Automotive World - Geneva reflections

Geneva reflections

By: Glenn Brooks, Monday, March 09, 2009, AutomotiveWorld.com

The Geneva auto show was an odd affair this year. In a city where there are Rolex clocks even in public car parks, you cannot be surprised that the likes of Brabus, Maybach and Bugatti, deep global recession or not, had many, many ultra-expensive new models on display. By contrast, even super-rich Toyota had but one world premiere vehicle and, perhaps ominously, the Formula 1 car that is always a centrepiece of its European motor show stands was missing.

Other observations from the press days: Volvo's design guru Steve Mattin was all over the Skoda Yeti taking photos; the same man's gorgeous S60 Concept, hitherto unseen by those who weren't at the Detroit show in January, is surely way too big to be the A4 rival that the brand so urgently needs; the classy and minimalist Nissan stand was alive with picture-snapping Toyota Motor Europe personnel, no doubt capturing clues for ways, kaizen-style, to make the most of suddenly slashed budgets; Infiniti's Essence concept, a huge GT (don't call it a supercar) tops even the various iterations of the stunning Lexus LF-A and at a stroke gets oh-so close to the Alfa 8C for the title of most beautiful motor show concept of this decade; the Lagonda concept was, from every angle, breathtaking for the opposite reason – it should have been a no-brainer to instead recreate the revolutionary lines of the 1970s' Lagonda but just make sure such a limousine has proper legroom and reliability.

Returning to Nissan, there were whispers that, amazingly, the Qazana concept won't be greatly altered for production - only the ride height and some of the trickier to mass-produce glass and metal angles will change. That name is unlikely to be used, however - best not ask what it sounds like in one major European language. And that's not the worst. Nissan Europe also recently learnt to its horror that lots of elderly ladies are blushing when their grandchildren proudly tell them they have bought a Pixo.

So if not Nissan, which mass-market brand is really now getting all the big things right? The perhaps surprising answer is Tata Motors. The prickly swagger that was in evidence a year ago as astonished journalists were told brusquely not to touch the door handles of locked Nanos is gone. Two factors have changed everything. Number one, the Nano. All the publicity in the materially-rich world has made them see they can be the next Hyundai-Kia if they get the quality of the cars right. Number two is harder to see at first but it is vastly more important. The perpetual outsider mentality and resultant insecurity has also been laid to rest. The purchase, for better or worse, of Jaguar and Land Rover was a statement.

Two years ago, the amiable Ratan Tata walked about, appeared to ignore the autocue and instead chatted directly to the less than 100 journalists who had turned up for his firm's press conference at Geneva. This year, seemingly half the show's media surged onto the stand to hear the man speak. Some of tomorrow's potentially big name brands are rising fast.

Published on Monday, March 09, 2009