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.
In January, the head of Audi’s quattro GmbH performance division, Franciscus van Meel, was relieved from his duties and replaced by longtime R&D executive Heinz Hollerweger. Back then, it was said that van Meel, once considered a shooting star in Ingolstadt, would take up a senior position with Audi in China. But that’s not happening. Instead, van Meel will be joining BMW; rumor has it he could be working at the M GmbH performance division. Regarding the move, both Audi and BMW declined to comment.
A beastly high-performance compact wagon? To be clichéd, um, yes please.
In other German automaker news, Volkswagen will execute significant changes to its U.S. lineup. Following the launch of the new European-market Passat this fall, its U.S.-market sister model will receive an extensive overhaul, which will consist of a new front end. But, critically, the sedan won’t move to VW’s new MQB platform.
To increase its market share, VW is betting large on the upcoming MQB-based crossover. But the smaller Tiguan will play a more significant role in the U.S., as well. The next-generation model will come in two wheelbases; only the long-wheelbase version will be offered in the states. It won’t get three-row seating, but it will get a bigger trunk than the current model, addressing complaints about its “cramped” interior.
By the way, the rumors about a 300-horsepower Golf R SportWagen prototype driving around in Wolfsburg are true. VW is evaluating the market viability of such a car, but don’t count on it for the U.S. market. Wagon + high performance = American head-scratching.
Check the Facts
At this year’s New York auto show, Fiat’s R&D chief Harald Wester crushed hopes that the earth would be saved by electric cars. “We should be aware of the fact that they are not a sustainable solution for our environmental problems,” he ventured. He goes on to explain that with the power infrastructure in Europe, China, and North America, “at the end of the day, there is either no benefit in CO2 or even more emissions.” Moreover, “there is a very huge amount of energy needed and emissions just to produce the batteries.
For the amount of energy needed to make a 20-kWh lithium-ion battery, you can run a regular Fiat 500 for approximately 15,000 kilometers (9375 miles). Wester is realistic about the unrealistic) assumptions of politicians and customers: “It’s a tricky issue. I understand what is going on with the market, but it will not save the planet.” Progress—or what passes for it today—will be slow: “As long as selling these cars is not a really good business, we will somewhat limit the number of applications. But we will speak to the regulations.” Wester opined: “There are interesting alternatives. Compressed natural gas and diesels have the biggest impact.”
The Italdesign Giugiaro Hyundai Pony Coupe concept.
Korea’s Design Heritage
Korean cars aren’t considered to have much heritage, but, in fact, the 40th anniversary of Hyundai’s automotive division is rapidly approaching. This is the perfect time, then, to reflect on the Koreans’ interesting design history. The first-generation Hyundai Pony, launched in Turin in the fall of 1974, was styled by Italdesign Giugiaro, and the design house built a Pony Coupe prototype, as well. That angular two-door with a horizontally split rear window later served as inspiration for the DeLorean DMC-12, says Giugiaro. See the resemblance?
The Hyundai Stellar.
Another Giugiaro design, the Hyundai Stellar, was less of a landmark: In Britain, it was explicitly marketed to Ford Cortina customers who couldn’t get used to the new-age aero shape of the Ford Sierra (Merkur XR4ti). Nevertheless, many Hyundai and Kia designs were daring and different, if not exactly beautiful; take the 1996 Hyundai Tiburon with its spectacular lines and volumes.
Korea went wild with the first-gen Tiburon.
Hyundai and Kia chief designer Peter Schreyer, a talented pen formerly of Audi fame, tells me he wants to highlight the heritage of his brands: “It is important to me, and I wish to show more of it.”
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Japanese favorites—just be sure they offer both left- and right-hand drive.
Enthusiasts Are Tough to Please—Who Knew?
BMW’s U.S. chief Ludwig Willisch has at least some ammo for journalists’ questions about the future of the manual transmission with the brand. In BMW’s lineup, row-your-own ‘boxes were yanked from the 550i and 650i for the 2014 model year, but are still available in the M5 and M6. In fact, the U.S. is the only country where these ultra-powerful models can be specified with a stick. The manual transmission take rate in M cars is significant—around 40 percent in the E92 M3—but for the non-M range, however, it is negligible, “in the low one-digit range,” says Willisch.
Nevertheless, enthusiasts are hard to please, Willisch has learned, but research can help. He tells me about an incident from his time in Japan: “In 2001, I arrived and BMW offered the M3 both with left-hand drive and right-hand drive. I was about to say: “do away with it [the left-hand-drive model] tomorrow.” But then I reluctantly looked into market research and found that more than half of the customers that bought an M3 with left-hand drive would not have switched to an M3 with right-hand drive.” Back then, BMW sold 6000 to 7000 M3s per year in Japan. Willisch kept the left-hand drive model.
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