March 29: A Chinese pick-me-up

Unless you've been lobotomized recently, you know that pick-up trucks are big business in North America, selling well over two million annually in the US alone. Our much smaller market in Canada knocks out around 450,000 annually, still a big number in terms of our total new vehicle sales. These trucks are almost a local phenom, as anywhere else you go in the world have a few, but nothing like these numbers. Seems like most pictures I see of these things "anywhere else", they are carrying rebel fighters, armed to the teeth. They even have a name for these (usually) Toyotas, technicals. Another story. 

Canada is the second biggest pick-up (trucks, this isn't Thailand) market in the world . Was the second biggest. Thoughts on who might have just overtaken us? Here's a hint for all you vexillologists among my readers.......

All the rest of you who said, China, before you saw the flag, give yourself a high five. Although these trucks make up only 2% of their local market, they have surpassed us and the momentum is there for continued growth.

Sure, they have the compact trucks, the size that one sees most other places, but they are showing signs that bigger pick-ups are also gaining favour. And of course, personalization follows.......

See, they are learning quickly.

As usual, there is the typical Chinese copying, as this Chev Silverado look alike demonstrates.......

........but they also have some unique ideas that might start a whole new trend.......

A party pick-up or just a useful couple of doors added for when that other couple wants to join you and the Jones for a night romping thru the fields?

Back to those upcoming bigger trucks and what they might look like........

I guess if one is going to copy, might as well take a shot at the Big Kahuna, the Ford F-150. But I've seen what China is capable of, so this will change, as they find their footing with the larger sizes.

While we wait patiently(?) for the first Chinese cars to hit our shores, might we also expect to see a few pick-ups being sent our way? Maybe in retaliation for our shipping them to China already........

Loyalty is key in this area, so big gains are probably a pipe dream. As I'm always saying, underestimate the Forbidden Kingdom at your peril.

Until next time.......

March 26: Creating an suv (revised)

 Got a station wagon in your product line that's doing "ok", but you really want to juice up its sales, but don't want to drop a load of cash on it in order to get those sales? Well, we all know the best route and probably the only route to go and that is what many car companies are doing these days. Cars like the all-wheel drive VW Golf and Mercedes E Class above were simply raised an inch or two (3-5  centimetres) and had some wheel well trim added. The result........instant suv (pretender).

Any car person in the know, realizes that this transformation has been around for many years, but it has become much more popular now that it is written everyone must drive an suv. So who started these wagon transformations? Last year I wrote that it was Subaru, who made a lowly Legacy wagon into the overnight success story, the Outback. How wrong I was. 

A bit of history......

All of these unusual creations are from the company that brought us the station wagon turned suv, that elicits such a heavy breathing response today. One time called Nash, but later changed to AMC - American Motors Corp, this perennial penny pincher had to come up with an inexpensive way to gain sales without breaking the bank. So what to do?

Take one attractive and moderately successful compact wagon and make some changes......... 

The key here is that AMC also had the Jeep brand in their portfolio. Jeep, the brand known for off road capability, had just introduced a refined all-wheel drive set up that could be used under a car. So, throw a few trim changes into the mix, along with this new system and this is what emerged in 1980.......

Yes, folks, what emerged is the very first station wagon, that with the addition of all-wheel drive, some wheel well trim and a little height became what we now think of as an suv. Not Subaru, not Volvo or anyone else, AMC, the lowly what can we do for cheap car company is the originator. Ahead of its time, certainly. Actually, about thirty years too early.

What happened to AMC? Eventually Chrysler bought them for the Jeep brand (and we know how that turned out), but saw no need for the cars, so they were dropped. In 2019 does Chrysler have a station wagon suv in their line, while everyone else does? No!

Until next time........

March 22: Coupes, coupes, coupes

You started it all. You, the ugly duckling BMW X6, that was introduced to a perplexed market over ten years ago. Even at the Detroit auto show, a BMW spokesperson I chatted with didn't know what it was. Not a really useful suv and not a sports sedan. But universally lauded for being ugly as sin.

History, folks, nothing but history, as we all know now that BMW found a market niche that nobody else realized existed. Today I know it exists, I just don't know why.

Now there are a couple of BMW suv coupes. After several years of ignoring the sad X6, Mercedes decided it had to answer their chief competitor with a couple of sizes, the GLC and the GLE........

Not as abysmal as the X6, but better looking is a relative term here. Certainly, still not a great suv and definitely no sports sedan. Audi also joined the fray this past year with their Q8, but it's beautiful, with a more practical shape for cargo and passengers, which proves that it can be done.......

As an aside, I wonder why two other early adopters found failure with their suv coupes. Any guesses as to whom I'm referring? Sure, at least one of these was butt ugly and looked like the designers gave up, but that seems to be a criteria with those from BMW and Benz............

Honda Crosstour

 But is this Acura any worse (gee, maybe I'm being unfair), than some of its competitors?

Actually in hindsight, this old Acura looks pretty good, but it fell hard and was a rare sighting on the streets of my hometown. Dealers weren't thrilled with the single digit sales they achieved with either of these two.

Putting that aside, the newest arrival to fight it out in this strange category comes from another German luxo brand, as Porsche has just announced the 2020 Cayenne coupe..........

2020 Cayenne coupe

2019 Macan

Even Stevie Wonder can see that this new model is gorgeous. Just what Porsche needs to reignite the fire under this once very sought after suv.

A suv coupe? Maybe, but take a look at the current Macan and tell me that Porsche isn't already making this type of model under the Macan nameplate? Not much difference, but I guess as long as the customer thinks it's something unique, what does it matter? My prediction? The wait starts today.

Memo to BMW and Mercedes.......dust off your pencils and take a good look at this Cayenne suv coupe. You can do better and you know it!

Until next time.......

March 19: King for a day?

Ever want to be king for a day? Queen for a day? Whatever? On our recent trip to the other side of the Pacific (more in future blogs), in Singapore we stayed at the wonderful old Fullerton Hotel. If you saw that excretable movie Crazy Rich Asians, this was the featured hotel. Apart from telling you how we roll on vacation, why do I bring this up? Think Rolls-Royce, since the Fullerton is one of those hotels around the world that use them as courtesy cars........for a price!

In the Fullerton's case, they use vintage Rollers........

.......a Silver Shadow, a Silver Cloud and a Phantom limousine. All waiting to serve those guests, who are to willing to pony up mucho dollars for the minimum three hour usage. A nice, but expensive way to make an impression on the locals, although in Singapore having a Rolls does not necessarily set you apart.

Returning home to our humble abode and the ever ready Car Modeling Cat (CMC), we decided to rebuild a very old Silver Cloud model, that I have had since 1962. Back in the day, I built it to my skill level at the time, which was a touch lower than nil. Time to resurrect it with the help of the CMC........

CMC comparing finished model to reference photos

Take it apart, clean it up, paint it in an appropriate Rolls-Royce tutone, add the chrome trim and redo the chrome that came with the original kit........

Our own version of the Fullerton's 1962 Silver Cloud, but in a more traditional silver over medium gray. Wish I could remember those classic Rolls colour names.........Vintage Coin Silver(?) over Majestic Thunder Grey(?). Or something like that.

This old model has been moved several times and travelled over a thousand miles. This would wreck havoc with most old models and it has, but for some reason it was kinder to this old Roller. So much so, that the iconic and delicate Spirit of Ecstasy, i.e. the flying lady, never broke off.......

Go figure. Hard enough to keep one on a new Rolls, let alone on a piece of plastic. Actually to counter those who covet this famous piece of chrome, it drops into the grille when you turn off your new R-R. Trick.

So next time you are in Singapore and want to act like the star you know you are (or a Crazy Rich Asian), stay at the Fullerton. And tell them Barry sent you.

Until next time........

March 15: What is a "Ridler" award?

Question for a Friday morning.....what is a Ridler Award? No gold stars for the correct answer, but briefly it is the top award given at the annual Detroit Autorama. Strict criteria says that the car cannot not have been shown anywhere else prior to this show and must be a completely new custom build. Easy, right? Not so fast Bucko. Your competition would be cars like the 1965 Impala below by Chip Foose and built for a Canadian client. Looks stock, but this car has been downsized in every respect, but done oh so subtlely. Lots of hours and many hundreds of thousands of dollars created this Ridler Award winner from a few years back........

Now that's out of the way, look at what picked up this prestigious custom car award this year, the Cadmad.......

Just another station wagon conversion of a 1959 Cadillac, but with a few special features? No so fast. But first.......this car was on the drawing board and in construction for several years. So long in fact, that the client passed away before it was finished earlier this year. What makes the beautifully done Cadmad so special is its bones. You know, what it started out as.

Remember the '59 Cadillac? Of course, you do. This icon is the ultimate in 1950's excess. A mobile palace of fins and chrome.........

A driveable joke in reality and the last gasp of that aforementioned '50's over the top exuberance.

But this is not the 1959 Cadillac from whence the award winning Cadmad sprung. No, this custom came from the rarest of the rare, the 1959 Eldorado Broughham.......

"The what?", you ask. This rare Caddy was designed by the famous Italian design house, Pinin Farina, and mirrored the toning down that Cadillac and all the other cars would experience, as they moved into the 1960's. Only ninety-nine Broughams were built and no wonder, as they were about double the price of the average Cadillac. Only a few survive and from what I've seen. most are in poor shape, so ripping one apart to create the Cadman is not the travesty that many of you might suppose.

So another Autorama has passed into history. Another Ridler Award has been awarded. And another amazing creation has received its just reward. And just what goes along with that award, after the creator has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars?

A cheque for $10,000! Obviously the prestige is worth thousands more.

Until next time.......

March 11: Another home run?

I sometimes wonder if I have nothing else to write about or maybe I simply love Hyundai? Well, neither is accurate, but they are a wonderful case study of a company, that in the beginning threw junk at us (read my numerous other blogs) and then, thru perseverance and hard work (including hiring the right people), rose from the ashes of that junk and now rolls some of the market's best vehicles off their production lines.

What brings this on, you ask? No problem......check out the just shown 2020 Sonata, due out later this year........

My first thought upon seeing this last week, was, "Sonata is a $30k car?". Hyundai has once again jumped ahead of the curve, in what seems to be one of the last holdout categories of the family sedan. Obviously some companies still consider this to be a viable market niche. Companies like Toyota, Honda and Nissan. Pretty good company.

The Sonata has had a rocky road in its journey. After a string of reasonably good, but quite forgettable cars, Hyundai shook things up in 20111. But first, a brief look at some past Sonatas.......

Pleasant, but nothing to write home about (assuming one writes home about such things) and certainly not much competition for the titans of the midsize market of the day, the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord. Trying to assail those two was like climbing Mt Everest in shorts, t-shirt and sandals. Maybe tougher.

Then saying that Hyundai made a dramatic change would be a bit of an understatement. Overnight they went from the milquetoast 2010 model (shown here in black) to the stunning 2011 reincarnation........

Now the Sonata was a real competitor, that brought style to the family sedan category. No longer would mom and dad have to settle for blah, just because that Mercedes or Lexus was out of reach.

The next redesign was actually a conservative redo and most pundits thought of it as a step back from the gutsy brink of Hyundai's past success. Now once again Hyundai will be leading the midsize field, with a car that looks to be hitting above its pay grade style wise.

Mercedes, BMW or Hyundai?

Now for the big question. Can this new Sonata, along with the new Altima, Accord and Camry forestall the onslaught of suv's, that are taking over the world? For your blogger, who still makes a sedan his vehicle of choice, this Sonata is indeed good news. The world needs one less new suv.

Until next time......