The modern Crossover family tree can be traced (aesthetically, anyway) back to three basic roots: the “light SUV” (Jeep Cherokee, Toyota 4Runner), the “pure crossover” (Lexus RX300 and endless copies) and the “jacked up AWD wagon” (Outback, Volvo Cross Country). In fact, one might even posit a Hegelian dialectic to explain the evolution from:
Light SUV (thesis) -> “jacked up AWD wagon” (antithesis)-> “pure crossover” (synthesis)
Well, leave it to Europe to screw up a perfectly good theoretical construct. It seems that the continent that gave us dialectics is going back to what was always the most interesting branch of the crossover family, the “jacked up AWD wagon.” Volkswagen seems to be responsible for a lot of the re-exploration of Subaru’s now-nearly-abandoned niche, with a CrossPassat coming to European markets next year, a possible “Skoda Superb Scout” being weighed as well, and an Audi A4 Allroad already on sale. But perhaps the most intriguing of this new class of neo-Outbacks comes from Peugeot, which is testing a leggy 508 diesel hybrid wagon that drives its rear wheels solely by electric power.
Volkswagen’s long flirtation with Fiat’s Alfa Romeo brand has hit a few obstacles recently, as Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has been adamant that he won’t sell its money-losing brand to his European rival, saying
As long as I am CEO of Chrysler and Fiat, Mr [Ferdinand] Piech will never have Alfa Romeo. It’s hands-off. I told him. I will call him and I will email him. I’m not the one who bought Seat. He’s the one who bought it. I don’t know if he can [fix it], but he needs to try.
What is it about human nature that forces us to destroy the things we love the most? Jaguar’s E-Type died long ago, shuffling off this imperfect mortal coil to take its place in automotive Valhalla. And, if we really loved the XKE, that’s where we’d let it stay, swathed in the immortality of the glorious yet out-of-reach past. Instead the E-Type is being destroyed in the name of love… and on the 50th anniversary of its birth, no less. For between €500k and €1m (depending on the number of takers) Switzerland’s Robert Palm will modify a new Jaguar XKR into this hollow mockery of the E-Type’s epic proportions and classic design cues. Called the Growler E 2011, this 600 HP beast is neither a high-quality, faithful resto-mod like the Eagle E-Type, nor a truly modern interpretation of the classic. Instead, what we have here is a wire-wheeled lesson in learning to let go.
By slyly slipping an image of a classic Chrysler 300 into this ad, Lancia is subtly admitting the truth about its new Thema. And in light of this half-admission of the Lancia’s less-than-entirely-sophisticated Brampton, Ontario roots, perhaps the better Baudelaire line would have been the great stoner’s admonition to
beware of common folk, of common sense, of sentiment, of inspiration, and of the obvious.
If Baudelaire were alive today, does anyone doubt he would have added “marketing” to that list?
The first time VW showed a retro-inspired Van concept, they said they would build it but never did. Now, having shown a new, far smaller retro-inspired microvan [gallery here], VW says they will not only build the thing, but thanks to their modular MQB platform, they’ll be able to build variations of it for markets around the world. Though VW’s development honcho Ulrich Hackenberg insists the microvan won’t be built at VW’s new plant in Chattanooga, TN, he does tell Autocar that it will be sold in the US and
aimed at the XB produced by Toyota’s youth brand, Scion.
Which means it will be built in Mexico, alongside the New Beetle. And come to think of it, the New Bulli and New Beetle seem to have quite a bit in common: both trade heavily on heritage-inspired looks while having little (if anything) to do with their actual inspirations. Which means the Baby Boomers will love it.
Between recent reviews of a Can-Am Spyder, the Ski-Doo MXZ and the Goodyear Blimp, a certain TTAC writer has succeeded in shaking off this site’s usual monastic dedication to the world of four-wheeled passenger vehicles. And since this particular writer is too talented to fire (well, for mere distraction, anyway), I’d just like to remind the TTAC family that this website is, and always will be, about cars… unless we find something really cool, like this mid-to-late 60s Thiokol Spryte Snowcat. Then we’ll save it for the traditional rule-breaking period: the weekend.
When Americans travel abroad, they might catch the odd glimpse of a Ford Mustang. If they’re especially lucky, they might even find a classic in Paris. But if there’s a car left on the market that exemplifies the values that once defined American cars, it’s the Mustang. After all, the Mustang was not only born in the US, it became more than a car because of the way it tapped so deftly into the American psyche. Developed for American tastes, the Mustang has done best when it clings to the simplicity of the formula that made it an icon. Which is why it’s a bit puzzling to hear Ford telling Automotive News [sub] that the next Mustang will be designed based on styling themes from Ford’s global design studios, rather than the US-based team that has always taken the lead on Mustang design.
Saab’s PhoeniX concept has two very different purposes: Saab’s Chief Designer Jason Castriota claims the point of the concept was to create buzz and draw attention to the fact that Saab is still around, but it also provides the first look at a new platform that will underpin future iterations of the 9-5, 9-3 and 9-4X. Saab’s Jan-Åke Jonsson tells What Car? that flexibility is key to the new platform, and that “though expensive” it will ultimately save Saab money, saying
We will be able to use the same powertrains in all our vehicles and build them in the same plant (Trollhattan in Sweden), so there are lots of benefits
Which makes you wonder where the money is coming from to develop an all-new, flexible platform. But the PhoeniX Concept also forces you to ask another question: how exactly is this thing a Saab, anyway? At least that’s what former BMW designer Chris Bangle wondered. Hit the jump to see Bangle tussle over the issue with Castriota [courtesy: CarDesignNews], before the Saab designer goes over the Phoenix’s design and place in Saab’s future.
It’s been ten long years since Volkswagen stunned a generation with its Microbus concept, a modern interpretation of the ’60s icon. That vehicle was supposed to go into production on the T5 platform by 2003, as a way to introduce a new Volkswagen van to America. Instead, in one of the crueler bait-and-switch moves in recent memory, VW rebadged a Dodge Caravan for the US and kept the T5 in Europe.
In the meantime, the Microbus concept remains in the minds of VW’s American fans as a sign of what might have been, and a marker for when things started to wrong for VW of America. But now, the wait is over. American Microbus fans rejoice, for Volkswagen has heard your decade of muttered prayers and has brought back the Microbus. As a (tiny) concept. Yeah, it’s electrically-driven, and yeah, it’s got iPad integration, but it’s just a concept and VW isn’t even hinting at production plans. Tease me once, shame on me… tease me twice, and you’d better build the damn thing!
In 1900, Ferdinand Porsche, founding father of the present-day Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, entered unchartered territory. With the first functional, full hybrid car in the world, the Semper Vivus (‘always alive’). the principle of the serial hybrid drive had been born.
In a stunning four year project the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart has had the Semper Vivus recreated. Next week, 111 years after this ground breaking innovation by Ferdinand Porsche, the Semper Vivus will again drive into the limelight at the Geneva Motor Show 2011 followed by future appearances as part of the Porsche Museum collection in Stuttgart.
One of the first rumors to come out of the Fiat/Chrysler tie-up was that Alfa-Romeo would replace its expired 166 flagship with a large, RWD sedan based on Chrysler’s updated LX platform. But with Lancia getting its own rebadge of the new Chrysler 300, and a possibly LX/LC-based entry-level Maserati in development, it seems that Alfa’s opportunity for a flagship rear-drive sedan has passed. Auto Motor und Sport reports that, rather than developing a large Alfa flagship, the brand will top out (in sedan terms) with its forthcoming, 159-replacing Giulia front-drive D-segment effort. That might not come as terribly shocking news to the brand faithful, as Alfa’s have been almost exclusively front-drivers for some time… but the fact that no fizzy, crackling Alfa-typical V6 is planned for the brand’s midsized flagship might come as a letdown (instead, look for turbocharged four-bangers making between 120 and 235 HP). All of which is very interesting in light of CEO Sergio Marchionne’s recent diagnosis of Alfa’s woes, in which he argued
I mean it’s got this incredible appeal which goes back, you know, to the time they used to be on the racetrack, and it’s the embodiment of a lot of things which are typically Italian; sportiness, lightweight, and everything else. And what happened is that when Fiat bought them back in the end of ’86 we Fiatized Alfa. Fiat was front-wheel drive; Alfa was rear wheel drive. So now all the Alfas are front-wheel drive. And we put Fiat engines inside the Alfas, and Alfa started losing more and more of its DNA as a car company.
Having penned the original Golf, possibly the most influential modern global compact car, Giorgetto Giugiaro and his Italdesign staff are revisiting the theme of forward-thinking, compact and subcompact hatchbacks for its new owner, Volkswagen. A sleek, C-segment three-door may hint at the look of future Golfs, but if so it’s a peek well into the future, as the Golf VII debuts later this year with a decidedly more evolutionary look. Ital’s designs shrink the front fascias of both cars to the width of their narrow headlights, improving aerodynamics and allowing a relatively open greenhouse… VW’s designs have been headed in this direction since the Duplo-block Golf III, and Giugiaro’s boys may be planning the stylistic endgame. Even the more upright subcompact concept has the same minimalist brow and unexpectedly curve-dependent, organic design language.
In any case, VW has not yet commented on the designs, so we don’t really know where they fit into the brand’s future. Still, it’s cool to see the house that penned the original Golf taking on the same design brief, decades after the original helped define a whole segment.
Given how far Audi has come in the last 20 years, you might think the Ingolstadt boys would be the last brand to start looking backwards. And yet, starting with its re-imagined ur-Quattro, Audi has begun to reference its past work more often, doubtless in an attempt to square its somewhat stodgy past with its fashion-forward present. But then, the ur-Quattro has always been a halo for the brand, in ways that the Audi 80 and its predecessor, sold in the US as the Fox (and later as the 4000), wasn’t always. Don’t get it wrong: the 80, which was sold in Europe from 1966-1996, was by no means a bad car… but the modern Audi era of success didn’t start until the 80 was replaced with the A4. Which is why it’s interesting that Audi’s plans for the next-generation of A3 explicitly reference the nameplate that defined Audi as a solid but decidedly unglamorous premium (rather than luxury) brand.
Let’s get something perfectly clear: if you’re spending good money to bring back a legendary Italian sports car brand like DeTomaso without aiming to capture the essence of the photograph above, you’re doing it wrong. Period. If, on the other hand, you’re bringing back the DeTomaso name in order to sell
a premium large crossover, dubbed SLC (sport luxury car) that would be a rival to cars such as the BMW 5-series GT and Lexus RX-450h,
you need to go rethink your entire perspective on life. Or at least find a new business. Tragically, this is exactly what former Fiat marketing executive Gian Mario Rossignolo is doing. DeTomaso. Crossover. DeTomaso. RX450h. DeTomaso. Luxury CUV. Haven’t lost your mind yet? Hit the jump for more claw-your-eyes-out details.
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