Saab becomes a little less Swedish

With the recent resignation of now former CEO Jan Ake Jonsson—Saab’s so-called “last Swede”—the automaker becomes just a little less Swedish—jah, fer shoor. But what does Jonsson’s exit say of the potential survival (or lack thereof) of the Swedish brand?

No doubt, Saab’s lack of sales success and burgeoning bills may have been weighing on Jonsson’s mind. Saab’s Dutch owners at Spyker Cars let it be known that Saab lost over $300 million US in 2010. Allegedly, Jonsson (a man that helped save Saab when former caretakers at General Motors wanted to shut the money-losing brand down, as the U.S. automaker did with Pontiac, Hummer and Saturn in 2009) handed in his financial numbers and his resignation on the same day.

While Saab sold its Swedish soul when it started to be run by GM in 1990, sales have also been on a severe decline. After peaking in 2006 at 130,000 in annual sales, Saab sold fewer than 32,000 cars worldwide last year. Spyker has forecasted that Saab would sell 80,000 units this year and 120,000 in 2012. But with more money going out Saab’s doors than coming in, the much needed funds required to relaunch the moribund brand and reach those lofty sales goals—dough for such things as sales, marketing and new product development—are quickly drying up .

Now then, it would help if Saab sold a few cars, too. For the first two months of 2011, Saab had sold 1,204 cars in the U.S., and a pair (2) in Canada. Not sure that’s going to help the cause very much, eh? And now there's this little "issue."

Of course, every time I write about Saab’s enduring lack of success, I’ll get a bunch of comments from  Saabistas (mainly fans of pre-GM Saabs like the 99 and 900)  arguing that the brand’s current woes aren’t due to its unpopularity but on Saab in Europe not supplying enough cars to its dealers.

(Um. Sorry. No. I hate to inflict some basic Economics 101 on you zealots, but the “real” problem is that all those customers who weren’t buying rebodied GM European Saabs for the past few decades still aren’t interested in buying the new 9-5 sedan or forthcoming 9-4X crossover—a rebodied Buick LaCrosse and Mexican-made rebodied Cadillac SRX, respectively. In fact, Spyker’s CEO, Victor Muller, conceded that selling 80,000 cars this year will be “a stretch. Smart guy, that Vic.)

So when do you think we should start calling for the euthanasia of Saab?

Or are we 21 years too late?

Or do you really think that the once-Swedish brand has the ability to survive to see the light of 2012?

[Sources: Automotive News, Financial Times, Reuters, Bloomberg News]

 

 

 

 

Will the disaster in Japan cause new car prices to rise?

As every day goes by, the extent of the damage caused by this month’s earthquake and the resulting tsunami in Japan continues to worsen. And beyond the human loss and tragedy, it looks like the return to “normal” for Japanese automakers—and the global industry as a whole—is still up in the air and a long way away.

As you may know, many of the auto plants in Japan are still not functioning or at full capacity. Toyota plans to shutdown its North American plants, General Motors and France's Peugeot/Citroën have announced production stoppages, and the German automakers are worried that shortages in electronic components from Japanese parts suppliers will cause them to stop making cars as well.

While automakers in Japan have started making parts and some cars again, the ripple effect of the loss of several auto part suppliers in that country is causing grief with automakers—and perhaps new car buyers—around the world.

According to a report by the U.S business information firm IHS Automotive published in a Detroit News article, a “prolonged disruption” in the global auto parts supply chain could cut worldwide auto output by as much as 35 per cent, The report assumes a disruption lasting 12 weeks, or the loss of 5 million vehicles worldwide in the production pipeline.

If you already smell a classic case of a supply and demand—where less new cars on dealer lots will lead to a rise in prices—get in line.

Wary of returning to the days when too many unsold cars sat on dealer lots, automakers have become very good at keeping dealer inventories razor thin. Any new model that has more than 60 days of inventory has become a “bad” thing. Now add to this scenario that we are heading into the traditionally strong Spring selling season here in Canada, and it’s hard not to see how some popular new car models will be hard to come by or will have less purchase incentives (i.e. low financing or cash back discounts.)

The result? Like renewing your mortgage or trying to decide when to fill up your car with gas depending on the day of the week, buying a new car has just become a game of speculation.

If you were thinking of buying a new car over the next few months, will this news prompt you to move up your purchase date before the speculated rise in new car prices?

Or will you wait to see if these concerns are even warranted?

[Source: The Detroit News]

 

Would Spain’s Seat fly in Canada?

FRANKFURT, Germany - Station wagons, manual transmissions, rear-wheel-drive and diesels—it’s the burden of many an automotive scribe—including yours truly—to bemoan of the lack of availability of all or any of the above in the Canadian new car market. And now after a day spent on Germany's autobahn, west of Frankfurt and zipping around the Eiffel mountain back roads near the Nurburgring race track in a not-for-sale-in-Canada Seat hot hatch, let me add the Volkswagen Group’s Spanish brand to my Why Can’t We Get That Here? wish list.

If you don’t already know Seat (say “say-at") is the formerly state-run Spanish automaker that VW took off Fiat’s hands years ago. And according to the blog Best Selling Cars, Seat, the brand is enjoying a sales resurgence in its home market.

Once the fifth-largest new car market in Europe (behind Germany, France, Italy and Britain), Spain’s economy has been pummeled by the ongoing recession. New car sales have dropped from over 1.6 million in 2007, to just under one million last year. And so far in 2011, sales are down again by about 25 per cent.

The only bright news is if you work at Seat. Spaniards have turned to their national car brand during the crisis. Once fourth in its homeland in sales as recently as 2009, Seat was number one in 2010, with sales of just under 90,000. While the top-selling car in Spain is the subcompact Ibiza (interestingly, the European version of our Nissan Rogue is number two) the compact Leon sits fifth.

Within VW’s massive empire, Seat is its Alfa Romeo: a more emotional take on driving. And despite being made up mainly from Teutonic bits and parts, the 2011 Leon Cupra R I got to drive in Germnay is a very emotional car.

Based on our 200 hp VW Golf GTI five-door, the Leon Cupra R has a distinctively rawer driving appeal than the cool, calm and collected VeeDub hot hatch. For starters, it sports the same 2.0-litre turbo four from our Audi TT-S, making 261 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. Inside, its blessed with driver oriented bits like nattily attired Alcantara trimmed sports seats, and centrally mounted tach, all contrasted by the tight fit and finish expected from any modern VW product.

Everything about the Cupra R makes it feel more like a car for drivers than the GTI. The engine barks even at low revs when pressed upon, and it’ll do the 0-100 km/h run in less than 6.5 seconds. The very firm suspension that keeps the Cupra R flat through corners would normally have me clinching my teeth for fear of a harsh ride. But extra-long suspension bushes means the sportiest of Leons drives like a Mercedes E Class on the highway.

Throw in the Cupra R's XDS-fake front diff (that’s also found on our VW GTI) and I found the FWD Seat acted more like a RWD car when you pitch it into corners. And if you think the Cupra R is one of those pricey Euro hot hatches, think again. It costs a little over $40k—not bad for a family-friendly hot hatch sporting similar driving attributes as a $57k TT-RS.

Alas, the Leon Cupra R had to be returned to the Frankfurt airport by the end of the day to the nice folks at Seat who lent it to me. But the day’s drive left me thinking the Leon would be a fantastic car for Canadian enthusiasts.

Yes, I know we have the 270 hp Golf R coming here in about a year. But why isn’t the luscious Leon Cupra R—or any other Seat for that matter—sold here in Canada? I mean, if little ol’ Fiat can muster the courage to relaunch Alfa in North America, I’m sure VW could find an equal number of car zealots to make room for sporty Seats like the Leon Cupra R in their garages?

Do you agree? Or should I resign myself to simply adding Seat onto my wish list?

[Source: Best Selling Cars]

When “new” doesn’t necessarily mean “improved”…

New car buyers have religiously looked towards the U.S. not-for-profit Consumer Reports annual automotive issue to get one of the more objective views on new showroom fare. And one of the features in this year’s annual is the calling out of a half-dozen new-for-2011 models that simply don’t measure up to their respective predecessors.

To wit: “Some [new] models, such as the Honda Odyssey, Mercedes-Benz E350, and Toyota Sienna, are still very good vehicles that we recommend. But they don't quite measure up to the standards set by their previous generation models. Others, such as the current BMW X5, Toyota 4Runner, and Volkswagen Jetta sedan, are clear disappointments.”

As much as I agree with CR’s callouts, there are still a few new models that I would classify as regressive. For instance:

• 2011 Scion xB The first-generation Scion xB was essentially a JDM Toyota bB, but with a Scion badge. So, when the current model arrived in the U.S. for 2007—with its folded-paper styling smoothed over, and sitting on a larger platform for American-sized drivers—it became just another small hatchback.

• 2011 BMW 5/6/7 Series Say what you will about the last decade of BMW design under former head pen Chris Bangle, but at least the cars looked distinctive. Yet since the departure of Bangle in 2009, BMW has regressed back to the “same sausage link, different length” styling rut that the automaker suffered through in the 1990s.

• 2011 Honda Accord Like the xB, here’s another blunder from a Japanese automaker catering to supersized Americans. The current Accord that debuted for 2008 is measurably larger, less fun-to-drive, harder to park and has a more complicated driver interface than the last version.

• 2011 Mitsubishi Galant Dating back to 1969, the Galant was to Mitsubishi as the GT-R is to Nissan: a technological tour de force, offering tremendous value over pricier German offerings. But as part of Mitsu’s push into the North American market, the Galant badge was transferred over the less-than-stellar U.S.-built version that’s been on sale (with nary an update) since 2004.

• 2011 Nissan Pathfinder You could see what Nissan was up to when it debuted its Murano for 2003. As a unibody, five-passenger utility vehicle, it effectively replaced the Pathfinder in Nissan showrooms. Two years later, the Pathfinder migrated to the midsize, body-on-frame, U.S.-built truck platform that also supported the Frontier and XTerrra. Not as nice to drive, less frugal, and not as well built, how many pre-2005 Pathfinder owners pine for their old car back?

[Source: Consumer Reports]

 

 

Are car enthusiasts ready for sportier Kias?

Fresh from its debut at this month’s Geneva show, Kia officials are already hinting that a hot hatch version of the Korean automaker’s new 2012 Rio subcompact, seen left, is being seriously considered.

Kia marketing and product planning chief Benny Oeyen told the U.K’s Autocar that “a helpful car for us would be a hot hatch, cabrio or a coupe” as a way to help Kia build its brand image in Europe. In the supermini mad Euro market, the Rio is a good place to start. Just don’t expect Kia to stop with just one car. If you don’t think the "European" brand of Hyundai-Kia Motors is priming us for the idea of a sportier sub-brand—like a BMW M, Mercedes AMG or Audi S/RS—you haven’t been paying attention.

In an interview at Kia’s headquarters in Seoul last year with Kia’s director of overseas marketing, Soon-Nam Lee told me that once Kia’s range has been replaced by 2012, “we need image cars.” You also have to think that Kia didn’t hire away former VW/Audi pen  Peter Schreyer to design nice looking Fortes and Optimas only.

More surprisingly, when Kia does go the car enthusiast route, don’t expect the usual approach to performance. As it’s doing with its styling, Kia covets current import brand buyers who spend loads of cash on niche perforamcne models.Imagine a Kia rival to a Subaru WRX STi, Mitsu Evo or VW Golf R—say, a turbo-diesel, AWD, Kia Forte5 RS—but with a sticker price of around $35,000—or about $10 less than the abovementioned.

But will car enthusiasts choose a Kia over one of these more established import brand sports compacts?

Or has Kia gained enough of your trust to take the next step as an alternative to VWs and Audis?

[Source: Autocar]

 

 

Is Mitsubishi Motors too small to survive?

Having started selling cars on its own into this country only seven years ago, Mitsubishi Motors is one of the newest car brands in Canada. But recent changes in the automaker’s product plans, frankly, don’t give much optimism for Mitsu’s future. In North America, Mitsubishi has, let's say, some challenges. The biggest very well may be the huge brand shift away from its longstanding performance car image to feel good electric vehicles, a risky move for an automaker with limited resources and partnerships.

As you may already know, Mitsubishi said its looking at a "different direction" for its all-wheel-drive sport sedan Lancer Evolution X halo car, a car that has defined the brand with multiple WRC rally championships and delivered Mitsubishi a bunch of exposure in the Fast and Furious movie franchise. But as the automaker moves towards the launch of eight electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles worldwide by 2015, it can only say, "[Evo's] successor, regulations and market feedback will dictate its engineering package and architecture".

So while Mitsubishi walks away from performance cars (i.e. “younger” buyers) and pegs it future on EVs (a yet-unnamed North American version of its iMiEV micro electric car I drive a couple of years ago will more than likely only ever sell in small numbers to affluent—ie “older”—suburbanite greenies), its current lineup is looking rather thin.

So far this year in Canada, Mitsubishi has sold 2,971 vehicles. That’s up 12.3 per cnet in a virtually flat market, but well behind the 3,518 rival Subaru has moved. And unlike Subaru with its Legacy and Outback, Mitsu doesn’t have any competitive midsize offerings, relying on the U.S.-designed platform that supports the Galant sedan, Endeavor SUV and Eclipse sports cars—vehicles that since their introduction way back in 2004, have been some of the worst selling cars in their respective segments, and won’t be replaced when they are slowly phased out of their U.S. factory over the next few years.

So that leaves Mitsubishi with basically a bunch of compact cars to sell on a platform that Mercedes-Benz helped fund when it owned a big chunk of the Japanese automaker: the Lancer sedan and hatchback, and Outlander and RVR crossovers.

Yes, there’s a long anticipated subcompact on the way, hinted at last week at the Geneva auto show by its Global Small Car Concept, seen above. But it doesn’t arrive until 2013, and unlike the previous Colt, the GSCC suggests distinctive styling won’t be part of Mitsubishi’s future DNA—the Geneva concept is essentially a design rip-off of the current Ford Fiesta.

So, a massive shift in brand identity, leaving nothing bigger than small cars to sell. With fun-to-drive image building performance cars replaced by expensive-to-buy EVs and hybrids. And generic styling.

Does this sound like a recipe for success?

Or is Mitsubishi simply too small to survive?

 

 

 

 

 

Live from Geneva: 2012 Peugeot 308

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like Hyundai is to Kia, Peugeot is a sister brand to France's Citroen. But based on what I’ve been seeing at various auto shows over the past few years, the Citroen designers seem to be scoring more wins than their Peugeot creative counterparts.

Take a look at this newly facelifted 308. It’s a platform mate of the much more attractive Citroen C4 compact. It goes on sale in Europe this spring, but it already looks about four years old. Apparently, Peugeot is trying to be the Toyota of Europe, betting heavily on hybrids—but with diesels. So there is a new 308 micro-hybrid e-HDi model. Whoo-pee…

Live from Geneva: Citroen Metropolis Concept

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The French have never gotten the hang of the executive car thing in Europe. Except for the occasional sighting of a French government official (whom must drive a French car) the French themselves don’t even bother with big cars from Citroen, Renault or Peugeot, preferring the German brands.

But if the audacious (it almost looks, well, Americun!) and huge (about three 2CVs in length) Citroen Metropolis concept ever makes it to production, the French may have a car to take on the Teutonic trio of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

Live from Geneva: Renault R-Space & Captur Concepts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first of the three French automakers making debuts this year in Geneva was Renault. And the French biased crowd (France is just a croissant’s throw away) loved the new pair of compact concepts.

The R-Space, left, and Captur, above, are the second and third concepts under the direction of Laurens van der Acker, the former Mazda head pen. Renault says, the R-Space MPV would complement the Nissan Quashqui (our Rogue) and previews a new range of modular engines. A 110 hp 900cc three-banger, with a claimed fuel consumption of 3.7 litres/100km, was powering the concept.

The Captur is van der Acker’s idea of what a Renault version of our Nissan Juke could look like, without the flashy scissor doors of course, with have zero chance of making it to the production model.

Live from Geneva: Seat IBX Concept

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like its Czech Skoda brand stable mate, the VW Group’s Spanish Seat (say “say-at”) doesn’t sell any cars here in Canada. Too bad. The new Seat IBX concept—that previews a production compact SUV— is a slick little machine.

Based on the same platform as the VW Tiguan and forthcoming Audi Q3 and Porsche Cajun, the concepts sports only two doors and is a follow-up to 2010’s IBE concept that is establishing a new design language for Seat.

Underneath, the IBX possess a Chevy Volt-like extended-range gas-electric hybrid system, with claims of electric-only driving for 45 km before either a gas or diesel engine kicks in.