In 2008, the ancient American bank Lehman Brothers collapsed. It is a result of the global credit crisis that everyone feels in their wallets. It does not prevent Rolls-Royce from presenting the Phantom Coupé, a car for which you can also buy a spacious single-family home in the Netherlands.
Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé
The V12 powered and 5.6 meter long Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé is Rolls-Royce’s first coupé after it said goodbye to the Corniche Coupé in 1982. Behind the majestic grille lies an engine block with a capacity of 6.75 liters. The accompanying press release states a power output of 453 horsepower – Rolls-Royce’s tradition of answering ‘adequate’ to the question of how much horsepower a particular model of the brand has is behind us.
The torque is 720 Nm. From 0 to 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) takes you just 5.6 seconds. That is quite impressive given the empty weight of almost 2.6 tonnes. Just like his price, which is more than half a million euros.
Hyundai Genesis Coupe
The Hyundai Genesis Coupé is not a colorless city car like the Hyundai Atos, but a muscular sports coupé with rear-wheel drive. It is mainly intended for the American market, but is still coming to Europe. The basic version is powered by a two-liter turbo petrol engine with 213 hp. Later, the thicker 3.8 V6 with 303 hp also makes the crossing. It drives just 240 km / h.
Despite the entertaining driving behavior and the fact that affordable sports cars with rear-wheel drive and more than 300 hp are not exactly up for grabs, the Hyundai Genesis Coupé, which costs less than 50,000 euros, will not be a success in our country. Only a few dozen copies were sold in the Netherlands. The name Genesis has since developed into Hyundai’s luxury brand.
Kia Soul
With its high-set taillights, ‘floating’ roof and sharp lines, the Kia Soul is a striking appearance. Reportedly, designer Michael Torpey had a wild boar in mind when he designed the Soul. The animal stands for strength and stability, seems to have been his thought. We can’t ask him, because the designer will die in 2020 at the age of 48.
At its market launch, the Kia Soul runs on petrol or diesel, in both cases there is a 126 hp 1.6-liter engine under the hood. The next generation Kia Soul will only be available as an electric car in the Netherlands. This Kia e-Soul is still part of the current Kia range and looks at least as special as the original.
Mercedes GLK
Before the new Mercedes GLK is in the showroom, it can be seen in the film version of Sex and the City. In the television series of the same name that will be screened between 1998 and 2004, the experiences of four friends in Manhattan are highlighted. One of those friends – businesswoman Samantha Jones, the lady in the photo – has a snow-white GLK in the film.
Mercedes describes the duo in the accompanying press release as ‘irresistible’. That is true, given the dissolute sex life of femme fatale Samantha, but the angular-lined GLK (Geländewagen Luxus Kompaktklasse) has always remained a wallflower. In the Netherlands he manages to entice more than 1700 people to purchase. By way of comparison: Volvo sells almost 12,000 copies of its first-generation XC60, which will also be launched in 2008, in its dead field.
Toyota iQ
At the Geneva Motor Show in March 2008, Toyota pulls the curtain on the new iQ. Or rather: the cloth, because the Toyota iQ is less than three meters long. Toyota calls the iQ a ‘3+1’. The trick is in the front passenger seat. Because there is no real glove compartment (instead of this you have a pouch that is attached with Velcro and can therefore be removed), you can slide it extra far forward. This gives the person behind the passenger seat more legroom.
Despite its small size, the Toyota iQ drives very mature. Behind the wheel you don’t have the idea of driving a small car. Until you have to turn around, because the turning circle is ridiculously small. There is an iQ 1.0 with 68 hp, a 1.3 with 98 hp and even a 1.4 diesel with 90 hp for a short time. No matter how innovative the iQ is, it will not be a success. The relatively high purchase price probably has something to do with this.
Alfa Romeo Mito
The Alfa Romeo Mito would first be called Junior. But it will be Mito (officially: MiTo), a contraction of Milan and Torino (Turin), the places where the Alfaatje based on the Fiat Grande Punto was designed or produced respectively. We have always regretted that because of the historical value of ‘Junior’, but Alfa Romeo says that the front-wheel drive Mito also means ‘myth’ in Italian. That has not become the little Alfa so far.
The unique selling point of the Alfa Mito is the DNA switch. This allows the driver to select three different suspension settings: dynamic, normal and all wheater. The promised 240 hp Mito GTA never came, the strongest version is the Mito QV 1.4 Turbo with 170 hp. The abbreviation QV stands for Quadrifoglio Verde, an indication that is fortunately historically justified.
Volkswagen Golf VI
The new Volkswagen Golf is eagerly awaited. But soon it is quiet. Because the Golf VI is very similar to its predecessor. In fact, it is largely technically based on it. Critics therefore speak of a major facelift instead of a new Golf as Volkswagen itself does.
Fortunately, the interior is a different story. The interior feels much higher quality and shows similarities with that of the more expensive Passat, such as the more modern infotainment. Volkswagen supplies the Golf VI with a choice of different TSI petrol and TDI diesel engines. Worth mentioning is the new 1.6 TDI of the Golf Bluemotion, which, according to Volkswagen, drives an average of more than 1 in 26.
After more than four years, Volkswagen presents the seventh generation Golf, with which it more or less reluctantly admits that the Golf IV is indeed no more than a facelift of its predecessor.
9 other major events in 2008
- Peter R. de Vries exposes with the help of a stooge Joran van der Sloot about his role in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway
- In Russia, Dmitry Medvedev succeeds the then current president of the country, one Vladimir Putin…
- After nine (!) months of negotiations, Belgium finally has a government (four years later, the Belgians are taking even longer)
- Austrian police arrest Jozef Fritzl; the man held his daughter captive for 24 years
- Russia wins the final of the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time
- Barack Obama wins the US presidential election
- Spain beat Germany 1-0 in the final of the European Football Championship
- The Icelandic bank Icesave, which is also active in the Netherlands, goes bankrupt; tens of thousands of savers see their money disappear like snow in the sun
- A new world record is set during Domino Day; 4,345,027 dominoes fall over