The Continental: No More Vanilla Volvo, BMW i Future, and the Finnish A-class

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. The teaser shot, now with the ribbon. Last week, a teaser shot of the new Volvo coupe concept—sans the automaker's signature diagonal grille ribbon—surfaced on the internet. Speculation was all over the map; discussing it with my colleague Austin Lindberg, my initial reaction was that the design's origin "could be a Chinese brand, like Volvo." But I dismissed it because I thought that an established brand wouldn't initiate a guessing game. My final guess: Perhaps it was a generic rendering to create some buzz for a new blog or outlet. We decided to skip covering it. Turns out, it was Volvo. Thomas Ingenlath and the Volvo Coupe Concept. The full set of (non-doctored) photos is out, accompanied by a video featuring chief designer Thomas Ingenlath and an actor's voice saying: "When I joined Volvo a year ago, some people described Volvo design as 'vanilla'—in other words, nice but not iconic or cutting edge. Well, I can assure you that the vanilla days are over." The classic Volvo P1800. The idea is that the relatively large concept coupe ends those vanilla days by picking up elements from the classic 1961 P1800, a two-door styled very much in the spirit of the 1950s. That car eventually morphed into the strangely futuristic P1800 ES shooting brake, which has since inspired both the 1986 Volvo 480, of which I owned an example, and the 2006 C30. The new concept car's surprisingly massive fuselage suggests that it actually previews a large sedan, which could replace the aging S80. As a coupe, it would make a nice spiritual successor to the 1976 262C (pictured below), a chopped version of the 264 sedan that was assembled, though not styled, by Italian coachbuilder Bertone. 1976 Volvo 262C. Volvo's most-recent vanilla days were overseen by Peter Horbury and former Mercedes-Benz star designer Steve Mattin; Mattin has since left for the Russian carmaker Lada, while Horbury has his work cut out as chief designer of Volvo's Chinese parent company, Geely. Prior to joining Volvo, Ingenlath spent his career with the Volkswagen Group, where he worked at Audi, became Škoda chief designer in 2000, and went on five years later to head up Volkswagen's Potsdam design studio. His work includes the second-generation Škoda Fabia and the Superb. In a promotional interview distributed by the press office, Ingenlath describes his outlook: "Everybody that knows me well would agree that Volvo is a perfect match for me. I have never been a crowd-pleaser who likes fast and loud designs. I am thoughtful. I like to explore the intellectual elements below the surface. If you do that right, the aesthetics will come naturally." Second-generation Skoda Fabia Kombi. BMW's i5 Could Happen Proponents of electric mobility are curious about the market success of the fully electric BMW i3 and the i8 plug-in hybrid. Of course, nobody is more interested than BMW itself; "In a year, we will know more," an executive tells me. Company sources have been hinting at further i-badged models; a family mover called the i5 would be the most likely addition to the line. But my confidant tells me that none of the potential i cars has gotten the green light yet. BMW's next move hangs on the market's reaction to the i3 and the i8.   Meanwhile, 1-Series ActiveE models returned by customers are being shoved into the Munich-based Drive Now car-sharing program run by Sixt rentals. It will give BMW further insight into the durability of battery electric vehicles in real-life circumstances. "They are indestructible," a company source says. So are returning Mini E models. It seems that they have a long life ahead before being disassembled and recycled. Car News: Volvo Concept Coupe Prototype Drive: 2014 BMW i3 First Drive: 2013 Mercedes-Benz CLA250/CLA250 4MATIC   More, please: The A-class is breaking sales records. Good News for Benz and Valmet The first Mercedes-Benz A-class has rolled off the production line at coachbuilder and contract manufacturer Valmet in Finland. Over the next three years, over 100,000 units will be built there. Valmet won the contract because of its high flexibility, a Daimler executive tells me. The coachbuilder, which will likely be spun off its parent company Metso and taken over by an investor consortium in the foreseeable future, has a proud history of assembling cars as diverse as the Saab 96, 99 and 900; the Porsche Boxster and Cayman; the Lada Samara; and the Opel Calibra, to name a few. Most recently, it has produced the Fisker Karma, whose market success was lagging significantly behind projections before it was prematurely killed. With the Mercedes deal, Valmet is on a roll again, and we will see further contracts down the road. from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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2013 Volkswagen Intramural League, Fifth Place: CC R-Line 2.0T

Let's start with the good news: It's still possible to purchase a German-made Volkswagen sedan with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine and a manual transmission. Your humble author did just that back in February of 1998, taking delivery of a 1998 Passat 1.8t and thoroughly enjoying the sleek sedan while it was in my possession. The current Passat is aimed at a different market, and quite successfully so; it's the "CC" four-door koo-pay that is meant to carry the torch for all the old B5 Passat fans. Which makes sense, because this is fundamentally an old Passat. An eight-year-old Passat. And that, as you might expect, is a bit of a problem. The "B6″ Passat that underpins the CC debuted in 2005. In Volkswagen-land, that's not really a problem; the company is just now discontinuing Brazilian production of the original 1950s-era Transporter van. Compared to that venerable vehicle, the B6 Passat is a spring chicken. Still. Just to give you some context, here's a 2005 Kia Optima: and here's a 2013 Kia Optima: You get the idea? In fairness, however, the current CC has a different front and rear fascia from the original CC, which debuted in 2008 as a variant of that 2005 Passat. Still, when you consider what's happened in the market since then… it isn't just the Optima. The Sonata, the Fusion, the Malibu — quite a bit of chump-to-champ transformation happening while Volkswagen sits still. Enough of that. Let's go drive. The loop on which I tested these cars was a 33-mile assemblage of twisting roads running up and down the side of a mountain-ish hill in Napa, CA. The CC impresses at first glance: the proportions are familiar but they're still correct and the interior is tasteful yet substantially identical to that of the B6 Passat. It's not luxurious but it's not cheap-feeling either. The R-Line's price of $33,000 and change isn't undermined too badly here, particularly if you like German minimalism. Just try to stay out of the competition if you want to remain happy with the features on offer. Yes, that's a two-tone interior. The seats are familiar to anyone who's been in the B6 but they're outstanding in both fit and comfort. Everything's pretty easy to reach and operate. I hadn't driven a non-North-American Passat since I had them as service loaners in the last decade but I immediately figured out how everything worked. The head unit was unable to negotiate with my 160GB iPod Classic, however. Luckily the 1/8″ plug works fine. Visibility isn't as bad as it is in some of the other coupes-that-aren't, but the "NMS" (New Midsize Sedan) Chattanooga Passat has it whipped six ways to sundown in that respect. Rear seat room was insufficient for your six-foot-two, thirty-two-inch-inseam editor and the trunk is unlikely to fit a serious guitar amplifier or a mountain bike with just the front wheel off. While the CC casts a larger shadow on the ground than the current Jetta, it feels less spacious inside. Compared to the aforementioned NMS, it isn't even close. With two hundred horsepower to pull 3400 pounds and a relatively precise-feeling (by VW and front-wheel-drive standards) six-speed manual transmission, the CC should be acceptably quick, and it is. While it struggled a bit to accelerate on Napa's steepest grades, the CC is clearly stronger than the four-cylinder Japanese entries in this market. It would take a True Believer, however, to pretend that the V-6 Camry and Accord won't leave it for dead. While VW has a third-generation 2.0T in the pipeline, this ain't it, and even an artificially flat turbo torque curve isn't enough to imbue the CC with any real sense of hurry. Not that you'd want it to be any faster than it is, because the brakes are flat-out terrible. Soft, deep, and slow to bite, the CC's stoppers are not even close to being up to par for fast road work. I was the first person to drive this car and I was on the first wave of the press event, so it's hard to blame abuse or wear for the problem. It materially affected the amount of speed I was able to hold on the long descents because I was never sure how close I was to having the pedal touch the floor followed by having the nose of the CC touch a tree at Michael Hastings engine escape velocity. Just as well, because if the brakes weren't fast enough for the engine, the suspension probably wasn't well-damped enough for the brakes. Of the six cars I drove around this loop, only the CC regularly exhibited what I think of as a "floating extension", which is when the rebound damping goes on vacation and the body hovers near the long end of the suspension's stroke while the unloaded tires fiddle around for a very small slice of road grip. Some of the "whoops" on the downhill sections of Howell Mountain Road were sufficient to first pull the shocks all the way out then slam them into the bumpstops. While it was possible to exploit this behavior to get a surprising amount of "loose" motion from the back end around curves, it's not reassuring and it conspicuously fails to deliver on the promises made by the R-Line's aggressive exterior. I had thought that the CC might end up being the surprise winner of this comparison. As noted in the beginning of the review, it's German-built (the Emden plant that built my '98 also cranked this one out) and it has a third pedal that the competition has mostly stopped offering. Only the TSX and Buick Regal will let you have a stick-shift in this competitive set. The TSX punishes you for choosing the stick by limiting you to three color choices and base trim. The Buick punishes you for choosing the stick by being a Buick Regal. Guffaw. With that said, don't think you're going to see which way the retarded-sabertooth-grille Buick Regal GS went on a fast road from the driver's seat of a CC — and the driver of the Regal won't have paid any more for his considerably faster and more competent sedan. It's tough to be a VW fan nowadays with Buick putting the boots to us like this. Not since the days of the Grand National have Buick sport sedans been faster than Volkswagens. Except for, um, all the years they sold the supercharged 3800 Regal. Okay, I take it back. Buick's had the legs on the German brand more often than it hasn't, and that's just from the Seventies forward. I'd still take the CC over, say, a Maxima, mostly because I can shift it myself and it looks cool. But against the non-VW competition it falls short. This being an Intramural League, however, we're really only considering its merits against other Volkswagens. So here goes: Compared to other Volkswagens, the CC looks and feels old, it neither stops nor handles, and it costs more than other VWs that are more desirable and enjoyable. This old, bold soldier is ready for retirement — but what could possibly replace it? There's nothing in the hopper at Wolfsburg. So if you want that list of qualities referred to above, this one is your winner and you might want to act while you still can. For everybody else: dead last. Disclosure: Volkswagen flew me on Southwest Airlines to San Francisco and back for this test. Although I rented my own ground transportation and paid for all my own meals, those amenities were available to me courtesy of VW had I wanted or needed them. All expenses associated with operating the test vehicles were covered by Volkswagen, and I was put up for two nights in a very romantic little cottage. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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Capsule Review: Drive Like A Boss, A Japanese Boss.Toyota Crown Royal Saloon, So Smooth It Should Come In A Purple Velvet Bag

Toyota held an event in Ypsilanti, Michigan this week called the Toyota Hybrid World Tour, similar to the recent Nissan 360 event where the company displayed its foreign market forbidden fruit. I didn't realize what a Big Deal the THWT was until I arrived at the hotel & conference center. I had thought that it was just some kind of ride & drive event but in fact it was a major corporate level promotion by Toyota. For the first time in history the company gathered in one place every one of its hybrid vehicles sold around the world, along with a few alternative energy prototypes and some history, including an example of the first Prius sold in the Japanese domestic market. Toyota also gathered high ranking executives like North American chief Bob Carter from California and Toyota Managing Officer Satoshi Ogiso from Toyota City. Ogiso is in charge of global product development and chassis engineering for the entire company as well as being the Chief Engineer for the Prius program. Regular readers of TTAC will know just how important chief engineers are in the Toyota hierarchy and Ogiso is more or less the chief engineer for all of Toyota in addition to the Prius.  He was a member of Toyota's G21 team, out of which developed the first Prius. Though new Toyota Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada didn't attend, he did record remarks prepared for the journalists in attendance. Click here to view the embedded video.

European Commission Plans to Mandate 70 MPH Speed Limiters in EU. UK Government Calls it “Big Brother”

While Americans have an image of Europe as the place of autobahns with unlimited speeds, if a new proposal by the European Commission's Mobility and Transport Department is approved, all cars on the continent could be fitted with devices that limit top speed to 70 miles per hour. Cars would possibly be equipped with cameras that would read speed limit signs on roads and apply the brakes if the legal limit is exceeded. The goal is to reduce the 30,000 annual traffic deaths in Europe by a third. The regulations would not just apply to new cars sold in Europe. Used cars would have to be retrofitted. The British government told the Daily Mail that it was opposed to the proposed regulations. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin is described as having "erupted" at the news and said the move would violate motorists' freedom. A source within the government said concerning McLoughlin's instructions to the UK's representatives in Brussels, "This has Big Brother written all over it and is exactly the sort of thing that gets people's backs up about Brussels. The Commission wanted his views ahead of plans to publish the proposals this autumn. He made it very clear what those views were." The proposed regulation goes by the acronym ISA, for Intelligent Speed Adaptation and it could be implemented using GPS data or the above mentioned cameras. Two less extreme options to automatically slowing the car would be posting a dashboard warning to the driver, and allowing the driver to disable automatic speed limiting.  An EU spokesman said, "There is a currently consultation focusing on speed-limiting technology already fitted to HGVs and buses. Taking account of the results, the Commission will publish in the autumn a document by its technical experts which will no doubt refer to ISA among many other things." from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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2014 Dodge Dart: What's Changed

Most significant changes: 2.4-liter four-cylinder available on more models; more standard features for Limited Price change: No change on SE or GT models; SXT increases $500, Aero by $600 and Limited up $3,000 On sale: Late fall Which you should buy, 2013 or 2014? 2013; with prices going up and an abundance of them on dealer lots, shoppers should consider the 2013 unless they want the 2.4-liter engine The Dart debuted for 2013 to revive a long-dormant Dodge model name with an upscale interior and lots of customization options. Shoppers didn't seem to like all the choices, so for 2014, Dodge is reshuffling the features you get with each trim level. And a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine becomes more widely available on the compact sedan. The Limited model's price climbs by $3,000 to $23,990. Prices are unchanged from 2013 on the SE at $16,990 and the GT at $21,990, but they increase by $500 on the SXT to $19,490 and $600 on the Aero to $20,990 (all prices include a $995 destination charge). The 2.4-liter engine was a late addition for 2013, arriving with the GT model (originally supposed to be called the R/T). For 2014, this 184-horsepower engine becomes standard on the SXT and Limited models as well. A 2.0-liter four-cylinder remains standard on the base Dart SE, and the Aero still uses a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder. Among the new standard features on the Limited are a six-speed automatic transmission (a $1,250 option last year), keyless entry and push-button start, leather upholstery, heated front seats and steering wheel, sunroof, navigation system and the Uconnect system with an 8.4-inch touch-screen. Dodge says 2014 models will go on sale in the third quarter (late fall). Related Research the 2013 Dodge Dart 2013 Dodge Dart Review What's the Most Affordable Compact Sedan from KickingTires http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/

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Piston Slap: Self Worth vs. The $8000 Flagship

TTAC commentator zamoti writes: Sajeev, I have successfully nursed along my aging Maxima without replacing the transmission, but now sans muffler, balding tires and growing rust, I feel it may finally be time to part ways.  Though it is fun to offer my fellow motorists a dose of the sound and the fury of the delightful 3.0 VQ, I have decided that it is time to grow up and select a more dignified form of transportation.  Plus my wife calls me a hillbilly. In the quest for dignified wheels, I am a bit hamstrung by the fact that I've just purchased a (second) house and probably not looking very good on paper.  As such, my task is to seek a gentleman's car on a cash basis maybe even at a BHPH lot.  I have about $9k to spend and the Maxima to sell.  Long ago when Murilee was seeking out a 1st gen Q45, I though that a hyper-depreciated luxury barge would be a great idea if I ever needed something of the sort.  Well, that time is now; I occasionally need room for five, three of those are car seats. I have been nosing around and narrowed the choices to a 2001 BMW 740il and maybe a 2003 Infiniti Q45.  I don't think it's going to be much of a choice since there aren't many Q45s available, so I'm leaning toward the ample supply of e38s. I'm willing to spin my own wrenches on whatever I get, but this does need to be my sole DD so it can't be a flatbed queen.  Is this a horrible idea to seek out an $8000 used luxury flagship?  A sampling of BMW forums state that the later variants of e38 were fairly reliable, but that's a fairly narrow band of people to expect an unbiased opinion from.  I'm aware that any premium brand is going to require a bit of money socked away for maintenance and willing to live with that as the downside.  I've looked at the common issues and feel that I can handle most of them on my own. I am not against other choices, but I do like the idea of that 7-series.  It has room for all, looks good, and above all else, it is a gentleman's car. Your thoughts? Sajeev answers: *headdesk* Murilee drives a Honda Civic on a daily basis, and he bought a Lexus LS for a luxurious play toy!  You, however, completely lost your mind! Wise up and get something better than an $8000 flagship. BMW E38s–while unbelievably pleasant to drive with styling that gets better with age–are fragile and expensive "flatbed queens" as you so eloquently put it. Take it from someone who worked on his father's 750iL, which had more problems from the E38 underpinnings than the unique bits associated with the V-12 engine. But I still miss that eggplant-hued, unquestioned "King of the Road" from 1996…yet I still want to burn it to the ground! zamoti replies: So the lesson is that you cannot buy dignity for $8000.  Q45? Sajeev answers: A little (lot?) better, ditto a Lexus LS a la Murilee. But not good enough, since you have a wife, kids and no spare vehicle!  Find dignity and self-worth elsewhere…force your kids into sports even if they hate it, and absolutely do not buy an $8000 flagship! Drive a normal, boring or even shitty car and get motivated to become the next self-made bazillionaire who ignores the folly of wealth and drives a Ford truck. Or some hyper-motivated, soul sucking Gordon Gekko type. Either way, whatever works for you. Send your queries to sajeev@thetruthaboutcars.com. Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you're in a hurry…but be realistic, and use your make/model specific forums instead of TTAC for more timely advice. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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What Is the Lexus High-Intensity Interior Heater?

What is the Lexus high-intensity interior heater? Anonymous Several Lexus models have as an optional feature an auxiliary electric heater that provides warm air faster than a conventional heater, which has to wait for the engine coolant temperature to rise before it can deliver any warmth. Lexus says this "positive temperature coefficient" heater means that on cold winter mornings you don't have to sit with your teeth chattering while the engine warms up. The electric heater comes on when you start the car and instantly begins warming the air pumped into the interior. On a car with automatic temperature control and a conventional heater that relies on warmth from the engine coolant, the climate system won't come on as soon as you start the engine. Instead, there is a delay of at least several seconds while the system waits for the engine temperature to rise to generate warm air. With the electric heater, you should get some warm air before then. The high-intensity heater is available on several Lexus models, including the GS 450h and LS 600h hybrids. The heater is part of an All Weather Package on the LS 600h and is an included feature in the GS 450h's Luxury Package. It's available on some other Lexus models as part of the Cold Weather Package. Have a car question you'd like us to answer? Send us an email at tips@cars.com. Related More Lexus News Browse Current Lexus Models from KickingTires http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/

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