27 Nov 2015 – Driven To Write

Why Do All New Cars Look the Same?

…asks Paul Sanderson at the blog 5thcolour. He has a rather clever diagram of the profiles of eight saloon cars and asks us why they are so alike.

Car silhouettes: 5thcolor.wordpress.com — Car silhouettes: by Paul Sanderson 5thcolor.wordpress.com

Paul Sanderson’s blog is worth a good look over and above this particular posting. I liked the article about the value of colour in branding and there are plenty more like that at his site. Since we are a broad church here, I am confident our readers will appreciate something from outside the narrow confines defined by four wheels. Continue reading “Why Do All New Cars Look the Same?”

What Valmet’s Success Says About Saab’s failure

Valmet and Mercedes have announced that production of the M-B GLC SUV will increase at their Uusikaupunki plant. This is to make room at Benz’s Bremen plant which is already completely busy making GLCs.

Production of the A-class at Valmet will move to Germany. Valmet will make as many GLCs as they did A-classes so it’s a production swap rather than an increase. The change will result in an increase in labour requirements at Valmet.

As well as being an endorsement of Mercedes product plans and design (which we here at DTW are rather critical), it also makes one Continue reading “What Valmet’s Success Says About Saab’s failure”

Gorfe’s Granadas:1996 Scorpio 2.3 Ultima

The Granada name retired but its spirit lived on in Ford’s stunning Scorpio, writes executive classics editor, Myles Gorfe.

1996 Ford Scorpio 2.3 Ultima: autotrader.co.uk

Quite why the Blue Oval decided to put the Granada name out to pasture is a much discussed point in Ford circles. Whatever the reason, the car that replaced it was every bit as good as its predecessors. In 1994 Ford ended a long run for the Granada and renamed its top-line executive cruiser the Scorpio. Self-levelling suspension came in for the estates and the hatchback was canned – not a problem as the style didn’t suit Granny’s exclusive image. Continue reading “Gorfe’s Granadas:1996 Scorpio 2.3 Ultima”