auto review

Jumat, 29 Februari 2008

MORE VW SCIROCCO PHOTOS

For the sake of thorough reporting and historical context, here are more photos of the upcoming Scirocco. In addition, take a gander at the scIROCco concept that came before it and the Corrado & old Scirocco that preceded it.

Gotta be honest with you: I've been thinking about the plight of Volkswagen suits who don't know exactly how to position the Scirocco and - in North America at least - have decided not to position it anywhere. (Catch Friday's story here and find the links therein.) Now, I won't come right out and agree that Volkswagen has no room in their showrooms for the Scirocco, what with the GTI and R32 filling the sport-compact gap nicely. No, I won't agree at all. But when I consider a few facts, I do see VW's point, even if I don't like it or necessarily agree.

For one, without knowing the price scheme, the Scirocco took a more dramatic styling approach to the hot hatchback ethos. In other words, it's a more dramatic GTI. The GTI is made by Volkswagen, just like the Scirocco.

For two, similar products have struggled here in recent times. With reason; I know. The Toyota Celica was torqueless. North Americans like torque, especially the more southern of the North Americans. Acura renamed the the Integra the RSX while relieving it of some driving verve. Both of those vehicles waved buh-bye. Hyundai's Tiburon remains and will either be supplanted or supported by a rear-wheel drive Genesis coupe.

For three, without knowing the dynamic setup Volkswagen wishes to bestow upon the Scirocco, in what way will it be different from the GTI? More hardcore; more worthy of poseur status? Bare bones sporting or luxo-sportacious? Without knowing how the Scirocco will differ from the GTI, it is hard to figure with which competing makes it will battle. But, in the UK for instance, here are some potential comparison contenders.

BMW's 1-series coupe is powered by a wider range of engines in other parts of the world. A four-cylinder (maybe diesel?) 1-series has a status badge and worthy dynamics. Practically, it ain't the solution to the IKEA needs your life presents. Then again, it's a BMW; and that'll sway many potential Scirocco customers.

The Mazda RX-8 is another high-style sporty coupe. Unique in many ways - rotary engine, two rear-hinged back doors - the RX-8 is still a pure driving experience and is hardly more expensive than a GTI in the United Kingdom.

Prototype S is just a concept buzzword for Mitsubishi's next Lancer Sportback. Expect the Ralliart version to be a sharp driving tool with less power and less expense than the Lancer Evo X. All-wheel drive, dual-clutch gearbox, and 240 horsepower will combine to be a hardcore alternative that the Scirocco must beat. Or at least tame.

ACURA TL RECALL

With struggling sales, the last thing Honda's luxury division needs is a recall on their core car. Acura TL's from 2004 and 2005 (129,600 of 'em) could suffer from failing windshield wipers. Another issue affects cars from the same period thru 2008: degrading power steering hoses -> cracking -> fluid leaking onto catalytic converter -> smoke & fire?

Get it taken care of if you're a TL owner. Up to this point, nobody has been involved in accidents or injuries. Don't be the first. Recently, GoodCarBadCar named the TL a Beauty for the Boss. Fortunately, the engineering of the power steering hose and windshield wiper circuit breaker didn't need to be beautiful for the TL to garner

#5 on the list.

MAZDA ATENZA ROARING IN JAPAN

Mazda is very pleased to see midsize success in their home market of Japan. The Atenza, which is linked to the 6 but will not be identical to the second generation 6 we receive, sold at three times the expected rate in its first month on sale in Japan.

Apparently, the 5-door hatch; sedan; and wagon are each making up an appropriate third of the total. Better news lies in the portion of Atenzas being optioned up. 60% of the sedans are oh-so-not base models; also true for 50% of the hatches and wagons. Amazingly specific data also bears out the distinct colour preferences of sedan; hatch; and wagon consumers, who chose white; black; and blue, respectively most often on the three bodystyles.

PEUGEOT'S LE MANS DRIVERS

It ought to be a matter of national pride for Peugeot, not to mention the disturbing nature of absolute German dominance at France's most famous race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Audi won this classic race in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007. Although Bentley - a Volkswagen subsidiary just like Audi - took the title in 2003, it was with Audi's help.

1996, '97, and '98 were Porsche's years whilst 1999 was BMW's. The most recent French company to win was indeed Peugeot, but that was 1993.

Thus, Peugeot is ready to battle again. This year, they'll be majoring on the drivers as seriously as the cars. Ask any casual Le Mans follower about previous winners and you will inevitably be told about car companies; not drivers. If Peugeot manages to wrest the Heures du Mans crown from Audi this year, the drivers will be remembered.

Jacques Villeneuve, Christian Klien, Alex Wurz, Pedro Lamy, Franck Montagny, Marc Gene, and Ricardo Zonta all sound good. World Rally man Stephane Sarrazin and ex-Formula 3000 racer Nicolas Minassian should help the cause. For those keeping track, that's three Frenchmen, one French-Canadian, and not a single German.

Peugeot's current showrooms are not full of models that could be easily linked to a win at Le Mans. Like Audi (which uses lines like, "Audi is a trailblazer when it comes to diesel power. Since 1989, over 4.5 millions cars have rolled off the production line with the highly efficient TDI technology under the bonnet. By equipping the R10 TDI sports prototype with this technology, we have just won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a diesel-powered car for the second time") Peugeot is opting for diesel power in their Le Mans racer and it is on this point that Peugeot can claim 'trickle-down' effect and exercise marketing heft. Peugeot and its sister company Citroen are indelinly linked to diesel engines, and rightfully so.

VOLKSWAGEN SCIROCCO IMAGES

Be doubtful of the fact that Volkswagen isn't pleased, deep inside the heart of the company, that images of the upcoming Scirocco were leaked ahead of its auto show debut at Geneva. These sorts of things contribute to the hype a car generates and simply provides more chit-chat on automotive forums. How can this hurt?

VW designers have stayed remarkably true to the IROC concept from last year but obviously lost overt show car elements like the massive wheels and the bellicose front end. It'd be nice to see this image in another shade, but there's no denying that even in a silvery-white; the Scirocco is in impactful design .

Alas, Volkswagen of America doesn't like what the Scirocco would do to GTI sales.

The Good Car Guy whined, but six weeks later news was still bad. On that front, nothing has changed. Let's hope it does. First words out of the mouth of The Good Car Girl when she saw the pics: "I'd buy that."

Kamis, 28 Februari 2008

CHEVY MALIBU POPULAR ON THE DUB-DUB-DUB

Compete.com has some statistics (this from SeekingAlpha.com) that show the Chevrolet Malibu to be a much, much, MUCH more popular vehicle on the internet than its competitors. Expect year-end data from MSN Cars and others to bear this out. Admittedly, the more complex data shows that more Honda Accord shoppers became 'engaged'. This doesn't detract from the positive news for GM and Chevrolet brass - people are attracted to the Malibu in a way they never ever could have been with the old Malibu. As it stands at present, here are some of the stats:

236,011 - online shopping excursions for the Malibu in December of 2007

67,921 - online shopping excursions for the Malibu in October of 2007

247 - percentage increase in online shoppers for the Malibu from the tenth month of 2007 to the twelfth

2 - number of midsize cars (named Accord and Camry) it takes to develop the numbers the Malibu achieved on its own in December

3 - number of consecutive months led by the Malibu in the midsize sedan category, the first time during the web's relatively short lifespan that an American-badged car pulled that trick

CONSUMER REPORTS Reports

Consumer Reports, not a bastion of automotive enthusiasm but a respected resource nonetheless, has named its ten best cars.

The Hyundai Elantra takes the crown of best small sedan. Consumer Reports refuses to give a crown to any vehicle lacking Electronic Stability Control. That safety feature is standard on the Elantra along with a host of other pieces of equipment relevant to passenger protection. Apart from ESC, the Mazda 3 and Honda Civic would rank as highly as the Elantra. ESC is not standard on those two Japanese sedans, however.

Not surprising to readers of GoodCarBadCar, the Hyundai Santa Fe is a terrific small utility vehicle. It earns the nod from Consumer Reports in the midsize SUV, with respect given to its excellent fit and finish among other things.

If it weren't for reliability questions, the Toyota Tundra may have beaten out the Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab. Reliability matters. Silverado takes the pickup title at Consumer Reports.

Lexus' hybrid version of its LS luxo-limo-sedan lost out to a vehicle offering far greater value, the Lexus LS460L. Factor in fun-to-drive and the LS is still a little too Lexus and not enough BMW, but it still earned a near-perfect score from Consumer Reports.

Honda's Accord took the family sedan category. "Surprise; surprise", say those familiar with The Good 12. Similar words in reaction to the Infiniti G35's win in the upscale sedan sector. I gots to say - them are good picks.

A separate category for "Fun-To-Drive" strikes me as humorous, but the Mazda MX-5 has earned its stripes. The Toyota RAV4, discussed on this page earlier today in relation to the new Subaru Forester, captures Consumer Reports' award for small SUVs. Surprising speed will be forever linked to the present generation's V6 version. On the other hand, the four-cylinder RAV4 is the most fuel efficient non-hybrid SUV available.

Although recognizing the Honda Odyssey as more fun, Consumer Reports presents the Toyota Sienna as its minivan pick. Meanwhile, for the fifth year in a row, Toyota's Prius wins the green car award.