The Continental: Nine-Speeds Are Coming, Legalizing Side-View Cameras, and Audi Bags a Headlight Expert

Each week, our German correspondent slices and dices the latest rumblings, news, and quick-hit driving impressions from the other side of the pond. His byline may say Jens Meiners, but we simply call him . . . the Continental. Now that seven-speed manuals and eight-speed automatics have become the "benchmark," who wants more gears? I don't, but it seems that the industry soon will have us consider nine-speeds as state-of-the-art. Daimler and Chrysler will be reunited in an odd way, as the leaders of this trend. Chrysler will launch the ZF-sourced 9HP nine-speed automatic in some of its front-wheel-drive vehicles. I now hear that Mercedes-Benz will also offer a nine-speed auto beginning in 2013; the NGS (Neue Generation Stufenautomatik), in its W9A and high-performance K9A variations, will be standard on a number of rear-wheel-drive Mercedes vehicles. You can bet several competitors will follow suit in the escalating gear-count wars. It's interesting to note that Benz is taking pride in its nine-speed slushbox, while—as we've reported before—its six-speed manuals will be purchased from ZF in the future. Priorities. Mercedes has released photos of its Citan light commercial vehicle (shown above), which is a rebadged Renault Kangoo. I'll refrain from comment on the styling, but want to share the company's official statement that the lower air intake is "a typical styling element of Mercedes-Benz, from compact passenger cars to the Actros." The Actros, of course, is a brick-shaped heavy-duty truck. If true, this statement explains a lot about Mercedes' current styling. Diesel Chatter At the New York auto show, I helped present the World Green Car Award to the Mercedes-Benz S250 CDI. A full-size luxury car is an unlikely recipient for this award, but putting a 2.1-liter, four-cylinder turbo-diesel under its hood is worthy of recognition—particularly since this behemoth gets mileage far superior to most hybrids. The award is on its way to Sindelfingen, and there is little chance this car will be offered in the U.S. But the refreshed GLK, a New York debut, will be sold in the States with the same OM651 engine. Mercedes has slowly switched from straight-six engines to V-6 units from the late 1990s, but the inline-six will be back. Beginning in 2018, Mercedes will make a straight-six diesel. A relaunch of the V-8 diesel is not planned, however. While Mercedes-Benz and BMW have abandoned them, Audi will keep its V-8 diesel. The 4.2-liter TDI engine—currently available in the A8 and Q7, as well as the VW Touareg—will receive a significant power increase, according to sources. Figure close to 400 hp. The naturally aspirated 4.2-liter FSI gas V-8 will be replaced by the twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8, and the 6.3-liter W-12 will be turbocharged and thus receive a very substantial power and torque increase. German Styling Issues For years, I've wondered about those tiny cameras on concept cars, peddled to us as an alternative to the conventional exterior mirror. I hear now that they could finally move beyond the eternal-gimmick stage: The VW Group is pushing to legalize them as an alternative to the exterior mirror as we know it. The move comes not a moment too soon: Recent EU regulations threaten to transform exterior mirrors into add-ons of gigantic size—in the name of safety, of course. Who cares about style, aerodynamics, and the vaunted "pedestrian protection"? Time to launch alternatives to the mandated elephant ears. Audi's Great Light Hope When it comes to advanced headlight design, Audi is the industry leader. The brand's style is consistent, and Audi is typically first to market with true innovations. Maybe the Lexus LS600hL's LED headlights came out at about the same time as the Audi R8 V-10's, but they're ultra-heavy units bundled with halogen brights. BMW is showing laser lights on its i8 concept, but, as shown, I don't see them working in an automotive environment. Audi's technological lead mainly is the work of Wolfgang Huhn, head of lighting and visibility, and Stephan Berlitz, who leads advanced lighting and reports to Huhn. Additional expertise will now be provided by Michael Hamm, the longtime voice and mind of Automotive Lighting, a former Bosch/Magneti Marelli joint venture. In the small world of automotive lighting, Hamm is considered one of the best. Starting May 1, he will be chief of headlight development and report to Huhn. His expertise won't be available to Audi's competitors anymore. Is Kia Design Losing It? I've really like Kia's new styling direction ever since former Audi and VW designer Peter Schreyer took charge. I think that Miklós Kovács's Optima is the most beautiful four-door sedan on the market, and Massimo Frascella's cars (Rio hatchback, Sorento, Sportage) are a triumph of style. (Frascella recently moved to Land Rover to take care of strategic design, and is now head of production exterior design for Land Rover and Range Rover). Former Lamborghini designer Ralph Kluge's Kia interiors are among the best in their class. All of this is why I don't get the new K9. Kia's luxury sedan—which started out as a promising project (CH/KH) half a decade ago—was designed by a Korean team under the close supervision of Schreyer. It is derivative on so many fronts that it is virtually impossible to identify an original element. From the grille and headlights to the daylight opening, the trunk and the taillights, it flashes Maserati, BMW, and Lexus cues everywhere. The wheels are a variation of the VW Phaeton's "Spirit" rims. That this textbook example of design by committee is intended to be Kia's ultimate sedan is simply unbelievable. Without exception, every other car in Kia's lineup has more stylistic merit. The best thing about the K9 is its name. In Korea, the Optima is the K5, the Cadenza is the K7. I think that naming scheme is cool. Then there is the Miklós Kovács–styled Cee'd. It is an overall better design than its Hyundai i30 sister model, and actually better than those of most of its other competitors. Details such as the C-pillar and the headlights' night design are superb. But the Cee'd bears little family resemblance to other Kias. Most important, I am not impressed by the new reverse grille, an element that wasn't Kovács's idea. You can argue it is a logical evolution of the tiger-nose grille, but why evolve for the sake of it? Not only have we seen this look everywhere else, it also is a decisive step away from the geometric, super-clean look of current Kia front ends. And instead of creating a pseudo-Maserati nose, how about a real brand logo? from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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