Apr 2018 – Driven To Write

That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore

Last week’s Beijing takeaway has led to an unpleasant case of indigestion, courtesy of our friends at Baden-Wüttermberg.

Paint a vulgar picture. Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury concept. Image credit: Hypebeast

“We have a social responsibility. Somebody has to stop this nonsense.” These were the words of BMW’s Hans-Peter Weisbarth, spoken in 1989 in the context of the horsepower race that was consuming the German car industry at the time. One I might add, which shows no sign of abatement some thirty years later.

But today, they also lend themselves to a different race to the bottom which seems to hold the motor industry in a vice-like grip. Much has already been said Continue reading “That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore”

A Photoseries for Sunday: 2000 Bristol Blenheim

We have something of a real rarity here: made in small in numbers in the first place and not merely because rust and lack of interest killed them by the thousand. It has to be a Bristol.

Again, like so many of the photos I took in Dublin in Easter 2018, the grey light sabotaged my chances of getting as striking an image as one might find here. (And many thanks to our Leinster correspondent for the use of the photographic equipment). However, as with a sighting of Loch Ness Monsters, one does not put down one’s camera and wait until the sun beams at precisely the right angle before snapping. If you want to Continue reading “A Photoseries for Sunday: 2000 Bristol Blenheim”

Crossing Continents : Part Two

Having made a less than critically acclaimed stab at reinvention with Ghia’s 1996 Sentinel, Lincoln’s Gerry McGovern hit the bullseye with the 2002 Continental concept.

With the Jack Telnack era of design leadership coming to a close in 1997, Ford’s styling centre in Dearborn entered a new phase under J. C. Mays, who following a two year stint as design consultant for the Blue Oval, was selected as Ford’s new design Veep. With a new face came a new broom, Mays telling journalists at the time, “I have been brought in to make some changes and I fully intend to do that.”

With eight Worldwide styling studios to manage, Mays more consensual approach would Continue reading “Crossing Continents : Part Two”

Sunset and Evening Star And One Clear Call For Me!

Automotive News reported a bit of an improvement at AvtoVAZ’s sales. The firm makes Lada cars. How about we find out what they sell right now, this minute. You won’t read this at Car&Track.

“AvtoVAZ said it made a net profit of 609 million rubles ($9.70 million) in the first three months, reversing losses of 2.81 billion rubles for the same period last year,” reported ANE. Which is not all that interesting. More absorbing is the question of what you find if you Continue reading “Sunset and Evening Star And One Clear Call For Me!”

Quo Vadis, Luxus?

Defining luxury in an age of conspicuous consumption isn’t easy. Judging by two concepts encapsulating futuristic decadence, this task will not become any less challenging in the years to come.

rolls-royce-vision-next-main — Dr Eldon Tyrell’s personal transport, photo (c) blog.dupontregistry.com

The fight for luxury supremacy of the future officially started in March 2018, at the Geneva International Motor Show. There, Aston Martin chief designer – pardon: Vice President & Chief Creative Officer – Marek Reichman openly criticised the traditional purveyors of automotive luxury, namely Crewe’s Bentley and Goodwood’s Rolls-Royce, of pandering to an obsolete definition of top-end motoring.

Continue reading “Quo Vadis, Luxus?”

Crossing Continents : Part One

The legacy of the 1961 Continental lays heavily upon Ford’s Lincoln division. Today we begin an examination of two concepts aimed at re-establishing that defining car’s visual pre-eminence.

Just masterful. Image credit: old car brochures

Europe does not have a monopoly on history or heritage. Long shadows of the past also haunt the American automotive landscape, as the big-name US automakers struggle, just like their European counterparts, to reinterpret the past while straining for relevance in a rapidly approaching future.

European sophisticates are fond of looking at the products of the US automakers with a mixture of Continue reading “Crossing Continents : Part One”

Anticipation Creeps Headstrong Towards Us

We ought to rename this site Le DTW. After yesterday’s Peugeot review we now have a whole slew of early 90s French cars under the spotlight.

In 1991 L’Automobile ran an article assessing the comparative strengths of the main three French brands, Renault, Citroën and Peugeot. It was a huge group test: 24 cars. The magazine passed judgement on the main classes and in this article I will pass judgement on the 1991 verdict. Were L’Automobile’s assessments in line with mine? Or indeed yours? Continue reading “Anticipation Creeps Headstrong Towards Us”

Ghost in the Machine: Peugeot 308 SW Drive Review

A spring break, (or to put it another way, a break in spring) leaves our correspondent in a mildly disturbed state of mind.

A glossy, brochure view of the 308 SW, showing larger alloys that help disguise the rear-end bulk. (source: Peugeot)

One of the many joys of going to the middle of France every spring is that we hire a car for the duration and it never ceases to provide a chance to sample something new from the automotive smorgasbord. This year, for once, we actually got what we expected; Hertz had promised either a 308 SW or a C-Max and we got the Pug.

I wasn’t convinced about the looks – the added bodywork of the SW over the 308 hatch can make the rear three quarters look bulky and like the basic structure is enveloped by rolls of flab, a look which demands larger diameter wheels in order to Continue reading “Ghost in the Machine: Peugeot 308 SW Drive Review”

A Photoseries For Sunday

Now this is interesting: a futuristic interior which is exactly like how I imagine a modern Lancia should really look. Or perhaps it could be a Citroën.

This car is almost perfect. Get a load of these statistics: 4.7 metres long, a 3.5 litre V6 and a 70 litre fuel tank. It weighs in at 1290 kg too. That is rather excellent, no? All you need to do now before finding out the car’s identity is to see the astonishing leg-room in the rear. So please just Continue reading “A Photoseries For Sunday”

Culture Club

Alfa Romeo stared success in the face with 2003’s Kamal crossover concept, but opted to pursue MINI instead. Was this Fiat Auto’s worst product planning decision ever?

2003 Alfa Romeo Kamal. Image credit: carttraction

Product will only get you so far in the auto business, but it certainly does help. It helps a great deal more when it is the right product, preferably at an opportune time. Successful product planning is a subtle art and a rock many a car company have stumbled messily upon, for exact science it is not.

In the immediate post-Millennium period, Alfa Romeo was in serious financial trouble, losing millions of Euros a day, despite having Continue reading “Culture Club”

Small Is Beautiful… and Why Modern Cars Are (usually) Better

Sometimes driving the dream isn’t quite what it is cracked up to be. New contributor Chris Elvin outlines why he’s done a’ Rovering…

Despite passing my driving test shortly after my seventeenth birthday and having been enthusiastic about cars from toddling age, I managed to retain the position of being the only person in my immediate family never to have owned a car until quite recently, in my late 30s.

A combination of city-centre living and having spent most of my adult life in another country to that in which I learned to Continue reading “Small Is Beautiful… and Why Modern Cars Are (usually) Better”

Crisis of Identity

The concept of fun isn’t one we’d habitually associate with brand-Volkswagen, especially of late. But all that appears set to change.

Not fun. VW’s Autostadt. Image credit: Irish Times

In matters of crisis management, it is essential to maintain control of the narrative. Lose that, and the organisation becomes untethered, prey to attack from all sides. Inaction, by default, becomes one’s chosen action in both the eyes of critics and the wider public.

When Volkswagen’s systematic and sophisticated emissions gaming came to light in 2015, the carmaker seemed to have frozen in disbelief and denial. Regardless of how matters were being handled internally, the glacial pace of their response was viewed in the Continue reading “Crisis of Identity”

Ashtrays: 2001 BMW 728 M-sport

After a bit of a hiatus, Driventowrite’s ashtray series is back. Today, how the decline in the popularity of cigar smoking made in-car satellite navigation possible.

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For this article, I had the pleasure taking a closer look at our Dublin correspondent, Mick’s BMW 728i. At the same time I had a chance for a small and very tame test drive, another one of those revelations that comes unexpectedly now and, to some extent, again.

First let’s Continue reading “Ashtrays: 2001 BMW 728 M-sport”

The Circle Game

The Arese merry-go-round has a fresh face in new CEO, Tim Kuniskis. Will he enjoy better fortune than his predecessors, or will it simply be more of the same?

Tim Kuniskis. Image credit: thenewswheel

Who’d take on a basket-case like Alfa Romeo? A marque with almost boundless potential for greatness, yet equally one with an unimpeachable aptitude for tragi-comic reversals of fortune. A state of affairs which is rooted in successive management failures – from those amid the semi-state Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale who oversaw Alfa’s affairs until 1987 and subsequently, the individuals Fiat Auto appointed to Continue reading “The Circle Game”

Beautiful Vision – Evolution of the Jowett Javelin (Part 1)

DTW takes a look at the advanced and stylish Jowett Javelin on the seventieth anniversary of the delivery of the first car, with some reflections on the machine and its creators.

Fortunes of War

The psalmist’s full three score years and ten have passed since the happy owner of Jowett Javelin serial number D8 PA 1 received his or her keys on 16th. April 1948. It is therefore appropriate to do a little scene-setting before considering the labour and sorrow which led to this remarkable car’s production, and followed it to the end of its days.

What do we think of when we think of Jowett? A family firm? A provincial carmaker? A worthy but vainglorious enterprise inevitably doomed to Continue reading “Beautiful Vision – Evolution of the Jowett Javelin (Part 1)”

A Viper For Sunday

Nought to sixty in under 5 seconds, courtesy of a V10. No door handles. What do people do with cars like this in Denmark, I have to ask?

I really don’t know. What I do know is that cars such as this are where there is overlap between the mainstream mass manufacturers and the fringe enterprises (covered since July 2016 with forensic thoroughness in the celebrated Far From The Mainstream series). The difference is that large-scale manufacturers can call on the expertise of seasoned car designers and costly, advanced specialist manufacturing processes.

Absolutely everyone who wants a car like this to will surely Continue reading “A Viper For Sunday”

Far From The Mainstream: Wiesmann

The Wiesmann story ended in 2014 with liquidation. It began in 1988 with the launch of the MF30, a rear-wheel drive retro-inspired roadster powered by a 3.0 six-cylinder BMW engine. What occurred in between?

Weisman produced four iterations of their signature theme, variants of the 1950s roadster idea. Idiosyncacy is the name of the game at Dülmen. The bodies stayed much the same while names and engines changed as time went by. The second car, the 1993 MF-3 (confusingly, a smaller number than the predecessor) had a different BMW engine, a BMW M54 with 3.2 litres capacity.

The first series was the MF, coming in two versions with some lesser variants known as the MF 28 and MF 35, each having a different BMW engine and minor trim variations. In 2003 Wiesmann felt it was a good idea to Continue reading “Far From The Mainstream: Wiesmann”

Drowned Out

Every car design enthusiast and their dog lament the downfall of the Torinese carrozzieri. Yet a recent example illustrates that it’s not simply the industry that’s at fault.

hk_h600_04 — Tasteful, restrained – barely noticed, photo (c) CAR magazine

With Bertone gone (despite a company of that name still in existence) and ItalDesign churning out the crassest, most tasteless, un-Giugiaro-like concoctions, it’s now up to Pininfarina to wave the flag of Italian automotive design excellence.

Among the carrozzieri, Pininfarina traditionally played the purveyor of good taste. Bertone tended to Continue reading “Drowned Out”

No Sleep Till Arese

Reports have surfaced of Alfa Romeo readying a two-door version of their Giulia saloon later this year. As aficionados of the coupé, we should be delighted, so why is Driven to Write more troubled than pleased?

While not entirely immune from hyperbole’s more strident notes, Autocar can normally be relied upon to swerve outright speculation. However, last week, Richard Bremner – a respected journalist who these days seems reduced to penning listicles for their online edition – reported (citing ‘sources’), that FCA are at work on a Giulia-based coupé, said to employ the Sprint nameplate. “The Giulia coupé could appear towards the end of this year and go on sale in 2019”, his Autocar piece suggested.

While sharing some external panelwork with the Guilia berlina, mostly ahead of the bulkhead, the coupé will according to Bremner, Continue reading “No Sleep Till Arese”

By the Sahel’s Croceate Sands

Ford officially unveiled the next iteration of the Focus. So, what have we here?

We see change. I’ve been waiting for a better Focus since the last one appeared in 2011. That car never met my expectations even if it proved pleasant. How have Ford changed the Focus for 2018? Have they made all change change for the best?

To answer that it’s very much a case of needing a side-by-side comparison since the Mk3 lacks the kind of character that’d make it memorable. Let’s start at the front and walk around. The new version shown above is the ST Line, meaning the front clip is probably not going to Continue reading “By the Sahel’s Croceate Sands”

Victim of Stars

With Ford’s Taurus the latest sedan nameplate set for a date with the eternal, what does this growing convergence mean for the large blue-collar American saloon?

Kingdom of rain. 2018 Ford Taurus. Image credit: Tamiami Ford

Cadillac’s recently announced plans to remove a number of sedan model lines in response to shifting commercial realities appears not to have occurred in a vacuum. Last week it was Ford’s turn, first with reports of the Mexican-built Fiesta being phased out, but more dramatically, that executives have elected not to Continue reading “Victim of Stars”

Geneva Fallout 2018 – The Things Bosses Say

Fiat didn’t hold an official “Exhibitors Conference” on the first media day at this year’s Geneva Salon, but that didn’t prevent FCA’s CEO pronouncing on the future of Fiat’s European activities.

Sergio Marchionne declared that “for the 500, 500X and Panda it is worth pursuing, I am less in love with the Tipo, despite its sales success. We have to be careful how we distribute large amounts of capital. The Tipo is less encouraged, because that sector of the market is very crowded and not very profitable. It was a part of the market where Fiat traditionally was, but maybe we need to Continue reading “Geneva Fallout 2018 – The Things Bosses Say”

A Few Photos For Sunday: Suzuki Cappucino

Driven to write has something of a jones for these tiny cars. Hell would be being asked to choose between this and a Bristol 411.

Well, I say Driven to write likes the Honda Beat as if we are a gestalt consciousness devoid of personal preferences. But DTW isn’t really, it’s a concatenation of different automotive tastes that miraculously seems not to be in conflict (except about chrome and brightwork and maybe fake wood in a car interior). We don’t talk about that much.

Today’s car lives in Dublin, Ireland (hence the grey lighting of late March ’18). I’ve seen this example before and indeed, the only other Cappucino I’ve set my eyes on also crossed my trail in Dublin (a black one). Ireland’s roads and traffic conditions being what they are (bad), the Capuccino is a surpassingly intelligent choice alongside a Rover, Cadillac or Jaguar. The roads and country lanes can be narrow. High speed matters a lot less than the sensation of high speed. Being so low to the ground and so Spartan, the Cappucino must Continue reading “A Few Photos For Sunday: Suzuki Cappucino”

DTW’s Top Twenty Three Great European Cars – Part 4

We continue this tour of the greatest European cars at number ten. The competition gets fiercer as we near the top.

In this section Opel, Maserati, BMW and Austin do battle. And one other marque… Read on to find out how the great European cars of the late 20th century were rated.

I don’t think one can resist the urge to Continue reading “DTW’s Top Twenty Three Great European Cars – Part 4”

Caprie Sunset

Perhaps the greatest edifice ever built on behalf of automotive design is receiving the Italian preservation treatment.

Imagine it without the cars inside: Stile Bertone’s former headquarters, photo (c) Ruoteclassiche

There’s no easier task than to accuse corporate America of cynicism. Greed, hubris, soullessness: pretty much any unappealing trait can be attributed to any of the industrial giants.

General Motors, a company of such dubious reputation it enabled a rather shady character like John Zachary DeLorean to Continue reading “Caprie Sunset”

Five in Time

Cometh the hour, cometh the car. 1988’s E34 BMW 5-Series arrived at just the right moment, redefining the model line and clarifying a template that arguably hasn’t been bettered.

If 1961’s Neue Klasse saloons served to define Bayerische Motoren Werke’s style template and 1966’s 1600-2 popularised it, the Paul Bracq-inspired E12 5-Series of 1972 would take the design principles of Wilhelm Hofmiester and recast them in a modish, yet still highly disciplined context.

A design which married a sharply pared and engineered steeliness with an almost Latin softness, the E12 became BMW’s visual touchstone for almost two generations. So much so that its replacement, 1981’s E28 was essentially a reskin of the outgoing car. Continue reading “Five in Time”

Two Fevered Decades – Taking the Temperature of the European Car Market.

Robertas Parazitas looks at the changing shape of the European car market over the last twenty years. The numbers tell several stories; some are manifestly obvious, others may surprise you.

The right-hand column lists European sales in 2017, highest to lowest. The numbers to the left tell several stories, many of them unhappy. Continue reading “Two Fevered Decades – Taking the Temperature of the European Car Market.”

DTW’s Top Twenty Three Great European Cars – Part 3

This is the third instalment of this series which definitively ranks the very best European cars of all time.

To make cut the cars have been rigorously assessed for engineering merit, technical competence and design quality. Each parameter was subvivided into its essential elements and assigned a number of points. The total number of points possible is 100. The minumum grade was 79. Today we assay an Alvis, evaluate an Audi, weigh up a Wolseley, over-view an Opel and muse about an MG.

If you wish to find out which models made it to the ranks of 15-10, then you only have to Continue reading “DTW’s Top Twenty Three Great European Cars – Part 3”

Fantastic Voyage

As Cadillac’s Johan de Nysschen prepares to stun the World with a flagship model, we look back thirty years to a previous attempt at shock and awe.

1988 Cadillac Voyage concept. Image credit: motor1

Throughout Cadillac’s rich and honourable a history of so-called dream cars, what distinguished the concepts of the marque’s heyday was that they accurately signposted the direction styling would take, whereas latterly, they appear to exist only in order to Continue reading “Fantastic Voyage”

A Photoseries For Sunday: 1979 Opel Kadett

An Easter treat. Just as we were discussing great European cars, one of them parked in my neighbourhood. It’s an Opel Kadett D: a two-door fastback.

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The photo quality leaves lots to be desired. This is where I would need the skills and photographic equipment of Helmut Newton to do justice to the atmospherics. Instead I have a bad camera and limited skills in photo editing. It has been a long time since I saw one of these. As ever, that means a chance to Continue reading “A Photoseries For Sunday: 1979 Opel Kadett”