In this special episode of Car File join Howard Stableford as he reports from the Detroit Motor Show.
We chat to people from Ford, Land Rover, BMW, Chrysler and many more to find out how the American market differs to the rest of the world and take a glimpse at what is to come from these manufacturers.
Don't forget to subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell so you never miss a video!
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© Men and Motors - One Media iP 2023
We chat to people from Ford, Land Rover, BMW, Chrysler and many more to find out how the American market differs to the rest of the world and take a glimpse at what is to come from these manufacturers.
Don't forget to subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell so you never miss a video!
------------------
Enjoyed this video? Don't forget to LIKE and SHARE the video and get involved with our community by leaving a COMMENT below the video!
Check out what else our channel has to offer and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to Men & Motors for more classic car and motorbike content! Why not? It is free after all!
Our website: http://menandmotors.com/
---- Social Media ----
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/menandmotors/
Instagram: @menandmotorstv
Twitter: @menandmotorstv
If you have any questions, e-mail us at talk@menandmotors.com
© Men and Motors - One Media iP 2023
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 (upbeat music)
00:05 (upbeat music)
00:33 - Hello and welcome to Motor City here
00:36 in the state of Michigan, USA.
00:38 Of course, this is Detroit,
00:40 the worldwide HQ of the massive General Motors Corporation
00:43 here at the Renaissance Center Towers
00:46 with Daimler Chrysler and Ford HQ down the road.
00:49 The whole of Detroit seems to be one big theme park
00:52 for car lovers, and every January sees the city
00:55 being taken over by thousands of car industry
00:58 top brass and designers, thousands of journalists,
01:01 and almost a million visitors to the big show.
01:05 Oh, and there are more than a few cars too.
01:08 In the show, we'll look at the new BMW 6 Series convertible,
01:13 the new Mercedes R-Class, Saabs 9-2,
01:17 a host of amazing concept cars,
01:20 plus there's a brand new Mark of car
01:22 about to be announced here.
01:23 Hello, I'm Howard Stableford.
01:26 Welcome to this Carphile Detroit special.
01:29 So what, it's just another car show, isn't it?
01:31 Well, no, if you're used to seeing the NEC show
01:34 or any of the European extravaganzas,
01:36 you'll be amazed at some of the many differences.
01:41 First up, can you see the Citroen, Peugeot, or Renault stands?
01:45 Uh, no, neither can I,
01:46 because they don't sell them here anymore.
01:49 Then there are all sorts of fascinating cars
01:51 that are really alien to European eyes,
01:54 but which are quite normal to American eyes.
01:56 It's rather like being in some sort of weird
01:58 but fascinating parallel universe.
02:01 Every year at the Detroit Motor Show,
02:03 they announce the North American car of the year.
02:05 This year, it happens to be the Toyota Prius,
02:07 but last year, it was our very own little Mini,
02:11 born and bred in Oxford.
02:12 Well, Mike McHale is the communications manager
02:15 for Mini USA.
02:16 Are you sad to be giving up your cup?
02:19 Yes, we are.
02:19 It was a great year, you know,
02:21 and you're always proud to win such a great award,
02:23 but you can only win it one year, so that was our year.
02:26 Now, it's a fantastic success story,
02:28 the Mini in the USA.
02:29 Yes.
02:30 Why have the Americans taken it to their hearts so well
02:33 in comparison to the old classic Mini,
02:35 which was something of an English curiosity?
02:37 Yeah, you know, they really have.
02:39 This year, we sold 36,000 cars.
02:41 We budgeted to sell around 25.
02:43 It's just been incredible,
02:45 and they're flying out of the showrooms.
02:46 There are still backlogs.
02:47 There are still orders, still waiting lists.
02:49 I think the American market's changed somewhat.
02:52 It's broadened.
02:53 You know, you have these big SUVs at the one end,
02:55 but the Americans know they seem to be more open
02:57 to a smaller car, and particularly one with personality.
03:01 So, this Mini's come along and knocked them off their feet,
03:04 and maybe in 1960, they weren't quite ready for Mini,
03:07 but I think they are now.
03:08 But having said that,
03:09 they look weird on the American roads, don't they?
03:11 All that space and things,
03:12 and this little Mini careering around.
03:15 Yeah, they're definitely distinctive,
03:17 and it's funny because people will say to me,
03:18 you know, in my hometown,
03:20 oh, I see them all over the place.
03:21 You must be selling millions.
03:23 It's not.
03:24 It's just they notice the three cars
03:26 in the town that there are.
03:27 They're very distinctive, and the buyers love that.
03:30 They love to be noticed.
03:31 They love to be seen.
03:32 They love to stand out,
03:33 and Mini definitely stands out here.
03:35 Now, the Americans have a reputation
03:37 for enjoying automatic transmission
03:39 more than going for the real driving experience,
03:41 which is very much of the Mini heritage.
03:44 Do you find that they're going for that here,
03:46 the lazy option?
03:47 Well, we do offer a very good automatic option.
03:49 We offer a CVT, which is fun and responsive,
03:52 and yet we find that most Mini drivers
03:54 still prefer the manual gearbox.
03:56 We sell around 30% CVT,
03:59 which is very low for the States,
04:01 and you're right, they do prefer that auto option,
04:03 but not for Mini.
04:04 They're like the stick shift.
04:05 (upbeat music)
04:09 Chris, I think it's absolutely beautiful.
04:23 Was it designed at the same time as the Coupe
04:25 or a different time frame?
04:26 No, same time.
04:27 That's how you have to do these types of cars.
04:29 You have to put them next to each other the whole time
04:31 because there's a lot of influence
04:32 from one car into the other.
04:34 Now, take me through the car,
04:35 some of the design features that you particularly like.
04:38 Well, you know the Coupe already,
04:40 so one of the things that's nice about the Coupe is
04:42 that it's a Coupe.
04:43 It has a beautiful line to the upper,
04:45 and when we did this car,
04:46 we wanted to have a lot of headroom inside,
04:48 but still have that nice line to the upper
04:51 and still have a big trunk you could access.
04:54 So to make all that happen,
04:56 we decided to go with a different type of a top.
04:58 It's called a fin top,
05:00 and it allows for a very sleek upper.
05:02 There are very few Cabrios which are this sleek
05:05 in how the upper matches the lower and really seems sporty,
05:08 and the help of this vertical backlight here,
05:13 which by the way, goes down,
05:14 gives a nice little refreshing effect
05:17 of allowing the air to circulate,
05:19 helps us get away from the fact
05:20 of having a large glass area back here,
05:23 which not only would have given us problems
05:24 of the trunk opening,
05:25 but would have given us headroom problems.
05:27 So in the end of the day,
05:28 it's a new radical approach for a Cabrio for us,
05:31 but at the same time,
05:32 it offers something very sporty and dynamic
05:34 without a loss of function.
05:35 - Traditionally, or the trend has been recently
05:38 for Cabriolets to have metal roofs
05:40 that retract and disappear.
05:43 Why didn't you go down that route?
05:44 Why go to the more conventional rag top?
05:46 - Well, in one of the cases here,
05:48 we really wanted this to be a sense of a premium Cabrio
05:52 that goes along with a coupe,
05:54 complements a coupe,
05:55 instead of the alternative,
05:57 this is a folding metal top coupe.
06:01 And at the same time,
06:02 the dynamics of this type of a top,
06:04 how it folds,
06:05 how much space it gives you,
06:06 we decided were the advantage
06:08 we wanted to go with with this vehicle.
06:09 So there, in a particular case of doing a Cabrio
06:13 that has already its stable mate as a coupe,
06:16 where you really want to have this sense of pair
06:18 that go together,
06:19 it's not often that you see a coupe
06:20 that's this dynamic, this sexy,
06:22 but with so much room inside of it,
06:23 as a Cabrio and as a coupe.
06:25 And at the same time,
06:26 offers these large engines,
06:27 gives us enormous amount of power.
06:29 And that balance,
06:30 that really hasn't been there on the marketplace.
06:32 So I really think we're gonna be attracting customers
06:34 from many sides who want more
06:37 from their coupes and Cabrios,
06:38 want more space,
06:39 but at the same time,
06:40 they want a large car that really gives them a sense
06:42 that this is a top end car.
06:43 - Well, it'll look very good on my driveway.
06:46 - Both will look good on your driveway.
06:47 Why don't you have both?
06:48 - It's a deal.
06:49 He's just giving me two BMWs.
06:51 I love this job.
06:52 - In Britain these days,
06:54 you can't just point to a Toyota or a Nissan
06:57 and say, that's a Japanese car
06:59 because in all likelihood,
07:00 it was built entirely in the UK.
07:02 Well, here in the USA,
07:05 Nissan's pressed each brand is called Infinity.
07:09 And Infinity have just launched this,
07:13 the huge QX56.
07:15 Now the talking point isn't so much
07:17 that the driver could be on one state
07:19 whilst your luggage way back there
07:20 is in another,
07:22 but that this is the first of their models
07:24 to be assembled entirely in North America.
07:27 The new QX56 is designed to provide luxury
07:31 on a truly grand scale
07:33 with eight passenger seating
07:35 and more toys than Santa's workshop.
07:37 The Americans called a long list of gizmos
07:39 as ownership enhancing technology
07:42 and convenience features.
07:44 But really, they're just gizmos.
07:46 Also at the Detroit Motor Show,
07:48 we're getting our first look
07:50 at the revised S-type Jag,
07:52 which has been subtly redesigned from nose to tail.
07:56 It's still unmistakably Jaguar though.
07:59 Well, here in the Cobo Arena,
08:01 I found Ian Callum,
08:02 who's the design director for Jaguar Cars.
08:05 New revised S-type for 2004,
08:08 slightly sleeker, slightly leaner look.
08:11 How would you describe it?
08:12 Yes, it's leaner.
08:13 And what we've tried to do is simplify the car.
08:15 If you looked at the old car,
08:16 it had certain masses and weights in it,
08:18 which almost impose a slightly heavy look to the car.
08:22 And what we tried to do is deliberately lengthen the car
08:24 and make it look slimmer
08:25 and make it look simpler as well.
08:26 I've always felt that Jaguars must look simple
08:29 and very, very pure.
08:31 And if I may comment about the older one,
08:32 it's perhaps a little bit too fussy.
08:34 So we purified it.
08:35 We've actually got a little extra length as well.
08:37 You gotta be careful, of course,
08:38 because the Jaguar has a distinctive look
08:40 when you make these modifications,
08:41 not to take away,
08:42 not to detract from the look
08:44 of what is essentially a Jaguar.
08:46 We felt one of the strongest parts of the car
08:47 was in fact the front end.
08:48 We haven't actually changed it that much.
08:50 We've still got a distinctive Jaguar front grille.
08:52 We've actually squared up a bit.
08:53 If you look at it, it's actually squarer.
08:55 And we've simplified the bumper at the front end as well.
08:57 And the reason for doing that
08:58 is that that grille is so distinctive.
09:00 And before it was kind of streaming out
09:02 amongst a lot of details
09:03 and we wanted to really mellow down the rest of the details
09:05 so the grille actually had more prominence.
09:07 So rather than give it less value,
09:10 we've actually given it more value.
09:11 So it's a good balance now.
09:13 - Where do these cues come from
09:14 for when you're thinking about restyling a car?
09:16 Do they come from customers
09:17 or do you just imagine them yourself?
09:20 - Well, I, as a designer,
09:22 obviously I have my own feelings
09:23 about what a car should look like.
09:24 I'm very much a purist.
09:25 I like cars to be very simple
09:26 and that's very much in the Jaguar idiom.
09:28 But we do also listen to customers.
09:30 And let's put it this way,
09:32 the most comment we got about the previous S-Type
09:34 was around the back end of the car
09:36 and that's where we made most of the changes.
09:37 - Here in the United States,
09:38 you see Jaguars with the Jaguar on the bonnet
09:42 as it used to be.
09:43 - The leaper. - As it should be.
09:44 - The leaper. - The leaper.
09:46 - Is actually still on the bonnet here.
09:48 - Yes.
09:49 - And that's different to the UK, is that right?
09:50 - It's different to the rest of the world.
09:51 This is the only country in actual fact
09:52 we can use it legally.
09:53 It's not to say it's unsafe or anything,
09:56 but if you look at some of the specific dimensions
09:59 of the leaper on the bonnet of the car,
10:02 when you add up all the dimensions,
10:03 it actually technically becomes illegal
10:04 in other countries.
10:06 So in the US, we can actually use it legally.
10:07 And the other part is,
10:09 it's much more of a marketing tool here
10:10 than it is anywhere else.
10:11 I think Americans are much more precious about that,
10:14 leaping Jaguar on the bonnet
10:15 than they probably are anywhere else.
10:16 - Yeah, I quite like it myself.
10:17 There you are, you see,
10:18 if you want the leaping Jaguar on the bonnet,
10:20 you're gonna have to move over to this side of the pond.
10:23 Let's continue our British flag waving exercise
10:25 with a look at a new concept from Land Rover.
10:28 This follows on from the styling exercise
10:30 that we looked at at the Frankfurt Motor Show last autumn,
10:33 and it's called the Range Stormer.
10:35 It's fantastic looking,
10:37 and still definitely got that Land Rover look.
10:40 Well, the designer of this fabulous concept
10:42 is with me now, Richard Woolley,
10:43 who's the chief designer for Range Rover.
10:46 It's very bold.
10:47 What are the design cues behind it?
10:50 - Well, what the car is representing
10:51 is a production vehicle that's coming from Land Rover
10:54 in the near future.
10:55 So this is a real precursor to that production vehicle.
11:00 - And what's different about it?
11:01 What technologies are gonna be used in this that are new?
11:04 - I guess the headline technology is terrain response,
11:07 which is a very easy to use facility
11:10 that the driver dials in the correct setting
11:13 for the vehicle when it's in any drive,
11:15 particular driving condition.
11:17 So off-road, on-road, he chooses the dial setting
11:21 and the car responds accordingly.
11:24 - Now, how long has it taken
11:25 to develop this particular concept,
11:27 and what ideas were you particularly interested in?
11:30 - We started on this concept in February last year
11:33 and completed it just before the show here in Detroit.
11:36 - Right, it's absolutely stunning.
11:38 - Thank you.
11:39 - And why the name Range Stormer?
11:40 - Well, we deliberated a long time over the name.
11:43 The Range part of the name is a precursor
11:45 to what's coming.
11:47 It sort of positions the car in people's minds.
11:49 It's going to be a sporty, exclusive vehicle.
11:53 And the Stormer, well, we wanted to create
11:56 a little bit of a stir here in Detroit.
11:58 It's a really, a very competitive arena
12:01 in which to show a concept car.
12:04 So we're hoping that we've created enough interest
12:05 for us with the vehicle.
12:09 - You're hoping it'll go down a Stormer?
12:10 - Absolutely.
12:11 (both laughing)
12:12 - You do worry, as a Brit at this show,
12:14 that you're going to be intimidated
12:16 by all that brash, bright American metal.
12:19 But there are plenty of reasons
12:21 to keep your British head held high at this show.
12:24 And this is one of the best,
12:26 the new Aston Martin DB9 Volante.
12:29 The price tag of this beauty will be about £110,000
12:35 when it hits the showrooms this autumn.
12:37 And with a stiff, bonded aluminium chassis,
12:39 it promises excellent ride and handling.
12:42 Henrik, many people are crediting you
12:44 with bringing back beauty to the Aston Martin range.
12:47 How far were you influenced by previous Volantes and DBs?
12:52 - Well, I still think that the DB7 and the Vanquish
12:57 were incredible, beautiful,
12:58 and are incredible, beautiful cars.
13:00 And of course, also going all the way back
13:02 to the DB4 and the DB5, which are some of my favourite cars.
13:06 So yeah, I went back and took a look at that.
13:08 And I think I wanted to get the feel for,
13:12 have we maybe lost something in our design today
13:15 in the way we look at things
13:16 and the way we always crave to do the latest?
13:18 And for me, it was about getting a little bit back
13:21 to those pure, beautiful shapes,
13:23 the pure, beautiful proportions,
13:25 and not always try just to be strange and do the latest.
13:30 - Now, you also designed the BMW Z8.
13:33 Was this a very different design challenge?
13:35 - I think it's very different
13:36 because Aston Martin is a very unique brand.
13:39 It's very exclusive.
13:41 Its customers are very demanding,
13:44 and it's a quite different clientele.
13:46 And Aston Martin is really about understated beauty.
13:49 I always sort of compare it to an athlete in a tuxedo,
13:53 and there's really no other car company like that.
13:57 If you look at an Aston Martin,
13:58 it's almost the only sports car, I would say, in the world,
14:01 which offer this level of luxury
14:04 and this level of attention to detail and craftsmanship
14:07 all around the car from the interior to the exterior.
14:09 So I think we're in a quite unique position.
14:11 - Well, that's it for part one, but don't go anywhere
14:14 because I'll be back shortly with lots more
14:16 from the Detroit Auto Show.
14:18 (upbeat music)
14:20 A very good evening to you, ladies and gentlemen,
14:27 and welcome to the Detroit Opera House
14:29 for a seldom-seen performance of "La Corvetteata."
14:34 You see, not everything happens at the Cobo Center
14:36 at the Detroit Auto Show.
14:37 In fact, Chevrolet have chosen here
14:39 to launch the very latest version of their Corvette.
14:43 Let's hope it matches the style, the opulence,
14:46 the splendor of the Detroit Opera House.
14:48 Let's go and see.
14:49 (upbeat music)
14:53 (upbeat music)
14:55 - The thrill of performance
15:15 is the heart of the Corvette Mystique.
15:17 We began our march towards serious performance in 1955.
15:22 That's when we replaced the original 150-horsepower
15:26 Blue Flame VI with the now-legendary small-block,
15:30 265-cubic-inch Turbo Fire V8 at 195 horsepower.
15:35 While there have been many great powertrains
15:39 throughout Corvette's history,
15:40 including several notable big blocks,
15:43 the heart and soul of Corvette is the small-block V8.
15:47 - And here it is, the star of the show.
15:51 It's the new all-American baby.
15:53 It's a 5.7-liter unit, pumping out 425 brake horsepower,
15:58 and this car is going to be officially available in the UK
16:03 as a left hooker from 2005.
16:06 The new Corvette has neat fenders,
16:09 extended fore and aft that extend into the doors,
16:11 a bit like the Corvettes through the mid-1960s.
16:13 Who says there's nothing new in car design?
16:16 Do you know, despite my age,
16:18 I can't wait to get behind the wheel of one of these things.
16:22 Of course, the Americans do big and brash beautifully,
16:25 and they don't come bigger or more brasher than this.
16:29 This is the Hummer H2,
16:32 based on the original Army military vehicle,
16:36 and this one is particularly loaded up
16:38 with every gadget you could ever think of.
16:40 It'd have cost a fortune.
16:42 Now, Hummer are aware of that,
16:43 so they brought out a more affordable
16:46 and more practical version.
16:48 Did you get filled with envy
16:49 when you saw Arnie Schwarzenegger
16:51 roar around in his original Hummer?
16:53 Well, this machine keeps the styling cues,
16:56 but is more practical.
16:58 It's the Dynamic H3T, a mid-sized truck
17:01 that infuses all of Hummer's military-derived DNA
17:05 into an efficient, refined package
17:07 and carves a new niche in the mid-sized truck market.
17:10 But there's competition for our cut-price Gulf War veteran,
17:13 and it comes from our friends at Jeep.
17:15 This is the Jeep Concept Rescue,
17:17 and it's been designed for extreme off-roading
17:20 and then some with its 6.1-litre diesel turbo engine,
17:24 which pushes out a pounding 325 brake horsepower.
17:29 This is a real-life Tonka toy
17:31 and seems to cock a huge snoop to the military-based Hummer,
17:35 which has been pushing the unbreakable line for years.
17:38 It's an attempt to look at another variation
17:41 of the Jeep brand.
17:42 The Jeep is a brand that is world-renowned,
17:46 has been around for a lot longer than any of the would-be's,
17:50 and I think it's a very successful look
17:54 at where Jeep could go to extend this rescue capability
17:59 that Jeep has established for itself
18:01 ever since the war years.
18:02 Well, Trevor, the blurb says that it's designed
18:04 to reach areas of the harshest,
18:06 most daunting mountainous and desert areas.
18:10 But who needs it?
18:12 Well, for example, all the rescue operations people
18:15 that would need that sort of capability, you name it,
18:19 there are many organisations
18:20 that would require the capabilities of the vehicle.
18:23 So tell me all about the Slingshot.
18:24 What are the ideas behind that?
18:26 The Slingshot is a small, fuel-efficient,
18:30 fun-to-drive sports car,
18:33 blast-to-drive, similar proportions to a go-kart.
18:36 You sit that close to the road.
18:37 A very interesting, exciting piece of news
18:39 to come out today from the Detroit Motor Show
18:42 is that the Dodge brand is coming to the UK.
18:44 What's the thinking behind that?
18:46 Well, I think there are a number of products
18:48 that Dodge offers and Dodge brand image offers
18:51 that, starting with the Dodge Viper,
18:54 which for some time was called the Chrysler Viper,
18:58 which is a travesty to most of us,
19:01 but we didn't have Dodge brand there,
19:02 so we had to call it Chrysler Viper.
19:05 But now we can bring some really exciting future product
19:09 that is coming from Dodge to Europe
19:11 because those vehicles are designed to, if you will,
19:16 be essentially very American in design and nature,
19:20 but they offer the practicality
19:22 that the European vehicles will offer.
19:25 The ME412 is quite an extraordinary story
19:27 because this has grown out of nothing
19:29 in just about 12 months, and added to that,
19:33 you've managed to keep it pretty much a secret
19:34 within Chrysler itself.
19:36 How do you do that?
19:37 Keeping it secret meant it was exposed to very few people
19:41 within the company because the more people know about things
19:43 the more they're inclined to talk.
19:45 And so we set up a special studio
19:47 in which we did the clay modeling of the vehicle,
19:51 and we put two designers in there
19:54 and three design engineering guys,
19:56 and they were kept pretty much in secrecy
19:59 within the organization
20:01 that something was going on in that studio.
20:03 We're claiming the fastest 0-60 of under three seconds, 2.9.
20:08 Top speed is calculated at 240 miles an hour, 400 kilometers.
20:13 We met the weight targets.
20:18 We exceeded the brake horsepower
20:20 and the torque targets for the engine.
20:24 We have the right gearbox,
20:26 and we have all the calculations and wind tunnel studies done
20:31 that would say that we have all the formula to get there.
20:34 So now we just have to prove it out.
20:38 Looks absolutely fabulous.
20:39 Any idea at this stage on price when it eventually works out?
20:42 No, I only know what this one cost.
20:45 How much did it cost?
20:46 Very expensive.
20:46 We don't discuss that.
20:48 Well, once again, Chrysler have come up
20:49 with some eye-popping designs,
20:51 and everybody is drooling over this one, the ME412.
20:55 Now, if they can keep the spirit of this prototype
20:58 running through the maze of production processes
21:02 and then get the price point right,
21:04 then we could be looking at a future winner.
21:07 If the legendary Henry Ford were here today,
21:10 the only thing he'd probably recognize
21:12 is the blue oval Ford logo.
21:15 And yet there are lots of fantastic new cars here this year.
21:19 In fact, together, the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands
21:22 are launching more cars in 2004 than ever before.
21:27 But behind all the shiny metal
21:29 and the smiles of the folks on the stands,
21:31 there's a worrying financial situation.
21:34 Ford, last year, made a healthy $2 billion on car finance,
21:39 but actually lost $1 billion on car manufacture.
21:43 Here in the States, Ford's big bank roller
21:45 has been sports utility vehicles, or SUVs.
21:48 Now, not only are these showing signs of going out of fashion,
21:52 but Ford is being squeezed by very high-quality
21:55 European and Japanese models.
21:58 This is the 2004 Ford Escape,
22:01 but in the UK, we know it as the Mark II Maverick.
22:05 It's a shame they didn't keep the stateside name,
22:07 because actually it's nothing like the awful Mark I Maverick.
22:10 This Escape is a fine and nimble 4x4,
22:14 but because it hasn't been selling well in the UK,
22:16 Ford are pulling the plug.
22:19 The legendary GT40, brought back to life as a modern road car
22:24 and inspired by the car that thundered into our hearts in the 1960s.
22:28 Well, this new GT40 joins the Ford line-up of living legends,
22:33 which includes the Ford Mustang, the Ford Thunderbird, and the 49 Concept.
22:38 The 2004 Ford GT supercar design
22:42 really does stir up those memories of the 1960s successes of Ford,
22:46 and for good reason.
22:47 Both inside and outside, those styling cues are all there
22:51 to push our nostalgia buttons.
22:53 Winning the 24-hour race at Le Mans was a key component
22:56 of Ford total performance, the worldwide racing effort
23:00 spearheaded by Henry Ford II in the early 1960s.
23:04 While the new and the original share the same mystique of the G40 name,
23:08 they share not a single dimension in common.
23:12 It's a bit like the classic Mini and the new Mini.
23:14 This one is a foot and a half longer than the original
23:17 and four inches taller than the 40 inches of the original.
23:21 So really, this should be called a GT44.
23:24 It's fantastic, though, isn't it?
23:26 This is the Ford 500 sedan.
23:31 Now, to us Brits, it looks a bit like a Mondeo on steroids
23:35 with an Audi TT roofline.
23:37 But this is actually something quite special.
23:40 It started out as just a concept car last year,
23:42 but now it's been given the green light for full production.
23:46 And here it is.
23:48 People over here really are saying that this is a very European-style car.
23:52 To us, it's true. It looks very un-American.
23:55 But Ford are at pains to give the message that this is worlds apart
23:59 from the old world of the Crown Victoria and the like.
24:03 Imagine, if you can, driving a saloon car
24:05 which has the same seating height as a Mini MPV like the Renault Scenic.
24:10 This is a car that you step into rather than stooping down into it.
24:14 The hip point is two to four inches higher
24:17 than a traditional saloon car like the Mondeo, for instance.
24:22 (ENGINE REVVING)
24:24 And this is the new Mustang, and it's not a concept.
24:29 After a couple of concepts to test the water,
24:31 this is the shape of all new production Ford Mustangs in the future.
24:35 Now, this Mustang has small Shelby-like rear quarter windows,
24:39 similar to those found on the 1965 and '66 Shelby 2x2 Fastback GT350.
24:46 But don't get too excited over there in little old Britain
24:48 because the Mustang is not destined for our shores.
24:51 Whilst we might lap up American culture,
24:54 the movies, the fashion, the food,
24:56 we're a little bit more discerning when it comes to cars,
24:58 and American styling like the Scorpio, the Cougar and the Probe
25:03 have not proved successful in the UK.
25:05 Although, having said that, I think the Ford Mustang would actually do very well.
25:10 But if you really are determined to drive some serious stateside metal in the UK,
25:16 which are the best all-American cars to own?
25:20 Why would anybody want to buy an American car?
25:23 They're big and cumbersome, they won't fit into your garage,
25:26 parts for them are surely impossible to come by in England,
25:29 and if you can find them, they must be expensive.
25:31 And lastly, their great big gas-guzzling V8 engines will suck the fuel
25:36 faster than a bunch of large louts out drinking after a football match.
25:40 People buy American cars for various reasons.
25:44 They're visually exciting.
25:46 Some people like the sound of them.
25:49 You get the howl of the engine and the growl of the exhaust.
25:54 People buy American cars, especially the classic American cars,
25:56 because they do represent a good investment for the future.
26:00 Whereas you may spend £15,000 on a brand new car,
26:03 if you spend the same on a classic American car,
26:05 it's guaranteed to be worth the same, if not a little more, the year after.
26:09 Another good reason is family reasons.
26:11 We'll get a guy come buying a car, and for all the summer he'll take his family out.
26:16 And they go to the shows, events all over the country, and thoroughly enjoy themselves.
26:21 So people buy these huge American machines for very different reasons.
26:25 One thing that must be considered is the fuel economy.
26:28 Fuel consumption's not as bad as people might think.
26:30 Certainly in a car like this, a '69 Roadrunner,
26:33 then you may drop down into 10, 12 miles to the gallon if you really push the car,
26:37 but otherwise 20, 25 miles to the gallon.
26:40 There's different models for fuel consumption,
26:43 but the more modern you go, the better the fuel consumption.
26:46 If fuel consumption's really a concern for you,
26:49 then one of the smaller block engines, maybe up to a 5 litre, would be a good option.
26:53 These cars, such as the Plymouth, they have a big block engine,
26:56 which is either a 383 cubic inch or a 440 cubic inch, which is around the 7 litre mark.
27:02 Those kind of engines are certainly going to drop your fuel consumption.
27:06 Another common perception is that parts are hard to come by,
27:09 and being cars that are not regularly available, people will not be able to service them.
27:14 Most competent mechanics can repair an American car.
27:19 Obviously, the more modern they get, they're onto the computer technology,
27:23 like any European car, so that can become a little bit more expensive, which it is with every car.
27:29 Being so rare, insurance must be hard to find and expensive.
27:33 Insurance is relatively easily available for vehicles like this.
27:37 Most of the insurance companies operate a limited mileage policy,
27:40 which may allow you to do 5,000 miles a year,
27:43 and it's quite possible to get a car like this insured for £200 a year.
27:47 Because of the limited mileage, the insurance is anything between, say, £125 to £250, if you're over 30.
27:55 But one major concern must be that American cars are left-hand drive.
28:00 Surely this must be a factor that's hard to come to terms with.
28:04 Some people may find a problem, but it's no more difficult than going on holiday
28:08 and driving on the wrong side of the road.
28:09 Driving on the wrong side of the car just takes a little bit of getting used to.
28:13 We had a lady come down, she'd never driven automatic or a left-hand drive,
28:16 yet she wanted an American car.
28:19 So we took her out on the road for a test drive,
28:22 and after, I would say, ten minutes, she absolutely loved it, had no problem whatsoever.
28:27 So not all the common perceptions about American cars are true.
28:31 These really can be a feasible option for us Brits.
28:35 But let's find out what would be the best one to go for.
28:38 You get somebody coming in who just wants luxury.
28:41 They'll maybe buy a Cadillac with all the gadgets on, the electric seats,
28:45 and then you get the usually young guys buying the sports, the Camaro, the Firebird,
28:52 Mustang, that's another popular one, Corvette, of course.
28:55 A good model for most people to start with would probably be something like a Ford Mustang from the mid-60s.
29:00 They're a very popular car, parts are available for them, they're a good size,
29:04 most people can fit them in a standard single garage.
29:07 Something like this Plymouth Roadrunner is maybe a bit more of a specialist item
29:10 for somebody who's got a bit more experience.
29:12 Well, here in Detroit, there are lots of cars making their world debuts this year,
29:17 but this is the first time ever that we've seen a Ferrari first at this show.
29:22 This is the astonishing 612 Scaglietti, which replaces the 456M.
29:28 Basically, the difference is the dimensions.
29:30 This is bigger, so that it's not such a tight squeeze for all the pampered passengers inside.
29:35 The 612 got its name in honour of coachbuilder Sergio Scaglietti,
29:40 who worked in Modena at the start of the Ferrari company.
29:43 He was a master in sculpting aluminium forms, so Ferrari dedicated the all-aluminium 612 to his memory.
29:51 The Scaglietti has got a strong but lightweight all-aluminium spaceframe chassis and body construction.
29:58 There's a sexy pin-in Farina design on the outside.
30:01 And on the inside, there's a mid-front layout with the engine mounted behind the front axle for improved dynamics.
30:08 So why is it called a 612?
30:10 Well, ten points. If you've worked out, there's a six-litre V12 power plant inside there.
30:16 No news yet of pricing, but for most of us, no news is good news.
30:19 So let's just admire the curves and drool.
30:23 Now, here's a famous logo that always puts me in mind of Neptune's trident,
30:27 but the owner of it was born a long way from the sea.
30:30 Inspired by the new motorways being built in the late 1950s,
30:34 Maserati introduced the first Quattroporte in 1963.
30:40 It was designed as an elegant and sophisticated passenger car, but with the personality of a sports car.
30:46 And this is a 2004 version, a 4.3-litre, 400-brake horsepower beauty.
30:55 Porsche is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 550 Spyder by launching a powerful Boxster S Special Edition.
31:03 Now, the numbers of these will be limited to 1,953.
31:08 That's right, the Spyder was launched in 1953.
31:12 Porsche engineers have worked hard to enhance the driving experience of this roadster
31:17 and have loaded up the Special Edition with all sorts of equipment and technical features
31:22 that haven't been available so far.
31:25 Happy 50th, Porsche.
31:28 It was at this very show in 1989 that Toyota shocked the world by introducing a new mark aimed at the Poser set,
31:35 which we now know lovingly as the Lexus.
31:38 Well, today they're back with another brand-new mark, this time aimed at the younger set.
31:45 This is the badge that you're seeing for the very first time,
31:48 and Toyota are calling it, uh, Scion? Uh, Scion? Scyon?
31:56 No, actually, it's supposed to be Scion.
31:59 Now, the aim is to appeal to young drivers who feel that Toyota is a brand of car that mum and dad drive.
32:05 But it's more than just a name.
32:08 Picking up the success from the funky, mini-dedicated dealers,
32:11 Scion are going to have dedicated areas and salespeople.
32:15 There was a real need to not just be gimmicky, not be in today and out tomorrow,
32:21 but have a long-term view and a subtlety in design that would last.
32:25 In reality, though, aren't young people more likely to spend their money on a second-hand car
32:30 with a famous badge on the front?
32:32 It's possible. There are a lot of people who inherit their first car from family members or buy a used car.
32:37 But we've priced the Scion starting at under $13,000
32:40 so that we can encourage them to consider a new car for about the same as they'd spend on a good used car.
32:46 Well, that's it for part two, but you won't want to miss what's coming up next
32:49 on this exclusive television coverage of the Detroit Auto Show.
32:53 This is one of the surprises we were hoping to discover at the Detroit Auto Show.
33:05 The Chrysler Crossfire has taken everybody by surprise in the UK.
33:09 Well, now it's lost its top.
33:12 Chrysler's group head of product development is Eric Ridenour.
33:16 Well, I think basically that kind of vehicle, that convertible, is just an absolute natural.
33:21 They get a real roadster off of it.
33:22 We knew when we did the original coupe that the roadster had to follow it by a little bit
33:26 in order to make sure we could get both of them done, but we thought it was just an absolute natural.
33:30 It's a great, perfect car for out and about.
33:33 Does it lose some of its driving and handling ability because it's lost its top?
33:38 Actually, it was the coupe that was exceptionally stiff because we had basically designed it
33:43 knowing we were going to do a convertible, so it's very much very stiff still with the convertible,
33:47 very consistent with basically a coupe-like stiffness as a convertible,
33:51 and then even stiffer as a coupe, which gives it an even better ride and handling dynamics.
33:55 Now, this is going to be introduced in the UK in May of this year.
33:58 How do you think it will be accepted?
34:00 I think it's a great car. I think it's going to be, again, it's a stunner to look at.
34:03 It's got great proportions. It's well-priced, and I think it's going to do very, very well.
34:08 So do I, actually. It is gorgeous.
34:10 Okay, let's move on to the PT Cruiser convertible.
34:13 Now, this is a great departure in some ways, isn't it?
34:16 Because the PT Cruiser was that sort of mean-looking, sort of, I don't know, mafia design,
34:21 and it's changed its look completely, hasn't it?
34:24 It did, and one of the things we wanted to do was try and have some consistency with the look of it,
34:28 so very much we were concerned that with the top up, it still has and carries very much the PT lines,
34:34 and so we don't have it today with the top up, but when you see with the top up,
34:37 you'll see for a convertible we're able to keep a lot of that image.
34:40 And then we think it's a fun car, and it's a car that really spoke.
34:43 We had a lot of people talk about it. We kind of did a concept car a few years back,
34:47 and people were very enthusiastic about it, so we said, "Well, we really need to do it," and this is the result.
34:52 Wrangler Unlimited. What's that all about? Just tell me all about it.
34:55 Two basic things. One is the Wrangler itself is an excellent off-road vehicle,
34:58 obviously the icon of the Jeep brand and just a great vehicle.
35:02 The one thing it always was was a little tight for some people.
35:05 It was great for really tight roads and all that, and it's really one of the reasons why it's so tight,
35:10 but there were some of our customers as they aged and started having children
35:13 or wanted to bring friends and that, there just wasn't enough room for them.
35:16 So what we did is we stretched the wheelbase 10 inches, made the overall vehicle 15 inches longer,
35:20 put 13 of that in the cargo area to really give you room for a couple of duffel bags and some stuff,
35:25 and then because the rear seat was a little tight, we were able to add a couple of inches to the rear seat
35:30 and really give it an overall much better package, both for a typical Wrangler guy
35:34 and maybe hopefully bring in a few new ones that today wouldn't get one because of those issues.
35:39 And then we think the basic Wrangler is still very strong, so those will continue on,
35:42 and we'll continue building both of them because we think there really are two different kinds of customers for those.
35:47 You've also introduced some very interesting new technology,
35:50 and I'm particularly thinking about the Stow & Go technology for the minivan,
35:55 which you've got a great demonstration of just over here on the other side of your stand.
35:59 Let's go and have a look at it.
36:00 Okay, great.
36:01 Now this is quite a wonderful demonstration.
36:03 You can see it going on in the background.
36:05 Tell me what's going on here and the thinking behind it.
36:08 Basically, the real innovation is the ability for both second and third row to be fully flexible,
36:14 to either be up as regular seats as you see the one coming up now,
36:18 or to be totally hidden in the floor, completely in, so you have a totally load-flat floor,
36:23 so if you're going to get luggage or lumber or 4x8 sheets of plywood, you can slide them in.
36:28 It fits in there, and you don't have the problem of having to take the seats out of the vehicle,
36:33 but with one-touch operation, you're able to lower the seats right in.
36:37 And then with seats up, you get these tremendous storage bins, as you can see there.
36:41 They come with cargo nets, so when you need to get the seats down, you can pull everything out in a hurry.
36:46 But at the same time, for your kids, lots of place to put things, and they can have it,
36:50 and again, give you a lot of different flexibility.
36:52 There's others that have done it with the third row,
36:54 but we're the first and only ones to have it with the second row folding the floor.
36:59 Time for a little exercise.
37:01 Try repeating this phrase after me, "Honda pickup."
37:06 I know it's difficult. Try again. "Honda pickup."
37:09 It is difficult because those two words don't really go together at all.
37:13 Now, Honda did dip their toe into this market with a concept that we saw at the Paris Motor Show in 2000,
37:19 but this astonishing concept is rumored to be an actual production vehicle.
37:25 Check it out.
37:27 This is just the news that big American pickup manufacturers did not want to hear.
37:32 It was bad enough Nissan and Toyota bringing out tough and stylish machines,
37:36 but if the reliability of Honda are putting their might into the area too, boy, are the Americans worried.
37:44 But hang on a second.
37:46 It's not just Honda who are threatening the very lifeblood of America's great pickup manufacturers.
37:51 They're Japanese neighbors. Mitsubishi are at it too.
37:55 Mitsubishi haven't sold a pickup in the state since the mid-'90s
37:58 when they had the long-forgotten Mighty Max truck.
38:01 This new concept shows the results of Mitsubishi working with Chrysler
38:05 to jointly develop a mid-sized pickup truck to be built here in Michigan starting in 2005.
38:11 A couple of miles down the road from the Kobo Center is a motor show of a very different type.
38:16 This is the Detroit Institute of Art, and it houses the very valuable Daimler Chrysler Collection,
38:23 paintings that have adorned conference rooms and factory reception areas for many years.
38:30 The Daimler Chrysler Collection, I think, was established in the 1970s,
38:34 and they, I think, started collecting contemporary art quite aggressively.
38:39 They also collected modern art going back a little bit,
38:43 but the real center of gravity of the collection seems to be what you could construe as contemporary art.
38:49 Why was a car company interested so much in developing this collection of contemporary art?
38:55 My understanding is that they felt that it had something to do with the quality of excellence
39:00 of the surroundings for their employees.
39:03 On the advanced edge of making really great automobiles,
39:08 that part of that environment would be having the sort of the challenging art of the time around them.
39:12 One of the most dramatic, best known, was their commissioning of Andy Warhol
39:18 to do a huge piece that looked at Mercedes, Benz cars, through its existence.
39:26 In fact, he died when he was in the middle of this commission.
39:29 It was never fully completed.
39:31 This was his last commission?
39:32 This was his last work, yeah.
39:34 This is one of several pieces by Sylvie Fleury, a Swiss artist,
39:38 and a lot of her work has to do with cars and with consumer society and with feminism.
39:45 Here we have a piece where she's taken the covers of Hot Rod magazines, American magazines,
39:52 to make it perfectly obvious in certain circumstances that the cars are in fact not an end in themselves,
39:57 but a means to an end.
39:59 There's a wonderful one over on the other side of the room,
40:01 which is just a plastic soldier trying to cross the road, carrying a little cardboard car.
40:07 It's such a simple thing, but you really want to watch it for the whole...
40:11 You want to see whether he makes it.
40:12 That's right.
40:13 From my point of view, we seem to be moving away from the obvious car motifs here,
40:16 but a very interesting collection of perfume bottles.
40:19 That's right. I think it's wonderful.
40:21 It's so brilliantly colorful.
40:22 It happens to be humorous.
40:24 Apparently, there are places where you can go in Germany and elsewhere,
40:28 and someone will give you, like a palm reader,
40:31 they will tell you what your color is and what your scent is.
40:34 This piece is called "Arasoma," and each one of these bottles, 102 of them or so, represent personalities.
40:41 It could be great inspiration for car designers in terms of colors and paint designs for cars.
40:46 I certainly could, yeah.
40:48 Saab have been something of a lost soul in the huge GM family,
40:52 so now they're determined to stamp their personality on the market with the launch of this,
40:57 the new 92X, which has been launched with flair and some pretty dodgy driving.
41:04 For now, at least, it seems it's no more Mr. Nice Saab Guy.
41:09 Are they really promoting aggressive driving?
41:11 This car doesn't just tell you I'm a Saab.
41:14 It tells you I'm a Saab, and you better get out of my way.
41:18 Blimey! I thought only BMWs did that.
41:22 I would say the uniqueness of the car for me is that it gives you wagon-like versatility,
41:29 but it doesn't look like a wagon.
41:31 Saab is launching more cars in the next two and a half years than we've launched in the previous 15 years.
41:38 So we're in a very prolific period of new product introductions.
41:43 Positioned below the 93 in size, the 92X is the first production Saab to have all-wheel drive.
41:51 They've got this thanks to a collaboration deal with Subaru,
41:54 who know a thing or two about all-wheel drive, don't they?
41:57 We saw the concept of this two years ago, and here it is in production form,
42:02 the world debut of the Mercedes Grand Sports Tourer, or GST.
42:07 The Radical Mercedes Vision GST is a saloon, or as they call them over here, a sedan,
42:13 an estate, an MPV, and an SUV all in one.
42:17 The Grand Sports Tourer will be coming to a showroom near you in 2005,
42:22 and we think it's going to be called the R-Class.
42:25 Now, that's supposed to be a secret, so how do we know?
42:28 Well, a certain designer at Mercedes in Germany called Stephen Matin
42:32 had some business cards printed up with "Designer of R-Class" written on them
42:37 and gave one to a British journalist, so now we all know.
42:41 Oops!
42:42 The GST's striking design gives the idea of spaciousness,
42:47 and it's complemented with barn-style doors.
42:50 The interior is as radical as the exterior, and the GST features six seats.
42:56 The Mercedes GST will be produced at the Alabama plant here in the USA.
43:01 Now, it's always nice to bump into old friends of Carphile at shows like this.
43:06 You may remember Nick Riley as chairman of our very own Vauxhall Motor Company.
43:11 Well, now he's got a very different job indeed
43:13 as president and CEO of Daewoo Auto and Technology in Seoul, Korea.
43:19 I met up with him a little earlier on.
43:22 We took over a very bankrupt company,
43:24 and we've been able to achieve all the objectives we set for the first year,
43:27 so we're quite pleased at the end of the first year.
43:30 Now, tell us a bit about the big picture.
43:32 How does Daewoo fit into General Motors globally?
43:35 Well, we're right at the right place to explain that answer to the Detroit Auto Show.
43:39 Behind me here, I have a Chevrolet Aveo, which is actually one of our cars from Korea,
43:44 and in a stand over there at the Suzuki stand,
43:47 we have two more of our cars that are produced in Korea.
43:50 So we are very much a supplier to General Motors
43:53 and other parts of the GM family of product,
43:56 which can hit a certain price point, which GM didn't have before.
44:01 Our particular expertise is in the small cars.
44:04 We have a car called a Kalos, which is called Kalos in Europe and also in the Far East,
44:10 but for example, in China, it's badged as a Buick XL,
44:14 and it's the number one car in China.
44:17 We have another car called the Nubira in Europe,
44:20 which is called a Lassetti out in the Far East,
44:23 and that has just won three top prizes in the Indian market.
44:27 And then next, moving up next, a Magnus,
44:30 which is the size of something like a Vectra in Europe, is also doing very well.
44:36 So our real strength is in the smaller cars,
44:39 although we're going to produce an SUV shortly as well.
44:42 Well, we have pretty much exhausted all the news
44:45 from the North American International Auto Show from Detroit for 2004.
44:50 Fascinating stories relevant not just to North America
44:53 but to Britain and the rest of Europe too.
44:55 So from everyone on Carphile, thanks for watching.
44:58 We'll see you again soon.
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