"We specialise in all makes of car” read a sign I once saw by a garage.
Such semantic silliness could, nowadays, be the mantra for all large car companies.
Once upon a time, BMW specialised in sports saloons, Mercedes-Benz in four-door executive cars, Fiat in baby cars, Ford did mid-size motors for the populace and Toyota made cheap but reliable runabouts. Everyone knew one’s place.
No more. The Toyota range now runs from tiny iQ to vast Amazon. Its customer base varies from Prius-driving eco-preeners to off-road tough guys in Land Cruisers. Mercedes now sells small cheap hatches (the A-class) while Volkswagen offers a £75,000 12-cylinder luxury saloon (as well as 4x4s, sports cars, convertibles, estates, vans, hatches, estates and MPVs).
We specialise in all makes of car indeed.
BMW’s growth is typical. The one-time aero engine maker transformed itself into a maker of baby ‘bubble’ cars in the 50s, before transmogrifying in the 60s and 70s to a conceiver of sports saloons. The Ultimate Driving Machine was born.
Nowadays, it has three different sizes of 4x4, a small hatch and a long-wheelbase limo (not to mention ownership of Mini and Rolls-Royce). A company that once seemed content with the 3-series and 5-series now has a 1-series, a 6-series and a 7-series. No one is ruling out a 4, an 8 or a 9 either.
Further to illustrate this diversification, BMW’s latest car is sold primarily on its spaciousness and functionality, qualities once as foreign to BMW as high speed was to Volvo (have I mentioned the latest 150mph Volvo V70 T6 R-Design?).
The new BMW 5-series Gran Turismo combines the elevated seating position of an X5 SUV with the rear-seat expanse of a big 7-series saloon and the carrying capacity of an estate. What’s more it has a coupé-like style, thanks to its ‘fastback’ tailgate. It’s the most curious combination since Luciano Pavarotti sang with U2. The tailgate, incidentally, opens in two ways. It lifts up like a normal hatchback or you can open the boot like a normal saloon.
“Nowadays you can’t just have a saloon and an estate car in your range,” says BMW marketing director Richard Hudson. “The customer expects a big choice.” We’re getting bored with convention, it seems.
Personally, I’d rather have a ‘normal’ 5-series Touring (estate) or saloon and forsake the rear legroom, the throne-like seating position and the capability of carrying my fridge-freezer with me on holiday. But to some, these are important considerations.
Arch-rival Audi is also tiring of the mainstream. Its new model is also a ‘think different’ hatchback, but it’s a ‘Sportback’. Based on the comely A5 coupé, it uses an extended wheelbase and a bigger boot, to offer almost estate-like luggage haulage. Yet it retains the sleek coupé style, never mind the four doors. A toned-down version of this Sportback formula is already familiar on the smaller Audi A3.
Now the A3 is really a VW Golf wearing a posh Audi suit and such multitasking is typical of the dexterous VW Group.
No maker has plugged more market niches than the VW Group. Its range extends from Skoda to Bentley, from the tiny £7,000 Volkswagen Fox to the titanic £840,000 Bugatti Veyron.
In an era when car makers’ marketing is more blunderbuss than laser guided, VW is truly the maker of cars for all seasons and reasons.
Gavin Green is a motoring journalist and consultant.
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