Autocar September 19, 2018

COULD FORD REALLY ditch many of its cars from the UK market and focus instead on selling vans and pick-ups? It might seem unthinkable, but the idea has been floated by financial analysts as a solution to the firm’s struggles in the UK, as you can read in Nick Gibbs’ excellent analysis on p15. Now, given that the Fiesta and Focus are among the UK’s bestsellers, they’re not going anywhere soon. But if you doubt that Ford would make such a major shift in priorities, just look to the US, where the Blue Oval is in the process of phasing out all of its traditional cars, bar the Mustang. That move also seemed unthinkable, but the sales figures explain why. In the first eight months of 2018, Ford US sold 431,421 cars…

Mercedes-Benz is preparing to revive its iconic SL as a lighter, faster and far more engaging model featuring engineering input from the German manufacturer’s AMG performance car division. Autocar can confirm that the eighth-generation model will receive a traditional fabric hood in place of the folding hard-top arrangement that has been used for the past two incarnations of the SL. It is scheduled to reach UK showrooms in 2020 based on an all-new platform, key elements of which are set to be shared by a planned successor model to the AMG GT. The new aluminium-intensive platform, known internally as the MSA (modular sports architecture) structure, has been conceived to provide both the new SL and future GT with largely common underpinnings in an attempt to increase the economies of scale and overall…

COULD FORD REALLY ditch many of its cars from the UK market and focus instead on selling vans and pick-ups? It might seem unthinkable, but the idea has been floated by financial analysts as a solution to the firm’s struggles in the UK, as you can read in Nick Gibbs’ excellent analysis on p15. Now, given that the Fiesta and Focus are among the UK’s bestsellers, they’re not going anywhere soon. But if you doubt that Ford would make such a major shift in priorities, just look to the US, where the Blue Oval is in the process of phasing out all of its traditional cars, bar the Mustang. That move also seemed unthinkable, but the sales figures explain why. In the first eight months of 2018, Ford US sold…

As Mercedes’ range has grown over the years, the positioning of some of its models has become increasingly blurred. The SL evolved throughout its history from a racing-inspired sporting model to a flagship luxury GT, but the current generation has sat in no-man’s land since the introduction of the roomier and more luxurious S-Class Cabriolet, and the faster, more hardcore AMG GT. The SL’s repositioning as a more sporting model makes sense, then, and there’s no denying buyers will be intrigued by the idea of a car that shares much with the AMG GT range but can be bought for significantly less. What concerns me, however, is that it could become too hardcore for the SL’s traditional customer base. A more sporting focus with AMG’s input is fine, but Mercedes needs to balance…

Mercedes-Benz is preparing to revive its iconic SL as a lighter, faster and far more engaging model featuring engineering input from the German manufacturer’s AMG performance car division. Autocar can confirm that the eighth-generation model will receive a traditional fabric hood in place of the folding hard-top arrangement that has been used for the past two incarnations of the SL. It is scheduled to reach UK showrooms in 2020 based on an all-new platform, key elements of which are set to be shared by a planned successor model to the AMG GT. The new aluminium-intensive platform, known internally as the MSA (modular sports architecture) structure, has been conceived to provide both the new SL and future GT with largely common underpinnings in an attempt to increase the economies of scale…

As Mercedes’ range has grown over the years, the positioning of some of its models has become increasingly blurred. The SL evolved throughout its history from a racing-inspired sporting model to a flagship luxury GT, but the current generation has sat in no-man’s land since the introduction of the roomier and more luxurious S-Class Cabriolet, and the faster, more hardcore AMG GT. The SL’s repositioning as a more sporting model makes sense, then, and there’s no denying buyers will be intrigued by the idea of a car that shares much with the AMG GT range but can be bought for significantly less. What concerns me, however, is that it could become too hardcore for the SL’s traditional customer base. A more sporting focus with AMG’s input is fine, but Mercedes…