Infiniti, Volvo, GMC, NSX, Snow and WAJ In This Months Letter From Europe

Letter from Europe
By Andrew Frankl
European Bureau Chief
The Auto Channel

April 2016; I was waiting at the traffic lights in Tiburon, Marin County when a blue Volvo pulled up beside me. It looked a bit battered but it had on the back  an S70 sign which brought back wonderful memories. I had the very same in England for over 12 years. It never missed a beat. Rain (England) sunshine ( South of France) heat wave (Hungary) it coped with absolutely everything. Two golf bags lived in the trunk for years and “my” Volvo knew the way to the Royal Automobile Club in Epsom a bit like Google’s new self-drive car . Except it was a great deal more comfortable. In fact that S70 had the most comfortable seats ever. On the German autobahns it cruised at a steady 100 miles per hour. Loved it. 

The 2016 S60 Cross Country T5 AWD (try saying that in a hurry) had the same 5 cylinder 2.5 liter that was in mine. Maybe they’ve changed it a bit but I bet you any money the engine block is the same.  The owners have certainly changed, the world famous Swedish  company in now in Chinese hands. Luckily they had the  good sense to leave the cars as is, any interference could have killed this great brand stone dead. 

Instead they’ve invested some real money in the S60 and the S90. The car is already winning awards and the ads are quite brilliant. 

The car I had was the last of the current S60s which was only showing its age it terms of the dash and the audio system. The latter was always a fiddly affair, a far cry from my car which was built in 1997!

I sat in the new one at the LA Auto show as a result of which I can’t wait to drive the new one.

Run-out models are usually the best possible buys as all the gremlins will have been sorted and as the new ones are coming in dealers are anxious to move the ones on the lot.

So  the 48 thousand sticker  price should only be a starting point.

You will not find a stronger, more comfortable car at this price  anywhere in the States . With AWD it is perfect for going up to the Sierras and as long as you are not lead footed expect to get over 25 miles per gallon. By the way the gentleman driving the  one that had stopped at the traffic lights had 150 thousand miles on the clock!

Much as I’ve tried I couldn’t even get 20 miles per gallon in Infiniti’s  flagship-the QX 80. It must be just the biggest SUV I’ve ever driven so in a way it is no surprise. The destination was Squaw Valley, site of the Winter Olympic  Games back in 1960.  Pretty astonishing if you think about it as it had  just one chair lift at the time of bidding and it was up against major ski resorts such as St Moritz and Innsbruck! The organizers were more surprised than anyone but they got on with it. The Olympic Village is still there and still functioning-that is where the athletes were staying. The event itself was a huge success with some of the legendary runs such KT 22  are still exactly as  they were back in 1960. These days of course Squaw is a mega resort with its sister  Alpine Meadows which is just down the road.

If you’ve never been either as a skier or as a boarder give it a go. Hot tip: Toyota are the official car/truck resort company and  whilst I can’t promise it is just conceivable that the local dealers might just have some comp tickets. One thing is for sure-the QX 80 would definitely get you there. When we got there it was snowing big time.

So much so that the following morning we couldn’t see the Infiniti  at all . Don’t laugh. Over the years we’ve been known to start digging out an SUV only to realize that it was the wrong one!

Anyway-is the QX the right SUV for the mountain? Yes and no. The  one I had for test was just too elegant, too luxurious. To such as extent that I was concerned about scratching  the leather. I am sure the QX has versions for less money which-for this trip-would have been just fine. This particular model costing the best part of 90 thousand dollars would be more suitable for dignitaries, celebs and the like. The seats are more like armchairs from a London club and with the screens built into the back of the headrests in front would be just the ticket especially with  Bose’s finest speakers. Merely 13 of them.

So all in all an SUV for all seasons albeit at a pretty steep price. Don’t look for too much change from 80 grand.

The QX80 is up against a formidable competitor, the Yukon Denali. Jet black with tinted glasses , everybody round here and on the road assumed that I was someone’s security detail. Put it another way, not too may cars or trucks stood in my way even though I was not pushing the beast. Marin County to the Hyatt an easy peasy two and a half hours for the annual Western Automotive Journalists gathering. Next year we will be celebrating our 25th anniversary. WAJ was in a spot of trouble some years back but under the leadership of old friend Brian Douglas at the helm we are now really rolling.

Well, certainly some of the cars were! But, back to the Denali.  Amazing comfort, excellent fuel economy at over 22 miles per gallon, massive torque, huge four-wheel disc brakes, the works.

One size too big for me, just like the QX80 but a very fine product in its own right. It would be perfect for chasing the bad guys in  the movies. Talking of GM products I was amazed just how amazingly well the new Volt is built. OK, I am not a huge fan any more than I am a Tesla fan but the build quality was simply stunning. The silly sounds upon entering  the Volt are  truly silly and are  known in the auto industry as a delete option. I hope!. 

The show itself was stolen by  Honda’s new Acura NSX. I had to wait till late in the evening with  dear old mate Ed Barrett before I could take it for a spin. Well worth the wait. Unless Ferrari come out with a V6 Dino pdq I think they will be in trouble. The NSX will be built here in the United States so the prices are likely to be highly competitive with European rivals.

Funny things happen in the world of automotive journalism. To borrow cars for test, a number of enterprising people have been known to invent sites with the word “Car” somewhere in it and hey presto they are demanding anything from a Porsche to a Mercedes.

So not surprisingly there is something called a black list. This is a hush-hush thing where the manufacturers tell the good people who take care of the press fleets who can have what. There are of course exceptions, all manufacturers have pet poodles where they are guaranteed a favorable write up even if the car/truck is a junk or in PC land  “not exceptional value”.

You will be interested to  learn that recently most of the car companies joined forces to do a national survey. The object-the relationship between the journalists and the manufacturers and what if anything could be improved . Manufacturers did not have to get involved and obviously the ones who’ve expected to come out at the bottom of the list did not participate. One guess. Four letters and a blue oval. So now you know. Still, they are making more money than ever so I don’t think they are particularly bothered.

To talk of happier things I was delighted that Mazda had won the World Car of the Year award. The way the German manufacturers have been picking it year after year

I had started to have suspicions about some of the judges from some not totally kosher countries.

Anyway, Mazda are wonderful people they have huge following here in the United States so well done guys1