2010 Launch Preview

We’re now officially into the latter half of 2010 but there are still five months remaining for motor manufacturers to bring in the new decade with a bang. Five months left to capitalise on a passenger car market showing some really positive growth in recent months.

So, let’s take a quick look at some of the most significant new vehicle launches in the coming months.

Volkswagen Amorak (thumbs up)

It’s curious that a company the size of Volkswagen has taken this long to tap into the local market demand for big single/double cabs. After all, Toyota’s Hilux mostly trumps the Corolla / Auris on the monthly sales charts.

There is simply a huge demand for something rugged, dependable, big and with enough luxury to transport the family in comfort.

The Amorak instantly gets a thumbs up from me for looking far classier than any of its natural competitors. It’s also said to be brilliant both on and off-road.

Nissan Micra (thumbs down)

The Nissan Micra has always been a decent runabout with good engines, a neat cabin and some good ol’ Japanese reliability.

The previous model was too girly and limited in its appearance, though. So one would assume that the new, 2010 version would look, well, better. Small, modern hatchbacks are either really sharp and aggressive (Mazda2, Ford Fiesta) or classy (VW Polo).

The new Micra is neither and looks more dated than its predecessor, making the fact that it has a new CVT gearbox with “30% less friction than other CVTs” – as well as any other attributes to its new design – irrelevant.

Audi R8 Spyder (thumbs up)

The Audi R8 remains the single model from the house of the four rings that make it hard for diehard Beemer, Merc and even Porsche fans to not take a second look.

The Spyder / convertible version of the awesome R8 sees the solid roof of the “normal” model cut off so that petrol heads can now make mincemeat of Aston Martins and also have the wind blowing through their hair, assuming they have any left.

The Spyder will come with all the requisite convertible add-ons such as a pair of roll-over safety bars and a strengthened chassis. Thankfully, this Iron Man 2 car star will maintain the use of the V10, 5,2-litre masterpiece that shares much with the one found in the Lamborghini LP 560.

Citroёn DS3R (thumbs up)

The DS3 has caused a stir since its launch with its striking looks but is set to really take the fight to the Mini with the DS3R. The “R”, of course, signifies “Racing” and that this version of the DS3 will be fitted with a powerful, turbo-charged 1,6-litre motor.

Add a bit of carbon-fibre sporting bits here and a beefed-up braking and suspension system there, and Citroen should have few problems selling all of the limited number of DS3R models being produced.

Audi A8 (thumbs down)

Just launched is Audi’s new flagship, the A8. It is of course an immense machine and will showcase yet another level of mind-blowing tech, refinement and LED daytime running lights made famous by the manufacturer.

Sadly, I don’t see this A8 doing well once the fanfare if it being new wears off. It just doesn’t have the presence and character required from a grand saloon and found less-than-sparingly on the 7 Series and S-Class. I haven’t even mentioned the Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin Rapide, both of which have shaken up traditionally expected design standards in this class. Come on Audi, give the A8 some R8-like menace already!

Other exciting models worth looking out for and still to be launched in 2010 include Alfa’s long-awaited replacement for the 147 - the dramatic Giulietta. Also coming soon is the mammoth Mercedes-Benz S-Class coupe and for the many of us without access to ridiculous sums of money, Fiat’s attractive Linea will receive a much-needed power boost in the form of the T-Jet model.

And now, a special mention needs to be made for the Mercedes-Benz SLS. You would no doubt have seen a few pictures of this beast with its innovative yet iconic Gullwing door design.

It is a car that makes the notion that Mercedes-Benz was once the maker of staid and emotionless machines almost unthinkable.

The SLS is now unavailable in the country - unavailable, because only a select few of us will be able to afford the R2,4 million rand price attached to what must be considered a modern design classic.

That wraps up the highlights of what motoring fans and buyers can look forward to in the car market for the rest of 2010.

The not very good, the bad and the ugly

Consider this scenario; the Cape Town stadium has been depicted by many as elegant, classy and magical, to name but a few choice examples. However, a Facebook friend of mine (who hails from Durban, home of the attention-seeking, drama queen-like Moses Mabhida stadium with its skyline-altering arch) distastefully described the very same Cape Town stadium as “like a soup bowl”.

A classic case, then, of beauty indeed demonstrating itself to be in the eye of the beholder. It is as beautiful as the surveyor says it is. The old proverb holds true.

So let’s imagine that for the benefit of this, my next blog post, I am the beholder and that what is beautiful – and what’s not – is from my viewpoint. And it is indeed that which is not beautiful that I am about to discuss.

The ugly ducklings of the automotive world – the car designs that somehow make it out of a 21^st century design studio looking like poo.

I’ll start with the SsangYong Actyon SUV.

SsangYong means “double dragon” but even two of these legendary, mythical creatures that breathe fire would be less of a visual assault than the Actyon, which has more ungainly curves and creases than Kirstie Alley. At her biggest. In an un-ironed dress.

Then we have the Nissan Tiida, a favourite at car rental companies but a dismal failure when it comes to alluring the buying public who rather enjoy, well, arriving in some degree of style.

The Tiida mysteriously emerged from the same company that makes the beautiful 370Z, so why they made this thing (with an ugly, block of a profile, an ugly backside and ugly headlamps) is beyond my understanding. Apparently, the rear legroom is great, but do you care? I certainly don’t. Then again, the name “Tiida” never did promise much to lust over.

Next is a “car” made by – surprise, surprise – the Chinese. It’s called the Benni, and this Benni should be rejected by the industry with the same verve that Carlos Alberto Parreira rejected the other Benni.

Already proclaimed to be the worst car tested by many motoring magazines, the Benni looks about as aerodynamic and sleek as a block of cement. Somehow, the interior is claimed to be even worse off and reeks of glue. Oh dear.

Finally, we have the Chrysler Sebring Convertible. The very point of a convertible is to look good as you cruise past gaggles of other people in “normal” cars. Quite simply, a convertible that doesn’t look good is like a kettle that can’t boil the stuff that nobody actually drinks 8 glasses of per day.

The Sebring has a nice bonnet, and nice wheels, and nice tail lamps, and even a nice grille at the front. However, put all these nice elements together and the result is one very shiny mess. It truly is an incredibly awkward-looking thing and proves that chopping the roof off of a sedan is not a recipe for a sexy convertible. Cover the front half of a Sebring Convertible picture with your hand and the rear looks like a deranged bakkie. It is seriously aesthetically challenged and Chrysler would be advised to remove it from showrooms immediately.

Quite a shock, then, that almost 30 000 Sebring sedans and convertibles were sold in the US last year. That’s 30 000 people that suffered a lapse of concentration and bought of these bad, ugly cars. And there are many more buyers of the Actyon, Tiida and Benni.

One man’s soup bowl really is another’s work of art.