Servassist Blog

A Deafening Silence...

By now most people have seen the videos of various electric (or other non-combustion) cars taking to task representative rides from the likes of Ferrari and Porsche around some deserted parking lot or drag strip. Make no mistake about it, the delivery of power via electric motors, especially in the absence of torque-sapping transmissions, comes on much quicker than with a traditionally fired gas engine. Of course, it isn't just the electrics that are making news, Koenigsegg recently released details on their CCXR, arguably one of the most extreme super cars anywhere which, actually runs on E85...all 1,018 horsepower of it.

As a matter of fact, the quest for the fastest today isn’t as much about cars as it is simply an engineering feat that happens to take place on four wheels. What chemical reaction, alternative fuel or outright foreign propulsion you use to get said wheels turning faster than the next guy is really up to. Look at the vehicles making the rounds at the Top Gear test track, for example, and the resemblance to average road-going cars is absolutely laughable. Why manufacturers (and ultimately consumers) are so obsessed with performance gain is almost beside the point, it has been obvious since the beginning that the light bulbs that turned on in the engineers’ minds weren't always tinted green.

Either way, electric power will be a real game changer that has the ability to eventually cast obsolescence over all combustion technology. Just think of all of the futuristic movies, you don't see those non-descript bubble shapes sporting big blocks do you?

That brings up an interesting point, however. While we may have a consistent shape, it seems that there is some difference of opinion on the physical nature of personal transport in the decades to come. The movies set at some time in the future all seem to employ either floating (flying) cars, a la The Fifth Element, which in my opinion represents the absolute most liberal possible form of transportation, or the “track” vehicles a la The Minority Report that automatically follow a smart road like a cheap amusement park ride, to which I suspect I would not be the only one saying’ thanks, but I would prefer to walk.”

Because it will take several generations to finally give up the soul and personality a healthy V8 provides, the way companies approach new propulsion may make the difference in their success. Even today, appliance vehicles that you can’t even tell when they are running (even though they do like clockwork) are the ones we characterize as “soulless” and devoid of any interesting characteristics. OEMs should not underestimate how important the aural component of driving today is, which is something our current fleet does very well, but could easily go away with a move to more modern technologies. There just isn’t much to get excited about when driving a car that performs precisely like an overgrown golf cart, I don’t care how many cup holders and acres of leather it has or how quickly it can parallel park itself.

While some say the electric car was deliberately killed in some chain of orchestrated and calculated PR stunts, which at one point it probably was, I say you are going to have an even harder time pulling the masses away from that slight rumble, no matter how puny sometimes (sorry you four cylinder guys) and that slight vibration that comes from a turning engine at idle and ultimately that growl of exhaust highlighted by the mechanical twangs of a (gasp!) manually operated transmission.

Here’s to remaining cars that let you know you’re still alive.

Closed Course, Professional Driver, Do Not Attempt

We all see these notes, well, that is if we look hard enough and didn't Tivo through the commercials in the first place. The legal fine print of the auto industry is attached to every jaunt through the deserted downtown, high-speed drift across the Bonneville salt flats, and ridiculous truck show of strength challenge conducted on the very edge of some steep canyon.

To tell you the truth, I am not sure which is more alarming, the litigous state our society has become or the fact that there is a segment out there that actually needs the reminder that it probably isn't a good idea to race their friends through public parking garages like they were living out the next installment of Fast and the Furious.

While a few companies and their agencies may still try to deliver the message in the context of the much less glamorous "real-world" driving conditions, it seems like the majority would rather stick to the jaunt through the pristine forest, (rugged Hunting/Fishing scenario) or the even more popular race around some racetrack because we need those capabilities so often.

I am sure that any of one of the ad execs in charge of any of these campaigns will tell you that it isn't about selling a car as much as it is about selling a lifestyle. By making it look like you get the best parking lot in front of the restaurant or concert, spend everyday towing the boat to the lake with the family or get all the ladies by driving XYZ, they really appeal to the imagination more than anything else.

But I guess that is marketing 101.

Occasionally you might find a car going over a pothole, driving by a construction site or minivan dumping the entire team off at the field (why do the kids always play soccer?) but those "realistic" scenes are pretty limited. Relevance has never been a very effective seller, being able to pass Europe's fastest on the Nurbuergring in your SUV is.

Is it possible to spin sitting in traffic, gasing up, or getting banged around in the Target parking lot appealing to the masses? Probably not anytime soon, but "reality" has taken over the rest of the tv guide, maybe its only a matter of time before we see it in our commercials. Again, if you even watch them that is.

Who Moved My Crude?

OK, so as a species we are a bit more advanced than mice, well arguably anyway, but when you consider just how dependent we are on petroleum in our everyday lives, to suggest that we simply change direction and find a new propulsion (or heaven forbid a new energy source) makes hunting down a new source of cheese, seem like, well, a piece of cake.

The motivational parable, Who Moved My Cheese? featured, of course, four little critters of varying tolerance for change including Sniff, Scurry, Hem and Haw. Without getting bogged down in the details, the overall theme is particularly fitting for the current sea change in the automotive industry, to say the least.

You can learn an awful lot about an auto company in these times when not only has their cheese been moved, but they have basically just been diagnosed with the industry equivalent of lactose intolerance.

So who in the industry best characterizes a Sniff? or a Haw for that matter? Well, it actually isn’t as clear as one might think. Clearly a company like Toyota is seen as a “green” leader, but when you strip away all of the PR and the fluff, what is their real motivation?

Toyota has certainly brought Hybrid technology to mainstream America (for whatever that’s worth), but they aren’t afraid to use the technology to improve performance rather than improve mileage. And they seem to be more interested in putting celebrities in a Prius than trying to somehow counter industry reports that illustrate how driving a Hummer actually has less of an environmental impact than owning the celebmobile.

On the other hand, when faced with charges of strong arming the EPA, deliberately building gas-guzzlers and attempted stifling of CAFÉ standards, clearly the domestic brands are to auto-enviro-revolution what harpoons are to saving the whales. Having said that, however, a quick check of the GM balance sheet will likely indicate they have, in fact, spent more on developing hydrogen technologies to date than they have on killing the electric car (thanks in part to current exchange rates).

If ever there was a single brand that gets my vote for not only walking the walk, but also not talking the talk for the simple sake of selling a car to Leonardo di Caprio, is Honda Motor Car Company.

Honda has been at the efficiency game for as long as the domestics have been making trunks that will fit two sets of clubs and two bodies. Of all of the companies out there, I think Honda is the best positioned to roll with the punches of a radically changing environment (automotive and otherwise) and do it for the right reasons. Sure they aren’t shy about selling a lot of cars, but they also have had the most fuel efficient fleet for well, ever.

As a matter of fact, Honda has had a hybrid vehicle for so long that it has already been retired to make room for new generations.

So, hybrids, diesels, high efficiency combustion, hydrogen or pedal-power, not all companies are created equal when their bread & butter starts melting the ice caps and they are faced with checking out Rice w/Soy Sauce.

Do the Japanese even bother with a word for daily?