Spotted #2: Porsche Cayenne

First, let's go through the facts in a quick glance. This is the first SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) from an auto manufacturer that has hitherto produced only sports cars. One of the cars that the company makes is the legendary, ultimate 911 in all its iterations (S, Turbo, GT2, GT3RS, etc.). Guessed the maker? Most of you would have and yeah, its "Porsche" and the car in picture is the Cayenne!!!

The Cayenne is based on its successful cousin, the VW Touareg. The launch of Cayenne raised many an eyebrow and was doomed with negative speculations that Porsche would be better off making its sports cars instead of diluting the brand's image with a vehicle like this. Dashing all the speculations, the Cayenne has become a big success and has brought in the much needed volumes and profits for Porsche. Though the car itself cannot be termed as an exotic in any sense, I would still classify it as one because of the badge it wears (Porsche).

Though I have seen quite a few in Chennai, only this one had the destiny to get snapped by my lenses. The snaps are quite old (taken a year back) and I am posting these only for the following reasons - I don't want the results of my hot pursuits on road to go waste (try taking snaps of a very rare car when you spot one on road) and the other is I know people like to see exotic cars in action. Wish to see many such things on Indian roads soon...

The Return of the Gullwing

THE HISTORY:

There are some things in life which makes you so emotionally attached to them that the very mention of their names makes you brim with joy. Mercedes-Benz 300SL is one such automobile which makes me fall head over heels for it. This beauty was produced only from 1955-1957 and it had that unique "Gullwing" doors which makes it unmistakable with anything else on the road. This along with many technical firsts, short life and low production quantities makes this car one of the rarest and most collectible Mercedes-Benz models of all time.

Among the technological innovations that the car had for its time, the most important was that this was the first road car to feature direct fuel injection to the combustion chamber. The car was built on a Tubular Chassis, an unique architecture which gave birth to the car's iconic and legendary "Gullwing" doors as a part of the chassis was running through what would have been the lower half of standard doors. When I get to know these things, sometimes I wonder whether the guys who worked (and are working) at Mercedes-Benz have brains made of some extra-terrestrial stuff because most of their present and past models would have something which was not seen before in cars but, henceforth would gradually find its way into most of the cars on road.

THE LEGEND IS BACK:

First of all, credit goes to Mercedes-Benz for refreshing my mind with memories of an iconic car. Not that I have completely forgot it but this made me go back and have a look at all the pictures of the car and its details again. The event I am talking about is the recent launch of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. The astonishing fact about this new car is that it has brought back with it the legendary "Gullwing" doors.Though the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and its Roadster variant was based on the 1955 300SL, it can't be termed as a true successor because those models came shod with scissor doors instead of the legend's wings.

As soon as I saw the news of its launch, I have not even had the patience to see its specifications and other features. All I did was just clicked on the pictures and reveled in its beauty. I can pledge all my wealth and tell anyone that this ought to be the most interesting and stylish Benz for quite some time now as they have been launching uninspiring and staid models in amazing continuity. All said and done, just click on the thumbnails to revel in it's beauty and experience a kind of adrenaline rush that this car infuses into your body. The long hood makes it look fast even when standing still and the "Gullwings" still has the same charm and aura that it had around 60 years back.

Hats off to Mercedes-Benz for designing such a retro-looking stunner and making us car fanatics revel in its glory.

A Masterstroke from Hyundai

Since early 2008, people across the world owe a lot  to a company called "Hyundai" for making them totally shock-proof. As a matter of fact, every news  or new launch from this company gave some kind of shock to the general public and automotive critics alike which some people still find hard to believe or digest. The launch of the Genesis is a prime example of the above statement.



When Hyundai showed off the Genesis Concept in 2007 and announced its intentions to enter the luxury segment, people mocked at the company officials. It was brushed off as just a show-piece and one that will never make it to production. Traditional naysayers have been telling "How come a perennial budget car-maker, known for its shoddy quality in the 80's and 90's can pull this off"? A year later, when the production-ready Genesis Sedan was unveiled, there was a loud uproar that Hyundai is digging the death knell for itself by venturing into the high price luxury segment. An obvious example of Phaeton (the luxury car from VW that failed miserably) was quoted every time a news about Genesis came out.



Now almost an year after the launch of the Sedan and later its Coupe variant, the Genesis model have not only met with a commercial sales success but have won an entire galaxy of awards which makes even the top Hyundai honchos a little surprised. Though they knew that Genesis was developed to challenge the top luxury cars, they were just not prepared for this onslaught of awards on Hyundai's flagship.Taken from an article in Hyundai USA's website, the following are some of the significant awards won by the car this year:

1. 2009 North American Car Of The Year


2. 2009 Canadian Car Of The Year (AJAC)


3. Best New Luxury Car under $50,000 (AJAC)


4. MotorTrend - America's Top New Cars


5. J.D.Power APEAL Study - Most Appealing Mid-Size Premium Car


6. J.D.Power Vehicle Launch Index(VLI) - Best New Vehicle


7. The Car Book - 2009 Best Bet (Intermediate Category)


8. Car Of The Year (From Autotropolis, Cars.com, On Wheels and Autobytel)


9. AutoPacific - Best Buy (Aspirational Luxury Category)


10. Consumer Digest - Best Bet (Luxury Segment)


11. Wards.com - 10 Best Engines (4.6 Liter Tau V8)

The most important thing to note is that the contenders for all the above awards included models from the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Cadillac, Lexus, Acura, Infiniti, etc. To put it simply, the Genesis platform has been a true masterstroke from the company and Hyundai has backed it up quite well with some brilliant marketing too. Check out one of my favourite print ads released for the Sedan.

Wish Hyundai starts a new Genesis luxury brand (just like Toyota's Lexus, Honda's Acura and Nissan's Infiniti). And not to forget the same critics who slammed Hyundai before the launch of the Genesis, those guys will be back soon telling that it was sheer luck which made the Genesis succeed. Long live those people so that Hyundai keeps on churning out surprises after surprises and try to keep their mouths shut!!