Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Bad Things Happen When Non-Car People Write About Cars Without Researching

Volvo Coupe Concept
I just barely ran across this article on the Motley Fool website that talks about three car brands that might not be around by the year 2020. I always click on these sorts of articles because I find them interesting -- I'm a car nerd! I started  to read through the article and it quickly became apparent the guy who wrote it knows nothing, absolutely NOTHING about the automotive industry. I doubt he looked up a damn thing before he started tapping away on his computer to spew out his ill-conceived notions.


Volvo Coupe Concept
So which car companies did he pick? First up was Volvo, because it's a popular one for ignorant morons to pick on. Disclaimer: I have owned two Volvos. I have mixed feelings on the cars, to be honest, but that's another story for another time. So why did this guy pick Volvo for an untimely death? I would bet it has something in part to do with the death of Saab, because they're both Swedish and quirky so of course Volvo is also on its way out, right? Wrong! A few years ago Volvo was bought by Chinese automotive giant Geely, meaning Volvo is flush with cash. The Swedish automaker just finished showing off its concept Coupe that turned a lot of heads worldwide. The new generation of the XC90 comes out next year, which will be the first production vehicle to use the same design language. But yeah, they're on death's doorstep. The only thing the guy could cite was that Volvo has not seen a recent uptick in sales like most automakers. The company is going through a transformation at the moment, so before declaring it dead let Volvo show us what it can do.

Next up is Suzuki. Why is Suzuki almost dead? Oh, because it is pulling out of America, and as we all know some Americans think the world ends at California and New York! This guy's a moron, did no research about Suzuki's sales in Asia, Australia or anywhere else in the world. If he had, he would have not been so fast to declare Suzuki a goner.
Jaguar X-C17 Concept

This third choice really tickles me because it most definitely exposes the guy's ignorance. Of course Jaguar is about to be put down! Why? I don't know, the guy doesn't like them? He doesn't know anyone who owns one or wants one? Since Jaguar and Land Rover were bought by an investment group, both automakers have been doing markedly better. The design and construction quality of their vehicles have improved by leaps and bounds. And now Jaguar is on the cusp of a new vehicle blitz, possibly as much as tripling the number of vehicles it offers. It just showed off a concept SUV and is about to pounce into 3 Series territory with a new compact sedan that looks likely to make waves in the industry. But yeah, guy who needed to make an editorial deadline and so did NO research, Jaguar is as dead as a door nail, because obviously its not innovating in any way.

Maybe I should contact the Motley Fool and ask if it needs a writer who knows something about the automotive industry? Judging from the comments at the end of the article, this guy pissed off quite a few people. I'm not mad at him but instead am just snickering at how lazy of a job he performed.
Jaguar C-X17 Concept