“After 35 years, do I still have the same love for cars? No. Honestly, no.” That is how a short video on Instagram with Jeremy Clarkson starts. People focused on what he said next as if it were controversial. “They’re all s**t, now.” Although I did not use the same word, I reached a similar conclusion in a text I wrote back in July. Whatever you decide to say a modern car is, it is clear most of them are products with no passion whatsoever. I named them soulless and dull, which Clarkson’s right-from-the-shoulder word probably synthesizes better.
“80% of them now, 90%. I couldn’t even identify them. I don’t know what they are. I don’t care. ‘We have a new hybrid drive system.’ I just couldn’t give a s**t.”
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Even if you are not as radical as Clarkson, let’s do an exercise. Answer quickly: Is there a recent car that you have been dreaming about? If you are able to mention more than one, you’re either lucky to live somewhere with several options, or you’re just someone easy to please. You may even meet both conditions at the same time, but the point is that most people miss them. Impressing such a large chunk of the population demands extraordinary products, which the automotive industry has failed to present as much as it used to. That is what leads several carmakers to bring back old nameplates or even classic designs. It is a desperate charisma-by-proxy attempt.
Many of these revival experiments have failed miserably. After all, bringing back a cherished name or even a nostalgic shape does not repeat the success these things once presented. All classic vehicles that are praised nowadays are way more than just one or two impressive characteristics. It is always about the whole: driving dynamics, style, power, and a long etcetera. A recent interview with Jim Farley shows why this lack of passion may be happening. Ironically, he was apparently defending it.
The Ford CEO told Car magazine that the company was “getting out of the boring-car business and into the iconic-vehicle business.” By boring cars, he meant the Fiesta, Focus, and Mondeo, which “always competed at the heart of the passenger-car market.” According to Farley, that “didn’t work out too well.” Sales numbers tell us that is not quite right, so the Ford CEO must mean something else went wrong, such as profit margins that did not meet the company’s (and shareholders’) requirements.
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The Mondeo was praised for its handling, especially in its second generation. The same happened with the original Ford Focus and the fifth generation of the Fiesta (some also loved the fourth, despite its looks). That means that Ford was once capable of manufacturing fun “boring cars,” as contradictory as that may sound. It just does not care about doing that anymore, focusing on vehicles that will pay more for its efforts. Farley said that the new Ford Puma “epitomizes his new strategy.” It may sell well in the UK, but it is nowhere close to the main ranking spots in Europe. According to JATO Dynamics, it was only the 15th best-selling vehicle in the continent in the first half of 2024. The Puma is definitely not fun to drive. Reasonable would be the best description for its dynamics. Sadly, we have no idea about its profit margins, but Ford must be happy about them, even if it does not sell as much as the boring cars it decided to kill. I also wonder who would call the current Puma (not the original one) iconic.
Lancia made several such vehicles. One of them is the Montecarlo that Jeremy Clarkson drove to the event where the video was shot. The British presenter jokingly said the experience was like “driving a ballet dancer” because the car was so light. Regulations and crash test performance tests made it impossible for new vehicles to be as light as old ones, but they can still be brilliant when it comes to handling. All they need is enough engineering effort and passion to get there. The challenge probably is to keep the flame alive with so many rules to follow. That may shift the focus from creating something fun and desirable to making a product that complies with all requirements. For the record, that is something Lancia is currently trying to do before Stellantis can call it a day for the iconic brand. It should have been put to rest years ago. Whatever made it Lancia is long gone.
Photo: Amazon
Brands are mere labels for human genius. Lancia was the surname of Vincenzo, who introduced several innovations to the automotive world. After he died in 1937, the company was still able to show some brilliance with the Stratos, Fulvia, and Delta, not to mention the Montecarlo Clarkson drove before saying modern cars were s**t.
Although it is a funny video to watch, the British presenter was actually venting his frustration, something that most car enthusiasts worldwide must share with him. I do. It is sad to watch the decline of something that inspired as much passion as the automobile. Hypercars and electricity are not firing it up again, so we should probably just laugh when someone complains about the situation in a good mood. It seems that’s all we have left.
