Paris Auto Show (New Land Cruiser, Ferrari Enzo, VW Touareg)

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1X83Z

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Some four new actual cars to debut, apparently.

- Upper left: The new Land Cruiser. Dudebusta's going to be ticked, it looks to be even more luxury-oriented than the previous model.
- Lower left: Volkswagen Touareg (first real picture!) - looks nice.
- Upper right: Volkswagen Touran. No idea on VW's plans for it. Probably Europe, only. Looks like a Zafria competitor.
- Lower right: Ferrari Enzo.
 

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Originally posted by M5Power


What's wrong with them?
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Well, nothing specifically, and the write-ups have been pretty solid for them, but for the money they're asking for them here, a front drive performance sedan from a manufacturer with a somewhat turbulent recent corporate history doesn't really cut it.

For that money, I could buy:
- a Subaru Liberty/Legacy B4, which is better built, and would eat the ZT alive in every measurable performance category
- a Subaru WRX - see above, and considerably cheaper
- a Holden Commodore SS - a large reasonably solid handling rear drive sedan running the Gen III V8, which is cheaper
- a Ford Falcon XR8 - another large solid handling rear drive sedan running a 4.9 litre V8, which again is cheaper
- if you're into front drive performance, a Mitsubishi Ralliart Magna, a large front drive sedan with suspension and engine tuning by the local division of Ralliart, and this is also cheaper
 
It costs that much over there?

Wow - talk about a marketing mistake.

Well, even so, I can't wait until they arrive in America. If ever.
 
Well, if the owners are serious about boosting turnover they have little choice but to enter the US - but from my point of view, I think the market needs another mid-size front drive performance sedan like it needs another high performance SUV - uh...mmm....
 
Originally posted by vat_man
Well, if the owners are serious about boosting turnover they have little choice but to enter the US - but from my point of view, I think the market needs another mid-size front drive performance sedan like it needs another high performance SUV - uh...mmm....
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I don't think we Americans have any mid size front-drive performance sedans; maybe the Nissan Altima SE.

Even so, the British press (and granted, it is the British press) loves the MG line, and I really like what they did to those old, stoic Rover platforms.
 
Originally posted by alexy2k
Does anyone know if the Cars :car: at the Paris Motorshow will be the same ones going to the :uk: Motorshow...?
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Probably not - in the UK, you'll get different cars. The Paris show is usually an opportunity for French companies to show off totally wacky concept cars.
 
Originally posted by M5Power


I don't think we Americans have any mid size front-drive performance sedans; maybe the Nissan Altima SE.

Even so, the British press (and granted, it is the British press) loves the MG line, and I really like what they did to those old, stoic Rover platforms.
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Much as I love the British motoring press (and 'Car' is one of the best car mags in the world), I would be taking any comments they make about British manufacturers with a grain of salt.

I know out here the Rover 75 copped a lot of criticism when it was initially launched, but seems to be coming back into favour at the moment, and as mentioned, the ZT series seems to be getting good reviews at the moment.

I'm not taking any shots at the cars - the 75 seemed reasonably well screwed together, and anyone complaining about rear leg room would do well to sit in the back of the current A4 (!) and make comparisons.

It's just as I mentioned above - given the price category it sits in here, there's better product available for the money. I've seen plenty of Liberty/Legacy B4's wandering around, and I've yet to see a ZT on the road four months after release - and Sydney is THE town of early automotive adopters. The badge is a bit of an unknown here, and MG don't have the best quality reputation after the MG-F - and that is a problem when you're up against companies like Subaru.
 
Originally posted by vat_man


Much as I love the British motoring press (and 'Car' is one of the best car mags in the world), I would be taking any comments they make about British manufacturers with a grain of salt.
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I don't know if you subscribe or not (as I do) but when they named the Mini 'Car of the Year' last year, I refused to accept the verdict (just as I refuse to accept Motor Trend's verdict that the Thunderbir is our car of the year) because it was so blatant nationalism.

Though, originally, 'Car' ripped up Rover for announcing they would have the new MG line out by summer, claiming that it would take at least another year (in fact, it only took another month).


I know out here the Rover 75 copped a lot of criticism when it was initially launched, but seems to be coming back into favour at the moment, and as mentioned, the ZT series seems to be getting good reviews at the moment.

I'm not taking any shots at the cars - the 75 seemed reasonably well screwed together, and anyone complaining about rear leg room would do well to sit in the back of the current A4 (!) and make comparisons.

It's just as I mentioned above - given the price category it sits in here, there's better product available for the money. I've seen plenty of Liberty/Legacy B4's wandering around, and I've yet to see a ZT on the road four months after release - and Sydney is THE town of early automotive adopters. The badge is a bit of an unknown here, and MG don't have the best quality reputation after the MG-F - and that is a problem when you're up against companies like Subaru.
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Did Australia get the small MG roadster?

Personally, I believe if they sell the MG line for the right price in America (WRX is $23,495, so $19,995) it'll sell like hell (heh). It's really a breakaway idea - who would've thought the Rover 75 (which, though reliable, is boring as crap) could've turned into a preformance car?
 
Yup - we got the pretty much right after launch ('97). The build quality for the first three years or so was, frankly, a disaster, and for a mid-engined rear drive convertible they drove a lot like a small front drive car (I drove an early 98 model about four years ago) - very uninspiring handling.

They're meant to be a bit better now, but it's the old story about first impressions, I think - you see a few 75s around, but I think they belong to people who don't want a basic 3 series or C class, and can't bring themselves to buy a Saab, Volvo, or buy Japanese.
 
I rarely do hear very good things about the MG convertible, except that it's good-looking. It's pretty obvious that the Opel/Vauxhall Speedster/VX220, Lotus Elise, and Mazda MX-5/Miata are better buys than the MG convertible, though I could argue that the MG looks better than all of them.

:lol: - You mean the crazy people? It would be interesting to find out why anyone, anywhere would pick a 75 over a 3-series or A4, unless they had some sort of blind allegiance to England.
 
Originally posted by M5Power
:lol: - You mean the crazy people? It would be interesting to find out why anyone, anywhere would pick a 75 over a 3-series or A4, unless they had some sort of blind allegiance to England.
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:lol:

Well, you don't want to know what I think of Volvo and Saab owners (although the newer Volvos look good - if only they handled...). A lot of people who aren't car people buy vehicles for different reasons to you - why else would people buy New Beetles, or Kias or Daewoos?

To answer your question, I don't know.
 
The only Volvo I've ever truly liked was the 850R - remember that? It was one hell of a sleeper. Now it's been civilised into the S60 T-5. Pfft.

New Beetles are purchased by motorists who want to have a cute car and don't understand that you can get better cars cheaper. Or, as I call them, automotive sissies. And that's the second-worst kind of sissie there is.

Kias and Daewoos... :rolleyes: Let's not even get into them.
 
I drove an 850R wagon when they came out - I can honestly say it was the first front drive wagon I've ever driven that felt like, given half a chance, would make a genuine attempt on my life.

Anytime you pressed the accelerator mid-corner very bad things would happen - if you went around on part throttle it was okay, but open those floodgates.....

If ever a vehicle needed to be AWD....
 
:lol:

I remember in Arizona I had rented a Monte Carlo for a business trip and I was next to a nice, 850R (that looked as if it had been modified a bit) at a highway onramp where the two lanes merged into one...

...the light turned green and the fellow in the 850R pushed the gas and spun his wheels and absolutely killed me to the one-line divergence. One hell of an auto, in my opinion, though I've only actually ridden in them, never driven them.
 
The L/C 90 "Prado" looks decent but, I was shocked that the Prado will be a Lexus GX470 here in the US. And I can't wait for the arrival of the new 4Runner/Hi-Lux Surf.

The Ferrari looks ferosious (correct my spelling if its wrong).
 
Originally posted by   
my 20 year old 100 series cruiser would go more places than these new ones.
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I'm sure the intended market will have no trouble driving them through the wilds and cafes of Rozelle and Balmain, 4km from the Sydney CBD - :rolleyes:
 

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