Auto News For Wednesday, November 18, 2015 - Fiat 124 Spider Is A Less Attractive Mazda MX-5 Miata

Here are the five must-read, must-watch auto news stories, recalls and videos for Wednesday, November 18, 2015.

FIAT
Time was, we thought this car would turn out to be an Alfa Romeo. But here it is, the Fiat version of the new Mazda MX-5 Miata. So if you want a less attractive Mazda MX-5 Miata, you’ll seen be able to get a Fiat 124 Spider.

LINCOLN
Remember when Ford’s Premiere Automotive Group held brands like Aston Martin, Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar, and Lincoln? They’re separate entities now (except for Land Rover and Jaguar) with different owners. But for some reason, Lincoln just stole Jaguar’s grille for its facelifted MKZ, which will also be available with a unique-to-Lincoln 3.0L twin-turbocharged 400-horsepower V6.

HONDA
The new tenth-gen Civic sedan is already on sale. Now we know what the Civic Coupe looks like. It’s not the prettiest car on the block, but it’s not as dull or bloated as the ninth-gen Civic two-door.

JAGUAR
Now that we know the Jaguar XE will be really rather affordable, it’s important to know whether evo magazine thinks it’s a great car to drive. Says evo, “The XE thunders straight to the top of the class."

WATCH 
Surely the ideal Consumer Reports reader overlaps with the target market for the Toyota Prius, right? Here’s Consumer Reports’ first video of the fourth-generation 2016 Toyota Prius.

FERRARI, ROLLS-ROYCE & ASTON MARTIN ARE ALL MANUFACTURERS OF SMALL CARS?

In a fight to be seen as both eco-conscious and economically aware, automakers which traditionally sell cars priced in the stratosphere are bringing their badges down to our level.

Aston Martin will be applying its grimacing grille to the front end of the Toyota iQ. They'll call it the Aston Martin Cygnet; they'll lux it up a fair bit; and they'll double the price.

Ferrari, meanwhile, will stick its badges on the 695 Tributo Ferrari, a hopped-up version of the Fiat 500. At least the Fiat 500 695 Tributo Ferrari will be significantly quicker than the regular 500, something that can't be said of the Cygnet.

Finally we have Rolls-Royce. The manufacturer of Phantoms and Drophead Coupes will soon be known as a custom outfitter of Mini Coopers. Mini Rolls will supposedly look just like regular Minis but inside - oh yes, inside - Rolls will have its way with high-end materials. Perhaps an umbrellla in the door, too?

Obviously the connection between Fiat and Ferrari is obvious. Fiat owns 85% of the autonomously-run supercar producer. Mini and Rolls-Royce are both owned by Germany-based BMW. But the Aston Martin/Toyota relationship is a curious one. Regardless, all three of the high-dollar brands will be endlessly criticized for degrading their brand values.

If part of what makes the Ferrari 458 Italia so special is its exclusivity, doesn't a commonplace Fiat 500 Tributo lessen that joy?

Consider the outrageous prices Rolls-Royce clients justify as a result of uncommon leather-lined seating and permanently upright wheelhub badges. Do you really want to pay so much more for the privilege when Mini customers receive some of the same treatments?

Meanwhile Aston Martin isn't simply badging Toyota iQs with logos from Gaydon. No, Aston is changing the whole look of the car. So the same company which builds the V8 Vantage, DB9, Rapide, and DBS will sell city cars?

However, there will be an unseemly amount of short term gain. Why else would Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, and Aston Martin participate in such a scheme? Businesses are on this planet to generate profits. Peering through the long-term tunnel to see the negative impacts come 2016 is not an easy procedure. In terms of these increasingly common small car ventures, it's a procedure to which certain supercar manufacturers are unwilling to submit.

ASTON MARTIN RAPIDE BY THE NUMBERS

*December 6/09 Update: USD MSRP of Rapide to be $199,950*

Known most of all for its supreme design competence, Aston Martin is releasing its first 4-door in more than two decades next year in sublime style. The Good Car Guy has been known to complain about Aston's style-by-dimensions take, but it goes without saying that Aston Martin's style credentials are sky high.

The Rapide is a gorgeous 4-door (though technically a 5-door hatchback) with the sort of presence reserved for people who really know how to make an entrance. Marek Reichman, Aston Martin's design director, compares the Rapide to "a race horse standing still" with its "power and elegance" and muscular "rear haunches". He talks about the car's purity being "right from every angle". Car&Driver calls the Rapide the "world's most beautiful hatchback". Edmunds' Inside Line believes the production Rapide remains "remarkably true" to what they called a "snazzy concept". Autoblog calls the Rapide a "British beauty". And of course here at GoodCarBadCar.net it's been said that "the Aston Martin Rapide is one of the best-looking 4-doors in the history of 4-doors". Britain's CAR magazine says the Rapide is a "low-set four-door with a great stance, a beautiful silhouette and enough athletic details to get the CAR office salivating".

In other words, the 2010 Aston Martin Rapide is strong on aesthetics. But what about mathematics? That's to be discovered in the Numbers below.

2,000 - estimated total production of the Rapide at the plant in Graz, Austria

470 - horsepower generated by the Rapide's 5.9L V12

442 - lb-ft of torque produced by the V12, an engine shared with all other current production Aston Martins except for the V8 Vantage

13.97 - diameter, measured in inches, of the Aston Martin Rapide's front brake discs

15:1 - steering rack ratio in the new Rapide, a couple notches quicker than that of the DB9

10.6 - cubic feet of storage capacity in the rear hatch of the new Rapide, less than the 12 cubic feet available in the back of a smart fortwo

26.5 - total cubic feet of luggage capacity available with the Rapide's rear seats folded

645 - total Aston Martin Lagondas sold between 1976 and 1989, the last time Aston pushed a 4-door in the Marketplace

4,299 - weight of the Aston Martin Rapide in pounds

1,000 - total wattage provided by the Bang & Olufsen sound system which inludes motorized tweeters rising out of the dash

250,000 - approximate price, in U.S. dollars, of the Aston Martin Rapide when it goes on sale in the States next year

150,000 - approximate price, in British pounds sterling, of the Rapide when it goes on sale in.... Great Britain; the same as the average out-the-door price of the old Aston Martin Lagonda of the 80s

360 - total LEDs housed in each rear light

125 - Aston Martin dealers around the world in which the Rapide should compete against the future Lamborghini Estoque, Bentley Continental Flying Spur, and maybe even the Rolls-Royce Ghost

DO ALL ASTON MARTINS HAVE TO LOOK ALIKE? RAPIDE GALLERY

Believe you me, the Aston Martin Rapide is one of the best-looking 4-doors in the history of 4-doors. Understand you this, were the funds available to The Good Car Guy, an Aston Martin Rapide would almost definitely be parked beneath GoodCarBadCar Towers. Don't doubt it for a minute, GoodCarBadCar.net is officially a firm supporter of the Aston Martin Rapide and its progression toward production.

That being said, why must it be styled to look exactly like all other current Aston Martins? There's this interesting Porsche dilemma that doesn't faze the designers in Gaydon, Warwickshire one bit. See, at Porsche, each new model is supposed to look like the 911 Carrera, only as an SUV (Cayenne) or sedan (Panamera). Unfortunately, Zuffenhausen's designers can't make it happen. Conversely unfortunate at Aston Martin is the designer's innate comprehension of what an Aston is "supposed to look like" and their spectacular ability to make the DB9 a supercar (DBS) or a smaller 911 competitor (V8 Vantage) or, as seen in the Gallery below, a four-door sedan..... er, hatchback.

And then, this company which designs and manufacturers some of the planet's most beautiful cars needs an ultra-exclusive front-engined British alternative to the Lamborghini Reventon. Thus, 77 examples of the One-77 are sold off to willing supercar connoisseurs. What do these cars look like? Ah, this time Aston Martin exaggerates the family look. How inventive.

Whilst I complain about this unnecessary design kinship, Aston Martin is becoming an increasingly successful company. At the same time, arguments start up every time Ferrari introduces a new car. Antagonists and apologists debate the merits of a new controversial Ferrari design. Then Ferrari goes on to sell more of the new car than they were able to sell of its predecessors. Perhaps it's useful for your cars to look like red-blooded Italian supercars without looking like triplets who were born in different calendar years.

Is there any sedan available today with greater pull-up-at-the-Ritz presence than Aston's Rapide? Certainly not the Mercedes S-Class or Jaguar XJ. Only certain (more expensive) Bentleys and Rolls-Royce Phantoms could compete. Notwithstanding its good looks, the future must hold something different for some of Aston Martin's cars lest we all ignore the brand for boredom.

From the top, the very similar front ends of the Aston Martin DB9, V8 Vantage, DBS, Rapide, and One-77.

LAPTIMES FROM evo ISSUE 133

The general feeling at GoodCarBadCar Towers leads to suggesting that the good folks at evo Towers in some Shire of England that the number of timed lapt performed in production cars around the Bedford Autodrome's West Circuit must increase. Far more telling than 0-60 stats provided by magazines around the world, laptimes show the true performance capability of a vehicle. Take the GTI and RenaultSport below, for example: not only is the little Renault quicker than the Golf; it's more than two seconds quicker than its predecessor, the Clio 197. Laptimes deliver this type of info. 0-60 numbers tell a short story. Check out previous evo laptime reports right here.

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Renault Clio 200: 0-60mph in 6.6 seconds

Aston Martin V12 Vantage: 0-60mph in 4.4 seconds

Audi R8 V10: 0-60mph in 3.9 seconds

Chevrolet Corvette ZR1: 0-60mph in 3.8 seconds

Porsche 911 GT3: 0-60mph in 4.2 seconds

Renault Clio 200: 1:32.0

Volkswagen Golf GTI MK6: 1:32.4

ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE V12 SCREENSHOTS THROW PERCEPTION TO THE WIND

Around four-feet high and six feet wide, the Aston Martin Vantage V8's proportions are clearly sporting. In V12 form, the hood gills, spectacular wheels, and slightly lowered ride height add to the Vantage's aura. Check out the pictures; each one a screenshot from Jeremy Clarkson's test drive of the Aston Martin Vantage V12 on Top Gear.

Quite clearly, perspective is completely lacking. The background is blurred by the speed. Nevertheless, don't you think the Aston Martin Vantage V12 looks extremely long in these pics? Looking far more DB9-like than one would have believed, the V12 Vantage in this video these pictures must explain itself.

Here are the stats. At 172.5 inches long, the V12 Vantage is thirteen inches shorter than the Aston Martin DB9; about five inches shorter than Hyundai's Elantra, three inches shorter than a Porsche 911, but an inch longer than the BMW 135i. In other words, the V12 Vantage is a whole lot smaller than it looks. Long, low, and wide makes a case for grace.