Behind The Rhetoric, Not Much To Change The World In Detroit
An auto show worth its salt should not only show the public the latest, exciting new cars, it should also point the punters towards the future.
The Detroit show this year has been abuzz with ideas about how to lessen dependence on gasoline. General Motors and to a lesser extent Ford and Chrysler have been trumpeting their ideas to raise fuel economy. They’ve shown petrol-electric hybrids, plug-in hybrids, ideas about electric-only battery powered cars and experimental fuel cells. GM has bet the ranch on ethanol.
The trouble is looking around the show, nothing seems to have changed much. Humungous trucks and SUVs are everywhere. Big gas-guzzling sedans are the norm.
The U.S. government and Congress have decided that by 2020, the average vehicle fuel economy must be 35 mpg, that’s roughly 40 per cent better than U.S. manufacturers’ currently manage. No amount of high technology is going to achieve this. Only downsizing will.
Americans are often surprised when they take a trip to Europe about how small the cars are. There’s a good reason for this. Fuel prices in Europe are still more than twice as high as those in America. The average fuel economy in Europe is now 35 mpg, precisely the amount that the U.S. must achieve in 12 years.
Get used to small
To achieve this Americans are going to have to embrace small. GM’s Chevrolet division has shown that small can be beautiful. On the approach to the GM stand is a scary sight for Americans. This is how your cars will look by 2020. Get used to it.
There are three little Chevy concepts, cute and small. This is the future and it’s tiny. The Beat has a 1.2 litre turbo charged gasoline engine, the Groove a 1.0 litre diesel, and the Trax is powered by a 1.0 litre gasoline engine.
Most of GM’s new cars are an example of why the American industry is on its beam-ends. If you thought Seat was a value-free brand, consider GMC. The GMC stand is full of dull pickup trucks, then there are the pointless Pontiacs, and horrible Hummers. The Saturn section seems to have a bit more utility, and the designs are modern and attractive. Even if you look through a bunch of sand filled you occasionally find a pearl. GM’s Cadillac division shows the CTS beautiful and impressive. I’ll gloss over the fact that there is no diesel. The CTS coupe concept is breathtakingly attractive. Towards the back of the GM stand, the Buick Rivera concept catches the eye.
Land Rover LRX
Britain’s Land Rover launched the LRX concept, a smaller version of its LR2, which would be lighter and more fuel-efficient than traditional Land Rovers, with the promise of hybrid power. Ford is in the process of selling Land Rover and its compatriot Jaguar, which is showing its new XF sedan, on sale in the U.S. this year. The exciting lines of the LRX reminds me not get too carried away, because last year the Jaguar XF concept wowed the crowds with its fabulous looks on the neighbouring stand. Unfortunately, Jaguar had already finalised the eventual staid final design, even while it was exciting the Detroit crowds with the “concept”.
Ford has a huge area of the Cobo arena, mostly filled with acres of anonymous Mercurys and Lincolns, fulfilling the same role as the also-ran GM brands. The star exhibit though is the Ford F-150 truck, a must-succeed project for the company. We see few trucks like this in Europe, and it’s hard to imagine how they can survive the world of 35-mpg vehicles.
Retro-Korean
Mercedes said that it wanted its GLK to stand out from the crowd, and it has succeeded. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the angular, boxy GLK seems astonishingly ugly; kind of retro-Korean. The GLK is a compact crossover SUV competing with the BMW X3, Volkswagen Tiguan, and upcoming Audi Q5.
Chinese manufacturers were surprisingly tentative with their new cars, possibly realising that their designs, although often attractive and with decent engines, were destined to fail safety tests. China’s sales drive in Europe has stalled for the same reason. One car which might disturb the big global manufacturers though is BYD’s F6 DM (dual mode), a hybrid which can travel 60 miles on its battery alone at highway speeds of between 60 and 80 mph. BYD plans to bring the car to America in 3 to 5 years, if it can prove the technology.
Competition won’t be frightened
Another vehicle about to enter the U.S. market and unlikely to frighten the competition is the little Mercedes Smart two-seater city car. Certainly, the Smart scores heavily in the race to be small, but maybe goes too far for Americans. Smart expects to sell about 20,000 cars in 2008, as early adopters rush to buy and be seen in this weird little car. From the driver’s seat, the Smart seems almost normal, and drives well, but look over your shoulder and you are quickly reminded that there is not much car to protect you.
The need to appear green has even reached Italian supercar maker Ferrari, which unveiled an ethanol powered version of its Ferrari F430 Spider Biofuel, as part of its drive to cut CO2 emission levels by 40 per cent by 2012.
Still looks ugly
BMW is launching its X6, a so-called sports activity coupe based on the X5 SUV, at the end of May. The 4.4 litre V8 engine produces 407 bhp. A hybrid version will be available later. The steeply sloping rear roof gives it a sportier look than the X5, but cuts back on headroom. When it was launched last fall in Frankfurt, the looks divided audiences. After a few months to get used to the looks, it still looks ugly. There’s no doubt that the X6 will sell. Even the awful looking X3 is being snapped up by buyers with more money than sense.
Chrysler’s EcoVoyager concept stands out as the weirdest looking concept at the show, with a wish list of capabilities. It’s powered by an electric motor giving generating 268 bhp with a range of 40 miles on one charge. A small hydrogen fuel cell backs up the electric motor to extend the range to 300 miles.
Maybach Landaulet
You’ve probably seen those old movies set in Britain in the years before the First World War, when the landed gentry were driven around sheltered and warm in the back of massive Rolls Royces, while the poor exploited chauffeur was left exposed to the elements. Well Germany’s Maybach has reversed all that with its Landaulet design study. This has a canvass roof, which folds back exposing the fat cats in the rear to the elements, but leaving the driver snug in front.
There are some compensations though for the rear passengers. The car on show here in Detroit had a champagne bottle and goblets. The rear section had supple white leather seating and a full entertainment system with a DVD player 6-disc CD changer, and dual television screens.
And perhaps this wouldn’t seem so chauffeur-friendly if the setting was Monte Carlo, not Detroit. The Landaulet has a V-12 604 bhp turbo charged petrol engine. Maybach is owned by Daimler.
Neil Winton – January 16, 2008
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