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.
Fiat has chosen the Pomigliano plant near the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius as the launch site for the third generation of its Panda minicar. The car is built there, and Fiat’s entire board showed up for this great corporate event, marked as much by the product as by the revamping of the plant itself, which was on the verge of being closed down a few years ago.
In a Q&A session, Marchionne spoke about the botched launch of the Fiat 500 in North America, which—he has said it before—was “launched a year too early.” He won’t repeat that mistake with Alfa Romeo; that brand’s launch is delayed for a year (again). He vowed he’d never do a car like the recently departed 159 sedan again, which “was a phenomenal car, but weighed 400 kilos too much.” The new cars need to look and feel like an Alfa, said Marchionne. So how does he keep U.S. dealers happy in the meantime, I asked. “They have sold a lot of Chrysler product this year, and therefore I don’t really worry about them a lot,” the refreshingly blunt CEO offered. “They are all happy, they will have a nice Christmas with wine and turkey on the table.”
The Dodge brand’s reach will stay limited to the U.S. and “a few Latin American markets where it has appeal,” said Marchionne, but some Dodge products will be sold under different brands elsewhere (as is already the case with the Fiat-badged Journey). Fiat will make use of the Dodge Dart platform, which is itself based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta but has been significantly tweaked. What about Jeep? The Wrangler and Grand Cherokee models are “incredibly American” and will continue to be built in North America, Marchionne promised, but everything between and aside of these models could be built anywhere. Fiat’s Mirafiori plant will produce several B-segment SUVs, including an Alfa Romeo crossover. The large Alfa SUV, which is based on the Grand Cherokee, has been delayed.
Marchionne told me that the Fiat brand would be expanded with a second model in North America—a van-type vehicle—and possibly a third car. On an even more exciting note, he confirmed that the Abarth sub-brand is working on its own sports car. This model, I learned from other sources, will not be spun off the upcoming mid-engine Alfa 4C, but it will be a front-engine sports car with 200 to 250 hp. A final decision to build it has not been made—but even if it does see production, it likely won’t come to the U.S. The inspiration for the car comes from Abarth’s legendary 1968 Scorpione.
After these insights from the top, we got back to earth to actually drive the Panda: It is a cute, practical, and capable minicar sized almost exactly like the Chevrolet Spark. Power comes from a dull 1.2-liter gas four, a quiet and reassuringly torquey 1.2-liter turbo-diesel four, or a turbocharged 0.9-liter two-banger. The latter was my clear favorite; at city speeds, it virtually rips the Panda forward, and it is a lively engine well beyond 80 mph (top speed is 110 mph). The Panda tends to understeer massively, but the apt ESP system doesn’t shave off too much speed.
Disappointments? The Panda looks like a rounded-off reinterpretation of its predecessor, and I suspect this cautious design is the result of excessive clinicking. Another proposal looked far closer to the Brazilian-market Uno—lower, more distinct, more sporty. The Panda, of course, is a better car, and it will soon see a cool off-road version, as well as more powerful derivatives. In Europe, it competes with the Volkswagen Up/Seat Mii/Skoda Citigo triplets, the Chevrolet Spark, the Kia Picanto and Hyundai i10, the Renault Twingo, and the Kolin cars (Citroën C1/Peugeot 107/Toyota Aygo). It’s a busy segment. Fiat chief Sergio Marchionne rules out a U.S.-market launch for the car.
The Ultimate Motorhome
Mercedes-Benz has few icons left that haven’t been contaminated by juvenile design experiments, inferior quality, or lackluster engineering. The Unimog all-wheel-drive vehicle is one such unspoiled example. It is engineered and built strictly for the purpose of getting you virtually anywhere even in the most adverse conditions. The Unimog seen here is a 6×6, 215-hp U4000 model, turned into a go-anywhere motorhome by outfitter Unicat. Few vehicles have more off-road ability—or more attitude.
No comments:
Post a Comment