Autocar

Automotive virtual reality has finally arrived

Hilton Holloway — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:00:00 GMT

Last week just might have been a small landmark in Autocar’s 114-year history.

Steve Sutcliffe, a driver whose abilities are held in high esteem by more than one supercar manufacturer, had to admit that electronic chassis ‘aids’ have reached a new level of competence.

“Yes, the electronics in this car are specifically intended as performance parts, not safety features. Switch them off and you will not be able to lap a circuit as fast as you can with them on, not even if your name is Fernando Alonso. You might just be able to match the system for a couple of corners if you fluke the perfect sequence of brake, turn-in, balance power, apply throttle at the exit.”

Read Steve Sutcliffe's Ferrari 599XX drive

In a more down to earth way, I experienced something similar on the launch of the new Audi A8. That car will come with ‘Drive Select’ as standard, which allows you to choose from ‘comfort’, ‘auto’ and ‘dynamic’.

This switchable chassis tuning really does make a difference, especially if you specify the optional sports differential on Quattro versions, which can split the engine’s torque between the rear wheels.

Read Hilton Holloway's Audi A8 drive

So far I’m also the only Autocar staffer to have driven the Mito in both stock and electronically controlled Cloverleaf forms. The difference between the two – driven back to back at Alfa’s test track – was incredible.

Read Hilton Holloway's Alfa Mito Cloverleaf drive

It seems that we have moved into a new era, (partly thanks to the new high-speed Flex ray wiring systems) that will see electronic chassis controls so sophisticated that virtually no driver can out drive them. And better still, the average future car could now be wired to have three very distinct personalities.

Ideally, many of us would prefer that exemplary ride and handling was delivered through the engineering purity of the car’s layout.

But then again, these systems can also make 2.7 tonne cars – such as the new Range Rovers – handle with physics-defying alacrity.

25 years after the false dawn of digital speedometers and talking dashboards, it seems automotive virtual reality has finally arrived.

Ecclestone confirms Serbian F1 ambitions

Alan Henry — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:34:00 GMT

Any cynics who did not believe that Serbian businessman Zoran Stefanovic has serious plans for entering F1 with the assets of the former Panasonic Toyota team will have to think again pretty promptly, as the newcomer’s possible participation has been clearly acknowledged by Bernie Ecclestone, the F1 commercial rights holder.

Bernie also made it clear last weekend that, according to the terms of the Concorde agreement, teams are permitted to miss three races each year, a revelation which, I have to confess, I was unaware of, but which could throw a crucial lifeline to the Campos and US F1 teams who could ideally use a little more time to prepare their cars for the world championship fray.

“I think we won't see Campos and I don't think we will see the Americans,” Bernie told the Sunday Express. “They are going to ask to miss three races. In the Concorde Agreement, the teams are allowed to miss three races.”

He added: “They [Stefan] are going to take over Toyota completely – the team and motorhomes. They have got the money from the government; I've spoken to the prime minister. They are ready to rock-and-roll but they've not got an entry.”

Not yet, anyway. Although US F1 are struggling to be ready in time, they are resolutely determined to be on the grid as promptly as possible. Campos may, on the other hand, be seriously faltering. If they fail to make it, then expect the Toyota TF110 to be on the grid at least in time for the fourth race in China on April 18.

What comes up must go down

Tim Dickson — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:30:44 GMT

Being a frugal man of simple means I think I spend more time with an eye on our test cars’ fuel consumption than some of my more leaden-footed colleagues. That and having a 36-mile each-way commute. Actually, the journey is quite an easy one. I’m on the M40 motorway before I’m in third gear of a morning, then it’s the M25. a stretch of the M3 and, finally, a couple of miles of urban crawl before arriving at the office.

I’ve often noticed that I’m able to record noticeably better fuel consumption on the way to work in the morning compared with the evening drive home. To be honest, I’d not given it that much thought. The morning traffic tends to flow more smoothly than that in the evening, so I suppose I’d absently mindedly put it down to that.

Peugeot 5008 road test

However, I recently spent the weekend with Peugeot’s 5008. It featured, among many other things, a readout giving the car’s current altitude above sea level on the LED display. I’m sure this is something that appears on many other cars’ sat-nav/infotainment screens, but for some reason it really caught my eye in the Peugeot.

And so it was one morning that I noticed my house sits at an altitude of 522 feet above sea level (or 159 metres if you’re in France), nestled as it is on a rocky outcrop in the Chilterns. And 36 miles later I again noticed that Autocar’s riverside offices are just 59 feet (18 metres) above sea level.

No wonder fuel consumption is better on my journey to work compared with my journey home; on the return trip not only does the car’s engine have to propel it 36 miles along the horizontal, it also has to winch its one and a half ton mass (or thereabouts) 463 feet up in the air.

Perhaps there’s something in the notion of the ‘two-way average’ after all.

All change at Merc?

Chas Hallett — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:19:00 GMT

The news that Wolfgang Bernhard is going to head up Merc’s van division and production caught my eye.
Bernhard, you see, is a disciple of Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche. The old man took him to Detroit to help run Chrysler after the Daimler Chrysler merger, and Bernhard also has run the VW brand and, ironically, been integral in Cerberus’s takeover of Chrysler when Daimler abandoned ship.

The reason his appointment caught my eye is that there have been a lot of rumours that Zetsche won’t be running Merc for too much longer. It's nothing to do with his effectiveness as the boss, mind you, but tragically his wife has recently lost a battle with cancer. And who could blame him for feeling differently about work after such a loss?

So perhaps Bernhard is being groomed to be his replacement. One thing’s for sure, Wolfgang has a reputation for being fiery and uncompromising. He was, after all, being lined up to run Merc’s car division in 2004 but a row with then-boss Juergen Schrempp ruled him out. His undoing at VW was the result of a big falling-out with Bernd Pichetsrieder because Bernhard wanted more radical restructuring plans that the board or unions would swallow.

I’ve also got some personal experience of his personality. He once told me that he didn’t think any cars would be made in Western Europe within 20 years (maybe best keep that quiet in Stuttgart for a while) and while at VW, he pretty much walked out of an interview with me and European editor Greg Kable because we were asking him about the company’s sports car plans.

There's no doubt that Bernhard’s got a good track record, though. But if he does land the big job soon you can probably expect radical changes to in the Daimler empire.

Are long warranties as good as they sound?

James Ruppert — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:03:00 GMT

There is only one car related story in town at that moment and that involves an accelerator pedal.

But just in case you are as bored by that as you are of John Terry’s non-footballing activities, I'm going to write about Kia's seven-year warranty - which sort of ties in with Toyota, as it's an example of putting things right when they go wrong.

You may have noticed that Kia is offering a seven year warranty as standard now. My view - challenged by Kia - is that actually it really isn’t as good as it sounds.

Few items are going to wear out on a new car during the initial three years of ownership. Indeed, if something did then that would more than likely be replaced as a good will claim.

When a car gets to four, five and six years old then you do get parts which are going to fail because of wear and tear. These, of course, won’t be covered by Kia - only manufacturing faults will be.

Which brings me to recalls. All cars are covered by a recall, regardless of age or warranty status. If there is a defect which could make a vehicle unsafe then the manufacturer is obliged to fix it.

Like me, you have probably owned a car that has been subject to a recall. I had a Mk2 Golf which was over a decade old and that was recalled in the mid 1990s to fix heater pipes that potentially could have scalded my ankles.

So if Kia fix a manufacturing fault after six years don’t go and hug their service manager and buy him a bunch of flowers, because that is his job.

I’ve had emails from Kia and Hyundai owners saying how happy they are with their cars and I could not be happier for them. Just be realistic about what you are getting for your seven-year warranty.

Toyota problems? Driver problems!

Steve Cropley — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:32:00 GMT

That habitual harbinger of doom, the Daily Mail, has finally pushed me over the edge.

I hate the fact that this paper (which makes a speciality of fuelling our anxieties) has taken to encouraging Toyota owners not to drive their cars, apparently because their lives are at risk.

I’ve rarely heard such twaddle. The clear inference is that the recalled cars have been incompetently built, whereas the reverse is true. Today’s cars — especially Toyotas — are made with better attention to quality, safety and durability than ever before. But they’ll never be perfect.

There’s an argument that says some fault lies with the operators. Despite the increasing complexity today’s cars — a response to market demands — they have become extremely simple to operate.

The user no longer needs a scintilla of mechanical sympathy or technical awareness, to the extent that some drivers’ knowledge of what’s going on may well have fallen below a dangerous threshold.

If you were driving a car over some weeks, and its throttle return grew gradually weaker, would you, as a car-aware Autocar reader, drive on until it finally stuck open? Of course not.

You’d consult the dealer and do something about it. If your throttle did stick open, wouldn’t you know enough about a car’s mechanicals to declutch and get on the brakes? Well, of course you would.

But there are evidently people who know so little about driving that they’re incapable of making these connections. Should these people be put in charge of an alleged “lethal weapon” at all?

My feeling is that this controversy has been raging regardless of common sense. The sensible, obvious procedure for Toyota owners is clear: if your throttle isn’t returning slowly, you’re in no danger. Accept the recall if offered.

Meanwhile, drive happily onward (as we are doing in our iQ and Prius) and be strictly resolute about not reading the Daily Mail.

Technorati Tags: Toyota, recall, iQ, Prius, Daily Mail

Why I'll be at Le Mans this June

Andrew Frankel — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:01:16 GMT

Busy on the weekend of 12-13 June? You may be now. Jaguar is going back to Le Mans. If like me you’re old enough to remember the Silk Cut Jags tearing up the tarmac back in the days of Group C, news rarely comes better than this.

Yes it will be just a single car and, no, it won’t be competing for outright honours and it’s not even a British let alone a works entry, but do not let that deter you. Here’s why: the car is being entered by American racer Paul Gentilozzi whose team has raced Jaguar XKRs in every Trans-Am championship held from 2003 to date and won every one of them. Moreover he has already signed former Indycar winner Scott Pruett to drive and former F3000 and Le Mans veteran Marc Goossens. This is not a bunch of no-hope dreamers, but one very well financed, professional and prepared team.[/intro]

Jaguar confirms Le Mans return

History is also starting to repeat itself. The last time Jaguar had been away from Le Mans for too long was in the mid 1980s when an American privateer with a highly successful race team decided to enter the race to compete for class honours. And although Bob Tullius’s Group 44 Jaguar XJR-5 failed to realise its full potential, it certainly did enough to gain the undivided attention of Jaguar in the UK. Within two years Jaguar had commissioned Tom Walkinshaw to design, build and race its own car and the rest, including Jaguar’s two most recent Le Mans wins, is history.

Who should fill the third seat in the car? Clearly he needs to be British, super quick, and with Le Mans winning pedigree, ideally in a Jaguar. Both Andy Wallace and Martin Brundle qualify but so too does none other than David Coulthard. It is a fact remembered by too few that back in 1993 DC shared an XJ220 with David Brabham and John Nielsen, winning their class before being excluded for a technical infringement long after the race was over. He has unfinished business in France.

Then again they could put Donald Duck behind the wheel and I’d cross the channel to see it. If you were lucky enough to witness what a Le Mans crowd does when it sees a Jaguar in the pit-lane, you will too.

Stefan is F1’s mystery team

Alan Henry — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:34:00 GMT

Zoran Stefanovich seems to know something that nobody else in F1 does. The Serbian businessman is currently preparing to test his own F1 car and insists that he has already freighted some of the surplus Toyota F1 equipment to Bahrain in preparation for the first race of the season.

Trouble is, as things stand at the moment Stefanovcich has no entry for the 2010 world championship. But he is determined to press ahead with a test at the Portimao circuit in Portugal later this month with former Williams driver Kazuki Nakajima scheduled to be behind the wheel.

Valencia F1 testing round-up - including hi-res pictures

Serbia’s first F1 team also seems to have secured the services of former McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan, who left the Woking team under a cloud of smouldering Ferrari drawings which had illicitly come into his possession and ended up being incinerated in his back garden. But not before a local photocopying shop contacted Ferrari to tell them that his missus had been in making duplicates of many Maranello drawings.

So which team does Mr Stefanovich believe will fail to make it onto the grid this season, thereby making room for the re-branded Toyota squad to join in?

Newcomers Campos,Lotus, Virgin and US F1 maintain they will all be there.

We will keep you posted!

The rebirth of MG

Chas Hallett — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:53:58 GMT

Just as our Chinese colleagues were getting their first taste of the new MG6, I was spearing up the M40 on my way to my first visit to Longbridge for nearly a decade.

Ironically, my last visit was to see the results of MG’s rebirth at the hands of the Phoenix Four. We were shown the MG R, S and T which were all whizzed up versions of the rather more prosaic Rover products.

But with MG’s new owners SAIC now in charge of Longbridge I didn’t know what to expect.

Admittedly the place still feels like a shadow of its former self – after all no cars are currently being produced here apart from a handful of MG TFs. But talking to the men now running the company there’s a huge sense of optimism that Longbridge’s glory days are far from over.

European versions of the new MG6 saloon will be rolling off of newly built Longbridge lines by the end of the year and there are more models in the pipeline.

The thing that really gives me hope though is that the West Midlands plant is now SAIC’s worldwide R&D centre and a new design HQ is just about to be opened.

That means Brits will be designing and engineering cars for a company that makes close to three million cars a year. And, let’s face it, with the Chinese car market set to expand further that number is likely to get a lot bigger.

In other words even if Europeans don’t take to the reengineered MG6 saloon, there could well be plenty of life in Longbridge for some time to come.

Technorati Tags: MG6, Mg, Rover, Longbridge, SAIC, China

Road test collector’s edition

Jamie Corstorphine — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:29:25 GMT

This week’s road test is a collector’s edition.

Well sort of. Not because it features some exotic supercar, but because, unusually, we had to ditch snow covered MIRA in favour of Millbrook for our performance testing.

Read the full Kia Venga road test here

While Millbrook’s hill route is relatively well known, having featured in numerous magazine features, TV ads and one Aston DBS destroying Bond stunt, the Brook’s ride and handling track is a bit of an unknown.

Which is why we’ve included a map in this week’s mag. It’s a good little circuit, if not quite as challenging as the track we normally use at Mira, especially on brakes. But still it gives a good insight into a car’s limit behaviour.

Returning to Millbrook also gave us an opportunity to test the Kia Venga’s top speed – something we can’t do at MIRA.

After a few laps the Venga eventually managed to reach a true 103mph – 1mph short of its claimed maximum.

Normal service resumes at Mira next week.

Do electric cars mean the end of servicing as we know it?

Dan Stevens — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:43:40 GMT

Just paid a visit to Tesla’s London outlet, tucked away in a side road near Harrods. It’s a suitably chic and upmarket location to sell £94,000 sports cars from, but it’s what’s underneath the building that intrigued me.

Cars slot into a lift and are taken down to the service bay in the basement. Nothing unusual about that, but when you get down there it looks, well, empty. There is nothing more than a few tool chests, a couple of vehicle lifts (and a crane to remove battery packs) and a computer or two. It looks as if the fitting out hasn’t been finished.

This is because much of the stuff you might need to service and repair conventional cars isn’t needed for electric cars. There are no fluids or fluid disposal systems because the Roadster doesn’t have an oil or power steering fluid. The building doesn’t need the extraction equipment you normally find in workshops because there are no gases to extract. An electric car has fewer moving parts in its drivetrain so there is less to wear out so the workshop doesn’t need to be full of spares.

It doesn’t need to carry large stocks of consumables such as brake pads and discs because the car barely uses its friction brakes – the retarding action of the electric motor is such that just lifting off the throttle slows the thing down to the same degree as using the brakes.

Tesla reckons its cars need less servicing than a conventional car – no oil or filters, the brakes don't get much use, there’s no clutch and so on. Much of what is carried out at a Tesla service comprises software upgrades, and Tesla is capable of carrying these out remotely, without having to see the car. And this will hold true for all electric cars, which poses a much bigger problem for the car industry.

Many franchised dealers make a lot of their money from servicing cars. Along with accessories, this is a business model that has driven profitability. But if servicing becomes simpler and quicker, it might have to get cheaper. And that could seriously disrupt how car companies sell and distribute their vehicles.

Rubens sends a warning to Rosberg

Alan Henry — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:38:22 GMT

It may have been slightly tongue-in-cheek, but only very slightly. After the first day of testing in preparation for the new F1 season, Rubens Barrichello offered a warning that Nico Rosberg should get out of the Mercedes team as quickly as possible to avoid being thrashed by Michael Schumacher.

It's early days for reaching such a dramatic conclusion, I would have thought, but at least Rubens knows about that of which he speaks. Having spent six seasons from 2000 as Michael’s wing man in the Ross Brawn-run Ferrari squad, Rubens knows only too well just what a stifling environment it can be paired with statistically the most successful driver of all time.

Valencia testing - 50 day one pictures

Asked at the end of Monday’s test at Valencia if he had any advice for Nico, he replied "Yeah. Get out of there! That is the only thing I can tell him. He needs to drive fast and don't crash: Ross will always tell you that before the race."

Although Barrichello acknowledged that his commens were somewhat extreme, he does think that the speed that Schumacher showed on his return to F1 action at Valencia should serve as a warning to Rosberg.

"He [Nico] is a great talent and I wish him all the best, and maybe tomorrow you will see the newspapers saying, 'Rubens tells Nico to get out of there', but I am not being bad about it," he said.

"Knowing what I know, and seeing how fast Michael went today, it is going to be a tough job. I wish him all the best because I think he is a talented boy who can be world champion. If he has the chances of being world champion in the same team as Michael, then he can be world champion anywhere. Let's put it this way."

On the other hand, as John Surtees once noted about Jim Clark “it must always be the ambition of any driver to get into a competitive car and go wheel-to-wheel with the competitor who is widely regarded as the best.”

Nico Rosberg now has the same opportunity afforded to Barrichello. If he can match the nine Grand Prix victories Rubens notched up as team-mate to Michael, I reckon Keke’s boy will be doing pretty well.

Lotus's quiet master

Andrew Frankel — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:09:59 GMT

One person’s retirement from a car company can rarely be described as the end of an era, but it is hard to think how else to describe Roger Becker’s departure from Lotus.

All the great sports car companies have their great test drivers and the only reason Roger’s name is perhaps not quite so well known as Ferrari’s Dario Benuzzi or Lamborghini’s Valentino Balboni is that Roger is a considered kind of chap who’d always rather let his product do the talking.

He started on the shop floor in 1966 when barely out of his teens, but moved swiftly to the vehicle development team where he stayed for over 40 years. All Lotuses from the Europa Twin Cam forward – that’s Elite, Eclat, Excel, Elan, Elise, Exige and Evora – are his cars.

Probably more than anyone else, it is Roger who is responsible for preserving Lotus’ unrivalled reputation for handling genius over the last four decades.

Roger is now 64, but as you will see if you go onto YouTube and watch him drifting the Evora around Hethel he has lost none of his touch. It’s worth bearing in mind too that last year the Evora won our annual handling contest by an unprecedented margin.

But the best Becker story concerns his impromptu participation in 007’s ‘The Spy Who Loved Me.’ Back in 1976 Roger had delivered an Esprit to Sardinia to take part in the now legendary car chase, which the official stunt driver then entirely failed to master.

After one useless run the by now rather irate director summoned the car and because no one else was around to deliver it, Roger drove it up the hill to him at considerable speed and highly unorthodox angles. He was to drive it for the next seven weeks of shooting.

That is why when you see the chase, which has been voted the best of all time, the Roger behind the wheel is Becker, not Moore and certainly not any trained stuntman.

So enjoy your retirement Roger, but please don’t slow down. The only good news in all of this is that Roger’s son Matt is now Lotus’ chief vehicle dynamics engineer and a chip off the old block if ever there were one.

Technorati Tags: Lotus, Esprit, Elise, Evora, James Bond, 007

The 2010 F1 season starts today!

Alan Henry — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:03:00 GMT

The 2010 F1 season starts today! A three day official test kicks off this morning at the old Valencia circuit to be followed by stints at Jerez (10-13 February and 17-20 February) and finally Barcelona(25-28 February).

It’s going to be an electrifying year. Truly Mercedes today officially unveiled their W01 in preparation for Michael Schumacher’s first serious tilt in a contemporary, state-of-the-art Grand Prix car since 2006, the long-awaited new Williams-Cosworth will break cover in the hands of Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg and young Vitaly Petrov – runner-up to Hulkenberg in last year’s GP2 championship – will become the first ever Russian F1 driver when he takes to the track in the new Renault R30.

Renault F1 shows its colours
Mercedes WO1 F1 car revealed
Sauber's sponsorless F1 car

Petrov’s presence on the grid is surely calculated to accelerate the possibility of a Russian Grand Prix soon being added to the schedule. Bernie Ecclestone has been talking to various potential promoters in both Moscow and St Petersberg over the past few years and Petrov is determined to play his part in being a catalyst to make the big event happen .

"This is what I tried to do a long time ago, so when I was driving in GP2 I always tried to get the TV and newspapers to say 'come on, we're Russia, we're a big country, we must have a Formula One grand prix. It has to be,'" he said. "So now I'm here maybe they'll wake up and try to do something."

He also hopes more Russian companies will become involved in the sport. Although Petrov is believed to have substantial sponsorship behind him, he said it had all been raised via family and management connections.

Asked for his views as to whether he felt major Russian sponsorship was likely to follow him into the sport, Petrov replied: "They must now, they must wake up because we came here without any sponsors, without any help to be in Formula One - with just my father, my manager and my father's friends. Nobody else. Now they will see us in Formula One and that will change something."

Yet amidst all the excitement of new faces in F1 places, Valencia today will be the scene of one man’s personal and very touching victory over adversity. Felipe Massa, now hopefully as fresh as a daisy after making a remarkable recovery from those dreadful head injuries sustained in Hungary last year, will be back in a Ferrari F1 car ready to take on the world.

Of all the personal triumphs represented by the start of a new world championship season, as far as 2010 is concerned, this one of surely the greatest.

Eagerly anticipating the new Ford S-Max

Ed Keohane — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:27:50 GMT

I ran a Ford S-Max for a year and did nearly 30,000 miles in it. So I think I know the currrent car well enough to confidently say that I like it. A lot.

Its major failing was that the diesel manual required too much gear changing (because of the lowish red line) and the optional six-speed slusher, which obviously resolved the gear changing issue, dampened the driver involvement and control that a car with such a fine chassis deserves.

I'm off to Spain this morning to drive the new, facelifted S-Max. Ford has already revealed that most of the changes are underneath the bonnet, so I'm hoping that the new Ecoboost engines and Powershift (Ford's DSG) gearbox are going to go a long way to fixing the drivetrain issue.

Check back later for the first drive.

How do you buy your cars?

James Ruppert — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:17:00 GMT

For all sorts of complicated reasons, I haven’t been able to leave the house for very long recently.

Now that severely cramps my style when it comes to looking at cars.

I hope to be at the forefront of a campaign I will launch when the Bangernomics Bible comes out next month. I think I’ll call it ‘Touching Metal’ or something equally pretentious. You see, I want people to look at cars in real life again.

I really enjoy travelling around the world online and looking at pretty pictures and the increasingly detailed descriptions. As a first stop it beats a blurry picture in a magazine and an abbreviation-packed 25 word classified ad.

That’s probably why in the old days we just had to go and see the motor in the metal for ourselves, even after an incoherent telephone conversation with the seller.

I know a car trader who offers YouTube virtual test drives of his stock. It's clever, but no substitute for actually getting behind the wheel.

Meanwhile some pictures on dealer websites are worse than useless, missing out one corner because they can’t stand far back enough in the yard.

It was one of these badly snapped cars I saw at a dealer, which had a good spec and friendly price. I called and they denied all knowledge of the vehicle, it took them all day to send some pics of the interior and generally they were rubbish at trying to sell it even though I kindly offered a holding deposit more than once.

Instead, I found something similar that wasn’t 200 miles away and cost a grand more. I managed to find a spare hour to go and meet the bloke selling it and drive the thing.

Only then could I make a decision. You can buy unseen and undriven, I’ve done it enough times, but too many people are bidding online and getting themselves an unsuitable heap in the process.

So I just wondered how the online buying experience could be improved for you and also what you might replace a Volvo V70 with?

We will have another guessing game over just what I may have bought in a few weeks time.

Technorati Tags: Volvo V70, online, cars, YouTube, Bangernomics

Jenson versus Lewis - it'll work out

Alan Henry — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:37:00 GMT

Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton have always struck me as particularly grown up for their age, but being under endless media scrutiny in their role as McLaren team-mates in 2010 will surely be even more stressful than the rough and tumble of their battles out on the circuit.

Despite this, I genuinely believe that they will drive each other through their formidable sense of competitiveness and a shrewd understanding that each can learn from the other.

McLaren launches new F1 car

At the launch of the new MP4-25 today (Friday) it was good to hear team principal Martin Whitmarsh reiterate that both drivers will be “let off the leash” to race as hard as they like – implying that he will be trusting implicitly in their good judgement not to get so embroiled in trying to beat each other that the successful development of the car is somehow compromised.

McLaren know everything there is to know about the complexity of team orders and the divisive effect they can have on a team. And they’d be the first to admit that there have been occasions when they have spiralled out of control.

In 1989 Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost cut a private agreement that whoever led into the first corner of the San Marino GP at Imola would be allowed to win the race. Senna got the best start and overtook the Frenchman on the straight before Tosa. He claimed that was a legitimate move under the terms of their deal as they had not reached the braking area by the time he went past. Needless to say Prost did not agree and the ensuing enmity between the drivers meant that they felt a simmering mood of mutual discontent from that moment onwards

Managing this antipathy was increadibly wearing for the team from that point onwards. Similarly, in 1997, David Coulthard had to bite his tongue hard when he was instructed to hand victory in the European GP at Jerez to team-mate Mika Hakkinen. You could almost see the point from the touchlines, given that Mika was long overdue his first win, but it must have looked very different from DC’s perspective. When he had to do the same in Melbourne the following year, the Scot was left wondering, briefly, what the hell was going on.

I think McLaren know how to manage these things much better nowadays. That’s not to say there won’t be the odd wheel banging episode between Lewis and Jenson. They might even end up together in a gravel trap. Hell, at the end of the day, you want to beat your team-mate more than anybody else on the grid. Should be dynamite!

Behind the scenes at McLaren, part two

Jim Holder — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:27:00 GMT

Some more quick-fire notes from the McLaren F1 launch, this time about the team.

- After all the speculation, McLaren’s colour scheme is much the same as last year. Team boss Martin Whitmarsh trod a delicate path in all his mentions of Mercedes, and politely reminded everyone that the manufacturer’s withdrawal from the team is a gradual one. For now, then, the silver stays. “I’m sure Mercedes will want four of its cars at the front, even if we may differ on what order we’d like them to finish!” said Whitmarsh.

McLaren launches new F1 car

- Sadly, Merc couldn’t respond. Its motorsport boss Norbert Haug wasn’t at the launch, having contracted a “voice problem”. Read into that what you will.

- One thing Whitmarsh didn’t do, though, was mention Michael Schumacher by name, even though he made plenty of references to him. Wonder why?

- Perhaps inevitably, the car on stage isn’t the one that will hit the track in Valencia next week. In particular, the team admitted to disguising its new double diffuser, which it describes as “a very aggressive interpretation of the rules.”

- Most noticeable thing about the two 2010 cars (Ferrari and now McLaren) launched so far? The length. Mainly this is to accommodate the fuel tank, which is approximately twice the size now refuelling is banned. So much longer in fact, that when McLaren assembled its car for today’s launch and put it in the car lift at its Woking HQ, it wouldn’t fit. “We were caught out a bit,” laughed Whitmarsh.

- The end of refuelling has brought other problems. engineering chief Paddy Lowe, who noted that the extreme heat transfer from engine to fuel tank during a race. With refuelling the teams could ‘reset’ that temperature with cooled fuel. Now it will be subjected to the heat for the entire race.

- Other design aspect of note included the massive, Red Bull style shark fin across the back of the car. “We think it’s interesting,” said Whitmarsh, without elaborating. “There’s been unprecedented collaboration between the aero and mechanical departments – we’ve need extreme aero to get the performance we need,” added Lowe.

- Tyre only pitstops have been managed by McLaren in 2.5 sec in practice. Lowe says the jury’s still out on whether teams will be stopping once or twice at most events, as they haven’t tested 2010 spec tyres yet, and there’s a chance of a rule change – set to be decided on Monday - that will force the top ten qualifiers to start the race on their qualifying tyres.

- On the plight of the new teams, Whitmarsh said this: “McLaren’s philosophy is that F1 teams should build their own cars, but practically we’re open to the idea of customer chassis. Ironically, the new teams had a chance to acquire Toyota’s car for this year – it had two cars ready by Christmas. I think they looked a gift horse in the mouth.”

Behind the scenes at the McLaren F1 launch

Jim Holder — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:50:00 GMT

A few quick-fire observations from the McLaren F1 launch at Vodafone’s HQ in Newbury, which has just finished.

What of the Lewis/Jenson dynamic? Or should that be Jenson/Lewis dynamic? When the pair were called up on stage, Lewis was named first and took to the steps first, but then it was Jenson who spoke first. No team orders yet, then…

On that note, Lewis took the initiative and offered this: “Last year, at one race, there were parts for one driver only. As I had the number one on my car, I got them. If the same situation occurs again this year – and I doubt it will – I’d expect Jenson to get them as he has the number one.”

Mind games? Perhaps a few. From his opening salvo Lewis emphasised that the he’d been developing the 2010 car “for a lot of 2009” and that he is “particularly proud of his contribution”. He also noted he’d been at the team for many years, was proud of everyone he worked with and how much he knew and trusted them. Jenson could only talk about how busy his January had been, getting to know everyone.

Jenson reckons the dynamic between him and his engineers will be the hardest thing to learn. As a result, he’s concentrated on getting to know them through his work in McLaren’s simulator. “I don’t want any excuses for underperforming when I arrive at the first race,” he says, boldly.

It’s not just the car that McLaren have been developing, but that simulator too. The drivers confirmed the simulator is now fully set up to MP25 spec, albeit with a guesstimate on how the new tyres will perform. “The figures look exciting, but we’ll have to see how that translates on track,” noted Jenson.

Two quick factoids. This is the first time consecutive world champions have been in the same team. Lewis won his very first British karting title powered by an engine built by Jenson’s dad, John.

Technorati Tags: McLaren, F1, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari vs McLaren hots up again

Alan Henry — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:10:00 GMT

Ferrari may have got a snappy new livery thanks to Fernando Alonso bringing Santander to the Maranello party, but the Spanish bank has produced one of the very best television advertisements of recent years using McLaren star Lewis Hamilton as its excellent focal point.

The plot features a young lad dozing in the back of his father’s elderly Merc 300TE – a clever bit of vintage product placement here – as they sweep across a viaduct apparently made from Lego (don’t ask!).

As the boy daydreams one of the workman at the roadside nods in acknowledgment at him. It’s Lewis, and the kid has to pinch himself to believe that he’s actually seen his F1 hero!

Not quite up to the standard of ‘comparethemeercat.com’ but pretty close, in my view. Certainly streets ahead of the gut-wrenchingly crass and almost embarrassing ads currently offered by Santander’s high street rivals Barclays.

But don’t get me started on that. Take a short cut to a new way of raising my blood pressure!

Meanwhile, back to the new Ferrari. "This championship will be very important for us," said team principal Stefano Domenicali. "The last championship, for different reasons, was not very positive, that is why we are dealing with this one looking to be competitive - and this is what Ferrari deserves to have.”

I think McLaren, who are due to launch their MP4-25 at title sponsor Vodafone’s Newbury headquarters tomorrow are all determined to disappoint the amiable Domenicali.

And McLaren’s old pal Alonso.

Technorati Tags: Ferrari, McLaren, F1

MG Rover's link to Westfield

Mark Tisshaw — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:39:00 GMT

It’s often the smaller stories within the industry which are the most interesting. Take Potenza’s acquisition of Westfield back in 2006, for example.

You’ve probably never heard much about Potenza, but the firm’s beginnings could prove significant in shaping the future direction of Westfield.

Potenza Technology was set up in 1999 when BMW closed down MG Rover’s hybrid and electric research unit. Paul Faithfull was one of the leaders of Rover’s future technology research and thought the now defunct British company was onto such a good thing, he decided to take on its R&D in his own company.

At the time, says Faithfull, Rover’s research was the most advanced in the world. “The problem was,” he says, “the market wasn’t ready for the tech and the costs were too high, so we couldn’t do anything”.

So what was going on at Longbridge and on university campuses in the West Midlands? Faithfull revealed to me three of Rover's behind closed doors projects which never saw the light of day.

His team created two all–electric Metros and a military-spec Defender hybrid that was partly powered by batteries from on-board army radios. Most interesting of all though was the Highlander, a short-wheelbase Defender which had an electric motor powering each wheel.

It could get from 0-60mph in just 4.5sec. These projects would be impressive today, let alone 10-20 years ago.

Despite the romantic images of British engineers conjuring up the equivalent of 20th Century automotive witchcraft, there was no fairytale ending to Rover’s electric development. Off BMW went, armed with many of the patents.

Potenza set about on consultancy work for clients. Then it acquired Westfield and it could back to what it does best.

Faithfull has five electric Westfields up his sleeve, the first of which is the iRacer. This has two electric motors providing direct drive to each rear wheel and has a centre of gravity of a Formula One car.

So convinced with the benefits of electric technology for Westfield, Faithfull is prepared to build the future of the company around it and move away from the constant Caterham comparisons.

“I don’t want us to be compared to Caterham any more,” he says. “We want a whole new style and look. We want cutting-edge radical design and this is a real market opportunity.”

Technorati Tags: Westfield, Caterham, iRacer, BMW, MG Rover, Land Rover, Defender

Volvo's 'flagship dealer' impresses

Jim Holder — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:08:00 GMT

Late last year I took my long-term Volvo XC60 in for a service at Volvo Cars West London in Chiswick.

It was a frustrating experience, punctuated by a series of small problems that left me pretty unimpressed, especially as it was my first experience of a so-called premium dealer.

Read 'Volvo's flagship dealer disappoints'

It also seemed that I wasn’t alone in feeling let down by dealer experiences – the response from autocar.co.uk readers to the story was massive, sharing both good and bad tales.

But this blog isn’t about the problems, but the solutions – all of which have left me very impressed.

Subsequent to my initial report, Tracey Perry, the company’s MD, rang me. Not to shout and complain, but to talk about what went wrong and how she could improve the service on offer.

All very well, of course, but, as they say, actions speak louder than words. A few weeks later I got an email outlining what had changed in the weeks following my visit. Perry was determined to tackle any criticism head on.

In total, 29 company cars were moved off site to improve customer parking. In addition, plans were put in place to prepare and sell new cars off site, and have them delivered to Chiswick only when there was space available.

She subsequently asked if I would attend another meeting, and she and I talked through my experiences in painstaking detail with someone from Volvo head office, so that specific training could be instigated.

While the fact that my experiences were published on Autocar.co.uk undoubtedly had a major bearing on Perry’s response, it’s also worth noting that she says she also talked to other customers to gauge their opinions.

This training is still rolling out, but passing by the other day I thought I’d drop in and see if the reality of Perry’s changes matched the promises.

I can’t compare like with like as I haven’t put a car through a service there, but I have been back, unannounced, to have a wander around.

The signs were entirely positive. For starters, there was none of the parking chaos of my previous visit (although I did have to take the last available space). It’s amazing how much more positive you feel about a place when you can negotiate its car park without needing the prowess of a stunt driver.

There was also plenty of assistance on hand, all offered in a helpful but far from pushy manner. I’ve always been mystified by how, when you are making one of the most expensive purchases of your life, or trying to maintain it, customer service is so frequently appalling (that said, estate agents aren’t exactly shining examples on the whole, either). But, on this snapshot, Volvo West London got it right, in my view, treating my mild curiosity at new models with informative and helpful answers.

Of course, I’d like to go back again, just to see if the service desk had raised its game (which it needed to). After all, this time I was showing an interest in buying a car, rather than having one serviced. Overall, though, the signs were positive.

But perhaps the autocar.co.uk forum users can step in again on this one? I’d be intrigued to know what you expect in terms of customer service from a dealership, and hear about any first-hand experiences.

The Mulally miracle

Steve Cropley — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:01:00 GMT

When Ford's president and CEO Alan Mulally, a remarkable ex-Boeing "lifer" arrived to orchestrate the Ford revival his predecessor Bill Ford had begun but lacked the chutzpah to carry through, people were sceptical.

Who was this ever-smiling zealot whose super-simple "OneFord" plan involved selling off the family silver, a strategy that flew directly in the faces not only of his recent Ford predecessors, but of most of the industry's other big names who had spent the previous decade amassing collections of car marques?

New Ford Focus revealed

However, Mulally's move has proved gloriously correct. The Ford chief has been depicted on the cover of Fortune magazine as "Ford's Comeback Kid". Mulally has achieved in three years even more than he promised. In the latest quarter of trading, every single Ford division was profitable. One year ago, that was the stuff of dreams.

Mulally's technique is simple: a "laser focus" on a big but simple plan. Take an excellent car creation system in Europe and spread the same excellent products around the world, with all the scale economiies that implies. It means management is busy, but not diverted or overstretched.

However, the real secret weapon is Mulally himself. He has an extraordinary, infectious enthusiasm which even sceptics find hard to resist. With a wide smile and simple words ("The new Fous is so, so cool...) he encourages his troops to yearn for success. The optimism at Ford - often in the past a hotbed of pessimism - is palpable. People believe recovery is coming, and the scores are starting to be posted on the board. Mulally's zeal is too much to resist. If they're not at it already, psychologists would do well to study this remarkable man's communication technique, which has already turned 200,000 employees and customers to his point of view.

The downside in all this is that Mulally, though vital, is only a year or two from retirement age. When he goes, though Ford is fully equipped with highly able people, there won't be an yone like Alan to take his place. The obvious hope is that by the time he decides to go - and most people are hoping he'll stay after he turns 65 - things will be running so well, they'll stay that way. But one US exec, a Mulally disciple, speaks for the body of Blue Oval employees: "Alan's retirement? I'm refusing to think about it".

I'll bet the Ford family feels the same...

Alfa builds a cracking car - at last

Chas Hallett — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:53:00 GMT

Some Alfistas attack Autocar from time to time with the accusation that we are biased against Alfa.

Not true. We take as we find, and what we’ve found for the past decade has been disappointing. Like many others we’re frustrated that Alfa has not being producing cars that are totally worthy of such a great brand. Step forward models such as the Brera and Mito.

Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon 1750 TBi TI test drive review

But I drove home in a cracking Alfa last night, the 159 1750 Sportwagon. It’s fitted with the company’s new 1750cc turbo engine which is good for 197bhp. While it’s hardly electrifyingly quick, it’s satisfyingly rapid, smooth and lovely to live with. Way quieter than an Alfa diesel too.

Most of all I was impressed with the 159. The company’s made myriad small changes to the car since it was launched and they’ve all been for the better. It felt like a quality product and was far more satisfying to drive than the Audi A5 Sportback I was in the night before.

Alfa’s at a bit of a crossroads at the moment. Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne has let it be known that the brand needs to get its act together to secure its future. Most of all it needs to fend off the attack from the Germans and start making prestige car makers at least include Alfa on the shopping list. That doesn’t just include the cars either, it has to include the whole buying and aftersales experience too.

But after my quick drive I’d say that if you are in the 3-series/A4 set market you should at least give the 159 1750 some house room.

It’s given me new hope for the forthcoming Giulietta hatch and what comes after it anyway.

'Folk Makt' helps save Saab

Hilton Holloway — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:08:00 GMT

I must admit I had given up on Saab, as much as I’ve rooted for the company over the years. It was, surely, only a few signatures from the scrapper.

But Saab has been saved at the 12th hour, sold by General Motors to Dutchman Victor Muller, who’s also the boss of Dutch supercar minnow Spyker.

Saab sale confirmed

I’ve just been on the phone to Saab Spyker’s Trollhatten HQ and have been told that the original product plan is back on. And Jan-Ake Jonsson – who worked incredibly hard last year to keep Saab alive, but was removed by GM two weeks ago – will get back his job as company boss.

The new 9-5 will be built at the HQ, alongside the current three-model 9-3 line-up. Saab will buy finished 9-4X SUVs from GM’s Mexico factory. All of which is assuming that the Swedish government underwrites the European Investment bank loan that will keep Saab rolling

And, as far as I can gather, the next 9-3 will be assembled from the best components that Saab engineers can assemble from global suppliers, massively reducing development costs and, possibly, ushering in the age of the ‘virtual’ car company.

But that’s for the future - today’s story is the incredible way that Saab was saved from certain death by a global alliance of enthusiasts and web site activism.

Anybody who’s glad to see Saab survive should be thanking Steven Wade, a local government employee from Tasmania. His enthusiasts website Saabs United (nee Trollhattan Saab) has been the notice board for Saab enthusiasts the world over.

From this website had come a daily feed of inside information and, latterly, the foundation for the global ‘Saab Support Convoys’ demonstrations.

If you think that’s an overstatement, check this. When Victor Muller signed the documents, the first thing he did was call Steven in Australia and tell him that Saab had been sold.

Apparently, Muller said that site’s concentration of global support from Saab enthusiasts had made all the difference to him when he was struggling to get GM to do a deal.

What we’ve seen today is just how much the Internet has changed the world. You’ve heard all the e-buzzwords about ‘the wisdom of crowds’ and the power of the ‘nudge’.

Today, a chap in a house on a small island about far away from Sweden as its possible to get has corralled the support of the world’s Saab enthusiasts, helping force the world’s largest car maker to sell, rather than close, Saab.

In Sweden they call it Folk Makt. The rest of us call it people power.

The only thing remaining is for the new 9-5 to knock our socks off. Saab has a lot to live up to.