Xavier Adam Blog

Perfect Bedfellows, UKTI Blog Post

14 February 2011 – 5:49 am

The below written for UKTI during MWC 2011 week in Barcelona. UKTI is the premier UK Government body for supporting UK business, trade, industry and finance.

Perfect bedfellows

February 13, 2011

Mobile and motoring – a winning combination Xavier Adam, Founder and MD, AMC Network, considers the opportunities for mobile and motoring…

Until recently the worlds of mobile and motoring seemed unrelated, other than through laws that stated if you were using one, you should not be using the other.

By their nature the two worlds are however related. Motoring takes you away from home and office, and mobile is the way to keep in touch. Perfect bedfellows.

Vehicle manufacturers such as BMW have been offering engine management updates via the mobile network for a while, and cars such as the BMW Z8 came with its own Motorola ‘flip-phone’ back in 2000, but these mobile touches were on the whole just plush gadgets or had an impact that car owner never actually saw.

Fast forward to 2011 and we are seeing the worlds of mobile and private transport integrate. Some of the latest Ford cars for example have marketing campaigns, not around the vehicle’s speed and efficiency, but how effective the car is as a mobile entertainment and app centre.

At MWC 2010 there were some interesting developments on the navigation side, with for example a German company providing an in-car pictorial photographic representation of the street aspect via Google Maps, helping the driver know exactly where they were in real-time. Looking out of the car window, would show the same as on the virtual navigation display.

Considering the proliferation of electric cars now available, from mainstream and alternative manufacturers, a future where the mobile network and vehicles are fully integrated does not seem far-fetched. Unburdened by the internal combustion engine, technology firms such as Google and Apple, are able to develop their visions of personal transportation.

Sooner rather than later, coming via the mobile network will be real-time information, such as parking space availability, shopping offer updates pulsated out to opted in drivers in the vicinity, and other more practical features, such as the ability for the vehicle to go and park itself and to be called up for service via mobile by its driver.

These space-age developments are not far off and could make towns and cities less congested, ease parking problems and make transport around the world metropolises much easier.

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Regeneration?

6 February 2011 – 5:44 pm

Saltaire, Bradford, West Yorkshire. Home of Salt’s Mill, PACE and various other technology businesses.

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Back to the Future

3 February 2011 – 10:00 pm

The Jaguar C-X75 concept car features two Bladon Jet range extenders. I first met the people behind the gas turbine company on a low carbon trade mission to the Isle of Man, where some of the team are based. This fibreglass concept is billed as the world’s first and fastest electric supercar, once in production.

Beautifully sculptured from every angle, this Jaguar throws back to the historic racers in shape and poise. Well done to Bladon Jets for their achievement in pre-production and securing the investment of Indian conglomerate Tata.

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N420 Comes In

3 February 2011 – 11:21 am

This is the Aston Martin N420 kindly loaned from the Gaydon factory a few weeks back. Having a drink this week in London’s Soho with an automotive PR friend, we were perplexed who keeps buying this type of vehicle with fuel widely accepted to hit £2 a litre in the UK and Western Europe.

However, demand still seems to be there, albeit slightly off the financial boom years around 2006. As most try to go eco and governments bring in hotch potch badly thought through legislation under the guise of saving the environment, we are at a strange juxtapostion. Fuel, insurance and disposables go up. But people keep buying, they have to, to run their lives.

Walking around Central London it is amazing how few mid-range petrol cars there now are. These have been dropped in favour of diesels; which incidentally, it is thought pollute more, have a more damaging to the environment overall life-cycle, and diesel is of course now more costly than petrol in many countries.

In terms of new types of propulsion and alternative vehicles it seems we are some way off. The trade and public do not yet have a large appetite for paying more for less, which is often the case with the current batch of eco cars, and ill informed pundits getting in on what they consider the next growth area is not helping the sector.

The Aston Martin N420 is a semi-race prepped 4.7 V8 Vantage with some of the weight stripped out, race seats and a tightened suspension. Costing more than the standard car, it is positioned somewhere around Porsche GT3 territory or the Ferrari Challenge series.

What do you think? Is there a future for the supercar in the developed nations? Will it be expected these should be electric and alternative fuels? High running costs, over population, the calculations are hard to make?

Coming soon, the launch of the new all electric, Jaguar supercar.

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Tyre Technology

3 February 2011 – 10:51 am

Tyre design does not sound very exciting, but it is! Take Formula1, general racing and performance cars, so much comes down to tyre technology, which has been evolving a pace. Tread patterns, compounds and construction are all elements the manufacturer will develop at length and cost.

Having recently worked on a large scale tyre marketing and finance project, it is amazing how many car owners and drivers have so little awareness of the four bits of rubber at each corner of their vehicle.

It is common at the high end, for example with the Aston Martin One 77, for motor manufacturer and tyre provider to develop a specific tyre product for a specific vehicle. Another example would be Renault Formula1′s partnership with Michelin during their successful F1 Championship seasons of 2005 and 2006. Since Michelin’s withdrawal, Renault F1 has been off the pace of the glory years.

The main development for road vehicles in the tyre world over the last 24 months has been the general move to the asymmetric tread design, as shown above. Now coming from factory on most road cars and offered by a range of OEMs. It is thought the asymmetric tread design has greater road adhesion and water dispersing qualities.

The eco-pattern above comes from Good Year and was seen at a recent trade event. You see tyre technology can be interesting!

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It’s out…

16 January 2011 – 9:16 pm

After much will they won’t they. Formula 1 team, Team Lotus, launch their new car this week, with design cues harking back to the world famous black and gold John Player Special car.

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Future Car Challenge

6 November 2010 – 6:48 pm

Being around Waterloo Place in London most weeks, I can confirm it is a hive of new initiatives; launches, dramas, filming, and in turn a good source of income for Westminster City Council. Today it was the turn of the ‘green’ car movement to suspend the parking bays and build a temporary structure, the finish point for the first Future Car Challenge.

Running on the same weekend as the now renowned London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, which takes place annually on the first Sunday of November. This was a Brighton to London run on the preceding day and designed to bring together old and new. Just under 70 cars took part, from the small T25 and latest edition Smart, to more regular five door family models. The range of power units varied in type and potential, from electric to hybrid and other.

Some vehicles were entered by the large corporates, think Asia and Japan, while there were a few innovative privateers, including Nick Mason of Pink Floyd, listed as the driver of one of three Teslas in the contest.

Energy used measurements took place at the finish line, in a mini-parc ferme, from where the latest models were dispatched to meet their 100 year old predecessors half a mile north west on Regent Street.

Still a fragmented sector and slightly abstract to the ‘man-on-the-street’, the green transport movement is gaining some ground. Although a thought through prediction would suggest there will be a few casualties on the way to this radical shift.

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Got to keep moving

6 November 2010 – 5:58 pm

Lola is one of those iconic British marques of yesteryear, except, it is still here and going strong. I know this as we spent an enjoyable afternoon there this week, kindly organised by the excellent MIA and affable Lola employee, Sam Smith.

Having won countless awards over its half century existence, Lola is today a leader in advance design, composites and carbon fibre development. Motorsport represents 30% of the company’s current activities.

These days most famed for its ongoing Le Mans successes; it was interesting to see products being developed for the latest Royal Navy destroyers, private jet aircraft and far flung news organisations, reporting from some of the hottest trouble spots on earth. Lola’s carbon fibre crate system, enables one reporter to single handedly have a satellite dish live and positioned from kit form to broadcast, anywhere in the world in around five minutes. Seeing is believing. Lola has certainly got on with it and like many other firms in its sector has not sought fanfare or unsubstantiated endorsement.

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Stretching the Brand

22 October 2010 – 3:13 pm

This week I visited Audi in west London. The German marque has made a significant investment in two London based brand experience centres. The one pictured is on the A4 at Brentford and is the largest of the two locations. Through this initiative, Audi aims to get guests in touch with the Audi brand. From the slick blinds and clean line fittings to the historic cars at the venue, the whole place shouts, or rather whispers Audi.

Companies are invited to book the space for their own events at a competitive rate. There is a day and evening rate. Audi will oblige by leaving cars in the space or remove them at the request of event organisers. Like many of the more innovative motor companies, Audi has looked at ways to get people in touch with the brand and on the day I visited, it seemed to work!

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Brand Equity

16 October 2010 – 5:15 pm

Recently I spent a day with Volvo at a former WWII air base. The windswept location chosen for a range of driving activities to demonstrate Volvo’s new S60 model. Like Mercedes with its new C-Class, Volvo is putting a lot in to their latest model. It is seen widely as a post Ford (ownership) marker for the organisation. For the S60′s handling alone, they have consulted a British BTCC driver. Volvo means business.

The S60 is in part being promoted via a series of trade and public track days. These well organised events see professional drivers take people out to engage in a range of driving techniques, utilising both the petrol and diesel models. This endeavour has to be costing the company a noticeable sum, and we have to ask, is it worth it?

At the overseas’ launch of the Volvo C30 a while back, I felt Volvo did not really know where to pitch the good looking, if slightly expensive car. With the S60 it is different. Volvo is firmly after the BMW 3 Series market, the sales reps and fleet buyers. In my opinion the marketing works. But, pretty much whatever they do, it is a Volvo and to me that says a safe car not a fun one.

After polling friends in and out of the sector, they fed back unanimously their association with safety, reliability and family, when thinking of Volvo. As one of the other delegates from the day since emailed, Volvo have to take the existing image with both hands and propel it in this new direction, by actually getting people in to their cars. A case of driving is believing.

What do you think? Is Volvo going to upset its core customer base with this Max Power style of activity? Is Volvo’s previous marketing just too good and powerful to enable this brand shift? Should companies just play it safe and stick to the knitting?

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