Home
A Global Picture On What the Big Boys Reckon
There has to be a number of things on the mind of a car manufacturing high flying exec. But one of the forefront thoughts a top “car buff” would have to be pondering over is what effects the booming Indian and Chinese economies will have on their car industry closer to home. Leading motor industry managers and experts have recently spent time together at Barcelona’s IESE discussing and mulling over this big topic. But also a talking point was the consideration of the future of the car. Surely electric cars are the way of the future.
A prime speaking candidate from the European motor industry, Bernd Gottschalk, worked over the Indian and Chinese growth on traditional car-making nations. On the one hand, strong demand from India, China and other emerging nations has been regarded as relief for established manufacturers at a time when orders from Europe and North America have very much become non-existent. What these manufacturers must be dreading is that these nations will be emerging as strong future competitors as well. Dr Gottschalk did, however, emphasise that Europe still holds formidable strengths in strong branding and a capacity for innovation. For the time being, these two strengths would be hard to match. (But I’m not so sure. Just look at the latest Kia, Hyundai and Great Wall vehicles!)
Another fellow, this time from Germany – and the former head of the VDA, Ivan Hodac – showed his heart-felt emotions when he shared on how he saw the European industry having an increasingly disadvantaged position through “unbalanced” trade agreements between the EU and emerging countries. He also described the recent blending with South Korea, in particular, as disastrous. I wonder why!
India was represented by Abhijit Gajendragadkar, Vice President of TATA Motors. TATA now owns Jaguar and Land Rover in the UK, and this man spoke on his company’s success in addressing specific Indian market demands with vehicles such as the inexpensive Nano car and the ACE. These vehicles are simple small delivery vehicles – useful for the Indian domestic transportation logistics system.
From China, Henry Li, General Manager of the export trade division of BYD, noted China as a fast-growing manufacturer of electric vehicles. Mr Li said that BYD produced just 20,000 cars in 2005, but made 448,000 in 2009! Scary extras included his perception of this rate of growth completely eclipsing any experience felt by European manufacturers. In fact, he noted that the level of volume of output would very soon overtake established brands from Skoda, Seat or Volvo. Mr Li said that the Chinese market would top 17 million cars for the year, 2010. Industry estimates of 24 million sales by 2015 might well be a little on the conservative side.
A huge bonus for Spain saw them producing 2.2 million cars last year, despite the global economic recession. Spain was second only to Germany among the car-making nations of Europe. Spain’s fortunes came about when post-Franco Spain became more closely integrated with the rest of the European economy. The big manufacturers such as Ford and GM looked for low-cost manufacturing locations, and decided to establish plants in Spain.
Electric vehicles were also a topic of big interest at the gathering. Nissan is the manufacturer of the Leaf, the first Electric Vehicle to emerge from a full-scale development effort by one of the major car manufacturers. Nissan is designing these with big production volumes in mind. And I don’t blame them, as I think the manufacturers who are in first will benefit first.
As far as marketing went, researchers have found that customers will often research their car choices in detail via the Internet. This was an interesting addition to the meeting’s discussion points, and it was greeted with full acceptance – being a topic which was a little lighter to handle.
The New Jaguar XK with a torchlight!
It’s not often we get to sample ultra high performance, ultra expensive cars – but last week we did, courtesy of a Lucky Door Prize.
Our prize was “Your choice of any new Jaguar for a weekend with a full tank of petrol” supplied by Alto Jaguar in Sydney.
So we chose the all new Jaguar XJ luxury saloon, and they gave us just that, but with an added bonus – equipped with the supercharged 346 kw 5 litre engine! That means it can accelerate from 0-100kph in around 5 seconds, making it the fastest standard four door large luxury saloon you can buy, and it’s mighty quick!
Prices for the XJ start with a 3 litre diesel at around $230,000, but ‘ours’ was well in to the $300k’s territory, so it had to be jam-packed with goodies, and it was.
We should all be familiar now with sat/nav systems, but how about a screen where the driver can read his route instructions, whilst the passenger can watch a movie from exactly the same screen? Or a ‘virtual dash’, resplendent in personal colour-coded computer simulated instruments that can be personally tailored to your preferences?…….or the ‘torchlight effect’ speed and rev dials? These need a bit of explaining.
When the torchlight effect is turned on the major instruments change light intensity to highlight the parts of the screen that the needle pointer is aiming at, which makes it much easier to read current speed and rev levels. Sounds simple, but it’s a much better option than a digital read out that some cars have.
Another big plus is the ‘blind spot monitor’, a real safety boost. How often have you changed lanes only to be greeted with a loud hooting from a disgruntled driver in your ‘blind spot’? No longer….this Jag has a small symbol on both external rear vision mirrors that illuminate when it senses a car in the blind spot – very clever and very valuable. Hopefully it won’t be too long before this excellent safety aid filters its way down to more affordable cars.
Any dislikes? That’s a very rude question when dealing with such a magnificent car as this. However there are a couple of things…the dynamic fast back shape looks terrific, but it does restrict the rear vision from the internal mirror ( but then it’s got a rear vision camera and those terrific wing mirrors). It’s also a daunting prospect to park, not because it’s at all unwieldy, but because it attracts so much attention, both from admirers and from the envious, so, sadly, you need to park it in a safe place..
So, to sum up , an absolutely brilliant car in every way, a very high speed luxury saloon that has NO equals – or none that we’ve driven, anyway. Thank you Alto!
It's all go in Detroit
Things looked to be pretty much the “same-same” at the Detroit Motorshow, which kicked off early January 2011. That is until you get a little closer to the action.
Interestingly, in the Toyota corner the wraps have come off the new Toyota Prius C. This is a timely show for the Prius C, as fuel prices continue to soar around the globe.
Hyundai has got another big tick in the box with its great looking new Hyundai Curb Crossover vehicle. This promises to be a great off-road/on-road vehicle that has the stunning good looks to match the vehicle’s mechanical capabilities.
Hybrid technology gets a big nudge this year. And with the likes of Audi and BMW getting in on the act, hybrid technology is set to flourish. Audi’s A6 is going hybrid, and with the money in the bank, you can bet your bottom dollar Audi/Volkswagen will get this very right, indeed.
On the topic of Audi, the new Audi RS3 is due for release shortly. I don’t know when it will hit Australian shores, but I do know it’s as quick as an Audi R8! The 0-100 km/h can be nullified in just 4.6 seconds.
Hot on the heels of the RS3 will be BMW’s 1 Series M-car. With a limited top speed of 250 km/h and a 0-100 km/h sprint time of just 4.9 seconds. This promises to be a little beauty.
The best facelift in the show has happened on the new Chrysler 300C. Sweet looking tear-shaped headlights and a smoother and curvier body make it look sexier and more sophisticated than before. The car’s taillights have also been tweaked, and there’s a new chrome strip which runs beneath the boot lid. Improved trim for the interior makes this quite a stunning car.
You may have heard of the super frugal Nissan LEAF. If not, then do have a nosey into this wee gem. But note here, that Ford is not going to let Nissan steal all the limelight. Ford’s new 120 mpg Focus will also rise a few eyebrows, too!
Volvo shows off its crashed C30 electric car. The C30 was crashed into an offset barrier at 64 km/h. The result revealed just how well Volvo are continuing to push forward in safety advancements, with all the car’s essentials staying very uniform and very well intact.
Over the next week or so, you might want to keep your eye out for any new directions that we’ll see the world’s main car manufacturers taking.
The Detroit show ends January 23rd.
New Year Motoring Resolutions
OK, it’s that time of year when we hang up our new calendars and decide to turn over a new leaf at the same time as we start a squeaky-clean new diary. We make New Year resolutions. But as well as the usual ones we generally vow to do (e.g. lose weight, give up smoking…), don’t forget that our motoring habits usually need improving as much as our habits in the rest of life. Here’s some suggestions for New Year resolutions for drivers:
- I will rotate my tyres every 12,000 km, as recommended by most tyre manufacturers instead of just shoving the spare tyre on when I get a flattie – and then cursing my stupidity when I realise that the spare tyre is bald because I did a hasty switch so my car could pass its safety inspection/compliance tests. A simple rule of thumb is to switch each tyre with its diagonal opposite (e.g. front left with back right), but you need to get more complicated when a proper spare tyre (rather than a space-saver tyre as found on some makes and models) is involved. Here’s one possible method:
- Old front left becomes the spare
- Old spare becomes rear left
- Old rear left becomes front right
- Old front right becomes rear right
- Old rear right becomes front left.
Your maintenance manual should have more details on how to do this.
- I will drive more frugally. Even if you have purchased one of the latest high-economy models, there’s still a few things that we can all do to save petrol when we drive. Techniques that help with fuel economy include:
- driving smoothly around corners and through stops and starts (rather than braking and cornering hard, or accelerating hard from a standstill),
- using the terrain to help when driving downhill,
- not over-using the air-con,
- servicing your car regularly, and
- keeping to the speed limit.
- I will clean out the mess inside my car. We all do it – we just leave a few odd papers or bits of clothing in the boot or the back seat. Before you know it, you just about need a spade to clear space for an extra passenger, and you can just about make up a complete wardrobe from the clothes stuffed in the boot. And what on earth is that stuffed into the storage compartment? Don’t tell me that was once a banana… After hauling out the junk, returning the CDs to their proper cases and pocketing the spare change and pens that rolled under the seat, give the mats a good shake and vacuum the carpets. Also install a plastic bag as a car tidy for those bits of rubbish that don’t fit into the usual tiny rubbish compartments. If the car still smells peculiar, try sprinkling baking soda onto the carpets and leaving it for half a day before vacuuming – baking soda absorbs pongs.
- I will double-check that my routine maintenance is up-to-date. Routine servicing is much, much cheaper than repairing the damage that can happen if you don’t do it. Oil changing is something we all do, but don’t forget air filters, antifreeze, brake fluid, cam belts, wiper blades and other lubricants. Mark them in your diary and do them.
Happy motoring for 2011!
Level 2, 9 Help Street