Autocar

MG reborn - but should we care?

Richard Bremner — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:35:10 GMT

Attending the relaunch of the MG TF at Longbridge got me wondering: is it possible to successfully relaunch a car after a long pause?

Despite the novelty of the TF's rise from the ashes, there's actually plenty of precedent for this kind of thing.

Alfa restarted manufacture of the deleted Giulietta Sprint in the early 1960s when the succeeding 1963 GTV got off to a slow start, Lancia stalled the Monte Carlo while it developed a second-generation version with less terrifying brakes, and there have been cast-off cars, such as the Vauxhall Victor and Hillman Avenger, that reappeared in far-flung countries after they disappeared at home.

But for one make – MG – this stunt has been pulled twice. Admittedly the RV8 of the early 1990s was more than simply a reincarnated MGB, what with its V8 engine and part-resculpted body, but it was a B at heart, launched more than three decades after the original.

We’ve only had to wait a tenth of the time for the re-emergence of the TF; production halted abruptly in April 2005 when MG Rover went under. This time the car is barely changed, though, as MG’s owners Nanjing hope to rekindle some of the demand that made this car Britain’s best-selling small roadster from its launch to its enforced demise.

Back in 1995, when the MGF first appeared, few would have thought then that this Metro-based sports car would have lived a decade, never mind the 15 or more years that Nanjing is now hoping to wring out of the design. Still, there is a precedent: the MGB lived for a good 18 years in its original form.

But things have changed dramatically since then, and modern buyers no longer have to put up with the sort of compromises that were integral to the British sports car ownership experience back in the early 1980s. With the TF, British enthusiasts may not be quite so keen to tolerate this charmingly outmoded sports car.

Technorati Tags: MG TF LE500,Vauxhall,Alfa Romeo Giulietta,Nanjing,MGF

Recession bites: a tale of two dealers

James Ruppert — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:56:14 GMT

Not all of the motor trade is in trouble. Last week I went to two dealerships in one morning.

The first had the glorious whiff of recently ignited petrol, occupied ramps and nowhere to sit in the reception area. Less than a mile away, the other had lots of polished plate glass and floor tile, but no life, soul or customers. It was the contrast between a dealer getting it right in a recession, and another stuck up a blind alley.

Both were Jag dealers. The first is a solidly independent operation with a busy workshop and affordable cars getting sold. The other was a main dealer with tumbleweed under the ramps and a showroom with all the bustle and atmosphere of a crypt.

Ask any motor trade professional and they’ll tell you that, since the August 1^st number plate change was abolished, this is the one of the quietest months of the year. We’ll have to wait until September to see just how bad things really are.

The independent had noticed a downward dip recently, but it was keeping busy doing what it does best. It’s staffed by a friendly crew who know what they’re doing, and who can do it cheaper than a main agent, even if they have to buy in the same diagnostic boxes and elec-trickery. And value still sells, with tidy XJs, S-Types and XKs looking great and attracting sensible customers.

At the main agent there was less atmosphere than on the surface of the moon. In a way, you can’t blame the franchisee: what can they do about VED, credit crunches and the fact that you can even get money off an XF these days? It was a depressing place to be - and just so eerily quiet. And behind their fixed, professional smiles, there was precious little for the staff to be keen about.

So there you have it: whatever the Government says about successive quarters of negative expansion being necessary to justify the ‘R’ word, there’s already a recession in the nation’s showrooms.

But there’s also hope that, if they are prepared to adapt, they might just survive. I mean, why was the main dealer so quiet and empty? Surely this is the perfect time to get a bit of passion and enthusiasm going on: a Sir Williams Lyons diorama, some Le Mans Scalextric and maybe some baby Jags for the kids to play with.

Come on guys: the ship might be sinking, but you don’t need to go down with it.

Renault learns from history

Mike Duff — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:42:47 GMT

Motoring history’s tendency to repeat itself has brought us another corker: Renault’s decision to resurrect the Safrane name tag.

Before nostalgic minicabbers get too excited, I should add that at least one lesson has been learned, and that Renault has no plans to actually bring the thing to the UK. Or, indeed, to Europe.

The new Safrane is intended to compete in the (mostly sandy) parts of the world where the natives still remember vintage big French saloons fondly. The hope is that the Safrane will be seen as a worthy successor to rugged barges like the Peugeot 504 and Renault 30.

Granted, the new car is nothing more than a rebadged Samsung SM5, which in turn is a slightly reworked Nissan Teana, but good luck to it.

But the new Safrane’s convoluted bloodline has sparked memories of another bizarre cross-branded saloon with Renault ancestry: the Ford Corcel.

Back in the late 1960s, Jeep maker Willys-Overland’s Brazilian subsidiary co-developed a new model with Renault based very closely on the then-unlaunched Renault 12.

Unfortunately for the French company, before this gleaming new example of Franco-Brazilian-American co-operation could be brought to the market, Willys pulled out and Ford of Brazil bought out the whole operation.

And so, with a freshly developed new car as part of the its new Brazilian portfolio, Ford applied the ‘Corcel’ name and launched the new car in 1968. Embarassingly for Renault, that was a year before the car went on sale in Europe, meaning the company was effectively scooped on one of its own products.

At least with the new Safrane Renault has the good sense to be the recipient rather than the donor.

Tough questions for Kimi

Alan Henry — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:01:51 GMT

The European Grand Prix at Valencia might not have been the most absorbing of races, but the harbour front circuit was a testament to the city’s great organisational skills and the result underscored just what a complete performer Felipe Massa has become.

The Brazilian never putting a wheel wrong in his Ferrari F2008, coming home just over five seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s charging McLaren.

So can Massa finish the job and close down Hamilton’s present six point lead? Doing so would make him the fourth Brazilian world champion, and put him into some very distinguished company - Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna.

Well, with the patriotic caveat that I think that at the end of the day Lewis will just squeeze home, I certainly wouldn’t bet too much against Felipe.

Yet if Massa has been the revelation of the season so far, I’d have to say that his team-mate and current title holder Kimi Raikkonen has been the most erratic – and baffling – disappointment of 2008.

Raikkonen has now had three poor races in succession and for some unfathomable reason seems to be finding it very difficult to get the best out of the current generation of Bridgestone tyres in qualifying.

Some engineers who have watched his driving technique closely believe his abrupt steering input going into the corners tends to overheat his Ferrari’s front tyres, causing them to lose grip, but, whatever the reason, the team’s sporting director Stefano Domenicali made it clear that the Finn still retains their total confidence.

“It's easy when things are going well, that everyone close to you puts your arms on their shoulders to say ‘you are number one, number one, number one’ and then suddenly when you have a difficult situation, then you say ‘ha ha, this is already a boiled driver,’” said Domenicali, and of course he is correct.

What Ferrari urgently needs to do is rehabilitate Raikkonen, one of F1’s greatest raw driving talents and a man whose $34m annual contract lasts through to the end of next season.

Spy photographer for the day

Ed Keohane — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:53:00 GMT

It's not every day that you get to be a spy photographer, but I was travelling around the M25 on Tuesday evening when I suddenly noticed a strange, but vaguely familiar car ahead of us.

We were getting near our junction turn-off, so I asked the driver to get a bit closer so I could get a better look.

The back said, 'Ford', but it wasn't quite like any I'd seen on the roads before. No, this was the new Ford Fiesta. And it looked great on British roads.

The Fiesta has grown a bit over the years, but it is still the epitome of the British family's supermini, and I can't wait to drive one.

Valencia proves Spain's passion for F1

Alan Henry — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:15:20 GMT

The frenzied sprint for the F1 World Championship finishing line starts what promises to be a hectic seven race schedule this coming Sunday, with the inaugural European Grand Prix staged on the new waterfront circuit in Valencia.

Not only is this one of two brand new races on the 2008 schedule – the other one being next month’s Singapore fixture – but it is a reflection of how Spain has consolidated its position as a commercial and sporting force within Europe over the past few years. Not bad for a country which had something of an on-off love affair with this high octane business right up to the emergence of Fernando Alonso just five years ago.

The country first hosted a Grand Prix on the now long-defunct Pedralbes street circuit in Barcelona in 1951 and ‘54, after which there was a 13-year break before the country’s next F1 fixture with a non-championship race at the newly completed Jarama track just north of Madrid.

Jarama hosted its first championship Spanish GP in 1968, after which the fixture alternated between there and Barcelona’s spectacular Montjuich Park track until the latter was abandoned following a tragic accident in the ’75 race when Rolf Stommelen’s Hill-Cosworth suffered a rear wing failure, vaulted the trackside barrier and killed four onlookers.

The race was then held at Jarama through to 1981, then dropped from the schedule again until ’86 when it popped up at Jerez , then switched to its present home at Barcelona in 1991. A tight little track at Valencia, outside the city, was subsequently developed as a winter Formula One testing venue, but this weekend’s race is being staged on a totally new track down on the waterfront.

“The thing you’ve got to remember about Spain is that there was no real F1 interest there prior to Alonso because they’d never had an F1 driver of any consequence,” said John Hogan, for more than 20 years the vice president of sponsorship for Philip Morris who masterminded the Marlboro cigarette brand’s multi-million dollar investment in the McLaren and Ferrari teams.

“Spain was always a motorcycle racing country. Until Alonso arrived there were only patchy crowds in the grandstands at tracks like Barcelona, but when it came to the MotoGP events there was so much support from the Spanish riders that they would be staging three or four events a year simply to satisfy the huge demand.”

The Alonso effect is reflected in Banco Santander’s move to sponsor the McLaren team last year. And the fact the bank is widely tipped to switch its support to Ferrari in 2010 gives added weight to speculation that Alonso will be joining them at the famous Italian team.

Technorati tags: Formula One, Alan Henry, Fernando Alonso, Spain, Jarama, Valencia, Lewis Hamilton

A grand day out at the auction

James Ruppert — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:35:11 GMT

I just spent a truly splendid day at a car auction. This was a proper Brit one with surly blokes and exhaust smoke and sarnies and not remotely like the cabaret show that Editor Hallett recently attended.

Actually, a British Car Auction Top Marques sale is not remotely downmarket and it’s the best entertainment anyone who loves great value posh cars, can legally have.

I was there in a professional capacity focusing on the really high end stuff, but I can confirm that stories of deserted auction houses and cars selling for 20p have been widely exaggerated. Despite it being the season that most of the car trade goes on a well-earned holiday, there was an impressively large turn out and lots of sexy cars for them to scrap over.

Never has it been more important to listen to what the auctioneer actually said as a glut of 911s came into view. Some were imports, others didn’t have V5s, the occasional one was sans history.

But then again, wouldn’t you be tempted to take a chance on a 2003 GT3 with a warranted 16K mileage for £34,300? Or, despite the girly gearbox, how about a 2003 Carrera 2 Tiptronic with satnav and everything for £25K? An identical import went for £22,900: 996s have never been cheaper.

The economic chill has been cooling convertible values, too. A 2001 XK8 ragtop with a warranted 27K miles went for £15,000 and a 2006 BMW 650i cabrio – still in warranty – was amazing value at £25K, less than half its new price. There were a whole slew of SLs too, with a 2003 SL500 with 19K miles fetching £24K being a typical example of how the mighty have fallen.

Okay, I’ll stop there. Much as I’d love to list them all, it may make you feel a bit quesy if you have just paid rather more retail money for something that’s not much better. And one word of warning, for all the appeal of prestige brand auctions, I recently had a conversation with a main dealer sales manager which went along the lines of “problem part exchanges? We always send them to auction, sold as seen.”

In the meantime, I still prefer to wallow in the cheap stuff. An S-plate BMW 525i with a towbar caught my eye for £1300, but I already had something in the carpark that starts first time.

Technorati Tags: Auction,Porsche 911,BMW650i,BMW525i,Porsche GT3,Jaguar XK8

Mazda’s weight issues

Peter Nunn — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:17:54 GMT

Remember the stir Mazda caused when the Mazda 2 came on the scene?

Here was a good-to-drive supermini that was 100 kgs lighter than the car it replaced, turning the trend for cars getting ever bigger and heavier smartly on its head. For that, the 2 was a real breath of fresh air. Still is, come to that.

Now Mazda says it’s going to be extending this ‘Drive Light’ philosophy across all its coming generations of models, news that you might think would win universal acclaim.

Lighter means better economy because there’s less mass to drag around. It means lower C02 and more agile handling. Hard to argue against, you would think.

Yet some sections of the Japanese media believe there’s a price to be paid for that Lotus-style approach of ‘added lightness’. They reckon body rigidity has been compromised by Mazda’s new lightweight mindset. Put simply, the new 2 has been criticised for not being stiff enough.

This theory isn’t supported out by Mazda’s figures, with the current 2 claimed to have 13 per cent better torsional rigidity than the model it replaced. But it’s certainly true that when it comes to other consumer durables, and the camera industry springs to mind, each new generation of products tends not to pack the robustness of its predecessors as costs come under inevitable pressure.

But this is hardly what’s happening with Mazda. With all due respect to my professional colleagues here in Japan, some of whom are famously hardcore when it comes to technology, Hiroshima hasn’t suddenly gone on all flimsy on us. Indeed, the 2 feels as tough as any of its significant Japanese rivals.

But then, as Mazda acts on its commitment to systematically trim the pounds from future models, it is something to watch out for.

Technorati Tags: Mazda2,Lotus,Japan,Drive Light,Mazda

The motorist's real enemy

Julian Rendell — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:56:28 GMT

There’s a growing view that ill-judged taxes and charges introduced under a green banner are turning motorists against that basic idea.

Even Greenpeace joined this chorus a while back, criticising proposed new VED taxes.

So what is the Environmental Transport Association up to?

A missive today from a business that makes money out of providing motorists with an ‘environmentally-friendly’ breakdown service has jumped on a bandwagon started up by a local government minister demanding higher parking charges in city centres.

Apparently the ETA is outraged that motorists in London pay an extortionate £6 an hour to park in parts of London. Don’t suppose the ETA has driven in London recently, but it’s not uncommon for motorists to pay closer to £20 an hour in some central London car parks.

Anyway that’s not the ETA’s bugbear. What they’re outraged about is that away from London charges are as low as 40p an hour.

There’s a good reason for that. People in other parts of the country aren’t multi-squillionaires parking in underground car parks in Sloane Square. They are ordinary working people trying to do a bit of shopping or visit attractions in cities and towns all over Britain.

They choose to drive because the planning and economic system has encouraged centralised shopping areas where many people can’t or don't want to live, but have to visit.

Motorists don’t need enemies in local or central government or the anti-car lobby when the ETA is doing the job for them.

Sold… to the multi-millionaire

Chas Hallett — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:26:17 GMT

Up until now my experience of car auctions has been fun and interesting but hardly high-rolling. You probably know the sort of thing: a freezing cold pit staring at a parade of Mondeos and Vectras, munching on a bacon sandwich while taking the scene in.

Which is why the Gooding auction I've just been to in Pebble Beach, California readjusted my set a bit.

Auctions like this are where the real high rollers come to buy and sell million dollar cars and are just as part of the annual Pebble Beach pageant as the Concours D'Elegance itself.

It's quite breathtaking to see Ferrari 250 GTOs take the plinth and then watch as the plummy Brit auctioneer moves the bids up in 100,000 dollar chunks.

I was only there for an hour but watched at least 20 million dollars being spent as casually as most of us buy a cup of coffee.

Also under the hammer was the first Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport which the highest bidder could then spec up and know that anything over the million pound list price was going to charity. In the end it went for a breathtaking 2.9 million dollars (£1.5million).

Fortunately, and just when I thought I was losing touch with reality, a guy came along and asked me if I wanted a cup of coffee or some sausage and chips. Maybe these different types of auctions do have something in common after all.

Technorati Tags: Bugatti Veyron,Grand Sport,Pebble Beach,California,Mondeo,Vectra

Tesla Roadster...driven finally

Ed Keohane — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:25:33 GMT

Well, it's finally happened. After all the hype, all the fantasies and all the no-it-can't-really-work, back-of-an-envelope number crunching, I've driven the Tesla Roadster and, boy, does it work!

I've always preferred the instant response of a well-tuned naturally aspirated engine to the slightly delayed kick in the back grunt of big turbocharged units, but no you can get the best of both worlds.

Slam your right foot on the accelerator and the response is literally instantaneous. You get a shove in the kidneys that just keeps on giving.

In fact, it's the strange, shiftless nature of the shove that it is more disconcerting than anything else. The steady torque of the motor just carries on delivering.

Equally strangely, the lack of engine noise didn't register at all. I guess I was just having too much fun. Far too much fun. In fact, in a few words that sums this car up: far too much fun... on wheels.

Technorati Tags: Tesla Roadster,electric,zero emissions,lithium-ion

Things look up for Bugatti

Chas Hallett — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:00:36 GMT

How do you top the Veyron? After spending the weekend at the Pebble Beach Concours – where the new Grand Sport was unveiled – I can report it’s a question that Bugatti’s senior execs are wrestling with.

One thing's for sure, the company isn't in the mood for downsizing or replacing the 253mph supercar with a pale imitation of its predecessor.

Boss Franz-Josef Paefgen admitted to us in Pebble Beach this weekend that the Veyron replacement would still be the 'ultimate'. After all, Veyron buyers are 'extreme people' he told me.

What's not certain is that the next Veyron will be another mid-engined sports car. Some high ups in the Bugatti quite fancy a front-engined car, maybe even a four-seater. That would, of course, be in keeping with the company's heritage. It would also get around the problem of trying to outdo the Veyron. They could even use some Bentley bits and pieces such as the platform from the next Arnage.

Then again is Bugatti's future just about doing one car? One of the big cheeses was musing about the possibility of his company developing two separate models. Which is an interesting idea: but isn’t it hard enough to sell one million quid supercar?

No doubt that speculation is going to carry on right up to 2012 when the Veyron is due to bite the bullet. I’m just pleased that Bugatti has a future at all, because there’s been lots of talk of it shutting up shop when all the Veyrons have been built.

The Veyron is outrageous in every way - but who can honestly say they'd rather the company went back into hibernation?

Technorati Tags: Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Veyron Pebble Beach Bentley Arnage Franz-Josef Paefgen

Cadillac Sports Tourer at Pebble Beach

Chas Hallett — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:46:35 GMT

I was at Pebble Beach this weekend for, amongst other things, the unwrapping of the new Cadillac Sports Tourer. It went down really well with the mainly US audience and it deserved the praise: it’s a fine looking thing in the metal and a lot more handsome, somehow, than the saloon.

But I was probably more interested in the Evoq concept that Cadillac also wheeled out for us to have another look at.

Remember it? It’s a pretty, and muscular looking two-door coupe that Caddy unveiled here in Pebble Beach exactly ten years ago. I remember thinking then how radical and edgy it looked but it seems a lot more restrained now.

But the Evoq has turned out to be an important car, as it kickstarted the current Caddy look that is epitomised by this new estate.

Even more amazingly perhaps, the Evoq was styled by Brit Simon Cox and his team in the West Midlands. And the rather talented Mr Cox has played a key role in just about every Cadillac since.

So remember that when you finally see a new CTS on a British road. It may be an archetypal brash American saloon (albeit rather well executed) but it was born just outside of Birmingham.

Blue is the new green

Hilton Holloway — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:35:42 GMT

Vote blue, go green. That was the slogan David Cameron adopted when he took control of the Conservative party..

But using the 'green' tag as a car maker could become rather more difficult. Last year, one car maker was quietly researching the launch of a new 'green', eco-friendly sub-brand for European markets.

The company's marketing and legal brains got a hint that the EU was looking at a law that would severely restrict the use of the world 'green' to describe any new product. Indeed, it might be argued that anything 'manufactured' cannot be, by definition, green.

The way round the problem, the car maker decided, was to follow Mercedes' lead and adopt the word 'blue' to mean 'green'. And this quiet trend has been gathering force.

Merc's super-clean Bluetec diesel engines came first, followed by the fuel-sipping Volkswagen Blue Motion range. Then Hyundai's low-Co2 iBlue series appeared. And the facelifted BMW 3-series range will include a 330d fitted with the new super-low emission BluePerformance diesel engine.

It's hard not to take pleasure at the car industry out-flanking meddling EU politicians who seemed determined to wrong-foot the European car industry. But it's only a minor victory in the EU's war against any car bigger than the diesel Focus.

Technorati Tags: David Cameron Ford Focus Hyundai iBlue Mercedes-Benz Bluetec

Enzo Ferrari – 20 years on

Julian Rendell — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:44:46 GMT

Today is a sad anniversary for the car industry: the 20^th anniversary of Enzo Ferrari’s death in 1988.

In many ways, the company that Ferrari founded has changed enormously in the last two decades, but in others it’s stayed pretty much exactly the same – not least the continuation of the mystique that he created around the brand.

Back in 1988 the mainstay in the range was the 328, a car that held Enzo’s tradition for idiosyncratic handling close to its heart. At the other end of the range, Enzo’s final pet project – the F40 – was already on its way to becoming the most successful supercar of all time (1300 were produced before replacement in 1992).

There’s nothing in today’s range to compare with the F40, but the 430 and 599 are brilliant cars and the 612 has a breadth of capability that no other rival can match.

Behind the scenes, Fiat can take plenty of credit for this, thanks to its careful stewardship backing the right management team. Back in 1988 when globalisation was in its infancy, Fiat already owned 50 per cent of Ferrari it was the natural home for Enzo’s 40 per cent holding. At the time there were doubts that ownership by such a huge industrial conglomerate would work out. History shows it to have been the perfect fit.

I suspect that if Enzo were around now, he would probably be shocked at the progress made with today’s range and their cutting-edge aluminium chassis and electronic gizmos, which are light years from the artisan-era he felt comfortable with.

At heart Enzo was an engine man, so by contrast I’d also guess that he’d be knocked-out by Ferrari’s current range of brilliant engines. That said, as a deeply conservative man, I doubt he would warm to many of Ferrari’s ostentatious customers, either.

Still, he was ever the consummate businessman with an eye on the till and would no doubt be extremely pleased at the vast piles of cash being generated by the business that bears his name – and which is still being used to help pay for the Formula One team that was his passion.

Il Commendatore may be gone, but his spirit definitely lives on.

Technorati Tags: Enzo Ferrari F40 328 F430 599 612

Volvo: key question

Hilton Holloway — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:26:45 GMT

More than 20 years ago, a couple of senior Volvo engineers travelled to Audi’s Ingolstadt HQ, bought an Audi 90 20v saloon and took it back to Gothenburg.

Taking Audi’s engineering as an inspiration (front and four-wheel drive, five-cylinder engines in 10v and 20v form), Volvo planned to modernise its image and engineering, and head upmarket. But two decades on, its global sales are stuck at around 420,000. And even board members lament that its customer base still wants simple, unflashy, reliable cars.

A decade of mould-breaking design has failed to change perceptions when faced with the longevity of 240 and 700 and 900-series estate cars, which still litter the streets in key markets like the UK and California.

Volvo’s ad campaigns also bravely – and cleverly - try and sex up the company’s load-lugging image by spinning it out as the brand of choice for cool outdoorsy types. When the reality, for the V70, is probably more prosaic. But the image shift has proved elusive.

So, despite interest in Volvo from developing market companies, Ford isn’t going to sell its Swedish subsidiary. Instead, Ford HQ is going to send in its best brains from its highly successful European arm to rethink Volvo’s failing drive upmarket.

Despite its best efforts over the last decade or so, it looks like Volvo has not properly bridged the premium gap. XC90 aside, it cannot get customers to spend big money on its models. One Volvo boss told me that he wished he had BMW’s customers, who would tick all the options boxes and update their car every couple of years.

Volvo’s ambition to charge, say, Audi prices is probably is unfulfilled. In truth, the company is caught dangling between the two main markets: premium and upmarket mainstream.

For example, today’s base diesel V70 costs £25k. Compare that to a £27k base model diesel Audi A6 Avant and an equivalent VW Passat estate at just over £19k. Both outsell the V70.

In future Volvo will have to work more closely with Ford on its models, saving money by reducing the amount of unique engineering. And that would allow the showroom prices to fall so they are just a bit more expensive than VW.

Making future products more closely related to Ford models, also opens up the possibility of building Volvos in Ford’s US factories, something that would result in transformation of profit margins in the US market.

The upshot is that Ford wants to see annual output boosted to 600,000 units and beyond. Losing some autonomy will be the price Volvo pays to get back into the black.

Where Lewis got his start

Alan Henry — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:06:39 GMT

Dropped by at the ZipKart factory in Hoddesdon last week where the boss, multiple kart championship winner Martin Hines reminded me just how his sport has developed from a self-contained pastime in its own right into the most crucial lower rung on the motorsporting ladder.

"When I started competing as a boy in 1962 it was all pretty unsophisticated compared with how things have developed today,” he reckons, “the karts we were racing were, I suppose, little more than bedsteads fitted with lawnmower engines. And we had no great plans to make it into Formula One.”

Yet Hines's close friendship with McLaren boss Ron Dennis also brought him a handful of rare test outings in a McLaren-Mercedes F1 car back in the mid-1990s. He was invited to try one of the '96 MP4-11s at the Idi-Ada test facility in Spain. Unfortunately this outing went rather less well than expected with Martin rolling it into a hidden ditch.

The car was very badly damaged indeed and Martin recalls the ensuing telephone to Ron as “the worst day on my racing career.”

It said much for the relationship between the two men that once Hines acknowledged that his was the error, the matter was forgotten. This was about the time that Hines's ZipKart company was developing the McLaren-Mercedes champion of the future karting series which would help accelerate the emergence of Lewis Hamilton as the most exciting rising star of his F1 generation.

Martin had first noticed eight-year old Hamilton racing his own cadet kart at the Rye House circuit close to the ZipKart headquarters. He was clearly carrying a novice plate, but the expert manner in which he handled himself belied the fact that he was actually competing in his very first race.

Martin added; "This was around the time that McLaren were going through their short-lived relationship with Nigel Mansell and was trying to persuade Ron (Dennis) that he really ought to give some consideration into putting all McLaren's resources into backing a young kartist, even if it was a ten year programme.

"So he asked me for my advice as to whom I might think was the best youngster and I told him Lewis. He thought it all through and eventually took my advice. And the rest, as they say, is history."

Technorati Tags: McLaren Lewis Hamilton Rin Dennis ZipKart

Are friends electric?

Richard Bremner — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:07:50 GMT

Cute though it appears, you might be a bit crestfallen to learn that Nissan thinks the future of the car is signalled by this strange black and white Cube prototype, that gets around using an electric motor. This does not look a car likely to excite.

Your thinking might change, though, when you discover that it hauls itself to 40mph as quickly as a powerful V6 saloon, and that the production car this engineering mule will sire may be good for 60mph in around five seconds.

Nissan’s production electric car will not look like a Cube either, though it could be similarly sized. Instead, it will be purpose-built, and of a striking style designed to take advantage of the compact motor and the need for excellent aerodynamics. It will also be the first of an electric range that could include sports models and an MPV.

The Cube is powered by three 100kg lithium-ion battery packs (that’s heavy, but they’ll get lighter, says Nissan), and they propel it in near-surreal silence. And it’s a cinch to drive, with no gears to shift. The Cube’s 107bhp motor manages 62mph in 13 seconds, and fades noticeably beyond this in the battle to reach its 85mph maximum, but it’s low-down potency is encouraging.

Like all EVs, range remains an issue - this mule manages 75 miles, and Nissan is aiming for only 100 from the production version. Which is why its negotiations to persuade countries, cities and governments to support its initiative with infrastructure and tax incentives are vital.

Israel, Denmark and Portugal have signed up, and talks with the UK government have been ‘constructive.’ Give it a decade, and your car could well be plug-and-play.

Technorati Tags: Nissan EV Nissan Cube Hybrid electric MPV

Save the planet: buy a 22mpg BMW

Mike Duff — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:01:39 GMT

Where would motoring journos be without the BMW X6? We should give the thing some kind of award for the sheer amount of coverage we’ve already managed to wring out of it; everything from favourable comments on how it drives through to deep wonder at just how pointless the idea of an off-road coupe really is.

Anyway, BMW has obviously grown used to the critical deluge, to the extent it’s decided to stir up yet more debate with a press release that makes the extremely bold assertion that the forthcoming range-topper, the X6 50i, is some kind of environmental champion.

That’s right, a car that manages the dizzying heights of 22.3mpg when put through the standard fuel economy test – and which pushes out 299g of CO2 for every kilometer it travels, is worthy of praise on the grounds that it does slightly better than its rivals.

According to BMW, the twin-turbocharged X6’s CO2 emissions figure is 75g/km cleaner than the supercharged Range Rover Sport and it’s 4.8mpg more fuel efficient. It’s also 2.3mpg more efficient and 33g/km less polluting than the Porsche Cayenne GTS.

All of which is undoubtedly true, but it seems like a seriously strange battlefield on which to base the 404bhp X6’s case. It’s like saying that an oilwell fire is more environmentally friendly than a capsized supertanker.

Let’s be honest, for the mid-ranking Premiership footballers who will form the range-topping X6’s most appreciative audience, green issues are what happen if the groundsman hasn’t done his job properly.

Technorati Tags: BMW X6 Porsche Cayenne GTS Range Rover Sport Supercharged SUV

Defend the Defender, Land Rover

Ed Keohane — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:50:00 GMT

J D Power has just published the results of its 2008 Vehicle Dependability Study, which summarises the problems experienced by owners of three-year-old vehicles in the US. http://www.jdpower.com/autos/ratings/dependability-ratings-by-brand

Lexus comes top, as it has in the past. This has happened enough times in the past that it is approaching the point at which it is no longer newsworthy. Sadly, the name at the bottom of the list is not a newcomer either. Land Rover comes last with 344 problems per 100 cars.

It's easy to imagine that Land Rovers are put through more extreme conditions than the other cars on the list and therefore suffer more problems. But as every Land Rover owner I've ever met has pointed out, that's missing the point: the cars are now too complicated.

I was camping in Sussex last weekend. I scrabbled up the hill to the camp site in my Land Cruiser and got out to find a LWB Land Rover and a 55-plate Discovery parked at the top alongside some heavy-duty ex-army kit. I soon got chatting to the drivers of the cars and found out that the air suspension on the Discovery has collapsed onto the bumpstops a couple of weeks previously due to a faulty compressor. The owner of the 15-year-old 110 Land Rover was horrified. But not nearly as horrified as he was to hear that new Defenders come with electric windows as standard.

Tata has many challenges ahead with Land Rover: to make the cars more economical, to make them lighter, to make them more reliable. The biggest challenge of all, however, is to come up with a solution for the undoubted demand for a powerful, robust 4x4 with a minimum of gadgets and an interior you can hose down.

The Defender is iconic and its longevity gives the Land Rover brand a reputation for reliability and dependability that is often at odds with anecdotal evidence. It won't matter how many hybrid 4x4s Land Rover makes, if it doesn't have the workhorse it won't have the image. Over to you, Ratan. Here are the results of the J D Power survey, showing the number of problems per 100 cars. The industry average is 206.

Lexus 120
Mercury 151
Cadillac 155
Toyota 159
Acura 160
Buick 163
BMW 164
Lincoln 165
Honda 177
Jaguar 178
Porsche 193
Mitsubishi 197
Hyundai 200
Ford 204
Infiniti 204
Audi 207
Mercedes-Benz 215
Nissan 224
Pontiac 225
GMC 226
Mazda 228
Subaru 228
Chrysler 229
Dodge 230
Mini 233
Chevrolet 239
Hummer 241
Scion 243
Volvo 244
Saturn 250
Jeep 253
Volkswagen 253
Saab 254
Isuzu 274
Kia 278
Suzuki 302
Land Rover 344

Aston One-77: the work of a genius?

Steve Cropley — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:57:41 GMT

Given that Aston Martin chief Dr Ulrich Bez once spent many months of his life painstakingly developing and building making a small batch of ultra-lightweight racing bikes of his own design, you’d expect him to love the art component of great engineering.

Since taking the controls of Aston Martin in 2000, he has continued to talk fervently of cars as art, insisting that the Aston models he has created are appreciated for their fine detail, and photographed with loving care.

However, this new venture, the One-77, values the art component of a car more highly than anyone has ever done before. What he’s offering is, essentially, a beautiful and very expensive development of the cars Aston builds now – yes, with a new carbon chassis, hand-beaten aluminium panels and hugely powerful version of the well-known V12 - but he wants to charge six times as much for it as he does for a DBS.

On the face of it, that’s a rather poor deal for the squillionaire who can afford to take the proposition seriously, and I’ve always been told that rich people are that way because they’re rather better than the rest of us at judging what makes good value.

Aston promises its One-77 owners unprecedented input into their cars. If someone wants it to be a two-plus-two, he’ll get his car that way. If another wants it to be a convertible, that’ll be fine, sir. If the owner wants to take part in his own tyre tests or suspension development programme, he’s welcome.

It’s an enticing idea. The question is whether it’s worth all that extra money. And by the way, should Aston Martin choose this moment to appeal to the super-rich when many are affected adversely by the credit crunch and those who aren't are reluctant to flaunt their wealth? It’s also true that Aston dealers in the developed world are having a struggle to sell existing models, and to keep residual values firm, and could probably do with some better targeted help from mission control.

Whether One-77 works boils down to whether Bez understands wealthy people better than the rest of us. And whether this kind of ‘secret’ car is something they want. So far, his record has been immaculate. But if a product is so exclusive that ordinary people will never know enough about it to have an opinion about its quality, performance and specification, maybe it’s not as desirable as something everyone loves.

We won’t see a finished car until the year-end, and first production cars won’t be delivered until the end of 2009, so there’s plenty of time to cogitate. But if One-77 works, as far as I'm concerned it will take Bez’s reputation for making amazingly effective instinctive judgements about the car market right up to genius level.

Cadillac’s back. Again.

Mike Duff — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:11:22 GMT

Cadillac’s periodic attempts to relaunch itself into the UK market have many similarities to the sort of multi-franchise Hollywood blockbuster where an ageing action star is called back for further chances to get blown through windows while wearing a vest.

Cadillac could even pilfer a movie tagline for the third go at launching in Blighty in less than a decade: ‘this time it’s serious.’

GM is determined that picky Europeans will be made to fall for its top-drawer brand, and (ultimately) to see Caddy as a viable alternative to a premium German badge.

The General has even gone to the considerable expense of building a right-hand drive version of the new CTS, a car that will only sell a few hundred a year in the UK.

On first impressions of the CTS, Caddy still has a fair way to go before BMW or Mercedes retreat in blind panic. But there’s plenty to like about the new car (especially with the cheaper, smoother 2.8-litre engine), and when diesel and estate versions follow, it will be able to challenge across a decent chunk of the market.

And despite it’s flaws – including the sort of ignition key that would leave you feeling shortchanged if you’d rented a Chevy Malibu – the CTS isn’t without its charms.

GM is particularly proud of the particularly intricate front wing, which the company reckons is one of the most complicated panels ever to be stamped from a single piece of steel.

According to design boss John Manoogian, VW boss Ferdinand Piech was seen examining it closely on the show stand at the Geneva show, before turning to his entourage and announcing that it couldn’t be made from metal.

“At last, we get to be the benchmark on something,” says Manoogian.

If Cadillac can keep up its current rate of progress, it won’t be the last time it leads the way.

Technorati Tags: Cadillac CTS General Motors GM Ferdinand Piech BMW Mercedes

Car sales meltdown: don’t panic. Yet.

Andrew Frankel — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:11:31 GMT

Figures for UK car sales in July have just been published and, to be honest, I’ve seen prettier train wrecks.

I’m sure times have been tougher before, but I’m not sure the market has ever turned quite so squarely on its heels and started marching quite so swiftly in the other direction. Overall the market is 13 percent down on the same month last year but many big names were off by over 20 percent and a few luxury brands are selling more than 40 percent fewer cars than they were this time last year.

Car dealers have not often figured high on my list of people to feel sorry for in any given week, but at the moment my thoughts are with them. Globally the situation looks little better: you know things are bad when BMW starts issuing profit warnings, something it did as recently as last Friday.

In the circumstances, crumbs of comfort are harder to find than ever, which means it’s more important than ever to go looking for them. And this month, you can find them in the most unlikely places. Alfa Romeo, for instance, improved its UK sales by nearly 17 percent, an outstanding achievement in this climate, but that seems like small fry compared to the almost 30 percent upturn in Jaguar’s business as the excellent XF replaces the S-type. After so many years charting its agonising downward spiral, it is joyous to see the trace kick up again.

But even this (and, indeed the astonishing 64 percent increase in Volvo sales) can’t mask the cold truth that a bad market seems to be getting rapidly worse.

Rightly the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (the body that represents car makers in this country) urges us to treat these numbers with some caution: July is always a relatively quiet month for car sales, as is August. So it won’t be until early October, when the figures for all-important September registrations come in that we’ll know for sure if we’re dealing with an uncomfortable but manageable slow down, or a market in headlong retreat.

Until then, the wait for car makers, importers and dealers up and down the country will seem interminable.

Technorati Tags: UK car sales BMW Jaguar XF SMMT Alfa Romeo

New Golf: we've been here before

Steve Cropley — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:12:04 GMT

We’ve been here five times before. This is the sixth launch of a VW Golf I’ve covered since 1974, and every time there has been a replacement, there has been an accompanying wail from critics that the new model “doesn’t go far enough”.

From time to time, I’ve even written those words myself, though these days - and this time - I’ve decided VW gets it about right, given that they have so much to lose if they don’t.

Inside the company there’s a deep knowledge that a fine balance must be struck between the new and the traditional, and the company’s designers and management fret and fidget with dozens of iterations until they get it right.

Not that every Golf is as good as the last. The star models, which VW is strenuously trying to match this time, are widely regarded as being Giugiaro’s seminal MkI (a little of whose freshness, lightness and simplicity of line has been echoed in every succeeding model) and Dr Piech’s class-busting MkIV (which appeared soon after Ford launched the Focus to bring a new level of refinement and quality to cars in this class). The latest car tries especially hard on both of these traditional fronts: simplicity of design and superior quality.

We’ll need to see and drive production cars to know for sure, but to me it looks like succeeding. The new Golf, which once again “doesn’t go far enough”, will be heading again for its natural slot as Europe’s best-selling car.

Interesting to note, however, that though the latest Golf seems a simple answer to some critics, it has already been the object of huge controversy inside the company.

The car you see was conceived in little more than 18 months. A previous project, fronted by design team leader Murat Gunak, was abruptly binned when Audi boss Dr Martin Winterkorn took the reins of the whole group and ordered a radical change to VW’s design course.

Former Alfa/Seat/Audi designer Walter de Silva took overall command, Gunak left the company, and the Golf VI you see here was brought to life.

In particular, it ditched the deep-grille nose treatment seen on the Iroc concept car (precursor of the recently launched Scirocco) and brought a simpler, more familiar grille treatment. Half-close your eyes and you soon see that it harks back, quite clearly, to 1974. Like I say, we’ve been here before...

Sales collapse Stateside

Hilton Holloway — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:26:18 GMT

What do Mercedes, Mini and Nissan have in common? They were the only three car makers to see sales rise in the US market last month.

July was nothing short of a sales blood bath in America. Chrysler’s sales fell 34 per cent compared with July 2007. GM was down 32 per cent, Ford down 21 per cent. Even impregnable Toyota was down 18 per cent. Over the whole of the first half of 2008, the numbers are not quite so terrifying, but then the sales slow-down only now seems to be gathering pace.

The pace of the downturn is such that some analysts are warning that General Motors is burning cash at such a rapid rate that it could be in really serious trouble in just 12 months. The only hope is that the new car market stabilises.

And there’s good and bad news for the UK’s car makers. Mini sales are up 32 per cent, Rolls Royce was up 5 per cent and Jaguar crept up 2 per cent on the back of the XF.

But then again the pound is still very strong against the dollar, making it hard to turn a profit on US sales. So BMW isn’t going to up production for US-bound Minis, despite the demand. There are more profitable markets to be serviced. On the other hand, Bentley sales are off 28 per cent, Aston Martin by 18 percent and Land Rover around 32 per cent. It’s a worst-case scenario: the strong pound renders profits wafer-thin and the sinking American economy is hammering sales volumes.

Cash burning at Ford and GM will also have a serious effect on new product development in Europe. Sources say that future EU-market models are already being culled as the head office drowns in red ink. The old cliché that if the US sneezes, the UK catches a cold has never been truer. But it seems that the wider European car industry is also set for a dose too.

Technorati Tags: Chrysler Toyota Mercedes-Benz USA Aston Martin GM Ford