Infotainment confusion

On By ChristofferIn OpinionLeave a comment

There was a time when an infotainment system was something you ticked in the options list when ordering your car without thinking much about it. Whether it was called iDrive (BMW), Comand (MB) or something else, systems were rather similar – and rather limited in their capabilities.

This all changed with Tesla’s giant screen and new standard for in-car entertainment, and it has kept (and will keep) changing ever since. At the same time, manufacturers’ understandable wish to bring the latest to market has also created different standards between brands, but actually also between similar models of the same manufacturer, that you’d better be aware of;

  • Buy a new Audi Q8 (left) and you’ll get two very fancy touch screens on the center console, handling almost all in-car functions at the price of a lot of fatty fingerprints. Buy a new Q7 (right) and you will still get the old-looking navigation screen on the dashboard, and traditional controls for seat heating and ventilation. It’s not a wild guess that the A7 will get the dual screens in the next facelift, but it’s not yet the case.

  • In Stuttgart it’s even more confusing: buy the brand new Mercedes GLE (left) and you will get the new, double 12-inch screens with touchscreen functionality through the MBUX software. Buy the new E-class (right) and the screens will look exactly the same but will not yet have MBUX and thus no touch functionality.

Speaking of MBUX (and the latest BMW iDrive), this latest update also gives you the option to talk to your car, starting with the catchy phrase “Hey Mercedes/BMW”. I’ll let you judge for yourself if that’s a drawback or not…

So in other words, if you’re in the market for a new or recent pre-owned car, this has implications. As a seller in 3-4 years of your 2018 Q7, you’ll most probably be punished financially for having a car with that old-looking, single screen. But as a buyer, you will have a great negotiating position already today if you prefer physical, non-fatty buttons that you can locate with your fingers without looking away from the road, and you buy a car for driving rather than talking to it.

When your regular SUV isn’t enough

On By ChristofferIn Fun stuff, News1 Comment

The production of the Land Rover Defender ceased in 2016 after more than 2 million units produced since 1948. Late last year, the Mercedes G-Wagon was replaced by a completely new car, that however to 98% looks exactly like its predecessor. What these two cars have in common, next to not being produced anymore, is that in spite of their looks and capabilities, 9 out of 10 of them never saw a tougher terrain than the shopping mile in cities like Zurich, Milan or Munich.

There are however those who made heavier use of their G-Wagon, or simply felt a need to float even higher above the common mortals. It was for those that Mercedes developed the G500 4×4, that became the crowning of the G-Wagon career. Powered by the same AMG V8 biturbo as the G63, it was arguably more stable at high speed than the original G, the road behaviour of which was somewhat similar to a cruise ship, with a comparable turning circle. The credibility of the 4×4 is however somewhat compromised by the many carbon parts, basically all the black parts in the pictures, that no sensible person would like to damage or even scratch. So perhaps the best place for the 4×4 is the same as for the regular G or the Defender: on a shopping mile in a European city.

We didn’t post this under The Thrill of Owning heading, but this is a car that could be yours for around EUR 200.000, and that should arguably hold its value quite well, as all G-Wagons do, especially with the new model now out…

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May Santa bring you a McLaren!

On By ChristofferIn News1 Comment

Arguably as a petrol head you’re quite spoiled living in Switzerland, whether in Zurich or Geneva. But even here you don’t see a McLaren everyday, and you certainly do not see two 720’s, in the same colour, parked next to each other in a street in Geneva, all that often!

Merry Xmas to all our readers, may 2019 be your best driving year ever!

McLaren

Tesla Model 3 – yes, it does exist!

On By ChristofferIn News1 Comment

Having spent the last weeks in the US, I’ve seen quite a few of the long-awaited, long-delayed Tesla Model 3, that is now finally being produced and delivered (with delivery times in the US as low as 4 weeks), but still has to make it to Europe. If you haven’t seen it, it’s quite a good-looking car, probably the best looking in the Tesla line-up. The side and rear are similar to a (smaller) Model S, the front has a bit of Panamera over it.

Model 3 front
Same two luggage spaces as on the Model S, both a bit smaller in size. 

The interior however if very different, I guess you could say more futuristic, but as in the S and X characterized by the giant screen that in the Model 3 is however not integrated to the dashboard but rather stands out of it like a big laptop screen. Feels a bit cheap and the interior is in general a bit simpler than in the S and X.

Model 3 screen
This is the only screen in the dashboard, which is basically free of buttons and switches as well. 

So far only the top version has been introduced to the market and for some unclear reason, Tesla won’t divulge the KwH of the electric engine, only talking about the range of over 300 miles (460+ kms). That would mean that it’s the 90 or 100 KwH engine, and it’s difficult to see why that would be a secret, given it isn’t for the other models. Towards the end of the year, a cheaper version with a smaller engine and a range around 250 miles (400 kms) will be introduced at a cost in the US of around USD 35.000. The top version as shown in the pictures costs around USD 50.000 in the US and both versions should make it to Europe in 2019.

Model 3 rear

The price will probably decide on whether it becomes a success in Europe or not. As always it’s a bit difficult to pinpoint the competition – it’s difficult to imagine someone choosing between a Model 3 and a Prius. You do however get a lot of fun cars for around EUR 40-45.000, so Tesla would probably need to keep the price pretty much in line with the US. The recent introduction of the Jaguar I-Pace and the coming Audi E-tron and MB EQC also illustrate how the big guys are gearing up. Although not in direct competition to the Model 3, it will clearly be far less smooth sailing for Tesla going forward, whether as a private or a public company…

British Car Meeting 2018

On By ChristofferIn Classic cars, NewsLeave a comment

I had the pleasure of attending the British Car Meeting on the Swiss countryside today, an annual gathering where some 1300 British cars of all ages gather to admire each other and be admired by others. A few picks of some of today’s participants. Scroll over the pictures to see the caption.

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Against a very Swiss background, some 1300 British cars gather each year in Mollis, canton of Glarus

A large number of Defenders of all ages…
…but only one Aston Martin DB 2!

No big secret that old Morgans…
…are much prettier than the new one!

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This gentleman subsequently found his bagpipe and entertained the crowds…

The Esprit has become rare, but not as rare…
…as this “custom” race Lotus, multiple race winner!

The dream garage

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Last Saturday was as so often great for some Zurich car spotting and the mental game “my dream garage”, as illustrated by the below pictures.

I find these two a close call given the Bentley offers the topless option and I’m still not fully convinced by the DB11’s looks. The Continental does have a timelessness to it and ages rather well!

Bentley II

Bentley I

The below, this time from Geneva last week, is a no-brainer, at least for a lover of classic cars like myself, especially in that lovely 70’s yellow!

Porsches

 

When battery power is not enough

On By ChristofferIn News1 Comment

The business press has given a lot of attention lately to Elon Musk’s plans for the future financing of Tesla, however without really looking at the one factor that is critical for the bottom line, as for any car company: the trend in cars sold. And if the Hong Kong market, which boasted the highest number of Tesla cars per capita in 2016 is anything to go by, the trend is not good.

Regular readers of this blog may remember my video post from a business trip in Hong Kong in March 2017, that you can otherwise view here. Little did I know at the time that a month after that video was made, things would take a dramatic turn for the worse in terms of Tesla sales.  In the record month of March 2017, almost 3000 Teslas were registered in Hong Kong, before the bottom went out of the market in April with only 32 (!) cars being registered in the territory for the remainder of 2017, and with numbers continuing to drop so far in 2018.

BF-AS184_TESLAH_16U_20170709185104What Hong Kong residents knew back in March of last year, and I didn’t, was that the HK government was about to abolish the heavy subsidy on Teslas to the benefit of more ordinary, electric cars. Hong Kong is not the first market where removal of subsidies has had a dramatic effect on Tesla sales, Denmark is another. To make things worse, Hong Kong residents conscious of the environment should probably be happy about the drop, as research from Bernstein from 2016 has shown that electricity generation in Hong Kong is so dirty that a Tesla will throughout its lifetime be responsible for 1/5 more CO2 emissions than an equivalent petrol car.

The removal of the tax subsidy made Teslas massively more expensive in the local market, but not more so than a BMW, MB or Audi, all of which continue to sell significantly more cars than Tesla. As everyone who has driven a Tesla knows, it’s a fascinating car, but if you remove the engine, it is no match for the traditional luxury brands. This is what the statistics from Hong Kong prove, and it thus seems clear that the most critical factor for Elon Musk’s financing plans and Tesla’s future is government subsidies – or in other words, politics.

Kia stings the auto hierarchy

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You may have heard about Kia’s first ever performance car lately, the Kia Stinger GT, given how much it has been talked about – and praised. Especially in the top GT version the Stinger is quite good-looking, drives well and is equipped with a twin-turbo, 370 hp six-cylinder, ensuring it delivers in terms of performance as well. That’s all great, but not even Kia expects the Stinger GT to sell in the tens of thousands, mostly given it’s a four-door sedan – and that it’s a Kia.

Kia Stinger exterior

Kia Stinger interior
A very nice place to be!

This last point is where it gets interesting. Because it’s neither for the engine, nor the looks or the road manners that the GT has received most praise – it’s for the interior, which I had the opportunity to explore myself recently. I can only confirm what has been said by others: if you didn’t know what car you’re in, I guarantee that you would guess on something firmly in the high-end segment. From the leather dashboard over the metal applications to the equipment and the quality of the seats, there is nothing that would make you think you’re sitting in a Kia, except for the logo on the steering wheel.

If you had taken a 400hp engine and put it in a Hyundai, Kia or Skoda five years ago, it would still not have made it a serious contender in the high-end segment, too big were the differences in ride and interior quality. But now we have come to the stage where technological and production progress is such that a brand such as Kia can deliver a car that looks good, drives well and is fully specced, but still at least EUR 20.000 cheaper than any comparable Audi, BMW or Mercedes-Benz.

What’s the value of a brand? I believe we’ll find out over the next few years, but the just got a whole lot tougher for the traditional premium brands!

Kia Soul
A 2010 Kia Soul – let’s just say we’ve come a long way since!

Marcus Ericsson and Sauber score again!

On By ChristofferIn F1, NewsLeave a comment

Marcus Bahrain

Today’s GP in Bahrain was entertaining, as is almost always the case Bahrain, but especially so for Swiss and Swedish F1 fans, as Marcus Ericsson finished 9th, scoring two points for his Swiss Sauber team. Even better, he did not do so because of a mass crash, but rather as the Sauber car with its new partner Ferrari (in Alfa Romeo disguise) is actually becoming increasingly competitive, and at least on this circuit managed to keep the pace of the middle field of teams. This bodes well for the future. Before today, Marcus had a stint of 49 races without scoring a point (since Monza in 2015), hopefully it won’t take another 49 for him to score again!

The race was won by Vettel (but the way his 49th win by a funny coincidence) ahead of Bottas (who would probably have won had the race lasted another couple of laps) and Lewis Hamilton, who had started 9th due to a replaced gearbox.

Glimpses from the Geneva Motor Show

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If you happen to be close to Geneva, there is still time to visit the 88th Motor Show, that takes place until 18 March. I was able to spend a few hours there this week and observe, next to the usual glamour, two main trends.

The first one is obviously electrical cars, and when you see the sheer  number of hybrid and electrical cars currently available or in planning in one place, it is hard to imagine that some other alternative fuel would have a chance to compete with electric – the race is probably already run, also in terms of supplying the necessary infrastructure.

The second trend, a bit more unexpected, is – well, flying cars. A number of brands present different types of cars with wings, or more drone-like flying arrangements like the Audi pictured below, the idea of which is for the car both to be able to cruise down a road but then take to the air when the road stops or becomes congested. You can’t help wonder how we will look back on this in 15 years from now…

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The Audi Flying Drone (no, that’s not the official name). Will our grand children say “gee, look at how big the wings were then”, or rather “they were really crazy back in the -10’s”?

Next to electrical cars and flying drones, there was however still enough of the old school cubic inches and horsepower around for me to provide some main highlights below.

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The BMW X7 is a beautiful study of what a larger, future X5 could look like. No production date has been set, and it’s a bit surprising how late BMW thinks about joining the party, considering competitors such as the Audi Q7 and MB GL/GLS have been around since long.

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Polestar had their stand next to the (large) Volvo stand, in perhaps the best location of the whole show – well done. Polestar 1 (set to go into production in 2019) looks nice from the front and the side, but the back is as ugly as the new S90 and does not look very premium on the inside. 

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No, this is not a second Polestar1 but rather the AMG GT63, a four-door, four-seat, coupe-like GT car. When you look closer it looks far more aggressive and exclusive than the Polestar. Now if anyone really missed it until it existed, that’s another question. 

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With obviously all the supercar brands being present, I’ll let the Chiron represent them all. No doubt the reddest car at this year’s show!

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If you feel these lines reminds you of something from your youth, you’re right. This is the new Stratos, a tribute to the original Lancia Stratos and showed as a concept already in 2010, but now about to go into production. It is designed by Pininfarina and will be manufactured by Manifattura Automobili Torino (MAT). Based on a Ferrari F430 chassis, the engine develops over 500 hp for kerb weight under 1300 kg. 

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Last but not least, my favorite from this year’s show, the Ruf SCR. The latest incarnation of this 40-year old name is what first looks like a classic 911 (964), but is a fully modern car with a body in carbon fibre and a 4-litre naturally aspirated six-cylinder engine, developing over 500 hp. The price is as high as the car is beautiful!

A year with the E63 AMG

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It was in late November -16 that I picked up my then 18-month old E63 AMG Station Wagon (leading to some early impressions that if you missed them, you can read here), so it’s been a bit more than a year and roughly 20.000 kms between then and now – and what a pleasure it has been! Looking back at my past car buying history, they tend to come and go at quite regular (and short!) intervals, but at least for now I haven’t a single time entertained the thought of switching – it’s just too good.

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…where it all started…

Starting at the heart of the matter, the engine is quite simply superb. Power is just everywhere, delivery is instantaneous and never-ending, and the sound still gives me goose bumps every time. It’s been rumored that most of these engines deliver more than the 558 hp on paper. I have no clue whether that is true but if someone told me there was another 100 hp under the bonnet I would believe them straight away. I’m actually thinking of getting it measured at some point.

At the same time it’s as smooth and practical as any Merc for the local shopping round, or transporting empty boxes from my wife’s shop to the recycling station. Consumption is highly reasonable; sure, it’s no Prius, but we did 1000 kms through Germany last summer at speeds that would make you lose your permit in every other part of the world, and came down with 14 litres / 100 kms. In normal driving it’ll come down to 10-11 litres which really isn’t much to complain about.

In the first post I mentioned the Speedshift gearbox as a positive surprise, and it still is. It’s so much better than MB’s regular box, up-shifting instantaneously with a thumping sound in Sport and Sport+ Mode, whilst also downshifting highly effectively and always timely. Well done AMG! The same goes for the light-footedness chassis and the perfectly weighted steering.

So what’s on the downside? Well, actually nothing at all (this is the point where I’m actively forgetting a decent amount of speeding tickets through the year…). There is also this saying that a model is never as good as just before it ceases to be produced, and I tend to believe that. Sure, the new model is out (with the same V8 Biturbo engine, and not a V6 as I had claimed, based on false rumors), and it delivers a bit more than 600 hp, but the design still needs to grow on me – and prices on the next-to-new market need to come down, so for now I see little need to change. In fact I find myself surfing around various tuning sites in my spare time, something I haven’t done in many years. A power upgrade doesn’t really feel necessary, but the suspension could be lowered a bit… And maybe that dash-controlled exhaust would be cool… and…. So as you can see, the mid-life crisis is all over, but boy is it fun!

w213 e63
The new model is nice, but perhaps a little too discreet?

The hard guys!

On By ChristofferIn Classic cars, Fun stuff1 Comment

Many of us oldtimer drivers have a tendency only to take our jewels for a spin when the sun is shining and temperatures are mild, completely forgetting that it actually rained when the cars were built as well. This time of year our beloved cars are mostly sleeping in a garage somewhere, with batteries disconnected. It is only the hard guys that drive in any weather, but even among the hard ones, only the REALLY hard ones would even think about taking the 356 for a spin on a rainy December day with temperatures around 6 degrees. The only thing missing is the ski rack! Dear owner, I did not get to meet you but I salute you!

We use the occasion to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, with plenty of great cars and great drives!

Porsche

Singapore Supercars

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On a recent business trip to Singapore, I had the pleasure to chat with the very nice sales responsible for Bugatti in South East Asia, who has this year sold six Chirons across Asian markets (ex-Japan). We met in the very pleasant showroom of the family brand Bentley, and this was the occasion to learn some interesting facts about super cars in Singapore – and to admire the current Bentley collection (sidenote: the Bentayga feels like a Q7 with more metal and leather in it but still too much plastic given the price. Given its looks, not a very wise way to spend your hard-earned money!).

Bentley showroom
A really nice office environment!

Singapore is a small, wealthy country trying hard to avoid congestion, so buying a car starts with buying the right to buy a car, basically a license entitling you to a purchase. The number of such licenses is limited and the price is set through a bid-ask process in an auction format. The latest took place during my visit and came out at around SGD 60.000 (USD 45.000), which is in other words the price of the right to buy four wheels…

Singapore authorities are not very keen on old cars either. Any car is taken out of traffic after ten years, irrespective of its condition, to be scrapped or exported. What mostly happens is that owners either directly or through dealers export the cars to surrounding markets and thus manage to get at least something for them – but it is surely not a great deal. It doesn’t get better when you know that should you wish to buy a new car again after you scrapped your old one, you’ll need to pay up again to renew your buyer’s license…

The final thing to know is far more positive: not only do Singaporeans drive on the wrong side of the road, it’s also impossible to have a left-hand drive car registered for road usage. Any supercar not built as right-hand drive (which notably includes anything by the Bugatti brand) can thus never be used in Singapore outside of a circuit – and as per the Bugatti salesman, Singaporeans don’t really like circuits. He has himself sold two Chirons that are kept in Singapore and that have never been driven. The same goes for Paganis, Ferraris, Lamborghinis etc. Should you actually be interested in driving (as apparently the local Porsche Owners’ Club is), you rent the Sepang track in Malaysia a couple of days and drive over the border.

Therefore, next time you’re thinking about a low-mileage supercar, don’t forget to check out the offer in Singapore!

Chiron backside
Not a likely site on the streets of Singapore!

 

The Petersen auto museum, a must in LA!

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Next time you are around West Hollywood with a couple of hours to spare, make sure not to miss the Petersen Automotive Museum, based on the car collection of the late Mr. Petersen, publisher of the first hot rod magazine in the US and lots of other car-related publications. Given LA’s extensive movie scene, the collection also includes some famous movie cars, two of which are pictured below. Well worth a couple of hours!

Caddy
At more than 57′ USD, this Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz was the most expensive car in the GM line-up in 1957, and certainly one of the longest!

DeLorean
One of the original eight or so DeLorean’s featured in the first “Back to the Future” movie – and my curious son.

Duisenberg
The beautiful, original Duisenberg from “The Great Gatsby” – but unfortunately the original is a replica, built in the mid-80’s.

Lauda
The museum includes a very nice Ferrari collection. Featured here is the front of Schumi’s original 2006 car, with Niki Lauda’s 1974 car in the background.

Test drivers gone for a swim

On By ChristofferIn Fun stuff, News2 Comments

When coming to Santa Monica beach a few days ago after a drive down from San Francisco, seeing a Volvo test squad (or rather their cars) in a parking lot was not a sight I expected! I first reacted to the new (and already fairly common) XC90, parked next to the far less common S90, then to the giant screens on the passenger seats of both cars and then obviously to the covered one in between. It didn’t take much to figure out that this is the upcoming small SUV XC40, but unfortunately the cover was really well fixated so this is all you get to see. Still haven’t figured out what kind of test you conduct on a parking in Santa Monica beach, but I guess test drivers need to go for a swim every now and then as well…

XC40

Now we know who finances Marcus Ericsson

On By ChristofferIn News1 Comment

If all F1 races were like the one in Baku last Sunday, then arguably the sport would not have lost so many followers lately, tired of the Mercedes dominance and the uneventful racing. In Azerbaijan this all changed. Vettel ran into Hamilton twice (the second time very much on purpose), Ocon pushed his “team mate” Perez into a brick wall, the safety car was out three times and everybody then came in for a red flag as there were so many car parts lying around the track that it had to be cleaned. The final podium was made up of Ricciardo, Bottas and Stroll, and anyone who put a few bucks on that before the race surely walked away a rich man!

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Marcus Ericsson didn’t make it into the points this time either, but is arguably getting closer, this time finishing eleventh behind Wehrlein who thus secured a point for Sauber. The main news involving Sauber last week was however not that, but rather that team head Monisha Kaltenborn was unexpectedly sacked a couple of days before the race. As the days have gone by, the reasons have become increasingly clear, and the question on who finances Marcus Ericsson has been answered.

Sauber is since many years in dire financial straits and was once again rescued in the eleventh hour last year, this time by an obscure Swiss financial company called Longbow Finance SA, outside of Geneva. As became clear last week, Longbow is connected to a certain Rausing family, and is part of the Tetra Pak empire. Therefore, when Kaltenborn in late spring sided with German prodigy Pascal Wehrlein as the team’s designated first driver, her days became numbered. Longbow is not necessarily pushing for Ericsson to be designated first driver, but is at least insisting of both drivers being treated equally.

Clearly, the Rausing pockets are theoretically deep enough to get him a better seat than Sauber. Given he has proven his driving skills this season, maybe therefore we have a new Swedish F1 star in the making?

Marcus_Ericsson_2015_Malaysia

 

Carspotting Saturday in Zurich

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Today is the first sunny, warm spring Saturday in Zurich, and as always, it was the perfect time to wake some of the nice cars hiding in the garages round here out of their winter sleep. As can be seen, some twins (or close relatives) were underway as well. It may be interesting to know that all the pictures below were taken within a distance of 100 meters…

This was the first time I saw the DB11 live and it is truly a beautiful car. It is design evolution, not a revolution, and to me it doesn’t reach the heights of the DBS, to me the most beautiful of modern Astons. But desirable? Oh yes!

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