Search the Community

It was about only two months ago when Volkswagen introduces the VW Up city car at the Frankfurt Motor Show. At that same event, Volkswagen also showcased several Up concepts and one of them was the Up GT. Initially thought to be just a showcasing formality, but now details of the Up GT have leaked onto the internet and it seems that we might see it released sooner than later. In terms of horsepower, the Up GT might deliver up to 100bhp (something in the range of the Fiat Panda 100HP version) and most probably VW will force-induced the base model

[extract] BMW has brought out the new BMW 1 Series Performance Accessories concept car for the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. It basically has the usual bells and whistles that you would find in any tuning kit. This means a different front and rear bumpers, new side skirts, bits of carbon fiber here and there, sports suspension to get that lowered tuned look, the larger wheel and tire combo, interior retrim, M sport steering wheel and lastly, a BBK

[extract] Waiting for a new Land Rover Defender isn

Now we all know that Sebastian Vettel is currently winning lots of races with Red Bull in F1and this has somehow caused a Red Bull-Infiniti cars tie up. While having an actual car manufacturer (Nissan via Infiniti) as a marketing partner is all fine I find it amusing that the first car to use the reigning World Champion's name is an SUV. The Sebastian Vettel inspired Infiniti is the Sebastian Vettel Infiniti FX50 Concept that will be previewed at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show shortly. The Sebastian Vettel Infiniti FX50 Concept is an SUV. It was based on the FX Limited Edition of 2010 and has a different grille, a different carbon fiber spoiler (supposedly based on the F1 car), a rear wing instead of roof rails and other carbon fiber bits here and there. Chances are that this concept car will be produced as a marketing tool for Infiniti and to some extent Red Bull/Vettel. Of course Sebastian Vettel is actually Infiniti's global ambassador and drives a normal FX50 on the road because of this. But an SUV as a first car? Can't he get the Infiniti luxury coupe instead as the first car with his name on it? The SUV compared to his Formula 1 car is as different as night and day or heaven and hell. It may look aggressive, but the bottomline is that the SUV is tall and huge. He should get a coupe instead. Remember Michael Schumacher? When he was with Ferrari his name was plastered on small, nippy Fiats that could actually handle and drive well

Saab is so broke that its owners recently had to sell some of its shares in order to pay the salaries of its white collar (executive level) earlier this month. This is the latest in the chapter of the Saab Book of Pain and Suffering. This came right after the new where Saab's component suppliers stopped supplying the necessary components in order for them to produce cars. Their production line is still silent at the moment with no confirmation as to when it will restart (if ever), again. Now, having seen the light, or darkness arising from an acute lack of money the management of Saab has decided that the company would skip the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show. A very wise choice considering that it basically takes a ton of money to set up a display booth at any exhibition event. From personal experience, it will cost at least a good US$50,000 for a decent sized booth at an international event at some exhibition hall. And if you're a major player or one that needs to make some impact, it will cost more. And Saab needs to make some positive impact if it wants to survive this next few months. Not attendintg Frankfurt is actually a small part of the big picture. The big picture is actually pretty bleak for Saab at the moment and I cannot seem to see a happy ending any time soon. Saab is on life support and is slowly deteriorating. The steroid shot it requires would need to be of epic proportions and again the question comes up whether Saab should be worth saving or not. The only interesting car they currently produce is the new Saab 9-5. It may look unique but these days only looking unique doesn't sell. There has to be some magic involved. Saab should go back to its quirky ways and start building cars in a way no one could think of. Those days Saab thought differently from others. Door handles were overbuilt so that you can tie ropes on them and they'd be strong enough to be used to pull the whole car out of a ditch if you skid off the road while driving on snow. They also had the ignition key on the center console so that you start the car and then reach for the handbrake instantly. Now, Saabs are normal cars. Most people who wanted normal cars (at a slightly higher price) would end up buying some German car instead. At the very least they'd buy some French car which also has somewhatquirky styling. Citroen especially. So what has Saab got to offer then? Nothing actually. That is unless they start building a retro looking Saab 93/96 from the 1950s/ 1970s for the 2010s. Saab needs to take one old quirky car, redo it for the present, market it as a slightly upmarket little hatchback, milk the retro aspect like crazy and pray to the Norse Gods that the car buying public buys it. This is actually part of Saab's gameplan and I actually want to see a modernized Saab 93 as when I was younger I managed to catch a few of these in the metal. I hope Saab can survive so that they can do just that in the first place.