{"id":23859,"date":"2019-06-08T16:56:53","date_gmt":"2019-06-08T20:56:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=23859"},"modified":"2019-06-08T16:56:53","modified_gmt":"2019-06-08T20:56:53","slug":"payne-despite-autonomous-potential-automakers-still-hone-their-brands-by-racing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2019\/06\/payne-despite-autonomous-potential-automakers-still-hone-their-brands-by-racing","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Despite autonomous potential, automakers still hone their brands by racing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/06\/06\/PDTN\/820a8d5b-2e60-408b-adf4-567fe2976b5e-2019-0602-rb-grand-prix619.jpg?width=180&amp;height=240&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Driver Scott Dixon celebrates after winning the Dual II IndyCar Series Race at the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix on June 2.\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><p>Driver Scott Dixon celebrates after winning the Dual II IndyCar Series Race at the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix on June 2.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Robin Buckson, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\"><em>Pontiac<\/em>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">That mantra guides nearly every major automaker today as brands from Chevrolet to Acura to Porsche pour extraordinary sums of money into the top echelons of motorsports to burnish their performance images and bring customers into showrooms. Despite the billions being invested in autonomous and electric vehicles today, motorsports is still a cornerstone of brand ID.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Where each automaker focuses that performance energy tells you a lot about where their brands are headed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Honda Motor Co.\u00a0wasted no time Monday after its win in Sunday\u2019s Detroit Grand Prix as the engine supplier for Scott Dixon\u2019s winning IndyCar. The Japanese manufacturer immediately pivoted to promoting &#8230;\u00a0the Honda Civic compact car.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-R2GunuK2XAE\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/06\/06\/PDTN\/b201ae37-b25c-4407-b23c-5298f6570c14-honda_race-car-l-type-R.jpg?crop=4032,1823,x0,y215&amp;width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The Honda Civic Type-R TCR race car, left, is derived from the Civic Type-R production car, right. Racing provides good mechanical feedback to Honda engineers - and helps promote the brand's performance image.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/06\/06\/PDTN\/b201ae37-b25c-4407-b23c-5298f6570c14-honda_race-car-l-type-R.jpg\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/06\/06\/PDTN\/b201ae37-b25c-4407-b23c-5298f6570c14-honda_race-car-l-type-R.jpg?width=500&amp;height=281\" \/>The Honda Civic Type-R TCR race car, left, is derived from the Civic Type-R production car, right. Racing provides good mechanical feedback to Honda engineers &#8211; and helps promote the brand&#8217;s performance image.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\">Honda hosted dozens of journalists here at M1 Concourse\u2019s Champion Motor Speedway to sample the $34K, 307-horsepower Civic Type-R hatchback \u2014\u00a0the most ferocious, most expensive model in Civic\u2019s broad lineup \u2014\u00a0and its TCR racing offspring. The Type-R TCR is entered in the IMSA sports car series Michelin Pilot Challenge racing series.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cIn recent years we\u2019ve really tried to push these production-based cars as an affordable entry point to get new (buyers) into the brand,\u201d said Honda Performance Development engineer Justin Chiodo here. HPD manages Honda\u2019s racing effort. \u201cBy &#8230;\u00a0showing the performance of our cars it makes it a more desirable vehicle for people to\u00a0purchase.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The investment in the TCR racing program shows the importance that Honda places on the compact Civic as a brand halo and as an entry-point for first-time car buyers. Significantly, it\u00a0is a segment that Detroit has abandoned completely\u00a0in order to concentrate on compact SUVs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Chevrolet, too, won at the Detroit Grand Prix last weekend as Penske\u2019s Joseph Newgarden brought his Chevy-powered IndyCar into victory lane in the first of the weekend\u2019s two open-wheel car races.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Chevy\u00a0tries to translate such\u00a0success into production cars. Its racing efforts include fielding racing versions of the Corvette and Camaro muscle cars to compete in IMSA just like Honda\u2019s Civic \u2014\u00a0but in more powerful classes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The Camaro, for example, competes in the Michelin Pilot Challenge GS class which includes other performance cars like the Ford Mustang, BMW M4, Mercedes AMG GT4, and Porsche Cayman GT4.R.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">This effort dovetails with Chevrolet\u2019s determination to make the Camaro the design halo for a new generation of SUVs, including the recently introduced Chevy Trailblazer and Blazer which share Camaro design cues. Chevy hopes the racy design \u2014\u00a0and Camaro\/Corvette\u2019s success at the track \u2014\u00a0will help elevate its SUVs over other, lookalike utes.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-R2GunuK5tqg\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/06\/06\/PDTN\/a1a4db0d-b27c-42b1-a893-cc2708b6b0b5-honda_engineer.jpg?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Honda Performance Development engineer Justin Chiodo was attracted to Honda from an early age because of the company's commitment to motorsports.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/06\/06\/PDTN\/a1a4db0d-b27c-42b1-a893-cc2708b6b0b5-honda_engineer.jpg\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/06\/06\/PDTN\/a1a4db0d-b27c-42b1-a893-cc2708b6b0b5-honda_engineer.jpg?width=500&amp;height=326\" \/>Honda Performance Development engineer Justin Chiodo was attracted to Honda from an early age because of the company&#8217;s commitment to motorsports.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Honda\u2019s TCR class, meanwhile, is dominated by foreign makes which still see the large (if shrinking) compact car class as key to conquering entry-level buyers. Other brands scrapping for attention in the class include the Hyundai Elantra, VW Golf GTI, and Audi RS3 race cars \u2014\u00a0all based on compact cars.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">In addition to the wave of publicity that manufacturers receive from media coverage and trips to victory lane, they also value the tech transfer from racing. Racing cars at their track limits helps inform the next generation of production technology.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cThere is a lot of feedback to Honda from all the teams about things we can improve on for the next race\u00a0\u2014\u00a0or for the next generation of the car,\u201d says Todd Lamb, owner of Atlanta Speedwerks, a racing team that fields two Civic TCR race cars in the IMSA series. \u201cEverything we do adds up. Some of what we do on the track ends up back in the street car. It\u2019s neat to see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Racing also fuels the aspirations of young people long before they get their driver\u2019s license.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cRacing attracted me at an early age,\u201d says Honda engineer Chiodo. \u201cI\u2019ve always had a strong respect for Honda. I grew up racing dirt bikes and I saw the quality and the products that this company builds. I always wanted to work for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Honda and GM are partners in investing in the future of autonomous cars \u2014\u00a0a ride-sharing area that is uncharted new territory for these personal transportation brands. Until markets emerge for those products, however, both companies will continue to define themselves by racing.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-R2GunuKmORc\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/06\/06\/PDTN\/ed200d5d-8079-4cad-a50b-e1466cef00b4-2019-0602-rb-grand-prix877.jpg?crop=3400,1909,x0,y0&amp;width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Honda provides the engines for Scot Dixon's Detroit Grand prix-winning IndyCar.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/06\/06\/PDTN\/ed200d5d-8079-4cad-a50b-e1466cef00b4-2019-0602-rb-grand-prix877.jpg\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/06\/06\/PDTN\/ed200d5d-8079-4cad-a50b-e1466cef00b4-2019-0602-rb-grand-prix877.jpg?width=500&amp;height=335\" \/>Honda provides the engines for Scot Dixon&#8217;s Detroit Grand prix-winning IndyCar.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Robin Buckson, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">After Detroit, Chevy and Honda will be watched by millions powering IndyCars at Road America in Wisconsin June 23. One week later, the IMSA sports car circus will travel to Watkins Glen, N.Y., where entries will include the Chevy Corvette in GT-LeMans class, Camaro and Civic Type-R TCR in Michelin Pilot Challenge, and Cadillac\/Acura\/Nissan\/Mazda porotype racers in the IMSA Weathertech series.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Says Chiodo: \u201cPeople see these cars racing on the track and maybe &#8230; that makes them interested in buying a Type-R, or a (Civic) Si, and even a Civic and enjoy our great engineering on the street.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Driver Scott Dixon celebrates after winning the Dual II IndyCar Series Race at the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix on June 2.\u00a0(Photo: Robin Buckson, The Detroit News) Pontiac\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Win on Sunday, sell on Monday. That mantra guides nearly every major automaker today as brands from Chevrolet to Acura to Porsche pour extraordinary sums of money [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23859"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23859\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}