IT WON’T BE LONG NOW! VERSION NO. 99.

Editor's Note: This week, Peter delves into the latest industry machinations and delusional decisions currently being made in the relentless (and never-ending) slog toward the EV Future. In "On The Table," we feature the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, which is now officially the fastest car ever built by an American auto manufacturer. Then we take a look at Audi's debut of their Q6 Sportback E-Tron models (yawn). And we take another look at the new McLaren W1, the successor to the McLaren F1 and McLaren P1 supercars and the latest "supercar of the moment." And our AE Song of the Week is "Superman (It's Not Easy)" by Five For Fighting. In "Fumes," we have the eighth installment of Peter's popular series, "The Racing Machines." And in "The Line," we'll have results from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Motul Petit Le Mans, at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.   Onward! -WG

By Peter M. DeLorenzo

Detroit. As we were forced to endure another shameless fantasy prediction from Elon Musk last week – this time it was how his robotaxis will roam the earth while making our lives bearable – the word tedious doesn’t even to begin to describe the kind of false promises this guy has unleashed on the public. When it comes to “Full Self Driving” and now “robotaxis” Musk has managed to serially overpromise and underdeliver every damn time. Which is why I – and you – shouldn’t expect any different this time around. It’s like that tired old sign over the bar that says “free beer tomorrow” but, of course, when it comes to Musk and his various forms of driverless systems for cars, tomorrow never, ever comes. So, when St. Elon suggests “it won’t be long now!” please don’t get your hopes up.

I predict that the hundreds of billions of dollars spent on the development of autonomous vehicles will turn out to be the biggest financial disaster – this side of The Great Recession – in automotive history. (Musk should be used to that, after his gross mismanagement of Twitter/X -WG.) The focus on autonomous conveyances and the promise of a Utopian future of no-involvement ride sharing and rent-by-the-minute usage will devolve into lawyered-up tech companies frantically fighting over a few big municipal fleets, contracts with the U. S. Post Office and very narrowly-focused utilization for the elderly. And The Masters from The Valley of Silicon will remain incredulous that consumers just didn’t buy into their all-encompassing brilliance.  

But that’s the world we find ourselves in today. While inundated with half-truths or flat-out lies across the spectrum of our daily grinds, we’re forced to sort through the unmitigated bullshit constantly spewed out by myriad hucksters like Musk.

Speaking of “it won’t be long now!” we even have well-meaning car executives, who seem to be consumed by wishful thinking bordering on delusion, to the detriment of everyone concerned, by the way, and that’s no truer than what’s happening in the business today.

As I mentioned recently, the fact that Stellantis is pirouetting into The Abyss is no surprise, but the pace is indeed accelerating. CEO Carlos Tavares – the cost cutter extraordinaire – has already been put on notice by his overseers that they’re looking for his replacement, because he flat-out took his eyes off of the ball and the company’s U.S. market position has become precarious. (His "retirement" was just announced for 2026 -WG.) Now, in response to that, Tavares is making good on his threats for top-to-bottom management changes, as the company’s U.S. dealers are revolting over the incompetence that has been thrust upon them. Stellantis North American COO Carlos Zerlenga is being replaced - after just eight months - by Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa. And CFO Natalie Knight is being replaced by Doug Ostermann, who was the company's COO in China. Will it make a substantive difference? Who knows? It’s a little late, to say the least, however, but if you’re interested, and if you’re car or truck shopping, the deals on Stellantis products are monumental right now, as the company desperately tries to clear its inventory.

And, in case you’ve been following along, the tone and tenor of the coverage of the auto industry has changed dramatically in the last week. All of a sudden, the promise of the “Grand Transition” to EVs is picking up steam again – at least the image of it anyway – in certain circles of the automotive media. CEO Mary Barra emerged bullish yet again at an investor day in Spring Hill, Tenn., last week about GM’s position now and in the future when it comes to actually making money on EVs. And it seems certain members of the automotive media lapped that up and are now dutifully reporting that it indeed “it won’t be long now!” before GM will be on a roll with its EVs.

GM also announced that it was dropping its “Ultium” brand name of all of its EVs, which was a bit of a stunner, but then again not. GM has a longstanding – and bad – habit of spending huge amounts of money on things and then just walking away when it becomes apparent that it’s not really working all that well. In this case it’s because they’ve come to the realization that when it comes to EV systems, one approach in fact does not fit all. So, the millions upon millions GM spent on branding and marketing Ultium are now just gone with the wind. In other words, all together now: Never Mind.

To say I’m skeptical that “it won’t be long now!” for GM to soon start making serious money on EVs is an understatement. The mythical “switch” hasn’t been flipped, and even though some auto journos are insisting that consumers are now willing to move to EVs, that is wishful thinking on a grand scale. What has changed, exactly? More EVs becoming available? That’s true, as GM, for instance, is finally trickling out its array of EVs. With the emphasis, I might add, on trickling out. But what else has changed? The availability of charging? Hardly, that is still woefully underserved, especially for apartment dwellers. The speed of charging? If you’re spending more than $100,000, sure, it might be impressive, but for mainstream consumers, it’s still a hard “not fast enough.” And oh, by the way, cost is still a fundamental issue. That there’s still a general consumer skepticism out there about the pricing of EVs hasn’t changed one iota.

What is being done about that? Here’s one local example: Even though this is indeed the company town of company towns, the aggressive advertising we’re seeing of late touting unheard-of cheap leases for GM EVs is damn near shocking. The demand simply isn’t there yet, and these remarkable lease numbers are indicative of that. So, GM’s Barra suggesting “it won’t be long now!” doesn’t count for much.

The other daunting “it won’t be long now!” involves the onslaught of Chinese-sourced EVs that threatens to disrupt not only the market here but the global auto industry as a whole. The U.S. automakers – and the larger U.S. economy – is simply not prepared for the unfettered imports of Chinese-made EVs, and how this shakes out will determine the future stability of the U.S. auto industry, and that’s no exaggeration.

So, “it won’t be long now!”? Yes, it will, in fact. Just one example? I’m already seeing another couple of years before the new-generation – and entry-level –Chevrolet Bolt will be available. (GM is saying it will be 2026, but that suggests to me that it will be 2027.) That’s just the way this business rolls right now. And I get the fact that GM operatives are jacked about the Escalade IQ EV and the huge profitability it represents, but until the company gets that new Bolt out in serious numbers, “it won’t be long now!” will be an ongoing fallacy.

This “Grand Transition” to EVs is already an all-encompassing grind that is consuming everything in its path. Predictions and suppositions right now count for exactly nothing. No one knows how long this will take, or how this will ultimately shake out (although wake me up when it’s 2035; we’ll know much better then). It’s clear that some companies are going to be left like a house on the side of the road; they’ll be used up and ultimately swallowed up in the chaos.

The only thing I am absolutely sure of is that our nation will not end up with an all-EV fleet. We will have a kaleidoscope of propulsion systems at our disposal, including ICE and hydrogen-fueled vehicles.

And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week. 

Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG