The Continental: Rally Monte Carlo, a Big New Lambo, and the VW Group’s MSB Large-Car Platform

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. My visit to the Rally Monte Carlo, held from January 19 to 22, was a fantastic experience. Rally racing is making a strong comeback. Unfortunately, today's cars are nothing like the legendary Lancia Stratos or Audi Quattro that dominated the scene in the 1970s and early '80s. Current World Rally Championship (WRC) regulations call for all-wheel-drive vehicles with a length of at least 157.5 inches and a minimum weight of 2646 pounds; power comes from turbocharged 1.6-liter engines and is restricted to around 300 hp. Fighting for the title are the Citroën DS3 WRC, the Countryman-based Mini John Cooper Works WRC, and the Ford Fiesta RS WRC; next year, Volkswagen will join with the Polo R WRC. Watching these cars is pretty exciting, and just listening is a delight in itself, as each is marked by a characteristic engine note: the Citroën has a high-pitched, high-tech sound; the Mini entry sounds metallic and aggressive; the Fiesta emits a dark rumble. I spent two days with my Citroën hosts following the cars in a van and helicopters. Our guide was former Saab test driver, rally driver, and co-driver Per Carlsson, who runs his own company called Rallytravels. It couldn't have been better organized. The rally was crowned by the victory of the unbeatable Sébastien Loeb driving a DS3. Daniel Sordo Castillo piloting the Mini JCW WRC came in second, and Petter Solberg was third with the Fiesta RS. VW's entry will undoubtedly give the series another decisive push. Personally, I enjoy WRC far more than Formula 1, which maintains a personality cult that is approaching NASCAR proportions, is short on exciting driving, and runs cars with very little in common with anything you can purchase or drive. On the other hand, you can drive a piece of WRC technology yourself: Citroën offers the limited-edition DS3 Racing with 207 hp; Ford has the Fiesta ST; and there is a considerable number of sporty Mini derivatives, although the brand has failed to make the connection to rally racing so far. It would be nice, for example, if Mini came up with a better racing web site. There is precious little corporate information on the Cooper WRC, even though it may be the most spectacular of the current WRC cars to watch. Citroën Gets Sportier and Less European While in Monte Carlo, I had the chance to speak with Citroën managing executive Frédéric Banzet about the brand's strategy. He emphasized the role of the upmarket DS range as "a lever to transform Citroën." Like the legendary DS, which was launched in 1955, the cars are design-oriented and characterized by premium technology features. They also are far from retro-styled; in fact, Citroën advertises the DS3 as being "anti-retro," a swipe at BMW's Mini. Banzet hinted at an upmarket sedan and a large crossover, and there's possibility of a number of sporty vehicles topping the DS range. Banzet calls Citroën "far too European" and aims to grow abroad. So is a return to the U.S. market possible? Don't hold your breath. "Like Europe, the U.S. market is mature," says the Citroën executive. Growth will come from Asia and Latin America. News from the Volkswagen Group Lamborghini will show a concept car previewing an SUV very soon. If it comes to market, the five-door will be built on the next large SUV platform shared with VW, Audi, Porsche, and Bentley. The engine will be a dedicated Lamborghini unit—which doesn't exclude shared components with Audi, as on the Gallardo V-10. Speaking of the next Gallardo, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann tells me that a dual-clutch gearbox is the way to go. The sophisticated Graziano single-clutch unit in the Aventador is too extreme in character—and, I presume, in cost—and the take rates for the manual are woefully low. It won't be offered anymore. Why did Lambo not go ahead with the Estoque? The feedback was very positive, but the timing was wrong, says Winkelmann, referring to the economic crisis a few years back. It's not entirely off the table. A four-door sedan could come back, but the SUV has priority (although it isn't 100-percent finalized yet). I spoke with engineers about the MSB platform—Modularer Standardantrieb-Baukasten, or modular standard architecture, "standard" here referring to the conventional front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. This platform is being developed by Porsche for the next Panamera, as well as future Bentley and possible Lamborghini models. Audi is not part of the plan, although that doesn't exclude it from joining at a later stage. The MSB will be rear- or all-wheel-drive, and it will weigh at least 200 pounds less than the current Panamera platform. The body and structure will use a steel-aluminum mix, similar to the 991, and carbon fiber may be utilized as well. Will the next Panamera be offered with a manual? Porsche won't say, but it admits that take rates for the Panamera and Panamera S with the manual box (which isn't offered here at all) are woefully low. A low-single-digit take rate, sadly, is the best that our favorite transmission can muster. from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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Cars.com Reviews the 2012 Mazda3

Between new engines and the model's hatchback and sedan body styles, the 2012 Mazda3 now comes in 11 versions. Cars.com Industry Analyst Kelsey Mays put many of them to the test, including the 40-mpg SkyActiv engine variant and the zoom-zoom Mazdaspeed3. Does the refreshed compact car have what it takes to beat strong sellers like the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Chevrolet Cruze? 2012 Mazda3 Review from KickingTires http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/

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Hyundai Plans Super Bowl Blitz

In case you haven't heard, Hyundai is on a roll, and it's using game-time commercials to make sure everyone knows it. Though we can safely say Hyundai spent much of 2011 at the top of its game, the automaker is channeling the ultimate underdog with one of its Super Bowl XLVI ads. In the spot, an unmotivated employee gets a dose of inspiration from a teaming mass of coworkers humming the "Rocky" theme. The entire company joins the a cappella sing-along. According to Hyundai, employees from its Alabama plant helped make the commercial. It's just one of four ads Hyundai plans to show during the game. Watch all of them on Hyundai's YouTube channel. from KickingTires http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/

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Would You Buy It? 2012 Volkswagen Up!

Historically, tiny cars haven't found much success here in "bigger-is-better" America. Change is afoot, however, as more micro cars hit U.S. streets. Smart's ForTwo may have been a flop, but Fiat's 500 is gaining some traction in the market here despite a weak debut. Is the U.S. ready to go smaller and is Volkswagen the brand to help us do it? One appealing new model that just went on sale in Europe is the Volkswagen Up! Its tiny 139.2-inch footprint and too-cute styling could make it a hit with young city drivers. It joins like-sized competitors the Ford Ka, Fiat Panda and Hyundai i10 in Europe. Reviews from across the pond are favorable, but VW doesn't plan on selling it here. Is there a market for the Up! in the U.S.? The tall-body two-door hatch just went on sale in Europe last month and a four-door version was just announced. It uses a tiny 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine that makes 60 or 75 horsepower depending on the version; a five-speed manual transmission is standard. It might be tough for U.S. drivers to get past its pokiness: VW says the 60-hp version does zero to 60 mph in 13.6 seconds and the 75-hp model gets there in 12.4 seconds. Swapping it out for the brand's popular, peppy 2.0-liter four-cylinder could solve that problem. Fewer cylinders and less horsepower than we're accustomed to make for impressive fuel economy, though. Volkswagen says the Up! should see a combined fuel economy of 56 mpg (based on New European Driving Cycle standards). The car's standard engine start/stop system also helps with those numbers. Another feature that could win over safety-conscious U.S. drivers is the Up!'s City Emergency Braking system. At speeds lower than 18 mph, it automatically brakes the car before a crash. Alternative-fuel variants should also appeal: Volkswagen plans to add an electric Up! to the lineup in 2013; a natural- gas version will be available, too. But how much does it cost? Well, in Europe, the four-door version will start at 10,800 euro when it goes on sale this spring. That's about $14,000 in the U.S. The two-door version is a bit cheaper. That's not too bad considering a 2012 Fiat 500 starts at $15,500. It's not that cut-and-dried, however. VW will have to spend more on the Up! to make sure it meets U.S. safety and emissions standards. Then there's the added cost of shipping it here. VW's avoiding those costs with other vehicles in the U.S. by building them here, but the Up! is made in Slovakia. Getting it here will certainly add to the bottom line. Is the Up! good enough to shake up the U.S.'s subcompact car market? We may never know. It isn't likely Volkswagen will offer it for sale here, but maybe it should. Would you buy it? from KickingTires http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/

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Study Finds Women Are Better at Parking

The verdict is in, at least in the United Kingdom: Women are better car parkers than men. A parking lot company in the U.K. called National Car Parks conducted a monthlong study in which it evaluated how men and women park. The group covertly studied 2,500 drivers in parking lots and built what it calls a "parking coefficient" to measure things like technique, accuracy and time taken to find a spot and park in it.  Out of a maximum score of 20, the study found that women have a parking coefficient of 13.4; the men came in a bit lower at 12.3. The study found that men were beset by behavioral setbacks like missing parking spots due to driving too fast through the lot. Women scored better at following speed limits (92% of them did versus just 64% of men) and taking time to find the correct approach angle to a parking spot (77% women, 53% men).     Men were, however, better in a few areas like being able to pull into a position and park after the first try: Only 29% of men in the group repositioned their car for another try, while 56% of the women needed multiple shots to get the final position. This explains why men have problems parking in the center of the space. In the study, 53% of women parked centrally on their first attempt, but only 25% of men were able to do that. "Parking is our business, so we carried out the research to see how well people park their cars. As an interesting by-product of the research, we've also found out that there's a difference in parking skills between the sexes, although perhaps not the way most people expected," Jo Cooper, NCP's female chief executive, said in a press release. National Car Parks is the U.K.'s largest private parking lot company. It operates lots in more than 700 locations and has over 200,000 parking spots. from KickingTires http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/

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Lexus to Air Its First Super Bowl Ad

It's sort of surprising that Lexus hasn't shown a Super Bowl ad during its more than two decades of existence. Now, after losing its 11-year sales crown as the largest luxury automaker to BMW, Lexus has decided the time is now to remind people what the brand is all about. It's showing off the newly redesigned 2013 Lexus GS series in its Super Bowl spot. The ad borrows several motifs from the "Jurassic Park" film, including the rippling water and the dull thud of something big approaching. Overall, the ad builds excitement. And what's up with the four other cages in the background shown at the end? Lexus says it has another eight new or updated models to launch this year, including the refreshed Lexus LX 570 shown earlier at the Detroit auto show. from KickingTires http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/

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Trawling Daytona: Three Days at the Rolex 24 [Video and Photos]

While spending three days at last weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona, we learned two important things: First, the Grand-Am series appeared to be absolutely viable as a spectator-driven form of motorsport, and, second, skinny jeans have never been more in style. Particularly for the less-than-skinny. Indeed, the growing popularity of sports-car racing was evident from the moment we arrived. It was clear not only in the total amount of tickets sold (reportedly the highest total ever for a Grand-Am event at Daytona), but also by the sheer number of people who ponied up extra cash for garage-access privileges, in hopes of a chance encounter with their favorite driver. Still, there is an argument that racing is best enjoyed on television. There are no parking hassles and you get up-to-the-second coverage and replays—plus an absence of pathogen-incubating Porta Potties. But we joined the sunburned hordes shuffling through the humanity-clogged paddock and managed to capture a few items that illustrate why there's no substitute for being there. Equipped with a simple point-and-shoot camera and no media pass, we interacted with the stars as anybody would, and emerged with the video and photo gallery below. Oh—we tried some skinny jeans, too, but switched back to shorts after developing a nasty rash from the chafing. from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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