CN CONFIDENTIAL: On with the Shows

Importers rise up against Kim Il Car games and some snippets from the Paris and Sydney motor shows

Whether it's from the www, the latest motor show or the back doors of a carmaker near you, Carsales Network Confidential features the good oil other sources either won't publish, don't care about or don't know. Heard an automotive rumour or new model tip? Then let us know - editor@carpoint.com.au

Know your audience
Senator Kim Carr is a strong supporter of the local manufacturing industry -- and he's to be commended for his indefatigable backing. But his support for the locals last week brought him undone at a dinner held by ACP, publishers of enthusiast titles Wheels and Motor.

Roughly 80 per cent of the guests represented importers and were disenchanted with the general tenor of the senator's speech -- not least of all because it failed to mention importers in any context other than "derogatory". According to an insider present at the dinner, held the night before the industry preview day for AIMS, the speech met with the same level of acceptance as "a rib-eye steak at a vegan collective".

Our source also told us that the director of one prestigious European brand looked like he was "about to cough up a fur ball".

An extract from Senator Carr's speech, published on his own website contains remarks that were at the distant end of the 'reasonable' spectrum, based on just the last paragraph:

    "We are today one of only fifteen countries able to claim the full range of automotive capabilities, from design to the show room floor.

    "Governments around the world jealously guard those capabilities. They aren't easily acquired. And once lost, they never return. If we're honest, we'll acknowledge that we've never faced a level playing field. Our success should be all the more striking.

    "But it's true we still have our critics.

    "There are still those who call on us to surrender.

    "Our opponents are so focused on making a noise of any kind that they are prepared now to criticise companies undertaking these major co-investment projects.

    "And some from within the industry itself query our support -- when their own products are made in markets with tariffs that put us all in the shade, and also enjoy strong government support."

Senator Carr's speech reads like a response to an article published by the Carsales Network in August. That article focused on the views of Suzuki MD Tony Devers, who believes we should debate the current level of government subsidy for the local manufacturing industry. We understand that words were exchanged by the senator and Devers on the night of the speech.

Our source (not Tony Devers), informed the Carsales Network that 80 per cent of new cars sold in this country are imported and 70 per cent of employment in the automotive sector "is not down to the locals". There's also a view prevailing among the prestige importers that the 33 per cent luxury car tax is subsidising the government's New Car Plan that benefits local manufacturers.

And it wasn't just the importers present who frowned upon the senator's speech. We've heard from two separate sources that at least one guest representing a manufacturer was reportedly "embarrassed" and felt the room was turned against him as a consequence of the senator's uncritical support of the manufacturing industry -- and yet the company in question also imports many thousands of vehicles in a typical year.

This particular industry executive, it was alleged, had seen the speech beforehand and had recommended to Senator Carr that it needed to be modified to suit the importer-heavy audience, but the senator refused.

"It's arrogance mixed with belligerence and a complete disregard for the political reality of the market and the economy," said our insider, also asserting that this was an opinion widely held by the other guests at the dinner.


Non, je ne regrette rien -- Parisian shorts

>> Embarrassed
Jaguar's Tony Harper was reluctant to reproduce the sound of the C-X75's gas-turbine engines -- vocally. Asked whether a production car's soundtrack would be in any way reminiscent of a fictional device from Gerry & Sylvia Anderson, he went with the obvious choice: Commander Ed Straker's car from the series UFO.

>> Smarter Nissan
Nissan is rumoured to be supplying a platform to underpin a four-door smart for the American market. Benz is unsure whether the new model will revive the forfour model name though.

>> Stop/Start
Opel plans to introduce Eco Stop/Start next year and expects the fuel-saving device to be ordered in up to 25 per cent of its new cars.

>> Patented
Benz will unveil a new patent from January 29 next year -- the 125th anniversary of the Benz Patent Motorwagen -- according to Dieter Zetsche at the Mercedes-Benz press conference the night before the opening of the Paris motor show (29/9/10). No word on what it will be, but we're expecting something a little more futuristic than cupholders.

>> Conquests
Jaguar must be doing better; they're conquesting S-Class owners with the new XJ, says design chief, Ian Callum. For its part, Benz describes its first generation CLS as the original 'Jag fighter', expecting the British prestige brand to come out with something that was really going to shake up the market. The CLS was aimed at stalling deep market penetration by a stunning new product from the hands of Ian Callum, says Benz designer Gorden Wagener. Instead, Jaguar trotted out the XK sports car -- and the earliest a competitor for the 2004 CLS arrived on the scene was the XF, just two years ago.

>> Paid political announcement
David Coulthard claimed to be "pleasantly surprised" after driving a four-cylinder diesel S-Class Mercedes. We ourselves were apathetically unsurprised that Coulthard, standing alongside Benz's Dieter Zetsche, would offer praise for a new vehicle from the company that supplied the engines for his F1 race cars. Perhaps, if anything, we were surprised that he wasn't more fulsome in his praise.

>> Left leaning
Speaking of Dr Zetsche, has he been coached by the Australian office's well-known left-leaning PR bloke, David McCarthy? According to the good doctor at the Paris show, the Mercedes-Benz brand will be "moving forward" -- just like the ALP, but hopefully with a stronger vision for the future. And if you think we're having a shot at Labor, the Libs and Nats are no better.

>> Saab-stitute
No mention from Saab whether we'll see the next 9-2 in Australia. This is the vehicle we believe will be powered by the 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine being supplied by BMW (and PSA) through the agreement with the Swedish builder. Gut feeling suggests that the 9-2 would be a little low-rent for the Aussie market, but what's that old saying about counting chickens?

>> Badge-baggage
Gorden Wagener, he of Benz styling fame, put it fairly and squarely where the blame lies. Asked by the Carsales Network in Paris for his explanation of America's rapidly dwindling relevance in the field of luxury automotive manufacturing, he answered that it was endless cost-cutting and commercialism. The country that, during the 1930s, produced world-class cars such as Duesenbergs, Packards and Pierce-Arrows -- as well as Lincolns and Cadillacs with V12 and V16 engines -- has steadily eroded its own 'brand' with badge-engineered Ford and GM products wearing once-hallowed badges.


Air kisses at Darling Harbour -- Sydney shorts

>> A Range of problems
Ford Australia is yet to reveal the towing capacity for the new Ranger (though check out our testing video and one engineer lets slip -- 3000kg) , but that's not to say the media event for the light commercial vehicle went entirely without hitch.

At Cockatoo Island, Ford's promotions team subjected journalists to an industrial-style audio-visual blitz, featuring the Tap Dogs.

The routine was supposed to finish with a pre-production Ranger (parts of which were reportedly wooden), lowered to the stage from a 40ft container suspended from above. A rectangular base supporting the Ranger and held by quick-release hooks and chains was supposed to be lowered into a flush-fitting slot in the stage, but the vehicle had to be rotated through 90 degrees as it was lowered -- and unfortunately it only made it to about 85 degrees.

The two Tap Dogs at the front of the vehicle unhooked the vehicle, even though it was apparent the base wasn't sitting in the slot for it. One of the Tap Dogs at the rear of the vehicle must have twigged that this just wasn't part of the plan when they rehearsed the routine, so the two blokes at the front had to re-fasten the chains to the base for the vehicle to be lifted again and lowered again -- into the recess in the stage this time. We've gotta say, they were dressed for the part of riggers, but the Tap Dogs definitely make better dancers.

But between the unforeseen dance debacle and the inclement weather for the event (journalists were ushered back onto the boat that took us across Sydney Harbour under cover of umbrellas), Ford may have already faced its hardest test for the new Ranger.

>> Temple of doom
At least one high-ranking member of staff at Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific admitted to being unimpressed by the styling of the new CLS. This gentleman, who showed particular candour -- but we won't drop him in it -- said in Sydney that he preferred the looks of the previous generation CLS. The styling of the new car, he suggested, has been informed by pedestrian safety -- and that is not a good thing in his opinion. Arguably though, if even Benz execs are polarised by the new car's styling, that's gotta be a good thing for the new model.

>> Blow out
Over at the Isuzu Ute stand, PR man Richard Power told the Carsales Network that Bruce Garland, had been let down -- so to speak -- by a string of tyre blowouts in the Australasian Safari last month. The run of bad luck for Garland and co-driver Harry Suzuki in their D-MAX effectively handed the event to Craig Lowndes on a platter, said Power. Garland's relationship with current tyre supplier Bridgestone is now believed to be in doubt for future events.

>> Off the podium
Subaru MD Nick Senior had some news of the disquieting kind -- for those who care about such things. Australia is about to relinquish its bronze-medal position on the podium in the Subaru Olympics. From next year, China will overtake Australia as Subaru's third-largest global market.

China's increasing importance in the Subaru world was first foreseen by Senior some time ago -- and it's a very positive outcome for the Japanese brand, not only for the substantial exports, but also the future-proofing of Subaru's unique formula of boxer engines and all-wheel drive. Senior told the Carsales Network around a year ago that China's enthusiasm for Subaru's products would result in sales growth there, but he also insinuated at the same time that Russia would be a larger market for Subaru in future. So the brand's global outlook is pretty positive, it seems.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...