AutoZine Blog

Some time ago our reader Tony Segreto sent AutoZine a new logo designed by himself. Wow…. what do yo think ?

This must be the world’s ugliest engine. Instead of showing the all-alloy architecture of the engine, it chose to hide completely underneath a flat and black plastic cover. So, what is this car? The answer is the new Jaguar XKR.

In the past 8 and a half years, I have written over a thousand articles for AutoZine, all were about cars and technologies but none of them talked about my readers - You. So this time let me put you in the limelight. For easier identification, I will call you Robert in this article.

2006-03-07

Mark Wan

Note: The editorial is reproduced from the March 7, 2006 Issue of AutoZine. All Rights Reserved.

The arrival of Mitsubishi i (or iCar for European market) reminds me the trend of rear engines might return - and I will be glad to see that. You might remember many of the world’s best selling car in the past were driven by rear-mounted engines, such as Volkswagen Beetle, Fiat 500 and Fiat 126. But the rear-engine era was ended by Sir Issigonis’s Mini, whose transversely-mounted front engine and front-wheel drive layout was even more space efficient. Moreover, placing more weight to the front instead of the rear can make the car “safer” to handle, because it is more likely to understeer rather than oversteer. Since the 70s, the automotive world has been dominated by FF cars.

2005-11-15

Mark Wan

Note: The editorial is reproduced from the November 15, 2005 Issue of AutoZine. All Rights Reserved.

Just back from a trip to Tokyo. Although the weather is so-so and could not see the peak of Mt. Fuji because of cloudy sky, I still enjoyed the journey. Contrary to my believe, the new generation of Japanese is not all that obedient. Smoking while walking on the street (which is illegal there) and crossing roads at red traffic light are not uncommon scene in Tokyo today. However, drivers are mostly patient and careful, rarely found speeding or overtaking dangerously.

2005-09-29

Mark Wan

Note: The editorial is reproduced from the September 29, 2005 Issue of AutoZine. All Rights Reserved.

The 6th Anniversary of AutoZine has slipped away silently last month. I took this opportunity to look back what I have done. Browsed through the “Inspiration” section, I am amazed how I could write those interesting articles. If I were to write now, I’m afraid I could not write this good. Sometimes the accumulation of experience isn’t necessarily good. Observing as an outsider, a freshman may bring better idea. Also, when you spent too much time immersing in the sea of automotive information, you will get tired and lost. That makes me miss the years when the automotive world was fresh to me….

I can’t remember how I started getting in love with cars. It seems that before my first reading of car magazines I was already interested in cars. I have a few matchbox model cars, the earliest one as I remember was a De Tomaso Mangusta, when I was about 4. Of course, as a kid I knew nothing about its identity or Giugiaro or Ford 289cu V8. The basic instinct of all boys and men just told me it looked awesome, and then I love it. Just as simple as that.

As my poor family and relatives didn’t own any cars, my contact with cars was limited to “eye-contact”. One day, a very low, very sleek red car flashed in front of me. “Ferrari !!!” my elder brother shout. Since then, I knew those low, sleek and red things are called Ferrari. But that logic doesn’t work sometimes, as a few years later I found my classmate confused a red MR2 with Ferrari. He insisted the “low, sleek and red thing” must be a Ferrari.

I think I was quite lucky to live in the countryside of Hong Kong. My house was just beside the road to country park, where many expensive cars passed through during weekends and Sundays. Without money to buy TV games, I and my younger brother usually spent a Saturday or Sunday afternoon watching cars at the balcony. We learned how to distinguish the exhaust note of a 911 Carrera, 911 Turbo and 928. But I was more interested in rarer cars. Whenever I saw Ferrari, Maserati, Alpine GTA, TVR and Lamborghini I would get excited, noted down in my record sheets. The rarest one I saw was probably a 650hp Koenig Ferrari 512BB Twin-Turbo, only 4 units existed then. The one I saw had just competed in the Macau supercar race a week ago. 

Talking about racing, we were usually disturbed by illegal street racing. In most Saturday nights, local people raced their outdated but converted Corolla, Celica and Civic on the road in front of our house. So loud that everybody woke up at mid-night. But one day the storming noise arrived at early morning of Sunday. From my bed I heard it was a 911, then another 911, then…. I rushed to the balcony and saw a “millionaire street racing” ! a dozen minutes later these cars came back - still in racing - a 911 Turbo in front, followed by a classic 911 RS 2.7, then a Carrera, a 935-style slant-nose Turbo, a 944 Turbo, a red Lamborghini Countach QV, a red and a white Ferrari Testarossa, a 308 or 328 GTB…. the last one was a Mazda 323 4WD 1.6 Turbo. They had just passed through a police station but no one stopped them. That’s an exciting morning, anyway.

From this supercar race I learned something: 1) in real world Porsche 911 is quicker than those big Lamborghini and Ferrari. 2) The 911 RS 2.7 - born in the same year as I was - was something unusual. Or maybe its driver was superior. Of course, now I know the answer is the former.

Apart from near the main road, my house was also very close to a garage doing restoration of classic cars. It was owned by a British guy and we knew some of its staffs. There were a lot of Jaguars and MG parked outside the garage, but my favorites were the E-Type and Lotus Esprit S1. I loved their pure shape. You don’t need a preacher like Chris Bangle to tell you how beautiful they are. Everybody can tell their beauty by simply basic instinct. Today’s cars can never replicate their success. 

When you know little about cars, everything seems so interesting because a piece of new continent is lying in front of you for exploring. The same cannot be said today….
Mark Wan

Note: The editorial is reproduced from the October 2003 Issue of AutoZine. All Rights Reserved.

Last month, the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, Anthony Leung, lost his job because of his purchase of a Lexus LS430.

Mr. Leung was once the favourite political star in the Hong Kong government, thanks to his young and intelligent image and his sudden marriage with a famous 2-time Olympic gold medallist of diving, Ms. Fu Ming Xia. Mr. Leung was even tipped as one of the hottest candidates for the next Chief Executive, until he was hit by the Lexus incident.

In February this year, the financial secretary and his wife gave birth to a little baby. He found there was a need to buy a car suitable for taking his wife and baby. Being an ex-banker, money is no problem. His own daily transport is a Porsche 996 Carrera, which is of course unsuitable for this task. His other car is a Lexus LX470 luxurious off-roader, which he considered has a floor too high for his wife and baby to get abroad and off. Therefore he decided to buy a proper luxurious sedan. 

Having tested a Mercedes-Benz E320 but could not have the desired color without waiting for next shipment, he went to the Lexus showroom and ended up with a LS430. Job done. A new father with a beautiful wife and a baby, a 911, a Lexus and a luxury SUV, a fortune enough for the rest of his life, a bright future for his political career. Everything seemed perfect…. until March.

In March, the financial secretary announced a new financial plan for the new financial year, which focused on reducing government spending and increasing income to counter the red figures. Among all increase of taxation, the most spectacular is the registration tax for cars. Expensive cars like Mercedes S-class would be taxed for up to 150% of the net price. For example, a Ferrari 360 Modena used to be sold at HK$2 million or US$260,000 (which was already expensive due to the already high taxation). According to the new taxation it will be priced closer to HK$3 million or US$400,000. 

The new taxation was scheduled to be effective in April. A powerful local newspaper discovered that Mr. Leung registered a new Lexus LS430 just one month ago. That means, he saved around US$20,000. In theory, Mr. Leung should have already planned for the increase of taxation when he bought the car.
 
Mr. Leung denied the speculation that he use his position to earn for his own good and explained that he was just too busy for his new baby and forgot to be careful for this sensitive issue. However, his honesty was in doubt by the public, especially after some meeting records were leaked from his political enemy inside the government which proved that someone else already reminded him to report for any conflict of interest.

In the July 1st big protest, half a million of Hong Kong people roared against the Tung Chee Hwa government for his series of misadministration and how he pushed the legislation of the National Security Law. Many people also accused Anthony Leung’s refusal to resign. 

On July 16, Mr. Leung finally resigned to save the government and the Chief Executive (at least for now). On the same day, the government official responsible for promoting the National Security Law, the Secretary for Security, Mrs Regina Ip, also resigned. The people won.

Strangely, Mrs. Ip’s daily transport is also a 996 Carrera. Maybe next time those who hate Mr. Tung can consider to give him a 996 Carrera as a present, the sooner the better.
Mark Wan

Note: The editorial is reproduced from the August 2003 Issue of AutoZine. All Rights Reserved.

On 16 June, Ford celebrated its 100th Anniversary. More than 100,000 people attended a big party held in its Headquarters in Detroit. A total of 100 historic models, one car each year, from the first Model A of 1903 to the latest Ford GT of 2003 were displayed there. Dancing and singing, wine and beer filled all over the party, eclipsing the worrying sales figures and pessimistic future lying ahead. Yes, Ford Motor Company is declining.

First of all, its status as the world’s second-largest car maker will be substituted by Toyota in 2004. Last year, Ford’s production dropped by 0.5% to 6.97 million units while Toyota jumped by 7.9% to 6.31 million units. This year, its American market share will continue to slide as a result of the Japanese attack as well as the aggressive discount by GM. More worrying is that the high-profit heavy truck market, which used to be dominated by the Big Three, is now being eaten by Japanese car makers. For example, Toyota and Nissan are introducing V8-powered trucks for the first time in the USA. As Ford is the current sales leader in both the SUV segment (Explorer) and the truck segment (F-series), it will also suffer the most.

While the truck line-up is under serious threat, the car line-up is aging to the extent that only fleet buyers are interested. The Taurus was never a brilliant car at launch and it has passed its golden age long ago. But unfortunately, Ford ignored the call for a replacement for years and only last year it greenlighted the development of a replacement, the Ford 500. That means poor Taurus has to soldier on for at least 2 more years. 

Ford’s strategy in the US market can be described as a mess. How can it allow the wide gap between Focus and Taurus not filled by a medium-size car? how can it create Marauder base on the ancient Crown Victoria? you may say because it concentrated most resources to the growing truck and SUV market. But is it wise to give up the car market then? what will it be when the Japanese dominated the car market and start invading the truck market? when you explore a new continent, you won’t give up your homeland.

Bill Ford Junior seemed fascinating about the idea of “Living Legend”, believing it could revive the reputation of Ford. What is the result? the love affair of Thunderbird cooled down as quick as it heated up and it will be sent to grave soon. The new GT seems to attract a lot of attention from car journalists, but can it boost sales to Ford’s showrooms which are full of outdated vehicles? I can’t see how a car lover go to showroom to see the GT and end up buying a Taurus. Only good cars will sell.

Lincoln is another failure Ford would rather forget. A few years ago Ford decided to revive the Lincoln brand. It hunted Gerry McGovern from Rover to head the Lincoln design studio, created several concept cars which are to shape the future production model. Now where is the production model? we no longer hear anything about that from Ford. We only saw McGovern moved back to Europe and is no longer responsible for the future of Lincoln. I suspect, Ford has scrapped the plan for reviving Lincoln.

Ford’s overseas divisions give us mixed impression too. Mazda’s hope - the Mazda 6 sedan - sold badly in its biggest market, the USA. Jaguar is even operating at a loss, blame to the poor reception of X-Type. Ford of Europe is still in black, but its short-sighted vision is leading to the lost of market share to the more innovative PSA and Japanese rivals. Luckily, Volvo and Land Rover continues to contribute to profit, if slim profit.

So, the 100-year-old Ford Motor Company looks really old and tired. No wonder GM takes this chance to launch a price war.

Mark Wan

Note: The editorial is reproduced from the June 2003 Issue of AutoZine. All Rights Reserved.

Since the beginning, car engineering was a matter of choosing the right materials and construction to achieve the target - performance, handling, comfort, space, whatever. Car engineers knew that no matter how clever they work, there were always compromises. For example, a chassis designed for good handling must result in compromised ride quality. 

But then the automotive world was changed in 1987 by Porsche 959. This car introduced a new concept - Variable. Everything in the car was variable to suit different conditions of use. Its twin-turbo engine was variable, using only 1 turbo at low rev and 2 turbos at high rev to achieve both low lag and high boost. Before that, the size of turbocharger used to be a compromise between power and drivability. Its suspensions had variable damping, offering 3 settings to suit different kinds of road or speed. Similarly, the ride height was also variable. It can be raised to ride on rough road and lowered on highway to improve stability and drag. The 4-wheel-drive system was variable, too. Torque split between front and rear axles can be adjusted to suit different conditions. When 959 accelerated, initially 80% torque went to the rear wheels which had most traction due to weight transfer, then gradually reduced to 60% when acceleration force tailed out. On slippery surface like gravel or snow, it could be changed to 50:50 to provide maximum traction. 

The Variable Technology of 959 foresaw today’s mass production cars. Now you can see Variable this and that everywhere: variable intake manifolds (short runners for high speed, long for low speed), variable valve timing (late timing for low speed, early timing for high speed), air suspensions (i.e. variable spring rate), adaptive damping, active anti-roll bars (see BMW 7-series and Citroen’s Activa), active differential (e.g. Lancer Evo VII), active yaw control (also Evo VII), ESP stability control, speed-sensitive and variable ratio steering rack, automatic or sequential gearboxes with sport / comfort / winter mode, electronic throttle with sport / comfort mode, variable rear spoiler…. these variable things make cars more versatile. Want comfort? OK, change the setting of suspension, transmission, throttle and steering to comfort mode. You even need not to press a button, because clever electronics already sensed what you want by detecting your driving style. Once you floor down the throttle, or turn the steering wheel quickly, the settings will be reverted to sport mode and you will get tight body control, sharp throttle and gearbox response while the rear spoiler is raising to generate downforce. So easy, everybody can drive fast. Whether the driver is Schumacher or Zoo’s Monkey is not important. 

With variable technology, chassis engineers became a boring job. Innovative thinking like Colin Chapman is no longer useful, because variable technology can largely compensate the inherent flaws of a poor chassis. Nose heavy? we have active suspensions to reduce nose dive under braking. High center of gravity? active body control can limit roll to just a few degrees. What chassis engineers do now is to test their variable systems repeatedly to sort out the software. That’s a hard but routine job. In contrast, in the days of Colin Chapman they were more likely to brainstorm a new chassis concept by sketching with an old pencil. 

Just when car makers - mostly German - thought they have achieved the impossible - eliminating compromises, they find their variable systems added hundreds of kilograms to their cars. A proper Variable performance saloon weighs about 1700 to 1800kg, so they need to install a bigger engine. Variable technologies also increases cost by thousands of pounds, making every new generation more expensive than their predecessors. 

That’s the compromise for eliminating compromises.

Mark Wan

Note: The editorial is reproduced from the May 2003 Issue of AutoZine. All Rights Reserved.

We Asian, European and simply everyone outside the United States of America, see the US military action against Iraq as invasion rather than so-called “liberation”. Forgive me, I still don’t understand what “mass destruction weapon” is. A Hummer H2 crashes into a house will definitely cause masses of destruction. Is it a “mass destruction weapon”? Do you know how Iraq and Saddam Hussein link with 9-11? because he has a 911 in his garage? evidences from Mr. Powell seemed as slim as that. 

Anyway, I suggest we stop arguing about war or not - we can’t change it anyway. Instead, we can make the post-war world better, sowing it with seeds of love and sharing just like President Bush sowing bombs and missiles in Iraq. To amend the broken relationship between the Arabian and the Western - strictly speaking, only American and British - I suggest Muslim leaders can give President Bush a fine present - a new Cadillac Sixteen.

Why this car? there are several important reasons. Firstly, the Cadillac concept car has a wild look reassembling the attitude of its owner. “Go away! you bitch Sonata! this is My road! this is My world! No one can block me!”. Also, the thundering roar of its V16 engine should frighten any cars and police (read “UN”) around so that no one will dare to stop President Bush going where he like and doing what he want. 

Secondly, the 16-cylinder engine has 13.6 litres of capacity to ensure the newly occupied oil fields not wasted. With the world’s second largest oil reserve under control by Uncle Sam, we estimate gas price will dive to 10 cents a litre. 13.6-litre engines will be as common as today’s 3-litre. Corvette C6 will get a mega-block V8, Hummer H3 will get a 1500hp gas-turbine…. American will be wealthy enough to go to South Pole for summer vacation - they have to. Remember to bring more sun oil.

Lastly but not least, any car with 1000 horsepower and 1000 lbft must drive like a dream. With this Cadillac Sixteen as present, maybe Mr. Bush will start enjoying motoring and spend less time on either eating biscuits or playing war games. Let’s hope so.

Mark Wan

Note: The editorial is reproduced from the April 2003 Issue of AutoZine. All Rights Reserved.