SMART FORTWO - REPLACING OUR LONG-TERMER ACROSS THE POND

Talk at GoodCarBadCar Towers has recently turned to a replacement for the 2009 smart fortwo long-term tester in our care. Oh, don't worry - it's a long way off. This conversation stems mainly from watching a few video test drives of the Toyota iQ, the future North American version of which will be named Scion iQ. The Good Car Girl is an absolute believer in the merits of small cars. Few larger vehicles of any kind even merit her consideration.

Still, the second long-term vehicle at GoodCarBadCar.net should be something unique, right? I mean, you start off with a smart car and switch to a.... Toyota Corolla? Gimme a break. If the goal is to share what life's like in a vehicle they haven't considered/want to consider/refuse to consider, what's the point in doing so in a vehicle they can find out about from thirteen of their neighbours?

Nevertheless, a few popular vehicles have crept into the discourse. Notably, the Jeep Wrangler, Hyundai Santa Fe, and Mini Cooper. Rather at odds with one another they may be, but each has their appeal. Jeeps are... well, Jeeps. The Wrangler has been a member of both The Good 12 Supersize and The Good 12 Supersize v2.0. The Good Car Girl had the privilege of running a Hyundai Santa Fe in the past and enjoyed it to the fullest. The official line from GoodCarBadCar.net has nothing against the wildly successful Korean SUV, either. Finally, the Mini Cooper is a long-time favourite; a member of The Good 12, The Good 12 v2.0, and The Good 12 v3.0.

A handful of future small cars attract attention, of course. The 2011 Ford Fiesta is a handsome hatchback (and an ugly sedan) with European driving manners and available SYNC. General Motors previewed the 2011 Chevrolet Aveo with the aggressive Aveo RS concept in Detroit. Sharing a platform with the Fiesta, the 2011 Mazda 2 is attractive, light, and unpretentious. Won't we be seeing a Volkswagen Polo before long? That could be a good thing. Then there are really small cars like the Volkswagen up! and Scion iQ and Mitsubishi i. Don't forget the smart fortwo electric drive, a very interesting proposition.

But what if we weren't restricted to models in the North American Marketplace? What if we could go Across The Pond and bring something back free from tariffs and surcharges and duty? Put another way, how do you replace a smart fortwo in Europe? In that case, the vehicles you'll see after the jump would be strong contenders as replacements for the first long-term tester at GoodCarBadCar.net.

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CITROEN DS3: More of a competitor for the Mini Cooper than other similarly-sized hatches in Europe, the DS3 is uniquely French both inside and out. Citroen calls the DS3 "anti-retro". I think you know who they're referencing with that tagline. (Check out images in the slideshow below.)

FIAT PANDA 100HP: Mentioned time after time on GCBC, the Panda is basically a more practical version of the modern Fiat 500. In 100HP form, the Panda whistles down backroads like a nimble hot hatch. But this hot hatch is priced like a modest city car. £11,005 is less than a base Citroen DS3.

FORD KUGA: What the future holds for the Kuga in North America we can't be absolutely sure, but Europeans can have it now. Priced from a faintly eye-watering £21,503 in the UK (probably $24,500 in the U.S. to be honest), the Kuga isn't a budget mini-SUV but a viable family car with tall car ambitions. And it looks really good.

HONDA CIVIC: Hold on a second, the Honda Civic you drive ain't nothin' like the Honda Civic they drive. Unless you drive a Civic Hybrid, in which case their Honda Civic Hybrid is identical. Instead, take for example a basic Honda Civic 3-door hatchback, a car not offered to North Americans in eons. Shaped like nothing else Honda's done in North America ever, the Honda Civic hatchback enjoyed by inhabitants of the rest of the world is strikingly modern and available with a 2.2L diesel. They call it the i-CTDi. It generates 138 horsepower and 251 lb-ft of torque and would likely achieve somewhere around 42 miles per gallon in typical driving on our side of the pond. 




Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
LBS/BHP - Smart Fortwo vs Other Cars
The Good 12 v3.0 Part X - Smart Fortwo
Top 5 Bad Smart Fortwo Facts
Smart Fortwo 3 To Beat
2009 Smart Fortwo Pure - Driven

FORD TAURUS ALTERNATIVES ACROSS THE POND

After reviewing the 2010 Ford Taurus SEL AWD for GoodCarBadCar.net, my curiousity was piqued on numerous levels. Concluding that the Taurus's innards were recompense reward for its gargantuan dimensions ended the question of how people live with the problem of finding a garage big enough to hold it. Realizing that people of my generation don't need to buy the Taurus to like the Taurus; and that people of my generation liking the Taurus (even without buying it) is a very good thing for Ford helped allay my concerns over a name that is not well spoken of.

With those wonderings settled, I was left to muse upon one other stupefaction. If you wanted a Taurus but couldn't have one, what would you be left with as alternatives? Take money out of the equation, because you can afford it. Remove age from the debate, since you're over 40. That leaves geography as a reason for your lack of Taurus purchasability. You, yes you, live in Europe.

Here, then, are a handful of Ford Taurus alternatives available only Across The Pond.

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CITROEN C6: Nobody actually buys a large French car. That doesn't stop Renault, Peugeot, or Peugeot partner Citroen from releasing a new model every now and then. The C6 happens to be one of The Good Car Guy's 100 Favourite Cars, and to the best of my knowledge, that hasn't helped sales either. Its strange concave rear window, relexed demeanor, and punchy diesels would make the C6 feel about as different from the Ford Taurus as the Taurus is different from the Crown Victoria. Rumour has it that sales of the C6 in Germany, a fairly crucial market, have been about ten times smaller than Citroen had hoped would be the case. Were the Citroen C6 available in America, its pricing would likely overlap with the Taurus Limited and Taurus SHO while placing a greater emphasis on luxury.

Perfect American Owner: Gwyneth Paltrow

SKODA SUPERB: Volkswagen's Czech subsidiary has done a good job modifying the Passat platform. The styling is conservative; the design of the rear end revolutionary; the desirability factor negligible. However, Skoda is all about screaming value. A Skoda Superb kitted out with a corncucopia of luxury fittings and all the fuel economy you'd expect of a large all-wheel drive V6 sedan wouldn't be likely to surpass . Sales of the Superb in the UK in 2009 will be hard-pressed to be as high as Taurus sales in one good month in the U.S.

Perfect American Owner: An MIT Physics Professor

FORD S-MAX: Clearly not a large sedan - not even large in comparison to America's "mini"vans - the S-Max is a gorgeous MPV with dynamic talent and available turbocharged power. In Europe, flocks of former mainstream car buyers have turned to niche products. Many of those products are low-powered luxury-badged cars, others are MPVs like the S-Max or Renault Scenic, while more still are crossovers like the Ford Kuga or tall six-passenger hatches like the Honda FR-V and Fiat Multipla. The S-Max is a great way to find the space you need without sacrificing the style that, if lacking, could make you look a little too footballer's mum. Pricing sneaks in below the Taurus level. Sales figures are split amongst many Ford alternatives like the Focus wagon, C-Max, and Galaxy.

Perfect American Owner: Brad Pitt

100 FAVOURITE CARS - PART IV

Problems immediately arise when kicking off one's 100 Favourite Cars list. The Good Car Guy has always said that GoodCarBadCar.net represents a new generation of first-time new car buyers. How? It helps to be part of that generation, for starters. Of course, we Generation Y kids love modern cars. Looking back with the help of 67-year old automotive journalists to cars that make outdoor appearances only at Pebble Beach and Christie's auctions just ain't our thing, right? (Don't forget to make way for the Bugatti T35, natch.)

Regardless, young readers be wondering, "What's so great about the Integra GS-R?" while older readers are surely thinking, "He forgot the BMW M1". Nope, these are just my 100 Favourite Cars - this ain't a democracy and I don't have to care what you think. Submit your list in the comment section. The slideshow below has cars 31-40.

CHEVROLET CORVETTE (C3): Check out that bulging hood. C3 Vettes might have been strangled by emission regulations, but there was that hood.

CHEVROLET CORVETTE (C5): All of a sudden the outgoing C4 looked like it was from another era. Which it was. More importantly, the C5 was world-class and stinkin' fast.

CHEVROLET CORVETTE (C6): All of a sudden the outgoing C5 drove like it was from another era. For some of us, it was too bad that pop-up headlamps had to go. The C6 goes too.... like stink.

CHEVROLET NOMAD ('57): Some people these days think the current Malibu looks good. It surely couldn't spawn a wagon like the Nomad; a car that made a lot of suburban late 50s mothers look good.

CHEVROLET SUBURBAN: Roundly criticized for being gargantuan guzzlers, the Suburban defends itself as one of the most capable family vehicles on the planet.

CITROEN C6: Any car with a concave rear windshield deserves attention. Conveniently, there's plenty that's normal about the C6 to mate with its extraordinarily odd everything else.
DODGE RAM (BR/BE): Oh, so trucks are supposed to be styled and interiors are intended for life; not pain infliction? Thank-you, Dodge.
FARBIO GTS: Arash Farboud saw no need for anything outlandish. Classy looks, slick dynamics, and impressive straight line pace nets admirers.

FERRARI 250 GTL BERLINETTA LUSSO: If any Ferrari today appeared to be going after Aston Martin, we'd be horrified. The 250 GTL was all Ferrari, with a hint of Britain.
FERRARI 360 MODENA: Allegedly, Aston Martin drove the 360 Modena and came up with the "Power, Beauty, Soul" thing they use on their cars. This list is done alphabetically. Otherwise....

100 FAVOURITE CARS

1-10

11-20

21-30

41-50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91-100

GALLERY - CITROEN DS INSIDE CONCEPT PREVIEWS CITROEN DS3 - 10 PICTURES

Different Spirit is on its way back at Citroen, one half of the Peugeot Citroen (PSA) group in France. Customers around the world, even in North America, would remember the DS of the 50s, 60s, and 70s. DS will again take on significance as an upmarket Citroen, but this time, it'll be x3. 

The first signal we receive is the DS Inside concept. Likely to become the DS3, the Inside concept looks likely to compete as a handsome upmarket small hatchback. One would assume the Mini Cooper or Alfa Romeo MiTo are ideal competitors. Citroen normally undercuts the competition regardless of the market region.

Expect concepts leading towards the DS4 and DS5 to debut soon. Check out all ten pictures of this lightly-conceptualized DS Inside below.

NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE: CITROEN BERLINGO MULTISPACE & 60 PHOTOS

The possible sighting of this vehicle in North America is so verily impossible that I dare suggest it is unimaginable. Citroen hasn't competed on in Canada or the USA for decades and apart from its PSA partner, Peugeot, selling scooters in the near future, nothing Citroenesque appears to be forthcoming.

So take a minute to enjoy the unimaginable. I mean, try to imagine it.... just for a second. Sitting in your Camry at a red light, a two-box 'car' with strangely-contoured windows pulls up beside you. The driver is wearing a beret and his kerchief is large underneath a velvet blazer. (The windows are huge - you can see the blazer.) You're so terribly freaked out by this heretofore unseen vehicle that you prod the throttle a little, hoping to show this dude a thing or two. He looks your way and smirks; not at your temerity but at your wastefulness. Then it is he who remembers that, sacrebleu, gasoline is only $1.50/gallon in parts of Kansas and those crazy Americans can be as wasteful as they want.

(Read other Across The Pond articles here)

Finally, you roast him away from the lights. The best-selling car in America is available with 268 horsepower after all. He has 4.75 ponies on his side. I jest, he probably has 90 bhp under the hood. Nevertheless, your problem is that you absolutely murdered something in a drag race so resoundingly that you don't even know what it is you beat. The beret-wearing dude was driving a Citroen Berlingo Multispace.

This Citroen shares much with the C4 Picasso, a car The Good Car Guy labelled as one of the Top 5 cars for the next Pope-mobile. The new Berlingo Multispace is slightly larger than before (24cm longer, 8cm wider) which makes the BM even better at what it does best: make space for people, their pets, and their stuff. It suits some consumers' needs to a T and does so extraordinarly cheaply. "It's a good car, the Berlingo. And in these difficult times, it makes even more sense than usual," Jeremy Clarkson said. In fact, the Berlingo Multispace is even a bit fun to drive they say. The full 60 photo gallery is below.

THE UGLY... FROM THE 2008 PARIS AUTO SHOW

The good and the bad have already been declared. We're only discussing previously un-seen-at-GCBC cars from the Paris auto show currently underway. Audi and Renault snuck cars into the good, Lexus and Peugeot forced cars into the bad. Nissan and Renault are found in the weird department.

Now for another French automaker. Citroen's GT Concept is a stunner. Visually dramatic. Long; low; and lean like a Bugatti Veyron. Unlike anything else available.

But placed beside an Aston Martin DBS, Lamborghini Murcielago, Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, Porsche Carrera GT, or even a Bentley Continental GT, the Citroen is, dare I say it, ugly.

That's not to say the Citroen deserves to be considered bad. To put it simply, good is the opposite of bad; good can't be ugly; but ugly is not the twin of bad. I even sort of like the Citroen GT Concept. It is, after all, unlike anything else. But pretty, handsome, beautiful, cute, or lovely? No. It's ugly. 

In a similar vein, the Mazda Kiyora Concept has unique elements and impressive angles. All-around, however, the Mazda Kiyora is a letdown, especially compared with some earlier like-minded Mazdas like the Riyuga or Taiki.The Kiyora designers stuck with a theme. Everything sweeps. Rather, almost everything. The Kiyora looks pudgy and the aftertaste is somewhat Mazda-of-the-90s. That's not good, it's not bad. It's just ugly.

CARS OF CANDIDATES

The Associated Press has collected some info on the past and present vehicles of presidential candidates. It's easy to find the car lovers amongst them - those who don't know an inline-4 from a V8 - and those who must have at least modicum of taste.

Hillary first drove a '62 Olds Cutlass. Sneak a peek or more thru Bill or Hillary's autobiographies, and you soon discover that they either love cars or remember them well. Mrs. Clinton is now, of course, driven in many'a Secret Service vehicle, although she makes note of a "Ford hybrid."

As does John Edwards, in addition to an '04 Chrysler Pacifica (indiciating the value of John's vehicle is equivalent to the price of one haircut) and a 13-year old GMC pickup. John's first car was a Plymouth Duster. Bill Richardson drove a used Mustang in a former day, but enjoys his Jeep Wrangler now. Barack Obama makes use of a Chrysler 300C, but once "extensively" used his grandfather's Ford Granada.

Giuliani? "I don't drive. I navigate." Sure, Rudolph. He drove a used Dodge whilst newly licensed. A little more specificity, please.

John McCain knows where it's at. The Arizona Senator drove a 1958 Corvette but has a Cadillac CTS now. Good job, John. Mitt Romney drove a 2-year old American Motors Rambler Classic in 1965 when he went to college. Mitt, who was involved in a head-on crash in France while driving a Citroen DS in 1968, has possession of an '05 Ford Mustang Convertible and a '62 Rambler American.

Fred Thompson speaks about an old red pickup. Fred hasn't elaborated yet. Mike Huckabee used to be the driver of a Mercury Montego but makes use of two Chevrolet's now: an '07 Tahoe and a '95 Silverado.

What have we learned? Unless some of these cars are using base V6's instead of the implied V8's, the candidate's vehicles likely contribute to an average of 16/21mpg, city/highway.

Keep talking, guys. Gimme all that ethanol and biofuel and dependency on foreign oil stuff.

CAR DESIGN PART I

So all the AutoCAD has got you down. Car styling ain't what it used to be. I remember when every new model year meant significant changes, say you. They didn't used to explain why it looked good, you just knew when you laid eyes on the car, say others.

Well, I wondered. And I wondered. And I wondered some more. And then I edited some pictures to (mainly) show the profile of a dozen or more vehicles. Plenty of people suggest that a typical midsize sedan, especially those built in Japan or America, or just carbon copies. The designer of the Nissan 350Z said, on that car's debut, that a car's design impact derives from a singular profile line.

I'm going to show you the profiles of multiple "family" cars, all priced under $30,000. Then you can look at the profiles of multiple mid-engined, high-dollar sports cars. Where has design evolved the most? Where has modernity struck heaviest? Who designs with cookie cutters? Which design group resides 'in the box'? Does anybody?

INEXPENSIVE FAMILY VEHICLES

MID-ENGINED SPORTS CARS

From the top: Citroen C5, Nissan Altima, Ford Mondeo, Honda Accord, Saturn Astra, Koenigsegg CCX and Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera.

NEW CITROEN C5 - A Dud No Longer

In 2006, the Citroen C4 was named the World Car Design of the Year. Meanwhile, in other corners of the showroom, (hopefully tucked well away) was the larger C5. The C5 appeared a few years before the C4 and appeared more deserving of a Buick badge circa 1995. Dull and inoffensive to the degree that it was offensive.

Then along came the C6, Citroen's take on the larger executive car market. The C6, with its concave rear window and odd curves, is bound to offend some. For those tired of the typical German and Japanese luxomobiles, the Citroen makes a great choice. It was, and still is, a striking machine.

Yet tucked away in the back corner was one of Citroen's more mainstream competitors, the C5. Dull and inoffensive to the degree that it was, indeed, offensive. Slow, too.

There's a new C5 coming, and it's nearly as striking as the C6; perhaps equally so. It's curious to think that Citroen's PSA partner, Peugeot, designed the disturbing 407 and its Dodge Ram-worthy grille. Behold and believe. T

The new C5 can be seen below (wagon above), with the older version making what we hope is its last GoodCarBadCar appearance below the new. Oh, there'll be new engines and some great tech, including Citroen's Hydractive self-leveling suspension. At this point I care not one whit. Citroen's rarely rank high on the thrill-o-meter and besides, they're not available on this side of the Atlantic. But for those of you in France, give my congratulations to Citroen for putting the chic back in the C5.

PEUGEOT, MERCEDES, BMW RUMOURS?

Rumour: a statement or report current without known authority for its truth.

There is some suggestion that Mercedes and BMW could share architecture for the next Mini and Mercedes-Benz B-class. Add PSA Peugeot/Citroen to the mix with the next C4. Or, better yet, chuck the two German automakers in with the French for a tiny city car, probably cheaper than anything available right now in North America. One BMW board member did admit that none of this could happen between rivals like BMW and Mercedes "...at the expense of either brand's core values." BMW and Mercedes can already be found labouring together with General Motors to further their hybrid and diesel technology.

The latest rumour involving Peugeot, BMW, and M-B concerns an engine alliance. The 4-cylinder you know from the new Mini (itself a BMW-owned brand) is the same one you would see in Peugeot's 207. That 4-cylinder is much smoother and more refined than the engine the previous Mini four that BMW shared with Chrysler.

One French high-value automaker and two rival luxury car companies from Germany. Strange mates.

CITROEN'S C-CACTUS - Frankfurt Auto Show

Could the C-Cactus be a future Citroen product? Well, probably not for us North Americans, considering Citroen's absence from our marketplace. But even if the C-Cactus concept doesn't appear as a production vehicle in Europe and the rest of the planet, much of its design and ideology will.



The C-Cactus shares with its namesake a "reputation for low consumption." Ha. Good stuff. It's four-cylinder diesel-hybrid would likely achieve 69mpg in the real world. Interesting elements abound on this funky machine. The headlamps and taillamps are held in the exact same mouldings, and in fact, the front and rear fascias are interchangeable. Sounds gimmicky? Not really. It's one way of building cheap. The dashboard has gone AWOL; the steering wheel hub holds the info which would have been displayed elsewhere. Gimmick? No, just building cheaply. That stuff'll save you money too, mind. This Cactus would cost you only as much as a basic Citroen C4.