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Autoblog Minute: VW Q3 financial woes, 2015 Tokyo Motor Show

Consumer Reports pulls its Tesla recommendation, the U.S. Copyright Office offers a ruling affecting car owners, VW gets hit hard with third-quarter losses, and lots of exciting news from Tokyo. Autoblog senior editor Greg Migliore reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] Consumer Reports pulls its Tesla recommendation, the U.S. copyright office offers a ruling that affects car owners and gear heads, VW gets hit hard with third-quarter losses, and lots of exciting news from Tokyo. I'm senior editor Greg Migliore and this is your Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. After a week away testing vehicles for Autoblog's Tech of the Year award, we're back in the office to recap the week in automotive news. [00:00:30] One of the things you might have missed was Consumer Reports pulling its recommendation of Tesla's Model S sedan. The blemish for Tesla comes after a tally of reviews from customer surveys. The most common problem areas for the Model S as cited by survey takers included: the drivetrain, power equipment, charging equipment, body and sunroof squeaks, rattles, and leaks. So lots of stuff. Though they could not ignore a score of "worse-than-average", Consumer Reports still [00:01:00] highlighted the fact that the Model S was "the best performing car" they've ever tested. Telsa CEO Elon Musk took to social media to defend his sedans saying: "Consumer Reports reliability survey includes a lot of early production cars. Already addressed in new cars." And, "Tesla gets top rating of any company in service. Most important, CR says 97% of owners expect their next car to be a Tesla (the acid test)." In Financial news, Volkswagen took a hit and reported an operating loss of [00:01:30] $3.84 billion. This is the first such loss for VW in 15 years. Toyota reclaimed the crown as the world's largest automaker as well. It's important that it's not all doom and gloom for VW though in Q3. Sales revenues were up and the company's automotive division boasts $30 billion dollars in liquid assets. It's a sizable war chest that will no doubt come in handy, as the company has yet to feel the full brunt of the diesel emissions scandal. Good news for gear heads. The US copyright office [00:02:00] ruled in favor of mechanics and car owners by granting an exception to existing copyright law. The law was originally meant to prevent software pirating and bootlegging of Hollywood movies.

Mazda reports highest profits in its 94-year history

We may only be a third of the way through 2014, but for Japanese companies, March 31 marked the end of fiscal 2014, and it was a banner financial year for Mazda's global operations. The Japanese independent saw its highest global operating profits in its nearly 100-year history. Its global operating profits were up a huge 238 percent. Yes, a 238 percent increase over 2012 to 1.36 billion euros ($1.88 billion), eclipsing the brand's previous best year, 2008, by 12 percent. Net earnings, revenue and global sales volume also saw increases over the last fiscal year.
What's most impressive, though, is where Mazda saw improvement. The notoriously rough European market was rather kind to the Zoom-Zoom brand, where sales increased 25 percent to 163,000 units. That figure was bolstered by a 35-percent sales increase in Great Britain and a 20-percent jump in Germany, Europe's two largest markets. Japanese sales, meanwhile, were up a respectable 13 percent, to 244,000 units. In China, Mazda saw a 12 percent bump.
Notice we aren't talking about North American sales? That's because Mazda only saw a moderate, five-percent gain in the New World, with sales climbing to 391,000 units in the US, Canada and Mexico. This is particularly disappointing considering Mazda has launched three critically acclaimed products (CX-5, Mazda6 and most recently, Mazda3) for the North American market over the past two fiscal years. Still, it isn't a particular reason to be concerned, as IHS industry analyst Stephanie Brinley notes. "Five percent isn't terrible," Brinley told Autoblog, saying that Mazda should see a bump in 2014 as the Mazda3 picks up steam.

Cedar Rocket is the fastest all-electric log car in the world

An electric turbine manufacturer, a mechanic, and a log house builder walk into a bar. No, wait. The three are standing around at Barrett-Jackson a few years ago, talking about the world. What's the eventual punchline? An all-electric vehicle mash-up of a Mazda RX-8 and a giant piece of wood. One that was just awarded a Guinness World Record for "fastest motorized log." "Truly, what else would you think of?" - Bryan Reid, Sr. Bryan Reid, Sr., star of the reality show Timber Kings, is the log house builder in the set-up above, and he's now the proud owner of Cedar Rocket. He told AutoblogGreen that a log-based EV is the natural result of the three guys chatting. "Truly, what else would you think of?" he said. "I mean, really? There has to be something to come out of it other than girls. It was crazy, but it's a good story and nobody gets hurt. It's hard to make the news when everything's positive." Idea in hand, Reid and his friend set off to actually build the car. Gerald Overton, the mechanic, turned the Mazda into a welcoming recipient, working on the disc brakes, axles, frame, differential, and suspension. While the presence of a television producer kept things moving, Reid said that it still took almost two years. "It started out, not as a joke, but as something very light," he said. "You put a log on a couple of axles and 'ha ha.' It ended up taking many thousands of hours. We don't do anything halfway." In the end, Reid and the team took the Cedar Rocket to the Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Arizona and managed two runs of 55 miles per hour within an hour (that's what Guinness required to hand out the official record). The Rocket is incredibly stable – heavy batteries help there – and Reid pointed out that because the EV uses electric turbines, it's not a quarter-mile car. "It's more like a salt-flat car," he said, because the "turbines that take a while to spin up." Given the right conditions, Reid said the team thinks the Cedar Rocket could go 120-130 mph. "It's crazy because it's different." But the point of this car isn't to just go fast. The builders will bring the car to Barrett-Jackson and auction it off next year, but before that it will make the rounds at places like SEMA and a number of unexpected events, like golf shows. The point is to get attention and raise money and awareness for veterans groups. "I believe it's for the best cause in North America," he said.