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September 26, 2007
2007 Frankfurt Motor Show: Toyota IQ
Is Small Beautiful Again?
At the 2007 Frankfurt auto show this month, Toyota showed a concept version of a vehicle expected to be available in Europe in January 2009. The IQ, shown in brilliant white with purple metallic flakes in front of a swirling purple tie-die type background, is shorter than the smallest Toyota, the Aygo, but about as wide and tall as the Yaris. This footprint allows for maximum interior space and minimum exterior space.
The IQ wouldn't meet Japan's keijodisha requirements, the segment there which requires that vehicles be no longer than 3300mm nor wider than 1480mm and use an engine with displacement no larger than 660cc nor delivering more than 64PS. The primary benefit of buying a kei-car is lower automobile taxes, as well as generally being more fuel efficient and often less expensive. The kei-car segment is the only one in Japan in which Toyota does not directly compete, though their affiliate Daihatsu makes several.
Toyota IQ and Yaris
At 2980mm long and 1680mm wide, IQ is a bit larger than the smart fortwo, but the benefit of this space is the ability to carry more people. smart's fortwo only carries two, but Toyota says the IQ can carry three if needed. Toyota makes room for the third person in a configuration they call 3+1. In normal driving situations, the driver and front passenger sit side-by-side. When room for a third adult or child is needed, the front passenger seat is moved forward; this is possible in part by a dash that swoops away from the front passenger and allows more space. To help ensure passengers don't feel cramped in such a small vehicle is a glass panorama sunroof.
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GM Workers Walk, Talk, & Get a New Deal
In the midst of one of the weakest automobile sales seasons in recent memory, members of the United Automobile Workers union walked off the job at General Motors plants nationwide two days ago, kicking a marathon negotiation session into gear. Negotiators for both sides stayed at the bargaining table until a new deal was announced at 3AM today by UAW president Ron Gettelfinger. The result: GM workers get some important job security protections and GM gets to offload its health plan into a new trust (all details have not yet been announced). This was the first time GM had been struck in more than 37 years. When the UAW walked in 1970, they remained off the job for two full months. The last local UAW strike affected two plants in Flint, Michigan in 1998 in a walkout that lasted nearly seven weeks.
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September 25, 2007
Steve Wilhite Leaves Hyundai - Marketing Man on the Loose
Readers of VehicleVoice may not be intimately aware of the folks running the various car companies, but their comings and goings can make for great stories. The recent career of Steve Wilhite, until last Friday Chief Operating Officer of Hyundai Motor America, promises to be one of the more interesting.
Wilhite's Career - Ford, Volkswagen, Apple, Nissan, Hyundai... NEXT?
Wilhite has been a well-regarded car marketer since he joined Volkswagen of America in the early '90s and help turn the company around through innovative advertising campaigns. Of course, he picked up the ball after VW had stopped taking cars produced at their Puebla, Mexico assembly plant until quality was acceptable. At their lowest, Volkswagen sold less than 50,000 cars in one year.
Wilhite Credited with "Think Different"
Following VW, Wilhite joined Apple Computer as the chief marketer. Apple's "Think Different" campaign came under Wilhites tenure and set the image of the Apple brand for the late '90s and early '00s. Apparently, working for Steve Jobs as a senior executive is not the easiest job in the world. Wilhite recounts stories of being summoned to Jobs' home at oh-dark-thirty more than once to brainstorm Apple marketing issues.
Tokyo a Wrong Move
But the car industry beckoned again and after a brief interlude Wilhite joined Nissan North America as head of marketing and then moved to Tokyo as head of Nissan's global marketing. Frustrating job. Great title, but no real power. Spouse hated Tokyo. Writing on the wall. Hyundai came along.
The Hyundai Year - August 2006 - September 2007
Wilhite joined Hyundai Motor America in August 2006 as their "current" Chief Operating Officer. Following the departure of Finbarr O'Neill the COO job at HMA had been a revolving door. In fact, Wilhite's predecessor Bob Cosmai lasted a bit over a year. HMA missed his first year's sales targets by less than 2,000 units and the second year by about 15,000. Didn't meet his targets... assassinated.
Wilhite joined a company with extremely ambitious sales targets. A target of 1,000,000 units in the USA for 2010 was a one-time target - part of Hyundai's Global Top Five strategy. Wilhite inherited a sales target of 555,000 units for the 2007 calendar year when he signed on. This was adjusted to 510,000 units as the reality of the 2007 calendar year became clearer. By the time he left, HMA was on track to sell a bit over 450,000 units. So, either the Koreans eliminated another top American, Wilhite got extremely frustrated with Korean management and not achieving goals, or Wilhite has a really good offer in the works from another car company.
Wilhite to Fill Ford's Top Marketing Opening?
We'll go with the other car company offer for the moment. Conjecture has it that Wilhite would be the perfect candidate for the top marketing job at Ford Motor Company. Ford is looking. In fact, General Motors may be looking for a replacement for their top marketing exec Mike Jackson who "left" earlier this year. Looks like Wilhite may have several juicy opportunities if he chooses to stay in the auto biz.
In any event, Hyundai has lost another top executive... an executive who understands the power of brand building and was putting plans in place to enhance the overall perception of Hyundai in the USA.
2009 Chevrolet Aveo: European Hatchback Sports Cool New Look
Chevy's Entry Hatch Grows Up
While Chevrolet's presence at the 2007 Frankfurt auto show was low-key, this year they showed off the five-door Aveo ahead of European sales in March 2008. No doubt this tough-looking little car will complement the U.S. Aveo sedan soon after, and Europe is also on track to get a three-door, too.
With the latest Aveo sedan, Chevrolet dropped the old Kalos name, a holdover from the pre-GM DAT Daewoo days. The hatchbacks had carried on in Europe with the Kalos badge, but with this change the little car will be badged Aveo in Europe, the United States, China, and most major markets. (Korean-market cars still carry the Daewoo badge and the Kalos name.)
Though unable to get inside the little car, its exterior is striking and takes the small-car segment up a notch. It wears Chevrolet's latest global design theme, with a deep split grille subtly reminiscent of the latest Audis, cat-eye headlights, and just enough chrome to set it apart. The fog lamps in front and rear spoiler contribute to the sporting feel, but are likely optional equipment. The side-view mirrors now include indicators, and the round taillights give the rear some personality. Like the sedan, which changed for 2007MY, the hatchback is now longer and slightly wider. Where this change in proportion makes the sedan looks a bit tippy, the hatchback doesn't look so oddly portioned. (Click here and here for images of the current Kalos.)
The photos show that the interior shares much with the sedan, including the center stack, HVAC vents and controls, and steering wheel, but the gauge cluster is unique with gauges set into sporty round binnacles and more chrome accents.
Motive power for the European Aveo will come from the known 98HP 1.4L engine, mated to an automatic transmission, and an all-new 84HP 1.2L DOHC I4. Both offer improved economy and emissions numbers, and the 1.2L gained 12HP. When this little looker gets to the States, it is more likely to take the same 1.6L the sedan currently sees.
GM DAT is one of the bright spots in GM's global network, further supported by our first look at this little Aveo. Though entry level and destined to feel cheap compared with cars costing more, there has been dramatic improvement over the years in these products, a clear combination of GM's money and technical expertise, GM's mid-decade corporate understanding that interiors are important, combined with Daewoo's understanding of small cars, and the access to low-cost production facilities certainly can't be hurting the process.
September 24, 2007
2007 Frankfurt Motor Show: Kia Kee
The Key to Kia's Design Future
Last year, Kia scooped up Volkswagen AG designer Peter Schreyer and opened a European design studio in Frankfurt. Schreyer, during his tenure at Audi and at VW, is credited with the first TT concept, Audi A6, and VW Concept R. With credentials like these, Kia expects Schreyer to liven up their design. In a market filled with many competitive entries and lots of noise, Kia cannot afford bland design.
At the 2007 Frankfurt auto show, Kia showed off one the first efforts to be led by Schreyer, a two-plus-two sports coupe called Kee; the concept is touring upcoming auto shows as well, and this tour will include at least one appearance on the U.S. circuit. Kee's name was inspired by both the idea that it is key to the brand's design future and by the Chinese and Korean "cultural concept" for spiritual energy or life force. They'd have been better off spelling it Key or K; while the pronunciation of Kee is pretty obvious and the inspiration strong, it looks odd and contrived.
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September 21, 2007
2008 Ford Focus, U.S. Style: Updated Around the World, Part II
Only days after our return from Frankfurt auto show, where Ford of Europe introduced their latest Focus, we went to Seattle, Washington, for our first drive of the 2008 North American Focus as well as spend a little more time with Sync, Ford's take on integrating phone, MP3 player, and voice control. (For more on Sync, check out our January story or the Ford-sponsored www.syncmyride.com; we'll comment on this week's Seattle experience with it soon; you can also find our first report on the Focus here.) Other than their names and the Blue Oval, these two cars are distant relations, separated by more than the ocean. Here's our first take on the U.S. car.
Goodbye Hatchbacks and Wagon, Hello Coupe
This fall, there are fewer Focus bodystyles to choose from. Complementing the sedan is a coupe, new to the nameplate and expected to help improve Focus's image among younger buyers. Gone are three- and five-door hatchbacks and wagon. The Focus continues with a 2.0L DOHC I4 engine, in two states of tune (one 130HP PZEV for those really picky states), putting the power to the front wheels through a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. The 2.0L delivers 140HP instead of last year's 136HP thanks to an all-new air intake and cooling systems; more power is especially nice for this segment, but this newfound 4HP doesn't make a remarkable difference here. Better fuel economy is promised through revised gear ratios, and, at least for 2008MY, we go without the sportier ST model and its 2.3L I4.
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September 20, 2007
2008 Ford Focus, European Flair: Updated Around the World, Part I
Among the surprise reveals at the recent Frankfurt auto show was a new look for the European Ford Focus, a car related to the one we're used to seeing on American roads in name and Blue Oval only. The Frankfurt reveal brought a look at the five-door hatchback, which goes into production later this year along with the three-door. More European bodystyles come on line early in 2008. On our return from Germany, we had the chance to drive the significantly changed North American 2008 Ford Focus.
Stylish Small Car
Changes to the European Focus bring Ford of Europe's kinetic design theme to the C-segment car. These changes to Focus bring it closer to the fresher European S-Max and upcoming Kuga Crossover, and they wear nicely on the five-door.
Exterior changes to one of Europe's best-selling small cars include not only front and rear fascias, but a new crease below the window line running from the front quarter panel to the rear of the vehicle and bodyside moldings are gone. Below a new and more voluptuously sculpted hood sit revised headlights, which can now be ordered with HID Bi-Xenon or adaptive front lighting systems, and more aggressive trapezoidal grilles. The smaller upper grill is capped with a chrome strip, while the larger lower grille gets a chrome strip depending on trim level. Along with revised taillights (available using LEDs) and bumpers expected come a revised tailgate and glass. The optional upper rear spoiler is also new.
Continue reading "2008 Ford Focus, European Flair: Updated Around the World, Part I"
September 14, 2007
2007 Frankfurt Motor Show: The Color this Fall Was Green
I spent two days crisscrossing the massive Frankfurt auto show, and the focus on reducing emissions and improving fuel economy and "green" solutions could not be missed. Very few manufacturers were not talking about fuel economy gains in their powertrain lineup and many announced hybrid plans or showed hybrid concepts. What we're seeing here is the culmination of years of research, rather than fiberglass what-if models. Many of these hybrids or other technology-based solutions will be on the roads later this decade.
Mercedes-Benz will, during the 2009CY, offer a hybrid powertrain in the S-Class and the M-Class, while a smart fortwo mild hybrid system goes on sale in October. Porsche gave updated the Cayenne's diesel for more power but also promises a parallel series hybrid using the existing 3.6L V6 by the end of 2010CY. General Motors took the system shown under the Chevrolet Volt in January, replaced the gasoline engine with a diesel one, and created the Opel Flextreme as well as showing off an Opel Corsa Hybrid. Volvo put a plug-in hybrid into the C30 to create the Recharge concept. Land Rover is adding stop-start systems in 2009CY, and Audi will bring a hybrid to the Q7.
Small cars are more prevalent on international roads and therefore more prevalent at auto shows outside the United States. Toyota brought us the iQ, Volkswagen the up!, and Ford the Verve. Renault's latest Twingo was on the show floor as well, though this was not its debut.
Notable exceptions to the small and green game were Ferrari and the 430 Scuderia (introduced by Michael Schumacher himself), the Aston Martin DBS (officially introduced at the 2007 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance), the Bentley Continental GTS Speed, the Lamborghini Reventon (of which only twenty will be made, with a price tag around $1.4 million), and Maserati.
Day two of Frankfurt's show holds most of the supplier press conferences, leaving us a chance to take photos and see some general reaction. Frankfurt's convention center has 10 halls, with at least seven of them holding the major manufacturers and others holding aftermarket and supplier stands. Walking the full show requires much time and comfortable shows and several hours. Interest was strong in the Mercedes-Benz F700 Concept (previewing the next S-Class), the Audi A4, Opel's Flextreme, Ford's Verve and Kuga, and Jaguar's XF. Peugeot and Citroen concepts, the 308RCZ and the Airscape, saw plenty of attention, as did Nissan's very odd-looking Mixim.
The Volkswagen Tiguan stand was flocked with people getting a chance to get in and crawl around the new model, with plenty also checking out the up! city car. Interestingly, every time I went through hall 6, home to Italian makes Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia, Ferrari, and Maserati as well as Porsche and Hyundai it was completely mobbed. On the other hand, Kia's Kee coupe concept and BMW's X6 concepts didn't seem to grab attendees as much.
While going green may be good for us, hybrid systems and new engine developments don't make for great pictures or put the enthusiasm into driving that a great-looking design can. Over the coming weeks, we'll bring you more detailed coverage of many of these. Stay tuned.
September 13, 2007
Volkswagen up!: What a New-Century Bug Might Look Like
Small City Car Concept Revives Rear-Engine Layout, Explores the Future of Interior Displays
At an event the evening before the official start of media days of this year's Frankfurt auto show, Volkswagen revealed their latest city car concept. Small outside and big inside, the up! takes a layout similar to the first Beetle, with a rear-mounted engine (though VW did not specify what engine might be packed in back there).
Cute and clever, VW may consider bringing the up! to the U.S. market in a few years. At less than 136 inches long, up! is about 30 inches longer than the smart fortwo, but about the same length shorter than the current New Beetle. Instead of a traditional center stack, up! offered a seven-inch touch screen that VW called "the way that future human-machine interface will look and operate." Not only a touch-screen-based system for controlling navigation, climate, audio, and phone, a proximity sensor reacts to hand gestures. Once the element you wanted to control shows up in the menu, a simple wave of the hand brings up the specific control screen. Glad they cleared that up for us! Instead of gauges, there is an eight-inch screen in front of the driver, displaying all the relevant information. This small concept offers seats for four, with all but the driver's seat removable and stowable. Described as similar to a self-inflating mattress, a valve allows air to be released and the seat adjusted for maximum comfort for any passenger.
Many of Volkswagen's concepts find their way into production eventually, and VW continues to explore solutions for a low-cost city car that is environmentally friendly, economical, affordable, and still profitable. Whether or not we see up! in the States, a four-door version is likely to find its way into production in a few years.
Sure does remind me of the Mitsubishi i... looks more substantial, but the concept is very similar.
September 11, 2007
Edsel Agonistes -Dan Neil in Time Magazine
L.A. Times Dan Neil's style comes through in a Time Magazine column on the late, not-much-lamented Edsel. One of the most researched cars up to that time, Edsel proved that mis-timing (launched into the 1958 recession as a premium priced car) the market and adopting flamboyance for flamboyance sake was misguided. A business school case study in how not to name a car, Neil gives a tongue-in-cheek assessment of this unfortunate automotive disaster. Long live the AZTEK!
"Edsel was a first name before it was ever a car name. But it was never a very popular thing to call a child: according to the Social Security Administration--which has time for this sort of thing--the name Edsel has ranked only as high as 400th on the top 1,000 names for boys, and that was in 1927. More popular names that year included the soaring Kermit, Buford and Elvin.
After Sept. 4, 1957--"E-day," the day 50 years ago when Ford Motor Co. unveiled its taco-faced disaster, the Edsel--the name dropped off the list altogether, never to return. A quick check of demographic records suggests that a convention of Americans first-named Edsel could be held in a hotel linen closet.
Of course, you never hear anyone say, "This is our son Hindenburg," either.
The Edsel was one of the cruelest tributes ever paid a man. Named after Henry Ford's son and the longtime company president--who died at age 49 in 1943--the Edsel was not just a car but a whole division within Ford, created to compete head-to-head with General Motors' Oldsmobile. It was a sales disaster. Two years later, future Ford president Robert McNamara persuaded the board to pull the plug on the Edsel. That's the same McNamara who became President Johnson's Secretary of Defense and refused to recommend withdrawing from Vietnam, even though he knew a lemon when he saw one.
The Edsel fiasco has been autopsied many times--it is the stuff of books and business-school case studies--and yet I can't help reaching for the rib spreader one more time. Here was an early and definitive illustration of message revenge, the kind of fierce consumer blowback that can occur in markets when a product or service (or military occupation) fails to live up to its hype. Consumers, it turns out, regard their passive absorption of mass advertising as an investment of psychic space; to the extent that they allow themselves to become aroused with anticipation, they consider their credulity as something like a down payment.
The Edsel had been frantically ballyhooed for months ahead of its arrival with a new kind of highly scientific marketing, an alchemical blend of psychology, mass media and old-fashioned hucksterism. Call it the iEdsel. By the time the silk was pulled off the Edsel in hundreds of showrooms around the country, people were panting to see their automotive deliverance, the plutonium-powered, pancake-making supercar they'd been promised. What they saw was a large, relatively expensive, curiously styled Mercury--curious insofar as the vertical grille looked like a midwife's view of labor and delivery.
And they were not happy.
The same hype that made the Edsel a breathless, everywhere-at-once cultural phenomenon turned it into a national punch line. It was such an easy target that even the widely unloved Richard Nixon could get off a zinger. The Vice President was riding in a convertible Edsel in Lima, Peru, in 1958 when his motorcade was pelted with eggs. "They were throwing eggs at the car, not me," Nixon later quipped.
Fifty years on, the name Edsel remains shorthand for hubris and collapse, a mal mot of capitalism, right up there with New Coke, Betamax and Pets.com Except that Edsel was a real person and a pretty good one at that. On this, the anniversary of his maligning, it feels like somebody ought to say so.
Edsel Ford was a cultured man, a collector and an arts benefactor, in a town and time where culture equaled "pie-eating contest." He supported expeditions to the polar ice caps. His philanthropic legacy lives on in the Ford Foundation.
The Ford family opposed calling the new car Edsel. This was only a few years after Edsel had died, and his son, Henry Ford II--also known as the Deuce--thought it was undignified to have his dad's name spinning around on hubcaps. Ford execs commissioned extensive semantic studies to find a name for the project, even going so far as to solicit suggestions from the poet Marianne Moore, who offered, among others, Mongoose Civique, Intelligent Whale and Utopian Turtletop. Clearly, naming a car wasn't as easy as it seemed.
In the end, Ford execs decided to trash all the highfalutin marketing research, overrule the family and honor their fallen president. Quel dommage.
"The name of a man is a numbing blow from which he never recovers," wrote Marshall McLuhan, and in Edsel Ford's case, never really means never. As soon as it became clear that the car wasn't selling, company researchers fanned out to discover why. One theory blamed the name itself, with its unpleasant homophonic associations with diesel and dead cell (as in batteries). It just wasn't a pretty word, though it seems to have served Mr. Ford well enough.
I propose we rehabilitate the name. Fifty years from now, Edsel--derived from the Old German Adal, meaning "noble"--should bring to mind not the failed car but the decent man whose legacy fell under the huge chrome wheels of consumer culture on its first reckless laps."
2008 Suzuki SX4 Sport: Value Conscious Style
This month, Suzuki offers new competition for Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Kia Spectra, Mazda3, Mitsubishi Lancer, and Chevrolet Cobalt and replaces the slow-selling Aerio. The SX4 Sport sedan is related to the SX4 Crossover launched last summer, and most distinct from the Crossover in that it carries a trunk and is not available with an all-wheel-drive system. The SX4 family is more competitive than the Aerio hatchback and sedan they replace and continue to offer lots of standard features at a reasonable price point.
On a hot and muggy August day in Traverse City, Michigan, we had our first drive and spent some time with Suzuki product planners and marketing executives. Suzuki developed the SX4 Sport to be a stylish compact with emotionally rewarding driving experience at an affordable price, but also wanted to bring something new to the market. In many ways, and within the context of the compact segment, they met these goals. The SX4 offers a quirky style and an affordable price, but we did not see where it brings something new or unique to the standard compact sedan formula.
Steady and Quiet, Rain or Shine
A strong downpour covered the morning and first of our drive, though the sun opened up and dried out the roads over the course of our three-hour drive. The small, narrow SX4 felt as planted during a strong downpour as on dry pavement an hour later. Though a deep puddle tried to swallow the little car, the SX4 would have none of that and pushed through with the determination of a larger vehicle. The SX4 Sport is nimble and offers a manual gearbox with direct action, little slop, and a light but predictable clutch. Though entertaining for a $15,000 ride, the SX4 doesn't offer as much pure fun as a Mazda3 nor does it feel quite as substantial as the new-for-2008 Mitsubishi Lancer (click for our drive review of the Lancer). It does, however, offer an interior environment surprisingly free of road or wind noise.
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