The Continental: Meeting with Qoros, Lightweight Materials, and Defending the Supercharger

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. Last week, I spent a few hours with Gert Hildebrand, chief designer for the up-and-coming Chinese brand Qoros. I got a glimpse at the Qoros 3 Estate concept and the Qoros 3 Cross Hybrid concept, as well as the Qoros 3 sedan. Gert and I discussed his product and design strategy, and no, a U.S.-market launch is not planned any time soon. The main focus is on China, and the models also will be introduced in Europe. There is a lot of Western technology under the skin of the Qoros vehicles. The 1.6-liter, four-cylinder engine comes in normally aspirated (124 horsepower) and turbocharged (154 horsepower) forms, and was developed by Austrian engineering company AVL List. The Cross Hybrid concept features a 1.2-liter 3-cylinder engine derived from the AVL List four that is mated to an electric rear axle supplied by American Axle. Getrag supplies the cars' six-speed manual and dual-clutch automatic transmissions, Lear furnishes parts of the interior, and the head- and taillights are supplied by Valeo. A lot of Qoros's engineering work was conducted alongside Magna Steyr. Qoros's lineup is underpinned by a modular architecture; the cars' wheelbase, doors, hoods, and interiors are shared. There will be three equipment levels, but even the most basic one includes aluminum wheels and a large, touch-screen monitor that allows the operator to "swipe" between menus or to accept or decline an incoming phone call. Not having to focus your finger to push a virtual button on the screen actually is a major safety advantage. On its first go, Qoros has managed to create an attractive logo and a signature grille, which comes in several convincing variations. The taillights are slim and horizontal, with a recognizable signature. And all three models have a wide stance, thanks to the wheels being pushed way out to the cars' corners. Curiously, the Qoros seems extremely German in style—at a time when others, such as Mercedes-Benz with its CLA-class, tend towards a more "Asian" design language. Inside, the Qoros features horizontal design elements and is explicitly not driver-oriented. Hildebrand explains that Qoros wants to include passengers in the swiping action. Sportiness is not among the chief virtues of these family vehicles—but premium design and materials are. At Least They Have the State I am not sure PSA Peugeot Citroën is all that grateful for the message of support relayed by French industrial minister Arnaud Montebourg last Sunday. He volunteered that "there are three carmakers in Europe who are in trouble: Opel, Fiat and PSA. Opel has General Motors, Fiat has Chrysler, PSA only has the state." The self-proclaimed socialist added that "our choice is to forge a long-term alliance." He did not mention the GM-PSA tie-up, not did he offer any more details, but at least he ruled out a nationalisation of the company. On a Lighter Note A definite industry highlight was the recent light-weight congress in Würzburg, which gathered engineers and researchers for two days to explore weight-saving tech. One of the most interesting contributions came from Sven Torstrick of the German Aerospace Center. He mentioned the cost gap between aerospace parts, which are rigorously tested and largely hand-built, and mass-produces automotive parts. Aerospace parts typically are vastly more expensive, which just about rules out any auto-industry production cooperation. Torstrick shared with the assembled automotive experts his view of carbon-fiber parts, a trend which often seems to be driven by marketing considerations more than by technological ones. He is mystified by the use of carbon fiber for exterior parts. A fender, he argues, could just be injection-molded without fibers, while bumpers are questionable applications because of their impact duties; impact durability is an especially weak point for the material. Basalt fiber, in Torstrick's view, has a lot of potential: It has properties similar to fiberglass, but it is black. German auto supplier Edag has worked on the technology in the past. A Car Loses Appeal Having owned a Renault 5 GT Turbo myself, I have a fondness for hot hatches from France. With the advent of the Clio, Renault switched to high-revving, normally aspirated engines for its hotter models, which is fine. Now, Renault is switching back to turbos—specifically, it is using the same engine that powers the disappointing Nissan Juke. To add insult to injury, the manual transmission is gone as well, but at least the Clio R.S. is fitted with a dual-clutch automatic instead of the Juke's CVT. Electronic gimmicks highlight this slightly juvenile toy's multiple personalities. Instrumented Test: 2013 Tesla Model S First Drive: 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 / CLA250 4MATIC First Drive: 2014 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series Not a Supercharger On an aside, isn't Tesla's decision to call its charging stations "superchargers" ultra annoying?  Superchargers are  compressors that force-feed air into the engine—without lengthy delays or plugs. The mechanical tech might even outlive Tesla's moderately amusing attempt to hijack the designation. Thanks, I needed to get it out of my system. from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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