I've now had a chance to drive the 500 and I was pleasantly surprised, although I think the MINI will still be the driver's choice among the retro small cars if only because of the availability of the sporty Cooper and Cooper S versions which don't (yet) have any direct counterparts in the 500 range. Did someone mention the word Abarth?
On the other hand, for some time to come, it's the rarer 500 that's going to be getting the admiring glances. But the Fiat's strong suit is this; at the moment, the 500 is at least as cool as the MINI but it's much cheaper. In price terms, the 500 range tops out at about the same level as the cheapest stripped out MINI One without essential options such as air con. Against that, of course, though, the MINI has a fantastic depreciation performance and very good multi-year servicing packages.
Showing posts with label MINI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MINI. Show all posts
Thursday, 14 February 2008
Wednesday, 13 February 2008
What's outside today 40 - Fiat 500
Excellent service from Fiat's press department, which got this to me this morning after I contacted them about a booking for the 500 on Monday afternoon. Normally, our press car bookings involve a lead time of several weeks, so Fiat's performance was especially impressive given that the 500 is one of those cars everyone is trying to get their hands on at the moment. Although I'm quite booked up at the moment, I thought I'd better grab the chance to slot this one in when I could.
I haven't had a chance to drive this yet, but I'm sure that looks alone are going to carry the reinvented 500 a long way.
In styling terms, it's much more convincing than some other retro efforts such as the VW New Beetle and Chrysler PT Cruiser - in particular, Fiat has done well to keep the proportions and general look of the original 500 when the new car has a front-mounted engine instead of the rear engine of the old car.
Of course, the car Fiat will be hoping to emulate with the 500 isn't the New Beetle but the BMW MINI - that will be a tougher nut to crack but I think Fiat may be able to do it if the dealer back-up and so on is as good as the car.
I haven't had a chance to drive this yet, but I'm sure that looks alone are going to carry the reinvented 500 a long way.
In styling terms, it's much more convincing than some other retro efforts such as the VW New Beetle and Chrysler PT Cruiser - in particular, Fiat has done well to keep the proportions and general look of the original 500 when the new car has a front-mounted engine instead of the rear engine of the old car.
Of course, the car Fiat will be hoping to emulate with the 500 isn't the New Beetle but the BMW MINI - that will be a tougher nut to crack but I think Fiat may be able to do it if the dealer back-up and so on is as good as the car.
Wednesday, 6 February 2008
Blast from the past 11 - Fiat 500
The proper Fiat 500, that is, not the 2008 model. Spotted this on a trailer in Surrey when I was down there a week or two back for the Verdict test of the Kia Picanto.
I think Fiat has captured the spirit of the original very well with the new car but we're still no nearer knowing which precedent for retro models it will follow; will it be a flash in the pan like the New Beetle, or will it endure like the BMW Mini? I hope it succeeds, but it depends quite a lot on boring stuff like resale values and customer service, as well as the buzz generated by the new 500's excellent styling. This is a great chance for Fiat to build its market position - let's hope it doesn't mess it up.
I think Fiat has captured the spirit of the original very well with the new car but we're still no nearer knowing which precedent for retro models it will follow; will it be a flash in the pan like the New Beetle, or will it endure like the BMW Mini? I hope it succeeds, but it depends quite a lot on boring stuff like resale values and customer service, as well as the buzz generated by the new 500's excellent styling. This is a great chance for Fiat to build its market position - let's hope it doesn't mess it up.
Thursday, 29 November 2007
Anorak Corner 7 - the eyeball vent
These were very popular on British cars of the sixties - Cortinas and Hunters, for example - but I was surprised to see them on the 1977 Capri I had on test recently (see below). I thought they'd been phased out by then.
I've always thought this was a very simple and effective design but I recall reading somewhere that they tended to be leaky and draughty, and that's what eventually did for them.
Anyway, so keen was BMW to plunder the back catalogue of British car design for the retro detailing on the MINI that it reinvented the eyeball (see above for an example from last week's Clubman test car). I think the first BMW MINI had just two but the latest revamped version has four. Can't remember whether the 'proper Mini' had eyeballs back in the sixties, though.
I've always thought this was a very simple and effective design but I recall reading somewhere that they tended to be leaky and draughty, and that's what eventually did for them.
Anyway, so keen was BMW to plunder the back catalogue of British car design for the retro detailing on the MINI that it reinvented the eyeball (see above for an example from last week's Clubman test car). I think the first BMW MINI had just two but the latest revamped version has four. Can't remember whether the 'proper Mini' had eyeballs back in the sixties, though.
Monday, 26 November 2007
What's outside today 32 - MINI Cooper Clubman
Although I love the BMW MINI, I have to confess I was a bit sceptical about the Clubman, especially after all that fuss about the 'door on the wrong side' (the second side door on the right-hand side of the car, which opens into the traffic when the car is parked at the side of the road in RHD markets).
But a few hours with this car were enought to dispel any doubts. It goes just as well as the standard version, and coped easily with a long trip north to Newcastle for the Verdict on Saturday and Sunday. I needed a few cans of Red Bull on the return leg but the Clubman itself was as fresh as a daisy when it arrived back at 1.30 this morning.
I think the combination of maroon metallic (well, Nightfire Red as BMW call it) and silver pillar trim on this particular one looks brilliant and the divided rear van-style doors are fantastic.
I also think the Clubman's stretched styling looks better than that of the normal MINI - especially, and somewhat perversely, on the left-hand side where the lines aren't spoiled by the fussy shutline of that second side-door.
But a few hours with this car were enought to dispel any doubts. It goes just as well as the standard version, and coped easily with a long trip north to Newcastle for the Verdict on Saturday and Sunday. I needed a few cans of Red Bull on the return leg but the Clubman itself was as fresh as a daisy when it arrived back at 1.30 this morning.
I think the combination of maroon metallic (well, Nightfire Red as BMW call it) and silver pillar trim on this particular one looks brilliant and the divided rear van-style doors are fantastic.
I also think the Clubman's stretched styling looks better than that of the normal MINI - especially, and somewhat perversely, on the left-hand side where the lines aren't spoiled by the fussy shutline of that second side-door.
Friday, 23 November 2007
Aston Martin Rapide to be built abroad?
Today's FT had what appears to be a detailed, well-sourced story saying that the new four-door Aston Martin Rapide is likely to be built outside the UK. Four continental European supppliers - Valmet, Pininfarina, Karmann and Magna - are named as possible partners.
The first thing this list tells me is that this is probably not a classical cash-driven off-shoring move. Pininfarina has a great pedigree both as a designer and maker of fully-built cars. Karmann and Magna have also assembled specialist models for prestige manufacturers such as Mercedes, including, in Karmann's case, cars with such challenging features, from a design and manufacturing point of view, as folding metal roofs. Valmet, of course, has produced a very large proportion of the Porsche Boxsters on the road today; as far as I know, nobody has ever suggested that these Finnish-built cars are not as good as their German-made counterparts. On the basis of these companies' track records, I have no doubt Aston will be able to get the Rapide built to the required standard. As I've mentioned here before, some of Karmann's big contracts for fully-built cars are running out over the next year or so, so this company will especially welcome the chance to bid for Aston work.
Free trader that I am, though, I still feel very slightly uneasy about Astons being built abroad, simply because Britishness is such an important part of their identity. Mind you, nobody seems to get too upset at the German Ford-built engines fitted to some of the current models, or the sought-after Zagato cars that have featured in Aston's range in the past.
So if cost isn't the main reason for this possible outsourcing of Rapide production, what is? It looks like capacity constraints at Aston's existing UK facilities are the main reason - the current models are selling very well, and deservedly so.
I think the next UK manufacturing operation to bump up against capacity constraints is likely to be BMW's MINI plant at Oxford, where the new Clubman has joined the standard model and the convertible on the production line. Once again a manufacturer will have to try to judge whether the appeal of a quintessentially British product is likely to be fatally undermined if it is actually built outside the UK (for better or worse, I suspect the answer to that question is a resounding 'no').
Talking of the Clubman, I have now got my hands on this at last, which is the second car I'm testing during a busy two-Verdict weekend. More on that later.
The first thing this list tells me is that this is probably not a classical cash-driven off-shoring move. Pininfarina has a great pedigree both as a designer and maker of fully-built cars. Karmann and Magna have also assembled specialist models for prestige manufacturers such as Mercedes, including, in Karmann's case, cars with such challenging features, from a design and manufacturing point of view, as folding metal roofs. Valmet, of course, has produced a very large proportion of the Porsche Boxsters on the road today; as far as I know, nobody has ever suggested that these Finnish-built cars are not as good as their German-made counterparts. On the basis of these companies' track records, I have no doubt Aston will be able to get the Rapide built to the required standard. As I've mentioned here before, some of Karmann's big contracts for fully-built cars are running out over the next year or so, so this company will especially welcome the chance to bid for Aston work.
Free trader that I am, though, I still feel very slightly uneasy about Astons being built abroad, simply because Britishness is such an important part of their identity. Mind you, nobody seems to get too upset at the German Ford-built engines fitted to some of the current models, or the sought-after Zagato cars that have featured in Aston's range in the past.
So if cost isn't the main reason for this possible outsourcing of Rapide production, what is? It looks like capacity constraints at Aston's existing UK facilities are the main reason - the current models are selling very well, and deservedly so.
I think the next UK manufacturing operation to bump up against capacity constraints is likely to be BMW's MINI plant at Oxford, where the new Clubman has joined the standard model and the convertible on the production line. Once again a manufacturer will have to try to judge whether the appeal of a quintessentially British product is likely to be fatally undermined if it is actually built outside the UK (for better or worse, I suspect the answer to that question is a resounding 'no').
Talking of the Clubman, I have now got my hands on this at last, which is the second car I'm testing during a busy two-Verdict weekend. More on that later.
Wednesday, 24 October 2007
UK car production on the up
According to the SMMT, UK vehicle production was up 2.1% at the end of September on a year-to-date basis, at 1.29 million.
This means full year production is likely to be not far off the highs achieved in the early Seventies and then again in the first few years of this decade. Thats a remarkable achievement considering that the last few years have seen the closure of Peugeot's plant at Ryton, Vauxhall's Luton works, and the final car assembly end of Ford's Dagenham operation - not to mention the demise of MG Rover.
It is a little remarked upon fact that Britain has lost almost an entire car industry in the last twenty or so years but gained almost an entire new one as well. The old 'Big Four' volume manufacturers - Leyland, Ford, Chrysler/Rootes and Vauxhall, have with the exception of Vauxhall largely disappeared in terms of UK production. What we have in their place are new Japanese plants run by Honda, Toyota and Nissan, as well as revived, previously niche-bound but now massively expanded prestige operations such as Bentley, Aston, Rolls, Land Rover and MINI - only Jaguar isn't really living up to its potential, and even that may change once the new XF hits the market.
One by-product of this shift is that not only is the industry almost as big as it's ever been, but the average value of the cars being made is probably a lot higher. Notwithstanding the possible rationalisation of Land Rover's and Jaguar's production facilities after Ford has sold these off, I think we will now hold on to most of what is left of the British industry.
This means full year production is likely to be not far off the highs achieved in the early Seventies and then again in the first few years of this decade. Thats a remarkable achievement considering that the last few years have seen the closure of Peugeot's plant at Ryton, Vauxhall's Luton works, and the final car assembly end of Ford's Dagenham operation - not to mention the demise of MG Rover.
It is a little remarked upon fact that Britain has lost almost an entire car industry in the last twenty or so years but gained almost an entire new one as well. The old 'Big Four' volume manufacturers - Leyland, Ford, Chrysler/Rootes and Vauxhall, have with the exception of Vauxhall largely disappeared in terms of UK production. What we have in their place are new Japanese plants run by Honda, Toyota and Nissan, as well as revived, previously niche-bound but now massively expanded prestige operations such as Bentley, Aston, Rolls, Land Rover and MINI - only Jaguar isn't really living up to its potential, and even that may change once the new XF hits the market.
One by-product of this shift is that not only is the industry almost as big as it's ever been, but the average value of the cars being made is probably a lot higher. Notwithstanding the possible rationalisation of Land Rover's and Jaguar's production facilities after Ford has sold these off, I think we will now hold on to most of what is left of the British industry.
Friday, 17 August 2007
MINI Clubman - how Mini, how British?
It's hard to believe it but the BMW MINI - or the 'shouty' Mini as I always think of it because of BMW's insistence on spelling the name out in capitals - has been around for about six years and is now in its second generation.
Even today, old bores like me scrutinise BMW's every move for evidence that the company is compromising on the car's Britishness. On the face of it the new Clubman seems to confirm the worst. The single rear side door is optimised for left-hand drive markets, which is to say, it is mounted on the right. That means British rear seat passengers step out into the traffic, not on to the kerb.
Continental and US markets favoured over British buyers? In fairness, I think not. The main reason no rear door can be fitted to the Clubman's left side is that the fuel filler is in the way. And the fuel filler is only on the left hand side because that's the traditional location - the nearside - for the fuel cap on a British RHD car.
Personally, I'd like to have seen BMW be just a little more ambitious with the Clubman, giving it a bit more of a stretch both within the wheelbase and in the tail, i.e. more of an 'estate' shape, in order really to sort the rear legroom and provide some decent luggage space. I think a couple of Italian coachbuilders were offering conversions along these lines. And I'm not too sure I like the - I hope optional - trim that can be seen on some publicity shots, which presumably pays homage to the rear wooden exterior frame on the original. I believe the wood was purely ornamental on the original Mini, compared with the Morris Minor, on which it was structural (I think I've remembered that correctly). But it's still a welcome addition, and I'm sure that like everything else BMW has done with the MINI, it'll be a raging success - and at least the original squared-off Clubman nose hasn't been revived.
Even today, old bores like me scrutinise BMW's every move for evidence that the company is compromising on the car's Britishness. On the face of it the new Clubman seems to confirm the worst. The single rear side door is optimised for left-hand drive markets, which is to say, it is mounted on the right. That means British rear seat passengers step out into the traffic, not on to the kerb.
Continental and US markets favoured over British buyers? In fairness, I think not. The main reason no rear door can be fitted to the Clubman's left side is that the fuel filler is in the way. And the fuel filler is only on the left hand side because that's the traditional location - the nearside - for the fuel cap on a British RHD car.
Personally, I'd like to have seen BMW be just a little more ambitious with the Clubman, giving it a bit more of a stretch both within the wheelbase and in the tail, i.e. more of an 'estate' shape, in order really to sort the rear legroom and provide some decent luggage space. I think a couple of Italian coachbuilders were offering conversions along these lines. And I'm not too sure I like the - I hope optional - trim that can be seen on some publicity shots, which presumably pays homage to the rear wooden exterior frame on the original. I believe the wood was purely ornamental on the original Mini, compared with the Morris Minor, on which it was structural (I think I've remembered that correctly). But it's still a welcome addition, and I'm sure that like everything else BMW has done with the MINI, it'll be a raging success - and at least the original squared-off Clubman nose hasn't been revived.
Thursday, 14 June 2007
Motoring memories 1 – the launch of the Austin Metro at the NEC Motor Show in 1980
Back in 1980 there was only one story at the Motor Show – the launch of the new Metro, seen as a make-or-break model for British Leyland, then under the management of Sir Michael Edwardes, in the face of scepticism from the recently elected Thatcher government.
At some unearthly hour – I think it was 5am - my equally car-mad school pal Bruce and I got a lift from Bruce's dad to the station for the long journey from deepest Essex to Birmingham. If I remember correctly, we arrived at about 9.30 but the official opening time was 10. Even so, in the excitement (yes, I agree this seems fairly sad from today's perspective), we ran for what felt like miles through the station and the NEC complex to the exhibition entrance, and were rewarded with the discovery that the doors were already open. For a short while, we had the show more or less to ourselves, and made an immediate bee-line for the Metros on the BL stand. We sat in that year's hottest car and gave it a quick once over before deciding to come back later on for a proper look. Of course, when we returned, the BL stand was just one enormous bun-fight with hundreds of eager punters all clamouring to touch or even just catch a glimpse of the Metro, and we couldn't get anywhere near the cars again.
The Metro was a success but it had to soldier on well beyond its sell-by date – its replacement would have been the MINI but BMW kept that for itself, so the short-lived City Rover, based on Tata's Indica had to do the job for MG Rover instead.
Bruce and I have attended many motor shows together since, including, most recently, the latest London show at Expo in Docklands last year. But none have matched the 1980 Brum show for excitement.
At some unearthly hour – I think it was 5am - my equally car-mad school pal Bruce and I got a lift from Bruce's dad to the station for the long journey from deepest Essex to Birmingham. If I remember correctly, we arrived at about 9.30 but the official opening time was 10. Even so, in the excitement (yes, I agree this seems fairly sad from today's perspective), we ran for what felt like miles through the station and the NEC complex to the exhibition entrance, and were rewarded with the discovery that the doors were already open. For a short while, we had the show more or less to ourselves, and made an immediate bee-line for the Metros on the BL stand. We sat in that year's hottest car and gave it a quick once over before deciding to come back later on for a proper look. Of course, when we returned, the BL stand was just one enormous bun-fight with hundreds of eager punters all clamouring to touch or even just catch a glimpse of the Metro, and we couldn't get anywhere near the cars again.
The Metro was a success but it had to soldier on well beyond its sell-by date – its replacement would have been the MINI but BMW kept that for itself, so the short-lived City Rover, based on Tata's Indica had to do the job for MG Rover instead.
Bruce and I have attended many motor shows together since, including, most recently, the latest London show at Expo in Docklands last year. But none have matched the 1980 Brum show for excitement.
Monday, 4 June 2007
Blast from the past 5 - Fiat 500
The Fiat 500 - seen here on Fiat's stand at this year's Geneva Salon d'Automobile. The 500 was built from 1957 to 1975 (although the estate version carried on a little longer) and was replaced by the less visually appealing 126. This 500 is sometimes referred to as the Topolino (or little mouse), although that name is more usually applied to its front-engined predecessor which was launched in 1937.
Of course, the 500 was on display at the Geneva show to promote the forthcoming Nuova 500, which borrows many of its styling themes. Not particularly convinced by most of these retro reinventions of old cars. Only the Mini (or MINI, as BMW insists on calling it) really works, and that's more because it's great to drive and all of the financial numbers stack up, rather than because it represents a true successor to the original Mini.
Of course, the 500 was on display at the Geneva show to promote the forthcoming Nuova 500, which borrows many of its styling themes. Not particularly convinced by most of these retro reinventions of old cars. Only the Mini (or MINI, as BMW insists on calling it) really works, and that's more because it's great to drive and all of the financial numbers stack up, rather than because it represents a true successor to the original Mini.
Monday, 16 April 2007
What's outside today 1 - the MINI Cooper D
This is the new MINI Cooper D, which goes back today. Expect it to turn up on the Verdict in the next few weeks. BMW introduced revised versions of the Cooper and Cooper S a few months back and now the rest of the range is being refreshed too. The new diesel power unit is from PSA, rather than the previous supplier, Toyota. The replacement engine's extra pep has encouraged BMW to stick its neck out and make the new diesel a Cooper instead of a variant of the basic ONE model. After driving the car, I think the change is justified.
At the moment, there is no direct replacement for the previous diesel version of the ONE. The new petrol-powered ONE, which like the Cooper D was launched last Friday, gets an appealing new BMW-built 1.4 litre engine developed in conjunction with PSA. The petrol engines fitted to the closed versions of the latest MINI are all sourced from BMW's Hams Hall plant near Birmingham. The cabriolet, which has not so far seen the same revisions as the standard model, sticks with the Chrysler engine shipped in from Brazil that was adopted for the first version of the BMW MINI in 2001.
As I discovered on a visit to BMW's impressive production site in Oxford last week, the cabriolet accounts for an astonishing 25% of MINI sales these days. That Oxford plant, incidentally, is the one that used to be called Cowley in the old British Leyland days, when it pumped out Marinas, Itals, Princesses, Ambassadors and so on - but it's changed out of all recognition under BMW's ownership. BMW bought the Rover Group from British Aerospace in 1994, and kept Cowley and the MINI after it disposed of Rover and Land Rover in 2000. Annual production will be pushing 280,000 when the new estate version of the MINI comes on stream later this year.
At the moment, there is no direct replacement for the previous diesel version of the ONE. The new petrol-powered ONE, which like the Cooper D was launched last Friday, gets an appealing new BMW-built 1.4 litre engine developed in conjunction with PSA. The petrol engines fitted to the closed versions of the latest MINI are all sourced from BMW's Hams Hall plant near Birmingham. The cabriolet, which has not so far seen the same revisions as the standard model, sticks with the Chrysler engine shipped in from Brazil that was adopted for the first version of the BMW MINI in 2001.
As I discovered on a visit to BMW's impressive production site in Oxford last week, the cabriolet accounts for an astonishing 25% of MINI sales these days. That Oxford plant, incidentally, is the one that used to be called Cowley in the old British Leyland days, when it pumped out Marinas, Itals, Princesses, Ambassadors and so on - but it's changed out of all recognition under BMW's ownership. BMW bought the Rover Group from British Aerospace in 1994, and kept Cowley and the MINI after it disposed of Rover and Land Rover in 2000. Annual production will be pushing 280,000 when the new estate version of the MINI comes on stream later this year.
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