Volvo and MG are brands that have been around for more than 60 years with both brands now being owned by Chinese investors. The fortune for these 2 brands really turned around since the take over and having access to the world's largest car market helped tremendously.
Volvo has gone from strength to strength since the take over and the new models introduced in the last year has impressed the automotive industry worldwide. It is no longer dubbed as the boring Swedish log as the new models offer a lot of new innovative technology but yet it did not stray away from its focus on being the safest car in the world. Being safe does not necessarily mean it has to be boring and Volvo focused on shaking the boring image. The XC90, S90 and the upcoming XC60 all have plug-in hybrid technology, new impressive looking minimalist interiors and display a sense of solidity to its build quality. Volvo has definitely carved itself a unique position in the market which allows it to straddle in between BMWs and Volkswagens. It doesn't come at the high price of a BMW but it is not as cheap as the Volkswagen.
MG has also changed in the recent year since the take over and like Volvo having access to the China market made a big difference. Of course having a production base in China does help. The soon to be launched MG6 looks very impressive and would definitely help it boost the brand position in China. MG contracted out of the market before it was taken over by the Chinese but the resurgence in the brand has always been a possibility. Having much more available fund for development and design allowed MG to shine once again. Selling cars in China alone will allow it to survive but being an old brand it would only make sense for MG to once again sell in UK, Europe and Asia. MG now needs to develop more models such as SUV and large sedans to cater for a wider market.
Volvo and MG names were at risk of disappearing at one point in time. Good thing that these brands ended up in the hands of companies that would turn it around and utilise the name as well as the facility to build good cars. It would be a shame to lose such established names. The automotive industry is highly competitive and survival of the fittest the name of the game. Having just money with no plans and no vision will lead the company to nowhere.
Sunday 24 September 2017
Wednesday 20 September 2017
Toyota's new design direction
Toyota has finally decided to move forward with a new design direction that will see them introduce new models that look more sporty and exciting. They will do away with the old "boring" designs as instructed by the President himself Akio Toyoda. This has come very late but better late than never. It is clear that Toyota lost a lot of customer in the recent years due to their ultra conservative approach. The older generation who used to buy Toyota cars because they were made by Toyota are slowly dying off and sticking to boring traditional designs is a death wish for Toyota.
Honda, Nissan and Mazda took massive swipes at Toyota for being too conservative and it has paid dividends for these 3 cars companies. Many younger buyers jumped to better and fresher designed cars. Designing boring and conservative cars are no longer acceptable. Toyota realised this and engaged a non Japanese designer which has put a fresher look to it. Some of his designs have been questionable but he is trying to make a difference. Just like Chris Bangle made some controversial designs with BMW during his time but it allowed the brand to stand out. Love it or hate it designing a car is not easy but if it is able to stand out (without being too ugly) it will make a statement for the brand image.
Subaru in the past used to design very ugly cars but of late their car designs have improved and are less ugly and more acceptable with the wider audience. This has translated to better sales worldwide and improved its brand image.
Toyota will definitely stand to gain more from this upcoming new image and help it compete head on with Nissan, Mazda, and Honda. The design direction constantly change and in order to keep up one needs to be ahead of the game.
The soon to be launched Supra looks amazing and will be something Toyota to be proud of.
Honda, Nissan and Mazda took massive swipes at Toyota for being too conservative and it has paid dividends for these 3 cars companies. Many younger buyers jumped to better and fresher designed cars. Designing boring and conservative cars are no longer acceptable. Toyota realised this and engaged a non Japanese designer which has put a fresher look to it. Some of his designs have been questionable but he is trying to make a difference. Just like Chris Bangle made some controversial designs with BMW during his time but it allowed the brand to stand out. Love it or hate it designing a car is not easy but if it is able to stand out (without being too ugly) it will make a statement for the brand image.
Subaru in the past used to design very ugly cars but of late their car designs have improved and are less ugly and more acceptable with the wider audience. This has translated to better sales worldwide and improved its brand image.
Toyota will definitely stand to gain more from this upcoming new image and help it compete head on with Nissan, Mazda, and Honda. The design direction constantly change and in order to keep up one needs to be ahead of the game.
The soon to be launched Supra looks amazing and will be something Toyota to be proud of.
Monday 4 September 2017
Ford Fusion Hybrid (Ford Mondeo outside USA)
I recently rented a Ford Fusion Hybrid while on a business trip in Los Angeles. The car itself was very comfortable but it seemed a bit different from Japanese or Korean hybrids. The Fusion was based on a 2.0 litre gasoline engine with a parallel hybrid system. The energy recovery was good and the batteries charged up very efficiently when you are off throttle or coasting or while braking. The battery pack wasn't big and it didn't really offer much of a performance boost. The car's performance on paper showed 188hp which is quite low for a hybrid but I believe Ford was aiming more at fuel economy rather than performance.
The car's MPG meter consistently showed 44MPG (US gallon) which was quite good. A full tank had 14 gallons and I managed 500 miles before I refuelled (I estimate that the fuel tank had about 2 gallon left before I refuelled). Considering that driving in LA we spend a lot of time on freeways the fuel economy on this car was good. The interior was typical Ford design with a special rotary knob gear selector (similar to Land Rover and Jaguar). I felt that Ford still had some catching up to do in the hybrid department since it is still not quite as good as the Camry Hybrid. The switch between electric power and gasoline engine power was quite seamless and often it was not noticeable. I would appreciate if the car had more power and torque because quite often when the car was accelerating to meet the freeway speeds from an on-ramp the car felt slow.
Other hybrids like the Camry or the Hyundai Sonata had much more punch compared to the Ford. Delivering good fuel economy does not have to come at the expense of performance as demonstrated by other hybrids. I feel that Ford pushed a little too far into the fuel economy direction and forgot about extracting more performance.
It would seem like Ford would need another generation of development before it was on par with Toyota, Honda or even Hyundai when it comes to making hybrids. Nevertheless it is still a good effort by Ford and they needed to jump on the bandwagon to show that their cars are fuel efficient and can compete with others. Since diesel cars are still not popular in America going with a diesel hybrid would be out of the question. Mercedes's E300 Diesel Hybrid is probably the most fuel efficient hybrid available now. Diesel engine is already more fuel efficient than gasoline engine combined with further fuel savings with the electric motor. The combined performance is nothing short of impressive with 205hp and 500Nm of torque. A single tank of diesel can stretch up to 1000 miles which is more impressive than any other gasoline hybrid.
If Ford wants to make a real statement about fuel economy it has to be radically different and do something like the Mercedes E300 diesel hybrid. Give the buyers something to really talk about and be the champion of the fuel economy game!
The car's MPG meter consistently showed 44MPG (US gallon) which was quite good. A full tank had 14 gallons and I managed 500 miles before I refuelled (I estimate that the fuel tank had about 2 gallon left before I refuelled). Considering that driving in LA we spend a lot of time on freeways the fuel economy on this car was good. The interior was typical Ford design with a special rotary knob gear selector (similar to Land Rover and Jaguar). I felt that Ford still had some catching up to do in the hybrid department since it is still not quite as good as the Camry Hybrid. The switch between electric power and gasoline engine power was quite seamless and often it was not noticeable. I would appreciate if the car had more power and torque because quite often when the car was accelerating to meet the freeway speeds from an on-ramp the car felt slow.
Other hybrids like the Camry or the Hyundai Sonata had much more punch compared to the Ford. Delivering good fuel economy does not have to come at the expense of performance as demonstrated by other hybrids. I feel that Ford pushed a little too far into the fuel economy direction and forgot about extracting more performance.
It would seem like Ford would need another generation of development before it was on par with Toyota, Honda or even Hyundai when it comes to making hybrids. Nevertheless it is still a good effort by Ford and they needed to jump on the bandwagon to show that their cars are fuel efficient and can compete with others. Since diesel cars are still not popular in America going with a diesel hybrid would be out of the question. Mercedes's E300 Diesel Hybrid is probably the most fuel efficient hybrid available now. Diesel engine is already more fuel efficient than gasoline engine combined with further fuel savings with the electric motor. The combined performance is nothing short of impressive with 205hp and 500Nm of torque. A single tank of diesel can stretch up to 1000 miles which is more impressive than any other gasoline hybrid.
If Ford wants to make a real statement about fuel economy it has to be radically different and do something like the Mercedes E300 diesel hybrid. Give the buyers something to really talk about and be the champion of the fuel economy game!
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