April 27: What were they thinking?

You've seen them. Those frightening designs that make you want to seek out a public latrine asap. But how did they happen? Did the janitor make some sketches, while doing the rounds, then sign the president's name to them? I wonder.

Take the much maligned Pontiac Aztec (please).......

......and then look at what came out of the same studio at the same time, presumably by the same designers......

Or this strange but true, humpbacked BMW X6..........

......and compare it to this drop dead gorgeous model, which would give Christie Brinkley a run for her money........

Sad but true, folks. I guess everyone has a bad day, but do all the designers, division heads and other company execs who approve these things have a bad day at the same time?

Which brings me to today's example of What were they thinking? 

What is this unusual animal which debuted in China this week with its 24" rims? A new brand trying to earn their chops or possibly a mistake? Let's check out the name of this wild looking beast.......

Look closely and you can see that it is a Maybach, that ne plus ultra Mercedes line. And this particular concept is called the Vision Maybach Ultimate Luxury. Rolls off the tongue like a burning ember. Have they done themselves proud with this whatever? Is it a sedan, just when sedans are experiencing a death rattle? Or is it a less than practical suv, like the X6 pictured above? Or maybe they have taken that new Subaru SUS ad to heart (Google it). 

Breath taking, in a bad way. But wait, lets go inside for a moment.......

Now this is luxury in the Maybach tradition. Complete with bronze trim. Will it turn green with age like with all those beautiful European cathedrals? Now that would be a nice touch. Look closely. When Mercedes showed the Maybach limo, it was complete with a bottle of champagne and flutes for the wealthy owners, but this one isn't being pitched to that crowd. The Ultimate Vision features a tea set! What does that tell you? Take a guess, because I have no idea.

Ugly? Certainly strange. But let's take a look at what else has come out of the Maybach design studios and tell me that these guys weren't having an extremely bad day, when they came up with the Ultimate Vision........

Not a bad line on this Maybach roadster. Now here's the trillion dollar question.......which one of these will they build? The nightmare or the daydream? Time to start working those worry beads.

Until next time.......

April 24: Honda - little kei cars

Around here "little" means small, maybe even tiny. In Japan kei means small and definitely tiny. It also defines a type of vehicle that they have sold over there for years. These kei vehicles have found a home on that crowded island. Since they take up so little space, they are exempt from one having to prove that the buyer has a parking space before being able to take delivery. They also have certain tax advantages (move there to find out).

Good ol' Honda leads the way with a whole line of these microscopic vehicles, called the N Range. Four vehicles with a fifth on the way, the first was called the N-One (strange but true, folks)..........

Sporty enough to appeal to anyone with a desire to own a three cylinder 63 HP mini rocket. Heck, it even has paddle shifters. Maybe overstating it's road rocket appeal? But a good starting point for those who lust after a Civic, but ain't got no parking spot.

More of a family oriented buyer, but the Odyssey is bigger than your entire property? Then Honda's N-Box is exactly what you need.........

Big in a very small way, but with a style all its own, this one has kei written all over it. A nice choice, but although you need the space, those swoopy suv's tear at your heart strings, so what better way to massage your ego, than with the N-Box Slash........

A step above its more mundane and totally square brethren. Matching interior? It goes without saying, of course. Your family will be proud.

Choices. Honda's world is all about choices, so if their loyal clientele don't see anything in these three that suits their needs, then there is one more choice. The fourth member of the current N Range is the N-Wgn. Now what could that be? I mean, when you have a very small box, how many ways can you reconfigure it?

See the differences? Look harder. This little Honda has the very popular styling trend of the so-called floating roof line. Viva the difference! But check out that interior. Roomy or is it just my imagination?

Make it a stretch limo anyone?

Now, just when you wondered how the N Range could get any broader, what does Honda tease the populace with? Can you say, N-Van? I thought you could.

There's that unmistakeable N profile, but the interior is where this little fella shines......

Load her up, we're moving. Room for everything you own and a bit from your friend's place.

So, friends, what's next from Honda's N Range. A convertible? A sportscar? A pick-up? The mind explodes with possibilities. But one thing is for certain, we will never see any of these tiny, little kei cars in our local Honda showroom. Why? Because we have lots of parking spaces.

Until next time.......

April 20: Nissan EV - back to the beginning

2018 Nissan Leaf

Before Tesla cornered everyone's mind and made us think that they were the only electric car company game in town, there was another EV that beat them to market. A car that has sold more EV's worldwide since being introduced in 2010, than any other company. How does 300,000 cars sound? Everyone's catching up, but to date that is still an impressive number. The car? Nissan's Leaf.



Tracing ancestry is all the rage these days. We see ads on TV showing someone, who thought they were originally from somewhere in Africa, but after an ancestry check, they find that they were actually Inuit (eskimo to be less than politically correct). So let's turn over a new Leaf and go deep into its background.

Way back in the late '40's the Tokyo Electric Automobile Company produced Japan's first electric car, actually a mini pick-up, the Tama..........

This industrious little hauler (1100 lb capacity), sported 4.5 HP and could deliver the goods at a top speed of 21 MPH (34 KPH for us Canucks). Range? Not really, but if you insist, it would go 40 miles or 64 kms before running out of juice.

Quickly followed by a little sedan, the Tama Junior, that could top out at a dizzying 22 MPH.........

Spartan in a post Second World War kind of way, but at least it was transportation and that country needed anything it could get. Batteries? Sure, but nothing quite like what would be coming down the pike years into the future. Placed under the floor, an idea that didn't get utilized again until Tesla came along.

These two EV's were followed by a larger and more contemporarily designed Tama Senior.......

But how do we go from the Tama to the Leaf? Acquisitions. The Toyko Electric Automobile Company joined the more upscale Prince Motor Company, which in turn joined Nissan in 1966. Of course, along the way, the EV's got dropped, since the price of gas was dirt cheap and we all know the price of dirt.

Full circle back to our quest to save the planet and Nissan brings the Leaf to market in 2010. A little faster than the original, a bit more range, a tad pricier and an up to date design...........

Anyone interested in Tesla's ancestry?

Until next time........

April 17: Buenos dias, China!

Ah, Mexico. The land of sun, surf, drugs and banditos. Also, our favorite sun destination from which we've recently returned after our fifteenth trip to that Spanish speaking winter retreat.

Being a car guy, I check out what is on the roads, as much as looking for the best fajitas. Sure, Mexico has much of what see in North America and the policia drive Chargers and Taurus cruisers, just like here at home. Then there are the differences and much has changed in the past couple of years. VW has started importing their Spanish Seat line and now Renault also has a strong presence. Even Dacia is present, but they are being sold by their parent company as Renaults.

What surprised me most were the vehicles from BAIC. Who? Good question. BAIC is a Chinese company, that just started selling cars in Mexico a couple of years ago. Are they serious? No doubt, as they are currently assembling cars there and have unveiled plans to build a billion dollar factory to open in 2020. That's serious, folks. They are shipping Mexican cars to South America and they plan to start a North American presence later this year. We'll see.

So what do they have to offer us? For starters a couple of nice little economy cars, the D20 sedan and hatchback.......

But hey, we all know that these type of cars don't sell so well these days in our neck of the woods, so I can't see BAIC planning to make an impact with them. We are worshiping the great suv gods, so if they plan to do more than fill showrooms with cars that are nailed to the floor, there damn well better be an suv or several in the mix. Maybe this pleasant looking X25 could work........

Looks like it would fit right into our hotter than hot compact suv market.

Stepping back a bit, just who is BAIC? They advertise, "Swedish tech, German standard, Italian design". The Swedish part comes from Saab, the company that they bought when GM cut it loose. I don't see any Italian design elements and who knows what German tech means, so let's just take their word for it.
But they need another suv. So what do they got? Something a little bit bigger, like this S3..........

Or the real meat in the BAIC sandwich, this copycat BJ40........

Count the divisions in the grille. Less than Jeep's seven, so BAIC is good to go, no law suit. Of course, the rest of their "Jeep" appears to be identical to the original, so it should be a winner. Speaking of a winner.......

This new BJ20 looks to fit our image as a tough looking suv, that any Texan would be happy to corral. Now we are talking, so if BAIC brings these models stateside, they should expect a few more people in the showroom. Anyone who thought that the Chinese wouldn't come and if they did, with inferior products, eat your words.

Mexico, similar but different. Great food, great beaches, great people and now more interesting cars. And obviously a jumping off spot for the North American market.

Buenos dias, China and your cars.

Until next time.......

April 13: The dictator's new dream ride

Who said that there are no guarantees in this life? Not true. Fake news! There is absolutely one guarantee. One certainty that holds up anywhere in this world. This truth is, that if you are the head of a very small and poor country with the GNP of a slow day at MacDonald's, then the guarantee is that you will be driven around the dump of a country you "own" in a new Mercedes limousine. Case in point, as we see the cheerily chubby Kim Jung-Un, step away from his big Benz Pullman limo.........

This is not a recent phenom, as it has been ever so, going way back to the days of the famous Mercedes 600......

The high rollers also used this car, but they could more easily afford their rolling palace. But for the other, less than affluent places, you could count on the glorious leader showing up on parade day in a car in which the residual in the ashtrays was worth more than most homes. Jealous, Barry?

Good news! Mercedes has attached the famous Maybach name to their latest toy of the super privileged, so if your citizens were worried about your ability to afford a new ride, place your order and show them that all is wonderful. And M-B, knowing their history, is showing this new limo alongside that old "every dictator must have one" 600........

Every conceivable amenity to make the drive thru your impoverished streets a time of great joy. And knowing that you are sensitive to the feelings of your unfortunate citizens, Mercedes has provided nice thick curtains to block out those envious eyes......

......or maybe they are in place, to ensure that the champagne placed in that rear centre console in the bottom picture, doesn't go off in the direct sun?

Again, the folks at Mercedes are no fools. They know how to tug on the heart strings of those autocrats, who longed for the symbolism of the long gone 600, by naming this new limo after that glorious ride from the past. No reason for anyone to think that this is less of a smack in the face to your starving citizenry.

Thinking of overthrowing your current leadership? Then you must be ready to do so in style. Get your Maybach 600 order in asap and show everyone that they can expect more of the same.

Until next time......

April 10: Next?

Everyone is rushing to the pick-up truck table hoping that they aren't too late to get in on our insatiable demand for something most of us will never need. The last entrant was Mercedes with the brand new, Nissan cloned, X Class. Not in North America yet, but you can hold your breath. Hyundai has promised us something based on their recent concepts. Who might be next?

Before you answer, take a look at one of this company's past offerings.........

A real Volkswagen pick-up? Well maybe a nice try from back in the time of those ultra small, car based trucklettes. Something more contemporary would be better.........

Something like the Amarok. This quad cab is sold everywhere else around the world by VW, but not here in North America. Reason? Maybe not for lack of trying. Our local VW execs have had to bow down to the wishes of the German head office and over there, they don't think we need a pick-up over here. Got that? Then last week at the rising in importance New York auto show, the wraps came off of this interesting concept, the Atlas Tanoak.........

Atlas? Tanoak? The first name is easy, as this truck is being built off the Atlas suv platform, one of a few versions that will be forthcoming. The second name? Anyone know what a tanoak is? Not as catchy as F-150 or Ram or Tundra, but each to his own drummer.

Anyway, back to this concept. Nothing for certain yet, but since the platform is available and the Tanoak was intro'd in NYC, maybe we should read something into this? Maybe we should get the idea that the North American brass will have some input into our future products?

Make some minor cosmetic changes and in my opinion the Tanoak is ready to roll, but is VW ready to roll it?

Until next time........