Aston Martin at Harrods
THE British media hates the idea of a French company taking over two car factories in the UK that used to be owned by the American General Motors (GM). The media coverage of the deal in England is muddled and confused.
One headline sums up the feeling of British editors in the Daily Mail this way: “Car giant that axed 17,000 jobs — then doubled boss’s pay… and now wants to buy Vauxhall.”
Within the same week the same newspaper reported that Vauxhall is run as efficient as the best car factories in the world but expressed fears that the French group PSA, which bought Opel Vauxhall from GM may close Vauxhall factories.
It failed to mention that Vauxhall has been making losses for many years; that an expensive restructure plan from GM failed to turn the company round and that economic sense should prevail about cutting losses sooner or later.
Adding to the British pain is the fact that a French company is buying a British car manufacturer. Somehow, it would have been easier if GM did the dirty work of axing jobs in the past few years. That job is now left to the French and will further infuriate the British. John Colley, a professor at Warwick Business School, said: “(PSA boss) Tavares has little choice but to close Ellesmere Port and Luton (Vauxhall factories) to make the Opel acquisition work.”
PSA chief Carlos Tavares has a reputation for being ruthless with job cuts but was praised for turning PSA from facing ruin to making profits and raising the company’s share value by 66 percent since he took over in 2014. If Tavares came to the conclusion that (loss-making) factories have to close, then the British factories are first in the line of fire.
Germany has strong labor unions, a protective government and high costs of redundancy. The cost of closing an Opel factory in Germany is three times more expensive than shutting down a British factory. No wonder Vauxhall workers are afraid and the British media is in a muddle. Adel Murad is a senior motoring and business journalist based in London. Three Aston Martin sports cars took over the front windows of Harrods, the famous luxury department store in London, in a month-long celebration of the British Heritage of Aston Martin.
The display includes a DB11, V12 Vantage S and Vanquish S. The DB11, the first product launched under the company’s “Second Century” plan, is the bold new figurehead of the “DB”
The superstars on display at the motor show are plenty but choosing one overall winner this year was no easy task.
At least seven new models have been revealed this year including the Ferrari 812 Superfast, the Lamborghini Huracan Performante, the Aston Martin Valkyrie, the McLaren 720 S, the Porsche 911 GT3 and the Mercedes AMG GT.
They are all worthy supercars but judging by actual performance — not company-released figures — the winner at this year’s event in Geneva is without doubt the Lamborghini Huracan Performante.
Before coming to Geneva the company put the new Huracan to the test at the toughest circuit in the world: The Nurburgring Nordschleife for a few laps bloodline and is one of the finest GT in the Aston Martin tradition.
Also on display is the Aston Martin V12 Vantage S, the aggressively styled V12 Vantage considered an engineering achievement. Combining a V12 engine with the luxury marque’s lightest sports-car it is a package of pure visual pleasure.
The brand new Vanquish S, the ultimate Super GT completes the display.
The display continues until March 25. during a 15-minute window last October. The Huracan set a record lap time 6 minutes 52.01 seconds. The Porsche 918 Spyder held the record of the 13-mile circuit but the Huracan took full 5 seconds off the record. The Huracan did it while cloaked in camouflage to hide details of its design prior to its official unveiling this week at Geneva.
This is a tuned version of the original Huracan and has the same 5.2-liter V-10 engine but raising output from 602 brake horsepower (bhp) to 640bhp.
The 2017 Geneva Motor Show, which started this week and continues through March 19, managed to impress the media beyond their expectations. Although there were many topics of discussions about future mobility, autonomous driving, electric vehicles and the GM abandoning Europe, the main focus of Geneva this year was speed and style.
The Ferrari 812 Superfast — 800bhp from a V12 engine — has more power than the Huracan but the Huracan has active aerodynamics, carbon-fiber lightweight body and a proven record. Other supercars are also very capable and they all belong to the Geneva’s hall of fame. The McLaren seems to excel in looks and style. But, supercars need to try a lap at Nurburgring.
There were also many affordable sports cars including the Alpine A110, the Alfa 4C and the Honda Civic Type R.
SUVs Geneva was not about sports cars alone as sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and crossover utility vehicles (CUVs) made their mark too, with Land Rover revealing the Range Rover Velar and Volvo displaying the new XC60. Both companies used to belong to Ford but they are now owned by Indians and Chinese investors and are very successful after gaining their independence.
Velar proved to be one of the best-looking SUVs at the show with an impressive interior with minimal use of buttons and hidden-until-lit panels. It was displayed on the stand between the Evoque and the Sport filling the middle gap in the company’s SUV lineup.
The star of the SUV segment was w without a doubt the Bentley Bentayga Mulliner, the ultimate luxury SUV. Exclusive features include a bottle cooler and bespoke Mulliner interior with color-split and contrast embroidery. This unique Mulliner collection will be b built in limited numbers. Specifications include the Bentley’s class-leading 6.0-liter, W12 engine. With 608 PS (600 bhp) and 900 Nm of torque delivering a 0-60 mph time of 4 seconds (0-100 km/h in 4.1 seconds) and a top speed of 187 mph (301 km/h), the Bentayga is the world’s fastest SUV.
Jaguar also introduced the F- Pace SUV, which came in the top three of 2017 World Car of the Year and World Car Design Awards.
Electric future Bentley also introduced the EXP 12 Speed 6e concept, which defines a new luxury electric vehicles’ segment. This concept was designed to gauge public feedback in order to shape Bentley’s future strategy. Wolfgang Durheimer, chairman and chief executive of Bentley Motors, said: “The EXP 12 Speed 6e is a concept to show that Bentley is defining electric motoring in the luxury sector, with the appropriate technology, high quality materials and refinement levels you’d expect from a true Bentley.”
Another electric concept on display was the I-Pace from Jaguar, which promises Tesla-matching performance. Chief designer Ian Callum confirms that the concept is very close to the real version.
One more concept came from Volkswagen (VW) in the form of a driverless pod called Sedric, which could be a future taxi working in an urban environment or perhaps at the airports.
Another form of future technology was introduced by Hyundai. FE Concept is a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle capable of 800 km between fuel stops.
Lamborghini Huracan Performante emerged as the “star of the show” for achieving a unique circuit lap record before coming to Geneva.
presented another concept car, which demonstrates the potential of the future Q8 model range. The Audi Q8 sport concept study demonstrates the vision Audi’s developers and designers have for the dynamic SUV of tomorrow. Characteristic aerodynamic features in the front and rear are a prominent part of the Audi Q8 sport concept design. The highly efficient drive system concept of the study is particularly groundbreaking. The 3.0 TFSI six- cylinder engine featuring a mild hybrid system and an electric powered compressor is the world’s first. It has a 476 hp output and its 700 Newton meters of torque and sprints from 0 — 100 km/h in just 4.7 seconds. Top speed is 275 km/h.