Updated: VW's excellent North American adventure

The Crank received a bit of feedback over Volkswagen's plans (or lack thereof) from Canadian small and fun-to-drive car fans.

So, just to continue the pain of unrequited love a but harder and longer, here's a video on some of the Euro goodies we keep getting denied.

[Source: YouTube]

2009 Frankfurt: BMW's indoor carting

Okay. At 280 metres, it's about 20,520 m shorter than the Nurbrgring's Nordschleife circuit. But if you happen to be in Frankfurt this week, check out BMW's indoor track in Halle 11.

And if you're nice enough to the BMW people (ie not mention the relevancy of the X6M) they may let you take a taxi ride in some of the BMW museum rides they've brought o the show. Like this Isetta. Enjoy.

2009 Frankfurt: VW’s excellent North American adventure continues…

FRANKFURT – The biggest bit of excitement for Germany’s Volkswagen brand here was a piece of corporate backslapping dubbed the L1 concept.

The L1 stands for 1-litre; as in it needs only 1.38 litres of diesel per 100 km. Not exactly accurate, but this is a car show—who’s counting!

The new 1-litre concept—a follow up to the first VW 1-litre concept from seven years ago—is basically a covered tandem bicycle with four instead of two wheels.

Amazingly (and this is the “suspend your sense of belief” portion), VW said the L1 is "revolutionary yet close to production readiness" and is claiming about 2013 as a possible production date.

Puh-leeeze…

Maybe the local politicians in the crowd bought that one. But the L1’s chances of production are slim to none. And slim just got on a flight to Wolfsburg.

Also thin were VWs pickings for our market here in Frankfurt.

Despite Canadians’ penchant for sporty cars (BMW M, Mercedes AMG and Audi’s S and RS models sell a disproportionate amount of its factory hotrods here in Canada), VW Canada says the über-fun 270 hp Golf R isn’t heading our way.

Then there’s the new Polo, above.

Despite mainstream rivals like Toyota, Honda, GM, Ford and Hyundai already committed or already selling in the subcompact class, VW Canada says there are no plans to bring the Polo to Canada.

But VW had Canadian media here in Germany before the show driving Euro-spec Polos. Ostensibly, to write stories about how wonderful the car is to seed our market. Or just do the focus testing for them on the cheap. Who knows.

What I want to know is: Do you think VW is making a mistake by NOT bringing more of its European goodies over here?

2009 Frankfurt: Lexus goes Bimmer-hunting. Again.

FRANKFURT - Just as it covets BMW 3 Series customers with its entry-level sports luxury IS series, Toyota premium brand Lexus’s LF-Ch concept is targeted at BMW’s premium 1 Series compact.

First, as if you had to ask, the five-door (two normal, two suicide) hatch LF-Ch is a hybrid.

Shocking, I know.

Most of the Lexus concept’s nuts, bolts and electrons seem to come from the new 2010 Lexus HS 250h hybrid sedan.

Similar to Volvo’s C30 premium hatch, the Lexus sports four bucket seats. Auto show gimmicks include headrest-mounted iPhone docking capability for audio and video entertainment for rear passengers, just like in your parents’ luxo-barge sedan or SUV.

If you’ve been fed a diet of conservative Lexus styling, you may find it a bit hard to digest the LF-Ch’s aggressive looks. Especially at the front.

Get use to it. You’ll see it coming on Lexus’s new LF-A super car, and perhaps trickle down throughout the whole range.

Looks aside, do you think Lexus can attract premium compact buyers away from the more established offerings from the Euroweenie brands?

[Source: Toyota]

2009 Frankfurt: Along came a (Mazda) spyder

FRANKFURT - Looking for the world like a natural replacement for the soon-to-die Honda S2000 roadster, Mazda showed off its Miat-, er, MX-5-based Superlight concept.

Heralding Mazda’s long-term strategy that performance gains (while not at the expense of fuel consumption) will come from lighter cars, the Superlight is the second lightweight concept we’ve seen from Mazda recently.

In this one, the engine is stock (1.8-litre, 126 hp four,) But a Mazdaspeed intake and exhaust, combined with the reduced-to 2,194-pound curb weight from a stripped-out interior, drops the 0-96 km/h run down to 8.9 seconds.

Will a Superlight ever be sold to the public? Probably not in its present form.

But do you wish it would?

[Source: Mazda]

2009 Frankfurt: Mini teases us with more chicks

FRANKFURT - A lot of people already think BMW's modern Mini is a chick car. I don't. Of course. But you know what I mean.

Anyway, the latest marketing campaign pimping the already-seen Mini Coupe and yet-to-be-unveiled Roadster concepts (that have already been signed-off for production and set to debut this morning here in Frankfurt) doesn't help matters in beating back the stereotype. Or do they?

Are these three viral ads artsy enough for you?

Or is Mini just going back to the hackneyed "sex sells" well?

[Source: Mini YouTube Channel

Children of Divorce: Mercedes and McLaren launch their respective new super cars

Tell me if I’m wrong. But has there been a more disappointing $500,000 super car in the past decade than the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren?

The offspring of an ill begotten marriage between the vedy British McLaren Automotive (they of F1 fame) and totally Teutonic Mercedes (they of stoic sedan fame), the overwrought and vulgarly styled SLR never really garnered the passion of driving enthusiasts since its debut in 2003.

Sure. As a piece of phallic form, even our esteemed Wheels Editor fell under the SLR’s charms.

But with McLaren resident genius Gordon Murray on board, expectations were sky high. Yet the not-as-nimble SLR was never able to get out under the shadow of McLaren’s last road car, the 1992-1998 F1—my pick as the Greatest Road Car of All Time (trademark pending.)

So like many celebrity hookups, Mercedes and its Formula One racing partner McLaren decided to part their production car ways. Both convinced they could do a better job than the SLR on their own. Hence, yesterday’s simultaneously leakage of both McLaren MP4-12C and the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG pics and details.

Surprisingly (or not), the two cars are very similar in spec.

The MP4-12C gets a 3.8-litre McLaren-made twin-turbo V8 mounted amidships and produces “around 600 hp and 443 lb-ft.” Power goes to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox (no stick is available). Zero-sixty is claimed in "the three-point-something-second" range.

Pricing? Not sure yet. My guess is somewhere between Gallardo and Murcielago money. Say $375,00. If it even comes to Canada.

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG follows the SLR's path, kind of.

Its still front/mid-mounted design, like the SLR. But instead of a supercharged V8, there’s AMG’s ubiquitous nat-aspirated 6.3-litre V8 under the hood, mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox producing 563 hp and 480 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels.

Performance is SLR-like as well: 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds. Yet it looks like a bargain compared to the ol' SLR: about $275,000 Cdn. in Germany.

So, over to you: which of these two children of divorce do you prefer?

Has Mercedes done enough to distance itself from the forlorn SLR?

Has McLaren done enough to make you forget about its thundering F1?

[Sources: CarPoint, Car]

Damage Control: Audi head responds to Volt is "for idiots" comments

Backpedaling like crazy after yesterday's "car for idiots" comments in reference to Chevy's Volt, Audi of America Johan de Nysschen has issued a public retort.

Keep in mind, de Nysschen is neither confirming nor denying his earlier anti-EV comments. He's now saying, "I do not specifically recall."

Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Full public mea culpa below:

A note from Johan de Nysschen, President, Audi of America:

An online report today, subsequently picked up by various other forums, left an unflattering sense of my feelings toward electric vehicles and the people who support their development. Let me clearly state that, in my opinion, electric vehicles will be part of the future transportation of society – but only if we go about it the right way. In fact, Audi is working on electric vehicles.

I do not specifically recall using the term "car for idiots" during my informal conversation with the writer. It was certainly not my intention to leave the impression that I'm opposed to electrical vehicles, and if I was unclear on either of those points then I need to eat crow.

What I do recall is the essence of my contention, namely that the feasibility of the Chevrolet Volt as a concept is questionable. And that policy decisions – and the industry's reactions to those decisions – are leading us toward a technology that may sound tempting on the surface, but, as of now, also contains many deep and unsolved economic and technological compromises.

"Mass electrification" of the vehicles on American roads could lead to problems like a strained electric grid. Large-scale utilization of electric vehicles will require massive investment in new power stations that are much cleaner than the ones in use in the U.S. today. Otherwise, it could merely shift greenhouse gas emissions from the tailpipes of cars to the smokestacks of coal-burning utilities. That's not just my opinion. The California Air Resource Board this past April concluded that electric vehicles presently are second only to hydrogen cars in greenhouse gas impact when measured on a well-to-wheel basis.

Returning to the Volt, my point was simply one of its economic feasibility today. The 50% or so price increase that the Volt represents over a similar gasoline car cannot be offset through the savings from reduced fuel consumption. The only way to offset the extreme premium for the Volt is through taxpayer-funded subsidies. So I question if that makes economic sense.

Does that mean the Volt and other electric vehicles are forever impractical? Of course not.

In recent broadcast interviews, discussions with journalists and meetings with policy makers I have asserted that the future of automotive transportation lies not in any one "silver bullet", but in a range of technologies that meet different needs – all while lowering emissions and fuel consumption. That includes plug-in electric cars when technological and economic hurdles make them more practical. It includes hybrid vehicles. And it includes clean diesel along with substantially more efficient takes on today's gasoline internal combustion engines.

Admittedly I am a passionate advocate for the role that clean diesel technology can play in easing this nation's challenges. Cutting through misperceptions about clean diesel and other technologies can be frustrating. If you'd like to hear my thoughts on these issues, go to a video of my recent remarks at www.audiusanews.com. Meanwhile, know that we are working toward a more sustainable future.

[Source: Audi]

Muzzle Time: Audi head speaks using both sides of his mouth

At a recent Audi media dinner, Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen slammed Chevy’s plug-in hyrbid Volt and electric-vehicles in general, to Lawrence Ulrich, a journalist from MSN in the U.S.:

He dismissed GM’s upcoming plug-in hybrid as “a car for idiots,” saying that few consumers will be willing to pay $40,000 -- the Volt’s estimated base price -- for a car that competes against $25,000 sedans and conventional hybrids. Nor, he noted, is the Volt a luxury car whose green-technology costs will be excused because it also delivers prestige or performance.

“No one is going to pay a $15,000 premium for a car that competes with a (Toyota) Corolla,” he said. “So there are not enough idiots who will buy it.”

Okay. Fair enough. De Nysschen is paid to pimp his company's TDI clean diesel technology.

And I tend to agree with him in arguing against the U.S. government “pouring billions of dollars into EV technology, yet diesel technology could deliver a more immediate and dramatic decrease in global-warming emissions.”

But wait…

See that picture in the top left corner? That’s a teaser of a new Audi concept set to debut in Frankfurt in a couple of weeks.

And guess what? The concept’s an EV. Using what looks like an R8 platform.

In fact, Audi’s gone to expense of putting up a special web site, www.Electricityuntamed.com

So, the question, now, is: How big of an idiot do you have to be to buy an Audi R8 EV?

[Sources: MSN, Audi]

2009 Frankfurt: Is the new 9-5 the car to save Saab?

Worn down by years of inattention from parent Government Motors, soon-to-be-sold-off Saab is in desperate need of a hit with its new 9-5 "flagship" sedan.

In the first six months of this year, globally, Saab built 9,061 9-5s—down 72.4 per cent from 2008.

So, as you can imagine, much is being made of the long-overdue 2010 update of the Swedish automaker’s 12-year-old 9-5 mid-size sedan, which Saab spat out some details of today before its official unveiling in Frankfurt next month.

Apparently, the 9-5 will be “the most technically advanced car it has made to date,” so says Saab.

Yet most of the noted features (head-up information display, Bi-Xenon adaptive headlights, adaptive cruise control, parking assistance and all-wheel-drive) competitors have been offering for years.

Sharing a longer wheelbase version of the GM platform that also underpins the Opel Insignia and forthcoming Buick Regal, at least the new 9-5 is going back to Saab’s traditional all-turbo engine lineup.

Said Saab Managing Director Jan-Ake Jonsson, “This car is the start of a new era for our brand,"

But hey: no pressure.

Despite all this new goodness, the 9-5 has some strikes against becoming Saab’s saving grace.

As customers move to value, 9-5’s mid-size luxury sedan segment is getting clobbered in this new economy. As well,  so-called “mainstream luxury” brands like Saab and its Acura, Infiniti, and Volvo rivals, are also been dropped by buyers.

So, over to you: Is  the new 9-5 the car to keep Saab alive?

Or are we watching the unveiling of potentially the last ever Saab flagship?

[Source: Automotive News]