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Rising aluminum costs cut into Ford's profit

When Ford reports fourth-quarter results on Wednesday afternoon, it is expected to fret that rising metals costs have cut into profits, even as rivals say they have the problem under control. Aluminum prices have risen 20 percent in the last year and nearly 11 percent since Dec. 11. Steel prices have risen just over 9 percent in the last year. Ford uses more aluminum in its vehicles than its rivals. Aluminum is lighter but far more expensive than steel, closing at $2,229 per tonne on Tuesday. U.S. steel futures closed at $677 per ton (0.91 metric tonnes). Republican U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is weighing whether to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, which could push prices even higher. Ford gave a disappointing earnings estimate for 2017 and 2018 last week, saying the higher costs for steel, aluminum and other metals, as well as currency volatility, could cost the company $1.6 billion in 2018. Ford shares took a dive after the announcement. Ford Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks told analysts at a conference in Detroit last week that while the company benefited from low commodity prices in 2016, rising steel prices were now the main cause of higher costs, followed by aluminum. Shanks said the automaker at times relies on foreign currencies as a "natural hedge" for some commodities but those are now going in the opposite direction, so they are not working. A Ford spokesman added that the automaker also uses a mix of contracts, hedges and indexed buying. Industry analysts point to the spike in aluminum versus steel prices as a plausible reason for Ford's problems, especially since it uses far more of the expensive metal than other major automakers. "When you look at Ford in the context of the other automakers, aluminum drives a lot of their volume and I think that is the cause" of their rising costs, said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting at auto consultancy LMC Automotive. Other major automakers say rising commodity costs are not much of a problem. At last week's Detroit auto show, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne reiterated its earnings guidance for 2018 and held forth on a number of topics, but did not mention metals prices. General Motors Co gave a well-received profit outlook last week and did not mention the subject. "We view changes in raw material costs as something that is manageable," a GM spokesman said in an email.

Jaguar C-X17 gets liquid metal finish for Dubai show [w/poll]

We thought the C-X17 concept looked pretty good when Jaguar unveiled it in Frankfurt a couple of months ago. But that shade of blue, while nice enough, made it look like it shared more than a similar name with the Mazda CX-7. No, what a Jaguar needs is a more luxurious paint job than electric blue. And that's just what the British automaker has given its crossover concept in time for the Dubai Motor Show this week.
What we have here is the same C-X17, but repainted in what Jaguar calls "a lustrous Liquid Aluminum liquid metal finish," and we have but to agree. What do you think? Scope it out in the fresh batch of high-res images above and cast your vote in the poll below.
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Jaguar planning all-electric E-Pace crossover

Jaguar hasn't quite finished rolling out the new F-Pace (pictured above), and already reports are circulating of another crossover model to join it in the near future. According to Automobile, it'll be called the E-Pace. Here's the kicker: it'll be all-electric. The E-Pace would take advantage of ultra-efficient aerodynamics in order to drop its drag coefficient to just 0.28 g, thereby increasing efficiency. It'd also be the first fully electric model from Jaguar, and would likely be even smaller than the sporty new F-Pace. Through-the-road all-wheel drive would give it poor weather traction, and the electric motors would provide plenty of low-end punch. The model would go up against the Tesla Model X and a potential production version of the Audi E-Tron Quattro concept revealed in Frankfurt. Rather than handle production in-house, the E-Pace could emerge as the mysterious upcoming model which Jaguar Land Rover is planning to have Magna Steyr build on its behalf. The factory in Graz, Austria has long built the G-Class for Mercedes-Benz, continues to assemble the Mini Countryman, and has also handled models like the Aston Martin Rapide and BMW X3. Automobile figures that Jaguar would need to make at least 20,000 units each year to make the model profitable. For comparison's sake, Tesla is projected to move about 33,000 Model S units in 2015. Even if the E-Pace falls short of this target, the project could be worthwhile for JLR purely for publicity purposes and to help cut its average fleet emissions. Related Video: