Medium, rare

Words -- Otto Insider

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The world car. Remember those? The big American conglomerates thought (in true Capitalistic Imperialistic ways) that they had the answer back in the 1970s, then 1980s and again in the 1990s.

Result? Dog’s breakfast after dog’s breakfast - bastardized cars that sold only moderately well in a couple of markets.

The conventional thinking afterwards argued that technically it couldn’t be done because world markets are actually quite diverse, road conditions range from billiard smooth European highways to pock-marked, cracked up rough-as-guts American interstates, and that’s before you venture off the sealed surfaces or try driving in downtown Sydney. Or the third world.

Then there was the tricky bit about customers having different needs in different corners of the world.

But where the Imperialist Yankees failed, the careful, calculating and quality conscious Japanese succeeded. Cars such as the Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry, and Honda Civic have made a real impact in world markets with essentially identical cars.

Even Australian made Toyotas are sold in Middle Eastern markets. Most impressively, ‘our’ Camry is an in-demand import because it is a better commercial deal for Toyota to sell the Aussie car there than a Camry made at another world plant. You can’t really make the same claim about the unique Aussie auto exports from our other makers.

The dream of the global car hasn’t quite died. It’s just that GM now pursues this policy by other means. It’s not exporting US made Chevys to global markets, in fact, it’s importing Korean-made GM Daewoos to the US, badged as Chevys, and selling the same car around the world, under a variety of names.

What Seoul residents know as the GM Daewoo Kalos is on sale in the United States, Canada, China, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, South Africa, the Middle East, and South America as the Chevy Aveo. In Europe it’s the Chevy Kalos, in Australia and NZ, it’s the Holden Barina. More bizarrely, in Canada in addition to being the Chevy Aveo, it’s also the Suzuki Swift and Pontiac Wave.

Ford though is still ploughing a more conventional course. In a small way.

The Mondeo (Version.1) was a success in Europe, but transatlantic translation tanked. One generation was enough for the North Americans. Australia’s taste for mid-sized four-pot Fords was similarly short-lived: Mondeo V.1 and V1.5 (with the garish oval theme extending into the over-sized lamps front and rear).

Mondeo the sequel never pitched up in the US or Australia, but now the executives at the Broadmeadows bunker are chewing it over once again as Mondeo V.3.0 (pictured) hovers hopefully on the horizon.

Here’s why it’s a dud idea.

The medium market is currently static. Year-to-date sales totals were about 3 percent off last year but the return of the Camry to full steam ahead is driving improvement.

But if Camry is the sole nameplate to show growth, why bother rushing in with Mondeo?

The long time imports Mazda6 and Honda Accord Euro are tailing off after four years of sensational success, and of course the Subaru Liberty continues to sell consistently strongly and steadily. Even though Honda and Mazda are slowing, replacement new models won’t be far away and with such a huge stock of contented customers, a painless change over to the new model should be envisaged.

How good would the Mondeo have to be to prize a Honda Accord Euro driver out of his precision-engineered car?

If anything, the segment is devouring more high-end medium fours than ever. VW is forming a bridgehead hundreds of cars a month strong with Jetta, and Passat is close behind.

So in all likelihood, Ford marketing execs would be hoping to conquest sales from the lower echelons of the segment. But is there much to steal?

Take a look at the Hyundai Sonata. Possibly Australia’s most underrated four-cylinder mid-sizer, but worth only 200 sales a month. Or the Holden Vectra, soon to die. No prizes for guessing where GM Holden is sourcing the Vectra replacement. If pricing for the new Epica (the Vectra replacement) is as attractive as Viva and Barina, Holden will surely hold on to its medium market share, if not grow it.

Overall the prospects for Mondeo don’t look that bright. And yet…

And yet you can easily see why Ford would want to add the Mondeo to the line-up. It fits with the much vaunted “German engineered” excellence of the Fiesta and Focus and it creates a mini range within the Ford family. It gives Focus drivers something to slot into next, because it’s unlikely they’ll be homing in on a Falcon derivative.

At a brand level, the car makers making hay in the Australian market have a full and logical line up of cars. Mazda, Honda and Toyota have multi models that progress logically from light to small to medium. If it works for them, why not for Ford.

Indeed, Ford is not alone with a gap in its range in this segment.

Nissan has soldiered on with possibly the most fractured passenger line-up for the past few years. In Europe, the Nissan line up consists of Micra (light), Almera (small), and Primera (medium). Nissan in Australia has already canned the idea of the Micra for our market, but with Tiida limping, some passenger car solution must be found.

Hang on. Maybe they could dip back into the early 1990s for the answer. A unique and neatly Australian answer. An answer that curiously could also benefit Ford.

Remember when the four-pot Nissan Pintara was also a Ford Corsair (pictured), when the Nissan Patrol 4x4 was the Ford Maverick? And let’s not forget the Nissan Ute based on the Falcon utility.

So what’s wrong with conceiving the Ford Mondeo/Nissan Pintara/Primera?

Remember, you read it here first folks.