TTAC’s Twitter followers already know that I’m at the 2011 APEC Transport/Energy Ministerial Meeting in San Francisco, rubbing elbows with key decision-makers from the world of energy and transportation across the Asia-Pacific region. Earlier today I had the opportunity to sit down with Better Place CEO Shai Agassi, the intense, formidable CEO of Project Better Place. I’ll be writing about that conversation shortly, but many of the major points are covered in the speech Agassi gave shortly afterwards to assembled ministers, media and businesspeople. The speech boils down Better Place’s hugely ambitious plan to tackle one of the most complex challenges the world faces: transportation’s dependence on oil. If you’re looking for an Al Gore-style “green” speech, keep looking. Agassi tackles the problem from an economic and technological approach, and he makes a case that is well worth about 17 minutes of your time.
If you’re not familiar with Better Place, you can read some of TTAC’s coverage of the battery-swapping, network-managing, mileage-leasing project at our Project Better Place tag here (much of it on-the-ground reporting from Tal Bronfer, who has been following its rollout in the Israeli market). A comparison of battery swap to other EV business models can be found here, and a study of EV grid management issues can be found here.
The national character of auto brands is a tricky thing. For decades, Volvo wore its Swedishness on its sleeve, emphasizing the values that made Ikea, Abba and Swedish porn so popular in the US… even when it was an outpost of the Ford empire. And then the unthinkable happened: Chinese up-and-comer Li Shufu bought the brand and rolled it into his Geely empire. In the world of national-character-branding, being bought by a Chinese firm is something like hiring Casey Anthony as a brand ambassador, or using a mascot called “Mr Melamine Milk” (another nightmare scenario can be found here). So, how does a brand like Volvo, that was built on Swedishness, get past the “China Factor”? By doubling down on Swedishness? How about by building cars in the US?
Regular TTAC readers may have noticed a slowdown in our publishing cadence of late. Fear not, dear readers, TTAC has not lost it’s passion. Rather, we are victims of our own success. Rather than being stuck at our computers, TTAC’s editors are hitting the road more than ever to bring the in-depth insight and quality stories that set us apart from other car blogs. We know that you visit TTAC for our quality reporting and analysis, rather than for our speed or search engine optimization. Accordingly, we thank you for demanding quality auto writing and we beg your patience when things slow down as we chase the big stories. Rest assured any slowdowns will be made up for with even bigger stories. In many ways, TTAC is only just hitting its stride. So hang tight in the back seat, and thanks for allowing us to achieve our true potential.
The only vehicle at the last Detroit Auto Show that I just had to get my picture taken with was a classic Mercedes gullwing SL. Somehow I’m guessing that I won’t feel the same way about this F-125 concept, come the 2060 auto show. Just a guess though.
Even as GM may or may not be pursuing an alliance of some kind with BMW, it’s putting the final touches on its new Cadillac ATS, which is supposed to compete directly with BMW’s 3 Series. But according to the only report on the possibility of a GM-BMW tie-up,
BMW’s Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer has previously said that BMW would be interested in selling engines to other companies so long as such a move wouldn’t strengthen a direct competitor’s position or damage BMW’s own image
Will GM’s first “true” Dreier-fighter scare BMW away from an engine deal with The General? Until we get a sense of what exactly GM is pursuing, and how BMW feels about being pursued, it’s impossible to say. But the timing of all this certainly is interesting.
Dow Jones cites a report in Der Spiegel Magazine which claims that GM Vice Chairman for Corporate Strategy Steve Girsky
has made enquiries at BMW to start discussions on “far-reaching joint projects.”
According to Dow Jones, the Spiegel article does not cite any specific source for its information, and TTAC has not yet been able to find the original article online. According to Dow Jones, GM is
primarily interesting in gasoline and diesel engines… General Motors is at an advanced stage in developing a fuel cell and could offer co-operation in that field… The technology behind GM’s Opel Ampera electric vehicle would also be of interest to BMW, according to the report.
GM has not yet responded to TTAC’s request for comment. A similar rumor was floated by Handelsblatt around this time last year, but BMW was quick to quash it. Are things different this time, or is GM still struggling with unrequited desire? We’ll let you know as soon as possible…
What does it take for a tuned Porsche Cayenne to be featured at TTAC? It must be nothing less than the most interesting tuned Cayenne in the world. And your eyes don’t deceive you… that’s exactly what you’re looking at. The Eterniti Hemera may or may not have advantages relative to the competition from Mansory, Ruf, Gemballa et al, but its story beats all of them (with the possible exception of Gemballa, er, hollow. Eterniti burst onto the scene when a Twitter squatter managed to spread all kinds of speculation about the company, including that it would use licensed RedBull F1 technology, adding to rampant speculation that the company was somehow associated with Nissan’s Infiniti brand. Of course Bertel Schmitt tracked down the truth, and even though Porsche no longer associates itself with its former dealer and Eterniti founder Kenny Chen, Bertel could have told you nearly a month ago that the Hemera would be a tuned Cayenne. So, though this glorified bodykit of a car may seem like something of a letdown, its strange social-media-parable storyline makes it… the most interesting tuned Cayenne in the world.
In a blog item bemoaning the likely imminent death of the Honda Ridgeline, Automotive News [sub] Product Editor Rick Kranz accuses Honda of “abandoning” its funky pickup by failing to update its styling or hardware since it was introduced in 2005. His point seems to be that the Ridgeline was a decent enough niche product that withered on the vine… and the sales numbers certainly seem to support that thesis. But if you compare Ridgeline to other Japanese-brand compact-midsized pickups, you find that Toyota and Nissan saw similar drops in volume over a similar time period… as did practically all non-full-size pickups. So could Honda have done more for the Ridgeline, or was its decline inevitable? While you’re pondering that mystery, consider this: Kranz points to the last sentence of a months-old piece for one of those zombie rumors that never really got any play:
Based on conversations with industry sources, the story said a smaller pickup is under consideration, derived from the CR-V platform.
Presuming less payload and towing capacity than the Ridgeline, I can’t imagine why a smaller pickup based on a front-drive platform would be a more successful product formula for Honda.
On the other hand, a CR-V-based pickup is something that hasn’t been tried for decades in this market… and it wouldn’t compete nearly as directly with the cheap full-sizers that are killing the “compact” (actually midsized) pickups. So, is Kranz’s logic sound, or could a CR-V-based pickup mix up the market? Faith springs eternal for me when it comes to efficient utility vehicles… but what say you?
In the beginning there was rear-wheel-drive. And lo, the proportions were classic and the handling was good. And the lord of automobiles smiled upon his work, for lo, it was good.
Well, you know how the rest of the story goes. The automobile feel from the grace of its one true faith, and was cursed to torque steer, lifeless dynamics and it covered its shame with dull, uninspired styling. But here’s the part you may not have seen coming: Kia wants to return to the garden. With a rear-drive chassis from Hyundai’s Genesis, it’s allowing its chief designer, Peter Schreyer, to once again read from the original book of automotive appeal. And with sleek details, a long hood, and classic, cab-rearward proportions, it’s GT Concept could just win over a few believers. But if you’re feeling the spirit, beware: the GT Concept is too good for this earthly automotive plain. Though it presages the coming of two new prophets, an affordable rear-drive coupe to take on Toyota’s FT-86 and a Genesis-based flagship, this particular GT will remain in the auto-show firmament.
Is this car, photographed on the set of the upcoming Avengers film [via superherohype.com], a glimpse of a new Acura NSX re-boot? Acura tells Motor Trend
The open-top sports car you are referring to is a one-off fictional car that was created just for the film and is not intended for production. The only thing that we can confirm is information that our CEO has already publicly stated, that we are studying the development of a new sports model.
That development is said to be based on a “flipped” Accord chassis, with a 400 HP mid-mounted V6 and SH-AWD. And it wouldn’t be too terribly surprising if the results looked something like this concept when it starts hitting the car show circuit. In any case, Tony Stark looks nearly as at home in this as he does in an Audi R8. That alone is the most promising sign we’ve seen from Acura in some time…
The theme that’s emerged most clearly from my interview with Bob Lutz was, somewhat counterintuitively, compromise. Every vehicle that’s developed and built is the product of nearly countless compromises, on everything from performance to efficiency, and from weight and materials to cost. The question isn’t so much if you compromise when developing a new car, but how you compromise… as was demonstrated in our last Lutzian anecdote. And even during my interview, as the conversation bounced from GM to Chrysler, from mass-market products to niche halo cars, I was thrilled that this issue kept coming up. Why? Because this theme played perfectly into the question that was at the top of my list of prepared questions. After all, there has been a mystery haunting GM followers for some time now… a mystery that I’d never seen a journalist ever ask about. And there I was, sitting with one of the few people who was even capable of fully answering it. So I just waited for a pause, opened my mouth and asked:
Why do GM cars weigh more than other cars?
I had no idea what kind of answer to expect… but I definitely wasn’t expecting the answer I got.
NB: Chrysler 200 sold 3787 in August 2010, and Kia Optima sold 1714.
Well, it’s that time again TTAC fans: the Midsized wars roll on with Camry retaking the top spot to extend its advantage in YTD sales. Altima continued its consistent year with a second place showing, and improving over its August 2010 number better than any nameplate besides… the Chrysler 200? Yes, Chrysler’s updated Sebring stopgap outsold the freshly-chic Optima on the month, and passed it in YTD sales. Meanwhile, the Hyundai Sonata may still have been 10k off the Camry’s pace, but its August volume was a mere 37 units from tying Mazda6’s YTD volume (through August). All in all though, this wasn’t an incredible month for midsizers, as half of the best-selling nameplates failed to improve on their year-over-year numbers. But what this segment lacks in volume growth it makes up for in drama, as a falling Accord runs the very real risk of being passed by Malibu and Sonata. Camry may be back in control, but the fight for the rest of the podium is as tight as ever.
Bob Lutz admitted in his book Guts that he “possesses a certain duality of mind,” and he ain’t kidding. After all, how could someone spend a career in an industry built on “the industrial logic of scale” (to borrow a phrase from Sergio Marchionne) while trying to connect new vehicles with the lust centers of the human brain without developing a certain amount of creative schizophrenia? But, as anyone who has ever driven a Pontiac Solstice knows, sometimes compromises are made between the conflicting pulls of lust and practicality… and when those compromises must be made, Lutz tends to err on the side of lust. I confronted him about this tendency in our recent conversation, and rather than accept the criticism, he doubled down on his premise that lust-worthy design is more important than practicality. And he illustrated his point by telling the tale of a long-forgotten concept and its troubled path to production.
It’s been a long road for Jaguar’s long-awaited sub-XK sportscar, as fans have been holding their breath for something small, tossable and decked out in Ian Callum sheet metal since the 2000 F-Type Concept. And though this C-X16 is technically a concept, it’s been approved for production and according to Autocar its supercharged V6 hybrid drivetrain is
expected to appear in other Jaguar Land Rover vehicles before the end of next year.
Unfortunately, between the hybrid drivetrain and a platform that will also be used on the next-gen XK, the C-X16 isn’t as light as the new 911 it benchmarks. I’m not a huge fan of the interior either, which Jaguar calls “1 + 1.” But with Carrera performance, high-tech toys like a KERS regenerative braking system, and about 3,500 lbs of kerb weight, the C-X16 has a lot of the things people look for in a premium sportscar. Besides, once Porsche’s “Baby Boxster” comes out, perhaps Jaguar will follow it closer to “true Roadster” territory…
Today’s resignation of Chrysler’s chairman and two other government-assigned directors was hardly a surprise, as now-Chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne had signaled that changes were coming in the wake of Chrysler’s “payback” of government loans. In fact, Rebecca Lindland of IHS Automotive predicted that chairman Robert Kidder, as well as the other two departing directors would be the ones leaving, telling the Freep
Three of the five Chrysler board members who are government appointees — Kidder, Stuart Scott and George Gosbee — are members of investment advisory firms.
“Now, you kind of need to have people that have distinctive automotive industry experience verses financial expertise,” Lindland said.
But Lindland was only half-right. She picked the departing directors perfectly, but Marchionne didn’t replace them with even a hint of “distinctive automotive industry experience.” But not being a dyed-in-the-wool “automotive guy” himself, he apparently had some slightly different qualifications in mind…
Is this car, photographed on the set of the upcoming Avengers film [via 
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