The Scottish Car of the Year is an event we non-Scot journos consider with equal fear and envy.

It sounds a riotously good night out, with the great and the good of the PR world making the annual pilgrimage to wonderful Scotland: it’s brilliantly supported and always generates loads of coverage.

Which, this year, has generated an image of the day for me. Checking the news today, I was greeted with the above treat. What does it say? Why, that Jaguar has triumphed in the SCOTY. I needed the associated press release to add only detail. Cool, aye?

Those details are that Jaguar actually triumphed three times last night, with the XF diesel, XKR-S and a special award for the E-Type. Land Rover added two more for the JLR haul – including overall Scottish Car of the Year for the Range Rover Evoque – meaning even more reason for the chaps from the Midlands to indulge in the other aspect of the SCOTY awards.

Yes, that’s the part we non-Scots fear as well as envy: the famous Scottish hospitality. Legend has it, bedtime is late, if it happens at all, while the heads of most attendees the next day are usually described in words not printable here. It’s one of those nights, in other words…

No, I wouldn’t have been saying it last night but maybe, right now, checking the results of the SCOTY from afar is the best place to be…

+ How the Jaguar XKR-S was born

+ Jaguar XKR-S: tunnel run YouTube star

+ Frankfurt IAA 2011: aftermath

Land Rover this week launched the Defender version that will give the oldest Landie on sale yet another stay of execution.

The old 2.4-litre Ford Transit engine has been replaced by a 2.2-litre turbodiesel, related to that in the Freelander 2.

Producing 122hp and 265lb/ft of torque, it crucially also sports a diesel particulate filter, helping it achieve supertough Euro 5 emissions standards.

This is a legislative requirement for all new cars on sale. It came into force in January 2011 for passenger cars (and January of 2012 for light commercial vehicles such as the Defender) and has already done for family favourites such as the Honda Civic i-CTDi.

No, Honda wasn’t able to make that model Euro 5 emissions compliant, so it hasn’t been on sale since the start of the year. (A surprise for a company with its heart in engines such as Honda. Then again, that heart is in petrol engines, so perhaps it’s no surprise the diesel died.)

Now Land Rover has cracked it though, meaning the Defender can now stay on sale until 2016. That’s when the next wave of legislation kicks in, and around which high-level discussions are under way within Land Rover right now.

Green Defender

Here’s a fanciful thought for now, though: how about a stop-start Defender eD4 eco special?

Crazy? Well, why not..? There’s a stop start Freelander, after all, and the 2.2-litre engine has recently been revised once again for the Range Rover Evoque, where the stop-start version emits as little as 129g/km CO2.

Why not put this engine into the Defender? Indeed, why not go one further – optimise it for the road, alter the gearing, swap off-road tyres for low rolling resistance on-road ones, fit it solely to the 90 version… creating a sub-225g/km Defender – or, even, a sub-200g/km Defender?

The new 2.2-litre 90 version emits 266g/km, with its heavy off-road bias. It would be a big jump to 200g/km, but it’s not that fanciful when you realise how off-road optimised the Defender is.

There are probably a whole host of reasons why (including the fact Defenders are built for off-roading, and an on-road special may not fit with the brand values), but from a PR stance alone, it would be quite some statement for Land Rover to make.

Green Defender special, showing how eco even old icons can be? As a way of showing how truly modern and environmentally friendly Land Rover can be, it would be a flag-bearer and then some. There’s no shortage of engineering talent within Land Rover that could make it so if challenged to, either.

So, Land Rover MD John Edwards, how about it?

+ Renault Energy dCi 130: F1 on the road

+ June 2011: what is Land Rover doing at the moment?

+ SEAT applies the sun green

Land Rover has recently finished three ‘Evoque Live’ shows, which have been held in London and Birmingham for 9000 influencers and potential customers.

A first for the brand, the shows consisted of a 25-minute performance (including fashion, dance and music), followed by a 1 hour hands-on with the Range Rover Evoque and the experts behind it.

The idea was to continue driving interest and foster more public knowledge of the model, which is launched in the UK this autumn. “We want Evoque Live to help turn intrigue into converts,” said UK MD Colin Green.

Not that the Range Rover Evoque needs much help. Already, there are 30,000 registrations of interest on the website, and 4000 £1-£2k orders have been placed. “We’re aiming for a six-month solid order bank prior to launch,” said Green.

“This will be healthier than for any other Land Rover yet”, which helps the Halewood factory stabilise production as it ramps up to full speed. By knowing well in advance which models have to be produced and when, it is easier for the plant to build smoothly up to full capacity.

It is important this is achieved fast. “The Range Rover Evoque will become our biggest-selling car ever, by a significant margin.

“It will bring Range Rover to the attention of many more people. If you don’t want a 4×4, you traditionally ignore Land Rover. The Range Rover Evoque is more accessible – a car with 4×4 ability – and we expect significant conquest sales because of this.”

Conquest

Land Rover is expecting sales to come from Audi TT and MINI drivers, but also expects a lot of incremental volume from existing Land Rover owners. “Our customers are extremely loyal – a common scenario we’re predicting is for Range Rover drivers to buy an Evoque for their wife, to replace her VW Golf GTI.”

Although 90% of sales will be diesel, the conquest sales from Golf GTIs and other models is why the turbo petrol engine is also being offered. “We need to have an offer that will attract interest from those coming out of petrol.”

Overall, 80-90% of sales will be conquest from other brands. Which means interest and demand is going to be huge. So, how does a manufacturer manage this, and the resultant lengthy waiting lists?

Green admits that 6 months is about the limit people are prepared to wait for a car. “This is where our dealer network comes in. Retailers need to manage customers carefully, and show them all the options, which could even include a used Range Rover while they wait for a new Evoque.

“We are also planning a series of special edition Freelander and Range Rover Sport. This will offer fresher alternatives elsewhere in the range, for those customers we’ve attracted into dealers but who can’t wait for an Evoque.

“Dealers will be able to present these as alternatives, in scenarios that could include taking a special edition now, and getting into an Evoque some time next year.”

“It will be a challenge, but we are fully preparing for it – and it is a nice one to have…”

+ Why Victoria Beckham is right for Range Rover

+ 2012 Jaguar XF engineering: did you know?

+ YouTube: Range Rover Evoque on the road

China has two types of vehicle maker – homegrown brands and importers.

‘Importer’ here means non-Chinese brands, ones we’re all familiar with. They’re not strictly importers, mind – Chinese law and economies of scale all means they actually build over there, too (by forming a joint venture with a home maker).

So, what were they doing at the Shanghai Auto Show this year? Providing us with a means of gauging just what the Chinese market is all about, mainly.

This is familiarity with a twist specifically for China. The differences provide a clear indicator as to what the Chinese market demands. So, to what was new at Shanghai Auto Show 2011…

Peugeot

Peugeot is planning 1 new model a year for China in the next few years. This year’s car is the 508, developed from scratch with China in mind. It joins the 207, 207 CC 308 CC, 308 SW, 408, 3008 and (soon) the RCZ in a surprisingly Euro-familiar line-up. A popular one, too: this year, Peugeot will sell 200k cars in China.

Peugeot also showed the SxC, fully designed in its China Tech Centre and displaying what China wants from a car. Hence, it’s a tall crossover, with a petrol version of the Hybrid4 drivetrain. With a 1.6 THP turbo, the four-wheel drive setup pumps out 313hp. Why no HDi engine? Because China’s predominately a petrol-driven market.

Subaru

Subaru chose China to reveal its compact crossover XV, again showing what’s important to Chinese buyers. The 2012 Impreza saloon and wagon? That was reserved for New York…

SEAT

SEAT is not yet in China: Shanghai 2011 was its debut. It plans to go on sale there next year, with exports of the Leon and Ibiza from the massive Martorell plant. This will give SEAT much-needed extra volume as it carries on justifying itself to VW Group paymasters.

It’s actually a good fit, though, said SEAT MD James Muir. China likes cars with young, sporty, design-led attributes, conveniently displayed in all SEATs. The market also likes distinctive European cars, with lots of performance and good dynamics. Hence, the late-minute China debut, using show stand real estate from brand partners Audi and VW.

Bentley

China was Bentley’s 3^rd largest market in 2012. In Q1 2011, it had already jumped up to second place, with 302 cars sold chalking up a 64% increase. That’s why Bentley’s expanding the dealer count by a third, and that’s also why it’s making a special Flying Spur China edition: China is the single largest market for Flying Spur.

The Mulsanne is also now going to China. Astonishingly, Bentley plans to ship 300 over there this year, ‘each one of them different’. These are rapidly becoming very big sales of cars that command very big price tags. Making Bentley another brand VW Group needs worry about no longer?

Audi

ANOTHER A3 concept saloon – yet another category Audi’s inventing (or, rather, reinventing)? It’s a petrol-electric hybrid, called e-tron, which can do 34 miles under electric power only, before the 211hp 1.4 TSI takes over. Behind the rear seats, there are 12Kwh of lithium ion batteries, but this doesn’t affect interior space: Audi’s given it the longest wheelbase in the compact sector, for bags of rear passenger knee room.

China, of course, likes saloons. Thus, a prediction: the Chinese market is going to lead to more ‘world’ compact saloons such as this. Making that VW Derby prescient?

Volvo

Massive 5 metre long Volvo Concept Universe previews the replacement for the S80. But, because it’s massive, it’s also THE perfect car for China, even though Volvo says its plan is to make world cars. It’s in China first to gauge what ‘the most demanding Chinese customers think’: an illustration of the market’s importance is that Europe and the US will have to wait. Volvo will show it in these markets. But only once China’s seen all it wants…

Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce is another posh Brit brand going great guns in China. That’s why it’s showing the Ghost Extended Wheelbase there for the first time – even though it don’t be ready for series production until 2012. It’s the first Rolls-Royce ever to be revealed in China, ‘underlining the strategic significance of the market and the Asia-Pacific region’. 170mm in the wheelbase means a doubling of rear knee room: just what well-heeled Chinese buyers are after.

That’s not all. There is a bespoke China Edition Phantom, with a red interior, twin gold coach lines, gold-plated Spirit of Ecstasy and stainless steel pinstripes. In a nutshell, revealing what Chinese buyers like in a car. There are more models from the Centenary Collection (marking 100 years of the Spirit of Ecstasy) too – China is the biggest market for these specials.

Oh, China is also the biggest market for bespoke Phantoms, too. To help buyers choose, Rolls-Royce is expanding from 8 to 11 dealers, which will be the highest number in a single market, and second only to the US. Power to you, Goodwood.

Land Rover

Land Rover sales rose 59% in China last year – it’s the firm’s fastest-growing single market. Thus, the appearance of the uber-expensive Range Rover Autobiography Edition. China loves this edition, which sees each single model crafted  to the customer’s specification. 50 have already been sold in the US. How many in China? 150…

Kia

Further proof the compact saloon is back comes from Kia. The K2 is a stretched, widened Kia Rio platform build especially for China. Is Audi’s trend already being followed?

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?

Range Rover grabbed a sure-fire headline when it revealed the Evoque last week.

Victoria Beckham Designs New Baby Range Rover.

Yup, Mrs Beckham was the surprise celeb who stepped up alongside Land Rover design God Gerry McGovern; in a few seconds, she was turned from mere celeb into Range Rover Creative Design Executive.

Step aside Murat Gunak and Luc Donckerwolke, Victoria’s here to show you how it’s done! Needless to say, commentary over said decision soon came via the net.

What does she know about car design was the general consensus, filtering out the obscenities. Madness, they said: Land Rover, what are you doing?

Sure enough, Ms Becks ensured the 2011 Range Rover Evoque became news the following day. ‘Victoria becomes car designer’ was splashed everywhere went, in handy economy with the truth. ‘Victoria designs new Range Rover’, they continued. ‘Victoria reinvents the 4-wheel-drives’ they could have carried on.

So, what does she know about car design? To be honest, probably nothing. She doesn’t need to, though. Land Rover has car designers for that.

Instead, what she’s bringing is (ahem) posh market insight.

Posh advises on posh for the posh

Range Rover held the 40th bash in association with Vogue magazine, at posh Kensington Palace (it of Princess Diana fame). Celebs duly attended not because of the car, but because other celebs and famed types were.

As all they were, so too were the photographers. And the TV channels. And the celeb reporters. And… well, you get the idea. VB was right at home, and the Evoque was granted instant premium gravitas as a result.

Now, on the night, Gerry McGovern’s explanatory words may have sounded reluctant lip service, but they in fact reveal why she’s there. Edited down, they’re a great insight:

Design and trends… understands luxury products… owned Range Rovers in the past… her products bought by women… new dimension… wider audience.

This is a Range Rover for women. Posh, beautiful women, who like Jimmy Choo shoes and other posh things a male journo can’t ever hope to understand.

We are not in the least bit qualified to offer commentary on what the market likes and hates here. McGovern probably isn’t, either. For that, you need someone who does mix in those circles. Such as VB.

She won’t be drawing the cars. Gerry McGovern probably doesn’t draw the cars, either; he directs others, provides the framework, the inspiration, the leadership. With her own luxocelebfeminine agenda, this is what Beckham will be doing, too.

I reckon it’s a bit of a forward-thinking coup. Knock Brand Beckham if you like, but there’s no doubting it’s effective.

Besides, Range Rover did something identical years back, and we didn’t slate it so then. Indeed, today, the Vogue Range Rovers remain on sale and are the ones motoring journos hope for in press fleets (it’s always amusing to step from a Kia Picanto into something with Wilton carpet mats).

Anyway, all these posh people paying premium prices for Range Rovers means they can be created at such vast expense and given the pricey technical features that so wow we car nuts. We all thus benefit!

Thanks, Posh.

+ Do you think Victoria Beckham and Range Rover is a smart move?
+ Is this a good or bad way for Land Rover to broaden its market?
+ Are there any other examples of celebs getting involved in car design?

LAND Rover has launched a great example of why marketing is brilliant.

First, the background. 4x4s have been vilified in recent years. Land Rover makes, well, 4x4s. Its engineers have been making them ever-more green.

And then, the winter came. And the snow came. And came, and came. 6 million people were stuck at home, and BMWs were abandoned. Cue Breaking News panic, and children stuck at school, and brides unable to get married.

To the rescue? None other than the 4×4. The hero of the hour. And what more famous 4×4 in the UK is there, than the Land Rover? Suddenly, the idea of an all-year machine that has a premium badge, gets you out of a fix and still does 42mpg became the thing of the moment.

Lo, 4x4s, we love you again. Snow joke.

But the brilliance? A new App developed by Land Rover. Which… gives live ski snow reports from the slopes of Britain. Complete with image of Range Rover spanking said slope like a bitch.

You’ve gotta hand it to them. Marketing, when done well, is utter genius…

What the iPhone can teach us about electric cars

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Social media and I

LAND Rovers all have a characteristic to their ride quality that has to be imparted on all its vehicles, chassis man Murray Dietsch told me.

The secret, he says, is to keep the car level. Not side to side, particularly, but fore-to-aft.

This is pitch. ‘Land Rovers shouldn’t pitch too much – we have a pre-determined rate, that we can get to quite quickly during CAE suspension layouts.’ The trick is to carry this through to real-life machines.

Not easy when you’re dealing with 2.7-tonnes of heavy off-roader, he adds. That’s where the vehicles’ air suspension comes in so handy; now masterminded, he adds, by a tech set-up based on Jaguar’s innovative CATS system.

In practice, this means all Land Rovers have a signature body motion over flowing, undulating roads. The front and rear ends rise and fall at similar rates, to give an almost undetected but exceedingly pleasant sense of satisfaction.

This is something felt all the time – whenever the car is moving, the suspension is working and the pitch rates are being manipulated. But it’s on serious undulations that you can best see it.

Try analysing it, next time you’re out in your car. And, to see what I’m talking about, check out (and feel the Disco lush of) the first half of this video:

Ride on time

Rover rides with NASA

Vauxhall gives new Astra suspension a twist

Today, I was a guest speaker on City Talk Liverpool radio. The presenter, Rob McLoughlin, had Eddie O’Hara MP in the studio, and brought me in for some journalistic insight.

They’d got my name from reading the news pieces I’ve been writing for Car Dealer Magazine. All this fuss kicked off on Wednesday, you see, after the BERR assembled car industry chiefs, Ministers, bank folk and other senior people. For a heads-up on how to get the industry into gear.

Like the industry, the meeting stalled. The RMIF emerged and screamed that it had ‘failed’. Mandelson came out and said the Treasury and, in particular, the Bank of England were dragging their feet. The Bank of England responded by biting its tongue, kicking the cat, then saying it was ‘puzzled’ by Mandelson’s comments.

Even the BoE press release seemed fit to explode… I can only imagine what the language flowing through the meeting was.

Hence, McLoughlin’s interest. First, he grilled O’Hara, on what the Government was going to do. ‘It’s going to cost you votes!’, he said. This is going to cost me nerve endings, I thought.

After a short while, it was over to me. ‘Which plants are at risk in the UK?’ Heavens above. No time to respond though, as McLoughlin quickly added the Liverpool-specific line. ‘What about Ellesmere Port and Halewood?’ In all honesty, I ventured, things are more positive for them than most. Both have secured a green future model, in the Ampera and LRX. This alone opens up a big chunk of green Government cash. Back to O’Hara. Phew.

The debate continued, and we discussed the future model, the sheer oddness of Mandelson’s comments, what can be done to revive the market and, broadly, my insight on the industry’s view of things.

Pleasingly, it went well. Haven’t done much radio chat, but I quite got into it by the end.

But, for a bit of insight, what happens to guys like me on the line? Well, they call you up a few minutes before, then you hear a live feed to the broadcast station. There’s no warning that you’re ‘live’, so you simply start chatting when you’re name’s called. Listen to talk shows from now on – all those mentions of the guests’ names is vital, to elicit both concentration, and a response!

At the end, the feed cut, it was a quick thank you from the producer, a swap of mobile numbers, and back to reality. My summary? As I reviewed in the news at the end of the week – Land Rover’s green future is positive, and the key to it getting a shot right now is confidence.

Maybe, just maybe, I’ve played a small part in boosting that. If not, the call from Land Rover will be first in tomorrow…

Land Rover is going to do a MINI with the new baby Range Rover. Due in 2011, it won’t just offer fuel economy comparable with a Ford Focus.

It will also, once again, see the brand changing with the times.

They started out as farmer’s hacks, Land Rovers. Posh farmers led to the Range Rover, but as farmers farmed out their fields for posh houses, so the models themselves became more Sloane Ranger. Growing in size, stature, and price.

A hole at the cheap end of the range developed, so the Discovery came in. then, a whole new sector was created, with the Freelander. The Land Rover for those to whom farming meant Saturday market.

Now, big is bad. Pricey is bad. The market has shuddered, and Land Rover’s core has with it. If Land Rover is to not only survive, but have relevance, it needs to change.

With the LRX Range Rover, it’s doing just that. Big? Thirsty? Brash? Less popular than a foxhunt on Playgroup day? Not a bit of it.

It’s the anti-SUV, a Range Rover for those with an eye on the future.

But who want iPod, not just generic MP3 player.

I reckon it’s likely to be a winner (Land Rover has a knack of this: see, well, every new model it’s ever launched). Not only does the production-intent concept look great, it’s crucially about the size of a Focus. Perfect. Even the very first diesel on sale in late 2010 will do 50mpg.

In time, there’ll be a 60mpg hybrid version, with sub-120g/km CO2 emissions. Comparable with a VW Golf Bluemotion, then.

It won’t be cheap, of course (not least because £400 million is being in vested in it – on top of Land Rover’s £800 million green investment. It’s too clever to not be: don’t expect many variants for under £30k. But, as it’s going to be the must-have car of 18 month’s time, that’s not going to be an issue.

Land Rover started off small, and only became big with time. To ensure it stays big, it needs to go small again. Come 2011, this model will have a big part to play in achieving that.