2010 Geneva Preview: 'Benz F800 concept may hint next C Class

GENEVA - Apologies all around. I reported in my weekly Autonews column yesterday that Mercedes-Benz's Geneva-bound F800 concept, far left, was a precursor to the production version of the next CLS.

We'll probably still see the new CLS "four-door coupé" sometime soon. Maybe at the Paris show in October.

But a Mercedes-Benz official corrected me: the F800 is a C Class-sized car, smaller than the E Class-based CLS. That crazy sculpture/thingee 'Benz showed in Detroit, above right, is a better indication of what the next CLS will look like.

Just as the F700 will influence the next S Class, expected in 2012, the F800 may/perhaps/could foretell what the next C Class looks like, say in 2014.

Got it? Good. Now I do as well...

Bailout Blues: Hummer goes down without much of a fight

Not a surprise to many, Government Motors will wind down its Hummer brand after a proposed sale to China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines fell through.

Hummer now joins Pontiac, Saturn and Saab in the GM abandoned brand bin.

Now, I never really understood Hummer. Okay, that’s only half true. Hummer was a fashion statement. Yeah, I got that.

Yet nothing said I-have-more-money-than-brains than owning what was effectively a GM pickup in military drag. And as with most fashion accessories, the best-before date is something that needs to be reckoned with. Unfortunately for GM, after all the GI Joe types bought the first Hummers, for the "normal" new car buyer, if made little sense to apply any kind of logic behind the purchase of one of the “civilian” H3 or H2 Chevy-truck based models.

That is, unless you were under the age of five. And liked playing in sand boxes. While making vroom-vroom noises.

Predictably, like other fickle segments (hello sports coupes!) Hummer sales fell off a cliff when the fashionistas moved on. Hummer's 67 per cent sales decline last year was the biggest of any mainstream brand in the U.S.

So although there were talks in the last few years to make Hummer GM’s “diesel” brand, and a much needed entry-level Jeep Wrangler-fighter (like the HX concept above, from Detroit two years ago, above) was planned, GM’s monumental financial collapse after gas topped $4 per gallon, and the start of the Great American Recession in fall 2007, meant there was simply no money left in the coffers to make any of these potentially saving Hummer graces come to fruition.

Outside influences aside, what I never understood was GM taking so long to figure out what Hummer could and should have been.

First, like Clint Eastwood and Elvis, Hummer was an American stereotype that could have been sold around the world. Arnie The Terminator smoking a stogie at the wheel of his Hummer said it all. And not giving the Wrangler any competition will go down as a major faux pas.

With the product mix, do you think GM, or anyone else, for that matter, could have made Hummer viable?

Or will the brand simply go down in history as an example of American hubris run amok?

 

 

2010 Geneva: Plagiarism is the sincerest form of laziness

What with Detroit losing its mojo (Wha? A new Focus is the most-exciting car? Meh...), and Frankfurt taking a break this year, next week’s motor shindig in Geneva is shaping up to be “the” car show of the year.

One of the best features of the annual Swiss show is the appearance of the Italian styling houses. Like Bertone, for instance.

Ah, yes, Bertone. It’ll be showing up at the show with its Pandion concept, above, allegedly based on the super-sexy Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione.

Looks good, eh? Take a gander at the two-seater’s swoopy side glass. Or how about those curvaceous fenders. Mmm…

Except that—hold on a second—haven’t we seen the Pandion before?

Oh yes… the BMW’s Vision EfficientDynamics concept, below, from last Fall’s Frankfurt show seems to be Bertone's, er, inspiration.

  Check back here early next Tuesday, when I'll be blogging live during the show's media day. No promises, but hopefully I'll find some cars and concepts that haven't been designed via a Xerox machine.

The Trouble with Toyotas: $100M saved applying “cheap” floor mat fix

Toyota President Akio Toyoda ’s appearance this week in Washington to defend his company’s actions on the unintended acceleration crisis isn’t getting off to a great start.

A newly released internal Toyota document claims the Japanese automaker saved more than $100 million (U.S.) by convincing U.S. safety officials to end a 2007 investigation of unintended acceleration complaints with only a floor mat recall instead of a potentially more costly mechanical fix.

"Unfortunately, this document is very telling," said U.S. Department of Transportation spokeswoman Olivia Alair in an e-mailed statement reported in Automotive News.

The document also seems to contradict Toyota Canada’s claims in an interview with The Star’s Tony Van Alphen last week.

Defending the automaker’s strategies as it recalled more than 8.5 million vehicles globally in recent months for problems including sticky accelerators, accelerators that can be pinned down by loose floor mats and a braking problem affecting hybrid models, including its Prius, Stephen Beatty, Toyota Canada's managing director said that Toyota had addressed its problems “properly and quickly.”

As you know, U.S. government officials believe five deaths in the U.S. are associated with floor mats and are reviewing up to 29 other fatality reports to see if they are related to unintended acceleration.

Does Toyota’s newly found backroom dealings change your view of the automaker?

Or do you feel the Japanese company is no better or worse than any other automaker in trying to avoid expensive recalls?

[Source: Automotive News]

Does Ford really need Lincoln to succeed?

Despite being the darling of the auto-world media right now (NO BANKRUPTCIES!! NO BAILOUT MONEY!! NO STICKY GAS PEDALS!!), Ford has a problem child: its name is Lincoln.

Ah, yes, Lincoln. Remember? Ford’s luxury brand? Don’t feel ashamed if you’ve forgotten.

In 1998, Lincoln was the best-selling luxury brand in the U.S. But since then, Ford’s luxury brand has been having its lunch eaten by pretty much every other luxury brand out there. So, what happened?

According to a former Lincoln designer who has moved onto another company, the decline of Ford's luxury brand stems from a dearth of product development caused by the Firestone/Explorer crisis from the late 1990s.

Just as Ford was ramping up to make Lincoln truly distinct from plebeian Fords, the financial stress of the exploding Explorer tire fiasco meant new platform development money dried up, leaving exciting, rear-drive Lincoln concepts like the Sentinel and Mark 9 with no platform home.

The timing couldn’t have been worse.

At the same time Government Motors and Nissan started investing in creating unique (i.e. rear-drive) platforms to establish their Cadillac and Infiniti luxury brands, respectively, Ford took the opposite approach with Lincoln, relying on styling alone to differentiate the brand.

Smart car buyers started having a hard time justifying Lincoln’s premium pricing over essentially what were Ford nuts and bolts.Personally, as someone who gets asked for new car advice almost on a daily basis, it’s hard to recommend a Lincoln over a Ford. Essentially, a Lincoln MKZ is a Ford Fusion, an MKX is an Edge, an MKS is a Taurus, and an MKT is a Flex.

As one U.S. dealer recently told the Detroit News, "It's hard to sell a $48,000 (US) MKS when the Ford guy down the street has a Taurus with the same features for $10,000 less."

But is it too late for Lincoln?

Even of Ford did make the substantial investment to give the brand unique engineering, the dividends may never occur.

Unlike other global luxury brands, Lincoln’s sales opportunities are limited to North America—primarily in the U.S. of A. Even there, the brand sells less annually than Buick, Cadillac and Acura.

Ten years ago, Ford made the decision that Canadians could live without its tweener Mercury brand. Does it need to consider the same fate for Lincoln?

Does Ford really need Lincoln to succeed?

 [Source: Detroit News]

Bailout Blues: Will Fiat ever deliver on its promise of new Chryslers?

With U.S. lawmakers taking Toyota to the wood shed this week, let’s take a look at another automaker with some, ahem, challenges: Fiat-run Chrysler.

It’s been a quiet few months for the U.S. automaker. Virtually taking the year off with no new models for 2010, Chrysler has had little or no presence on the auto show circuit. In fact, the new product tap has been virtually tuned off since the 2009 Journey, Challenger and Ram.

But last week, a puff of white smoke emanated from the Detroit automaker. Ralph Gilles, president and CEO of Dodge Car and senior vice president of Chrysler’s Product Design, presented a sketchy-looking teaser shot of a future, Fiat Punto-based Dodge subcompact hatch, above, during a Chicago auto show luncheon.

Trouble is, according to Fiat’s published product plans, the new Dodge subcompact isn’t due until 2013, giving fresh competition like the Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Aveo, VW Polo and Mazda2 (plus the established Yaris/Fit/Accent/Versa clan) a couple of years head start in the marketplace.

Today, Chrysler has zero presence in the subcompact class. And although the Fiat 500 city car has been promised to be on sale in Canada by the end of this year, it’s a low-volume niche vehicle at best.

So what until 2013?

Fiat boss,, Sergio “The Don” Marchionne, has promised to “fix” the current bottom-feeder Chryslers, like the Dodge Caliber, Avenger and Chrysler Sebring, for the 2012 model year, and new versions of its big sedans and SUVs are on the way:

 “The first half of 2010 is going to be more difficult than the second, simply because the product offering doesn’t start delivering until the second half. The first real viable, tangible evidence of this is going to be the Grand Cherokee in [quarter two], which is brand new. Then we’re going to see the Wrangler coming out with a significant update. I think there are 14 other interventions, most of which are significant enough to warrant almost a new product launch – that will come out in [quarter three] or [quarter four] this year.”

For 2010, The Don has said Chrysler must sell 1.65 million vehicles worldwide to put the automaker in a "slightly positive" profit position, profit needed to re-pay government loans as he has promised.

That would mean about 1.1 million sales in the U.S. Trouble is, U.S. sales for January were down another 8 per cent compared with the same period last year; or about 685,000 annually. Not good.

Let’s face it: Sketches are cheap compared to real, new product development. So until Fiat does something tangible—like a competitive family sedan and crossover platform—its hard to fathom just what Fiat’s intentions are with the Chrysler and Dodge brands.

But with sales tracking at about half what is needed to stay alive, the numbers just don’t add up in The Don’s favour.

Do you think Chrysler can stay in business long enough to see these teaser shots become reality?

[Sources: Autobirdblog, The Chicago Sun Times, Edmund’s Auto Observer]

 

The Crank: Live at the 2010 CIAS

Make sure you click over to our Wheels World blog this Thursday, February 11, at 10:00 a.m. and join me for live coverage of the 2010 Canadian International Auto Show's media day presentations.

While most of the concepts and production debuts have already popped up at previous shows, Canadian auto retailers usually make pricing and equipment announcements for new models just in time for the Spring selling season.

See you then.

The Trouble with Toyotas: Has the hybrid halo been tarnished?

So, let’s see, what’s on Toyota president Akio Toyoda’s agenda this morning?

Oh. Only recalling its “halo” Prius, the best-selling car in Japan, that’s all.

In an Automotive News report, Toyoda said he has test driven a 2010 Prius and confirmed that there can be a “momentary sensation of the brakes losing power when the car rides over bumpy or slippery surfaces” because of a “time lag” in switching into antilock braking mode from the regenerative braking mode that can also cause increased stopping distance.

“I myself have confirmed the situation,” Toyoda said. “From the driver's point of view, you might have the sensation that the brakes are not working.”

Shouldn’t be a worry, right? I’m sure you don’t drive on any “bumpy or slippery surfaces.”

For those keeping score at home, that’s Toyota: 8.1 million recalled cars on five continents (more vehicles than Toyota sold globally in all of 2009), consumer confidence: er, we'll get back to you on that...

Just as Tiger once woke up every morning and asked, Can it get any worse? For Toyota, maybe.

TheDetroitBureau.com says reports of braking issues have been "pouring in since 2005 or even earlier." If so, Toyota may have to add another million-or-so second-generation 2004 to 2009 Prius hybrids, above, to its recall total.

If that happens, it doesn’t really change my opinion of the last Prius, a car I’ve called the worst vehicle of the last decade.

With the '04-09 Prius, you had the pleasure of paying about twice as much as a subcompact that got not-that-much-better fuel savings. It was slow. Handled like a shopping cart. Had a steering wheel that may as well be made out of granite for all the feel it transmitted. Didn't achieve anywhere near its rated fuel consumption in adverse driving conditions. And was costly to repair out of warranty.

If it wasn't for the Prius, we wouldn't have rubber band continuously-variable-transmissions or the word "hypermiling."

Think about that.

Oh yeah. And its regen brakes always felt a little “funny”…

So over to you: Does this latest dent in the Prius’s (and by association, every other hybrid out there) armour, give you pause in buying a new hybrid?

Has the hybrid halo been tarnished by this latest Toyota stumble?

(Sources: TheDetroitBureau.com, Automotive News)

The Trouble with Toyotas: Is the media being too hard on the automaker?

In my first post on this little recall matter, I asked, Could it get any worse for Toyota?

Well, if you’ve been keeping up with the media maelstrom surrounding the Japanese automaker’s multiplying recall fiasco in the ensuing few days, apparently the answer is an emphatic, Yes.

If only Toyota had to deal with one of the largest automotive recalls in history. But the media feeding frenzy is a totally different matter. Toyota has become the Tiger Woods of the auto industry. Just when you thought you had heard the worst, the Japanese company is turning around and either stumbling over themselves, or shoving their collective corporate feet in their collective corporate mouth. An unabated, runaway train wreck of bad publicity that doesn’t look like it has an end.

From Toyota’s U.S. head being accused of lying on national TV, to an Apple computer co-founder publicly saying he had some "very scary" trouble with his 2010 Toyota Prius’s brakes, to being mocked on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show, above, when all is said and done, it may be how Toyota publicly dealt with the crisis, and how the media covered it, that will decide how bad or worse this gets for The World’s Largest Automaker.

What a mess. But like Tiger, the lines between perception and reality have been blurred with Toyota. Do we really know if the World’s Greatest Golfer had “transgressions” with 19 women? Was it four times that? Only Tiger knows. But it doesn’t matter now. The world thinks he did. And that’s that. Toyota’s in the same sinking ship.

Regardelss if you think Toyota has done the right thing in handling this fiasco, the world thinks less of the brand today than it did a few weeks ago. And like Tiger—which has lost billions in revenue now from sponsors abandoning his leaky boat—based on the January sales numbers in the U.S. and Canada, car buyers have decided to punish Toyota for its own transgressions.

At this point the media has Toyota owners fearful that they’ll lose control of their cars at any moment. But some think concerns have been blown way out of proportion.

Michael Karesh owns and operates TrueDelta, an online provider of auto pricing and reliability data. He figures 5,400,000 Toyotas that have been recalled for a problem that has been reported about 2,000 times. Even assuming that the problem has occurred ten times for every time that has been reported, we have something that happens in one out of every 250 cars and that results in an accident in perhaps one out of every 5,000 cars.

“Sorry…but something that occurs in one of every 250 cars, and that only if we assume that 90 percent of cases have not been reported, is not a sign of a general lapse in quality,” argues Karesh.

Maybe. What do you think?

Do you think the media is being too hard on Toyota?

Or is the Japanese automaker getting its just desserts?

[Sources: The Daily Show, Gizmodo, Jalopnik, Toyota, The Truth About Cars, The Comedy Network]

 

The Trouble with Toyotas: So? What’s next?

It looks like Toyota’s dragging of its corporate feet on the sticky throttles fiasco is starting to take its toll. Last week, shares in the Japanese automaker plunged by 14 per cent—that’s a loss of $21 billion in market value, kids.

 So why are investors pounding Toyota so hard? Maybe because the Japanese has been anything but on ahead of the situation in the public’s eye.

 Mizuno Credit Advisory director Tatsuya Mizuno reportedly told Business Week that Toyota has "wasted too much time without doing anything," adding that the automaker used to have foresight for taking action but is now, "very far behind the curve."

 To wit: