Archive for August, 2006
Bizarre Car of the Month
Past recepients of these dubious awards include the following >
- Mercedes-Benz CLS
- Acura RL
- Infiniti Q45 (current generation)
- Saab 9-7X
- Mercedes-Benz R-Class
- Volkswagen Phaeton
- BMW 7-Series (current generation)
- Rolls-Royce Camargue
The Automobiles de Luxe Bizarre Car of the Month Award for August goes to none other than the Chrylser TC by Maserati.
Just what was Lee Iacocca smoking? In the late 80s, Chrysler’s chairman organized the purchase of a significant portion of struggling sportscar manufacturer Maserati only to try and introduce Americans to the concept that they too could purchase a comfortable sports-cruiser hybrid in the form of a regular Chrysler LeBaron wearing Trident badges.
In the words of Richard Porter, author of Crap Cars, the Chryslerati offered, “the feeling that you’d just been sold a lightly polished piece of poop.” Cheap plastic trim, excessively wrinkly leather, and faux wood veneers were the only Maserati touches to the Chrysler’s tacky cabin.
Well that and a silly porthole with a Trident badge which marked the exterior pièce de résistance .
On the objective side, if objective thinking could possibly be applied to the unfortunate convertible, the concept of creating comfortable GTs might not have been a new concept, but it was well worth exploring as modern GTs affirm. Mr. Iaccoca must have felt that it was up to Chrysler to give it their own half-assed shot.
The Italians all the while were probably just happy to pocket the dollars that Detroit kept wiring them a half a world away.
Thank goodness both manufacturers have since come to their respective senses. And that the Chrysler TC by Maserati is now only a distant memory (rehashed briefly).
The Baby Benz
The internal model designation was W201 and the little four-door saloon was the predecessor to the W202 or better known as the first generation C-Class which made its larger début in the summer of ’93.
The 190E was the smallest Mercedes that Daimler-Benz had ever produced. To this day, it is the smallest Benz sedan. The Baby Benz measured a scant 175.1 inches short; an ‘07 Toyota Corolla out-stretches the little German by 3.2 inches.
Skinny at 66.5 inches wide, but relatively tall at 54.1 inches thanks to an angular and accommodating three-box design; the modern day Corolla still casts its shadow over the Benz by 0.4 inch and 4.4 inches, respectively.
Where the 190E boasts a size advantage is gratis the rear drive setup which plants the German’s tyres 2.5 inches further apart than the Corolla’s wheelbase of 102.4 inches.
But with the new Toyota’s fatty curves, the Japanese economy sedan dwarfs Stuttgart’s edgy entry level classic, as do most compact sedans today. In short, the 190E was a tiny car by any measure of contemporary standards.
But they sold!
1.8 million copies, in fact. From efficient, 90 horsepowered, 117 lb-ft torqued 2.5 liter, straight-five cylindered diesels (190D) to the special edition 190E 2.6 (sold in 1993) with 2.6 liter, inline-six cylinder that made 158bhp and 162 lb-ft @ 3,500 rpm.
And they might as well have called the Baby Benz, “li’l Panzer” for the steel on wheels weighed in at anywhere between 2,845 lbs (190D) to 3,040 lbs (190E 2.6). Today’s bigger Corolla is a lithe 2,595 lbs.
Mated to four-speed automatic and run by KE-5 electronic management systems (90s petrol models), the engines churned out good low end power that took the 190 to speed with aplomb, though, no where near as quickly as the fleet 3-Series BMWs.
The 2.6 liter engine managed a respectable 19 lbs per horsepower (better than the Corolla’s 20.5 lbs per horsepower). Blessed be the engineers that over-engineered.
That said, for all the Baby Benz’s relative strengths when pitted against the weak Japanese competition of the day, it was cheap example of a Mercedes-Benz. The poor relation, the black-sheep of the family; in America it was the wannabe’s best choice to fit behind a three-pointed star. In Europe, it was just inexpensive four-door transportation that could pack four persons down the Autobahn confidently and with relative, if closely confined comfort.
By the 1980s, the rest of the world had seen Mercedes-Benz diesels proliferate as basic, solid, safe, and dependable transportation. America, as is the case today, was the exception. To us Americans (and to a lesser extent Canadians), Mercedes-Benzes represented nothing else than luxury and prestige. But the Baby Benz was a reaffirmation to the rest of the world that Daimler-Benz, A.G. would manufacture cars for every size wallet. The resolve was to cover every market, climb every mountain, and so forth.
With what is the largest and most diverse lineup of any car manufacturer, DaimlerChrysler is still holding true to that goal.
Herein lies the case in point for the Baby Benz and where we can see the tides turn for the marque Mercedes-Benz. The 190E helped put the chintz in Benz. What felt like steel in the true E-Class (300E, 500E, etc) came off as tin-can in the 190’s panels. That feeling of bank-vault solidity was simply not there.
It was painfully clear the smallest sedan was not Mercedes grade, even though, it was better and more solidly crafted than anything else in its price category (BMW, Saab and Volvo being the clear exceptions).
Where Mercedes-Benz failed then, and where it fails today, is to make the entry-level models viable representation for Mercedes-Benz, the luxury marque. The BMW 3-Series and the Lexus ES both manage to make their owners believe that they are wearing the full Giorgio Armani suit, not the Emporio Armani annex label.
This was the most crucial distinction between the 190E and the BMW 3-Series and is why BMW sold many more of its own compact sedans than did Mercedes-Benz.
The current C-Class carries on where the Baby Benz started, though, the cute nickname has since been handed down to the sub-compact hatchback sold in Europe known as the A-Class. We in the U.S. will get the next level up B-Class soon, (our Canadian friends are already driving them).
Financially, the 190E left a solid legacy for its parent company and a wistful one for the loyal crowd of rally drivers who still use the old 190E in the sub 2,500cc class at Nürburging Nordschleife. Plus, 190E fan clubs abound on the web.
Looking back, the 190E was a solid example of a “premium economy car,” but its very existence in the marketplace was a slight to the glorious tradition of grandeur, opulence, and overarching excellence that the marque espoused for the large part of the Twentieth Century. From this vantage, the 190E is not missed.
Tap the Link > MBUSA/190E
"The Ultimate Driving Machine" versus "A Company of Ideas"
A decade ago, there was a wonderful U.S. TV advert for Volvo that showed a BMW 3-Series and a Volvo 850 “Sportswagon” each with a single voice over assuming the two cars’ personified characters.
“The voice” used haughty tones when speaking as the BMW – blustering with self confidence – while the Volvo maintained suitably understated tones when it suggested that it could match or beat the Bimmer feat for feat.
The commercial finished with the BMW declaring, “I am the Ultimate!” followed by the Volvo who wryly asks, “Oh, really?”
When an organization takes the outrageous stance of declaring itself “The Ultimate,” it immediately subjects itself to the pokes and prods of nay-sayers and critics who find every hole in the would-be logic of it all.
Consider how easily other car companies have come under such fire or, at the very least, humored abjuration. Rolls-Royce has declared for years that its cars are the best in the world and yet there were a number in that century-long time frame when the declaration was more than a little daft. Funny to think that the fates should have that company now governed by those who make the Ultimate Driving Machines.
Coming to think of it, the marketing agency behind BMW subsidiary MINI is making a surprisingly humble go of it for what is the smallest car in the United States automotive market. Then again, the humility is rather apropos of the little Cooper’s compact dimensions.
But digression is the transgression against efficient progress herein. So, returning to the hole-in-the-logic behind the statement point, it seemed right and rightfully distressing to learn from AutoBlog that BMW was to do away with what must be the most famous automobile tag line ever.
We labored under the heavy burden of the conception of gross misdirection and mismanagement for days until Eric Webber wrote the following reply to “BMW: A Company of ___ Ideas” >
In the August 7 edition of Advertising Age, columnist Al Ries claimed that in an upcoming advertising campaign, BMW would be dropping its legendary slogan “The Ultimate Driving Machine.” Ries was significantly off-base. First of all, BMW has no intention of dropping, altering or in any way moving away from that great line.
In the development of the latest ad campaign, the first from BMW’s new advertising agency GSD&M, the issue wasn’t even discussed. Ries took some bad information and then compounded the problem by making poor assumptions based on comments that he did not even try to verify.
The “upcoming” campaign to which Ries referred actually began running more than three months ago, on May 5, in print, TV and online. “The Ultimate Driving Machine” slogan is prominently featured in all of the ads. There was also quite a bit written about the campaign launch in print and online.
It appears that Ries was confused by a mention of the overarching theme of the campaign, “A Company of Ideas.” That’s not a slogan, and those actual words don’t appear in the ads in any way that would be confused as a replacement for “The Ultimate Driving Machine.” In the marketing business, it’s known as a positioning statement.” It represents a way of talking about the company, as opposed to a specific slogan that identifies the brand.
BMW is a remarkably innovative company. Their corporate culture, specifically their independence and encouragement of creative thinking and problem solving is what allows them to produce the ultimate driving machine. They are very much a company of ideas and they have the chops to prove it. The ad campaign so misinterpreted by Ad Age gives consumers a look at some of the ways BMW backs up that claim. The two things, a positioning and a slogan are
very important but also very different things. The former is a broad theme, the latter a very specific word or phrase. Separate but complimentary. It’s a distinction that any marketing student knows. Al Ries and Ad Age certainly should have too.Mr. Webber gave great consideration and thought to his response – one which he carbon copied to other sites as well. But Mr. Webber wrote with knowledge, and as well he should, he is Vice President and Communications Director of the very ad agency behind the “A Company of Ideas” campaign.
This is not the first time the well meaning, but hasty folks at AutoBlog have let us down. Regrettably, I too was hasty in following their lead, as were others.
However, I was convinced that I had seen advertisements that contained only the new phrase and not the old stand-by. So, I did an internet search which included a foray into GSD&M’s own website (coming to find out, the Texan agency is also behind advertising AT&T’s come-back). Sure enough, adverts proclaiming “A Company…” were there, but so too was “The Ultimate Driving Machine”.
Still, there is some forgiveness to be given the confused in that “A Company…” does appear to be in competition with “The Ultimate”. A “positioning statement” the former may well be, but it does come off as a new slogan.
Anything remotely bi-cameral in the system of advertisements suggests internal conflict within the company. The conservative BMW Old-Guard might well wish for a coup d’état that overthrows Chris Bangle – ah, but if wishes were horses…
Returning to the hole-in-the-logic of “The Ultimate” nay-sayers and critics, this thought process feeds nicely into Mr. Webber’s campaign. It is a proclamation justifying the BMW approach in spite of criticism.
It’s also a little too defensive and we as the audience of individuals are supposed to be moved to empathy and then on to enlightenment. The adverts come off as bland and I am moved only to ask: whatever happened to running by the old line, never complain, never explain?
Shifting Gears
As the publisher of Automobiles de Luxe, I have taken this measure in response to what a great many of you have requested – more editorial pieces. I am happy to oblige. Rest assured that survey results, videos, and automotive news updates will still feature on this site
de temps en temps.Please, continue providing your valuable feedback. It is part and parcel of this website.
Enjoy.
Still The One…
The results from Automobiles de Luxe’s most recent poll show that Rolls-Royce is favored by a solid 41% majority of readers as the leading super-luxe marque. Clearly, 41% of you are after my own heart.
Here are the stats:
- 64 votes were cast
- Rolls-Royce came in first place with 26 votes representing 41% of the vote
- Bentley won second place with 15 votes representing 23%
- Bugatti and Maybach followed closely behind at third and fourth places, respectively, and with 12 votes (19%) and 11 votes (17%), respectively
Tap the Winner’s Link > RR
On Some Beach, Somewhere
In the meantime, I cordially invite you to participate in the latest survey – you can guess my own personal preference amongst the four marques – and to peruse through the archives. There are hundreds of great articles and conversations in there.
Thank you for your readership. Until next Friday.
This Week @ Coys: Jaguar XJ220
So, featured this week at Coys of Kensington, London’s nearly century-old automotive auctioneer, is one sterling example of a silver on grey Jaguar XJ220 with 6,100 kilometers on the odometer. That is a high mileage figure in exotic terms, however, judging from the photographs of the car that once sold for more than $600,000, everything structural appears to be in mint condition. Expect the pounds sterling price tag to remain well into the six-digit range.
The XJ220 was not without controversy. Indeed, it was as much a PR blunder for Jaguar as it was a blessing. High profile law suits were filed against the manufacturer for installing the XJR straight-six instead of the advertised V-12 in certain cases. This XJ220 carries the supercharged version of the already-supercharged XJR’s engine which produces a tremendous 542 horsepower.
Jaguar eventually switched production entirely over to the cheaper six cylindered powerplant for financial and logisitical reasons.
Not long after the 1991 introduction, McLaren introduced the F1 to the world which flew past Jag’s top-speed to hold the record for world’s fastest production car for the remainder of the decade.
So, the car may have been a marketing disaster, however, the Jaguar XJ220 remains an ultimately worthy collector’s buy due to its outstanding performance, audacious supercar looks, and the sheer exclusivity of owning one of so precious few.
La Gloire de France
Using what the General referred to as the “politics of grandeur,” deGaulle believed that France’s place in the world would be assured through self-assertion. So, under his tenure as president, the government kicked American troops out of French territory, blocked Great Britain from gaining access to the European Economic Community, and developed the atomic bomb.
Also during deGaulle’s reign, the French auto industry would make some bold assertions as well. Citroën introduced the DS to the world. A sleek, techonologically advanced, car-of-the-future, Citroën’s flagship became an instant classic.
Never since has France produced a comparable car.
That is, perhaps, until now. Peugeot has upped the ante and not only served us with a hyper-powered saloon concept, but one than runs on diesel. If ever there was a political statement to be made it is this – it’s possible to be both green and powerful at the same time.
AutoBlog and Le Blog Auto have both made much-a-do over Peugeot’s conceptual “splash.”. And rightfully so. Even the patriotic French will grudgingly admit that despite the manufacturing presence of Bugatti – vraiment a marque reconceived by the VW-Audi Group – neither Citroën, Renault, or Peugeot has produces anything that can successfully compete in the current luxury, super-luxury, or exotic market segments.
Last November, I wrote of my eyewitness accounts of the latest Citroën flagship (C6) on the streets of Paris and how the new model struck me as France’s own Lincoln Town Car.
Anything but a luxo-barge the Peugeot 908 RC is a quitessentially French Maybach Exelero / Mercedes-Benz CLS. The 700 horsepowered V12 saloon is also entirely better looking than either German model.
The lines are suitably aggressive (in front) and svelte (in profile). The concave rear-windshield is a sporting, Ferrari-esque masterpiece, but also echoes the Citroën C6.
And while there is nothing that is necessarily 100% original to the car (what is of cars in general these days?) there is no one feature that is a clear copy from another marque. That statement, by itself, is something that neither the German nor Japanese competition can boast.
There is also a curiously American context to this French car. The front spoiler has some Dodge characteristics that could suggest that a big-bloc Hemi is what lies behind it.
And what makes the 908 RC particularly special, is that seems to have found a broad appeal. Usually, French cars are singular and unique, but rarely in a positive way or, at the very least, in an internationally marketable sense. Kudos to Peugeot for “breaking through;” to borrow the now-extinct slogan for Cadillac.
A word of advice.
The French automobile shares something in common with the American automobile in that the quality of construction, especially with respect to the interior details, is often lacking. I’ve driven the Peugeot 307 and 407 – both of which are principally economy cars – however neither can match the quality of materials, fit and finish, ride, or quietness of a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord.
Taking it to the ultimate level, the 908 RC must face off against the benchmarks of luxury set by the ultra-refined (in construction terms) and mechanically superior Lexus LS plus the performance times established by Mercedes-Benz AMG which are genuinely anti-competitive in their excellence. These are technical hurtles to overcome if the 908 RC were to be successfully sold outside of France in the future.
Which bring us to a crucial point – Peugeot must manufacture this fantastic automobile. Stylistically, the model’s competition stands only as being the limited-production and more conservative Maserati Quattroporte (and perhaps Aston Martin’s future Lagonda). And once again, it is style followed by outrageous power that will be sure to sell out all 908 RCs made. A limited return to the United States would also be in order here…
Summarily, Peugeot has at last returned glory to the French auto industry – or at least French automotive design. It has beenfar too long a hiatus.
Mercedes-Benz Wins!
Mercedes-Benz has won Automobiles de Luxe’s most recent survey – vote for your favorite contemporary German marque.
The stats were as follows >
- 86 votes cast.
- Mercedes-Benz won with 31 votes (36%)
- BMW garnered second place with 25 votes (29%)
- Porsche managed third place with 19 votes (22%)
- Audi lagged behind in fourth place with just 10 votes (12%)
- GM’s Opel found fifth place with only one vote (1%)
- No one found VW to be their favorite German marque.
Stay tuned…
Tap the Link > MBUSA
Mercedes-Benz Is In The Lead
In other news, as proof that opinion can reflect reality, Reuters reports that Mercedes-Benz has taken the lead in the United States as the number one German luxury marque in sales – edging out BMW whose sales fell 7.7% last month.
