Autocar

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

Company vs country

Ed Keohane — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:58:00 GMT

The sheer scale of Ford's recent quarterly loss - $8.7bn - is difficult to understand. I know what you might be able to run for a hundred dollars a year (a laptop), a thousand dollars a year (a motorbike), even a million dollars a year (a small web design company), but what can you do with $34bn a year?

Well, according to the World Bank, you could run Tunisia... or Guatemala.

Yes, Ford's running costs are on a par with those of a small, developing country.

Now, any guesses which country's GDP General Motor's $15.5bn quarterly loss equates to?

Longbridge rises from the ashes

Richard Bremner — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:17:47 GMT

It seems unlikely, but the former MG Rover plant at Longbridge is producing cars again.

For now it’s only the venerable MG TF, with production kicking off with a limited run of 500 cars that, apart from fresh paint, wheels and headlamps, look unchanged fro the TF that was died alongside MG Rover in 2005.

According to Nanjing, this is the first of several MGs that will be built at the much-compacted factory, and the next models promise to be substantially more youthful than the TF - possibly even brand new. Longbridge will not only be an MG production site for Nanjing but an engineering centre and a bridgehead into Europe. All great news if you’re an MG fan, and if you wanted to see at least something surviving from the collapse of MG Rover in 2005.

But you wonder how robust these plans are when you see the rather lame advertising for the reincarnated TF - the copywriters clearly struggling to find a way of announcing the return of a 13 year old product – and the website isn’t vastly more encouraging.

Given that the TF is now being advertised for sale you’d expect to be able to register for information, but the ‘enquire’ page of the site is apparently being updated. A pretty terrible way of dealing with potential sales leads.

Another page touts for engineering work from businesses who might want to use the plant’s rolling road, Japanese car importers and gas converters among those invited to rent the facility. All of which makes for somewhat forlorn reading if you know much of the history of this car plant, once the largest in Europe.

As someone who previously worked for new MG’s distant predecessor, and who hoped (with naïve desperation) that MG Rover would survive after BMW cut it loose, signs of life at Longbridge are great to see. But there can be few car industry watchers who won’t need an awful lot of convincing that this enterprise is going to survive this time around.

Yet Nanjing, which bought MG, is now owned by SAIC, China’s biggest car manufacturer and fellow buyers of the rump of the MG Rover business. This is an outfit with the muscle to make MG work, and from this faltering start we may yet be surprised. I’d love to see it happen.

Technorati Tags: Longbridge MG Rover MG TF Nanjing SAIC China

When Japanese design turns bad

Peter Nunn — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:07:42 GMT

A decade ago, Japan was in the grip of this strange and rather alarming retro boom. Chrome grilles and wood-effect panels started to appear on all manner of cars, as automotive Japan raced to turn the clock back.

Yes, this was the time when we had Nissan, Subaru and Toyota, hastily grafting Olde Worlde flute grilles and chrome bumpers onto Micras, Starlets et al. Many of these looked decidedly naff. But the makers didn’t care. It was only for Japan and if it made money, why not?

The Japanese could argue, with some justification, that they were only doing what BMC did in the ‘60s: creating Riley Elfs and Wolseley Hornets out of Minis via the application of a new, shiny grille.

Anyway, I was reminded of all this the other day when I saw a Mitsubishi Flying Pug in the street in Tokyo. This was an imaginatively converted 1100cc Pajero Junior with ornate, comedy like front end and gruesome name. To be honest, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Mitsubishi has since redeemed itself with the i, proving that when it’s good, Japanese design is as cutting edge as it gets. But when it’s bad, it’s horrid.

Technorati Tags: Mitsubishi Nissan Toyota Subaru Micra

One year on, Alonso still feels bitter

Alan Henry — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:29:27 GMT

Fernando Alonso's lingering bitterness towards the McLaren-Mercedes team spilled over again in Budapest over the weekend as he said he didn't think he would be allowed to win if he was still driving for the British squad as their whole approach was slanted towards supporting Lewis Hamilton's efforts.

Alonso, who won the World Championship in 2005 and 06, was speaking on the first anniversary of his acrimonious split with McLaren in Budapest, a breach which ended with him rowing with chairman Ron Dennis and his right-hand man Martin Whitmarsh.

McLaren sources have since revealed that the Spanish driver was almost fired on the spot after deliberately blocking Hamilton during qualifying for the 2007 Hungarian grand prix, earning himself a five place grid penalty which dropped him from first to sixth in the starting order.

"If I was driving there for them this year it wouldn't make any difference because I would be in just the same situation as [Heikki] Kovalainen and not allowed to win," he said churlishly. "But I am much happier this year [at Renault] for sure."

Dennis, questioned on the matter, showed great dignity and restraint while at the same time letting it be known that all parties had agreed to a confidentiality clause precluding them from debating the matter in public.

And if Alonso couldn't keep his trap shut then the McLaren boss most certainly could.

Technorati Tags: McLaren-Mercedes Fernando Alonso Lewis Hamilton Heikki Kovalainen Martin Whitmarsh Ron Dennis

The Parliamentary greenwash continues

Mike Duff — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:00:15 GMT

We shouldn’t be too surprised that MPs seem so completely disconnected from motoring issues.

For most of them, driving is something that happens to other people. Government ministers are whisked everywhere in the back of taxpayer-funded Jags, to the extent that our own Prime Minister has never felt it necessary to get a driving licence.

And between the free flights, free train travel and generous taxi accounts, even backbenchers rarely have to actually drive themselves anywhere.

All of which helps explain why the Commons Environmental Audit Committee reckons that the biggest problem with the controversial recent increase in Vehicle Excise Duty is that it didn’t go far enough.

Indeed, according to chairman Tim Yeo (a Tory), we need the “biggest possible incentive”, including “really penal rates for high-emission cars.”

Great idea, Tim. And why not go the whole hog and make the driver of anything with over 2.0-litres of swept capacity given HMG their bank account details, so that the revenue can take whatever it likes, whenever it likes?

Backdating the road tax revisions to everything made after 2001 has trapped thousands of motorists into the equivalent of negative equity, collapsing residuals (in many cases to considerably less than the outstanding finance on a car) and preventing punters from trading out of their situation.

Surely the whole point of punitive ‘green’ taxation is to allow people the chance to make decisions that will avoid it, something that sticking it on new cars that then work through the secondhand system would achieve. Imposing it retrospectively on cars that were, in many cases, bought years before it was conceived is nothing short of highway robbery.

At least there was some sense from the three committee members who disagreed with the greenwash report enough to write a dissenting opinion on it.

"The public must have faith that green taxes are not about raising revenue for the Treasury,” said Lib Dem Jo Swinson, “but in this case, their use is clearly more to do with filling Alistair Darling's coffers than cutting carbon emissions from our roads."

Here, here.

Technorati Tags: MPs Parliament Tim Yeo VED tax carbon emissions

How loud is too loud?

John McIlroy — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:45:18 GMT

We've just had a bit of a play with our Vauxhall VXR8 long-termer, fitting Walkinshaw Performance's Power Pack.

The kit comprises a revised air filter, an ECU upgrade and a stainless steel exhaust that lifts the regular VXR8 rumble up to 92dB. It also frees up an extra 30bhp.

Thing is, I've been wondering ever since the car came out of Walkinshaw's workshops if I've done the right thing. The performance exhaust that's been fitted is only the 'minor' upgrade, you see; Walkinshaw also produces a V8 Supercar unit that turns the volume up to 110dB - and accompanies it with a cacophony of crackles and backfires. So I've been torn between driving a car that sounds like a Bathurst racer, and, er, living with one.

Today, I got my answer, for Vauxhall has helpfully fitted the V8 Supercar unit to its latest press demonstrator, the LS3-engined 6.2-litre VXR8. After five minutes I was nearly biting the steering wheel with frustration, because it sounds fantastic.

And after six minutes I felt content. Why? Because I'd started to get annoyed at the intense noise and cabin boom being created by exhaust explosions. Frankly, I couldn't wait to get back into our long-termer, to enjoy the mix of great V8 noise and, er, motorway cruising ability.

We don't do much performance modding at Autocar, and this incident shows why. As it is, we've struck a fine balance and genuinely added meaningful enjoyment to our VXR8 experience.
But if we'd ticked the wrong box (and spent a lot more money), we could have ended up with a hooligan of a vehicle riding roughshod over many of the original VXR8's best qualities. Cars are there to be ruined, as well as improved.

Technorati Tags: Vauxhall VXR8 Walkinshaw Bathurst LS3 6.2-litre V8

DSG: double trouble?

Chas Hallett — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:40:53 GMT

It's obvious why car makers are keen on double-clutch gearboxes. If you keep it in 'D' it feels more or less like a normal auto, yet has fuel economy and emissions that are far closer to a manual 'box.

What's more they are invariably equipped with steering wheel buttons or paddles for a DIY shift and so can be sold as a 'sporty' option and we can be charged accordingly.

It's this last point that probably explains why the proliferation of new double-clutch systems this year has largely been fitted to high performance cars and it just so happens that I've driven most of them in the past two weeks: the Mitsubishi Evo X, the Nissan GTR, the Porsche 911 PDK and BMW M3.

I've come away with mixed impressions. The Nissan and Porsche systems are brilliant (if ever so slightly anodyne), but the other two just feel half-baked by comparison.

And it was the M3's system that disappointed me the most as its changes were neither as swift nor as smooth as you'd expect or desire. I'm something of a two-pedal fan but I'd have the manual M3 everytime.

No surprise that certain systems are better than others - why should double-clutch boxes be any different from other systems?

It just got me thinking whether high-performance cars are the best showcase for such systems. After all, VW's DSG system works brilliantly on a Golf diesel and the new and similar system on the Focus diesel is even better.

On those cars there are tangible benefits to ordering this option. But on specialist stuff like the 911 and M3 it's harder to see the point.

I've got no doubt that double-clutchers are desirable for the future of the family hatch and I'm sure that I'll be signing up for one in the not too distant. But I've sampled enough to think that some cars should at least keep the option of three pedals.

Technorati tags: Porsche 911 PDK BMW M3 Nissan GTR DSG Volkswagen Golf

Chrysler cooler than Chevrolet?

Matt Rigby — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 11:24:44 GMT

I still don't quite understand muscle cars. Actually, that's not true. What I really can't work out is the logic of muscle car fans.

A recent telephone conversation with hot Yankee metal 'superfan' Colin Goodwin made me realise this. I think we were supposed to be talking about Renault Twingos or some such, but that rapidly turned out to be too dull a conversation for me to even remember, so we turned to the subject of the new Dodge Challenger.

As I had driven it earlier that week, Colin wanted to know what it was like. The answer, apart from the fact that it looks so good that it even if you saw Angelina Jolie dressed in an orange catsuit, the Challenger would still win the prize for Sexiest Orange Thing Ever, is 'good in parts'.

It feels well built, it stops, grips and steers effectively (though not enthusiastically) and it bellows down the road with extreme ferocity when you really put your foot down. But the steering is lifeless, and the engine and gearbox can feel a little lethargic.

All of which is fine - muscle cars just have to sound good and look amazing. But there is a problem in my eyes, and it's called the Chevrolet Camaro. This will be powered by the latest LS3 GM V8, which is a much better engine than the Chrysler Hemi, and its chassis is based on the Holden Commodore HSV (also known as the Vauxhall VXR8), which is a much better chassis.

I explained this to Col. And his response? "The thing is, young Rigby, none of that matters, because Chryslers always have been - and always will be - much cooler the Chevrolets. One day I'll explain that to you."

Can anybody else see what Col means? I'm willing to be educated.

Technorati Tags: Chevrolet Camaro Dodge Challenger Angelina Jolie Holden Commodore HSV Corvette