American Invasion

Cars are products of their birthplace. If this is true, what can we expect from the land of plenty, the USA, where the roads are wide and waistlines ever-expanding? Big cars, of course-tall and wide inside, garage-busting on the outside. Courtesy of the USA’s so-called Big Three, General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler (did America really win WW2?).
Big they may be in the U.S., but in Asia the Big Three are small fry. In the Philippines they account for less than 1% of the market. Japanese badges are on more than 90% of our cars. This may be due to the perseverance of the Japanese. Toyota shrunk to nonexistence for a few years before its comeback with the 16V Corolla, while Nissan succeeded in selling us decent if bland sedans in the 80s. However, the Americans seem to have neglected the Philippines and rest of Asia as well.

However, the next American invasion is already on its way. No company can hope to dominate world markets without being at the top in Asia, and the big three certainly have their sights set on us.
Which begs the question: do we really want them back? Let’s take a look at their offerings and decide! To be honest, you won’t find the bookmarks of Ford, GM and Chrysler anywhere in my “Cars” folder. Let’s face it-their cars don’t provoke any lustful urges (to buy). Ford’s reentry into the Philippines with its monster pickups, ungainly vans and limo-ready sedan hasn’t exactly helped. If we look at their offerings in Europe, though, then there might be something worth waiting for.

General Motors

As the world’s largest car company, GM is almost invisible in the Philippines. It maintains a token presence through its Opel dealers, Opel being GM’s European brand.
Opel has reopened its doors with two dealers. Its sedan offerings are promising, but expensive for their size. The Vectra, Omega, and Astra are all worthy competitors for their Japanese counterparts.

The Philippines bid for GM’s plant to supply Southeast Asia, but lost out to Thailand. On an alarming note, GM’s website for trucks and cars worldwide doesn’t even list in the Philippines! How can it capture any market here with that kind of inattention?

GM brands such as Chevrolet, Cadillac, Pontiac and Oldsmobile don’t seem to be well-suited to the Philippine market. Their cars are large and thirsty, and not that nimble.

GM has recently introduced the Suburban and the Tahoe, for the well-heeled who need lots of carrying capacity-whether it’s for groceries, kids or your very own goons.

The Suburban is the U.S. largest utility vehicle (I won’t even call it sporty). It can seat 9 inside its hefty 2-ton body. You do get a lot of metal for your money, as it costs only about P1.8 million. We haven’t tried it yet, but it will probably be a pain to drive in tight city streets, even with its brawny 5.7 liter V8, which puts out 255 horsepower. Come to think of it, that isn’t impressive for a 5.7-liter. We don’t even want to think of the fuel bill you’ll get with this thing.

The GMC Savana is a huge 12-seater van powered by, you guessed it, a 5.7 liter V8.

So what good cars can GM offer here? Well, its Saturn brand might be suitable. Saturn sells pleasantly-styled sedans, coupes and wagons. Its main innovation is the use of a spaceframe and fiberglass bodyshell. The fiberglass is lighter and more dent-resistant than metal.

Otherwise, Opel seems to be enough for us. A GM roadster is making the car-show rounds, and it might make it into production as an Opel.

In the pipeline is an Opel-designed car for Asia. No details are available yet, but we’ll let you know as soon as we find out more.

Ford

Newly-revitalized Ford is well positioned to pour in plenty of cars with the blue oval. Its luxury brands Jaguar and recently-acquired Volvo are perceived as much more desirable than traditional brands Lincoln and Mercury. Of course Mazda is now considered a Ford marque as well.

Currently producing 7.5 million units per year to GM’s 7.75 million, Ford aims to overtake GM as the number one car company in a few years, and it will not be able to do so unless it captures a large chunk of the Asian market. We believe that it already has the cars that to do so. The core of the passenger car market here is the 1.3-1.6 liter range, and Ford has several challengers we’d love to see here.

The Ford Focus is currently battling the Volkswagen Golf and Opel Vectra in Europe. Here, it should give the Honda Civic a run for its money. It features outstanding handling, thanks in part to independent rear suspension. It’s also quite roomy inside, particularly in the back. The focus of this car is its styling. Sharp angles are combined with curves to come up with Ford’s New-Edge look that might not please everybody, but one that surely stands out from the rest. We’ll take a hatchback, please.

Ford’s answer to the Beetle is the compact Ka. Actually, it came out even before the New Beetle, and it looks more radical and eye-catching. Check out those gray fenders. Driving refinement and handling prowess are the Ka’s strong points. Its 1.3 engine manages only 58 bhp, sufficient but not outstanding. The interior is similarly radical but still roomy. This one can easily gobble up the sales of the Honda City and Kia Pride.

The Puma is another strange-looking beast. Responsive steering and neutral-handling chassis make this delightful to drive. It also looks the part of a coupe, with very short overhangs and sharp creases in the bodywork. 1.7 liter engine dishes up around 125 bhp. We’d love to see this car tearing down Philippine roads.

Scale up a Puma to 6/5 and you’d very nearly get a Cougar. It packs a 2.0 liter but because of its larger size is just that much slower-reacting than its little brother. Of course, interior room has grown too. Styling is as catlike as the Puma’s, but this time Ford may have gone too far and overstyled the interior. May be the perfect car for young families.

Mondeo is Ford’s challenger in the midsize sedan battle. It’s already four years old, and a little on the small side compared to the Camry and Accord, but again it’s the handling that stands out. Price it well below the Japanese, and it shouldn’t do too badly. Please offer the image-boosting 200-bhp version too!

Kick out the Lincoln Town Car, and bring in the LS instead! Ford unabashedly compares this to the BMW 5-series, and indeed it accelerates and turns corners with a vengeance. It’s offered with a manual too! Can’t sell the house to buy an S-type? With the same platform as the Jag, the LS might be the one for you.

Ford, please ease up on the gigantic gas-guzzling F-150s and Expeditions. We want something good-looking and fun to drive!

Daimler Chrysler

Chrysler has been good at introducing or redefining concepts and making them popular. Its minivans were an enormous boost to Chrysler’s return to profitability. Another innovation was cab-forward design, or moving the front wheels forward and thus extending the cabin boundaries. Reliability problems continue to crop up, hurting what could be a good lineup of cars. With its acquisition by the Daimler group, Chrysler reliability should steadily improve.

To fight the Sentras and Corollas in the States, Dodge/Plymouth came out with the cheerful, bug-eyed Neon. Value and interior space were its fortes, while a buzzy engine and outdated gearbox (a three-speed automatic?!) were its failings.

The Stratus is indeed offered here, but at a hefty P1 million price tag, with its small size and questions of reliability to boot, who needs it?!

If you’re wishing for a low-slung, sharp-looking four door with full comfort then the Intrepid might just be your drive. It’s quite large, though, about 400 mm longer than a Cefiro! Two V6s are available, a 2.7 and a 3.2.

Chrysler’s attempt to integrate American value and comfort with European driving responsiveness results in the four-eyed 300M. A 2.7 liter V6 offers 200 bhp. With the optional sport suspension, the 300M is sufficiently nimble, although the steering is still a bit slow. Starts for the equivalent of around P1.2 million in the U.S. At that price, you’d agree that this is much better than a 2.3 Accord or a 2.5 Galant! The LHS is the 300M’s twin, more oriented toward luxury than the 300 M.

Seeing the Dodge Viper on Philippine roads would be almost like a watching a carnival attraction. Step right up, folks, and watch the snake-eyed car with the unbelievable 8-liter V10 engine! It’s a supercar, all right, with blistering pace, but with its lack of refinement and handling prowess, might not be too appealing over here.

The Verdict

So it seems that the American invasion should really be the European-American invasion.
Most homegrown American cars seem ill-suited to tight Philippine roads and parking spaces. The American cars sold in Europe, with their more compact dimensions and stronger emphasis on fuel economy and handling, are just right.

Value, previously a Japanese strong point, make the Euro-American challengers very attractive indeed. American-made cars, what with relatively cheap and efficient labor in the U.S., offer more for the same amount of money. Reliability is still a question mark, but expect them to offer a long warranty to calm your fears.

The European-version cars are also flashier and more radically-styled. The Americans should realize that to capture Asia, they must first captivate our imaginations.

By Redline | Photos courtesy of GM, Ford and Daimler Chrysler