Typically when an automaker launches its first EV, the standard procedure is to spend a lot of time talking about how this car will change the world. Not so with Audi. Having created an “e-tron” EV concept version of its Auto Union Type C pedal car, Audi is backing up its modest EV ambitions with some tough talk from CEO Rupert Stadler aimed at putting EVs in their proper place. Stadler tells Automotive News [sub] that
We are still in the early phase with the electric vehicle, in terms of commercialization and whether the cars will be sold or leased, or will just be a collector’s car. First of all we have to industrialize the lithium-ion-battery. This is happening with the hybrid cars which now have the role of a bridge technology. We should not overplay euphoria for electric vehicles. Our industry is in the middle of a system change and we still have a lot of challenges to solve.
And, just as its CEO admits, Audi still has real issues with the commercialization of EVs: for one thing, even its e-tron kiddy car is still a one-off modification of its €9,700 pedal-powered Type C racer. Audi currently has no plans to commercially produce the 1.5 HP, 25 km range EV sportster. Perhaps its too early to say for certain that Audi will be able to knock Tesla off its solitary spot atop the EV sportscar world.
With a number of shocking nameplate-engineering jobs on deck (who’s ready for a Chrysler 200-based Lancia Flavia?), Fiat’s easing into things with one of the more innocuous moves on the to-do list: rebadging Dodges Journey as a Fiat. In Europe, the Freemont will slip into obscurity between Fiat’s Qubo and Doblò, much as the real Fremont struggles to serve as more than a unnecessary and unwanted distraction between Oakland and San Jose. And even though European buyers don’t buy many midsized crossovers, and don’t come to Fiat when they do, the Journey has been reworked to live up to the refined tastes of the European soccer mom. From retuned steering and suspension, to diesel engines, a new instrument panel and more soft-touch materials, The Freemont is a Dodge Journey for people who aren’t willing to buy shockingly poor-quality vehicles on the strength of inane advertising alone. And since they’re not calling it the Multipla, there’s no tip-toeing around comparisons to storied predecessors. But the fact that Fiat isn’t used to selling vehicles like the Journey is already showing up in its marketing literature, which enigmatically refers to the Freemont as a
“factotum vehicle” which has been “designed to meet the diverse needs of families and those seeking a spacious, comfortable and versatile vehicle to cater for the frenetic pace of everyday life or weekend leisure time”
Though not technically a new debut at this year’s Detroit Auto Show, the “Prius C” concept was probably the most interesting vehicle Toyota showed at Cobo Hall this year. If nothing else, it certainly shows the promise of an expanded Prius brand far better than the “Prius V.” And if there’s a single market where this “baby Prius” can give Toyota’s eco-brand spin-off a boost it would be Europe, where small, efficient cars rule. But, it seems, this is not to be. Autocar reports
The strength of the Japanese yen seems almost certain to keep a production version of Toyota’s near-80mpg hybrid supermini based on the Prius C Concept hatch out of Europe. Read More >
You know… that’s not a horrid-looking little interior right there. What does an adorable little “yacht tender” Aston Martin Cygnet cost, anyway Jeeves? £30,995 base? Why that’s a duke’s whisker away from fifty thousand of those colonial greenbacks! One could nearly afford three Toyota iQs for that amount of filthy lucre… and aesthetic improvements aside, they’re the same ruddy vehicle! But then, one imagines that the Aston version at least offers the sporting thrills one expects from such a storied… what’s that now? It takes 11.8 seconds to reach 62 MPH? Egad Jeeves, we’d go faster if you pushed me in the old S3! In fact, a peasant-powered Bentley is both lower-emissions and infinitely more befitting ones station than a rebadged Toyota. So much for all that “progress” nonsense…
It’s been a short, strange trip for Maybach, as Daimler’s über-luxe branding effort went from toast of the nouveau riche to played-out self-caricature in a few short years. Needless to say, TTAC has been awaiting the long-overdue death of that brand for some time now, only to be stymied by a “final” facelift and a Xenatec-developed Coupe. Now, with Aston Martin reportedly working on the new look of the brand that “nobody at Daimler wants to let die,” Maybach’s masters are finally admitting to the fact that TTAC pointed out back in 2007: The Super S-Class was “born old hat.” Autocar reports:
Originally created to be profitable at 800 cars per year, Maybach has regularly struggled to sell half that annually since the launch of the 57 and 62 in 2002. Insiders now admit the decision to base the Maybach on the platform of a two-generations-old S-class, the W140, was a mistake.
Doing so prevented Mercedes from updating the upmarket limousine’s standard features with new navigation, communication and entertainment systems, as well as new safety features owing to an incompatible electronics platform dating back to 1990.
D’oh! But don’t worry… this won’t happen again. Honest.
Having abandoned its unloved Nagare design language, Mazda has offered only two hints at its new stylistic direction so far, the Shinari concept and a design study on a forthcoming iteration of the Mazda3. And though both hint at how Mazda will express its “Japanese Alfa Romeo” ambitions, neither is obviously a near-production design. But with these just-released renderings of the Mingai Concept, Mazda is bringing its new design language ever closer to reality, as we’re looking at a future CX-5 compact crossover aimed directly at Hyundai’s hot Tucson (ix35 in Europe). It’s a sleek, Shinari-influenced design that proves that the brand’s cleaner, classier design direction can impart any segment with an upscale vibe. In fact, with mild alterations to the grille, this could almost be the rumored Italian-built Alfa compact CUV. For a brand that wins as many accolades for its fun-to-drive performance as it does ridicule for its “deranged Pokemon” styling, this is clearly a good direction to be headed in.
The Blue Oval is trying to make the case that, after years of tolerating decline at its luxury brands, the fight to bring Lincoln up to snuff is deadly serious. But if admitting you have a problem is the first step on the road to recovery, CEO Alan Mulally may just have kicked off Lincolns rehabilitation with a minor stumble, telling Automotive News [sub]
we didn’t tarnish the brand. We just didn’t invest in it.
You say tomato, Alan, we say tomahto. If neglect won’t “tarnish” a luxury brand, nothing will. But now that the requisite excuses have been made, what is Ford going to do to bring back its lagging luxury brand? Read More >
With TTAC bringing retail market share into its year-end sales analysis, we’re fascinated by the results of Consumer Reports’ Car Brand Perception Survey. The results show Toyota falling slightly but holding onto the top spot, and Ford making strides towards overtaking the Japanese Juggernaut. That trend at the top absolutely comports with our retail market share data for 2010, as does Honda’s less-dramatic slide in favor. CR also shows Chevy losing some ground in most of the survey’s rating areas, especially “Design/Style,” where the bowtie brand dropped out of the top five brands. Still, Chevy does surprisingly well in the CR survey, considering it lost more retail share than any other brand besides Toyota. Between TTAC’s year-end retail share numbers and CR’s brand perception survey, industry-watchers now have more ways than ever to track the performance of automotive brands in the minds of consumers, rather than as measured by sheer volume.
Yes, you read correctly. For less than $200 I recently added a brand new Cadillac to my garage. The catch: it has only two wheels and I must supply the power myself. Read More >
Automotive News [sub] reports that Audi may be going against the wishes of its parent company by introducing a Wankel rotary range-extender for the trial version of its A1 E-tron EREV, which will begin fleet testing in Germany later this year. Volkswagen reportedly wants each of its ten brands to agree on a common EV strategy in order to cut costs, but Audi is looking for a more refined concept for its range-extender in order to compete with BMW’s forthcoming Megacity lightweight city car, a consideration which caused the luxury brand to settle on a rotary range-extending engine. The German press reports that Audi’s decision has left it “at odds” with its parent company, and they describe the situation as “anarchic.” An Audi spokesman, however, tells AN [sub] that
There is no problem between VW and Audi
But a Wankel engine is hardly the kind of cost-cutting move towards commonality that VW had envisioned for its concern-wide EV effort, and bosses from the firms corporate headquarters have not yet commented on the story. And considering that the Wankel-powered Mazda RX-8 was recently yanked from the European market for its gas-guzzling ways, it’s hard to see Audi making the Wankel work. Still, we’ll wait for VW to comment and for the results of the A1 E-tron’s fleet testing (which will determine if the concept is production-ready) before we pass judgment.
Speaking of platform-sharing between brands, Volkswagen’s division of labor debates have been progressing this year with the result that Audi will develop the conglomerate’s SUVs, while Porsche is in charge of sportscar development, as well as the erector set that will become VW’s modular platform menace. Future luxury sedan development (think Porsche Panamera, Lamborghini Estoque and Bentleys) are also said to be the purview of Porsche, although the German newspaper Der Spiegel recently revealed that
Volkswagen’s boss recently decided that, in 2014, the brand will distance itself from sportscars, instead offering a sedan based on the Audi A8.
Which is an interesting choice. After all, the king of über-luxury sedans, the Rolls Phantom, is based on a unique platform, whereas the A8 shares greasy bits with even the lowly Volkswagen Phaeton. Initially the Bugatti sedan strategy was to build the most expensive luxury sedan (as envisioned by the Galibier Concept) on the market to out-Phantom the Phantom, while (VW-owned) Bentley nips at its heels with the new Mulsanne, but that plan fell apart as a worldwide recession took hold. Now the idea seems to be to create something considerably more modest and brand-engineered… which doesn’t sound like much of a payoff for the most superlative of modern brands. We’ll just have to wait and see where this goes.
Toyota, possibly more than any other automaker, epitomizes a major tradeoff inherent in mass-market success: mechanical and stylistic homogeneity. Subaru, on the other hand, traditionally occupies the other end of the spectrum, slinging mechanically unique but ultimately niche-oriented products. Since Toyota took a 16.5 percent stake in Subaru’s parent company Fuji Heavy Industries, observers have wondered how the relationship between two so different automakers would play out. And since Subaru had already cultivated a fiercely loyal following with its dedication to niche values, the outcome has largely been that Subaru fans have decried the perceived “Toyotafication” of Subaru. And now, if a new rumor from Motor Trend is anything to go by, the uproar is about to get a little bit louder.
When I attended the launch of the Buick Regal, Buick’s product reps were anxious to talk all about the forthcoming Buick Regal GS, the high-performance version of the Opel Insignia-based sedan. At the time, the Buick Boyz were anxious for input; what, they asked, would enthusiasts prefer: a manual transmission or all-wheel drive. My answer: all of the above. Surely, I thought, Buick would be bringing a rebadged version of the Opel Insignia OPC, with AWD and the GM 2.8T V6 from the Cadillac SRX Turbo and Saab 9-5 Aero. No, came the answer. The 2.8T was not approved for use in a Buick. Stung by past oversharing between divisions, GM had decided that the 260-325 HP, Australian-built LP9 engine would be limited to applications in Caddys and Saabs. But now, it seems that GM may have penned some kind of deal with Saab, as GMInsideNews reports that the LP9 has been discontinued from its last remaining Cadillac application, the SRX Turbo.
huge success following the introduction of the Kizashi,
but the numbers don’t really back that perspective up. With 21,347 brand-wide sales year-to-date, the Suzuki brand about as popular as the Dodge Nitro, and only 5,269 of those sales were Kizashis. For a product that was supposed to keep Suzuki in the game in North America, there’s no way around the fact that Kizashi hasn’t “moved the needle.” On the other hand, Suzuki hasn’t done much to market the Kizashi (outside the pages of R&T anyway), and Suzuki is trying to turn things around with a series of ads that are kind of a weird mix of GM’s “May The Best Car Win” selective comparison strategy and Chrysler’s “World’s Best Vehicle (?)” absurdity. There’s been some mainstream media chatter about Hyundai and Buick’s ability to attract luxury brand buyers now that “value for money is the new black” (gotta love that MSM)… and Suzuki clearly wants in on the anti-snobbery bandwagon. But are these ads enough to put Suzuki on the radar? Read More >
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