Nuts & Bolts
By Peter Brewer
Two big international new car releases are planned for early March at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.
One is a car we discussed here recently, the Audi A1. It’s a competitor for premium little cars like the Mini and if successful, will strongly reinforce Audi’s position as an influential player in the luxury car market. Mercedes-Benz has every reason to fear the success of the A1 because a clever small Audi will woo more new customers to the fast-growing brand. And now it has such a broad range of other models to choose from, it is far easier for Audi to convince those new customers to stay with the brand.
But let’s not assume the A1 will be an instant hit because the company has stumbled in this market previously. Audi dabbled unsuccessfully in this mini-car market before (in the late 1990s) with an all-aluminium, super-economical turbodiesel called the A2 (which was not sold here because of its high cost).
Despite being a very clever car, the tall-bodied A2 was a sales flop. It staggered on for about five years (until 2005) and lost the company quite a deal of money. The A2’s major problems were that it didn’t have a premium brand feel or features; in fact, most people thought it should have been a VW.
Alfa Romeo Guilietta to premier at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.
Bigger in size but no less important for Italian car giant Fiat is the Alfa Romeo Guilietta.
This is the Mito’s bigger brother and goes head-to-head against the hot-selling VW Golf.
The styling will be a lot like the Mito’s, and the suspension/steering/engine tune will have the same three-stage set-up (D/N/A) to suit different driving conditions.
Importantly for our market, the Guilietta will preview Fiat’s new Multiair engine technology, which is described as the “next generation” of variable valve technology. The engine will need to be good, because rumour has it for the short term, the biggest size on offer will be 1.6 litres.
Nonetheless as with all the new generation Alfas, it promises to be interesting.
But let’s hope the importers get the price right this time; they botched it badly with the overpriced Mito and sales have suffered accordingly.
Saab has been saved. But for how long?
Dutch car company Spyker (which has been making slow-welling obscure luxury/performance cars in small volumes for a long time) has reached an agreement which will give it a controlling interesting of Saab, supplemented by a European Investment Bank loan guaranteed by the Swedish government and some generous handover terms from current owner General Motors.
Saab's new big saloon, the 9-5.
A high profit-per-product outcome is crucial to Saab’s long-term survival. The company must lift its perceived status in the eyes of luxury car buyers, so that cars like the 9-5 (a new version of which is due out soon) are seen as direct rivals to the best from Germany.
As much as we admire Saab’s eclectic vehicles and its ability to leverage its aeronautical background (it started out as an aircraft company while Spyker merged with an aircraft company back in 1914), the volume numbers just don’t add up. Sadly.
In the next 18 months there will be a Saab 9-5 sedan (based on a GM engineering platform), a 9-5 wagon, and an all-wheel drive SUV-type derivative of the 9-5 wagon, probably likely to be badged as the 9-5X.
But will this range, and an upgraded 9-3, be enough to sustain the company? Our fingers, like many others, are crossed for this battling little car maker to pull off a miracle.
After the Golf’s success last year, can VW make it two in a row?
The VW Polo is shortlisted and the short-priced favourite for the 2010 World Car of The Year awards, to be announced in New York on April 1. The Golf is the reigning champ.
Germany’s car makers again dominate the nominees which this year include: the Polo, Audi Q5, Chevrolet (Holden) Cruze, Mazda3, Kia Soul, Porsche Panamera, BMW X1, Toyota Prius, Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, and the Mercedes E-Class.
Sticky issues at Toyota make Prius a long shot for world award.
The world’s largest car company is in deep doo-doo, and the fallout must affect the Prius’s chances in WCOTY.
The Kia, Mazda, Chevrolet and Opel are just not good enough, the Q5 is more of what has been done before, and the Porsche doesn’t offer much innovation. While the BMW X1 is a long shot, the only serious finals contenders will be the E-Class and the Polo. And it could go either way.
The five World Green Car finalists are (in no particular order): the Ford Fusion Hybrid, Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid, Toyota Prius, the VW Bluemotion range (Polo, Golf, Passat), and the Honda Insight.
Our early tip is the Honda.
And there’s 10 in the running for the World Performance Car title. These are: Aston Martin V12 Vantage; Audi R8 V10; Audi TT RS Coupé / Roadster; BMW Z4; Ferrari California; Jaguar XFR; Lotus Evora; Mercedes-Ben z E 63 AMG; Nissan 370 Z; Porsche 911 GT3; and the Porsche Boxster / Cayman.
The dumpy Sportage, arguably the most unattractive car in the Kia range (although the Rio runs it close), comes in for a complete overhaul in a few weeks.
New Kia Sportage due here shortly after Geneva show debut.
For Kia, the Sportage was always regarded as its plucky little wagon. And in Kia’s early days, it was tough enough to be used by the South Korean military.
However, this new Sportage very definitely is aimed at the urban/suburban “softroader” market. Not a lot of mechanical detail is known about the Sportage as yet but Australia will be one of the first international markets to receive it, both in diesel and petrol forms.
It’s quite stylish, but will that thick rear pillar make it a pain to park?
To find out more about Peter Brewer click here.
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