ZA Car

There was a time where Americans had to wait until Big Game Day to see what the country’s most creative marketers had been working on to air in the singularly most expensive advertisement slots on prime-time TV. But with that ‘internet thing’ you can’t keep anything under wraps anymore. A full couple of days ahead of the big day most of the adverts are available online so there isn’t really any reason to have to hang in there and watch the game unless, of course, you like the American version of  rugby. We’ve collected and put all of the auto manufacturers’ Superbowl 2012 ads right here in one place. Aren’t we a nice bunch? Be amazed, be appalled, be disappointed. Let us know what you think?

It looks as if Toyota invests as much creativity in its ads as it does in designing dull and boring family cars. The one’s titled ‘It’s Reinvented!’ but we’re still trying to figure out what, you can’t reinvent boring obscure rubbish.

Another one from Toyota although, as with its cars, Lexus is more exciting than its parent, if only just a little bit. Lexus has even gone as far as calling its advert, ‘Beast,’ in the way that people ironically call their lapdogs ‘Beast.’ Very edgy for Lexus.

Hyundai: Hey, it’s different we guess. Hyundai has included people from its plant in here, so it gets a couple of points for company involvement, but the alignment to ‘Rocky,’ yeah, we’re just not so sure.

Hyundai, then, provides us then with a the perfect segue into the adverts involving movies, movie references and old movie stars. No one seems to have realised that if  they’d include Ryan Gosling, ladies will be in the dealership while the men watch the game.

Honda’s piss-take on Ferris Beuller’s Day Off gets Matthew Broderick clearly looking 25 years older than he did in the original Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and and places him in an ad that he will surely regret  one day.  What are out-of-work actors supposed to do, we suppose? We’d certainly fake an illness to spend a day in a Ferrari 250, notsomuch in a Honda CR-V.

Honda redeems itself (only slightly) with this remotely funny advert involving the Saab-loving, in the Seinfeld series at least, Jerry Seinfeld and car-nut funny man, Jay Leno. But it’s actually only the sound of the NSX that makes this advert worth watching — a pure tease.

Volkswagen’s ‘The Force’ advert last year with mini-Darth took the ad world by storm (49 million views on YouTube to-date) and went viral by virtue of the fact that it was cute and clever. VW had some pretty big shoes to fill and showed some promise with the teaser, “The Bark Side”…

…but ultimately let the side down with, “The Dog Strikes Back.” Poor form after last year’s great success.

Volkswagen shows that its alright to use pets, and so Suzuki also gets in the action with some pooches, these being some huskies in for a head-bopping time…

These are the ones that are actually quite good. Cadillac is first up with ‘Green Hell,’ a reference to the Nurburgring that unashamedly punts its performance credentials and actually communicates the values of the car. Imagine that? There’s the crafty inclusion of the advertising boards stating “Wir sind Opel,” “We are Opel” for the english types, which is important because this is the BMW 3-series/Mercedes-Benz C-Class/Audi A4 competitor. It’s clearly intent on telling the Germans that Cadillac is no longer a fat American pig and it’s roots, in fact, lie very close to home.

The former king of Superbowl ads, Budweiser has once again produced a hit and it only gets a mention here because there’s a car in it, a very famous car. And that’s what makes it funny and causes a smile to crack across even the most hardened 30 year-old’s face. The younger kids probably won’t get it, though.

Vampires are the rage. Everyone loves them, don’t they? Even Volvo. Audi pulls off a clever ad and actually ties it into one of its product’s selling features, the LED headlamps. Amazing what sticking to the basics can do, of all the leaked adverts so far, this is one of the best in our opinion.

Update: Chevrolet has held out until now so showcase five ads for Big Game Day and all of them are BRILLIANT, well four of them are. In our humble opinion, of course.

Chervrolet Sonic’s Bug Advert hits the cute spot with this one…

Chervrolet’s Volt advert gets the message across succinctly, “Smartest car in the galaxy” while dispelling the myth that electric cars have a very limited range. Clever.

Hitting the youth market and doing something clever, simple and effective but more of a teaser for the full new Chev/OK Go video on Sunday.

A very funny graduation video for Chev’s Superbowl Sunday madness.

Very emotive, brilliant. Very Clever. The advert for the Chevy Sonic.

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Ironically, bar the GTI, the best looking Golf in the range is the one that's the polar opposite of the GTI, the fuel sipper, eco-friendly BlueMotion

I’m often asked for what the best car  is that I have driven, and it is almost expected that I should answer Audi R8, Mercedes Benz CL-class or some similar such luxury sportscar. So it catches a number of people by surprise when I answer, “I think it’s the Golf BlueMotion.”

That’s the honest truth. As my ZA Car Show colleagues will agree, I’m a bit strange. The lust for Saabs and my vehicle ownership history raise enough questions to have me committed (thankfully I’ve not been yet, though). But the Golf Bluemotion is a good car for reasons the average motoring hack rarely touches on; those reasons being bang for your buck and economy (in the case of long-term ownership). The latter, as I’m sure you’ll agree, is quite important in this day and age.

Price is very much an indicator of what you get in cars these days. The market is characterised  by a few affordable models that offer good perceived quality whilst even fewer are priced to offer good value for the money you spend. The Golf BlueMotion offers both. An added bonus is that although the Golf promises frugality plus it’s still exciting enough to consider keeping it for a couple of years without committing suicide through boredom — we’ve just mentioned ‘exciting’ ‘diesel’ and ‘Golf’ in the same sentence and you had better believe it.

In this vehicle segment there are a small handful of emotive purchases. We’ve reviewed Alfa Romeo Giulietta on the show, and the Volvo C30 is another contender. Both are be stylish and cool, but burdened with unfavourable reputations. Let’s say  resale value, after-sales service and possible long-term reliability are in question in most people’s minds. There are also a number of the sensible options.  You need not look further than Ford’s Focus, the Mazda 3, Toyota’s Auris and the Audi A3 to know that they’re the choices for the masses, the every-man’s cars.

The design is not ground breaking or exciting, but it also won't age as fast as it's competitors.

So what makes this car the best of the year for me, especially since there are already very good offerings in the Golf model range to start with? Well, put simply, I have a very relaxed driving style. I have a regular job. And I have two kids. My priorities are different. I don’t look for out and out performance and handling is a by-product I rarely get to exploit. I look for cars that suit the work commute and at the same time provide a basis for a good family car. I am, in a way, an average South African.

The Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion offers a range of features that enables it to boast a comprehensive level of standard equipment, features that include VW’s semi-automatic Climatic climate control, electric windows, power steering, a multi-function steering wheel, alloy wheels (only 15-inch rolling on eco-friendly low rolling resistance tyres in this case), start/stop technology and very little in the way of optional extras to keep mass down and ensure the BlueMotion credentials stand for it being one of VW’s most economical cars in its range.  The motive force is provided by a four-cylinder, 1.6 litre turbo-diesel putting out 77kW @ 4400r/min and 250Nm from 1500rpm fed to the front wheels through a 5-speed gearbox. It’s also, as can be expected from VW, very well put together. But most importantly it’s these things matched by a price of R273 600 that make it such a compellingly good car.

It’s not without its faults, though and I don’t even know if I should call them that.  Its body kit and lowered stance, aid aerodynamics, but give the vehicle a sporty look ad odds with it’s eco-conscious pretentions. The car will look better with larger, sportier alloy wheels, but that’s not an option (at VW, at least). The limited optional extras also compromise the car a little as it can’t be fitted with any options save for satellite navigation. This also means there’s no premium sound system option and no sunroof. It doesn’t even come with floor mats or a spare wheel — the reason behind all of this is weight savings, and thus improved fuel economy. Granted that, its flaws, then, are intentional.

No frills, but class-leading build quality can be found in here.

My typical commute is about 50% highway driving and 50% urban traffic but it was not unusual to see an average consumption in the low 5 l/100km range with the Golf. On the open road I regularly got consumption around the 4l/100km mark. Factory claims are 3.8l/100kms. Needless to say, it’s simply astounding. Having covered around 800km while we had it on test, it was returned with still half a tank of diesel remaining. Even if you yield a relatively theoretical range of around 900kms per tank, the long-term savings in fuel are enormous.

In today’s world of rising fuel costs, increased congestion and infrastructure that does not lend itself to exploiting speed and handing, the BlueMotion just makes so much sense. It looks better than the rest of the models in the range, bar the GTI, and offers [almost] everything the other models do. I can forgive the minor flaws because the sum of the parts is so much greater. It’s when I drive cars like that I get really excited for the future of motoring. But like I said at the beginning of this review, I am a little weird.

Power: 77kW at 4400RPM
Torque: 250Nm between 1500 – 2500RPM
Safety: All electronic aids, front airbags, front and side airbags, front and rear curtain airbags
Tech and toys: Multi-function steering, cruise control, on-baord computer, daytime running lights, CD with MP3/WMA and AUX-in jack, 4 cup holders, 12v socket in the boot.

Website: Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion
Price: R273 600

ZA Car rating: Two thumbs up

Episode 117 featuring reviews of the VW Golf and Polo BlueMotion

Episode 117 hi-fi download (24MB)
Episode 117 lo-fi download (12MB)

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It’s an eclectic (and electric) mix of cars this week  from BMW’s I to Lexus’new entry-level hybrid, the CT 200h. Christo, Trevor and John Beale discuss these launches while also looking at  the  the Merc C-Class coupe, Jeep Compass and review two hatches all of them had driver, the Opel Astra and Volkswagen Golf R. Who could have thought there could be so many varying opinions?

Menacing and fuel efficiency creds to outdo any current car, this is BMW's i8. Click on the image for a link to a full gallery of the BMW i cars.

The world's first luxury hybrid coupe. Probably its only one too. Very good looking indeed. Click on the image to view a ful gallery of the car at its launch in Cape Town

It looks more like the bigger Cherokee and less like the old Patriot, thankfully. Click on the image to view a full gallery of the new Compass.

Trevor and Christo drove the 1.4 Enjoy+ and John the 1.6 Turbo Sport. Very differing opinions as to which one is the one to get. Click on the image for a gallery on the new Opel Astra.

Episode 128 hi-fi download (13MB) 
Episode 128 lo-fi download (7MB)

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We love special cars at ZA Car Show and there are quite a few in this week’s episode featuring Christo, Trevor, Patrick and John Beale. Expensive Bugattis get more expensive, BMWs get more strange, fast Mercs get faster and VWs bakkies get a little more agricultural, and more… go on, have a listen or just click through to the galleries below.

A Bugatti filled with fine German porcelain. Hold on that doesn't sound right does it? Click on the image for a full gallery of this one-off car...

It really is one of the best looking convertibles on the plant. That is until someone decided that a two-tone car was a good idea. Click on the picture for a link to the full gallery of this and the Limited M-sport edition.

The cat's out the bag. And it's a might fine looking cat. Click on the image to see a full gallery of the Mercedes Benz C63 Coupe Black Series

The most handsome BMW got more handsome, can such a thing happen. Trevor quite likes the Individual, but best of all he likes that it's available with a diesel engine. Click on the picture to see a full gallery of the M-Sport and Individual models.

Then just to bring things back down to earth or to bring the earth back down the construction site, the VW Amarok Single Cab. Click on the link to see a full gallery of this pickup.

Also in this episode, a full review of Honda’s lovely Insight hybrid. Trevor, Christo and Patrick give their opinions on this eco sedan – including explaining the differences between full and mild hybrid technologies.

Episode 124 hi-fi download (24MB)
Episode 124 lo-fi download (12MB)

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We’re a three man team hosted once more by Patrick Gearing, Christo van Gemert and Trevor van de Ven.  This week it’s all the big news from Europe ahead of the international motorshows in Geneva, Paris and, of course, Johannesburg. There’s a sleek Benz, a  an awk er BMW 1-Series, a Cooper Coupe and VW’s fastest Scirocco. We also review the revised Nissan X-Trail which is surprising according to Trevor. Good or bad, you will have to take a listen.

One of the those strange cars that only looks strange in certain colours and from certain angles. Click on the image for a link to the full gallery.

It was always a coupe and a little impractical to begin with, it's now just got more impractical and remains a coupe. Weird. Click on the image to link to the full gallery.

Is it worth the R60k-R80k premium? 188kW and some trick bits make it a little more special than a standard one. Click on the picture to go to the full gallery.

Episode 120 hi-fi download (bigger – less than 15MB)
Episode 120 lo-fi download (smaller – less than 10MB)

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