Nissan - Is it time to ditch the Micra?

The Sway concept as seen at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show

I was pondering this question yesterday as I was stuck behind a Micra on my way to pick up some last minute 'bits'. Whilst everyone else was rushing around, the Micra driver seemed to be oblivious to the surrounding Saturday afternoon chaos; instead following his own path whilst the nodding dog was busy keeping watch out the rear window.
Although I have a certain respect for the determination of the driver not to get caught up in the hustle and bustle, it got me thinking how his choice of car seemed to fit with the image of a chap popping to the shops to pick up his pension.
Before I cause an outcry, I know how stereotypical I'm sounding; however, I'm sure it's not just me that associates the Micra with a certain demographic. It's a car that for a long time has appealed to the 'silver surfer' amongst us. Driving schools are another group that have held favour with the Japanese supermini. It's a car perfectly suited to the kind of buyer who has absolutely no interest in anything automotive; rather appealing to those who want something reliable to get from 'A to B'.
This I suspect must be a problem for Nissan. After all, a positive, youthful and 'ahead of the curve' image is important to car companies. They want to engage with people, create conversation, 'light people's fires'... The Micra doesn't manage to do any of these things, at least apart from visitors to the one o'clock club.
A car is far more likely to sell to a broader audience when it's young at heart, it features an assured stance with modern refinements. 'Sexy' and 'masculine' will make more of an instant impression, even for female buyers. A design that's seen as 'feminine' doesn't tend to fair so well.
Nissan themselves have transformed their image over the past 10-15 years. Back then the core range consisted of the dour Almera, (a car Victor Meldrew owned), the Primera along with the Micra. European sales fell and Nissan woke up by scrapping the majority of these models and switching their attention to the rising market for crossovers.
The Qashqai and Juke brought in a fresh, more youthful approach while the company also focused on connectivity and technology. 'Halo' models such as the Z and GT-R appealed to performance car fans whilst the NISMO name is beginning to filter through to 'hot' versions of Nissan's core range.
Unfortunately the Micra is still there, often neglected to a corner of Nissan showrooms, somehow seeming rather out of place. The ageing, dumpy design of the current 4th generation Thai built 'world Micra' hasn't found a place in many people's hearts.
In 2015 though, a light appeared at the end of the tunnel with the unveiling of the Sway concept at Geneva; surely a glimpse of what the next generation of Nissan's supermini will look like when it's launched in 2016. I sincerely hope that Nissan sticks to the assured, sensual lines of the concept, a car that doesn't look a million miles away from becoming a production reality.
If they do, the question is, will they stick with Micra?
I'd say it's time to consign the name to the history books. If Nissan launch a fresh, exciting and youthful entry into Europe's most important supermini sector, it'll be a shame for it to be lumbered with a name that's synonymous with everything the new car is trying not to be. They need to look to the future as they did with the Qashqai, like Ford did with the Escort replacing Focus.
Time will tell...                

Coventry - Motor City

The Jaguar gallery at Coventry Transport Museum

I've been near Coventry for a few years now and the automotive history of the place is fascinating. There was a time when more motor manufacturers were based in and around Coventry than Detroit!
A great place to visit to appreciate how vast Coventry's motor manufacturing industry used to be is the Coventry Transport Museum. Just re-opened after a £9m development and refurbishment, the museum offers a great insight into the city's motoring past, present and future. What's more, it's free!
You start off learning about the dawn of the industry with the emergence of bicycle manufacturing from 'penny farthings' to the 'safety bicycle', the blueprint of which can be seen on today's bikes. You also learn about notable pioneers including William Hillman whose company was the largest bicycle manufacturer in the late 1800's.
British manufacturing led into motorcycles and the motor car. One hall is set out as a motor fair of the early 1900's with a selection of bicycles, motorbikes and cars from companies including Siddeley-Deasy, Rover and Triumph.

An early 20's Swift Tourer is part of an impressive collection of locally built motor cars

Following the Great War, industry picked up again with a few art-deco style cars on display as well as queen Mary's Daimler. Moving through the Second World War where motor manufacturing made way for the war effort, you see how many early post war cars were exported around the world to assist in the rebuilding of the economy. British car ownership didn't get going fully until the 50's when prosperity became greater and people could start to consider a family car for those trips out.
A number of Triumphs, Humbers and Singers were on display leading to the 70's and 80's when a lack of investment, industrial disputes and strike action led to the downfall of local manufacturing, much of which can be learnt from studying the turbulent times of British Leyland.
The Rootes Group, the car company that included brands such as Hillman, Singer and Humber was another empire that was crumbling with increasingly mediocre offerings. The exhibition includes cars that led to its demise including the Hillman Imp, Avenger and even an Iranian Paykan, produced from a CKD kit of the Hunter saloon.

A smart Humber Imperial forms part of the 'commercial and working vehicles' collection

There are also a number of Peugeots present, production of which took place at Ryton, just outside Coventry until the mid noughties. Cheaper production abroad led to the closure of the plant; a facility that produced cars for decades.
Locally built commercial vehicles feature as does a section that looks forward to emerging technologies of the future including lightweight materials and construction methods as well as tomorrow's mobility needs. Included is the aluminium chassis of Jaguar's F-Type and Range Rover Sport; Jaguar Land Rover being the great local success story of the moment.
The exhibition ends with a look at land speed record attempt vehicles including Thrust 2, Thrust SSC and a mock-up of Bloodhound SSC, the 1,000mph record attempt vehicle that's scheduled to run in the next year or so.
I'd set a few hours aside to go through the museum - well worth a visit.

A Hillman Hunter on display at Coventry Motofest

Another up and coming event in Coventry's motoring calendar is Motofest where a large collection of historic vehicles are scattered around the city. Many current manufacturers are represented too.
The centre point was a stretch of the city's ring-road which was closed to traffic throughout the weekend. Spectators could enjoy watching many cars race along the stretch including a Japanese drift team and a rare chance to see the Rover-BRM gas turbine racer of the 60's whoosh by.
With government plans to temporarily allow local authorities to remove speed limits for racing events, could Coventry one day be home to a full scale street racing event? It would certainly put Coventry on the automotive map once more and tie in greatly with the city's motoring history...

Drift team wowing the crowds on Coventry's ring-road at Motofest

Historic Car Commercials

Honda have had a number of clever and highly memorable television commercials, often focusing on their engineering led approach 

As a perennial car enthusiast, I tend to keep a keen eye on the goings on in the motor industry. The cars of today as well as future automotive trends and challenges are constantly evolving. To me, there is never a dull moment.
Automotive history also intrigues me greatly. Looking back, I reckon one aspect of the motor industry that has gone downhill is that of the traditional car commercial. Of course, this is just my opinion and I only make this observation on a general basis. Is it me though or are todays crop generally rather forgettable compared to those from a few years ago?
Naturally there are some bright sparks here and there but few will stick in the mind. Power and speed are seldom touched upon, mainly due to safety legislation and concerns of irresponsibility. Humour is rare and originality rarer still.

Like the DS that proceeded it, the 1974 Citroen CX was a technologically advanced car featuring a distinctive aerodynamic design, hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension, speed adjustable power steering and a modern interior control layout. Despite this space age take on mid 70's motoring and an equal 'out of this world' advertising campaign, Citroen sold nearly 1.2 million CX's over its 16 year production run   

Certain car adverts have been memorable thanks to famous faces. The weirdest has to be that of Grace Jones and the Citroen CX - I can't think of another piece where the character eats the car and finishes off with a burp. Other far more agreeable examples for British audiences included Sir Nigel Hawthorne promoting the 1990's Vauxhall Astra in a series of comic pieces, Ronnie Corbett doing the same for the early Ford Escorts and Noel Edmonds waxing lyrical over the Austin Rover range.
High end celebrity endorsements are seen as key to selling cars. Citroen, (who evidently saw the error of their ways following the mid 80's CX ad) hired Claudia Schiffer to help shift the Xsara in the 90's. Footballers have also been involved with Thierry Henry fronting the Renault Clio VaVaVoom campaign and Christiano Ronaldo doing a similar job for Suzuki and their Swift supermini. Even Victoria Beckham was enlisted by Land Rover to increase the allure of their Evoque.
My opinion is that famous faces may help at the time but won't necessarily stick in people's minds as well as a thoughtful, clever and perhaps emotional advertising campaigns. Using Renault as an example, their 1990's series for the Clio featuring Papa and Nicole is far more memorable compared to the later ones with Thierry Henry.

Mercedes created one of the most memorable car commercials of all time in the 90's. The surprising thing is that it wasn't for anything visual. Thank the score 'Oh Lord Won't You Buy Me a Mercedes-Benz' for that 

A decent soundtrack is a highly important part of any car commercial in order to create an emotional attachment. Normally these are in the background; however, occasionally the music is what makes a great car advert stand out.
Mercedes has to take the honours as far as this is concerned. Following the German giant's quality control issues in the 1990's, they needed something to remind people of the allure and provenance of the 'three pointed star'. Instead of focussing on their past however, they kept attention on their then current range featuring the soundtrack of Janis Joplin's classic.
Peugeot also had considerable success in the 90's with their campaign for the 406. A rather emotional piece with the backing of the M People hit 'Search For The Hero' made it an ad that made a connection with people who saw it.
Something that I have noticed is how the message of a car commercial has changed over the years. It used to be all about the practical benefits of a model such as its list of standard equipment or price. Today it's more about the lifestyle choice of a car or its brand statement.

Peugeot really went to town with its promotional activity for the 205GTI in the 80's. James Bond style action sequences were fantastic to watch

I've scoured YouTube and listed some well known car commercials from years gone by. Some are clever, some rely on action and suspense whilst others are now rather dated but show the clear messages of what a motor manufacturer was trying to get across. Better with sound - enjoy...

Honda Accord
This has to be one of the cleverest commercials of all time. Filmed in 2003 in two sections, each section took two days to film and get right. 'Cog' has won numerous awards - it isn't hard to see why. Click here
     
Peugeot 205 GTI
Filmed in 1984 as part of a launch campaign for this most classic of hot hatches, the 205 GTI ad shows off the car's nimbleness and power to great effect. Beware, the main desert sequence is 5mins in length but features great Bond-like action. Click here

Austin Metro
The Metro was a very important car for the British motor industry as it was due to replace the Mini. The Mini ended up outliving it and the Metro ended up with an image problem, not helped by the fact it became far too long in the tooth. This launch ad is extremely patriotic and is interesting for directly communicating the tough competition the Metro had to beat. Click here

Volvo 340
Volvo's are famed for being safe in an accident. The Volvo 340 was certainly a solid car, even if an uninspiring one. This 1987 ad directly communicated the safety positives better than most. Click here     

I have a soft spot for the Triumph Dolomite Sprint although many cars from British Leyland were mediocre at best. Their flagship commercial didn't do them any great favours either (see below)

British Leyland
This commercial from 1975 is very dated now but demonstrated the supposed value of BL products. The vast range of brands under one umbrella, with many competing against each other meant that failure was imminent. Click here

Ford Puma
The Ford Puma was a great car in the 90's; a sporty and nippy coupe based on more humble Fiesta underpinnings. This ad is clever as it uses footage of Steve McQueen and references the Ford Mustang from Bullitt and the motorbike from The Great Escape. Click here

Honda
Another Honda ad, this time referencing the brand through its history to the current day. Love the score, The Impossible Dream. Click here

Fiat Ritmo/Strada
This advert was a well remembered one from the late 1970's. Rowan Atkinson and team did a spoof of it on their popular programme Not the Nine O'clock News where they altered it to fit the Austin Ambassador. Their slogan was 'Hand built by Roberts'. Click here

Peugeot 406
Stirring commercial with a great soundtrack. Click here

Many commercials were made by Land Rover during the iconic first generation Range Rover's 26 year run

Skoda Fabia
A rather clever and I'm sure labour intensive commercial to make. Also one that makes me hungry! Filming took place at Shepperton Studios and the finished model was all made of cake including headlamps comprising Fox's Glacier Mints, the timing belt being made of liquorice and the rear light being a jelly mould. Click here

Mercedes-Benz
Janis Joplin backed piece. Click here

Range Rover
The Range Rover is well known as a luxurious car that has the ability to undertake some serious off-roading. This 1985 advertisement demonstrates the point well with a rather regal backing track. Click here