Are manual transmissions worth saving?

American buff book Car & Driver editor and Targa Newfoundland veteran, “Fast” Eddie Alterman, has gone all Jerry-Lewis-for-the-Kids-like and has made a YouTube plea to save the apparently soon-to-die manual gearbox. Now, Alterman says only about 1 in 10 new cars in the States are bought with three pedals. Why? Alterman doesn’t get into the details. But I will.

First, unless you live in The Centre of the Universe (i.e. the GTA), most Canadians don’t suffer the kind of gridlock most big, American cities do. And while enthusiasts consider having to engage and disengage a clutch, and then up- or downshift, as “fun,” most citizens think of driving as a chore, a necessary evil that if made easier is “better.”

I’ll point a finger at the automakers and politicians here too. With impending draconian fuel economy regs on the horizon, automakers are trying to squeeze as much out of a gallon of fuel as they can. So, to score better fuel economy numbers on government economy test drives, CVTs and dual-clutch automatics do a better job than a manual gearbox. For example, Honda’s new CR-Z Hybrid coupe sips less with its CVT than is six-speed manual.

I’ll also blame video games, well, because you can blame video games for any of society’s ills today.

Now, in Canada, especially among small cars buyers, manuals are more popular than in the U.S. Mainly because we’re cheap, and automatic transmissions aren’t. But even so, the majority of today’s cars are bought with slush boxes.

So is Alterman’s plea a worthy cause?

Or will manual transmissions go the way of station wagons, cloth upholstery and roll up windows?

[Source: Car & Driver]

Ford’s New Age 2011 Explorer not all that new

After a series of unmitigated sales flops (2005 Freestyle; 2008 Taurus X; 2009 Flex,) the "all-new" 2011 Explorer will be Ford’s fourth crack in the last decade at a midsize crossover based on the old Volvo S80 chassis from the last millennium.

In case you didn’t already know, the old, truck-based Explorer was once the best-selling SUV in the America, an icon of the 1990s when gas-guzzling V8s, sloppy handling and poor packaging were all the rage. But vanishing sales and impending CAFÉ regulations means the new 2011 Explorer will now have to join the 21st century, nudging itself into an already crowded, car-based, three-row crossover market.

Ford has been teasing us with pics of its new Explorer for awhile now (it's right there, above, hugging trees.) And, apparently, this Thursday there’s a Full Monty unveiling in New York, I think. But the big message that Ford wants to drill into your cranium between now and when it goes on sale later this year is that its former scorch-the-earth SUV is now leaner, greener, and environmentally-friendly.

While a 3.5-litre V-6 and all-wheel-drive will be optional, the base, front-wheel-drive (yikes!) 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder (OMG!) 2011 Explorer will allegedly get 30 per cent better fuel economy compared with the old V-6-equipped Explorer. Which, based on Ford’s U.S. numbers, works out to 18 mpg city, 26 hwy for the 2011 model, versus 14 and 20 with last year’s V6.

Impressive, eh? Er, not really.

You see, before Ford pops the champagne and gets sore from slapping itself on the back, those numbers only look good compared within the tight borders of ExplorerLand. Outside of Ford showrooms, the new Explorer’s fuel economy are really, just OK.

While better than a AWD Honda Pilot (16 mpg city, 22 hwy), the Ford’s numbers aren’t that much better than a V6 FWD Chevy Traverse, rated at 17 and 24. Yet its worse than a Toyota Highlander FWD I4’s 20 and 27. And if you can live without third-row seating, a five-passenger FWD I4 Hyundai Santa Fe scores 21 and 27.

So, with a less-than-radical new Explorer, can Ford win back crossover owners from these other makes after a decade floundering with the Freestyle/Taurus X/Flex?

Are older Explorer buyers likely to buy into a vehicle with only a four-banger and power to the front wheels?

[Source: Ford]

Green is Good: Honda ditches diesels in favour of hybrids

So much for going its own way. A report has Japan’s Honda canceling plans to build a new minicar and diesel engine plant north of Tokyo. Apparently, the dreaded new fuel economy and tailpipe emissions regs, that will peak in 2016, have scared the Honda folks enough to go over to the Dark Side: hybrids.

Now as you may know, Honda’s never been too keen on this whole gasoline-electric fad. Sure. It brought out the original Insight over a decade ago. But it wasn’t a full hybrid (one that can run on battery juice alone.) While in the ensuing years, its “mild hybrid” system (found in Civics and today’s Insight and CR-Z) has proven Honda never really felt been fully on board with hyrbrids the way rival Toyota. Its cars more of a sop to the market as if to say, Yeah, we can do a hybrid too, even if we think they’re kind of silly.

Really, if Honda had its way, we’d all be driving around in hydrogen fuel-cell cars, like its FCX Clarity. But with no investment in infrastructure from cash-strapped government, that’s not going to happen anytime soon.

And now that Honda’s given up on making diesels (as confirmed by the canned 2.2-litre i-DTEC diesel clean-diesel Acura TSX we were supposed to driving, like now, pictured above in 2008) Honda will more-than-likely announce a new full hybrid system capable of going toe-to-toe with Toyota’s Synergy Drive for its mid-size cars, like the Accord, and Acura TL, among others.

With VW/Audi's success with derv drinkers, do you think Honda is making a mistake ditching diesels?

Can it really take on Toyota in the hybrid market starting so late?

[Source: Reuters]

Buick needs to start believing in its own brand

So there I was last week in Vancouver, recent home of some world class winter athletes, and without a bit of irony hanging in the air, General Motors Canada was pitching its new 2011 Buick Regal, the latest in a lineup that now has to live up to the brand’s “A new class of world class” tagline.

Now, if you haven’t been paying attention, Buick has gone global. Although its Enclave SUV and soon-to-retire Lucerne full-size sedan are homegrown, last year’s LaCrosse was designed in and for the Asian market (i.e. China is Buick’s biggest market.) And this here new Regal is really a German Opel Insignia, while next year’s Volkswagen Jetta-fighting compact sedan will have an Opel Astra platform, already on sale in Asia as the Excelle.

But back to the matter at hand: In Europe, this year’s Regal/Insignia midsize sedan competes against the Ford Mondeo, Honda Accord and VW Passat. On our shores, it goes up against Acura's version of the Euro Accord (the TSX,) Lincoln MKZ, Mazda6, Suzuki Kizashi and Passat 2.0T. And after a few hundred kilometres in the top-line, just-under $35k Regal CXL Turbo, it would be my pick above any of the aforementioned as an entry-level sports sedan. It certainly lives up to the brand’s new aspirational tagline.

Although there are no five-door versions of the Insignia heading our way (yet), there’s more Regal goodness coming. A six-speed manual will be available next spring, and an even higher performing Regal GS has been confirmed—all good news for a brand that needs to win back import buyers.

Having said that, Buick also offers lesser Regals. And this is where the brand’s new “A new class of world class” positioning  goes a bit sideways for me.

Under the CXL Turbo, there’s also the $3k-cheaper regular CXL, which gets a non-blown four-cylinder found in other GM products. Except for the lack of response when pushed, there’s inherently nothing wrong with the mill—especially if you were coming from the last Regal, a car that would finish out of the running against any kind of world class competition. But it doesn't match up to the rest of the Regal's inherently good road manners.

We were also told that an even lower end (i.e. less expensive) CX Regal would arrive next year—with cloth seats!

Now I get that Buicks in the past have been bought on price alone. And it must be tough turning away those returning customers who were quite happy with less-than-world-class cars in the past, or that in some towns, the only GM franchise may be a Buick-GMC shop, with no down-market Chevrolet offerings.

But think about this: If I want to get cloth seats in an Acura TSX, I’ll just have to move down to a Honda Accord. Or if I want less performance in my Infiniti, I can trot on over to a Nissan dealership. So, in a perfect world, if I can’t afford “A new class of world class,” which the Regal CXL Turbo clearly is, then there’s always a Chevy Malibu, right?

Do you think that Buick needs to still cater to its older buyers?

Or do you think that with products like the excellent new Regal (in Turbo trim, at least), it can bring import buyers into its showrooms?

The Trouble with Toyotas: Silver lining found in latest round of recalls

Ho-hum. Another week, another batch of troubles with Toyotas found. I don’t know about you, but I’m becoming a bit desensitized to all these Toyota recalls. This week its stalling engines. The week before that, it was post-crash-test fuel spillage issues. Previoulsy, it was luxury sedans that couldn’t steer straight. And before that, it was luxury SUVs that had a tendency to flip in emergency avoidance situations, etcetera, etctera…

Man, if Toyota was the girl that cried Wolf!, she’d probably have lost her voice by now.

But among the current batch of recalls, I’ve managed to find a silver lining of sorts. With sales down 22 per cent from this time last year, the automaker seems to be making cars that are less popular, therefore, limiting its quality control liabilities.

Unlike the massive recalls from earlier this year, that involved  millions of some of the Japanese automaker’s most popular models being called back to fix wonky floor mats, non-stopping brakes and sticky accelerators, at least the last few problems associated with Toyotas are being found on its less successful models. Progress, indeed.

In May, Toyota Canada put a recall out to “address a temporary steering wheel off-center condition that may develop under a specific driving maneuver” for late 2009 and certain 2010 model year Lexus LS full-size luxury sedans equipped with Variable Gear Ratio Steering.

But, thankfully, that only involved 140 cars.

The recall to update software in its slow-selling Lexus GX 460 luxury SUV’s Vehicle Stability Control system only involved 446 2010 models.

The most recent recall on the Lexus HS 250h compact hybrid sedan (it was also included in the previous recall involving problems with the Prius’s ABS) because it “exhibited fuel spillage that exceeded the requirement in the standard” in U.S. government crash tests—think Ford Pinto, but with a high-voltage electric battery on board—is even less worrisome. The HS been less than a sales success for Toyota.

And finally, this week’s recall to fix V6 and V8 engines from “abnormal engine noise or idling” or stalling in certain 2006, 2007 and 2008 Lexus GS, IS and LS sedans in Canada only affects about 3,700 cars.

So there you go. Rival automakers, take note: By making cars that are not that popular in the first place, Toyota seems to be getting the hang of this recall thing.

[Source: Toyota Canada]

Mercedes ready to answer a question no one seems to be asking

At the same time U.S. Automobile magazine’s Jamie Kitman accurately points the finger at German automakers for the demise of the more enjoyable to drive and environmentally-friendly station wagon in North America, word out of Germany suggests Mercedes-Benz is copycatting BMW again in the never-ending game called Fill That SUV Niche!

Not content with the midsize ML, fullsize GL, crossover (nee minivan) R, and militaristic Geländewagen, Mercedes is looking at yet another SUV, this time, similar in fashion to BMW’s odd-duck X6 Sports Activity Coupe, according to a German report.

Dubbed the Geländecoupé—or GLC, as speculated above—the coupe-SUV is said to be smaller than the X6, more than likely based on the 'Benz C Class chassis and debuting in 2014. If you’re keeping score, you may remember ‘Benz already has the C-based GLK SUV. Of course, I don’t have to remind you that the German automaker stopped bringing the more rational C Class wagon to Canada, apparently to help insure GLK sales. And the GLC, if it goes ahead, will essentially be a “coupe” version of the GLK,  But apparently the brains in Stuttgart figure there’s a niche to be filled there, whether customers are asking for a vehicle like the GLC or not.

Do new car buyers need an X6 rip-off?

Is Mercedes heading in the right direction offering more SUVs and less wagons to Canadians?

[Sources: Automobile, AutoZeitung]

Kia’s naming conundrum

On a recent trip to Hyundai-Kia Motors world headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, attending media had some time to chat with Kia head pen, Peter Schreyer. While the discussions centred around the brand's’s new European-influenced (Schreyer is a former Audi designer) styling, inevitably, the topic turned to all the automaker’s up market brand aspirations and its rock-and-a-hard-place its put itself in with its vehicle naming strategy.

You see, the forthcoming 2012 Kia Optima and Cadenza sedans aren't called that outside of North America. Instead, Kia uses a more Teutonic alphanumeric system: the Optima is the K (as in Kia, get it?) 5; the Cadenza the K7, a strategy Kia's vice chairman, Chung Eui-sun, believes can “strengthen” the brand. But the experience of other brands going down this name changing path should be heeded.

Most experts now consider Acura’s switch of its well known Legend and Integra nameplates to RL and RSX a marketing flop. The criticism mainly aimed at the idea of throwing a well-established franchise in hopes of expanding into other customer segments. Which, is exactly what Kia wants to do as well.

So what do you think?

Some Kia car names, like the Soul and Sorrento, are now becoming part of our car culture.

Is it a risk to rebadge them as say, the K-this or K-that?

Do you think Kia copying the typically German naming system puts the rising Korean brand in the same light as Audi, BMW or Mercedes?

[Source: Automotive News]

 

 

Toyota needs to come down off the ledge

Like a ketchup stain you can’t get out of your favourite shirt, Toyota’s woes caused by this year’s recall crisis just won’t go away. This week, company head cheese, Akia Toyoda, kept on laying on the apologies at a shareholders meeting.

While taking responsibility and promising to do better is all fine and dandy, Mr. Toyoda’s company needs to stop falling on his sward. In fact, apparently, Toyota’s chief broke down and cried at an American dealers meeting about the recall mess.

Obviously, Toyota’s in a pickle. But that’s great news for car buyers. Fat, lazy automakers make boring, take-no-risk cars. But desperate, this-is-our-last-chance-to-fix-things car companies are exactly the kind of manufacturer car fans want.

It was-for-the-umpteenth time on the brink of insolvency when Chrysler produced the Dodge Viper in the 1990s. And although Government Motors isn’t out of the woods yet, its troubles in the Naughties is one of the reasons it's now producing some of its best cars ever.

So hey, Mr. Toyoda, get over it. Grab a hanky. And do what you know your company needs to do: risky cars. Like the three new sporty Toyota the U.K.’s Autocar speculates are on the way.

The first, the FT-86, you may already know as a modern take on the mid-1980s rear-drive Corolla SR-5 coupe. It’s supposedly set to arrive in 2012.

The following year, a new mid-engine two-seater in the spirit of the MR2 will arrive, but this time with 1.5-litre gas four-hybrid power and, clearly, Honda’s new CR-Z hybrid in its sights.

The third new Toyota sportster is a larger coupe that will use the FT-86’s bits and bites. A spiritual successor to the old Supra, the 2+2 will use a hybrid V6 with styling coming from the FT-HS concept (above) from the 2007 Detroit show.

None of these potential sporty Toyota cars will help eradicate the damage done to the Japanese automaker's’s street cred and sales decline caused by the recall crisis.

But do you think this potentially FTD trio can get type of car enthusiasts that have abandoned the brand?

[Source: Autocar]

Nagare no more: Mazda pulls the plug on its “flow” look

Well, so much for that. After four years of teasing us with concept after concept, highlighted by the Furai concept (below, left) from the 2008 Detroit show, it looks like Mazda is canning its much bally-hooed Nagare design language.

“Nagare is done. After the 5, it’s highly unlikely that there will be another Nagare car. Mazda has moved on,” the Japanese automaker's European design boss, Brit Peter Birtwhistle, told the U.K.’s AutoExpress. If anything, the whole Nagare trip advanced a few designers’ career aspirations.

 Former Mazda head pen, Dutchman Laurens van den Acker, the man responsible for the original 2006 Nagare (left), 2007 Ryuga and Hakaze concepts that established the so-called Nagare’s “flow” design language, parlayed that success into the VP of design position at Renault, succeeding living legend Patrick le Quément.

Unfortunately, the wavy Nagare metal sculpting has only been applied to one production car: the 2011 Mazda5 miniminivan (right). And even Birtwhistle admits the Mazda5’s Nagare metal work looks a bit forced, saying the look was “particularly difficult to apply to a boxy people carrier shape.”

No kidding.

Anyway, Mazda needs to start all over again. And like another Japanese automaker that needed a quick design fix, it looks like Mazda is going to look to the West, to Italy, specifically, for some design mojo.

Birtwhistle says that Mazda is aiming to become “more like a Japanese Alfa Romeo, producing cars which are great to drive, but crucially that also have the right premium feel, particularly inside.” Apparently, we’ll see the first new Alfa-Mazda at this fall’s Paris show.

Do you think Mazda made a wise choice canning its Nagare look after all these years?

Is turning to a European brand for inspiration a good idea for a Japanese automaker?

[Source: AutoExpress]

Quality versus Power: Are JD’s rankings realistic?

Based on the latest U.S. JD Power’s Initial Quality Survey this week, it reads like the invading hordes of foreign automakers should pack up their Snap-Ons and go back to making bicycles.

With the chant of You!-Ess!-Eh!, You!-Ess!-Eh! not so faintly in the background, JD’s presser headline screams, “Domestic Brands Surpass Imports in Initial Quality for the First Time in IQS History.”

Yes. Sort of. But not really.

First, the definition of a “domestic” versus “import” really no longer applies in the indsutry, except for marketing and jingoistic purposes. With design, engineering and parts sourced from around the world these days, the terms “domestic” versus “import” are anachronistic, at best.

Second, as I’ve whinged about before, measuring “mechanical and design problems” in the first 90 days of ownership is no guarantee how a car will hold up on day 91, or day 1,095 when the typical three-year warranty evaporates.

The other big issue with its IQS reports is the way JD consolidates individual models under one brand score.

New car buyers buy single cars, not whole brands. So on the surface, Ford’s No. 1 ranking and Toyota’s big drop leaves the perception that every Ford is better built than every Toyota. But the truth is, from model to model, the quality scores in every brand are very different, and JD only releases scores on some (mainly top ranked cars), not all, models.

Do you think the U.S. brands are making better built cars than the European and Asian brands?

Would JD's latest IQS report have you trading in your Toyota for a Ford?