HI JAGUAR. BREATHE EASY, ALFIERI IS DELAYED!

Pitched squarely at Jaguar’s F-Type, the Maserati Alfieri 2+2 has apparently been put on hold, indefinitely, so the British carmaker can relax – for now.

Following its debut in Geneva 2014, the Alfieri, which is based on a Ghibli platform, but offering V8 power, was supposed to be formally announced in 2016, for production in 2017.

However, as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is heavily mired in ever-growing debt, and the Chinese GT market has plateaued, it seems Maserati does not have an appetite for risk.

The Alfieri was supposed to come with a 460hp V8, plus a V6 producing either 303hp or 404hp – all with the transaxle from the Granturismo and carbon ceramic brakes. The weight target was 1400kg, which would make it a definite threat to the Jaguar F-type and Porsche 911.

Named after one of the original Maserati brothers, the Alfieri was designed by FIAT's Lorenzo Ramaciotti.

However, if you had your pen poised over your checkbook, then put it away. The wait is on.

Maybe we’ll see it after Sr. Marchionne refinances some of those huge loans.

FORD SHUTTLES THE DECK

Ford became the first US carmaker to buy into the mass transit business last week, when it acquired the San Francisco-based shuttle bus company, Chariot, for USD$65 million.

Currently Chariot operates 14-seat shuttle buses along 25 defined routes in the San Francisco Bay area which commuters can ride during office hours. You hail a bus by using the Chariot app on your mobile phone.

The commuter shuttle start-up commenced business in 2014, and the Mayor of San Francisco, Edwin Lee,  is one of its strongest backers, and has convinced the Mayors of nearby cities to embrace the concept. With Ford's acquisition, Chariot, plans to expand to more US cities.

Why is a carmaker buying up a commuter bus company? Ford CEO Mark Fields says it's good business for Ford, by diversifying its business model. No doubt, it will also sell quite a few shuttle buses rolling off the Ford production lines too.

In addition to the shuttle bus company, Ford also announced a deal with a company called Mobility, to provide rent-a-bike operations, alongside Chariot buses.

(Photos: businessinsider.com)

THE FIRST CAR CONUNDRUM

DRIVING & LIFE talks a lot about choices, but sometimes that leaves people with more complex decisions.

When I write about design, fuel efficiency, cost-benefit ratios and value for money I usually get a lot of emails asking for me to make a choice, of cars, for the writers.

This is an especially difficult issue for first time buyers, and also, as I found out this week for young people concerned about the impact of their choice of car on the environment.

Whilst having my eyes tested by Stephanie, a switched-on 20+ year old, she asked some very intelligent questions about what she should buy.

We talked about 'apparently' eco-friendly cars like electric cars and hybrids, but when I explained that the 'cradle-to-the-grave' carbon footprint between, say, a petrol car, versus a hybrid, was four times greater for the hybdrid, her next question was very sensible:

"What car can I buy that doesn't do as much environmental damage, but still gives me personal freedom?"

The summation wasn't very difficult. She needs a small car with good fuel economy, which is cheap to build and buy, is therefore cost-efficient, cheap to service, and at the end of its life is relatively easy to recycle sensibly.




I told her the answer probably was a Suzuki Swift.

Suzuki is an incredibly smart, environmentally-conscious, and efficient car maker.

I admire how Suzuki creates its cars, which is very important given its dominance in third world environments, where it sells a LOT of cars.







There's much more to environmentally-sensitive car design than you may think at first. If you really care about it, remember to ask the question: "What's the environmental (carbon) footprint, from cradle to grave?"

The fact is carmakers are getting very clever about making highly fuel-efficient, environmentally-friendly petrol engines. There's a lot of life in the internal combustion engine yet, despite the advance of electric, hybrid, fuel-cell and other technologies.

If you're weighing up the options today, a car like the Suzuki Swift is a good choice. And, no, I didn't get a kickback from Suzuki - to me, it's just a commonsense analysis.

CAR OF THE YEAR - IS IT REALLY A BIG DEAL?

Every year brings a flood of Car of the Year winners.

Some awards seem to have a prize for everyone, like a Steiner School where participation is more important than winning.

The biggest gong (in Australia) is the one from WHEELS magazine, which is approaching its 60^th anniversary in an ongoing tribute to the man who set the ball rolling, Bill Tuckey.

The WHEELS award still means plenty, especially to car company CEOs, who love having one of the good looking trophies – designed by quirky Paul Cockburn, who was also responsible for the Eveready Dolphin torch – on the wall of their office.

But it’s been overtaken by contests including the Best Cars awards, which has winners in a wide range of categories all decided by the country’s motoring/road service clubs using facts-and-figures as much as driver ratings.

What about the smaller gongs, like the ones done by the rival media organisations including www.drive.com.au, www.caradvice.com.au, www.carsales.com.au, and News Limited through its Carsguide sub-brand?

“We all want to have our say. And we all think what we have to say is important, particularly for new-car buyers,” says Paul Gover, chief reporter of Carsguide and the man who established its COTY contest – originally known as the Star Car – 20 years ago.

Looking at the Carsguide winner for 2016, the Volkswagen Tiguan, raises far more questions than answers.

What was it up against? And, why did it win?

First the 10 contenders:

Abarth 124, Audi A4, Ford Focus RS, Holden Astra, Honda Civic, Jaguar F-Pace, Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-9, Mercedes-Benz E300 and Volkswagen Tiguan.

So how did the VW Tiguan beat some of these excellent cars for the Gold Cup? My friend Paul Gover explains:

“Our first job at the end of each year is to cull the contenders to 10 finalists. Lots of other awards waste time with a bunch of cars that are never going to make the finals, so we do that before we begin.

"This time around we managed to get the Holden (Opel) Astra into the judging at the last minute and I took a quick trip to Melbourne to assess the new Mercedes E300, which looked a stronger contender – despite a higher price – than the E200.

Mercedes-Benz E300 - a surprising last place !

“We have a test course near Bowral in the Southern Highlands of NSW and we drive the 10 finalists back-to-back for as long as it takes.

"Sometimes I can scratch a car in less than 10km, but in 2015 I needed a second go at Kia Sorento and Benz GLC on the final morning. And, it went to Kia, because it was actually more comfortable on the toughest strip of gnarly bitumen on the test course.

“This year, our Carsguide judging panel boasted more than 100 years of combined experience on the motoring beat, and our mantra for the award is ‘Real cars, real roads, real people’. When you keep coming back to that touchstone it’s relatively easy to get a result – the right result – fairly quickly.

“Our Carsguide COTY went to the Tiguan despite the ‘dieselgate’ controversy because we were judging the car, not the company. For the money, in one of the toughest showroom classes, the Tiguan emerges as an affordable, quiet, comfortable and safe SUV that does what the majority of Australian motorists want.

"I was really surprised when the E300 landed in last place after all the judges voted!

“To be honest, I wasn’t surprised when Drive, the Fairfax motoring arm, also chose the Tiguan as their COTY winner for 2016. We’re both mainstream media organisations who target real-world car buyers, not enthusiasts, and try to make their lives easier”.

FIRST MILE/LAST MILE - THE REAL CHALLENGE AHEAD FOR CARMAKERS

What is the ‘Death Star’ scenario for carmakers? People stop buying cars!

It isn’t happening, yet! But, folks, the signs are starting to appear.

When I first went to live in America, Los Angeles represented everything you needed to know about ‘The Car in America’. California was an activist state when it came to improving fuel economy, getting cleaner air, and introducing ‘lemon laws’ to protect consumers.

As far as the car companies were concerned, California, and Los Angeles in particular, were where the trends started. Los Angelinos wanted the newest, the best, the most innovative, and the trendiest.

For the customers, it was simple, whatever was the latest thing would come to California first. Whether it was chromed alloy wheels, tail fins, or 8-track stereo, Californians were (at) the leading edge.

Now, a new trend is starting in the Golden State – people are learning to do without cars!

Sacré bleu!

The City of Los Angeles is extending branch lines for its Light Rail and commuter bus routes. The route maps are beginning to look like spidery fingers reaching out to what were previously considered far-flung burbs.

The trend to public transport uptake is being led by under 30s who are finding they can get by without a car.

The challenge is summed up in a new term First Mile/Last Mile.

How do people deal with the distance between their home and urban mass transit; and the distance from the end-of-the-line, to their place of work? What fills the gap are mass transport solutions – QED; no car needed for the daily commute.

How can the car companies find answers to this new trend? 

They’re working on it.

Believe me, they are really working on how they can remain relevant.

General Motors has acquired LYFT, which is basically an UBER clone. 

Ford Motor Company is forging ahead with autonomous cars.

Intel and Delphi are working with Audi for a test fleet of self-driving cars in Singapore.

Ford’s plans are probably the wildest.

It’s working on cars with no pedals and no steering wheel, which are essentially just a ride-hailing service!

It's now being tested in Pittsburgh.

Many crowded European cities already offer loads of mass transit options, but anything that reduces the number of cars on the roads would push regulators to embrace this model.

Clearly, the proliferation of these developments suggests people will gain the freedom to choose NOT to have their own car!