In a world where "multitasking" is highly sought after, it's no surprise the compact car market also had to provide a similar approach covering the greatest possible amount of needs and occasional wishes of buyers who would be otherwise unable to settle for either an affordable-to-own runabout or the bakkie they perceive as more attractive. And even though the Chicken Tax is more effective to repel the small car-based coupé-utilities in general from the American market than EPA/CAFE and NHTSA regulations would, their classification as commercial vehicles also often leads to occasional advantages pertaining to the displacement-biased taxations which are harsher over conventional cars in markets such as Brazil and most of Europe. Despite being often mocked for not being "real trucks", due to the unibody layout in contrast to a body-on-frame, compact car-based bakkies prove their point and should definitely be taken more seriously, eventually as an option to those Chinese low-quality copies of the Suzuki Carry available even in the United States as "off-road only" vehicles.
workaround ideas to discuss among friends
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
The example of the Fiat Strada and why a compact car-based bakkie should be taken seriously
In a world where "multitasking" is highly sought after, it's no surprise the compact car market also had to provide a similar approach covering the greatest possible amount of needs and occasional wishes of buyers who would be otherwise unable to settle for either an affordable-to-own runabout or the bakkie they perceive as more attractive. And even though the Chicken Tax is more effective to repel the small car-based coupé-utilities in general from the American market than EPA/CAFE and NHTSA regulations would, their classification as commercial vehicles also often leads to occasional advantages pertaining to the displacement-biased taxations which are harsher over conventional cars in markets such as Brazil and most of Europe. Despite being often mocked for not being "real trucks", due to the unibody layout in contrast to a body-on-frame, compact car-based bakkies prove their point and should definitely be taken more seriously, eventually as an option to those Chinese low-quality copies of the Suzuki Carry available even in the United States as "off-road only" vehicles.
Friday, April 09, 2021
1st-generation Honda CG 125 turned into scrambler
The shorter and straight exhaust pipe with its end raising higher, usual on motorcycles aiming to a more off-road operation, is one of the features easier to spot on a scrambler, along the slightly higher front mudguard which is also more open to the sides in order to not trap so much mud and debris. Since many enthusiasts of the scrambler style actually ride their motorcycles on paved pathways, changes to the suspension and the usage of knobby tyres in order to improve off-road ability may not be present, not to mention the dependability of the early Honda CG 125 which rendered it popular even in rural areas.
Wednesday, April 07, 2021
Brazilian DKW-Vemag Fissore
Saturday, March 20, 2021
Could the Brazilian Chevrolet Corsa Pick-Up/Opel Corsa Utility have been compliant with American regulations?
Monday, March 08, 2021
How did Fiat get it so right with the Argo?
Saturday, March 06, 2021
2nd-generation Honda CG 125 with a café-racer themed custom trim
Friday, February 05, 2021
5 engines that would be interesting to swap into a RWD-converted Subaru Impreza
1 - Cummins ISF2.8/R2.8: as it caters to Asian utility vehicles with engine bays quite cramped, even though a rear-wheel drive setup would also be required to ease the task of overcoming clearence issues in a Subaru, the Cummins ISF2.8 or its aftermarket-oriented R2.8 derivative available in the United States and Canada would be among my possible choices. I am quite partial to Diesels, and since the R2.8 is meant as an option to the gasoline-powered ubiquitous small-block V8 engines more frequently swapped into nearly everything, it seems quite down-to-earth compared to other engines which would require major structural changes to allow a clean-looking installation;
2 - Chevrolet small-block V8: an engine that nearly everyone loves. Either some first-generation one or the latest designs with some newer tech incorporated, the relatively compact packaging makes it a cost-effective option for high output;
3 - Nissan TB48DE: this straight-six masterpiece, which currently has a limited availability along the Y61 Nissan Patrol, has a strong aftermarket scene in the Middle East. Even though it usually has a quite conservative tune, turbocharging and other tuning allow it to exceed 1000hp with some reliability;
4 - Toyota 1GR-FE: not exactly a favorite of mine, but it also has some aftermarket support overseas which is also interesting when it comes to a performance enhancement. Toyota being a stakeholder on Fuji Heavy Industries also makes it sound more reasonable at all;
5 - Chrysler Hemi Hellcat: one of the most exciting engines in recent times, sure the Hellcat would be a good option too.
Tuesday, February 02, 2021
Why going too sophisticated for a light-duty turbodiesel engine while a medium-duty follows a seemingly simpler approach?
While the Duramax LM2 fitted to the Silverado is rated at 277hp at 3750 RPM and 624Nm from 1500 to 3000 RPM, there are conflicting claims for the power and torque figures of the MAN D0834 LOH63, so it may be tempting to consider the LOH64 spec which is compliant to a stricter emissions regulation and has pretty much unchanged ratings even though the peak RPM bands presented are less conflicting with 220hp at 2300 RPM and 850Nm from 1300 to 1800 RPM. It's relevant to notice the magnitude of the differences between peak power and torque RPM which are roughly 63% greater for the Silverado, even though the displacement of the MAN engine is around 53% bigger. Considering the torque output of the Duramax is roughly 73.4% of what is claimed for the D08 in the trim fitted to the Volkswagen, if a 1.63:1 intermediate gear could be fitted at the flywheel of the smaller engine as an attempt to match a similar RPM output the multiplied torque would be around 19% higher at 1016Nm, which sounds quite impressive as the weight difference from the 212kg of the LM2 which is somewhat featherweight when it comes to a turbodiesel to the 510 or 530kg for the D08 which renders it 140 to 150% heavier.
While both engine configurations have their own tradeoffs, how the buying patterns on each segment is more or less willing to accept such issues also plays an important role at the strategy of manufacturers, and then it's understandable that a Silverado gets an aluminium block and chain-driven overhead cams in contrast to the vermicular graphite-iron alloy resorted by MAN which relies on a single gear-driven cam-in-block and overhead valves. It's worth to remind a light-duty truck is weight-sensitive not only due to strictly technical concerns, but also regulatory aspects such as the maximum GVWR allowed for holders of a car driving license and a minimum payload which could be required in order to register a Diesel-powered vehicle in countries such as Brazil unless it's either off-road capable or a minibus. In the end, even though a greater sophistication might seem excessive at a first glance, it's justifiable under some not-so-specific circumstances and actually crucial on more specific ones, and to a lesser extent it may even sound quite tempting to take one step further into the downsizing...
Saturday, January 16, 2021
A personal reflection about the end of Ford car manufacturing in Brazil
Earlier this week, Ford has announced it was phasing out its 3 manufacturing units still active in Brazil, to have its entire range comprising of imported models and allign itself with the truck-oriented business it's already implementing on a global basis. Some ignorants who dislike President Jair Bolsonaro are blaming him for a strategic decision that only Ford had something to do, unlike what happened to GM in Venezuela where its assets were seized by Nicolás Maduro's narco-dictatorship in 2017. It's also worth to notice Ford did not seem to really care about the Brazilian market, where it insisted in a strategy that proven itself not so suitable to the local needs, and its business model on a global basis still seems to revolve around the old body-on-frame layout which is roughly unchanged for a long time.
Ford keeping its manufacturing operations in Argentina, where nowadays the Ranger is the only model made locally, is also deeply rooted on the same mindset of the days when the Model T was Ford's only product including the overseas assembly plants. Sure a lot of technical features of the vehicles and the manufacturing methods evolved in a timeframe of more than 100 years, but it's impossible to deny the conceptual similarities between a relatively modern truck and one of the least expensive cars from the Brass Era. Even though some technical revolutions happened in the meantime when it comes to brakes, suspensions, transmissions and steering gear, there is no way to overlook the longitudinally-mounted engine driving the rear wheels through a leaf-sprung solid axle (which remains the usual drive even on 4-wheel drive versions with independent front suspension) in a body-on-frame as a reminiscence of the old times.The closure of the São Bernardo do Campo plant in 2019, where the Cargo trucks and regional variants of the chassis-cab Super Duty used to be made, was actually more surprising, as both ranges stilll relied on the jalopy-ish layout which Ford seems to remain more comfortable to work around. Among claims of a shrinking market share due to competition and the cost to upgrade from Euro-5 to Euro-6, which is the dumbest excuse since Brazilian-made Ford trucks had been fitted only with Cummins engines since late-2005, it's also relevant to notice Turkish-made versions of the Ford Cargo are (re)making their way into Western Europe which is a highly competitive market. The demand for logistic services after the 2020 outbreak of the Chinese Covid-19 Coronavirus increased the e-commerce in Brazil also means the timing for the phaseout on local truck manufacturing was a highly regrettable move.
The reliance on the 3rd-generation Ka and 2nd-generation EcoSport which were made in the Camaçari plant located in the metropolitan area of Salvador de Bahia for larger sales volumes, with the Ka being more appealing to the fleet market than for retail customers while the EcoSport was losing much of its market share because of the increased competition, apparently was not a valid excuse for the closure of the Camaçari plant where Ford had introduced 3-cylinder 1.0L and 1.5L engines manufacture rendering much of the output of the Taubaté powertrain-oriented plant quite redundant. Both models relying on an obsolete platform, plus the Ka being made only in Brazil and India having been phased out in Europe in 2019 due to poor sales, were pointed out as a reason for the phaseout of Brazilian production which had not been as competitive on export markets as their Indian counterparts. However, it's worth to remind a tax break which has led to the Camaçari plant opening in 2000 has expired on late-2020, so Ford was looking for a government handout in order to keep operating at a claimed loss in Bahia, even though the EcoSport still seemed to be in line with a truck and SUV-oriented business model.
Ford has also planned to close the Troller factory, a small-scale and off-road oriented plant located in Horizonte, a city in the metropolitan region of Fortaleza in the Ceará state, which it had bought in 2007 looking for a tax break for companies with operations in the Brazilian Northeast (Nordeste as we say in Brazil). From what used to be described as a fiberglass copy of some previous generation of the Jeep Wrangler to the 2nd generation riding on a shortened version of the 2012 Ranger chassis released in 2014, the T4 has been the most known Troller and through most of its production run the only actual Troller model. Considering its history as an independent company from '95 to 2007 and the cult-following among the 4WD enthusiasts in Brazil, the Troller division seems to be quite an easy asset for Ford to sell before its closure scheduled to late-2021, even though it seems more likely for Ford to be actually willing to shutdown this operation instead of turning it into an eventual competitor in the SUV market.
Even though the focus (no pun intended) on SUVs has led Ford to outsource its new Territory entirely to its Chinese partner JMC, going as far as resorting to a copy of the ancient Mitsubishi 4G15 engine with few changes such as turbocharging, its shutdown on local manufacturing in Brazil to concentrate on imports while the Argentinian operation keeps going despite political unrest diminishes considerably the trust of Brazilian customers on Ford. Even though such attempt to increase the profitability per unit instead of volume may seem easy at a first glance, a brand which had never been regarded as a specialty devoted to high-end models is likely to face a hard time trying to reposition it as somewhat premium. So, despite being quite predictable due to an inefficient business model on a worldwide basis, the end of manufacturing operations in the largest country of South America is unlikely to benefit Ford at all.
Monday, January 11, 2021
Opel Corsa B, the unsung hero
A very dependable model, even though its appearance could suggest otherwise, the Opel Corsa B was also rebadged as a Chevrolet in South America where it used to be made in Brazil and Argentina, with CKD kits having been supplied from Brazil even in RHD format to South Africa where it retained the Opel branding while being fitted with more rugged engines than its European counterparts and received the Brazilian facelift from '00 to '09. Simple mechanics made it very dumbproof, even though electronic fuel injection had been a first-in-class in some markets such as Brazil where the Chevrolet Corsa was introduced in '94. The relatively modern European styling matched to some degree of ruggedness which remains as a desirable feature in Latin America, Africa and Middle East rendered the Corsa B closer to a Beetle replacement than much of Volkswagen's offering.
A sedan version had even been developed in Brazil catering to developing markets where this bodystyle is often seen as preferable over the hatchbacks which were more prevalent in Europe. To a certain point, the availability of a sedan/saloon seriously impacted the market share for the 4-door hatchback, while the 2-door hatchback remained quite competitive in a more budget-oriented approach which helped it to become a contender to the Volkswagen Beetle in Mexico. This very same bodystyle had been also made in China and assembled from CKD kits in India and South Africa.
With fewer changes and a budget-oriented approach, the sedan has soldiered on in South America until 2016, already rebadged as Chevrolet Classic and fitted only with a flexfuel 1.0L engine according to the Brazilian "people's car" program, while Argentina had a 1.4L gasoline-only engine. Still easy to spot on most Latin American medium and big cities, the Opel Corsa B is certainly an unsung hero from those times when GM was greater than any other automaker on earth. Even though the original Opel design may lead a few stubborn rednecks to not consider it Chevrolet-ish enough, the Corsa B was certainly among the greatest responses to both developed and developing markets and their needs.