ams Tops & Flops of 2014
12/24/2014
A autonomous driving is one of the buzzwords of the year. Without a driver, but not without a sense of direction, prototypes are let loose on the traffic. A driver is actually no longer needed and can meanwhile have fun with other things. But do you enjoy driving? Then you are sure to enjoy the US battle announcement Z06, which attracts with 659 hp for just under 100,000 euros. Or the new BMW i8, which for some is not a sports car, but rather an eco-car. And then you like to show your distance.
Instead of grill masters, VW has 'light' moments
At VW, there is no fear of contact. On the way to the top of the world, the Wolfsburg-based new top managers with correspondingly deep insights into the competition. But there was also an internal swirl. Grill master Egger had to give way at Audi, in future you will rely on (Marc) light moments and new edges in the sheet metal.
The sheet metal could fly away when it comes to the subject of car tolls. It is clear that it will come in whatever form at some point. Extremely embarrassing and confusing is how unprofessional Dobrindt and Co. deal with the topic. Confusion is also spreading in the Mercedes warehouse. A new nomenclature is intended to bring about the liberation from the self-inflicted name trap. But the new alphabet soup is not that clear either. Regardless, you are finally world champion and can really kick your legs with the new V-Class VW. And the top end is the new Maybach. Ok, it is neither the most expensive offer in the group nor the most original. Perhaps it is still enough for the equation Maybach=Reibach to finally work out.
SUV and no end
A very clear success story continues in 2014. SUV, SUV and again SUV. In every size, every class and every design. In the registration statistics, they go anywhere, but in real life they prefer to stick to the asphalt than the tread blocks bump into coarser ground. Or maybe it's better that way, because imagine our autonomous driver would lose his conductive GPS signal or the sensors would become dirty. Then we would have to fully grip the steering wheel ourselves again - yeehaw. There it is again, the joy of driving yourself.
