Naked man shock in SEAT Human Carwash August 30, 2010
Posted by richard in : pr , 1 comment so far
SEAT stunned journos this weekend at the Leeds festival – not an easy feat, given how cynical some of our ilk are.
These are people that would greet the fuel-free flying car with mumblings about the pattery low-speed ride in cumulus clouds, so to get jaws dropping was quite an achievement.
Thank the Human Carwash, SEAT’s latest brainwave at boosting brand awareness. It’s one of those smart ideas that marketing types love; the outcome of Blue Sky debates such as this:
We’re sponsoring a festival… people get dirty at festivals… we need an attraction to get people talking… must be random… and on message… which clearly means we should stack two metal containers on top of each other, install on-display showers for brave sorts to shower in public, throw in a decent DJ – oh, and get some sultry girls to help said showerees apply the shower gel.
And so the SEAT Human Carwash was born.
It wasn’t this that surprised us when we checked it out, though. Nor the car stuck on the top, nor a position by the main entrance guaranteeing interest.
No, it was the Crazy Naked Guy.
Within 5 minutes of us being there, musing on the boldness of some youths having a cheeky shower in their boxers, Crazy Naked Guy showed them how REAL men take showers.
By waking up naked and, well, having a shower. A long shower. A proper shower including, how shall we say, all intimacies covered. Utterly priceless, it was: a collective of cynics, totally speechless.
Crazy Naked Guy was not a natural Leonardo, but that didn’t stop him. We spluttered. He carried on. We looked round. It was a cheering throng. We suddenly realised we were a bit too close to the front for comfort, taking a few too many photographs to keep appearances up.
We shuffled away, leaving Crazy Naked Guy to it.
Yup, this pants-drop sure caused a collective jaw-drop. Surprisingly, none of the journos there were inspired to do likewise.
Yes, bashful journos? That’s another first you managed there, SEAT.
How to make a motoring journalist happy August 21, 2010
Posted by richard in : History, Minutiae of cars , add a comment
Mad cars and people who are mad about cars? Makes for a perfect day.
So it proved this week when I was given a double dose of why-I-love-the-jobbery.
For Total 911 magazine, I write ‘classic road tests’. These are a modern-eyes drive in a classic Porsche, offering a retrospective look at just what made each special.
This month, it was the turn of the 964 Turbo 3.6. A rare car indeed: only around 1000 were built, and there are barely 40 in the UK. Finding one for the feature, in holiday-packed August, was, shall we say, challenging.
Turbo 3.6 owner Steve Armitage to the rescue. A Porsche nut, Total 911 fan, someone more than happy to help us out and, as he proved on the day of the shoot, an all round Good Guy to boot.
Male bonding paragraph: Chaps such as Steve make a great job THE best. He was helpful, trusting, listened to what we wanted and did his all to help us out. He did not treat us as a nuisance, did not forbid us doing things we suggested, understood we had a task list and made sure he helped us complete it.
We paid him back with a gem-like set of images, courtesy of Alisdair Cusick. Deal!
Model photoshoot
On gigs like this, it’s important as a journo to be as straight up as you can with the proud owner of the car. Respect is essential – fail to show this and you deserve moronic status.
Never forget, they don’t know you from Adam. It’s vital you thus eradicate any hint of cocky, arrogant, primadonnary. Pretend you’re on the other side instead. Pretend it’s your car.
When, though, it is reciprocated with the warmth our man Steve did this week – well, it makes every windswept moorland February photoshoot worthwhile. Nope, they’re not all like last week, but when they come around, how we savour ‘em.
Goodness, his wife even treated us to THE best toast at the start of the day. Lucky? You betcha!
Fingers crossed Steve now likes the feature…
+ Share your memories of highs like this…
+ … And let us know of any horrors you’ve had, too!
+ What’s been the trickiest car you’ve had to source for a shoot?
Ford clears the way for quick dealer profits August 14, 2010
Posted by richard in : History, Minutiae of cars, Technology, What I learned today , add a comment
Ford Quickclear heated windscreen tech is something invented not for customer convenience, but to please the UK’s largest car dealer network.
Well, sort of.
History time: it’s been around since the 1980s, and was designed to make life easier on winter mornings. Drive away in seconds, instead of minutes, went the promo (remember the man with the Orion in the print ads?).
Whether that was actually possible in cars with chokes, choking on sub-zero temperatures, is a moot point, but the thought was there.
Actually, though, I reckon it was developed to be a dealer-pleaser, too.
Dealer hots
Ford has more than 500 dealers across the UK (and maybe loads more back in the day). Each may have, ooh, between 20 and 100 used cars sat outside to lure people in.
Enter one cold snap, and cue frosted-over windscreens for each. What will be obscured by such an event? Yes, the price sticker hanging from the sunvisor behind the opaque screen.
In terms of manhours, this represents a lot of expenditure (and a veritable deluge of moaning). How better would it be to slash (silence) this with just the press of a button?
Of course, it wasn’t a perfect plan. Not all cars would be fitted with Quickclear screens. The higher-margin posh cars would be, though (Granada Ghia X and the like). They’re the ones in which dealers would have most cash tied up, and which they wanted to sell fast.
Quickclear would ensure the risk of missing vital marketing opportunities were minimised. Cue dealers quickly clear(n?)ing up (ahem).
OK, I admit. Ford probably didn’t invent Quickclear to please its dealer network. There, I jest, with tongue in cheek.
But knowing how thorough the brand is, I don’t doubt the consideration could have helped push the tech through in the planning meet, or featured in the strategy document presented to the Board…
+ What other unexpected uses for car tech can you think of?
+ Do you know of any other ‘Eureka’ type car inventions?
+ Ford is market leader and has Quickclear: coincidence?
SEAT applies the sun green August 8, 2010
Posted by richard in : Green cars, Technology, ev , add a comment
SPAIN is currently far too reliant on resources from other countries to generate its electricity.
This, it would no doubt add if it was PR-sensible, is madness.
See, Spain has a tremendous resource of its own, that it is currently shamefully underplaying: the sun.
Things will change in the future. Spain want most of its electricity to be ‘home-grown’. by harnessing the sun. Solar power is going to be big news in Spain – and with this comes a shift to electric cars.
Set to play a prime role in this future is native VW Group owned car maker SEAT. Already, we’re seeing electric-thinking concepts such as the IBE, and a plug-in hybrid Leon TwinDrive is promised for 2014.
TwinDrive means plug-in hybrid, with rear-mounted lithium-ion batteries powering a 35kW electric motor, for a 50km EV range. Over this, a combustion engine takes over.
SEAT EV spark
There’s something equally significant afoot right now, though. Martorell is where all SEATs are built. Soon, the entire roof of this massive factory will be covered in, yes, solar panels.
320,000 square metres of them, no less. With 10Mw capacity, that’s enough to annually generate 13 million KWh of electricity a year.
Sounds a lot? Yup: enough to power 3000 homes, and negate 6200 tonnes’ CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. It’s to be one of the biggest ‘integrated photovoltaic’ developments in Europe, and the €17m project is underway as you read this.
Longer-term, it could mean SEAT will offset the energy required to produce its cars, by generating its own electricity.
And to think some say the car industry isn’t doing its bit…
+ Know of any surprise green schemes from car firms?
+ Are SEAT’s plans viable?
+ Learn about the basics of EVs
VW Golf Bluemotion: Golf GTI for eco greens? August 7, 2010
Posted by richard in : 0 to 60, Green cars, Minutiae of cars, Technology , 2comments
Golf GTI have usually been The Supercars That Rule for we real(ish)-world folk.
Give me a mint Mk2 and I will do anything (anything) for you. I cherish/Tweet Mk1 sightings, would love a Mk6 and often browse Autotrader for cheap Mk5s.
OK, the Mk4 wasn’t ace, but still desirable because of its interior/steering wheel/wheels. I’m that obsessed, I even see the merit in the Mk3 (neon metallic green, please).
But I’m also a bit of an eco nut. An mpg obsessive. (Incidentally, I blame my Mk2 for this: it was my first car to have a trip computer.)
Although the Mk6 does 38.7mpg, and emits 170g/km CO2, that’s still too high for an everyday preacher like me. What to do?
Well, Volkswagen has a solution. Create a new sub-brand, infuse it with GTI-style marketing distinction, make it desirable and wantable in its own right – and continually develop and hone it as you go along.
Golf Bluemotion. The Golf GTI for greenies
Bluemotion is exactly that. Indeed, it is the longest running eco sub-brand (since joined by SEAT Ecomotive, Ford Econetic, Vauxhall ecoFlex… you get the idea). Like GTI, VW invented it as an engineering-led challenge-fest.
How eco, you imagine the tecchies musing, can we make a standard production hatchback? Without hybrids, new-gen engines or special techniquery demands?
The Polo Bluemotion was the first, soon followed by the ‘Mk1′ Golf Bluemotion (Mk5). Now, we’re on the ‘Mk2′ Golf Bluemotion, based on the Mk6 (with me?). It is this car I’m running as a long-termer.
It is this car that gets admiring glances thanks to its lowered suspension, its body styling aero tweaks, its characteristic Bluemotion blue paint.
Those in the know notice the badge on the grille, situated in the same position as many a GTI moniker. They’ll admire the wheels, but also be able to reel off the stats: 99g/km CO2, 74.3mpg. Up (and down!) from the 62.8mpg and 119g/km of the Mk1Mk5, you know. And it uses the EA111 1.6 TDI instead of the EA111 1.9 TDI. And it’s still mated to the 02J gearbox. And… etc…
All of this is GTI-style: the same things that attract there also apply here. That’s the beauty, see. A GTI uses efficiency to hone what’s there and create more speed. The Bluemotion does the same, but to yield more mpg.
It’s just that the route to both – lowered suspension, bespoke body and a new ‘That Badge’ – presses the same buttons for car fans who like their supercars hot hatch sized.
In the future, then, will the Bluemotion become The Supercar That Rules? There’s a thought. See, partly, it already does…
I have but one worry. Will this mean the Bluemotion badge is to be nicked off my Golf, as it was on the GTI?
+ Has hp had its day?
+ Nice dials, mate
+ BMW, you cheeky chaps, you
VIDEO: Range Rover Evoque on the road July 29, 2010
Posted by richard in : Minutiae of cars, News clues, pr , add a comment
RANGE Rover scoops are everywhere these days, as the launch of the Evoque builds up.
I reckon I’ve got, err, one of the best so far (if you’ll indulge me in my fantasy…).
Here is the world’s first public driving video of the official Range Rover Evoque!
MARVEL as it exits the corner.
GASP as it wafts by the camera.
BE WOWED as it, err, rolls back into security-guarded secrecy.
OK, it was actually the Range Rover Evoque driving off stage following its public reveal at Kensington Palace. (You know, the ‘Posh Spice and Zara Phillips’ one).
Even so, it was driving, it was right after the launch, which (technically, of sorts) makes this a World First Drive video!
I jest. Looks good though, no?
VIDEO: Porsche 911 Turbo on test July 25, 2010
Posted by richard in : News clues, What I learned today , 1 comment so far
CAR feature photo shoots consist of artists doing their magic and journos doing all they can to actually be useful.
We clean the cars, polish their wheels, shuffle them about to get the right angles, take notes, try to stay out of the sun, Tweet and try to manage emails/calls/SMS from the office.
That’s for the statics. Moving shots? We find sexy corners, drop off the snapper on the most dangerous spot possible, and drive through said corner many, many times.
Such practice means we get progressively faster, perfecting our line and seeing how sideways we dare get someone else’s car. It makes us feel like an F1 driver, in our own little fantasy world.
Studio-trained photographer par excellence Alisdair Cusick caught a little of this on a recent shoot for Total 911. Watch the video below – it’s your man, flapping in the flatspot of a Turbo flatnose.
Ace fun! Ali will always say just one more run. And I never mind – particularly this time round…
+ Check out Ali’s site for some image-based brilliance
+ What sort of things would YOU get up to on a car photoshoot?
+ Have you been on a car photoshoot and have ‘interesting’ tales to tell?
How fast would your car be with more power? July 18, 2010
Posted by richard in : Technology , 1 comment so far
HOW fast can cars with speed limiters go if the speed limiter is removed?
I mused on this when looking at the VW Golf R’s 200mph speedo. (VW likes to play around with the scale of its speedos; my long-term Golf Bluemotion shows 160mph top; this weekend’s Eos test car splits both with 180mph.)
Limited to 155mph, what would she do with it taken off?
Enter vehicle dynamics God Damian Harty. He sorted the Ford Mondeo BTCC car’s handling, turning it into a race winner, and has done plenty more stuff NDAs mean he can’t talk about.
‘Try this formula,’ he said, in response to my thought on Facebook. The formula being…:
New_Vmax = Current_Vmax*(New_Power/Current_Power)^(1/3)
Damian started with the basic Golf GTI’s 210PS, which saw it good for 149mph. ‘This suggests the R would do 162mph unrestricted’
Dang, that’s a bit far off 200mph! What to do, Damian?
507PS, was his answer, with the gearing set to match, too. ‘Big power gains give small VMax changes; always a little disappointing but there you go…’
Indeed, but it gives a challenge to the VW tuning world. Who’ll be the first to take a Golf R up to 507PS – and who’ll be the first to then break the double-ton?
+ If you’ve ever tuned a car, what have been your findings?
+ Is it realistic to tune a 2.0-litre turbo to 507PS..?
+ How fast would YOUR car be with more power?
F1 insight: A view inside the BRDC July 11, 2010
Posted by richard in : Motorsport , add a comment
BRDC members have a prime spot to watch the Silverstone Grand Prix each year.
The famed building, right next to the pits entry, is a Silverstone landmark and THE place to be if you’ve earned the right to be one of Britain’s motor racing elite.
Today, Damon Hill will preside over a cast of hundreds – including Sir Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell, Derek Warwick and umpteen other fan’s favourites.
I was able to have a peek on Friday night, too, as the BRDC hosted members of the press, including GOMW members. So, to see from where they’ll be watching, check out the gallery below.
It shows the three-storey building’s smart chairs, live-feed TVs and panoramic roof balcony from where most will be packed come 1pm today.
There are more images on my Facebook Page too. Oh, to be a Brit motor racing star and earn the right to apply for membership…
How BRDC links F1 to GOMW July 9, 2010
Posted by richard in : History, Motorsport , 2comments
1966 was a good year for World Cup football but also a good year for F1-loving members of the Guild of Motoring Writers.
Ford, amazingly, built a chalet at Silverstone, for motorsport-nut F1 journos to drink tea and smoke pipes in. Yup, that’s how motor racing was, back in the day. Impossible to imagine it today – particularly on the chosen prime location, next to the Silverstone pit entry.
It was a sister hut to the Guild Chalet at Goodwood, where the annual GOMW Motor Show Test Day had ran since 1948.
If all this history sounds a bit bonkers, bear in mind some of the esteemed members the Guild’s had. Indeed, it was no less than the late 9th Duke of Richmond who, as GOMW President, set up the Silverstone hut. As a founder member of the British Racing Drivers’ Club (busy guy), he also established the practice of inviting BRDC pals along, too.
The following year, the Guild Test Day was moved to Silverstone, and based at said hut. It continued there for years, before moving to Donington Park. (Incidentally, why is it not run today? Well, it is: aka SMMT Test Day…)
Today, the hut is history – nowadays, the BRDC base is situated there. A press barbecue hosted by the BRDC on the eve of the British GP gave me the chance to see how the site has been tranformed.
The BRDC building is a genuine landmark, way beyond anything the Guild had there back in the day. As I found on Friday, though, you can still get a cracking cup of tea there…
Look out soon for some views from the night!
