Car crazy

So I've gone a bit car crazy this morning because something has my blood all angered up.

Every year at the end of the Detroit Auto Show they choose the "North American Car of the Year". This year the winner was the "All New" Chevrolet Malibu. Which is odd because last year the winner was the then "All New" Saturn Aura. These cars are really identical in every way but styling and are based on the GM Epsilon Platform. The platform was first used for the Europe-only Vectra which receives mostly lukewarm reviews as being "boring". So the best car, in the opinion of the judges at the show, is the same car two years running which is really a four year old European design? Wow.....that's telling.

So the American car companies are waking up to the reality that they have been asleep at the wheel for a long time. I can't fault them for copying the European designs and marketing them in this country, I think its a great idea.

So while they're at it why don't they copy and produce the 2008 European Car of the Year, the Fiat 500. This is the car that the New Mini should have been. I mean you MAY be able to buy one of these sometime in 2010 from an Alfa Romeo dealership but why doesn't GM just license the rights to make and sell them. It's no secret that American car companies are hopelessly inept at building small cars so let the Italians do it.

So GM licenses the brilliant 500 from Fiat...how do they sell it? I say sell it at Buick dealerships. That's madness! Scream the onlookers, they'll never sell! Ponder this, who drives Buicks? Yes, old people buy Buicks. Next time you're out driving around have a look and see what all the old people are driving these days. I see them mostly in small Hondas, Hyundais, Toyotas and Kias these days. Which makes sense because they are smaller, cheaper, more reliable (better warranty) and get way better gas mileage than some enormous Buick. What better way to either bring new young buyers in or keep the elderly out of giant Buick battering rams than to have a great small car to sell.