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 say Jens Meiners, but we simply call him . . . the Continental.
One of the hottest topics in the business right now is BMW’s gamble on carbon fiber—specifically, how the company will keep cost under control and how significant the weight benefit will actually be. BMW is making much ballyhoo of the i3‘s and the i8‘s carbon-fiber passenger cells. But they do include aluminum elements—so many that an independent expert I talked to calls them “a carbon-fiber cell with belts and suspenders.” He says there are far more cost-effective ways to reach similar results, and suspects that BMW’s decision to push carbon fiber to this extent is marketing-driven.
Interestingly, BMW “i” is taking a radical approach on materials but a pragmatic approach on drivetrain. The i8, after all, is a plug-in hybrid, not an electric car. Maximum efficiency doesn’t seem to be on top of the list, either: The super-efficient three-cylinder diesel that powered a prototype driven by journos last November has been replaced by a three-cylinder gasoline engine in the production-bound i8. Wait, is this marketing influence again?
BMW, of course, is not the only carmaker exploring carbon fiber. Lamborghini is spearheading the Volkswagen Group’s efforts, and others are considering a wider use of the material as well, such as GM, according to Opel chief Karl-Friedrich Stracke with whom I recently spoke.
For another forward-looking technology, Hyundai is planning to launch full-LED headlights on its luxury vehicles two years or so down the road. They will be supplied by daughter company Hyundai Mobis, which is aiming to become a major player in the business.
Notes on Some Frankfurt Launches
I had the chance to speak with Chevrolet executives here, and I’m told the company is bullish about its future in Europe. The Cruze and the Orlando are selling well, and next year Europe will get the Malibu, with a focus on diesel engines. Here’s a beautiful sign of confidence: The Corvette, which was sold here without the bowtie for many years, officially becomes the Chevrolet Corvette again. Perhaps the company will sell the Colorado pickup over here as well; it will be shown at the Frankfurt show to gauge public reaction.
Suzuki is launching a 134-hp derivative of the Swift in Frankfurt. I am curious to drive it; every one of its predecessors was fun to drive. Early Swift models were looked down on in the U.S. as the rebadged Chevrolet Sprint and the Geo Metro, but with their high-revving 100-hp engine and sport-tuned suspensions, the top-of-the-line versions were fantastic. The current Swift, of course, could be a disappointment: Suzuki was so scared of ruining its predecessor’s formula that the styling completely stagnated. The old car was original and contemporary when it came out, the new one is neither. Oh, and Suzuki tells us the new Swift Sport has seven air bags and a stability-control system. Let’s hope that can be turned off.
What Suzuki has done to the Swift is bound to happen to the European Honda Civic, just like its U.S. counterpart: a redesign so modest and “safe” that it makes the predecessor look more contemporary than the new model. Here is an officially leaked picture of the prototype in current disguise; we’ll know more about the real look in Frankfurt next month. Hope for another Type-R is fading, thanks to emissions regulation.
Will Bentley do an SUV? Quite possibly; CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer, arriving earlier this year from Porsche, knows first-hand that an SUV can do wonders to boost a premium brand’s sales numbers. His predecessor, Franz-Josef Paefgen, had alluded to such a model, and rumor has it that Dürheimer is inclined to implement the idea. A Bentley SUV would share many components with the Volkswagen Group’s other SUV models, such as the VW Touareg, the Porsche Cayenne, and the Audi Q7, and its powertrain menu would be shared with them as well. A diesel is a distinct possibility. Perhaps Dürheimer will grant the Q7′s twelve-cylinder TDI asylum under a Bentley hood? Such an engine would make Bentley the king of SUVs, and I think preserving this technological marvel out of Ingolstadt would be reason enough to expand the British marque’s lineup.
Autobahn Tested: Toyota iQ
I am not kidding: I actually drove Toyota’s ultra-compact iQ—sold as the Scion iQ in the U.S.—on the autobahn. My test car was powered by a not-for-U.S.-sale 89-hp, 1.4-liter turbo-diesel that produces an impressive 140 lb-ft of torque. It reaches 60 mph in around ten seconds and is governed to 106 mph, a top velocity achieved with remarkable ease. The iQ is stable traveling in a straight line even at high speed, but it doesn’t like to play on twisty back roads. There is a lot of understeer, and the stability-control system kicks in late but sharply. Apart from that, there is everything to like about the iQ, including its slick six-speed transmission (which isn’t offered in the U.S, either), the high-quality materials, and the surprisingly spacious cabin—once you correctly interpret it as a two-seater with the two rear seats folded down and left there for the duration of your ownership.
You can’t help but compare the (cleverly named) iQ with Daimler’s Smart, which is a foot shorter, thanks to a radical concept: The Smart features a unique rear-engine architecture and comes with an automated five-speed manual transmission only, for packaging reasons. Toyota, in typical fashion, followed a far more conventional approach: The iQ is derived from the front-engine, front-wheel-drive Yaris. Unfortunately for admirers of daring and original technological solutions, the iQ simply works better than the Smart—a lot. Taking a cross-country trip, which is effortless in the iQ, becomes an ordeal in a Smart. The latter’s ride is bumpy, the transmission jerks annoyingly; the base engines and the diesel are gutless, and the Smarts are governed at far lower velocities than the iQ—for good reason, I hasten to add.
No wonder the iQ is becoming a must-have in Europe’s upper social circles, something I believe the Smart has never quite been. Over the past decade, it’s been painful to watch them trying to be “cool” and “hip.” The effort has been a bit too forced, and there were a few too many strategic flip-flops. You can’t help but wonder how much brand equity is left, and this at a time when a thriving Smart would be greatly helpful in reducing Daimler’s fleet consumption, not to mention countering the attractive city cars coming not only from Toyota, but also from BMW and the Volkswagen Group.
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