|
| BBC presenter Fiona Bruce was among guests at the GQbyCitroen launch evening |
|
Don’t the good people at Citroen ever sleep? Less than 48 hours after the hectic Geneva Motor Show press day, they unveil another new car in Central London. Called the GQbyCitroen, it’s the “fantasy motor” of men’s magazine GQ, realised by Citroen.
Following the DS High Rider and surprise reveal at Geneva of the Survolt, my weary brain was half expecting a tarted up DS3 with GQ decals. In actual fact it’s a unique GT with a Mark Lloyd design and Savile Row interior.
Hosted by GQ, the launch party had a faintly eclectic guestlist. The deadpan comic Alexei Sayle, rock star supreme Nick Mason, the gorgeous Fiona Bruce… Midway through explaining to my missus why the GQbyCitroen’s wing mirrors were too small for a production car, she noticed David Ginola nearby. The charming French football legend quickly reduced her to a swooning mess. I’ll, er, finish explaining pedestrian-friendly crumple zones… later…
The point of the GQbyCitroen? As a company rep put it, the problem is thus: in France, around one in every six cars sold is a Citroen. In the UK, it’s closer to one in 20. The plan is to become an ‘aspirational’ brand, hence the tie-in with a stylish magazine. They want cars that will make people swoon, to fall in love with Citroen.
I already love where Citroen is going. Just so long as they don’t reveal any more new cars before Monday. Some of us need to get some sleep.
|
|
| You have to admit, the Hummer is different... |
|
So it’s goodbye to Hummer then. The proposed purchase by a Chinese conglomerate fell through, meaning GM will now shutter the brand.
Unusually, feelings expressed via the internet automotive blogosphere seem fairly universal on this: good riddance. Some forums, where typically almost nothing is agreed on, have that collective feeling of a public tragedy: where were you when the beast finally died?
Well, I for one will miss Hummer.
The gas-guzzler with military pretensions had ‘conspicuous consumption’ hard-wired into it from the drawing board. As such, it was the environmentalist’s ideal whipping boy. What’s more, ask the man in the street for his thoughts on a car, and chances are few would match the 90s-era Hummer for a typical opinion; “for people with more money than sense”; “something ‘bling’ that rappers drive”; “a car for gun-toters who love Arnie films”; and “a symbol of U.S. excess”.
Much of which felt like thinly veiled Anti-Americanism. Hate the Hummer if you must, but the automotive landscape is more drab for its passing.
|
The jewel in the Toyota crown is the Prius – leader in hybrid terms and virtually a brand in its own right. The Prius is also complicated, and expensive to build (in Japan). In sales terms, a niche model.
According to The SMMT’s latest batch of vehicle registration figures, Toyota’s UK market share is holding steady – a little over 5% (y-t-d). In December 2009 the company sold only a third as many cars as Ford, and fewer than half as many that drove off Vauxhall and Volkswagen forecourts.
The world’s largest car maker seems to have an image problem.
What Toyota needs to do is sell more ‘bread and butter’ cars, but how to lure the buyers? The ‘halo’ effect seems to work for Honda with the Civic Type R, but Toyota’s SR models appear ‘warm’ at best. And there are gaping holes in the line-up where the MR2, Celica and Supra once stood.
Come on Toyota, perhaps it’s time to cash in on the UK’s love affair with ‘sporty’ cars.
|
The ability of car companies to dream up a good publicity stunt never ceases to amazes me.
More memorable ones over the last few years included a Fiat 500 loaded onto the London Eye, a Chevrolet Captiva turned into a giant scratch card, and even a competition that challenged contestants to lick their way through a chocolate covered Jeep. The Jeep was the prize (along with indigestion.)
Hats off to MINI though for its latest idea, which placed faux-Cooper boxes around the streets of Amsterdam, complete with discarded ribbons and Christmas wrapping paper. The mysterious car sized boxes caught the attention of the public and quickly spread across news and social media websites. Total cost to MINI? Probably about £50.
The marketing department may live in the shadow of design and engineering, but without sales, there is no company. Whether a fan of the cars or not, you have to admit the MINI marketing machine is doing it right.
|
|
| Hollywood pretensions for the down-to-earth Astra |
|
The sixth generation Vauxhall Astra is dealership-bound from today. I attended a premiere event at GM’s Millbrook Proving Ground last weekend to see the car for myself.
It was a chance for attendees – mainly interested members of the public - to take various Astra models for a spin. Vauxhall is emphasising improvements in quality and the cabin certainly feels a step up over the old car.
Yet despite Vauxhall’s best efforts to allude to movie glamour and motorsport, most people I spoke to seemed more convinced by the Astra’s solid engineering and build quality. As one of the nation’s workhorses, perhaps that’s as it should be.
|
The arrival of a revised car (eg new BMW 5 Series) always divides opinion around here. The arrival of a new car (eg Ferrari 458 Italia) even more so.
So you can imagine what it’s like when a new car from a revived nameplate pops up – in this case the MG6. Not only is the car all-new, but the brand itself is back from the dead. It looks good, and could be built here, so great news for British workers. But is it a ‘real’ MG? What is ‘real’, anyway?
Confused. Over to you…
|
|
| Vampire Volvo, Bond BMW and Smith Shelby |
|
#3: Volvo XC60 in ‘Twilight Saga: New Moon’
I’m outside of the target demographic for the much-hyped movie so perhaps it’s just me, but shouldn’t a young vampire be driving around in a sinister blacked out Studebaker or something? Not so - “Volvo is central to Edward’s character in the Twilight saga,” proclaimed the press release. Volvo’s crossover SUV is a fine car for sure, but all those active safety systems seem a bit unnecessary if you’re already dead?
#2: BMW Z3 in ‘Goldeneye’
James Bond films perfected the art of product placement, arguably part of their charm, but the BMW Z3’s first public airing was too blatant to leave out. The car appears on-screen as a backdrop to conversation just long enough for everyone to want one. There are neither chases nor gadgets; Joe Don Baker’s character then reverses the car off the screen and into a showroom near you.
#1: Ford Mustang GT500 in ‘I Am Legend’
New York, post-apocalypse: Will Smith is all alone and spends his days knocking golf balls into the Hudson. Under the circumstances, any performance car you fancy makes perfect sense, considering that every road in the city is deserted, bar the odd rotting corpse. What’s daft however is that despite the weeds and decay, Will’s gleaming red Shelby ‘Stang remains of concours standard throughout. Come the end of the world there may be no electricity, no agriculture, and no more civilisation… but at least cars will valet themselves.
|
|
| Lexus has confirmed plans to build the LFA supercar |
|
Maybe it’s me, but don’t this year’s key exhibits at the Tokyo Motor Show just look so… clinical? Everything is either white, grey or silver, bendy, and fabricated using surplus pop art from Andy Warhol’s back garden. The show floor must feel about as warm as the space station in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey.’
It’s deliberate of course, the message is: technology and energy efficiency. Nissan Leaf (EV), Honda EV-N (EV), Nissan Land Glider (EV), Subaru Hybrid Tourer (hybrid), Mitsubishi iMiEV Cargo (EV.) You get the picture.
But with the Toyota FT-86, Honda CR-Z and Lexus LFA, Tokyo 2009 might also demonstrate that Japan is warming to desirable sports cars again. Reason enough to celebrate.
|
If you’ve been in an original Mini or Beetle, you’ll know they share nothing with their modern namesakes.
Can’t say I’ve ever ridden in a Trabant, although they were everywhere when we visited the former DDR on a family holiday in the early ‘90s. News that a company is keen to revive this car initially left me scratching my head – after all, the minute the wall came down, ‘Easterners’ couldn’t wait to get their hands on ‘Western’ cars. Pity those poor souls who had just reached the top of the Trabant’s ten-year waiting list.
Should a Trabant rise from the grave, its appeal must surely be proximate. After all, despite the times millions of people will have some happy memories: their summer holiday in a Trabi; driving the pregnant wife to the hospital in the Trabi; weekends spent polishing the, erm, cardboard bodywork of the Trabi. And so on.
After all, who doesn’t look back at old pics and remember the life of a car fondly? Even if the car itself is perhaps best forgotten.
|
|
| From top - Riversimple fuel cell car; Gail Porter crashes the eco-driving simulator; electric MyCar |
|
Yesterday, London Borough of Camden Council staged a ‘Green Motor Expo,’ in a city square frequented by lunching workers. A follow-up to the Eco Rally held back in the summer, former model and Camden resident Gail Porter was the celebrity urging the public to ‘go green’, having ditched her own 4×4 recently.
Of particular note however was news that Camden has awarded major contracts to several partner companies now adopting electric and biofuel fleets. And why not - looking beyond private ownership, doesn’t ‘going green’ actually make a lot more sense to business users? Many leased local delivery vehicles could easily be electric, depots can accommodate recharging stations… the decision to buy into a limited range EV is a lot simpler for fleet managers with big budgets than for you or I, agonising over £20k of our hard-earned dosh.
Forget the family cars, let’s have more eco-business please.
|
|
|
