Two Geneva motor shows for the price of one this year. The one where the carmakers tried to attract your attention with their spangly new cars. And the one where they grumbled that modern life is rubbish.
Yes, if you want a new car, life is fine. New supercars everywhere. Count ’em. Lambo Murcielago LP670-4 SV, Bentley SuperSports, Porsche GT3, the Aston One-77 in a more tangible form. Plus the Ferrari 599XX and Pagani Zonda R if you count them (I don’t – no numberplates). And this being Geneva, all sorts of largely ugly leftfield stuff from the likes of Gumpert and some even smaller men-in-shed operations.
The plutocrat in you can salivate to the Rolls 200EX or Lagonda. There’s the BMW X5 GT, about which I’m not going to tell you what to think – you have to figure it out for yourself.
There’s real-world stuff too. Some peaches of turbo hot-hatches – the Renaultsport Megane 250, the Alfa MiTo GTA, and MazdaSpeed3. Though we’re so quite convinced by the last one.
If you need an elevated compact family wagon, you could have peer over (in descending order of dullness) brand-new versions of the Toyota Verso, and Renault Scenic, or the Peugeot 3008 and Skoda Yeti.
And for small cars, VW steamrollered everyone with the new Polo. It’s a bit boring though. I got the hots for the Citroen DS3, which looks really good in the flesh.
So much for the cars. The carmakers hate life right now. Think of this: most of them will move into loss if they sell 10 percent fewer cars than they planned. Many of them are currently seeing sales down by half.
GM Europe has set itself up as a separate company from the US parent. It’s in just as much of a pickle as the Americans, and it needs a load of outside money to keep it afloat beyond a few weeks.
Yes, if European Governments don’t inject about £3billion very soon, Vauxhall and Opel go bust. Now I don’t think the Governments will let it go bust. But the problem is bigger than that. Propping GM up for a few months is one thing, but if car sales don’t pick up then they’ll be back for more. And no-one can see sales picking up.
GM Europe wasn’t very profitable even in the good times. In bad times with no apparent end, what hope does it have?
Ford is in a hole in Europe too, but at least when times are good it knows how to bounce back. The French too: they’re fighting hard with strong new cars. Fiat is still in the black, and VW is bursting with confidence. The Japanese aren’t at all happy, and nor are BMW or Mercedes, but they have sound long-term businesses.
I wouldn’t bet on all this year’s Geneva show front-line participants being back next year.
YES IM FIRST!
)
What about the Bugatti Veyron Bleu Centenaire?
I heard about it on the Orange website. Still no mention of it here though. It returns to the title of world’s fastest production car by claiming 273mph!
Is that because it’s lighter? More POOWWWEEEERRRRR!!!!!? Or longer gearing?
If it’s lighter, than maybes it’s got a chance of beating the Gumpert Apollo this time?
Because as we all know: Less weight = Better acceleration, better conering, better braking and higher top speed.
Well done Basrah
Yes Im second!!!
Haha. No your not!
I mean 4th
See U told u im weird!
I mean 6th
Y does this keep on happenning :’(
And 7th and 8th
The Geneva motor show was full of stunning cars such as my personal favorite the Aston Martin V12 Vantage, a normal vantage but with a lot more muscle and power. But there will always be cars that you just don’t know why the manufacturer would make, like the BMW Gran Turismo, basically a updated BMW X1 Concept with Tiny cahnges to the look and shape, a bit of a miss-fit. Then there is the hot-hatches, the Alfa Romeo Mito GTA, full of lovely wheel spin and torque-steer, but it is very muscular with its new body kit and huge exhausts which make pensioners wet them selves in fear. Then we get to the incredible Aston Martin One-77, a stunning car with biblical figures and a price tag that would embarrass rooney so much that he would have to appear on im a celebrity get me out of here just to gain a tiny spec of dignity.
I meant Changes
I love the new megane
i think that the new spyker C8 Aileron looks great! the exterieur looks less like a yacht than the previous models. the only thing the i like less than the other models is its steering wheel. it schould be like the other steering wheels for spyker and not like a half covered audi wheel. i hope that the syker D8 peking-to-paris finaly gets in producton this year.
Steve, the Bleu is not any faster. It’s just a special paint job and some pretty headlights the celebrate Bugatti’s 100th Anniversary. The same colour as the EB110, as well as the old racers. Oh yes.
Jolly good show! Well, it would be, now that everyone needs to prove themselves.
*to celebrate etc.
And to all those who comment only to say “Yay 1st!”, that’s both immature and quite a douchey thing to do. Some sites even impose sanctions for it, as it is considered by them to be spamming.
So only celebrate your quickness – or perhaps lack of stuff to do – if you actually have something to say aswell. Please.
GM’s mission statement:
“G.M. is a multinational corporation engaged in socially responsible operations, worldwide. It is dedicated to provide products and services of such quality that our customers will receive superior value while our employees and business partners will share in our success and our stock-holders will receive a sustained superior return on their investment.”
Notice that the word automobile appears nowhere in there. How about, “We’re in the business of designing and engineering great cars, and selling them at a fair price?” It’s a start . . .
Some pretty good metal, and I’m trying to stay positive – I’m sure most will be back next year – it may just be the Americans that are absent. Frankfurt should be good…
UGA, good point there! It seems they’re only worrying themselves about shifting money this way or that way, and I can’t see a single ‘unique selling point’ (read: what do they DO, exactly?) in there.
Let’s put it this way: every company plans to make as much money as possible, and satisfy customers and shareholders and so on… But with what product?
looking at the rinspeed, I couldn’t help but go on their website to look at various concepts, all of which have looked hideous. I did however find the inspiration for a well-known disney character….
http://www.rinspeed.com/p ages/content/frames_e.htm
Guess who?!
Well, I agree. I saw only supercars, hot hatches , hot hostesses and make-believe electric cars there!!! Here is my write up of the show…I have loads of pics of the hostesses too but you can’t up pics here! Sorry!
Tim Sutton, The self-appointed TAC Reporter in Geneva, can confirm plenty of pie in the sky electro nearly-in-production world saving eco-mobile bulls*** stories are in full effect at the Geneva Car Show this year….
Suddenly everyone has a make believe full electric vehicle on their stand! Is there a company you can just call to make you a fairytale concept car with accompanying gob-smaking stats…such as The Lightning which claims sub-four second 0-60mph…or the The Chrysler 200C EV concept with a lovely 272 horse electro motor and 60 pure electric kms Come ON ! Subaru even had one tucked away on the corner of the stand…there was also the Circuit EV, The Ford Connect, The Rinspeed ichange, Te’mo, The Lampo, MiEV, The Smartarse EV, The Toyota IQEV, The Ampera, The Mini E, The Nuvu, The Alreda MC2, The Orbital Hybrid, La Venturi, The Volt, The Tesla and The Fisker….and probably others too….unbelievable really. Good luck to ‘em all I say, but a bit short sighted to just put a hunk of plastic on a stand and pluck silly enviro-numbers out of thin air and put “it will hit the market in 3 years” spiel out there, as we may not want to buy anything else till then then thank you…… but with the Govts and the Arabs and The Chinese handing out the cash at the moment, who knows what might just make quick production in the next 12 months…
Apart from the Electro-dream mobiles, there was not a huge amount of jaw-hitting-the-floor sort of new metal really. I really had no interest seeing a new AMG or a new M* or a even a Maserati….strange really, but I guess I sub-consciously went looking for Green developments and to see if anyone really may be actually making an electric car sometime soon….I think I am just starting thinking the ICE is just soooo 2000′s dahrling….. The Car of the Show for me then was The Air Car, and for only a pocket money denting 6000 Euros it has to be the mobility invention of the century….It runs on compressed air at a top speed of 90kmh with a range of 150kms a charge. The charge takes seconds and can be done at home or compressed on board. That is frankly astonishing. How come this isn’t HUGE news! The Frenchies are apparently starting going crayzee over eet now zough and a couple of towns zey have already placed orders for some pilot car sharing sort of schemes. This should be the headline car here today, no doubt about it. It works, it is cheap, it is totally pollution free, its available now, you can charge it anywhere with safe air not much more compressed that at filling stations. This air also “explodes” out into exterior and interior airbags in the event of an accident by the way and it will probably totally like save the planet as well. Surely this and schemes like it is what governments should be throwing money at wouldn’t you think ?!!
The Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge stands were by far the emptiest I saw all day. Probably because they fired the bar staff and ditched all the honeys that keep the cars shiny. I even caught myself whistling that Clint Eastwood music as I dodged between the rotting Jeep and Hummer carcasses…Chevy made me laugh though with their new ground breaking multi-tasking city car The Spark that the Frenchies oh so generously critiqued as “particulierement polyvalente” Great, I though a new little urban electro run around….Errr no, its just a new boxy little 5 door petrol powered hatch coming stateside for 2011…Something to look forward to there Robert!
All in all, it has to be a good thing these manufacturers are thinking about greening their portfolios, but frankly I think it may be not enough green, and a little too late. Nobody wants to buy even a reasonably economical “green-gesture” car these days, so they the makers are in trouble for the next 3 years I would guess, or realistically, until these green eco-promises materialise anyway. I think the public have been seeing these promises for so long that after all this in-your-face “we are going green!” nobody wants to buy a new gas guzzler at all, not even a hybrid gas guzzler really, as we are all waiting patiently for the new generation of 100 miles per gallon electro cars to arrive!….Especially in this credit crunching time, who in their right mind would commit to a new 5 year leasing on a fatcat 6 litre Jag or a Uber Horsepower 5 series Beamer or similar when you know Fisker is about to get going for 78000 Euros a pop whilst promising 2l of gas per 100km economy and 50 miles emission free, silent motoring… (or F-18 sounding motoring if you flick the switch… http://www.youtube.com/wa tch?v=i2M3bySwUcI )
For these traditional ICE car companies to carry on, they are going to have to really turn on some serious green and techy magic in the next 18 months or they will be dead in the water as new and well established small volume producers ergo Morgan, Lotus, Artega, Fisker, Tesla, Rinspeed et al. source their parts from manufacturers all over the world and just have them bolted together somewhere like Finland or Hethel or New Mexico.
Compressed air was the big eye opener for me today though.
Thanks also to my sponsor today. http://www.TTAC.com
That megane looks intense.
that is an nice looking car, the Renaultsport Megane 250.
GM is a Social Welfare and Health programme that makes cars as a sideline…
Aonoymous, is it a visual clue, or is it in the name? Because zaZen sounds like Zazu from Lion King (not really Disney). Otherwise I can’t see it…
I wouldn’t say they were ALL ugly btw, some of them are just tarted up Porsches and Vipers. And a Fiat 500 with an adjustable engine. Their original designs are questionable, however…
yay
I soo agree with this- GM just make really rubbish versions of cars- you know the Corvette C6- that is just a jazzed up 911!
Does anyone think Alfa Romeos are all ugly? I think they are all ugly except the GTV James had on the show- I mean have you sean the Mito or whatever it’s called?
Most people think that I am weird for thinking this- anyone agree with my point of view?
I’ll agree that the MiTo could have better headlamps and prehaps a slightly less lumpy front, but otherwise I can’t think of a current Alfa Romeo that’s at all ugly.
Their grille put off one of my friends for a while, but he eventually came around after seeing the 8C.
Weight has -almost- nothing to do with top speed. top speed is about beating air and ground resistance. and that’s sheer engine power. ever wonder why no Lotus has ever reached 180mph? they’re the lightest though
i’m first now basrah face!
i,m first now basrah face!
no what’s happening!
well there’s nowt wrong wi bein 32nd!
it´s french, it looks like a renault and it´s very yellow.. they really outdid themselves this time.. no one outside france will have one and, perhaps with the exception of some easterblock(ex..)countrie s, no one will want one. Not the gremans , not the Brits, def. not the russians and there really is no one else left…
What are u guys bragging about? Geneva Motorshow is for motor show!For cry sake.Pity ourself. We dont have money to buy car these days..
nice though…
yeh lol
i love cars
anyone who likes bikes, instead of a car is crazy lol’
i would have any of these cars expect the skoda and toyota
(stupid toyota collora can go die lol)
No you forgot the Hyundai which is much worse than the Toyota plus Toyota isn’t a bad carmaker put they don’t exactly build Any interesting cars their joust cars but they’re not so bad .
We were at the Geneva Motor show and took this ultra-hi-res image of Bugatti’s Bleu Centenaire. Zoom in on every gorgeous detail.
http://www.image-engineer s.com/images_matter_blog/ 2009/3/6/gigapan-geneva-m otor-show-main-floor.html
Good article, i am 100 % agreeing with you. Unfortunately not for every car maker the future Geneva Car Show will take place, but i am also glad that after all this hard step : only the companies with a good management, competitive products and respect to their clients will survive !
what is this crap anyways ? comeon display something exciting guys
in an economical crisis, a hyundai is a competetive product.. when things go well all management is good, and respect should start at one´s self so that down the line, the client too may feel it.. basically : who survives is down to assimilated capital and assets.. from there on, the maths is really easy… survival of the richest
the best car is acari
wat u think???
no sons
I think the best is the ferrari 599.
GOOOOO FERRARI
the V12 Vantage was the best car there.
If any of you forgot the Pagani Zonda R. And I mean rrrrrr… it puts the fear of god into you just by looking at it.
wee fantabico it’s a good looker but it’s French so there is more to expect!
I don’t care what anyone says i’m sticking with the ferrari 599.
Geneva – What you still missed (and some stuff you didn’t)
http://www.seriouswheels. com/
Could I just drop a note on the V12 Vantage. What is up with Aston and those bloody louvres. But still, better looking than most other cars on the market. The new Bond car?
mazda furai
What the hell? Why are talking about Aston like there some dirt on your shoes? The DB9 is sooooo amazing! I love it! DB9 4ever!
I think that alfas are seriously ugly!
I mean the 8C is pretty but the mito is ugly and so are the others. The only one I like is the GTV that James had on the show.
No, honest, Aston’s are my favourite car, I just think that bonnet louvres are a bit pointless. And also, going back to Bond, I think it should be illegal to trash so many nice Aston’s. How many was it. Twelve?
Aston Martin are brilliant, i HATE the weird “grill” on the bonnet of the new V12 Vantage, and i don’t see the point of the Ferrari 599XX its going to be amazingly expensive and Historicly powerful, no football player is going to by one, first of all
-There to “Priceless” to get damaged
-Footballers aren’t going to race it they have NO time
- And finnaly they’re going to crash hard
AND the Credit crunch is interfearing a bit
i tink u iz trip top
I think the new Aston Martin is gonna be mint, a mean its got a v12 engin!!!!!!!!! I SOW WANT ONE
Geneva – who attended and how much do they need to bail themselves out of the mess the banks got us all in? What a waste of money.
i wonder which will be better Bugatti Veyron Bleu Centenaire or this http://dvice.com/archives /2009/03/mansory_veyron. php the german tuned bugatti
Cant be arsed reading everyones comments. Some great sounding cars there. Bugatti need to stop pushing the many special editions they have of the Veyron. Its annoying. They may as well make a new edition for every seperate paintjob: “The chrome one is the Pur Sang, And the blue one can be celebratre our 100th birthday. I know, lets make a green one, because our car can run on e10. And a red one because we are in debt…”
(Clean Version) Cant be bothered reading everyones comments. Some great sounding cars there. Bugatti need to stop pushing the many special editions they have of the Veyron. Its annoying. They may as well make a new edition for every seperate paintjob: “The chrome one is the Pur Sang, And the blue one can be celebratre our 100th birthday. I know, lets make a green one, because our car can run on e10. And a red one because we are in debt…”
Lambo Sv vs. Zonda R…
Articles > Audio Article > Audio Converter ALO MP3 to AAC converter Guide: How to convert MP3 to AAC [url=http://www.topvideoc onverter.com/mod-video-co nverter/]convert mod video[/url]
Where can you find a MP3 to AAC converter? How to convert MP3 to AAC? This guide will teach you how to convert MP3 to AAC with Free download is available.
ALO MP3 to AAC converter Guide: How to convert MP3 to AAC?
Also supports AAC to MP3 conversion [url=http://www.topvideoc onverter.com/wii-video-co nverter/]convert video to wii[/url]
Step 1: Free download The MP3 to AAC converter and run it.
Step 2: Launch ALO MP3 to AAC converter and the interface is as follows:
You can click “Continue Unregistered” button to try the trial version
Step 3: Click “Add Files” button to load MP3 file(s) to be converted to AAC:
And the selected MP3 file will be shown in the program list:
Step 4: Choose AAC as the output file and the AAC information will be displayed:
Step 5: Click “Browse” button to choose an output path: [url=http://www.topvideoc onverter.com/m4p-converte r/]M4p Converter[/url]
Step 6: Click “Convert” button to start to convert MP3 to AAC with the special MP3 to AAC converter:
OK. You will complete to convert MP3 to AAC with ALO MP3 to AAC converter soon.
As the interface show this audio converter supports not only MP3 to AAC but also AAC to MP3, AAC to WAV, AAC to WMA, etc.
If you need a total overview of online Casinos then this is the site for you http://www.mycasinoreview .net
98% payout of online Casinos all in one central place..
I think this is among the most significant information for me. And i’m glad studying your article. However wanna remark on some normal things, The site taste is wonderful, the articles is actually nice : D. Just right process, cheers