Return of European Classics
While looking for interesting news this image caught my attention. It is the new Ferrari Dino concept, a new design based off of the classic. I love the curviness of the fenders down to the headlamps, something that many of the sports cars of the late 60’s used to have but no longer. It is much more dramatized for modern appeal, with a very large rear end, but we can clearly see the old Dino roots. It was a unique design in its time, and certainly is still very unique today.
Seeing the Ferrari reminded me of something I glanced at a while back, something that made me very excited indeed. This one is the Lamborghini Miura concept, something they introduced a year ago to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the gorgeous classic. This car has always resided in a soft spot in my heart, ever since I first saw a picture of a 1969 model when I was 12 years old and just learning about super cars. It can be credited as the first super car for ever created, when a magazine that reviewed it first coined the term. With a V12 and the SV producing 385 hp, its main competitor was the Ferrari Daytona. I’ve never had the privilege to see one of these in person (not that there are many left) but hopefully they will bring it out at the LA Auto Show next year. This concept has less dramatic changes than the Dino, but has some notable differences, such as the little winglets in the front. The trademark headlamps with the “eyelashes” are covered and not exposed, and the tail end is lifted a little bit.
This is more of a selfish post, since I personally love classic cars, particularly those of late 60’s into early 70’s. Both the Miura and the Dino are some of my favorites, and maybe in a future post I will list all of them. Historic Auto Races at Laguna Seca will be happening very soon, and if I am lucky I will be able to attend it again. Last year was full of gorgeous cars, and I’m sure I wouldn’t be disappointed this year.
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Autocar has just released the latest spyshots of the upcoming Lexus super car, the LF-A, spotted at Nürburgring. It seems no drastic changes were made from the car they have been showing at the auto shows, and the final version is supposed to be unveiled at the Tokyo show in October. Autocar expects sales to start in late 2008, which will mean most likely the next gen Supra will be arriving at dealerships about a year later when the other compact sports cars also join the market.
It seems the first versions of the car will be powered by a 500hp V10 petrol engine, with a hybrid version that is still in development and will be sold later. Autocar thinks that this first version will be known as the GT500.
Along with the LF-A, the much and equally awaited Nissan GT-R will be unveiled in Tokyo, as well as the next gen NSX, which means competition for attention will be quite high. We can probably expect some good photo collections.
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We Gots Gadgets!
Soon after Porsche and Ferrari came out with their current toys, Hummer and Mazda joined in. I heard about Mazda most recently, a watch created by Sinn using design motifs in current Mazda cars such as the MX-5. This would be the third watch from Mazda and Sinn, with the two previous ones being tribute versions of existing Sinn watches to the MX-5 and RX-8, but this one is entirely unique in Sinn’s collection, designed with Mazda in mind alone. One interesting aspect is the rubber watch band with the tire tread featured in the Hakaze concept, which makes me wonder if that is any hint for plans (or at least hopes) for Hakaze production.
Hummer went to no subtle direction (not that the car itself symbolizes “subtle”) and created a cell phone that is very recognizably a Hummer branded toy. A slider phone from ModeLabs with a slim but wide profile, it comes in three colors that match your Hummer, with two camo printed battery covers, 10(!) wallpapers and 2 videos all to remind you just how great your Hummer is. Overall design reminds me vaguely of the RAZR, and it has a cute scroll-wheel button that looks like the Hummer hubcaps. Like the Porsche one, this is only going to be sold in Europe (for €300!), to promote just how hardcore Americans are.
I remember years ago as a teen finding a Corvette branded watch and thinking how fancy that was. It had an analog display with the Corvette emblem slapped onto it, a cheap leather strap, came in a plastic display box and had a price tag lower than $50. Maybe they had better items then too, just not at that store, but the market itself (not surprisingly) pushes for fancier and fancier toys. Of course with all the branding one must wonder about the quality. I’ve seen the Porsche Design lighters, and they are indeed sexy but not as well-functional as my Colibri torches. Oh well.
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As of typing out these words, there is exactly 1 day 4 hours 27 minutes left until the amazing race that is the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Meanwhile all sorts of preparation and testing and all that fun stuff has been under way, resulting in a very sexy pile of photos for all of us who like to pretend we are somewhat near there. Hence this will be a dip in self-indulgence and feature nothing but tease images, but I highly suggest for people to go to the Le Mans site itself and browse through their 199-page(!!) photo gallery.
For those who didn’t know, last year marked the 100th anniversary of Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the organization that gave birth to and still runs the 24 Heures du Mans. Last year’s winner was the Audi R10 TDI which marked the first diesel-engine victory at Le Mans. This year everyone will be watching it fight with the also diesel-powered Peugeot 908 HDi, FAPs.
I was delighted to see numerous sexy Aston Martins, which will be battling fiercely with the Corvettes this year in the GT1 category. Last year the Corvette took the win with 4th place overall, and the Aston Martin two places behind. If you look, you can see that some are labeled 006, 007 to 009, instead of the usual two-digit numbers.
The GT2 category is filled with Porsches and Ferraris which will have their own little funfest as usual, with a couple of Spykers and Panoz Esperantes as guests. Last year it was the Panoz Esperante that took the win, but it looks that the Ferrari 430 GTs are in favor this year. Oh and the plot thickens….
To add “spice” as the website itself calls it, a couple of Saleens will be entering in from the ORECA team. I find it interesting that the lonely Lamborghini Murcielago isn’t mentioned, and I tried to find a picture in their 199-page(!?) stash, but I only found one where it was chilling in the background, and one close-up that only showed less than half the car. Then I gave up looking at page 132. All I can say is that it is #53, with a team from Japan, and it is all black (mm sexy).
Other little trivia includes that there will be exactly 55 cars entering this year, with 9 new pits freshly built, a number that hasn’t been seen since 1989. The race will also officially begin (and will in future races until they decide to change it again) at 15:00 rather than 16:00 as it has been, although in the past races had begun earlier than the official time due to random circumstances. Now it is officially changed to 15:00, that way we all know when to run for the finish line. Are these really the top two reasons for attending the race as they claim? It makes me scratch my head.
Will Audi have real reason to celebrate the inauguration of their tower? Looking at their recent record, I would say chances are high. Oh but you never know! And now I will turn on my beloved Steve McQueen movie and pretend I am somewhat close.
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Honda UK adds Accord GT
Honda UK has announced that it will add a GT version of the Accord for September, something that will be able to compete with the Volkswagon Passat and Audi A4 as a sporty sedan. New features include a better powered engine and lowered suspension, a little tiny spoiler (is it even there?), smoked headlamps and foglights, alloy wheels and a few other little things. A ricer’s dream? Maybe that’s why it’s better off in UK.
Accord’s sales have been doing pretty well, so this will be a nice boost. What this says to me is that they don’t intend to ever bring the Prelude back, which was actually a great sports car in its day. Not everyone got it, but it is still a fun car to drive. The older ones are compact enough to slip through anywhere, it was light with efficient power to call itself a crotch rocket, and turns were quite simple. Very sad that it won’t be produced anymore, we will have to satisfy ourselves with the Accord.
And for those that missed the Automobile magazine’s article in print, the full article and detailed diagram of the current concept photo of the Honda SHS is now online. This is where the magazine spills its love for the hybrid sports car concept, even at its current cartoon-like stage. One thing keeps bugging me, and that is that they stress that it seems to be a single-seater design, even though the photos show shadows of two seats. I’m sure more details will be revealed in time.
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Styling Update
So I lied. The photos for the Ford Fiesta Tattoo Edition are out, and now that I have seen them, no I don’t believe they were designed by actual tattoo artists. The flame-y smoke-y shape with skulls in them was a nice attempt but is too reminiscent of cliche motorcycle paintjobs. Oh well. They tried. It will most definitely turn heads, which is what they were aiming for, I can give them a guarantee that it will turn my head.
TopSpeed made their own announcement that the FT-HS will be the 2009 Supra, even if it never ends up being called the Supra. And it will be a hybrid, similar if not the same to what they already put in the Lexus. But apparently spyshots are arriving from Nürburgring of a Lexus hybrid sports car, possibly the LF-A we’ve all been staring at in the magazines, which makes us all wonder but they could very well be two different projects. It seems by now most sources agree that FT-HS is going into production, it is now a matter of agreeing on what year it will be released.
Meanwhile according to CNNMoney, Toyota surpassed GM in global motor sales for 2006, making them essentially top of the world. We may have moaned the departure of sports cars some years ago, but the corporation must be doing something right.
In other news, the guy behind the super car McLaren F1, Gordon Murray, is working on building a more mass-friendly car, apparently something he always wanted to do. Although highly doubtful that it will turn out as nearly sexy as McLaren F1 ever has (not that it really can), it would be interesting to see what kind of “family car” he comes up with. More details about his own design studio are to be released on July 4th.
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New Styling for the Win
In random news, Ford has announced that special limited edition Fiestas will be released in South Africa, featuring big decals on the hood that look like tattoo designs. Appealing to the “rebellious side” of Ford’s consumers, these special packages are available at an extra cost which covers decal application fees. South African automobile trends are one thing I actually have no knowledge of, but it would be interesting to know the actual cost difference if you were to slap a decal on the car yourself (since it doesn’t look like they’re changing anything else). Ford is offering six different decal designs from skulls to butterflies, playing up to the gender-crossing appeal that tattoos have gained over the years. So far I’ve only seen one photo, once they release more we will see if they were designed by actual tattoo artists.
Just a couple of days before the Ford announcement, Porsche announced that it has officially added cell phones to its Porsche Design product line. Featuring an all-aluminum body and a fingerprint reader, this flip-phone will probably demand some good pocket change, with close to zero chances of being seen in the US. Porsche Design features high-class products from lighters to power drills made of carbon fiber, all of which are designed with sleek minimalist appeal; this cell phone meets all expectations. To compete with the cell phone, Ferrari teamed up with Acer and churned out a not-so-sleek looking PDA. Ah well, they tried. I still wouldn’t mind owning a Tumi/Ducati mini bag.
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Future Competitor: Nissan Urge
Despite conflicting rumors regarding next Supra production, it would be an unwise move for Toyota to not put out a sports car in the market in the next couple of years. With every other Japanese company pushing a new generation of sports cars, Toyota would pretty much be forced to have their own, even if they don’t want to. The Solara might have won a segment in the 2006 JD Power’s Initial Quality Study for “Midsize Sporty Car”, but I’ve never heard anyone say out loud “you know, that Mustang [second runner up] is nice and all, but a Solara is a real sportscar!” Initial D might have made the Corolla S famous, but that was back in 1995 and unfortunately when you put the current model next to a Lancer it is just sad to watch.
Nissan is staying ahead of market trends by not producing one but three new sports car models. We have all been waiting (forever, it seems) for the Skyline GT-R, which should be arriving in the dealerships (not) soon enough. The next generation 350Z is said to be redesigned with whole new styling, yet more or less keeping the current shape, to be more compact and without chunky doorhandles, and a few minor changes to the engine. The GT-R is supposed to hit UK markets next year, but no hints about when the next Z will be in production.
The third car is an entirely new vehicle, the Urge concept that was debuted at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show. The front looks vaguely similar to the current 350Z, with similar headlamp shape. The rear is a very new type of styling, something that reminds me strongly of the Hyundai Hellion concept I saw at the 2006 LA Auto Show. The sides have a huge scoop that doesn’t look like it will let much air through but it gives a nice view of the driver’s and passenger’s feet (in other words, wear pretty shoes and matching socks).
This is a car that is specifically meant for the 18-25 age group, with a styling that can’t quite be called sophisticated, a ride that is supposed to mimic the feeling of motorcycles, and most importantly, an integrated Xbox 360 with a very special version of Project Gotham Racing 3. It has wireless remotes for the passengers, and the driver’s steering wheel and pedals are also integrated for gameplay, essentially turning the car into a super version of racing simulation. To avoid disasters, the Xbox can only be activated when the vehicle is in park. That only makes me wonder how long the car battery will last, especially because I know all too well just how many consecutive hours can be put behind video games.
With such gadgets integrated into the car, along with the navigation system, five customizable driver screens (where will they put them all? I only see three in the AutoBlog photo), cell phone and mp3 docking where cell phone acts as “intelligent key”, and who knows what else, I fear what the price tag will end up to be. If it is truly geared towards the 18-25 crowd, it will need to be cheaper than the 350Z, which could very well mean that the engine power will be sacrificed. And surprise surprise, it has 19-inch wheels in the front and 20-inch wheels in the rear. Maybe with a flood of cars featuring these wheels the price of tires will go down, or so I hope.
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Toyota Drops in Quality Ranks
All the news is raging about the freshly released JD Power & Associates 2007 Initial Quality Study, which came right along with Strategic Vision Inc.’s 2007 Total Quality Awards. The rage itself is about the fact that Ford seems to have leaped to the top in ranks, whereas Toyota has sunk quite low.
The simple facts are: Ford won 3 segments in the Strategic Vision’s Awards whereas Toyota won none. Ford Motor Company with all its subsidiaries, Lincoln, Mercury, and Mazda, won 5 segments in JD Power’s Study, with Toyota and its sibling Lexus winning 4 segments. Lexus, by the way, also won a segment in the Strategic Vision’s Awards but none of Ford’s little children is on that list.
Did Ford truly dominate these awards? Only one actual Ford car won JD Power’s list, and why Mazda keeps getting mentioned as a Ford subsidiary (Ford only owns a third of Mazda) is something I cannot figure out. All corporate hierarchy aside, Mazdas are simply very different cars, with very different features, so to group the two together is just absurd. But it will support the “holy cow! Ford wins!” argument that everyone else seems to be supporting. That said, the same goes for Toyota and Lexus, Lexus being a car of its own with a distinctly different brand image. As far as raw data goes, Toyota won three of JD Power’s segments whereas Ford won only one.
Perhaps the reason for this exaggerated difference comes not from this year’s report but last year’s. The 2006 JD Power’s Initial Quality Study was seen as Toyota’s domination, with Toyota winning 5 segments and Lexus winning 6. To Ford’s credit, one Ford car and two Lincolns did make runner-up, but sadly no wins. Not as glaringly different in the other, the 2006 Total Quality Awards, where Toyota won 2 segments and Lexus also won 2, with Ford winning 1.
Then it is interesting to go one year further back. In the 2005 Initial Quality Study, Toyota won 4 segments and Lexus won 5, and even Scion won a segment for the team. Ford had won 2 segments. On the other hand, in the 2005 Total Quality Awards, Toyota won only 1 segment, Lexus won 3, (a different) Scion won 1, and Ford had won 3. Did Ford really improve greatly? Not according to Strategic Vision. If anything, the data shows that Lexus dropped in many points.
Other random points of interest: while Mazda has won a spot or two, they are second worst on JD Power’s Nameplate Ranking, which shows problems per 100 vehicles. With the industry average this year being 125, Mazda is listed as having 163. Porsche is way at the top with only 91 problems, which is a huge jump from 2005 when they were the fifth worst with 147 problems per 100 vehicles. Mazda was unfortunately also second worst in 2005 with 149 problems, which is still much less than this year, and although they weren’t quite so low compared to others in 2006, they still had 150 problems. Toyota remains above average with 112 problems for 2007, which is more than the previous year, when they only had 106.
AutoBlog also noticed that Hyundai jumped quite high in the rankings, winning 3 segments in the Total Quality Awards this year. At least a couple of big-name magazines this month claimed that the new Hyundai SUV is better than the comparable Lexus one, making the news a part of front cover headlines. The other major Korean brand Kia also won segments in both lists.
How reliable these rankings actually are, is definitely up for much debate, but they will make a tremendous impact on the market. What with many new models coming for next year, it would be interesting to see any changes in consumer opinion.
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I am a few days late, but a few sources have restated conflicting rumors regarding the production of FT-HS, what is hyped as the next gen Supra. Top Speed reported that Toyota will offer two versions of the package, to be either hybrid as showcased or as an all-gas V6, which would be a more affordable option. However, just a day earlier Edmunds had shot down the rumors completely, stating that no sports-coupe-car whatsoever is in plans for actual production. This sounds all too familiar, and it really wasn’t that long ago when this rumor seesaw-ing action last happened, although it was quite a while ago when it began. This news just keeps the skeptics shaking their heads, although the sound advice from one commenter seems to be save your pocket change now so that when they finally do release such a car you will be ready for the outrageous price tag.
Meanwhile in current trends, cars packaged as boxes seem to be quite the thing to have. It seems just yesterday when Scion xB was released, but they now have a second generation one, and the new xD is… maybe not quite a box but closer to a box than lets say the Matrix. In Japan, Mitsubishi Delica D:5 is offered in a great new ROADEST package.
But the real cuteness comes in the little ones, such as the Nissan Cube which has been in Japan for a couple of years and is said to be moved into US markets pretty soon. These are seriously the ipods of cars, they are tiny and they come in bright cheery colors. To compete, Mazda has introduced their Spiano, which they predict to sell 300 units a month(!). They are targeted at women, also feature bright colors (although not pink, sorry, but there is a flourescent green/yellow one), and little 13-inch wheels.
With these boxes becoming large life-size icons, it seems the market is responding well to the fun silly appeal of these looks, which is a very heartwarming feeling. It will probably take a few years for US to get over its hyper-masculinity phase, but it will happen.
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