Corvette steals the limelight; but is it enough?
Hyundai denies HCD-14 concept is Genesis precursor
DETROIT, MICH. — Depending on your outlook, Chevrolet’s latest C7 Corvette was either a home run or a sacrifice bunt down the first baseline.
Corvette loyalists, for whom the classic engine-in-front, big-inch American V8 engine format is sacrosanct, will love the new Stingray. It is the boldest statement from Bowling Green since the split window classic of the ’ 60s and there is little doubt that it will be more than capable of running with the exotics. For those looking for The General to vault the ’Vette to the forefront of the exotic car world, however, it may be a disappointment. Though superbly styled and ultimately refined, it is more of the same-old-same-old.
GM would argue that it doesn’t want to offend said loyalists, but they’re a diminishing lot; annual sales of Corvette are running at about half of its 30,000 peak. More importantly, the youth of today don’t worship the Corvette nearly as much as its exotic European competition. So, while the new C7 Corvette’s will captivate current fans, I’m not sure it will attract any new ones.
Lincoln is trying to reinvent itself. But, it is doing so less with product — many current models are warmed over Ford products — and more with greater customer interaction. Its new 24-hour concierge service includes something called Lincoln Date Night, which sees American conquest customers getting a long-term test drive and a dinner-for-two at a Zagat-rated restaurant on Lincoln’s dime.
Infiniti’s new “Q” appellation made its debut in the form of the new Q50 — the replacement for the company’s G37. Smartly styled, the Q50 is more than attractive enough to be a success. It is not, however, the flagship Infiniti desperately needs. And therein lies the conundrum of the company’s recent decision — based on extensive research — to rename all its car products “Q.” Infiniti determined that its most famous product was the company’s original Q45. Unfortunately, Infiniti long ago discontinued that model, leaving the company aggressively promoting an association with a car that it some time ago determined wasn’t worth redeveloping.
And yet another conundrum: Automotive News says Nissan will cut the U.S. price of its base Leaf by 18 per cent, lowering its MSRP from $35,200 to $28,800. While that should spur the tepid sales of the EV, it does raise a few concerns. According to Automotive News, the reduction means that, with the $7,500 U.S. tax credit and other state subsidies, some consumers will pay as little as $18,800 for the updated Nissan electric car. Here’s the quandary: the cost of lithium ion batteries is generally pegged at about $500 per kilowatt-hour. With 24 of those, The Leaf ’s battery alone costs about $12,000, leaving the customer paying just $6,800 for the rest of the car. What a bargain! The other question it raises is the supposed need for the US federal tax credit, which we were sold on the basis of its necessity to promote sales of the zero-emissions vehicle. And yet Nissan can afford to drop the price by almost the same amount as the tax credit? Either Nissan is now losing a boatload of money on every Leaf it sells or else it was making scads of moolah on every Leaf it has already sold and never needed the incentive.
Hyundai went to much trouble to qualify that the HCD-14 Genesis concept unveiled at Detroit this past Monday was not — and I repeat not — the upcoming remake of its Genesis luxury sedan due to be unveiled at next year’s Detroit auto show. Pity. Teasing us with what you could do rather than you will do only inspires disappoint- ment in the more traditionally styled production item that eventually arrives in showrooms. The HCD-14 concept, with its Audi A7 coupe-like silhouette and suicide doors, is a vast improvement over the current, conservatively styled Genesis. It’s a race! Which will be obsolete first? The idiot behind the steering wheel or the steering wheel itself ? While the demise of the driver has been widely reported, thanks to the latest self-driving cars from Audi, Google, Volvo and Nissan, Popular Science’s Seth Fletcher wonders if Infiniti’s new steer-by-wire system, as seen on the new Q50, could spell the end of the steering wheel. It could be replaced by a joystick or even, Fletcher postulates, voice control.
Conspicuous by their absence were introductions of new electric vehicles. Oh, Tesla had a big presentation booth, Mercedes is still trumpeting its Smart electric car and Cadillac did show us the Volt-based ELR, but gone is the buzz of the last few Detroit shows. Hybrids may yet gain the traction they require from mainstream America, but EVs look to be no more than the playthings of the rich and self-righteous.