A biweekly roundup of automotive news, good, bad and just plain weird:
Beijing Auto Show: The year of the dragon car
If it hasn't already been hammered into your head by every news source for the past two decades, China is probably the most important emerging consumer market out there. Apparently, that goes double for car companies.
In previous years, the Beijing Auto Show has been a sort of also-ran on the global auto-show circuit. In the past, it's been interesting to see the delightfully weird, marginally shoddy, and blatant copyright infringement attempts of Chinese automakers, but this year is different.
For one thing, almost every new car manufacturer pulled the wraps off concept cars made just for the Chinese market. These include everything from the Audi Q3 small crossover, now available as the Jinlong Yufeng edition (Golden Dragon in the Wind), and the Dragon Design Concept Jeep Wrangler which features - you guessed it - dragons all over it.
Want more? How about the Aston-Martin Dragon 88 Special Edition? This special Aston features gold-plated emblems, special interior embroidery and unique exterior colour options. They're only going to make 88 of them, all for sale in China only.
Besides all the dragonbranded stuff, there's the cool-looking VW e-Bugster - because an all-electric Volkswagen is never going to break, right? Fiat is there with their Viaggio, very similar to the new Dodge Dart, and both Bentley and Rolls-Royce also released special edition models.
It's official, the sleeping dragon has awoken, and auto-manufacturers are finally paying attention. If you wanted more proof. . . .
Lamborghini unveils superSUV at Beijing Auto Show
Lamborghini. The name conjures up swooping beauties like the Miura or angry angularities like the Countach or Diablo. The Italian supercar-maker's symbol has always been a rampant bull, and in the contrast to Ferrari's prancing stallion, you can see the truth of the two companies.
One can ride a fast horse, but saddling up an angry bull can be a bit life-threatening.
Still, Audi's ownership of Lamborghini has seen some of its cars - while remaining blisteringly fast - become slightly more manageable to the everyday driver. Now the taming is complete as Lambo is offering an SUV for the second time ever.
The first "RamboLambo," the LM-002, was an interesting truck that was about as subtle as a sledgehammer to the face. That also describes how comfortable it was to drive.
This new truck, the Urus, is a 600-horsepower monster that looks like a jacked-up Gallardo and boasts goanywhere abilities, being equally at home at the mall, or the gym, or the fancy restaurant. Off-road? Oh dearie me, that's a laugh.
Projected to triple (triple!) worldwide Lamborghini sales, the nicest thing I can say about the Urus is that it will continue to keep Lamborghini afloat and putting out delicious confections like the Gallardo Superleggera.
Doors open at MercedesBenz's first AMG dealership. Guess where?
Mercedes makes so many AMG performance models in its range, you'd think they would have opened up a stand-alone store already. Looks like they were just waiting for the right time and place.
The time? Now (high fuel prices? Oh well). The place? Beijing.
The two-level space is crammed to the rafters with all manner of AMG goodies - and no regular M-B models. With the Chinese prestige market blooming, Mercedes obviously thought this was the best place for AMG to start branching out.
It's also the place they chose to take the wraps off their biggest AMG, the boxy, two-tonne G63 SUV. I've driven an earlier model and unleashing the 500+ h.p. is like being in a Howdah when your elephant suddenly gets stabbed in the buttock. I'm sure it'll be just fine in heavy Beijing traffic.
Jaguar announces new, smaller engines
Jaguars and V-8s go together like the Queen and short little dogs that look like mobile footstools. The two are inextricably intertwined and things get really interesting when Jag bolts on a supercharger.
However, not everyone wants to buy a car with the fuel economy of a Supermarine Spitfire, just because they sound cool.
As such, Jaguar is hoping to expand its appeal with the announcement of a new supercharged V-6 and *gasp* a four-cylinder?
Keep Calm and Carry On Accelerating. The new Jag four is actually the same engine that you currently get in the Range Rover Evoque, and its turbocharged 240 horses will be more than enough to motivate something like the new compact F-Type coupe that's still in development.
Even more interesting is the supercharged V-6, which pips current forced-inductionsix offerings from Audi and BMW with 340 h.p. or as much as 380 h.p., depending on the application. Think back to Jaguar's XJ220 supercar: that was also powered by a forced-induction six-cylinder.
China's BYD shows off remote-controlled car
Many manufacturers provide self-parking cars. These days, you can even get the technology in something as prosaic as a Ford Focus. Just one problem: you've got to be inside the car to park it.
In really tight spaces, that can be inconvenient. Imagine though, a world where you jump out of your car at the front door, push a button, AND YOUR CAR PARKS ITSELF.
Keep imagining, we're not quite there yet, but what China's BYD motors has come up with is quite close. It's a clear key for their F3 Plus model, and it doubles as a remote control for the car. Just as you'd find on a normal R/C car, there'll be buttons for moving the BYD forward, back, left and right; perfect for tucking it into that extra-tight parking spot.
If you've ever watched a child play indoors with a remote-controlled car on Christmas morning, I'm sure you're seeing all kinds of potential problems cropping up here. Still, it's one step closer to the auto-valet, and having been stuck in the parking lot watching somebody park at the speed of continental drift, I think we can all agree that auto-parking could be useful.
Follow Brendan on Twitter: @ brendan_mcaleer, or submit your own auto oddities to [email protected].
