Incentive Driven Pre-Order Effectiveness

Unfortunately for Volkswagen the minivan isn’t growing. In fact, minivan sales have dropped for years and this year along they have fallen 20% (overall auto sales are down 8%.) So after years of co-development with Chrysler/Dodge, the VW Routan is making its debut this fall.

Let’s first understand the cutesy name of this family hauler. Routan is an invented word indicating the bond between VW and America. It is a combination of the words ‘route’ and the ‘-an’ suffix VW uses for other European vans.

The Routan’s initial marketing push is to drive pre-orders by giving a free gift. The enticement is an U-Promise $1,500 college tuition contribution. There is of course a nice fit between a family focused minivan owner and doing something for the kids. Pre-orders are not an easy thing to obtain unless the car is in high demand with limited supply availability, think a desirable sports car like the Nissan GT-R. But do pre-orders with a gift actually drive more sales?

I’m going to break up Routan buyers into two groups: people who are going to buy a Routan any way, I’ll call them “Routan Buyers” and the other group is people considering the vehicle but still undecided, referred to hereafter as “Routan Considerers”.

Routan Buyers have already decided to buy the car and are simply waiting for the car to hit dealer lots. Most will not pre-order since the minivan is not a high demand vehicle and availability should be a non-issue at the dealership. Some may do a pre-order to receive the tuition offer. However, is $1,500 really that much toward the typical cost for college? Not really and even less so for parents with kids that have quite away to go before college making the $1,500 incentive less of the total cost.

Routan Considerers probably won’t be influenced by a tuition incentive. They too may not value an incentive that will take several years to affect a family’s finances. Considerers also won’t be influenced by an incentive that does not lessen the total cost of the vehicle or give them some instant gratification for their choice. But the larger issue is the matter that any minor incentive is unlikely to shift a buyer to make a decision before he or she is ready. Buyers most influenced by discounts and incentives would most likely pull ahead their shopping decision if employee pricing or a low percentage finance deal were offered.

It takes a lot to move an undecided buyer to purchase and few pre-order deals really have the impact to make a considered high-priced purchase more impulsive.

So, the pre-order tuition offer is a futile attempt to drive sales prior to launch. Volkswagen would probably be better off putting less focus on the tuition offer and instead demonstrate to consumers how the Routan is unique from it’s Chrysler and Dodge cousins (all three vehicles are built at the same auto plant in Ontario Canada.)

In my experience and research, the only significant way of generating pre-orders is by restricting supply at or near launch for a highly sought after vehicle. Limited edition models like the Mustang Shelby GT500KR or a VW Golf R32 create excitement for the product. Minivans really don't generate a lot of passionate excitement, unless of course VW actually brought a minivan worthy of consumer excitement like the Microbus concept.

Reflecting on the BMW 1-Series Launch

"The media strategy for the 1 Series is all about short, intense experiences," explains Esme Rottschafer, group account director at The Media Company, adding that Cundari developed the creative for the ad (both Toronto-based). "We knew [this process] would be tough to do, but it was an innovative one-off that fit beautifully with the strategy."

Short, intense experiences. The quote above was taken from the coverage of Canada’s Vibe magazine featuring a hidden 1-series on the cover, provided you turn the lights off. Coverage of this tactic was rampant across BMW message boards, autoblog.com, several non-BMW related blogs, and market publications. What Cundari did was generate a buzz beyond just the car. Technique was the buzz with the Vibe magazine cover.

It was a well-executed traditional media placement that transitioned to some great online buzz. BMW’s campaign wasn’t just about creating buzz online; their strategy was to concentrate half of their media budget on online media. “By comparison, executives at BMW of North America say, Internet ad spending for other models ranges from 1 percent to 15 percent of the total ad budgets,” according to the NY Times.

With a target consumer in the late 20s and early 30s, an interesting online implementation was the 1-series Facebook application that let members design their own 1-series in their “What drives you?” auto graffiti contest. It was an engaging way for friends to share different creative ways to make the 1-series canvas their own. It was more than just the typical Facebook quiz or ‘Become a Fan’ idea. Here BMW lets friends create a personal style and isn’t it always about standing out when one is buying a luxury car? Plus it allowed creativity that was simple for anyone to try.

Where the BMW 1-series went wrong with their product launch wasn’t a media placement or website, it was trying to generate exclusivity by writing “Year One of the 1” around the Start Button. Most consumers and brand advocates felt it was a bit too gimmicky.

Mini Shows Green and Fun Can Coexist

Green marketing: “Integrating business practices and products that are friendly to the environment while also meeting the needs of the consumers.”

So instead of being bound by a rigid Carbon Footprint calculation, Mini decided to recreate the formula: “Fun to Drive” Factor + Green Factor = Carfun Footprint Score. Even without a hybrid, Mini is looking to position itself better in today’s fuel-efficient consumer mindset and that is what the Carfun Footprint website is all about.

How do you a make a non-hybrid car perceived as green? By trying to extend their brand’s playful style and performance by emphasizing a lesser-known quality, the Cooper’s competitive fuel-efficient engine (base model gets 37 hwy, 28 city.)

What Mini gets right with their Car Fun Footprint calculator are a couple major things. First, they establish a new frame of reference for the consumer by linking green with fun showing how car buyers don’t have to sacrifice style and performance while being cognizant of fuel efficiency, i.e. you can have your cake and eat it too.

Another attractive quality is Mini’s competitive angle. While I may not own a Mini, I can at least learn how well my current car stacks up and can send the site to my friends seeing how their cars rank. Of course, if you want to improve your score there is an Improve link that let’s you build & price a new Mini Cooper.

The green motoring tips link sends you an email providing fuel efficient driving tips no matter what you drive. Of course Mini reminds you right up front that “the best way to improve your Carfun Footprint is to drive the 37-mile-per-gallon Mini Cooper.”

An improvement could be a Carfun Footprint challenge with friends instead of just sending the link to a friend. The site could forward your car’s score to your friend and challenge your score against theirs seeing who ranks best on Mini’s site.

Overall, the site is a great way to demonstrate the fuel efficiency of Mini’s products. In a market that is concerned with fuel economy but not willing to give up everything for it, Mini has hit a cord with their playful Carfun Footprint site.

Hyundai's Phaeton?

One of the most compelling stories happening right now in automotive marketing and brand development has to be Hyundai Motor’s attempt to change to a luxury brand. As USA Today puts it, Hyundai is trying to become a brand for “thrifty rich people.”

Unfortunately, for Hyundai, performance numbers or amenities don’t sway luxury buyers as much as image, according to Tom Libby of JD Power’s Power Information Network. It’s the attempt of a brand to redefine itself as luxury that really is a major hurdle.

Volkswagen undertook one recent example when Ferdinand Piëch tried to remake VW into a luxury brand by going up market with some of its product decisions. Of course, the VW example is an odd one since VW already has Audi as a luxury brand; that aside, VW looked to stretch its brand image most notably through it’s introduction of the Phaeton vehicle. Like the Hyundai Genesis, the Phaeton was a singular product designed to take VW into luxury territory.

From BusinessWeek:

Perhaps no Volkswagen model more embodies the company’s odd product strategy over the last decade more than the $75,000-$90,000 Phaeton sedan. The car, which VW chairman Ferdinand Piech developed to go up against the Mercedes S Class and BMW 7 Series, has been a flop in Europe and was discontinued in the U.S.

But why was it a flop?

Most of the issues VW had with launch had to do with convincing the automotive press that this was a serious contender to BMW and Mercedes. Hyundai is having a similar up hill climb getting the press to see the Genesis as a contender to Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes. Product strategy contends with the brand shift by throwing all available luxury gadgets, better interior materials, and overall improved fit and finish as the brand moves up market.

Even with all the extra goodies at a competitive price point the Phaeton failed and mainly because the dealer network and prominent VW badge sank the strategy.

Dealers had troubles meeting the needs of a luxury consumer who had higher expectations of customer service than a Jetta owner. Hyundai is sure to suffer a similar issue. Luxury dealerships have become places to enjoy your time at. When I bring my wife’s Lexus in for service I am offered a cappuccino, free WiFi, and sit in a leather seat near a hearth fireplace. Somehow I doubt Hyundai will be upgrading their dealerships to cater to a luxury consumer. Right or not, luxury consumers expect special treatment from their brands, which is all part of why they are willing to spend more.

The badge issue is an interesting one as it pertains to Hyundai. Part of Hyundai’s move up market has included a redesigned grille that has removed the Hyundai logo from only the Genesis and replaced it by a flowing chrome look reminiscent of a Mercedes. There is no doubt that the logo removal is there to remove consumers from their biases of Hyundai. VW’s Phaeton had a prominent VW badge in front and was often noted by journalist as a hampering issue for the vehicle to go up market when parked next to a sea of German luxury cars. Hyundai has recognized the issue and is addressing it in a stealth way; they know their logo isn’t helping any luxury perception of their brand.

So, how about the website? While I keep hearing Green is the new Black, apparently, Hyundai didn’t get the message and went with a very traditional black is luxury web presence.

“It’s beauty through functionality,” says the cliché deep-voiced narrator. The site communicates vehicle features through brief one or two sentence statements. There is no direct language about the car being a luxury vehicle; instead, Hyundai tries to communicate luxury through stylized content areas, comparisons to luxury makes (Mercedes to be exact), water motifs, images are uncluttered, and sound is similar to a lobby at the W Hotel.

The Genesis events section of the site shows some nice extensions to the experiential activities going on to launch the car. There is a tour, videos from the tour with consumers showing their surprise about the vehicle’s luxury elements, and there is a Genesis Discovery Challenge quiz that quizzes one’s knowledge of opulent tastes and vehicle attributes by mixing cultural questions with Hyundai Genesis.

It is an interesting challenge for Hyundai and they may have an edge over the failings of the Phaeton since the Phaeton was in the $70k price point while the Genesis is a more palpable $30-$40k car. But even a thrifty luxury buyer still wants prestige and convincing consumers Hyundai is an image brand is not an easy task. Personally, I feel Hyundai should’ve taken the new grille and started a luxury brand similar to the success of Lexus, Acura and Infiniti. There Hyundai could start fresh and come to market with a couple starter vehicles to build their luxury voice from instead of having to show the Genesis along side a Hyundai Accent.

KW street comfort for the BMW 3 series coupe E92

Sportier handling and ride comfort all in one is now being offered by KW automotive for the BMW 3 series coupe E92 with a suspension from the KW street comfort product line. This allows the body of the BMW coupe to be lowered between 20 and 40 mm at the front, and between 15 and 35 mm at the back. In spite of the significantly sportier handling, the BMW also excels with outstanding ride comfort, even on poor road surfaces. KW street comfort is available for the BMW E92 with immediate effect.

Porsche Cayenne becomes diesel

It has finally happened. Porsche Cayenne has gone diesel.

Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking (what a name, by the way) has confirmed that next year's Cayenne will be installed with a three-litre V6 diesel developing 237bhp and 406lb ft of torque.

If that sounds familiar, that's because the oil-burner will be transplanted near-unchanged from the Audi Q7 - all part of the Posche/VAG group not-always-so-friendly partnership.

The turbodiesel will haul the Q7 to 60mph in 8.5 seconds and return around 27mpg, so we'd expect similar performance from the Cayenne.

Rather than investing in a new, expensive diesel engine, Porsche has instead ploughed its cash into developing a hybrid system, which should make its way into the Cayenne some time in 2010.

And if you're getting all het up about the idea of a diesel Porsche, just think: it could've been that five-litre V10 turbodiesel out the Touareg. We're not sure whether that'd be better or worse, really...

© Source: topgear
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Porsche's next big thing - A lawn mower

Normally, we have witnessed theme cars and bikes done up by creative artists, car fanatics and even sculptors. Well this time, things area bit different. Here is a unusual lawn mower that Porsche, almost certainly doesn't have a place to display in its showroom, but it unquestionable would adore this creation which wears a Porsche Carrera theme.

Test Drive: 2008 Ford Focus SES coupe with five-speed manual transmission

Ottawa, Ontario - It's not hard to feel vulnerable driving a small car these days, what with so many SUVs, crossovers and pickup trucks on the road. Naturally, when you're driving a compact car like my Ford Focus Coupe tester, you get nervous when you're stopped in rush hour traffic and hear the sound of screeching tires behind you.

Luckily for me, there was a Dodge Ram pickup between my car and a skidding Toyota Tercel which careened into the back of the truck at something like 60 km/h. The Tercel, not surprisingly, was a write off, and the truck sustained a fair amount of damage from the impact too (while the two occupants of the Tercel were taken to hospital, the most serious injury was a broken leg).

How does all of this involve me and the Focus? The impact was serious enough to shunt the truck forward into the Focus' rear bumper. One of the most impressive things about the car was how it held up to this not-insignificant rear-end impact. Where the Ram's front bumper was noticeably dented, the Focus suffered little more than a misplaced rear bumper cover, plus a scratch below the license plate. Once I'd shoved the bumper cover back into place, you'd hardly have known the car had been hit as violently as it had.

The first example of this latest Focus I drove was a four-door sedan way back in February. That car was a fully-loaded SES model with an automatic transmission. The red coupe you see here wore the same top-level trim, but was fitted with the five-speed manual transmission.

The SES coupe's base price is the same as the sedan's, at $19,999. Options on my latest tester included a $1,495 Sport Appearance Package (chrome exterior trim, colour-matched side mirrors and door handles, ambient interior lighting, 16-inch wheels and a "high-performance" instrument panel - the price for this group seems steep for a bunch of things I wouldn't have missed), a power sunroof for $1,000, block heater ($75) and a Sony stereo with six-CD changer and subwoofer, which seems like a decent value for $695. All SES-trim Focuses come with the Ford/Microsoft SYNC hands-free entertainment and communications system.

The Focus is a great example of how small cars no longer have to feel that way. The tall roofline creates lots of headroom, and the high seating position allows for great visibility. The downside of these characteristics is that the Focus tends to feel tippy in corners. Despite that, and the soft suspension, which allows a fair amount of body roll, the Focus handles well and is fun to toss into a corner.

The steering is light but reasonably communicative and the brakes are confidence-inspiring in hard stops, with a firm pedal that's easy to modulate.

The manual shifter is about what you'd expect in a budget-mobile. Shift effort is light, while shift feel is so-so, but the tall shifter falls easily to hand and goes where you tell it to. The clutch is vague, but again, this is nothing you won't be used to if you've used the manual transmission in many of the Focus' competitors.

Fuel consumption during the time I was driving the car was impressive. Through gentle driving, the average consumption readout hovered between 7.0 and 8.0 L/100 km (Ford, for some reason, doesn't like decimals, so "7" or "8" is as accurate a read as you'll get from the car). In any event, that's alright, as the Focus' EnerGuide ratings are 8.5 L/100 km (city) and 5.7 L/100 km (highway). Despite my success in keeping the Focus' thirst down, this exact car only achieved an average of 6.7 L/100 km in the 2008 CanadianDriver 50-litre Challenge. I expected the Focus to fare much better than that on the event's highway route.

As previously alluded to, interior space and comfort are definite Focus strong points. Those looking for maximum front-seat headroom might want to avoid ordering the sunroof, but there's decent space even with it. Leg room is excellent, and the front seats are very comfortable, even if they offer little lateral support.

The Focus coupe rides on the same 2,613 mm (102.9 in.) wheelbase as the sedan, so legroom isn't affected by the loss of two doors (though there's only just enough in either model). Ford claims that sedan and coupe models offer the same 973 mm (38.3 in.) of rear-seat headroom, but it feels like slightly less in the coupe. And, I'll ask this question once again: why does Ford feel that back seat occupants don't rate headrests? Had someone been riding back there when my tester was rear-ended, they'd almost certainly have suffered whiplash.

Strange to say, perhaps, but I think the Focus actually benefits from the durable cloth my tester's seats wore, rather than the leather that last winter's sedan had. It offsets the lack of lateral support and looks okay, too.

The dashboard is laid out sensibly enough, but there are more buttons on the centre stack than seems necessary. At least the various panels and pieces all fit together well, though some of the plastics are a bit hard, and the silver-painted plastic that dominates looks a touch cheap in the right (or is that wrong?) light.

The trunk is a useful size, though that usefulness was compromised in my tester by the subwoofer, which takes up a big chunk of real estate on the left side. The opening revealed by the folding rear seat is generous, though.

I don't know exactly who Ford's going after with the Focus coupe, though I suspect it's the same demographic who might shop for a two-door version of the Pontiac G5/Chevrolet Cobalt twins. The only other two-door sedan that comes to mind is the Honda Civic, and that car is the only compact that does the coupe thing right, with its boy-racer looks. Losing two doors to create a car that is otherwise nearly identical to its four-door sibling seems a bit silly to me, especially considering the coupe replaces the hatchback body style in the Focus lineup.

Despite its less-athletic nature, my favourite aspect of this second-gen car is the quiet and composed way it drives. At least they didn't take that away.

Porsche's next big thing - A lawn mower

Normally, we have witnessed theme cars and bikes done up by creative artists, car fanatics and even sculptors. Well this time, things area bit different. Here is a unusual lawn mower that Porsche, almost certainly doesn't have a place to display in its showroom, but it unquestionable would adore this creation which wears a Porsche Carrera theme.

Test Drive: 2008 Ford Focus SES coupe with five-speed manual transmission

Ottawa, Ontario - It's not hard to feel vulnerable driving a small car these days, what with so many SUVs, crossovers and pickup trucks on the road. Naturally, when you're driving a compact car like my Ford Focus Coupe tester, you get nervous when you're stopped in rush hour traffic and hear the sound of screeching tires behind you.

Luckily for me, there was a Dodge Ram pickup between my car and a skidding Toyota Tercel which careened into the back of the truck at something like 60 km/h. The Tercel, not surprisingly, was a write off, and the truck sustained a fair amount of damage from the impact too (while the two occupants of the Tercel were taken to hospital, the most serious injury was a broken leg).

How does all of this involve me and the Focus? The impact was serious enough to shunt the truck forward into the Focus' rear bumper. One of the most impressive things about the car was how it held up to this not-insignificant rear-end impact. Where the Ram's front bumper was noticeably dented, the Focus suffered little more than a misplaced rear bumper cover, plus a scratch below the license plate. Once I'd shoved the bumper cover back into place, you'd hardly have known the car had been hit as violently as it had.

The first example of this latest Focus I drove was a four-door sedan way back in February. That car was a fully-loaded SES model with an automatic transmission. The red coupe you see here wore the same top-level trim, but was fitted with the five-speed manual transmission.

The SES coupe's base price is the same as the sedan's, at $19,999. Options on my latest tester included a $1,495 Sport Appearance Package (chrome exterior trim, colour-matched side mirrors and door handles, ambient interior lighting, 16-inch wheels and a "high-performance" instrument panel - the price for this group seems steep for a bunch of things I wouldn't have missed), a power sunroof for $1,000, block heater ($75) and a Sony stereo with six-CD changer and subwoofer, which seems like a decent value for $695. All SES-trim Focuses come with the Ford/Microsoft SYNC hands-free entertainment and communications system.

The Focus is a great example of how small cars no longer have to feel that way. The tall roofline creates lots of headroom, and the high seating position allows for great visibility. The downside of these characteristics is that the Focus tends to feel tippy in corners. Despite that, and the soft suspension, which allows a fair amount of body roll, the Focus handles well and is fun to toss into a corner.

The steering is light but reasonably communicative and the brakes are confidence-inspiring in hard stops, with a firm pedal that's easy to modulate.

The manual shifter is about what you'd expect in a budget-mobile. Shift effort is light, while shift feel is so-so, but the tall shifter falls easily to hand and goes where you tell it to. The clutch is vague, but again, this is nothing you won't be used to if you've used the manual transmission in many of the Focus' competitors.

Fuel consumption during the time I was driving the car was impressive. Through gentle driving, the average consumption readout hovered between 7.0 and 8.0 L/100 km (Ford, for some reason, doesn't like decimals, so "7" or "8" is as accurate a read as you'll get from the car). In any event, that's alright, as the Focus' EnerGuide ratings are 8.5 L/100 km (city) and 5.7 L/100 km (highway). Despite my success in keeping the Focus' thirst down, this exact car only achieved an average of 6.7 L/100 km in the 2008 CanadianDriver 50-litre Challenge. I expected the Focus to fare much better than that on the event's highway route.

As previously alluded to, interior space and comfort are definite Focus strong points. Those looking for maximum front-seat headroom might want to avoid ordering the sunroof, but there's decent space even with it. Leg room is excellent, and the front seats are very comfortable, even if they offer little lateral support.

The Focus coupe rides on the same 2,613 mm (102.9 in.) wheelbase as the sedan, so legroom isn't affected by the loss of two doors (though there's only just enough in either model). Ford claims that sedan and coupe models offer the same 973 mm (38.3 in.) of rear-seat headroom, but it feels like slightly less in the coupe. And, I'll ask this question once again: why does Ford feel that back seat occupants don't rate headrests? Had someone been riding back there when my tester was rear-ended, they'd almost certainly have suffered whiplash.

Strange to say, perhaps, but I think the Focus actually benefits from the durable cloth my tester's seats wore, rather than the leather that last winter's sedan had. It offsets the lack of lateral support and looks okay, too.

The dashboard is laid out sensibly enough, but there are more buttons on the centre stack than seems necessary. At least the various panels and pieces all fit together well, though some of the plastics are a bit hard, and the silver-painted plastic that dominates looks a touch cheap in the right (or is that wrong?) light.

The trunk is a useful size, though that usefulness was compromised in my tester by the subwoofer, which takes up a big chunk of real estate on the left side. The opening revealed by the folding rear seat is generous, though.

I don't know exactly who Ford's going after with the Focus coupe, though I suspect it's the same demographic who might shop for a two-door version of the Pontiac G5/Chevrolet Cobalt twins. The only other two-door sedan that comes to mind is the Honda Civic, and that car is the only compact that does the coupe thing right, with its boy-racer looks. Losing two doors to create a car that is otherwise nearly identical to its four-door sibling seems a bit silly to me, especially considering the coupe replaces the hatchback body style in the Focus lineup.

Despite its less-athletic nature, my favourite aspect of this second-gen car is the quiet and composed way it drives. At least they didn't take that away.

Porsche's next big thing - A lawn mower

Normally, we have witnessed theme cars and bikes done up by creative artists, car fanatics and even sculptors. Well this time, things area bit different. Here is a unusual lawn mower that Porsche, almost certainly doesn't have a place to display in its showroom, but it unquestionable would adore this creation which wears a Porsche Carrera theme.

Test Drive: 2008 Ford Focus SES coupe with five-speed manual transmission

Ottawa, Ontario - It's not hard to feel vulnerable driving a small car these days, what with so many SUVs, crossovers and pickup trucks on the road. Naturally, when you're driving a compact car like my Ford Focus Coupe tester, you get nervous when you're stopped in rush hour traffic and hear the sound of screeching tires behind you.

Luckily for me, there was a Dodge Ram pickup between my car and a skidding Toyota Tercel which careened into the back of the truck at something like 60 km/h. The Tercel, not surprisingly, was a write off, and the truck sustained a fair amount of damage from the impact too (while the two occupants of the Tercel were taken to hospital, the most serious injury was a broken leg).

How does all of this involve me and the Focus? The impact was serious enough to shunt the truck forward into the Focus' rear bumper. One of the most impressive things about the car was how it held up to this not-insignificant rear-end impact. Where the Ram's front bumper was noticeably dented, the Focus suffered little more than a misplaced rear bumper cover, plus a scratch below the license plate. Once I'd shoved the bumper cover back into place, you'd hardly have known the car had been hit as violently as it had.

The first example of this latest Focus I drove was a four-door sedan way back in February. That car was a fully-loaded SES model with an automatic transmission. The red coupe you see here wore the same top-level trim, but was fitted with the five-speed manual transmission.

The SES coupe's base price is the same as the sedan's, at $19,999. Options on my latest tester included a $1,495 Sport Appearance Package (chrome exterior trim, colour-matched side mirrors and door handles, ambient interior lighting, 16-inch wheels and a "high-performance" instrument panel - the price for this group seems steep for a bunch of things I wouldn't have missed), a power sunroof for $1,000, block heater ($75) and a Sony stereo with six-CD changer and subwoofer, which seems like a decent value for $695. All SES-trim Focuses come with the Ford/Microsoft SYNC hands-free entertainment and communications system.

The Focus is a great example of how small cars no longer have to feel that way. The tall roofline creates lots of headroom, and the high seating position allows for great visibility. The downside of these characteristics is that the Focus tends to feel tippy in corners. Despite that, and the soft suspension, which allows a fair amount of body roll, the Focus handles well and is fun to toss into a corner.

The steering is light but reasonably communicative and the brakes are confidence-inspiring in hard stops, with a firm pedal that's easy to modulate.

The manual shifter is about what you'd expect in a budget-mobile. Shift effort is light, while shift feel is so-so, but the tall shifter falls easily to hand and goes where you tell it to. The clutch is vague, but again, this is nothing you won't be used to if you've used the manual transmission in many of the Focus' competitors.

Fuel consumption during the time I was driving the car was impressive. Through gentle driving, the average consumption readout hovered between 7.0 and 8.0 L/100 km (Ford, for some reason, doesn't like decimals, so "7" or "8" is as accurate a read as you'll get from the car). In any event, that's alright, as the Focus' EnerGuide ratings are 8.5 L/100 km (city) and 5.7 L/100 km (highway). Despite my success in keeping the Focus' thirst down, this exact car only achieved an average of 6.7 L/100 km in the 2008 CanadianDriver 50-litre Challenge. I expected the Focus to fare much better than that on the event's highway route.

As previously alluded to, interior space and comfort are definite Focus strong points. Those looking for maximum front-seat headroom might want to avoid ordering the sunroof, but there's decent space even with it. Leg room is excellent, and the front seats are very comfortable, even if they offer little lateral support.

The Focus coupe rides on the same 2,613 mm (102.9 in.) wheelbase as the sedan, so legroom isn't affected by the loss of two doors (though there's only just enough in either model). Ford claims that sedan and coupe models offer the same 973 mm (38.3 in.) of rear-seat headroom, but it feels like slightly less in the coupe. And, I'll ask this question once again: why does Ford feel that back seat occupants don't rate headrests? Had someone been riding back there when my tester was rear-ended, they'd almost certainly have suffered whiplash.

Strange to say, perhaps, but I think the Focus actually benefits from the durable cloth my tester's seats wore, rather than the leather that last winter's sedan had. It offsets the lack of lateral support and looks okay, too.

The dashboard is laid out sensibly enough, but there are more buttons on the centre stack than seems necessary. At least the various panels and pieces all fit together well, though some of the plastics are a bit hard, and the silver-painted plastic that dominates looks a touch cheap in the right (or is that wrong?) light.

The trunk is a useful size, though that usefulness was compromised in my tester by the subwoofer, which takes up a big chunk of real estate on the left side. The opening revealed by the folding rear seat is generous, though.

I don't know exactly who Ford's going after with the Focus coupe, though I suspect it's the same demographic who might shop for a two-door version of the Pontiac G5/Chevrolet Cobalt twins. The only other two-door sedan that comes to mind is the Honda Civic, and that car is the only compact that does the coupe thing right, with its boy-racer looks. Losing two doors to create a car that is otherwise nearly identical to its four-door sibling seems a bit silly to me, especially considering the coupe replaces the hatchback body style in the Focus lineup.

Despite its less-athletic nature, my favourite aspect of this second-gen car is the quiet and composed way it drives. At least they didn't take that away.

Bugatti Veyron for £17,500 a day

Want to impress former friends at a school reunion? Why not hire a Bugatti Veyron – for £17,500 a day. For the price of a brand new 2-litre diesel Ford Mondeo, a St. Albans-based company will lease the 253mph Bugatti Veyron for 24 hours.

And there’s no limit on how long you can hire the 1,001bhp Bugatti Veyron.

As a result it will cost £122,000 per week, £580,000 per month or £6.3 million for the year – enough to fund seven-and-a-half £830,000 Veyrons.

Which means the one of the Premiership’s highest paid footballers John Terry – who earns a reported £130,000 a week – could just about afford to hire the hypercar. But the leasing firm wouldn’t let the 27-year-old Chelsea captain hire the Veyron – as he’s not old enough.

To hire the Bugatti Veyron (similar to the one pictured), drivers must be aged between 30 and 65, be no taller than 6ft 3in or heavier than 18 stone, have no more than six points or made an insurance claim in the past three years.

As part of the deal, anyone who hires the Veyron at the weekend can get 300 ‘free’ miles, before paying £1.50 per mile after that.

The rich renter does get breakdown cover and fully comprehensive insurance – but is responsible for collecting and returning the Veyron.

The Bugatti Veyron is one of a host of luxury cars available for hire from leasing website Erento.

Other cars available include a Lamborghini Murcielago and Mercedes McLaren SLR (£1,500 a day) and Aston Martin DBS which will cost £1,995 per day.

© Source: autotrader
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The Georgeus Nissan 350Z

Nissan 350z is a fun car, this cool car is light and agile, it also has industrial chic looks. The design is aggressive and very easy on the eyes thats why this car is so georgeus.

General Specifications :

Model : 350z
Variant : COUPE
Release Date : 20-07-05
Still in production

Dimensions :

Boot Capacity : 235
Load : 235
Length : 4315
Ground Clearance : 115
Gross Laden Mass : 1820
Height : 1325
Licencing Mass : 1542
Width : 1815

Engine :

Engine Layout : longitudinal v 6
Cylinders : 6
Aspiration : natural
Valves : dohc 4 valves per cylinder, variable valve timing
Bore / Stroke : 95.5x81.4
Capacity : 3498
Compression Ratio : 10.3:1
Ignition Type : electronic
Gearbox Details : 6-speed manual
Hybrid / Clutchless : no
Number of Gears : 6
Manual / Automatic : manual

Performance :

Fuel Capacity : 80
Fuel Consumpsion – Highway : 9.06
Fuel Consumpsion – Urban : 16.22
Consumption Annual Average : 13.14
Fuel Type : unleaded
Fuel Supply : digital sequential multipoint injection
Acceleration 0-100 Final : 5.7
100 to 0 Seconds : 2.66
Quarter Mile Sprint : 0
Top Speed Final : 250
Power Output : 230kw@6800
Torque : 358nm@4800

Wheels, Brakes and Steering :

ABS : yes
Front Brakes : ventilated discs
Rear Brakes : ventilated discs
Brake Hydrolics : vacuum asst, 4 ch. abs, ebd, bas, vdc
Handbreak Position : between front seats
Alloy Wheels : yes
Rim Size – Front : 8j
Rim Size – Rear : 8j
Drive Wheels : rear
Front Track : 1535
Rear Track : 1545
Wheel Base : 2650
Number of Wheels Driven : 2
Tyre Size – Front : 225/45 r18 91w
Tyre Size – Rear : 245/45 r18 96w
Front Suspension : independent, alloy upper a-arms, lower l-arms, coils on gas-filled ripple-control shocks, anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension : independent, trailing upper a-arms, lower steel arms, coils on split ripple-control shocks, anti-roll bar
Steering Type : rack+pinion speed-sensitive variable power assiste
Steering Column Reach Adjust : no
Steering Column Height / Rake Adjust : yes

Is CLEVER the ultimate solution for safe and versatile transportation?

You'd agree with me that a motorcycle can never replace a car as the simplest and cheapest way to get from point A to B. Due to its small length and width, a motorcycle permits you to maneuver through tight gaps and congested roads with a little effort, which a car can certainly not do.

Long Term Verdict: 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon

When Jeep decided to build a four-door Wrangler, we were excited about its potential. This was, after all, the first time the legendary Jeep was given two more doors; also, its stretched wheelbase made the interior more people- and cargo-friendly. Then the company announced it was going to build a Rubicon version of the Unlimited, and we knew we'd have to try one out for long-term testing.

The Rubicon package provides enough off-road gear to make it the most capable Wrangler you can buy from the factory: Dana 44 axles front and rear, Tru-Lok remote locking differentials, Rock-Trac two-speed transfer case with 4.00:1 low range, 4.10 rearend (available only on the Rubicon), and BFG Mud Terrains, etc.

It quickly became clear that despite the extra interior volume, Jeep hadn't gone mad and turned the Wrangler into a dolled-up kid hauler. The price you pay for a Rubicon is for its extreme off-road ability, not leather seats (our tester's were cloth) or comfy, cushy headrests (one editor noted they were "hard as rocks"). After ordering a few more items, the bottom line came to $34,730. The MyGIG system also added a slot for a memory stick, which allows you to download music to the 20GB hard drive and use your own images as wallpaper on the screen. However, on two separate occasions, the nav system froze up and, when it started working again, took some time to display the correct location (at one point, the Wrangler's was shown to be in the Pacific Ocean). When we received the Wrangler, MyGIG was a fairly new feature. ( Of course, it never acted up for the dealer, so nothing was done.) We hope Jeep has worked out some of the bugs since then.

In the city, the Wrangler fared better than many expected it to. Truck Trend art director Thomas Voehringer was "surprised and delighted by the versatility of this seemingly narrow-focused off-roader...the Unlimited can easily find its way beyond legal cruising speed on the freeway." Copy chief Jackie Manfredi chauffeured friends to a performance of "Wicked." She explained, "The ladies enjoyed the seats and there was a lot of room," and with the windows up, no noise intruded while the four of them chatted. It isn't the perfect city-dweller, though, and editors noted significant road and tire noise when the windows were down, a nervous attitude on the freeway-if you don't pay attention, it can drift into the next lane. It also tends to get blown around by high winds and it's slow to get to speed: Zero to 60 takes 10 seconds flat.

It also had several opportunities to run off-road. Within a month of its arrival at our office, Truck Trend editor Mark Williams took the Jeep on trails in a 4x4 area just outside Las Vegas. He didn't need to air down for the Rubicon to conquer obstacles with ease and, no surprise, it never got stuck.

Photographer Brian Vance used the Wrangler for a few different adventures. The first, a drive from Los Angeles to Lake Tahoe, made the shortcomings of the V-6 and the old-school automatic stand out. But once there, he removed the hard top and converted the hard-core off-roader into the ideal summertime cruiser. On another trip, he drove to hot springs near Minden, Nevada, and while only 10 miles off paved road, discovered he'd need to navigate an icy trail and ford a river to get where he needed to be. The next day, the Wrangler was just as confident in a sudden snowstorm. Back in town, he used the Rubicon to shuttle around friends whose vehicles were stranded. After returning to Southern California, he and some buddies used the Jeep for a long weekend of off-roading in Death Valley-again, with no problems.

While it was in our fleet, we took the long-termer to the dealer twice. The first trip was for its 6000-mile service (at 5951 miles), when it received the gold package: lube, oil, and filter change, 55-point inspection, and tire rotation, for a total cost of $71.16. Its second service, at 13,029 miles, was its 12,000-mile checkup, when the dealer performed a lube service and oil and filter change, inspected belts and hoses, topped off fluid levels, set tire pressures, and rotated the tires, for $60.74. While there, techs also replaced the trail-damaged license-plate bracket and the bracket's lamp assembly, at a cost of $97.14-a minor price to pay for the fun off-road. Besides, dents and dings add character to a Jeep.

The Wrangler Rubicon did everything it was supposed to, and it performed surprisingly well in areas where it isn't as strong. It takes the go-anywhere philosophy of the Jeep line and goes a step further, adding much of the equipment off-road enthusiasts crave. However, Jeep didn't go too far to the extreme, making sure this remains a decent vehicle for a daily commute-as long as you're willing to accept the compromises that come with a machine this capable.

From the Logbook
"This is as much a single-purpose vehicle as any sports car, just in the opposite direction. Not only is the vehicle twitchy on the highway on a good day, but combine the slab-sided body panels with mud tires and a lot of wind, and you have a tense driving experience."
- Mark Williams

"The four-door is an awesome package visually. The boxy exterior appearance is aggressive, particularly in black. Its overall design respects the WWII military roots while incorporating a bit of the post-millennium Hummer persona as well."
- Thomas Voehringer

"This being my first time in a Jeep I now see the appeal. Some of the best parts of a truck and SUV without a lot of the bad (I'm not hauling lumber or kids)."
- Mike Royer

"The Wrangler is a total time warp. It's as if Jeep refused to let go of the 1950s. It's so archaic in so many ways-front and rear solid axles, totally Spartan interior (although the nav and power windows and locks are refreshing), high step-in, no side airbags-yet it's somehow endearing. In some ways the Wrangler is like an automotive history book that teaches you how cars used to be built."
- Ron Kiino[source:MotorTrend]

smart car blasts away opposition in Cannonball Run

A smart fortwo gave its high-powered opposition plenty of ‘fuel for thought’ when it sprinted to victory in the Cannonball Run – a 3,000-mile dash across Europe inspired by the famous 80s film starring Burt Reynolds.

Long Term Verdict: 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon

When Jeep decided to build a four-door Wrangler, we were excited about its potential. This was, after all, the first time the legendary Jeep was given two more doors; also, its stretched wheelbase made the interior more people- and cargo-friendly. Then the company announced it was going to build a Rubicon version of the Unlimited, and we knew we'd have to try one out for long-term testing.

The Rubicon package provides enough off-road gear to make it the most capable Wrangler you can buy from the factory: Dana 44 axles front and rear, Tru-Lok remote locking differentials, Rock-Trac two-speed transfer case with 4.00:1 low range, 4.10 rearend (available only on the Rubicon), and BFG Mud Terrains, etc.

It quickly became clear that despite the extra interior volume, Jeep hadn't gone mad and turned the Wrangler into a dolled-up kid hauler. The price you pay for a Rubicon is for its extreme off-road ability, not leather seats (our tester's were cloth) or comfy, cushy headrests (one editor noted they were "hard as rocks"). After ordering a few more items, the bottom line came to $34,730. The MyGIG system also added a slot for a memory stick, which allows you to download music to the 20GB hard drive and use your own images as wallpaper on the screen. However, on two separate occasions, the nav system froze up and, when it started working again, took some time to display the correct location (at one point, the Wrangler's was shown to be in the Pacific Ocean). When we received the Wrangler, MyGIG was a fairly new feature. ( Of course, it never acted up for the dealer, so nothing was done.) We hope Jeep has worked out some of the bugs since then.

In the city, the Wrangler fared better than many expected it to. Truck Trend art director Thomas Voehringer was "surprised and delighted by the versatility of this seemingly narrow-focused off-roader...the Unlimited can easily find its way beyond legal cruising speed on the freeway." Copy chief Jackie Manfredi chauffeured friends to a performance of "Wicked." She explained, "The ladies enjoyed the seats and there was a lot of room," and with the windows up, no noise intruded while the four of them chatted. It isn't the perfect city-dweller, though, and editors noted significant road and tire noise when the windows were down, a nervous attitude on the freeway-if you don't pay attention, it can drift into the next lane. It also tends to get blown around by high winds and it's slow to get to speed: Zero to 60 takes 10 seconds flat.

It also had several opportunities to run off-road. Within a month of its arrival at our office, Truck Trend editor Mark Williams took the Jeep on trails in a 4x4 area just outside Las Vegas. He didn't need to air down for the Rubicon to conquer obstacles with ease and, no surprise, it never got stuck.

Photographer Brian Vance used the Wrangler for a few different adventures. The first, a drive from Los Angeles to Lake Tahoe, made the shortcomings of the V-6 and the old-school automatic stand out. But once there, he removed the hard top and converted the hard-core off-roader into the ideal summertime cruiser. On another trip, he drove to hot springs near Minden, Nevada, and while only 10 miles off paved road, discovered he'd need to navigate an icy trail and ford a river to get where he needed to be. The next day, the Wrangler was just as confident in a sudden snowstorm. Back in town, he used the Rubicon to shuttle around friends whose vehicles were stranded. After returning to Southern California, he and some buddies used the Jeep for a long weekend of off-roading in Death Valley-again, with no problems.

While it was in our fleet, we took the long-termer to the dealer twice. The first trip was for its 6000-mile service (at 5951 miles), when it received the gold package: lube, oil, and filter change, 55-point inspection, and tire rotation, for a total cost of $71.16. Its second service, at 13,029 miles, was its 12,000-mile checkup, when the dealer performed a lube service and oil and filter change, inspected belts and hoses, topped off fluid levels, set tire pressures, and rotated the tires, for $60.74. While there, techs also replaced the trail-damaged license-plate bracket and the bracket's lamp assembly, at a cost of $97.14-a minor price to pay for the fun off-road. Besides, dents and dings add character to a Jeep.

The Wrangler Rubicon did everything it was supposed to, and it performed surprisingly well in areas where it isn't as strong. It takes the go-anywhere philosophy of the Jeep line and goes a step further, adding much of the equipment off-road enthusiasts crave. However, Jeep didn't go too far to the extreme, making sure this remains a decent vehicle for a daily commute-as long as you're willing to accept the compromises that come with a machine this capable.

From the Logbook
"This is as much a single-purpose vehicle as any sports car, just in the opposite direction. Not only is the vehicle twitchy on the highway on a good day, but combine the slab-sided body panels with mud tires and a lot of wind, and you have a tense driving experience."
- Mark Williams

"The four-door is an awesome package visually. The boxy exterior appearance is aggressive, particularly in black. Its overall design respects the WWII military roots while incorporating a bit of the post-millennium Hummer persona as well."
- Thomas Voehringer

"This being my first time in a Jeep I now see the appeal. Some of the best parts of a truck and SUV without a lot of the bad (I'm not hauling lumber or kids)."
- Mike Royer

"The Wrangler is a total time warp. It's as if Jeep refused to let go of the 1950s. It's so archaic in so many ways-front and rear solid axles, totally Spartan interior (although the nav and power windows and locks are refreshing), high step-in, no side airbags-yet it's somehow endearing. In some ways the Wrangler is like an automotive history book that teaches you how cars used to be built."
- Ron Kiino[source:MotorTrend]

2009 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport

(from Bugatti Press Release) A new Bugatti Veyron 16.4 shows its open side. A new Bugatti will publicly be displayed for the first time at this years Pebble Beach Concourse dElegance, on August 16th, 2008

Molsheim, France/Wolfsburg, August 1, 2008 The last preparations are running at full speed. Two more weeks and then Bugatti Automobiles will present their new Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport for the very first time to the public.

It will be a roadster with a unique, removable roof. The open-top Grand Sport allows driver and passenger to feel even closer to the cars breathtaking power. Those who consider the wind in their hair and the roar of a thoroughbred racing engine in their ears to be essential to true driving enjoyment will find their perfect motor car in this new Bugatti. Even with the top on the Grand Sport does not loose any of its fascination and conveys to the passenger a new exciting panoramic view.

As well as a large number of new equipment features, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport also
incorporates innovative structural solutions, designed to ensure the roadster offers the same extremely high levels of performance and passive safety as the coupe version.

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport will be presented to the public in the afternoon of August 16, 2008, at the lawn in front of the Pebble Beach Lodge. The very first build slot for this new car, to be built in Spring 2009, will be auctioned the next day at the renown Gooding auction at the Equestrian Center at Pebble Beach.

© Source: seriouswheels
We need your comments below >>