WintonsWorld Dedicated to the truth about cars, and if I’ve got the time, some home truths about politics too. I worked for Reuters for 33 years, where my last job was European Auto Correspondent. I was also Reuters' global Science and Technology Correspondent. I judge cars on their honesty, practicality, quality and value for money.
BMW 3 Takes Geneva Show By Storm But Even The Best Can’t Rest As Little Lexus Adds Diesel, Style Too Many Irresponsible Gas-Guzzling, Over-The-Top-Mobiles
VW Already Bored With Its New Passat
There must be a word for it, but I can’t put my finger on it. Yes, it’s ironic that the annual Geneva Car Show is held in a town being slowly strangled by car use. But it is more than that. Not only is Geneva being gradually choked by the object of its affections, but the instigators of the slow strangulation show a wilful, almost arrogant, desire to ignore the problem, and even to make it worse.
So while Geneva is brought to a standstill by cars averaging less than walking pace, Europe’s car manufacturers give us the new 6.0 litre, twin turbo, 552 bhp, 12-cylinder, 4-wheel drive Bentley Flying Spur, capable of 195 mph, and which, according to the commentary by some wizened, former racing driver hurtling around a race-track, will only move into top gear after 175 mph, or thereabouts. How much gas is guzzled in the process is not revealed.
Assorted Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Bugattis, Maseratis, high-end BMWs, Mercedes Maybachs and Rolls Royces play a traditional variation on this theme at the show. But if you want a new way of wasting resources, General Motors presents the Hummer H3, a “smaller more fuel efficient” version of the H1 and H2. In the same way as the humongous Maybach greed-mobile is slimmer and more restrained than the new stretched version. The H3 “is projected to reach peak fuel economy of up to 20 miles per gallon (14 litres/100 km).” It weighs 4,700 lbs (2,132 kgs). GM has more ways of demonstrating its tin ear to European sensitivities about wasting resources. GM plans to sell more Cadillacs in Europe – how’s that for a wasted cause, doomed from inception - and will build a new one in its Saab plant, the BLS. At least the BLS will boast a diesel engine, a first for Cadillac. BLS review
Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 107, Citroen 1 There are of course plenty of new cars at the Geneva show which seek to use resources in a sensible way and design technology to raise safety levels and cut fuel use.
Toyota and Peugeot-Citroen introduced the three little city cars which will be trundling down their jointly owned production line in Kolin, Czechia. The Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 107, and Citroen C1 revealed themselves to be cute but quite different-looking machines, and all manage to project recognisable family traits. The three will share many structural components, parts and sub-assemblies, and each will be about 3.4 metres long, 1.6 metres wide, and 1.4 metres high. Power will come from 1.0 litre petrol and 1.4 litre diesel engines.
Peugeot, which owns Citroen, and Toyota, have spent about 1.5 billion euros setting up a new factory in Czechland, which will initially make 300,000 cars a year.
Prices are likely to start at around £5,500 (8,000 euros) and the new cars will threaten sales of the Ford Ka and VW Lupo, and if it survives, the Smart, not to mention various inexpensive Asian city cars.
A Citroen Made By Toyota I always used to assume that, all things being equal, a Toyota was more reliable and desirable than a Peugeot, and a Peugeot was classier and better put together than a Citroen. But if a Citroen is now guaranteed to be at least as well screwed together as a Toyota, that is going to make choices difficult. Maybe it always was unfair to judge cars on the vibes given off by their brand names.
The idea of pooling resources in Czechdom (you surely don’t prefer the mouthful The Czech Republic?) to make it more efficient to produce, obviously makes economic sense, but isn’t Toyota taking a big risk here of tainting its hard earned reputation for cast iron reliability and rock solid construction? And is there a market for 300,000 new city cars a year?
Croma Crossover Another debutant at the show with an uncertain future is the new Fiat Croma. Fiat has taken 10 years to renew the biggest car in its fleet, and the new, hatchback-only Croma returns as a so-called “crossover”, meant to combine the best bits of a higher, spacious SUV with the driving ability of a saloon. Fiat’s sales target of 60,000 a year looks ambitious.
Alfa Romeo 159, Alfa Brera review Other newcomers from the Fiat stable include the new Alfa Romeo 159, replacing the 156, and the Alfa Brera coupe. Alfa expects to sell 150,000 159’s and Breras annually by 2007, about half of its overall production target of 300,000 by 2010.
Maxda MX-5 review If any car making its debut can claim to have a guaranteed successful future, it is the 3rd generation two-seater roadster the Mazda MX-5, or Mazda Miata to my American readers. The new MX-5 is a bit bigger than the previous model and takes some design cues from the bigger RX-8. Very charming.
Mercedes B-Class Mercedes unveiled its new B-class, a bigger version of the A-class which has just been redesigned and launched in Europe. This is also supposedly a crossover-type vehicle and Mercedes calls it a Sports Tourer. The Mercedes M class SUV makes its European debut after being launched in Detroit in January.
Starring The BMW 3-Series review The star of the show is undoubtedly the new BMW 3-Series, the long awaited 5th-generation of BMW’s most successful car. The car's styling is less radical than the bigger 5 and 7-Series, although it will be instantly recognisable as a BMW. The previous 3-Series was phenomenally successful -- at around 500,000 a year it was BMW's biggest selling model by far -- but it wasn't without faults. Back seat passengers were said to be cramped, while the boot was small. The steering was heavy at slow speeds, and the ride was felt to be harsh.
BMW has set out to squash any criticism with the latest design. The new car, which retains the classic rear-wheel drive layout and 50:50 weight distribution, is longer, taller, and wider than the previous model.
The first versions of the 3-Series will use four new engines, three petrol and one diesel. The cheapest model, the 320i, will be powered by a 4-cylinder 2.0 litre, 150 bhp engine. Other models include the 325i with a 2.5 litre, 218 bhp, 6-cylinder, the 330i's 3.0 litre, 258 bhp, six-cylinder, and the 320d with a 2.0 litre 4-cylinder 164 bhp diesel motor. All new engines deliver more power, more frugally, than previously. All models have six-speed manual gearboxes, or a 6-speed automatic option.
Watch Out For Lexus IS200 The new BMW 3 maybe better in every way than the outgoing model. It may trounce the traditional European opposition like the Audi A4, Mercedes C-Class and Jaguar X-Type. But before the Bavarian maestros get too smug, they ought to take a look across the show floor to the Lexus stand. Unveiled on March 1 was the Lexus IS200. The new model is breathtakingly beautiful, clearly superbly put together, and it has a diesel engine, Lexus’ first. Volumes will be nowhere near BMW’s in Europe, but the IS200, with a 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel motor producing 175bhp or a new direct-injection 2.5-litre V6 petrol engine, is bound to steal sales from BMW. European sales start in late 2005. You know it will be dripping with extras.
VW Passat Volkswagen didn’t seem very excited about its new Passat. VW didn’t bother to organise a press conference to introduce it, and decided to save money by not making a CD-Rom with pictures available. The car simply looks bland, although apparently the headlights give off a challenging stare.
Citroen C6 review Citroen introduced its new big C6, which looks a bit like the old CX from the side, and the Audi A8 from the rear. This is guaranteed to be a slow seller, despite an orgy of gadgets which will include a head-up display and variable damping for the suspension.
Amazing In Orange Peugeot showed its new 407 coupe, which will use the Peugeot-Ford V6 2.7 litre diesel. When you recall the achingly beautiful 406 coupe, this one is a bit dull. Kia has another new one – the Rio. Honda displayed a Civic concept which looked amazing in bright orange.
As for that word I’m struggling for, maybe there isn’t one for an industry slipping blindly into oblivion by making too many products which waste resources and offend large sections of the population.
Neil Winton - March 5, 2005 home page / more reviews / auto industry news / links / top of page
