It has been another a busy week in the auto biz. The Tokyo Show fed us its usual diet of the cutting edge, the imaginative and the downright wonderful. I thought the Mazda Vision Coupe concept was particularly eye-catching. And we got the low-down on Kodo from Mazda designers. We also had our own thoughts on Mazda design and the opportunity for a luxury brand, which it once had, of course.

And Nissan said sorry.

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Also in Tokyo this week, Nissan demonstrated an autonomous prototype on the streets and said the tech will be ready for use in 2020. It might be ready, but will manufacturers be deploying it for real in just three years’ time? Discuss.

Regarding electric vehicles, there’s a safety issue because they don’t make much noise when moving at low speed. I recall almost being knocked over by a stealthy G-Whiz in a London mews road years ago (standing outside a pub on a warm summer evening; I nearly dropped a full pint of beer). Why not add some sound (leaving aside energy efficiency issues)? And if you do, what should it sound like? Kudos to Nissan for having a go. It’s a bit sci-fi – have a listen. I guess a gravelly TVR Griffith roar is out of the question? 

Third quarter results season is well under way. GM did better than its bottom line suggested, thrown out by European one-offs related to the sale of Opel/Vauxhall. And Ford also found Brexit-related currency headwinds tipped its European operations into loss. However, it also showed some positive impact from cost cuts and recently appointed CEO Jim Hackett is surely pleased to have evidence to put before investors. Looking at the share price though, they still need some convincing, even if things are going in the right direction. Jim Hackett also rejigged Ford’s senior management team.

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Volkswagen Group continues to march on, its industrial might and strength, position in the global market, apparently all unfazed by dieselgate fallout. The third quarter results it posted today are pretty impressive. Whatever you think about the underlying problems that created the conditions for such a scandal, the consequences have been fairly effectively managed by Muller & Co, damage contained. So far, anyway.

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Just coming back to Opel/Vauxhall, it was interesting to see PSA’s first set of quarterly results with Opel/Vauxhall added in. There have been plenty of comments dripped into the press by PSA execs warning about the Opel/Vauxhall cost base. We should hear more next month on where PSA will be looking for cost savings. 

UK car output, at least, is not falling off a cliff – but I am hearing from different parts of the auto industry that investment decisions to Britain are undoubtedly being delayed due to Brexit. The frustrations with the lack of progress and clarity are clearly mounting. Meanwhile, some politicians and newspapers continue to play games. I guess it’s to be expected. Heads and brick walls. Hopefully, minds are properly concentrated from December (next EU Summit; runway to do a deal from Q1 next year looks a little on the short side).

We also published a range of features for a bit of added depth:

Over here in jolly old Brexit-land, London saw a ‘T-Charge’ introduced. I guess it’s a sign of things to come with more restrictions on fossil fuel burning cars, diesels particularly in the firing line. It’s just a pity that the politicians focus on the easy targets and don’t grapple with the bigger sources of air pollution (eg gas central heating – NOx –  and wood-burners for domestic heating – particulates). Credit to JLR for this rather neat explainer at a conference I attended earlier this year.

I’ll leave you with a link to the Daihatsu DN Compagno compact car concept, shown in Tokyo. It’s a four-door 1960s-inspired coupe with simple lines aimed at ‘active seniors’. Another nice retro design from a Japanese brand increasingly aware of its rich design heritage. Lovely job. I hope it makes it into production.  

Have a nice weekend,

Dave Leggett, Editor, just-auto.com