Neutered muscle car, or the best of both worlds?

February 6, 2008 - By John LeBlanc

A couple of weeks ago (The Crank 102: The mouse speaks), I wrote that the new U.S. fuel regulations were putting a monkey wrench into General Motors’ plans to introduce rear-wheel-drive Chevrolet, Pontiac and Buick models.

This week, the Car Connection reported that the effects are spreading. Fast.

I drove Chevrolet’s dual-mode hybrid Tahoe before Christmas, and it seemed to me that it would be only a matter of time before that drivetrain ended up in one of the planned Zeta rear-wheel-drive models.

But I sure wasn’t expecting to read “hybrid” and “Camaro” in the same sentence.

GM says it isn’t only the brave new world of rules requiring a 6.7L/100 km fleet average that’s led to Chevy thinking of offering a neutered version of its iconic muscle car.

Now that the Pontiac G8 sedan and Camaro will be the only models sold here using GM’s rear-wheel drive platform, the lower-than-expected sales volumes mean GM is concerned the V8 Camaro's final price may be closer to the Corvette than anticipated.

And that doesn’t include any potential gas-guzzler taxes.

Fuel regs be damned: with so much hype to date (i.e., Transformers; serial auto show concepts; and daily spy shots on the buff blogs) there’s no way GM will kill the Camaro, set to debut in 2009.

But I’m already feeling sad for the first Camaro hybrid owner on cruise night when his new muscle car passes by silently, V8 rumble noticeably absent, running on battery power alone.

Ridgeline is the future: Who knew?

When Honda released its mid-size Ridgeline pickup in spring 2005, traditional pickup fans wrote it off as a truck for poseurs.

With its front-wheel-drive bias, no low range, no manual tranny, and non-traditional styling, some considered the Honda a few kegs short of being a real truck.

“Fine for city slickers who want to haul the kids to hockey practice or let the spouse pick up some gardening soil from Canadian Tire, but c’mon! It’s a toy!”

 But now, with many full-size pickup owners having a harder time rationalizing their large vehicles’ voracious appetite for costly fuel, Honda may be having the last laugh with its more efficient Ridgeline.

Especially if you believe that plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery.

First there was Dodge’s blatant Ridgeline rip-off, the Rampage concept truck from the 2006 Chicago auto show.

Then, from January’s Detroit show, Toyota’s A-BAT — a mixed bag of Ridgeline looks, Chevy Avalanche rear-bed ideas and a hybrid drivetrain from that most manly of vehicles, the Toyota Prius.

And now, we have GMC’s Denali XT, a five-passenger, car-based pickup concept, set to debut this week in Chicago.

The reality is, by the time its competitor’s copies come to market, Honda will more than likely have an improved next generation Ridgeline. Touché!



VW’s Phaeton follies: Part deux

File this under “fool me twice:”

In an interview with trade pub Automotive News, Stefan Jacoby, the CEO of Volkswagen of America, said it was a mistake to withdraw the brand’s ill-fated Phaeton luxobarge sedan from the North American marketplace (the big VW sedan continues in Europe.)

Introduced in late 2003 to go against such established nameplates as the Audi A8, Jaguar XJ, BMW 7 Series, Lexus LS460, and Mercedes-Benz S-Class in the US., VW sold fewer than 2,000 Phaetons in 2004, and in the two years following, never sold more than 1,000.

Even at its $100,000-plus price, built on the same platform as the A8 and Bentley Continental, the Phaeton was a pretty good deal.

As noted in the past (ad nauseum) problem was Phaeton customers had to share the same dealer experience as $15,000 Golf buyers.

Also remember, the Phaeton was born, in part, as a response to Mercedes-Benz’s decision to go downmarket and compete directly with VW with its bottom-feeder A-Class.

In other words: pure, automotive executive ego.

So if VW can't make money selling Golfs and Jettas and has quality control issues across the board, why would the German automaker even spend a nanosecond discussing a Phaeton sequel?

If a car buyer wants more luxury and prestige, isn’t that why Audi exists?

Just know that the to admit to a “mistake” in the German automotive exec ranks is about as rare as 60 cents per litre gas.

Expect to see the Phaeton again.

- John LeBlanc, Publisher