The upcoming Acura NSX andFord GT supercars that left

fans drooling at auto shows thesepast few months are vanity pro-jects. Yet these lovely diversionsaimed at boys with Sir RobertBordens bending their diamond-studded money clips also havepractical purposes.

They build brands, exciteemployees and the general mar-ket, act as product-developmenttest beds and, if done right andmarketed properly, help car com-

panies make bags of money.While consumers expect the su-percars from McLaren, Ferrariand Porsche, mass-market automakers ranging from Mercedes-Benz and BMW to General Mo-tors and Ford have their ownmotives for engaging in the ultra-low-volume segment.

The NSX, for instance, is ametaphor for Honda Motor,which has always seen itself as aserious, daring engineering com-pany. The plan is to use the NSXto elevate Acura from its second-tier status among premium

brands. To achieve the goal, theNSX is designed to move yoursoul – your body just comesalong for the ride, says chief engi-neer Ted Klaus.

For Ford, even though the GT isnot an electrified supercar likeBMW i8 or the NSX hybrid withits three electric motors, it is ashowcase for advanced technolo-gy. “We learn from a low-volumevehicle like the GT,” says Ford ofCanada president and CEO Di-anne Craig. “It’s a halo vehicle; itcreates a lot of buzz in the indus-try.”

The engine fits with the com-pany’s family of EcoBoostengines. The carbon fibre body?Lightweight and strong thoughexpensive, carbon fibre is a keyarrow in the weight reductionquivers of all auto makers. Thearrangement with MultimaticMotorsports of Markham, Ont.,which will build the GT, pro-nounces Ford’s ability to workwith smaller, strictly-focused sup-pliers. The GT name also matters;it’s not just some made-up moni-ker delivered by the ad depart-ment after a dart board

competition. “It’s part of our her-itage,” Craig says, pointing to theGT cars Ford raced to great suc-cess at the 24 Hours of Le Mansin the mid-1960s.

As an image-booster with his-torical and technological bonafides, it’s also great fun – a ride sohypnotically compelling, it castsa beatific glow. Ford wants you toconnect the dots between the GTand its $17,000-ish, 123-horse-power Fiesta subcompact with athrifty 1.0-litre EcoBoost three-banger.

BRAND STRATEGY

ThehaloeffectHigh-end vanity vehicles –supercars like the new FordGT and Acura NSX – arecentral to brand building

JEREMY CATO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

G

F R I DAY , A P R I L 1 7 , 2 0 1 5 S E C T I O N E

EDITOR: TOM MALONEY

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National Edition

Globe Drive

Connect with us: @Globe_Drive facebook.com/globedrive

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Cato, page 4

PETER CHENEYBuyers usingdigital tools areforcing dealers tochange their waysof doing businessPAGE 3

MATT BUBBERSWhy cars on dietsare a win-winboth for bothspeed freaks and eco-warriorsPAGE 2

JEREMY CATOIt’s all-in now, as Rolls-Royceand Bentley jumpinto the premiumSUV marketPAGE 7

JEREMY SINEKCanadians adorethe humblehatchback … oris that a compactutility vehicle?PAGE 5

A special issue about trends and innovation, inspired by The Globe’s annual auto summit

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E2 G T H E G L O B E A N D M A I L • F R I DAY , A P R I L 1 7 , 2 0 1 5• GLOBE DRIVE

Weighing only two pounds,Apple’s latest laptop is

insanely light. It’s less than halfthe weight of this obsolete jugger-naut on which I’m typing now.

Never mind that Apple’s newgadget is obscenely, satiricallyexpensive – also underpoweredand lacking in basic features – it’slight! And being light is – for bet-ter, or far more often for worse –deeply important in our efficien-cy-obsessed era.

Vehicles are among the last con-sumer products to develop aweight complex. Although, forcars at least, lightness is a virtue.

The benefits of making carslighter are potentially enormous.It could be a rare win-win forboth speed freaks and ecowar-riors. On one hand, basic physicsdictate a lighter car will acceleratewith more ferocity and handlewith greater finesse. It will bemore fun to drive. On the otherhand, a lighter car takes less ener-gy to move, allowing engineers tospec smaller, more fuel-efficientengines.

Why, then, aren’t our cars get-ting insanely light like our lap-tops? The answer’s not as obviousas you might think.

SAFETY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Auto makers must make cars thatcan survive a crash and protectoccupants.

“Why doesn’t everybody makevery light cars? Because I thinkeverybody is in the same devel-opmental boat, having to fulfillcrash and safety regulations –they add a lot of weight,” saysGrant Larson, Porsche’s designmanager for special projects.“Lighter is tricky because the newlaws just keep rolling in.

“When you make a heavier car,it’s a heavier car also when itturns over, so you have to keepadding weight and strength to the[window] pillars. We have the re-sponsibility of safety for passen-gers, especially in a performancecar.”

If you look at a modern convert-ible, such as Porsche’s new Box-ster Spyder or 911 Targa, it’sincredible to imagine those littlepillars that frame the window canhold up the entire front end ofthe car if it rolls over. But theycan. They may look spindly, butyou can bet they’re not light.

FEATURES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Some auto makers do like Apple’sdone with its new laptop andsimply cut out features to make alighter machine.

Look at niche sports cars suchas the skeletal KTM X-Bow or theCaterham Superlight series. Bothweigh less than 800 kilogramseach. But they make do withoutwindshields, doors or roofs, letalone massaging seats and auto-matic dual-zone climate control.The result is probably the purestdriver’s car on the planet – buthow many people are willing tostrap on a helmet every time theyhave to go getgroceries?

“If you have more extras in thecar, you have more weight,” saysSteffen Koenig, product managerfor body-in-white at Porsche. Nav-igation, touch screen, backupcameras, radar sensors for adap-tive cruise control, glass roof, 17-speaker sound system, heatedand cooled seats: All these thingsadd up.

Once you add weight in theform of features, it’s hard to off-set, Koenig says. You can try tocut weight from the structure ofthe car, but then you run intosafety concerns. You can useexotic materials, but that addscost.

FOOTPRINT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

There’s another obvious way tomake cars lighter. It doesn’tinvolve extra cost or cutting fea-tures. But, most customers wouldnever put up with it.

“Every little millimetre you in-crease a car’s size, you’re addingweight,” says Derek Jenkins,director of design for MazdaNorth America. “Especially inNorth America, there’s a limit tohow small you can make thingsbefore people just get turned off.People are used to a certain sizevehicle.”

In the case of the new-genera-tion MX-5, however, Mazda wasable to make it smaller than theone it replaces.

“That’s a big win,” Jenkins says.“It let us go down in wheel sizeand reduce weight throughoutthe entire vehicle – it’s like aphilosophical shift. It’s not filledwith high-tech materials. Thetechnology is more in how Mazdascrutinized every component ofthe car to see where we can carveaway that weight.”

Making it smaller works for atwo-seat sports car, but for aseven-seat SUV it’s not an option.

“It’s really hard to make some-thing light without using a ton ofexotic materials,” Jenkins says.

MATERIALS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Even at McLaren, where thecheapest car, the new 570S, willrun you about $200,000, the costof materials is still a big concern.

Andy Palmer, the man in chargeof the 570S project at McLaren,explains: “I need to balance get-ting the car to its weight target,making sure we meet the per-formance target and also ensur-ing we meet the cost target.Balancing all those three require-ments using a mix of aluminum,carbon fibre and more conven-tional materials is always a bigchallenge.”

The carbon fibre tub that formsthe base of the passenger com-partment on the 570S weighs just80 kilograms. Palmer estimatesit’s 130 kilograms lighter than anequivalent part in steel.

A report from Bloomberg in2013 quoted the cost for carbon fi-bre at $20/kilogram comparedwith about $1 for steel. It makessense for McLaren on the low-vol-ume $200,000 570S, but not forMazda on the high-volume$30,000 MX-5.

Other lightweight materials aresimilarly expensive. Porsche usesa magnesium roof only on itshard-core $200,000 GT3 RS tolower its centre of gravity. Com-pared with an equivalent steelroof, Koenig at Porsche estimatedthe cost is roughly double formagnesium.

TITANIUM MINIVANS FOR ALL?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Crash regulations are gettingmore ambitious, consumers aredemanding more features in theircars and there’s little tolerancefor downsizing. At the same time,hybrid drivetrains and large bat-tery packs are adding weight, too.

To meet mandatory emissionstargets, auto makers have twochoices: develop alternative pow-ertrains or drastically reduce ve-hicle weight. In typicalauto-industry bet-hedging fash-ion, we’ll likely see a combinationof both approaches. The evidenceis already out there.

“As everybody progresses withtheir motor efficiency to reducefuel consumption, you have tocounterbalance that with theweight discussion,”Jenkins says.“They’re part of the same discus-sion. I think everybody is focusedon that.”

BMW has made progress inmass-producing and lowering thecost of carbon fibre. The entirepassenger cell of the $45,000 i3 ismade from the stuff.

Jaguar has invested heavily inaluminum manufacturing. Theresult is a new mid-size XF sedanthat gains features while it shed-ding 120 kilograms from its steelpredecessor.

“Will we see cars getting reallylighter? Sub-1,000 kilos? I don’tknow,” Palmer says. “Let’s seewhere technology moves us.”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Special to The Globe and Mail

TECHNOLOGY

Lightness weighs heavily on designersThere are many considerations when it comes to shedding kilos from a vehicle

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MATT BUBBERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Balancing cost and weight is a priority for McLaren’s 570s. The carbon fibre tub that forms the base of the passenger compartment weighs just 80 kilograms.

When Tony Mancina rents acar and buckles up, he no-

tices parts of the car most peopledon’t, such as the location of theseat belts or the ergonomicdesign and ease of access for thecup holders.

“I have been on vacation andgotten into rental vehicles andsaid: ‘Wow, I can’t believe theyactually sell this thing,’” saidMancina, director of ChryslerCanada engineering. “But I’vebeen in some cars and thought,‘That is nice, we should do thatin our cars, too.’”

An average modern car hasabout 2,000 parts, making it a lotmore than just an engine, fourdoors, seats and pedals. The vastmajority of components gounnoticed unless there is a prob-lem with the design or engineer-ing. In Chrysler vehicles, seatbelts feel comfortable to mostdrivers and passengers becauseMancina’s team extensively testsseat belt positions and anglesfrom the anchor points to fitfrom the fifth percentile womanto the 95th percentile male – orfrom drivers between five feet to6-foot-3.

“A customer may take for grant-ed that a seat belt is comfortableand in the right location, but weget into those specific items,” hesaid during a tourof the facility.

Mancina runs the AutomotiveResearch and Development

Centre in Windsor, a 205,000-square-foot facility that openedin 1996. Chrysler has spent $600-million on the plant over thepast 19 years.

In addition to seat belt place-ment, engineers and technicianstest headlight angles in a tunnelas long as a football field, thestrength of steering columnswith constantly moving robotarms and suspension durability.The corrosion test is a 10-yearsimulation in 24 weeks where thevehicle is driven, sprayed withsalt and subjected to unusuallyhumid or dry conditions in anenvironmental chamber. Engi-neers test spoiler angles to opti-

mize handling and fuel economyand create new methods forapplying paint, because even sav-ing a few millimetres per car canadd up to big savings for thecompany. They also subject carsto massive potholes to see howquickly parts deteriorate.

“We dive into the very finedetails of any component or ve-hicle element,” he said. “We tryto identify and engineer all of theissues or opportunities we canfind on the vehicle so the cus-tomer has the best experiencepossible.”

Many of the tests are related todurability, to know when partswill fail. In one room, tiny robot

arms pull a steering wheel everyfew seconds, others move a shif-ter. In another, the wheels aretaken off and the car is hookedup to larger robot arms that tossand turn the car. And in yet an-other room, all four shocks areconstantly pumped as if a streetwere filled with deep potholes. Itis mesmerizing to watch.

“We develop severe tests; some-times, those tests are to completefatigue or failure and we measurethe degree of failure and whenwe talk about failure it is never tothe extent the customer wouldexperience,” he said.

Mancina points to the steeringwheel test as an example of a fa-tigue test. When a driver climbsinto a pickup truck or SUV,chances are he or she pulls thebottom of the steering wheel fora boost.

A small robot arm tugs on thewheel every few seconds to dis-play in a matter of weeks thesame pressure that may beapplied to the wheel in a decade.The idea is to learn what thecomponent is capable of andhow it can be improved.

“The one thing that I noticewhen I get into all of our prod-ucts is the impact this facility hashad on various elements of thatparticular vehicle,” he said.

“I know that seat belt, thosedesigns, that location was donehere. I know that steering co-lumn, the robustness of thatdesign, we did that. It gives you areal sense of pride.”

DESIGN

Sweating the small stuff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

JORDAN CHITTLEY WINDSOR, ONT.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A Jeep is subject to extreme heat at the FCA Automotive Research andDevelopment Centre in Windsor, Ont.JORDAN CHITTLEY/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

Go to globedrive.com to watchJeremy Cato’s interviews with executives at The Globe’s 2015Auto Summit.

ONLINE

We all realize you have tohave a foot in each and everytechnology, be it fuel cell, beit full electrification, be itplug-in hybrids. … I think we were always there, butnow we refined thetechnology and now is theright time to introduce aplug-in hybrid in Canada.

Wolfgang HoffmannAudi Canada

What you see directly infront of you is what you need to know right now. And what you see there iswhat you want to know.

Margareta MahlstedtVolvo Cars of Canada

ALL 2015s COMEWITHCHEVROLET COMPLETE CARE: 52 YEARS/40,000 KM

COMPLIMENTARYOIL CHANGES** 5 YEARS/160,000KM

POWERTRAINWARRANTY▲

YEARS/160,000KMROADSIDEASSISTANCE ▲

TOTAL CREDITS ON OTHER MODELS2MONTHS ON SELECT CAMARO MODELS1

0% 84FOR OR UP TO $5,250(INCLUDES $4,500 CASH CREDIT & $750 OWNER CASH)

For the latest information, visit us at chevrolet.ca, drop by your local Chevrolet Dealer or call us at 1-800-GM-DRIVE. 1 Offer available to qualified retail customers in Canada for vehicles from April 1, 2015 – April 30, 2015. 0% purchase financing offered on approved credit by TD Auto Finance Services, Scotiabank® or RBC Royal Bank for 84 monthson all new or demonstrator 2015 Camaro 1LS and 2LS. Participating lenders are subject to change. Rates from other lenders will vary. Down payment, trade and/or security deposit may be required. Monthly payment and cost of borrowing will vary depending on amount borrowed and down payment/trade. Example: $40,000 at 0% APR, the monthly paymentis $476.19 for 84 months. Cost of borrowing is $0, total obligation is $40,000. Offer is unconditionally interest-free. ®Registered trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia. RBC and Royal Bank are registered trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada. 2 $5,250 is a combined total credit consisting of $750 Owner Cash (tax inclusive) and a $4,500 manufacturer todealer cash credit (tax exclusive) on Camaro 1LT, 2LT, 1SS, 2SS and ZL1 which is available for cash purchases only and cannot be combined with special lease and finance rates. By selecting lease or finance offers, consumers are foregoing this $4,500 credit which will result in higher effective interest rates. Discounts vary by model. 1/2 ***Freight & PDI($1,650), registration, air and tire levies and OMVIC fees included. Insurance, licence, PPSA, dealer fees and applicable taxes not included. Offers apply as indicated to 2015 new or demonstrator models of the vehicle equipped as described. Offers apply to qualified retail customers in the Ontario Chevrolet Dealer Marketing Association area only (includingOutaouais). Dealers are free to set individual prices. Quantities limited; dealer order or trade may be required. Limited time offers which may not be combined with other offers. GMCL may modify, extend or terminate offers, in whole or in part, at any time without notice. Conditions and limitations apply. See dealer for details. ††2015 Camaro 2SS Coupe,MSRP with freight, PDI & levies: $46,149. Dealers are free to set individual prices. **The 2-Year Scheduled Lube-Oil-Filter Maintenance Program provides eligible customers in Canada, who have purchased, leased or financed a new eligible 2014 MY Chevrolet, Buick or GMC vehicle (excluding Spark EV), with an ACDelco oil and filter change, in accordancewith the oil life monitoring system and the Owner’s Manual, for 2 years or 40,000 km, whichever occurs first, with a limit of four (4) Lube-Oil-Filter services in total, performed at participating GM Dealers. Fluid top-offs, inspections, tire rotations, wheel alignments and balancing, etc. are not covered. This offer may not be redeemed for cash and may not becombined with certain other consumer incentives available on GM vehicles. General Motors of Canada Limited reserves the right to amend or terminate this offer, in whole or in part, at any time without prior notice. Additional conditions and limitations apply. See dealer for details. ▲Whichever comes first. See dealer for limited warranty details.

BLURRING THE LINE BETWEENNEED ANDWANT:

THE 2015 CAMARO

You already wanted a Camaro.You know it. And we know it.You’ve wanted it ever since youwere little. The big difference isthat now, you can actually haveit. Heck, at this rate – we’re notsure you have a choice.

2SS Coupe shown††

426horsepower

Max. HP:

lb.-ft.

Max. Torque:

420V8Available:

engine

Powertrain Warranty:

years / km▲

5/160k4G LTEWi-Fi

Wi-Fi0-96 km/h in

4.7seconds

0 96

THE 2015 CAMARO

MORE HORSE THAN A MUSTANG.

VEHICLE PRICING IS NOW EASIER TO UNDERSTAND BECAUSE ALL OUR PRICES INCLUDE FREIGHT, PDI AND MANDATORY GOVERNMENT LEVIES. Prices do not include applicable taxes and PPSA. Consumers may be required to pay up to $799 for Dealer fees.***

CHEVROLET.CA

T H E G L O B E A N D M A I L • F R I DAY , A P R I L 1 7 , 2 0 1 5 G E3GLOBE DRIVE •

In the late 1970s, I spent a fewmonths working as a mechan-

ic at a large car dealership. Ididn’t like the job much, but itcame with an unexpected bene-fit – I got to observe sales pro-fessionals in action.

Like a National Geographicreporter on assignment in theSerengeti, I was learning about anew species. Back then, car saleshad a well-established choreo-graphy: salespeople wore suits,polished their shoes to a highgloss and spent their days wait-ing for “Ups” – potential cus-tomers who walked into theshowroom.

There were two kinds of Ups:The bad ones were tire kickerswho never bought a car. Thegood ones were those with bul-letproof credit ratings and theurge to buy – these Ups seemedto exude a chemical scent thatattracted salespeople. Watchinga good Up walk through theshowroom doors was like watch-ing a fattened seal taking aswim through the shark-feedinggrounds off the Farallon Islands– the only question was whichsalesperson would get the Upfirst.

Today, that car sales model isdead in the water, pushed asideby a digital reality that hasturned the tables on the old-school salesman.

“There has been a completeshift in power from the dealer-ship to the buyer,” says Tim Wil-son, a Google executive wholeads the company’s automotiveprogram in Canada. “Informa-tion is power, and the consumernow has it.”

Internet research has upendedcar-buying. When I worked at adealership, the vast majority ofconsumers depended on dealersfor information about prospec-

tive purchases. By the time theybought a car, many had visitedat least half a dozen dealershipsin their quest for information.

According to research by Goo-gle, more than 75 per cent of allcar buyers now use the Internetas their primary research tool,and a growing number visit onlya single dealership before theybuy.

Bruno Lucarelli, an auto indus-try consultant and former headof eBay Motors, says few dealerswere prepared for the way theInternet would reshape theirbusiness. In 2004, when Lucarel-li was an executive with Auto-trader’s online operation, helearned that 75 per cent of thecar dealers in his area (NewYork and New Jersey) didn’thave websites.

“They’d always done businessthe same way,” Lucarelli says.“You brewed your coffee,opened the front door and wait-

ed for the customers to come in.Online hit them like a truck.”

Dealers soon realized that theweb was a seismic shift. Many oftheir customers came throughthe door armed with moreknowledge than the salespeoplein the showroom. Customerscould recite specifications, knewwhat the dealer had paid for thecar they were interested in andthey knew what models compet-ing dealers had in stock.

“All the information was outthere on the Internet,” Lucarellisays. “Anyone could be an ex-pert.”

The age of the Internet buyerhas forced dealers to change theway they do business. Theshark-attack style of sales isbeing pushed aside by an “expe-rience” model aimed at makingcustomers comfortable so thatthey’ll choose to do businesswith your dealership. Manufac-turers have pushed dealers to

invest in major upgrades thatinclude everything from newcarpeting to on-site spas.

“Consumers will pay for theexperience they want,” Lucarellisays. “Companies like Abercrom-bie & Fitch have known this fora long time – kids like hangingaround their stores. And Star-bucks gives you free wireless soyou’ll stick around.”

Wilson agrees with Lucarelli’sassessment. “The web haschanged the game,” he says,adding that 50 per cent of cus-tomers Google surveyed in 2014knew exactly what they wantedto buy before they walked into ashowroom.

“Car dealers don’t need sales-people now. They need facilita-tors that make the customer feelgood about their experience.The dealer used to have all thepricing info in their secret littleblack books. Now it’s availableto anyone who wants to look.”

REDLINE

The last tire kickerHow the Internet tipped the balance of car-buying power

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PETER CHENEYpcheney@globeandmail.com

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The shark-attack style of car sales has gone out the window in the age of the Internet. GETTY IMAGES

Go to globedrive.com to watchJeremy Cato’s interviews with executives at The Globe’s 2015Auto Summit.

What we are doing in thedealerships is not just aboutthe bricks and mortar. Thecustomer gets to choose thetype of service – whether we go to his house and pickup the car, or if he comes in and waits, or if he gets a service loaner.

Tim ReussMercedes-Benz Canada

ONLINE

BY THE NUMBERS

The car-buying journey hasthree phases: thinking,researching and buying. On av-erage, the thinking phase takes30 days. Researching takes 22days. Buying, 18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Internet is five times morelikely to influence a car buyerthan other forms of media.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Using the Internet as aresearch source increased to 78per cent in 2014, from 66 percent in 2013. During this peri-od, the use of dealers as an in-formation source decreased to56 per cent from 62 per cent.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

35 per cent of car buyers sur-veyed in 2014 visited only onedealership before purchasing(the year before, this figurewas 28 per cent).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

50 per cent of car buyers saidthey knew what they wantedbefore entering a dealership.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

33 per cent of car buyers fallinto a “self-serve category” –they do all their own research.

© 2015 Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc.AD

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Handcrafted by Racers.The new Mercedes-AMG GT.

E4 G T H E G L O B E A N D M A I L • F R I DAY , A P R I L 1 7 , 2 0 1 5

We are talking a lot of dotshere. Ford sells hundreds of

thousands of Fiestas worldwide.The GT with its expected 600horsepower? Ford Americas pres-ident Joe Hinrichs said in NewYork that GT production will belimited to 250 cars a year. He alsosaid the GT will be priced againstother supercars in the $400,000range.

Honda’s plan for the NSX issimilar but different in impor-tant ways. It’s also a heavenlyride, but most importantly, theNSX wears an Acura badge. It’llbe sold only at Acura dealer-ships, with not a single Fiesta-fighting Honda Fit in sight. It iscritical to a brand fighting for re-spect.

What makes this NSX so in-triguing is how such an impossi-bly low and sleek machinecombines so many of the tech-nologies available in Acura andHonda models – technologiesthat perhaps many shoppersoverlook, ignore or perhaps un-dervalue, say Honda officials.

“When you have a supercar,the number of people that areactually going to end up drivingour NSX is not such a big num-ber,” says Honda Canada seniorvice-president Dave Gardner.“But if you’re looking for (theNSX’s) super-handling all-wheeldrive, well, you can get that in an(Acura) MDX. That dual-clutchtechnology (in the NSX), hey, wehave that in the (Acura) ILX.

“So there’s a little bit of thatDNA in every model.”

This is a proven strategy. In1989, Acura stunned the Chicagoauto show with a prototypecalled the NS-X – New, Sportscar,eXperimental. The mid-engineproduction model was heavilyinfluenced by Honda’s motor-sports division.

It was low and sexy, with seat-ing for just two, an aluminumbody, an aluminum V-6, andsteering and handling that bene-fited from extensive testing inputfrom Formula One champ Ayr-ton Senna – the brilliant Brazi-lian who drove Honda power tothree F1 championships beforehis tragic death in 1994. So theNSX has its own racing heritage,just like the GT.

When the first-generation NSX

hit Japanese showrooms in early1990, Honda’s flagship modelwas the rather pedestrian Prel-ude. For its 1991 North Americanlaunch, the NSX landed in Acurashowrooms filled with re-badgedHondas like the Legend and theIntegra. The NSX was a sensa-

tion. Instantly, Acura’s lineupgained by association with thissleek sports car wearing the Sen-na stamp.

“We sold the last one, I think,in 2005 and since that time hasthere been something missing? Ithink so. I think this (new NSX)

re-establishes what the DNA isall about,” says Gardner.

Gardner and Klaus insist, how-ever, that this NSX – like theoriginal – will give the Acurabrand a boost for not just goodlooks and innovative technology.What separates this NSX fromother super halos is not just therelatively affordable price –expected to be in the $150,000-$200,000 range – but the wholeuser-friendliness of the thing.

“I believe that for some of ourcompetitors, it’s really moreabout the machine – the humanmanages the machine,” saysKlaus. “For us, that’s upsidedown. For us, the focus is not onthe machine, but the human. Wewant to bring the machine closerto the driver.”

And like Ford with its GT, joltthe brand upwards and bringshoppers into showrooms.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Special to The Globe and Mail

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Cato: The supercar mystique is all about building the brand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9

The Acura NSX concept on display at the 2013 De

PORSCHE GT3 RS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Price: $200,700. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Engine: 500 hp naturally aspirated 4.0-litre six-cylinder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Acceleration (0-100 km/h): 3.3seconds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Top speed: 310 km/h. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It’s faster around the Nürburgringthan the heavier but more power-ful 911 Turbo S, blitzing the famedGerman track in 7 minutes and 20seconds. The RS is 10 kg lighterthan the regular GT3, thanks to amagnesium roof, and more car-bon-fibre throughout. The GT3 al-ready deleted niceties like rearseats, backup camera, and evenplastic interior door handles,which become fabric loops in theunrelenting pursuit of lightness.

2015 CHEVY CORVETTE Z06. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Price: $85,095. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Engine: 650 hp supercharged 6.2-litre V-8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Acceleration (0-100 km/h): 3.1seconds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Top speed: 304 km/h. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The 2015 Corvette Z06, equippedwith supercar-worthy 650 horse-power, replaces the ZR1 as thequickest and most powerful Cor-vette ever. Co-developed withChevy’s C7.R endurance sportscar, it uses similar chassis comp-onents, engine technologies, andaerodynamic features. Whichmade it the fastest production carever around GM’s Milford provinggrounds.

FERRARI 458 SPECIALE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Price: $295,000 (U.S.). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Engine: 605 hp naturally aspirated 4.5-litre V-8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Acceleration (0-100 km/h): 3.0seconds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Top speed: 325 km/h. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Designed to be the fastest FerrariV-8 sports car around the famedItalian auto maker’s Fiorano testtrack, this is also the track whereFerrari Formula One cars undergoserious testing. Ferrari trumpetsthis car is only half a second slow-er per lap than the 12-cylinderF12berlinetta, and faster than itspre-LaFerrari hyper car, therevered V-12 Enzo.

2016 MCLAREN 675LT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Price: £259,500 ($480,544). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Engine: 666 hp twin-turbo-charged 3.8-litre V-8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Acceleration (0-100 km/h): 2.9seconds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Top speed: 330 km/h. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Like Ferrari, all McLaren modelsare inherently tinged with anexotic Formula One glamour, butthis particular limited-editionmodel takes its inspiration fromthe racing version of McLaren’sfirst road car, the F1 GTR Longtail,and hence the LT moniker. The675LT follows a similar pattern toits namesake, and many of thecars here: lower weight, morepower, and upgraded track-readycomponentry.

FIVE FAST AND FUN SUPERCARS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PORSCHE GENERAL MOTORS FERRARI MCLAREN AUTOMOTIVE

TECH SPECS

FORD GT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Price: $400,000-plus (est.). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Horsepower: 600-plus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Power train: 3.5-litre EcoBoostV-6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Drive: Rear-wheel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Body and frame: Carbon fibreand aluminum, aluminum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

On sale: Late 2016

ACURA NSX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Price: $150,000-plus (est.). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Horsepower: 550-plus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Power train: Hybrid twin-turbo V-6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Drive: All-wheel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Body and frame: Carbon fibre,sheet molding composite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

On sale: Late 2015

• GLOBE DRIVE

T H E G L O B E A N D M A I L • F R I DAY , A P R I L 1 7 , 2 0 1 5 G E5

Nobody ever went broke un-der-estimating the rationality

of the car-buying public. Emo-tion, prejudice and blind brandloyalty all skew the process. And,of all the logic-challengedmotives that drive purchasing de-cisions, perhaps none is moremuddle-headed than our attitudeto hatchbacks.

Let it be said that Canadians –Quebecers especially – toleratehatchbacks better than Ameri-cans. Compared with the rest ofthe planet, however, many Cana-dians remain persuaded that a carwithout a trunk isn’t proper.

Mysteriously, this prejudiceonly applies to mass-market cars.We’re not threatened by tailgatesattached to minivans or SUVs.And what about those sports cars,Corvette included, with liftgatesinstead of trunk lids? Or prestigeEuropeans like the PorschePanamera and the Audi A7?

The way George Iny, director ofthe Automobile Protection Asso-ciation, calls it, “Canadians have

fallen in love with hatchbacks.But they ride on raised chassiswith AWD and they’re calledcompact SUVs.”

When it comes to tailgates onregular cars, we tolerate them onstarter-car subcompacts for theyoung and financially challenged.About 75 per cent of Ford Fiestasales are the hatch. But once youreach a certain station in life, yourdignity and worth as a humanbeing demand a car with a sepa-rate storage locker protrudingfrom its hind end. Hatchbackavailability and popularityshrinks as you graduate to thecompact class, and evaporatesentirely above that.

Of course, there are practicalconcerns. Absent a cargo cover,the exposed contents of a hatch-back invite theft. Then again,most hatchbacks have cargo cov-ers. And hatchbacks promiseunmatched do-it-all versatility forCanadian families who are morelikely than Americans to haveonly one car.

Paradoxically, to the extent thatcompact hatchbacks do exist,

they’re the versions usually posi-tioned and priced upmarket ofthe sedans. Mazda Canada didthat when it added the five-doorProtégé5 15 years ago, and todaymost hatchback offerings are stillconfined to higher trim levels (forexample, the base Ford Focus Scomes only as a sedan) or pricedhigher for the same trim (Mazda3GX hatch asks $1,000 more thanGX sedan). Which raises the ques-tion: chicken or egg?

Volkswagen has perpetuatedthis practice with its Golf (hatch-back) and Jetta (sedan) siblings.Even though the Golf is built inthe same Mexican plant as the Jet-ta, the base Golf starts $4,000above the entry-level Jetta.

The ability of auto makers toask more for compact hatchbacksmay also be a legacy of the GolfGTI, the car that invented the hothatchback category. “VW did a lotto build that sense of a premiumhatch,” says Toyota Canada vice-president Stephen Beatty.

New models revealed at theNew York auto show did little torationalize the status of hatch-

backs in the market. Scion reveal-ed its first sedan, the subcompactiA – in Canada, it will be sold asthe Toyota Yaris sedan. And thefour-door Yaris (which is built-in-low-cost Mexico) will be position-ed as more upscale than thehatchback of the same name(which is imported from France).

Honda revealed that the next-gen Civic will include (for the firsttime since 2004) a hatchback ver-sion. The hatch will be a five-door,and while it’s too soon to talkpricing, it will be imported fromHonda’s British plant, so it’s likelyto be priced above the sedan.

Auto makers we spoke with dis-agreed on whether hatchbackscost more to manufacture, butHonda Canada product plannerHayato Mori noted that sedans’higher volumes give them aneconomies-of-scale edge. Givenhatchbacks’ lower sales volumes,“most manufacturers will concen-trate on the more profitablemodels, which tend to be thehigher trims.”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Special to The Globe and Mail

BRAND STRATEGY

All hail the humble hatch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

JEREMY SINEK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

THE DO-IT-ALL SUBCOMPACT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

HONDA FIT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Base price: $14,575. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Since its 2015 redesign, the babyHonda’s sales have soared, anddeservedly so. This reliable, eco-nomical and fun-to-drive sub-compact also boasts class-aboverear-seat room and (with the rearseats folded), near-miraculouscargo space for its size. Or flip upthe rear-seat bottom so those gi-ant yuccas you bought at IKEAcan stand tall on the drive home.

THE MAINSTREAM COMPACT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MAZDA3 SPORT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Base price: $16,995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sport means hatchback in Maz-da-speak and, unlike its compactcompetitors, the Mazda five-doorcan be had in the same base trim(GX) as its sedan equivalent,making it the most affordablehatchback in its class. Thanks toSkyActiv technology, its 2.0-litre,155-hp engine is also the mostfuel-efficient. Handling, and fit-and-finish, are other strengths.

THE GAS MISER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

TOYOTA PRIUS c. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Base price: $21,055. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interesting that all three modelsin the Prius hybrid family arehatchbacks. The subcompact Pri-us c is the baby of the family andoffers phenomenal fuel economy,especially in the city. And, for afull hybrid, it is relatively inex-pensive considering you can easi-ly pay as much or more fortop-trim versions of conventionalrivals.

THE LUXURY COUPE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

BMW4 SERIES GRAN COUPE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Base price: $44,900. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Believe it or not, this pretty thingis a hatchback. Based on BMW’scompact 3 Series sedan, the GranCoupe is one of those “four-doorcoupes” the German auto makersseem to love. The 4-GC comeswith a choice of turbochargedfour- (428i) or six-cylinderengines (435i) and AWD isoptional.

FOUR HAPPENING HATCHES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

HONDA MAZDA TOYOTA BMW

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

etroit auto show. STAN HONDA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

MERCEDES-AMG GT S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Base price: $149,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Engine: 510-hp, 4.0-litre V-8 biturbo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Acceleration (0-100 km/h): 3.08seconds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Top speed: 310 km/h. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The internally-mounted turbo-chargers (dubbed, “hot insideV”), seven-speed dual clutchtransmission and aluminum dou-ble-wishbone suspension makefor racetrack performance anddecent fuel efficiency– combined9.4 litres/100 km. The two-seatercomes with the brand’s Intelli-gent Drive assistance systems androom for luggage.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Michael Bettencourt and staff

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MERCEDES-BENZ

GLOBE DRIVE •

BORN OF MOTORSPORT GLORY,HONED FOR THE ROAD.

THE NEW ASTON MARTIN DB9THE HEART OF ASTON MARTIN.THE ART OF ASTON MARTIN.

V8Vantage’s muscular beauty, spirited dynamics and stirring engine have ensured itsstatus as a truly iconic sportscar. Inspired by Aston Martin’s rich motorsport pedigree,Vantage GT is styled to evoke the drama and intensity of the racetrack—it is the mostdramatic expression of V8Vantage we have ever created. Thrilling performance ismatched with a comprehensive specification to create a unique but accessibleexperience. Intense, exciting,compelling –Vantage GT has been created to deliverpure driving excitement.

TheVantage GT is also closer than you think, with MSRPs starting from $104,000*.

Riviera express or continental cruiser, the new Aston Martin DB9 Coupe andVolante exemplify the Sports GT – endurance, agility, grace and now even morepower combine to deliver a seductive potion that once tasted, is hard to resist.

MSRP starting from $197,000**.

*Starting price for a 2015 Aston Martin GT manual Coupe is $104,000. Freight/PDI of $6,995,air tax $100, OTS $29.20, green levy $1000, dealer admin fee, license, insurance and taxesextra. Factory order is required for entry level vehicles. Please contact us for more details.

**Starting price for a 2015 Aston Martin DB9 Coupe is $197,000. Freight/PDI of $6,995,air tax $100, OTS $29.20, green levy $1000, dealer admin fee, license, insurance and taxesextra. Factory order is required for entry level vehicles. Please contact us for more details.

For more information, please contact:

Aston Martin Toronto740 Dupont StreetToronto, ON M6G 1Z6

Phone: 416.530.1880

Aston Martin Ontario101 Auto Vaughan DriveMaple, ON L6A 4A1

Phone 905.417.1170

Aston Martin Montreal8255 BougainvilleMontreal, QC H4P 2T3

Phone: 514.334.9910

Aston Martin Calgary150 Glendeer Circle SECalgary, AB T2H 2V4

Phone: 403.208.6262

Aston Martin Vancouver101 - 1770 Burrard StreetVancouver, BC V6J 3G7

Phone: 604.734.2905

Aston Martin Vancouver101 - 1770 Burrard StreetVancouver, BC V6J 3G7

Phone: 604.734.2905

T H E G L O B E A N D M A I L • F R I DAY , A P R I L 1 7 , 2 0 1 5 G E7GLOBE DRIVE •

Vehicles aren’t just becomingroving WiFi hot spots, they’re

becoming connected devices thateventually will be part of the In-ternet of Things, the growingtrend of objects that interact witheach other over the Internet.

Having a SIM card embedded ina car isn’t new. One of the longest-standing examples is General Mo-tor’s OnStar service, which hasoperated through a partnershipwith Verizon, one of the largestwireless providers in the UnitedStates. The GSM Association(GSMA) forecasts a sevenfold in-crease in new vehicles equippedwith mobile connectivity by 2018,and expects substantial growthbeyond that.

Trying to lead the way is GMwith its 4G LTE in-car Internetservice designed to give the car itsown data plan. OnStar doesn’tcost extra at the dealership; nordoes it require an OnStar sub-scription. A majority of vehiclesspread across the 2015 Chevrolet,Cadillac, Buick and GMC lines areequipped with it.

“It’s integrated into the vehicle,and we have the antenna toachieve optimal signal strengthand coverage on the roof insteadof in your pocket,” says Fred Dix-on, technology manager at GMCanada. “You can connect up toseven devices to it and it’s seam-less. You enter the car, it automat-ically connects and you can usethat data, never having to turn onyour phone’s hot spot.”

Customers get a three-monthtrial with a hard cap of three giga-bytes of data. AT&T is the wirelesscarrier partner, and throughagreements with most of its Cana-dian counterparts, Dixon con-firms there are no roamingcharges incurred in Canada or theUnited States. The car will auto-matically connect to whichevernetwork is strongest in any partic-ular locale, although userswouldn’t notice the shift.

This all-in collaboration meansconsumers can’t add the car to ashared monthly data plan theyuse with a smartphone and tablet.The car’s data is a separate costpaid to GM, and plans start at $10a month for 200 megabytes up to$250 for 10 gigabytes over 12months. Rates are slightly cheap-er for OnStar subscribers.

Mansell Nelson, senior vice-president of products and solu-tions for Rogers enterprise busi-ness, believes closer partnershipsbetween auto makers and carriersare inevitable. Bell has long beenthe carrier partner for OnStar inCanada, and despite the agnosti-cism of the 4G LTE service, carri-ers will want to compete to dobusiness with the original equip-ment manufacturers.

“The car is becoming a comput-er and just one big API (applica-tion programming interface) thatwill need constant changing andupdating,” says Nelson. “Thereare about 1.3 million new cars peryear in Canada and, if more ofthem are connected, network ca-pacity will have to continue togrow to accommodate them asconnected devices.”

He cites the example of Tesla,which has pushed updates hun-dreds of megabytes or even agigabyte in size. And just like withTesla, system updates pushed toGM’s vehicles won’t count againstthe customer’s data bucket.

“This is the future,” says Nelson.“People weren’t used to theabrupt torque acceleration in Tes-la’s cars, so they complained andthe company rolled out a firm-ware update over-the-air [usingAT&T’s network] that they couldchoose to install to reprogramtheir Tesla to accelerate more likea gasoline car.”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Special to The Globe and Mail

TECHNOLOGY

Your car, the computer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

TED KRITSONIS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Rock-solid confirmation thatthe world had officially

changed arrived on Jan.12. Thatwas the day that Bentley, theVolkswagen Group’s super-exclu-sive British brand, announcedplans to introduce an “all-newand ground-breaking luxurySUV”to be called the Bantayga,after the Roque Bentayga with itsrugged peak in the CanaryIslands.

If anyone had any doubt aboutthis shift in the earth’s axis,BMW-owned Rolls-Royce wiped itaway a month later. Yes, anotherstoried British brand with no his-tory of making luxury trucks saidit will also have an exclusive SUVin its lineup. Company officialswere not so gauche as to breathethe actual phrase sport-utility ve-hicle, instead announcing an “allnew, high-bodied Rolls-Royce.”

Industry watchers predictedRolls’ ultra chi-chi four-by-fourmight sell for as much as$400,000, perhaps more, puttingit at the top of the SUV range.Details about both ultra-luxurySUVs remain scarce, though Brit-ain’s Autocar magazine said theRolls would ride on a new alumi-num architecture and powermight come from a version of the6.8-litre, V-12 in the Phantom.

Bentley chairman and CEOWolfgang Durheimer has said theBentayga will come with a choiceof W-12 or V-8 engines, or in plug-in hybrid form. But don’t be sobrash as to say SUV or truck orcrossover when he’s around. Asthe Bentley website notes, the

“Bentayga will open up a realm ofluxury and performance pre-viously unattainable within aconventional SUV,” adding else-where, “We don’t see an SUV. Wesee beyond.”

We saw all this coming. In 2012,Bentley showed the EXP 9 F con-cept SUV at the Geneva autoshow – to the horror of the as-sembled throng aghast at howmassive and tasteless an uber-luxe SUV can be. But it was only amatter of time until Bentley andRolls turned to selling off-roadmachines with built-in picnictables and champagne buckets.

Indeed, this latest news aboutthe most premium of premiumbrands branching out from thecar business into trucks has beenin the works for a long time –since Toyota’s Lexus luxurybrand put the RX crossover onsale in Japan in late 1997, fol-lowed by sales in Canada and theUnited States the next year.About the same time, Mercedes-Benz began producing theM-Class SUV at a plant in Vance,Ala. Shortly afterward, BMWdebuted the X5 in 1999.

Today, luxury makers are mov-ing into trucks with leaps andbounds. Nearly 20 years ago theytook to SUVs and crossovers withbaby steps, generally preferring toleave luxury SUVs to Land Rover.

Land Rover types – and manyothers – say their rigs are the bestat combining off-road capabilitywith on-road dynamics andsumptuous luxury. Land Rover isin the midst of a dramatic lineupexpansion with the DiscoverySport, the latest new model to

join the lineup. And while“things-gone-wrong” qualitystudies suggest Land Rover haswork to do, J.D. Power and Associ-ates’ APEAL study – a look atwhat owners say Land Rover getsright – puts the brand at the topof the class. Saleshave exploded.

The auto industry has taken no-tice. In 2015, premium car com-panies offering SUVs andcrossovers are expanding theirranges; those yet to get in thegame can see and hear customerdemand while also smelling prof-it and growth. Every car companyis moving fast to fill the truckgaps in their lineups.

Fiat-Chrylser-owned Maseratiand Alfa Romeo both will launchtheir first four-wheel drive cross-overs soon – Maserati, theLevante, due later this year andaimed squarely at mid-sizePorsche and BMW SUVs, and Alfawith a smaller crossover nextyear to rival the Audi Q5, PorscheMacan and BMW X3.

Ah, the Macan. It will almostcertainly become Porsche’s mostpopular model worldwide and it’sonly been on sale for a year or so.Land Rover has launched the Dis-covery Sport to expand its SUVfootprint and grow sales. Mer-cedes has introduced the GLAcompact crossover and Infiniti iscounting the days to the launchof the similarly sized QX30. Cadil-lac simply cannot produceenough of the giant Escalade tomeet demand. Lincoln’s MKCcrossover is so popular, it mightsave the struggling brand all byitself.

Volvo is pinning its hopes for a

turnaround on the upcomingXC90. Jaguar? Yes, its corporatepartner is the aforementionedpremium SUV specialist, LandRover, but that’s not stopping itfrom introducing a “performancecrossover” next year. The F-Pacewill go head-to-head with the X3and perhaps even Land Rover’sEvoque. The market seems tohave an unquenchable thirst forSUVs and crossovers.

“The luxury market has movedquite rapidly to light trucks,” saysauto analyst Dennis DesRosiers,of DesRosiers Automotive Con-sultants. “In 1990, virtually allluxury vehicles were passengercars [99.8 per cent]. In 2014 forthe first time, an equal number ofluxury light trucks were pur-chased in Canada as luxury pas-senger cars.”

The fastest growing luxury seg-ment: compact luxury SUVs, up19.4 per cent in 2014. CompactSUVs account for 21.4 per cent ofthe luxury, says DesRosiers.

Why this great shift? First,Americans have always loved bigrigs. Second, government-man-dated fuel economy rules havebeen such that they actuallyencouraged growth in luxurySUVs and crossovers. Car makersalso soon discovered they couldmake a profit selling premiumtrucks and they were greeted withstrong consumer demand. So itmade sense for premium autocompanies to push into luxurytrucks. By extension, it nowmakes more sense for ultra-luxu-ry brands to head down this road.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Special to The Globe and Mail

INDUSTRY TRENDS

Setting the premium bar higher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

JEREMY CATO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Volvo is pinning its turnaround hopes on the XC90, a crossover SUV. It’s just one example of luxury car makers jumping into the SUV market. VOLVO

A pair of luxury SUVs that willbattle it out for market su-

premacy in Canada was unveiledat the 2015 New York Internation-al Auto Show: The 2016 Lexus RXand the 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE.

Both the Lexus – the fourthgeneration of this perennial classpowerhouse – and the Mercedes –effectively the fourth generationof the ML class, but with a newname – have been around since1997, meaning that this pairinghas helped drive what is one ofthe hottest segments in the indus-try. Many North American con-sumerscan’t get enough luxury –especially in their crossovers andSUVs.

A slice of this segment that’stougher to explain is the crosso-ver coupe – a vehicle with asweeping roof-line that, as aresult, puts more emphasis on the“sport” and less on the “utility.”While it may seem an oxymoronto offer a utility vehicle that engi-neers out some of that utility,manufacturers continue to testthe waters and battle each otherfor sales.

Now, neither the latest RX northe new GLE unveiled in NewYork would be classified as acrossover coupe – but wait just aNew York minute.

The RX has a coupe-inspireddesign element, a “floating” roofcreated by a blacked-out C-pillarand tapered metallic trim. Thisdesign feature gives the RX asportier look without sacrificingrear-seat passenger headroom orinterior volume. It’s a conserva-tive solution for the best-sellingmodel in the Lexus lineup.

Mercedes has taken a differentapproach. The GLE is a sensibleevolution of the outgoing ML, atraditional luxury SUV throughand through. But the new linealso includes a crossover coupe,the GLE Coupe, which was intro-duced at this year’s Detroit autoshow. This strategy mirrors that

of BMW, which has, since 2008,offered the coupe-like X6 along-side the X5, both sharing a plat-form and countless othercomponents.

“We are targeting a very specificbrand [BMW], but I am prettysure we are going to get morethan just their customers,” saidTim Reuss, president and CEO ofMercedes-Benz Canada, in NewYork. “We’re going to get custom-ers to the right and left who areconsidering a traditional SUV, butmaybe it doesn’t hit [the] sweetspot when it comes to design.”

The ability to offer a coupe-likeversion of a given SUV is now via-ble because of quantum leaps inflexible manufacturing. A manu-facturer can respond to marketindifference to a vehicle with littlenotice – and plants can be recon-figured to build a more popularversion in as little as five minutes.Nevertheless, the crossover coupe

remains a niche vehicle, so it stillrepresents a gamble.

The gambling began in earnestwith the arrival of the Infiniti FX(now the QX70) in 2003. At thetime, there was nothing like it –the exterior styling was dynamicto a fault. Although other SUVs –such as the BMW X5 and PorscheCayenne – could claim sporty per-formance, the FX was singled outfor its lack of rear-seat headroom,poor entrance and exit, and un-suitability to anything less thanperfectly paved roads.

“In the late 1990s, we began tosee the first car-based vehicles inthe SUV segment,” says BertBrooks, senior manager for prod-uct planning at Infiniti Canada.“Our advance planning teamstudied the unmet opportunitiesin the segment and identified theidea of a crossover with the quali-ties of a sports car.”

Ultimately, the business case forthe FX made sense because it wasbased on an existing Nissan/In-finiti platform and the projectedinterest was sufficiently strong.While the general public seemedconfused by the FX, enthusiastsgenerally supported the idea ofthe firstcrossover coupe, particu-larly the V-8-engined FX45.

The QX70 sells reasonably well,despite its age. In the UnitedStates last year, more peoplebought the Infiniti than the BMW

X6. In New York, Infiniti broughta new crossover coupe that’s setto join the lineup, the compactQX30, an indication that it’s notdone with this niche.

The United States remains thelargest SUV market in the world,but the crossover coupe appearsto resonate less there than in Can-ada. Using the BMW duo as anexample, 47,031 X5s were sold inthe United States last year com-pared with 3,896 X6s – or justmore than 8 per cent. In Canada,the scorecard is more balanced:X6 sales represent 16 per cent ofthose for the X5 last year.

“A lot of SUV buyers like the X6not just because of the utility, butbecause of the command seatingposition, ride height and overallfeel of the vehicle,” says MatthewWilson, manager of product plan-ning for BMW Canada. “Themotivation for someone buyingthe X6 is much the same as forsomeone who chooses a coupeover a sedan – it’s the design andthe performance.”

Critics remain steadfast, citingthe ill-fated Acura ZDX as being aposter child for why the crossovercoupe is the proverbial “vehiclethat no one ever asked for.”

A big factor in the success of agiven vehicle, though, appears tobe exterior design. While the ZDXand other crossover coupes havebeen labelled “ugly ducklings,”the Range Rover Evoque won theWorld Design Car of the Yearaward in 2012 and has sold indroves.

Anyone looking at sales figuresalone would consider the niche tobe a loser. But manufacturersclaim that having a sporty crosso-ver in the fleet can be good forbrand image. “We’re still going tosell a lot more GLEs than we willCoupes,” says Reuss. “[The choiceis] going to come down to person-al taste. Do you want more func-tionality, a styling statement orsomething sporty?”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Special to The Globe and Mail

BRAND STRATEGY

Luxury crossover coupes: niche to know you. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MARK HACKING NEW YORK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The 2016 Lexus RX has a coupe-inspired design element. TOYOTA

2016 GLE. MERCEDES-BENZ

Go to globedrive.com to watchJeremy Cato’s interviews with executives at The Globe’s 2015Auto Summit.

ONLINE

Consumer tastes areswitching to trucks of allsorts – almost six of 10 new vehicles sold last yearwere some sort of truck.Crossovers, SUVs and trucksare so well-suited forCanadians with the all-wheeldrive capability. They giveconsumers a lot of what they need, the right size and fuel economy.

Steve RhindNissan Canada

HOW ALIVE ARE YOU?

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• Aluminum Architecture – Faster acceleration,

quicker handling and better efficiency.

• 8-Speed QuickShift® Transmission –

Changes gear in the blink of an eye.

• Intelligent Venting System – Dashboard

air vents that deploy only when needed.

• Advanced Induction Technology –

Supercharged engine with Intelligent Stop/

Start – powerful, responsive and efficient.

2015 XF AWD• Instinctive All Wheel Drive™ – Monitors and

distributes torque through active power

transfer to each wheel.

• Available Adaptive Dynamics – Adapts the

suspension up to 500 times a second.

• Available Adaptive Front Lighting – Turns the

headlights into corners as you steer.

• Dynamic Mode – Modifies throttle, suspension

and transmission 100 times a second.

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