors. Källenius would be a all-natural contender for the prime job when 61-year-old CEO Dieter Zetsche retires, which could occur as soon as the end of 2016.

Obtaining joined Daimler in 1993 soon after earning degrees in International Management and Finance and Accounting, Källenius quickly rose up via the ranks. His stops incorporate leading Mercedes-Benz Higher Performance Engines—formerly Ilmor—in Brixworth/UK, leading Daimler’s U.S. plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and running AMG from April 2010 by means of September 2013. Function on the Mercedes-AMG GT began under his watch. And together with chief designer Gorden Wagener, he pushed for the resurrection of Maybach.

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Källenius, whose first automobile was a VW Golf Mk I, is a accurate auto guy. When we asked him some time ago which book he would advocate, the Swede described Bob Lutz’s Automobile Guys vs. Bean Counters: The Battle for the Soul of American Organization. We also approve of his favorite piece of road: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Källenius’s promotion bodes properly for the future of Daimler.

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Gearhead and Former AMG Chief Ola Källenius Named to Daimler Management Board

BMW USA Chief Ludwig Willisch on Diesels, Manuals, and Body-Style Proliferation

BMW is generating a substantial push to expand its diesel sales in the U.S., possessing added an oil-burner choice to the 3-series, 5-series, and, most recently, the 7-series and X3. But it appears as although BMW’s efforts are not paying off in the vehicle models—at least not yet. The automaker’s U.S. CEO, Ludwig Willisch, is less than impressed by sales of the diesel-powered 3-series and 5-series, and told us so in a current interview.

According to Willisch, “The 328d is promoting so-so, the 5-series is a bit disappointing.” He added: “These are nevertheless early days, and low fuel costs haven’t helped diesel technologies.”

The executive is much more upbeat about BMW’s diesel-powered SUVs, saying that he is satisfied with the diesel take rate in the X5 lineup and is “quite positive that the X3 diesel will do effectively.” He is referring, of course, to the new-for-2015 X3 xDrive28d, which boasts an attractive—for a luxury crossover—34-mpg EPA highway rating. In our testing, the diesel-powered X3 returned 28 mpg, a substantial 5 mpg better than we recorded in a 2013 X3 with the base gas-fed turbocharged 2.-liter 4 we tested last year.

Moving on to the subject of the proliferation of new BMW models and body variations, Willisch denied the automaker’s lineup is becoming confusing. Speaking to a single distinct instance, the 3-series sedan–aping 4-series Gran Coupe, Willisch said: “We will be genuinely happy to have the 4-series Gran Coupe since it will attract consumers that so far have have not looked at sedans.” That may possibly be correct, but then who is the 3-series Gran Turismo for?

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As for manual transmissions, Willisch is not ready however to speak about the future of the stick in the M5 and M6. These models’ U.S. consumers have really championed the retention of the manual option, even though the rest of the globe is content material with automatics. Willisch’s only comment: “They nevertheless have a life cycle of yet another 4 years.” On the flip side of the identical coin, manual transmissions are deemed an integral element of the M3 and M4 heritage everywhere. But apart from the M models, the manual take price in standard 3- and 4-series cars is low, “in the low a single digits,” Willisch revealed.

We’re not quite very good at hiding our support of diesels and manual transmissions—don’t overlook to save ‘em!—but for now it seems BMW is backing both. That said, it in the end is on the client to make a decision the fate of the diesel and the manual, so let’s hope they make the appropriate choice.

BMW USA Chief Ludwig Willisch on Diesels, Manuals, and Body-Style Proliferation