Weekly View: Last decade’s tops and flops

The second decade of the second millennium is almost here, but what about the first one? Apparently, the worst of the crisis is now gone and as it turns out, there will be a happy end for the most of the industry. Who are the winners and who are the losers? What could have been better and who is to blame? According to the press and the stats, these should be noted as a important part of automotive history.

Tops

1) BMW
BMWs were never questioned for well…anything, but somehow the management decided that they needed something new, something radical, someone like Chris Bangle. And boy, he was certainly something new. Actually, his presence inspired numerous hate protests from hardcore fans, petitions, criticism and for a couple of months, everyone was convinced that he will ruin BMW. In the end, BMW had outperformed its eternal rival, Mercedes-Benz and is now the best selling premium brand in the world and has won numerous engineering and consumer satisfaction awards. Furthermore, the revival of British MINI and Rolls-Royce brands and their amazing success has everyone convinced that BMW obviously know what they are doing. Okay, the X3 and the 1 Series are not exactly their finest hour, but apart from that, can anyone dethrone them?

2) Audi
Some ten years ago, Audi had to post ads featuring the car they wanted to rival, just to grab some attention from BMW and Mercedes-Benz buyers, but now, it’s the other way around. I mean, they actually now respond to them so apparently, they are a threat to their sales. Okay, the LED lamps are not what you’d call tasteful (or exclusive for that matter, everyone has them) the Volkswagen technology and platforms aren’t exactly up to premium standards and the build quality isn’t at the same level as before (referring to the A5 – the least reliable new car in 2009) but let’s put it this way: twenty years ago, my grandfather bought an Audi because he didn’t want to buy an Opel, but now, you’d actually consider one instead of a Bimmer or a Merc. And while I’m no fan of Volkswagen, I must admit, they have done a hell of a good job with it.

3) Ford
Anyone who has ever driven any of the European Fords knows that these cars simply feel like nothing in their price or size range – and in some cases, a humble Ford can teach even a much expensive rival a lesson. It all started with the 1993 Mondeo, a car that was setting new standards in terms of ride and handling for family saloons and was the best selling in its class, too. But few mainstream cars were as radical and as successful as the 1998 Focus, which was even the best selling car in the world. The secret of its spectacular success was the Control Blade suspension which gave it class leading ride and handling.

In testing the suspension in 2000, Motor Trend writer Jack Keebler noted: “The Focus’ average speed of 62.6 mph through our slalom makes it faster around the cones than a $62,000 Jaguar XJ8L and a $300,000 Bentley Continental.”

Just for comparison, it took six years for the Focus main rival, the VW Golf, to get an independent rear suspension.
The 2009 Fiesta isn’t as radical as the first Focus was, but its “kinetic” design and sharp handling helped to be the bestselling car in Europe for several weeks, something that Ford hasn’t experienced in years. So the blue oval might get on top again, the position it had left in the 1990s.

4) Japanese Luxury Brands
The same story with Audi above: from iPods to designer clothing bought in H&M, the masstige (mass-prestige) lifestyle has epidemic proportions.

Lexus (which roughly translates as Luxury Export for United States) and Infiniti have threated European luxury brands like never before and for a good reason: these cars are actually quite good. Not European good, but decent enough. And guess what, Lexus is getting its first actual sportscar! I wonder which polo shirt goes with that one.

Meanwhile, Infiniti is going for the “Japanese BMW” title and they are also getting close to that one too. If they would only hire a good designer…

Join us next week as we unveil the ones that have failed (for a reason) …

About the author:

At the age of two, my parents started to teach me how to read and coincidentally, my first words (if you don’t count “mum” and “dad”) were car brand names. I’m not sure if that was the reason, but ever since I’ve been a true car enthusiast. For me, cars aren’t German and Japanese, girly and butch, cool and lame, they are either good or bad.

A good car must be honest, involving, fun and balanced – it simply has to communicate with the driver and have the capability to make you rediscover your usual route every day.

Badges are not my concern either; I have some favorites, but again, cars are either good or bad.

I’m no fan of electronics, 4×4 systems and heavy, overpowered cars; to me these things are driving simulators for mediocre drivers to impress other mediocre drivers.

A small coupe or a roadster with the front-engine, rear-drive configuration (as God intended) or a sports sedan, maybe a hot hatch would be my dream car.

In the end, it’s all a matter of taste, but I prefer the old-school approach: driving for the sake of it. The man and the machine, nothing between them.

The rest don’t know what they are missing.

Having something to say? Going trough Croatia?

www.facebook.com/stjepan.sandor
stjepansandor_1@hotmail.com

Photo: William Stern

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