Here are April 2022âs imagesâaides-mĂ©moires, photos of interest, and miscellaneous items. I append to this gallery through the month.
Posts tagged ‘Italy’
April 2022 gallery
02.04.2022Tags: 1960s, 1970s, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1980s, 1983, 2020s, 2021, actress, advertisement, advertising, Buick, car, celebrity, film, GM, Italy, James Bond, Japan, magazine, Mitsubishi, modelling, retro, Sean Connery, Sweden, technology, USA, Volvo
Posted in cars, culture, gallery, interests, publishing, Sweden, technology, USA | No Comments »
October 2021 gallery
01.10.2021Here are October 2021âs imagesâaides-mĂ©moires, photos of interest, and miscellaneous items. I append to this gallery through the month. Might have to be our Instagram replacement!
Notes
Chrysler’s finest? The 300M rates as one of my favourites.
The original cast of Hustle, one of my favourite 2000s series.
Boris Johnson ‘wage growth’ quotationâwhat matters to a eugenicist isn’t human life, after all. Reposted from Twitter.
For our wonderful niece Esme, a Lego airport set. It is an uncle and aunt’s duty to get decent Lego. My parents got me a great set (Lego 40) when I was six, so getting one at four is a real treat!
Publicity still of Barbara Bach in The Spy Who Loved Me. Reposted from Twitter.
Koala reposted from Twitter.
Photostat of an advertisement in a 1989 issue of the London Review of Books, which my friend Philip’s father lent me. I copied a bunch of pages for some homework. I have since reused a lot of the backs of those pages, but for some reason this 1989 layout intrigued me. It’s very period.
Fiat brochure for Belgium, 1970, with the 128 taking pride of place, and looking far more modern than lesser models in the range.
John Lewis Christmas 2016 parody ad still, reposted from Twitter.
More on the Triumph Mk II at Autocade. Reposted from Car Brochure Addict on Twitter.
The origins of the Lucire trade mark, as told to Amanda’s cousin in an email.
More on the Kenmeri Nissan Skyline at Autocade.
Renault Talisman interior and exterior for the facelifted model.
The original 1971 Lamborghini Countach LP500 by Bertone show car. Read more in Lucire.
More on the Audi A2 in Autocade.
Tags: 1960s, 1967, 1970, 1970s, 1971, 1977, 1980s, 1989, 2000, 2000s, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, actors, actress, advertisement, advertising, Alarm fĂŒr Cobra 11: die Autobahnpolizei, Audi, Audrey Hepburn, Australia, Autocade, BBC, Belgium, Bertone, Boris Johnson, British Leyland, car, celebrity, China, Chrysler, COVID-19, design, email, England, Eon Productions, family, Fiat, film, friends, futurism, GenĂšve, Germany, graphic design, high-tech, Hong Kong, humour, Hustle, Italy, James Bond, JY&A Media, Lamborghini, law, Lego, London Review of Books, Lucire, Marcello Gandini, marketing, media, Nissan, parody, politics, Red China, Renault, retro, RTL, science fiction, Scotland, Switzerland, technology, toy, trade mark, Triumph, TV, Twitter, typography, UK, USA, Volkswagen
Posted in cars, China, culture, design, gallery, Hong Kong, humour, interests, marketing, media, politics, TV, UK, USA | No Comments »
September 2021 gallery
02.09.2021Here are September 2021âs imagesâaides-mĂ©moires, photos of interest, and miscellaneous items. I append to this gallery through the month. It sure beats having a Pinterest.
Sources
The 2016 Dodge Neon sold in México. More at Autocade.
IKCO Peugeot 207. More at Autocade.
Double standards in New Zealand media, reposted from Twitter.
The cover of the novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Nice work on the use of Americana, which does take me back to the period, but I’m not convinced by this cut of Italian Old Style. I just don’t remember it being used that much.
Daktariâs Cheryl Miller as the new Dodge model, in her second year, promoting the 1971 Dodge Demon. This was a 1960s idea that was being carried over with minor tweaks into the new decade, and it didn’t work quite as well as the earlier Joan Parker ‘Dodge Fever’ advertisements (also shown here in this gallery).
House Beautiful cover, January 1970, before all the garishness of the decade really hit. This is still a clean, nicely designed cover. I looked at some from the years that followed on House Beautifulâs website, and they never hit this graphic design high mark again.
That’s the Car and Driver cover for my birth month? How disappointing, a Colonnade Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
French typesetting, as posted on the typography.guru forums.
Read books, humorous graphic reposted from Twitter.
My reply in the comments at Business Desk, on why it made more sense for me to have run for mayor in 2010 and 2013 than it would in 2022.
Seven years before its launch, Marcello Gandini had already styled the Innocenti Mini. This is his 1967 proposal at Bertone.
JAC Jiayue A5. More at Autocade.
Phil McCann reporting for the BBC, reposted from Twitter.
Car and Driver February 1970 cover. As a concept, this could still work.
Tags: 1960s, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1970s, 1971, 1972, 1974, 2010s, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021, actress, Aotearoa, BBC, Bertone, book, Brexit, British Leyland, Business Desk, car, celebrity, Chevrolet, China, Chrysler, Dodge, FCA, Fiat, film, France, GM, graphic design, Hollywood, humour, IKCO, Innocenti, Iran, Italy, JAC, Lamborghini, layout, licensing, magazine, Marcello Gandini, marketing, mayoralty, media, México, modelling, modernism, New Zealand, Peugeot, politics, PSA, publishing, Qatar, racism, retro, Saudi Arabia, Sawahel Aljazeera, Stellantis, technology, The New York Times, Twitter, typography, UK, USA, Wellington, Whanganui-a-Tara
Posted in business, cars, China, design, France, gallery, humour, interests, leadership, marketing, media, New Zealand, politics, publishing, technology, typography, UK, USA, Wellington | No Comments »
March 2021 gallery
05.03.2021
All galleries can be seen through the ‘Gallery’ link in the header, or click here (especially if you’re on a mobile device). I append to this entry through the month.
Sources
Ford Taunus by Otosan, 1992: more at Autocade.
Tipalet advertisement, sourced from Twitter. Based on what my parents told me, this wouldnât have appealed even then!
Fiat Ritmo Diesel, Tweeted by Darragh McKenna.
Emory University letter, Tweeted by HaĂŻtian Creative.
The Jaguar XJ-S was first marketed as the S-type in the USâmore at this Tweet from the Car Factoids. More on the XJ-S here on Autocade.
Bree Kleintop models Diff Charitable Eyewear, shared on Instagram.
Alisia Ludwig photographed by Peter MĂŒller, from Instagram.
The Daily Campus, February 19, 2021, and Metropolitan Police newspaper quote, sourced from Twitter.
Ford Cortina Mk II 1600E two-door, one of 2,563 made for export only. Source: the Car Factoids on Twitter.
Alisia Ludwig photographed by Weniamin Schmidt, shared on Instagram.
Ford Cortina Mk II 1600E advertisement, sourced from Twitter.
Morris 2200 HL advertisement: more on the car at Autocade.
More on the Dodge Charger L-body at Autocade.
More on the Samsung XM3, also at Autocade.
Tags: 1950s, 1959, 1960s, 1970s, 1975, 1976, 1980s, 1982, 1990s, 1992, 2019, 2020, 2021, advertising, Autocade, British Leyland, car, Chrysler, Dodge, error, Fiat, Ford, Germany, Instagram, Italy, Jaguar, Korea, marketing, media, modelling, newspaper, Otosan, racism, Renault, retro, Samsung, Turkey, UK, USA
Posted in business, cars, culture, gallery, marketing, UK, USA | No Comments »
January 2021 gallery
01.01.2021Let’s kick off January’s images right here!
Click here for all months (or hit ‘Gallery’ at the top of the screen, if you’re on the desktop), here for December, and here for November. This post explains why I wound up doing the gallery here.
I append to this entry through the month.
Sources
Changan Uni-T, more at Autocade.
Cartoon from Textile Cartoons on NewTumbl.
Twenty seventeen newspaper clipping with Donald Trump from The Herald.
BMW image from Kolbenkopp on Twitter (more at this post).
Bestune B70 Mk III, more at Autocade.
Bridal gown by Luna Novias, and featured in Lucire.
Citroën AX-330 advertisement from 1970 sourced from here.
Chilean Peugeot 404 advertisement sourced from here.
Ford US full line from 1972 from Consumer Guide.
Xpeng P7, more at Autocade.
More on the Lancia Beta Monte-Carlo in Autocade.
Clarins model from the Lucire archives.
Ford Cortina Mk III by Hyundai advertisement from the Car Factoids on Twitter.
Tags: 1970, 1970s, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1980s, 1986, 2000s, 2005, 2017, 2020s, 2021, advertising, Aotearoa, Australia, Autocade, beauty, Bestune, BMW, Brexit, car, Changan, Chile, China, Citroën, Clarins, fashion, FAW, Fiat, Ford, Germany, humour, Hyundai, Italy, Jacinda Ardern, Korea, Lancia, Lucire, magazine, marketing, modelling, New Zealand, newspaper, Peugeot, politics, retro, Scotland, Stern, technology, The Herald, Twitter, UK, USA, Xpeng
Posted in cars, China, gallery, humour, New Zealand, politics, technology, UK, USA | No Comments »
COVID-19 infections as a percentage of tests done: April 13 update
13.04.2020I can cite these COVID-19 calculations (infections as a proportion of tests done) with a bit more confidence than the last lot, where many countriesâ testing figures had not updated. I see the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has released its total test numbers now, and they show a pretty good result, too.
Compared to my post of the 7th inst., there are improvements in France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany, while Spain has shown a marked and positive improvement (from 39·58 per cent to 28·25 per cent).
The UKâs delay and its initial reliance on herd immunity, with sycophants up and down the country agreeing, is showing up now as its number grows slightly, from 20·4 per cent on the 7th to 23·88 per cent with the latest data.
The USâs numbers are holding fairly steadily with an increase of 0·8 per cent since the 7th (to 19·78 per cent).
Swedenâs total test figure is one of two inaccurate ones here, having remained unchanged since the last tables, which obviously cannot be right. I estimate they have done around 75,000 tests so far, which would bring the figure to 13·98 per cent, fairly close to the 7thâs, rather than the 19·16 per cent that the Worldometersâ table would have me calculate.
Also statistically similar are Switzerland, South Korea, Australia and Hong Kong, though Hong Kongâs total test figure is also inaccurate (unchanged from the 7th). Singapore is showing a rise with the reports of community transmission. New Zealand is showing a small drop (2·71 to 2·15 per cent), though the percentage change here is less than what the USâs is.
Taiwan continues to see its percentage decline with another 8,000 tests done and only an additional 17 infections since the 7thâs post.
France 132,591 of 333,807 = 39·72%
Spain 169,496 of 600,000 = 28·25%
UK 84,279 of 352,974 = 23·88%
USA 560,433 of 2,833,112 = 19·78%
Italy 156,363 of 1,010,193 = 15·48%
Sweden 10,483 of c. 75,000 = c. 13·98%*
Switzerland 25,449 of 193,800 = 13·13%
Germany 127,854 of 1,317,887 = 9·70%
KSA 4,462 of 115,585 = 3·86%
Singapore 2,532 of 72,680 = 3·48%
New Zealand 1,349 of 62,827 = 2·15%
South Korea 10,537 of 514,621 = 2·05%
Australia 6,359 of 362,136 = 1·76%
Hong Kong 1,010 of 96,709 = 1·04%*
Taiwan 393 of 47,215 = 0·83%
Tags: 2020, Aotearoa, Australia, COVID-19, Europe, France, Germany, health, Hong Kong, Italy, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, statistics, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK, USA
Posted in China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Sweden, UK, USA | No Comments »
A couple of days before it became official: thoughts on PSA and FCA linking up
01.11.2019
Companies in FCA’s and PSA’s histories did once produce the Plymouth Horizon, so historically there is some precedent to a trans-Atlantic arrangementânot to mention the type 220 and 179 minivans and the commercial vehicles currently in PSA’s and Fiat’s ranges.
This is a few days old, but it’s nice to know that these hurriedly written thoughts on a private Facebook group reflected what I read a day later in the automotive press.
Copied and pasted from the above (and yes, I know it should be e-208):
I read that as well, Jonathan. Elkann would be chairman and Tavares the CEO. I guess Fiat had to move on from talking with Renault while they have their internal squabbles. While some praise Marchionne, I thought it was foolish to let the less profitable marques suffer as he didâthe global economy doesnât stay buoyant all the time and at some point not everyone will want a hotted-up Alfa or Maserati. Especially as there seems to be no cohesive platform strategy. I think Fiat realizes the shambles itâs actually in despite what the share price says. There is some sense to have PSA platforms underpin a lot of Fiats (letâs face it, very little of the Fiat range is on a Fiat platformâthere are GM, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Ford and PSA bitsâand the old Grande Punto platform can only go so far), but the more premium marques will still have to have unique platforms.
Fiat really needs to do some rationalization of its own before approaching others but my sense is that itâs gone too far down this road and has no investment in either next-generation B- (Jeep Renegade) or C-platforms (Giulietta) where a lot of European sales will still lie. Its only real prize here is Jeep.
Tavares will be able to slash a great deal and Europe could look good quite quickly, but I doubt anyone has any focus on the US side of things other than Jeep. PSA has some limited experience in South America but it wonât be able to integrate that as easily. And neither has any real strength in China despite being early entrants, with, again, Jeep being the exception. (Peugeot, DS and CitroĂ«n are struggling in China.)
He had claimed that PSA was looking at some sort of alternative retail model for the US, but it also seemed a bit far off.
If this happens, I think Tavares will âdo a Talbotâ on anything Fiat-related in Europe, eventually killing the Fiat marque (with maybe just a 208e-based 500 remaining), and keep Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Jeep. Chrysler will remain with the Pacifica, Dodge might still have the Durango, but everything else would get the chop unless they consider bringing in a rebadged 508. Ram and Fiat Profissional will stay as separate entities. Fiat do Brasil will get some PSA tech. Then there might be some logic to what is left but I still feel Fiat has to get itself in order first.
On reflection, maybe I was a little harsh on Sergio, as ignoring the mass-market brands has left FCA, with a portfolio of specialist and premium ones, a reasonably good fit for an organization that has the opposite set of strengths.
One question remains: which is the cheap brand, the Plymouth, here? You can’t always go premium: sooner or later, economies weaken and people will want something entry-level. There may be wisdom to retaining Fiat in some shape or form. One more 108 variant can’t hurt âŠ
Anyone notice a pattern here? That any company that owns Jeep eventually diminishes its own brand. Willys, Kaiser, AMC, Chrysler, and Fiat are either dead or no longer the forces they once were. Renault managed a controlling interest in AMC with 46·4 per cent in 1982, but that was bought by Chrysler five years later. At some stage, we must tire of these massive vehicles, and already there’s a suggestion that, in the US at least, nonconformist younger buyers are eyeing up sedans. Great if you’re Nissan in the US (and China), not so much if you’re Ford.
Tags: 2019, Alfa Romeo, branding, Brazil, business, car industry, cars, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, Europe, FCA, Fiat, France, history, Italy, Jeep, Maserati, merger, Mopar, Peugeot, Plymouth, PSA, USA
Posted in business, cars, China, France, USA | No Comments »
How will things play out at Fiat?
02.04.2016
Above: The current Fiat 500. A year shy of its 10th anniversary, is it still cool in 2016?
The Detroit News reports that Fiat has been having trouble Stateside, with dealers now permitted to sell the cars alongside Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram instead of at stand-alone showrooms.
Itâs been worrying seeing Fiatâs plans unfold since it decided to take control of Chrysler, a firm that was once the darling of the US car industry, with its industry-leading R&D times, to one that was starved of investment in the 2000s.
Those initial plans, sold as a long-term strategy, turned out to be a short-term Band-Aid. With hindsight, maybe it wasnât too much of a surprise, since Fiat was still grappling with understanding just what it was taking on.
Fiat needed to do something given that things at home werenât looking too good, with a model range that wasnât very cohesive, and with its entries into the Chinese market having faltered a few times. To the casual observer, Fiat saved Chrysler, but thereâs some truth in saying that having the company that controls the Jeep brand was a lifeline to Fiat itself.
What weâve seen since those days was the failure of the strategy of twinning Chrysler and Lancia. While this was a marriage of convenience, I could see this having some long-term gains with Lancia focusing on smaller cars and Chrysler on larger ones, but the result in 2016 is that Lancia has been reduced to an Italy-only marque, the equivalent of what Autobianchi was a few decades ago. Once the Ypsilon is deleted, then Lancia is consigned to the history books.
The winner has been Alfa Romeo. It has only just returned to the junior executive segment with the new Giulia, after an absence of several years, and its 4C is a cracking sports car. Things are looking up, and rumours that Alfa and Dodge would be paired up in the same way Lancia and Chrysler were mercifully havenât come true. The Giulia platform could be used for future models. Jeep has benefited from Fiat platforms, and Ram has gained some Fiat vans.
But the parent brand, Fiat, has looked very uncertain for a while.
For a start, thereâs little uniformity globally. Fiat has the opportunity to offer the Viaggio and Ottimo in more places than China, slotting above the Ăgea, for example. While having unique models for South America makes some sense, because of Fiatâs strength there, thereâs an opportunity to globalize, with the Toro pick-up truck looking very appealing.
Without having more of its self-developed products, the Fiat range in Europe doesnât inspire too much confidence. While most manufacturers have one or two joint-venture models, Fiatâs range is almost exclusively made up of vehicles that have shared tech. The famous 500 and Panda are on a Fiat platform which has Chrysler input (before the takeover), and is shared with Ford for its B420 Ka. The Punto, 500X and 500L are on another platform shared with GM. The DoblĂČ is also offered to GM. The Qubo is the product of a joint venture with Peugeot. The Freemont is a rebadged Dodge Journey from MĂ©xico, which Fiat gained after the takeover. The 124 Spider is based on the Mazda MX-5, and built in Japan by that firm. The Fullback pick-up is a Mitsubishi Triton twin and made in Thailand by that Japanese firm.
Fiat, in other words, is holding down more relationships than Casanova.
As a casual observer, thereâs an opportunity for a massive streamlining of platforms, and offer more in-house models. That may well be happening, and letâs hope its current strategy is more long-term than its last.
Secondly, as mentioned earlier, Fiat hasnât had a great reputation of being able to carry out long-term salesâ strategies in many of its markets. Take New Zealand, for example, where Fiat was offering its (Grande) Punto and Bravo models, before it decided to pull everything and offer only the 500.
The Punto has returned after a hiatus, this time as a budget model, along with the Tipo 139 Panda, but those who bought Puntos in the 2000s might think twice about returning to a company that abandoned them and offered no direct replacement for their car when it came to trading up.
That lack of continuity could have some buyers worried, and Fiat needs to regain their trust in a big way.
Being the Five Hundred Car Company, which Fiat certainly was in the US, cannot help, if buyers expect Fiat to offer more. Weâve seen it fail here, and Fiatâs had to back-track. Even in Hong Kong, where Fiat had also been reduced to flogging only the 500, it has had to add the Freemont.
Fiat will argue that as it had been absent from North America for so long, it could re-enter the market-place with a single, fashionable model: after all, Mini and Smart have done.
The trouble is that Fiat isnât known as a niche brand: there was enough in the US media to indicate that this was an Italian giant, and the perception of such a large company didnât gel with it offering a niche range anywhere. It lacked the cachet of a brand that was created to be fashionable and funky from the outset. You just canât do it when thatâs the name of the owner (think: can you sell âcoolâ cars with GM as the brandâthat had been tried in New Zealand and failed dismally; or, going back a generation, Leyland? Volkswagen surely is the sole exception with its Beetle), and FCA, which the parent company is called, isnât a consumer-facing brand. Itâs just a company name with no brand equity.
In the same vein, average punters might not know of BMWâs connection with Mini, or Daimler AGâs connection with Smart. They stand alone with plenty of brand equity, helped by identifiable products, and, in Miniâs case, even helped by its image outside North America.
I also question whether the 500X and 500L are cute cars in the same vein as the original 500. Getting Ben Stillerâs Derek Zoolander character to advertise the 500X seemed good in theoryâtill it dawned on the public that the new Zoolander film was a bit naff, cashing in on last-decade nostalgia. Iâm not a fan of retro design, either, and I would have hoped that Fiat would have renewed its 500 by now, since weâre on to newer versions of the Beetle, Mini, and Smart. Itâs no surprise that Fiat sales are down 14·6 per cent so far this year.
If Toyota could not sustain Scion with all its muscle, then Fiat retail really should be integrated into dealerships selling Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram Stateside. And Iâd argue that Scion couldnât remain because the brand had lost its coolness among the college kids who bought the XB in the first place. Buyers in this consumerist game, and at the fashion end it is more a game than in any other, are notoriously fickle.
I donât know how itâs going to play out. Fiatâs a brand Iâve grown up with, and Iâve been visiting their dealerships since I was two years old. Back in the 1970s the showroom in Homantin, Kowloon had everything from 127s to 130s. Fiat was doing a brisk trade on 124s. I came close to buying various Fiat Group cars over the years, including a Tipo and a Lancia Delta, and more recently I had considered Alfa Romeo Mitos and Giuliettas. I briefly toyed with importing a Tipo 844 Lancia Delta from the UK badged as a Chrysler, but decided having a $75 1:43-scale one was enough.
To see Lancia decimated and now on life support as Fiat concentrated on making Chrysler and Dodge work, to see the home brand filled with other peopleâs products in the interim, and to receive news that US buyers werenât flocking to its showrooms in the same numbers any more, all make me concerned. Go to Italy and the taxi ranks no longer are dominated by Fiat Group cars: the cabbies have gone French and German. It’s all very well Maserati and Ferrari doing well but the former’s volumes won’t have a huge impact, while the latter has been separated and now has a different parent. The only continent where I think Fiat is making a decent bash of things is South America. I donât want to paint a doom-and-gloom picture, not least because I have fondness for all the brands that now fall under the Fiat umbrella. But the weaknesses, at least to an outsider looking in, outnumber the strengths. My gut says Fiat will work through it all, but will it do it in a fast enough fashion, or is there more pain to come?
Tags: 2016, Alfa Romeo, branding, Brazil, business, business strategy, car, car industry, cars, Chrysler, Dodge, exporting, Fiat, film, history, Italy, Jeep, Lancia, marketing strategy, North America, promotion, Scion, South America, Toyota, USA
Posted in branding, business, cars, China, globalization, marketing, USA | 2 Comments »