Each week, our German correspondent slices and dices the latest rumblings, news, and quick-hit driving impressions from the other side of the pond. His byline may state Jens Meiners, but we simply call him . . . the Continental.
After this year’s Detroit auto show and a trip to California for a press event, I am back on my German home turf. This Detroit auto show—public days of which just ended last weekend—was the ideal one in several years. After thumbing through my notes, I’ve compiled a few of my observations from Cobo Hall and subsequent meetings, outlining the highlights, lowlights, and so-so performances.
Yes: Acura NSX. Finally, another super sports automobile from Honda! A Honda/Acura rebirth is on the way, disturbing comments by the company’s North American marketing executives notwithstanding. This automobile won’t be a compromise. One caveat: Voices tell me CEO Ito has seen the light in the form of electrics and hybrids. At least he thinks so.
No: Cadillac ATS. Cadillac has been defined by its characteristic and unmistakably angular styling language, and I was anticipating an ultra-contemporary, aggressive compact sports sedan. A sharper and more compact CTS, please. Alas, the ATS falls flat down on its unremarkable face—and the interior doesn’t save it, either. Are Cadillac’s designers voluntarily abandoning its styling language, or was this automobile clinicked to death? At this point, it makes no difference. But hey, it’s supposed to beat the 3-series on the road, right? We’ll see.
Yes: Audi’s Q3 Vail concept. “Two months ago, Rupert Stadler asked us to create a Q3 for America to gauge interest in the car,” states exterior designer Frank Gruner. His team took the off-road styling package add-ons, resprayed them in a granite color, added running boards, aluminum appliqués, and 20-inch wheels, plus an aluminum roof rack with integrated LED lights.The concept was so well received that Stadler confirmed the Q3 will come to the U.S.
Yes: German suppliers. Schaeffler, KSPG, ZF, and Continental showed a number of technologies to enhance efficiency, ranging from lighter and more-efficient transmissions to turbochargers, auxiliary components, and—if you must—range extenders. Impressive stuff worth looking into. One executive says: “Thanks to all the speak about CO2, we can finally sell the technical solutions that we’ve peddled to carmakers for years.” That said, he doesn’t believe in the horrible tale of the perils of CO2. But that’s just his personal opinion . . .
Yes: Porsche. It’s good to see the German icon in Detroit, only some years after former CEO Wendelin Wiedeking thought the brand could do without the show. No way. (And Jaguar/Land Rover really should have been there, too.)
So-so: the Dodge Dart. It looks like a 1990s compact and—this is an educated guess based on experience with its Italian siblings—a Volkswagen GTI will probably run circles around it. But it has a nicely executed interior, its technical basis is efficient, and it puts Dodge back in the game.
And my favorite: VW CEO Martin Winterkorn. On the Mercedes stand, he was all over the new SL with its 90-percent-plus aluminum structure. Just to be sure, the VW boss produced a small magnet to analyze the innovative structure. You see, Winterkorn is a materials scientist. At supplier presentations, we’ve seen him scrape the surface off samples with a knife—to ensure he isn’t presented with a dummy part. This executive is a paragon of a genuine car-guy culture.
So much for Detroit; this Conti is written from the Rally Monte Carlo, which Sébastien Loeb, driving a Citroën DS3 WRC, has just won. An unbelievably cool rally. More on that next week.
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Submited at Thursday, January 26th, 2012 at 4:00 pm on Uncategorized by arrisa
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