Moscow motor show stars

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Fri 28 Sep 2018 19:57
Moscow motor show stars - badbusdriver

Reading an Autocar magazine (dated 5th September), i found an article on the Moscow motor show. Couple of things caught my eye, first of those being the Renault Arkana. This is what, at first glance, seems to be an attempt to bring the SUV/coupe style to a lower price point, but on reading the article, this appearance may just be an accident. Russians are apparently, very into saloon cars, and the Arkana is, according to it's designer, an attempt to blend saloon and SUV qualities, rather than coupe and SUV. But despite being designed specifically for the Russian market (after consumer research), it seems Renault may be thinking of taking it further afield. And while i am no fan of the SUV, i can certainly see it being successful in this country (obviously depending on prices), as it is a nice looking thing.

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There was also a small piece on what could potentially be a new Lada Niva!. Considering the original, which you can still buy new in various countries, debuted in 1977, it is about high time. I have to say, i do have a real soft spot for the Niva, and would love to get hold of one, so i was quite interested to see what they had come up with. The pic in the magazine was small, so i looked up online to find some more detail. It certainly a distinctive looking machine, but to my mind, looks kinda like a caracature with it's ludicrously large wheels and dramatic wheel arch styling,

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Finally, there is Putin's new wheels!. This apparently came about after Putin called for a new 'state vehicle'. The Aurus Senat is an imposing beast indeed, but it's looks are far from original. I can see elements of at least two Rolls royce models in there, along with a hint of Maybach (maybe a Rover 75 too?!). But as well as 'conventional' examples to tempt rich Russian's away from foreign imports, there will be armoured versions offering 'an uncompromising level of ballistic and explosive protection'. Engines available are a 590bhp 4.4 litre hybrid V8 co-developed by Porsche and a 6.6 litre V12 (no power figures mentioned, but probably 'sufficient'),

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Sat 29 Sep 2018 01:00
Moscow motor show stars - SLO76
It’s a shame Renault bought Lada as it pretty much rules out a return to Europe where Dacia already dominate the market they’d operate in. I fully believe there’s more room in the bargain price market for another player or two and it would’ve been good to see someone else buy Lada and invest in bringing a decent Dacia rival and add a few larger options to cover what they miss.

A good taxi sized saloon, hatch and MPV would sell in big numbers if the price was right and it used tried and tester engines and gearboxes. Toyota, Ford and Peugeot have all talked about bringing out a cheaper brand but missed a good opportunity to buy one with solid domestic demand and a huge low cost workforce. A range based on old Toyota technology with less gimmicks could’ve sold in big numbers to bargain hungry punters and taxi drivers.

As for the Lada of old, well selling for a firm that had a Proton franchise and located in a town that had a Lada main dealer that had recently went bust we had many of them in part exchange. Largely all terrible things, especially the Samara which was awful to drive and built from old egg crates. The Riva has a certain robust charm but the steering was like handling the tiller of an ancient steam ship. Never went wrong but then there was nothing on them to break.

The Niva was the star of the range though. Was no worse to drive than a Land Rover Defender and just as capable off-road but more reliable and cost a fraction of the price. They did rust but structurally they were ok, it was mostly cosmetic but they all went the same way all of our Lada trade-ins and packed onto cargo ships bound for home no matter the condition.
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