Official statistics show that the latest and 80th Geneva Motor Show set a new record for “premieres”, with as many as eighty “new cars”, or so, unveiled for the first time there. Now, considering the space in the magazine is not growing with the number of new cars at motor shows, let’s go straight to the point and answer the usual questions: how was the show this year. What was relevant and worth recording for the years to come?

First I would say that I saw more irrelevant, disappointing or irritating cars (read designs) than interesting and attractive ones: be for their design or their lack of innovative ideas/concepts. A short list includes the Aston Martin Cygnet,  Renault Megane CC, Renault Wind and Toyota Auris.

EV and Hybrids are introduced in other pages and I leave it to my colleague reporting and commenting on them, including the Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid and the Opel Flexetreme GT/E.

To me the new car that faithfully mirrors the current times was the Proton Emas by Italdesign –Giugiaro because it points straight into the right direction of the functional car of the near future.

It offers the Lotus engineered serial-hybrid technology that will save us oil and emissions, both in town and between cities (even though its 3-cylinder engine could be a lot smaller and lighter). It shows how roomy and comfortable a 3.55 metre long and 1699 wide, 4 full-size-seats car, sitting on a 2590 mm. long wheelbase, can be.

Its design inside and out is stylish and attractive, although the treatment of the surface is simple and conventional.  The smart package and the simple and “two-dimensional” architecture allow for derivatives that are easy and economical to produce: the taller “Country” (with 4×4 drive coming as standard from the hybrid technology) or the ultra-tiny 3 metre, 3+1 seats, city car that can easily challenge the Toyota IQ on price, performance and style simplicity.

Add to all this the notion that this is the car the Malaysian carmaker plans to mass-produce sometime next year and you may agree with me. It is perhaps humble but in my eyes and in my mind it is “the interesting car of the show”.

If the Italdesign-Proton was the most interesting “rational hybrid for all” which were the most “trendy and emotional” cars of the show?

In the department of cars that (reasonable) money can buy I would list the Opel Meriva in the first place, and the Audi A1 with the Volvo S60 next. To be honest I have not made my mind yet on the new Alfa Romeo Giulietta, a new proposition I would love to love but that failed to impress me. My first reaction is that it style is a bit overdone, access and space at the rear is not enough and its build quality will be a though challenge. I hope to make my mind for good, when I see the Giulietta on the road and in daylight, one of these days.

When the price does not matter, the horizon is a bit wider and wilder: the execution of the Bugatti Veyron Supersport and the ultimate Pagani Zonda Tricolore is simply stunning and makes each unit a masterpiece anyone would like to see, touch and to have in their living room.

On this front, the courage of those who want to revive the myth Hispano-Suiza (with production of the 2010 Granturismo in Lugano, Switzerland) is just amazing and one can only wish them just as much success as Pagani (if their quality matches that of a luxury Swiss watch).

Another “come-back” not to be missed is that of Touring Superleggera. In Geneva the re-born Italian coachbuilder has unveiled a work typical of the company tradition: the Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring, a high-class shooting brake derivative of the superlative Continental GT, a sports car featuring enough space to join a hunting party or a golf tournament with elegance and efficiency This will be a strong contender for the Villa d’Este Trophy early next May, unless Zagato’s latest masterpiece (due to be unveiled there) surpasses it in style and elegance.

Journalists from all over the world who attended the event celebrating the present and future innovations of the VW Group had also a direct preview of two supercars of the near future. Both are not confirmed for production but both, one from Bugatti and the second one by Porsche, are very likely to reach limited production in the semesters to come. Bugatti presented a second (and different) prototype of its four door, 16–cylinder, “Bugatti 16C Galibier”, whereas Porsche teased everyone with a rather realistic “concept” of a rear-midship hybrid V8 Porsche 918 Spyder. Its style is excessive, following an insane trend on one side, and probably disorientating its competitors on the other side. I do not see Porsche going away from its “engineering” approach to body design and I actually expect something a lot simpler from the production car.

From this point let’s move to the more entertaining (and often“déjà vue”) show-cars. Here I would like to start with two cars: the Hyundai i-Flow and the Mercedes-Benz F-800 Style to say that, once upon a time, Hyundai was imitating or (to be more diplomatic) taking inspiration from Mercedes-Benz  now I have the impression that it is the other way around.

I am talking of a certain way to see car-design, of the direction these companies are going, of the lack of principles and orientation for those companies which look outside of their own culture and, perhaps, in the wrong direction.

The consequence of this is that I feel more comfortable in front of the wide and short Seat Ibe EV by the team of Luc Donckerwolke team and the Hyundai I-Flow of Nicola Danza and Nico Munkler than in front of the F-800 concept. The i-Flow shows as many lines as you would expect by summing three production cars but it remains true to its company’s heritage (which has just delivered the attractive and successful ix-35). On its turn the F-800 confuses me with its excesses.

In this respect, after the devastating “big-mouth” look, the Peugeot SR1 and “5 by Peugeot” marks a welcome-back to elegance and style of the French makers. The 5 by Peugeot is very promising and although it may benefit of a bit of further refinement and more (subtle) character it will certainly be a market success when it is ready for production, in France and in China, within the next 12 months, as the new Peugeot 508.

Citroen, Peugeot and Renault also had their share of attention in Geneva. The Renaults are all-right, but do not stimulate attraction.

The Citroens are dress-up for the occasion. Citroen has got the spirit to offer great entertainment to the public and designers must have had a lot of fun at working on the DS3 Racing as well as freeing their fantasy with the Citroen Survolte.

On a more approachable frontline the Citroen DS High –Rider is intriguing as its design confirms Citroen aims to be a “different sort of car” as its heritage calls for. The difference now is that rather than being controversial for its engineering innovations Citroen now plays a safer card by betting on mildly provocative marketing and design approach.

Only a new marketing approach can explain  the direction taken by Nissan for the look of its Yuke and the front design of their new Micra. Again it is marketing that is betting and banking on design with the Mini Countryman, which design succeed in being different, despite being rather conventional with its five doors. It remains pretty unique and I wonder the Mini “approach” to design can be stretched. These three volume production cars are getting suspiciously close to be car…icatures and there will be lessons to be learned from the market places in different regions.

A successfukl life is more likely for well-done “business as usual cars” such as the Ford Focus Hatchback and its Wagon derivative, the new VW Touareg and Porsche Cayenne, the

Mazda 5 and its rival VW Sharan, as well as the Kia Sportage.

Before closing I need to report on the three design studies proposed by the Italian coachbuilders to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Alfa Romeo and to fare well for its future. Following the alphabetical order is politically correct and allows me to close on positive notes, which is always good. The Bertone Pandion faithfully reflects the state of the art of the Italian automotive industry. Officially it is built on the running gears of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione although it is a well known fact that they are those of the Maserati Granturismo. Well, the Bertone Pandion is certainly a most spectacular show-car, the one with the tallest doors ever seen at a Motor Show and the matched by the tallest girl ever seen posing as a model next to a show car. I am not sure this is the car that the real Alfisti would dream of, but it cannot be denies that the show-car designed and built under the direction of Michael, Mike, Robinson, is a real Bertone, with its high tones and excesses combined with a great number of ideas and experiments. I wonder if this is the sort of Alfa Romeo needs for its future or it rather serves to celebrate the past glories of both Alfa Romeo and Bertone.

Alfa Romeo positively need an elegant, very dynamic and sexy flagship if it is to return to the U.S.A. and make some profit. This is the sort of car that the designers led by Umberto Palermo of I.DE.A. Institute have created with a very sexy Italian icon in mind. Sofia Loren.

This is confirmed not only by the model’s name but primarily by the round, soft and sexy lines of the I.DE.A Sofia design study. This is not a running prototype by a full scale model conceived as a stately sport limousine.

Pininfarina 2uettOttanta.

Pininfarina have indeed win the show top honours with its “2uettottanta” where 2 is designed to almost look like a capital D. The name wants to say this is the Alfa Romeo Duetto celebrating the 80 years of Pininfarina For this very reason the designers have made sure (and have got it absolutely right) that their Alfa Romeo Duetto for the future is a real Alfa Romeo. That is compact, light and nimble. Simple and pure. Elegant and with a clear, sport character. This is what the 2uetottanta is all about: dynamic architecture, perfect proportions, sophisticated simplicity inside and out, care for details. The silhouette of the roadster (easy to redesign as a soft-top convertible for regular production) speaks for itself and call for a compact engine installed “inside of the front axle” and rear wheel drive. Precisely the dream-car all Alfisti pre-and-past “The Graduate” Dustin Hofmann keep dreaming about. The dream-car that Alfa Romeo has got to build.

Geneva Motor Show 2010 – Photo Gallery

DR the youngest and most dynamic Italian car manufacturer, after attending the “home” motor show here in Italy, is moving outside the national boundary to exhibit its latest model. This is simply called DR2 and joins a range that already includes the DR 5 SUV, the DR1 city car. The DR2 is a 3.7 metres long “B” segment all-round family car.

DR is a registered Italian carmaker that assembles its vehicles (currently at the rate of some 10,000 units per year) from platform and components mostly imported from the Chinese carmaker Chery and engines coming from either Chery or Fiat Powertrain Technology.

DR will attract attention also from those who are in market for exciting sports cars as well. In a dedicated “Gallery”, the company will present three quarter scale models of a powerful sports car designed by the students of the renowned Istituto Europeo di Design base in Torino. The three models are the top three selected from thirteen and the selected one will be converted into a full-scale model for the Bologna Motor Show late this year.

The theoretical package of the DR Sport car is typical of a Hill-Climb racing car, with a powerful V8 mounted mid.-ship on the rear axle.
The three projects are called Action, Spirit and Soul.

DR ACTION by Stefano CORNETTO and Taekun CHOI.

________

DR SOUL  by Jorge Andres PINILLA FONSECA and

Jorge Eduardo MANZANO MELÉNDEZ

________

DR SPIRIT by Pablo Agustin PEREZ / Siddharth DURBHAKULA

Pininfarina fame and glory is expanding in the Far East, from where I got the news that one of the car designed and developed by Pininfarina, the middle-class JAC A 108 saloon has been nominated “Best car in Show” at the Guangzhou Motor Show run in the second part of November.

JAC is the brand name for Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co. and the model name in China is Tongyue. The A 108 is available with a 1.3- or 1.5-liter gasoline engine, at prices ranging between 7.300 and 9.800 U.S. dollars.

To international standards the choice of the jury might surprise those who are  not familiar with the Chinese market today.  There, with the price of fuel having sky-rocketed and the fear of the global recession, small cars have become very popular among car buyers who are in the market for fuel efficiency and safety. Being an entirely new and fresh project with high safety standards and a modern, fuel efficient four cylinder engine, the roomy and relatively small JAC by Pininfarina seems to have all it takes to conquer the market and be the “Best Car in Show”.

Many Alfa Romeo executives and enthusiasts should pay attention to the “VIP LOUNGE show-car” one of the top-six Chinese carmakers has recently unveiled at the Guangzhou Motor Show. The reason is easily said: that show car is a preview of the sport sedan that Stilebertone (see focus story attached) is designing for Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC). Until recently, GAC has been renowned for its flourishing joint-ventures with Honda and Toyota and the only big state-owned carmaker that has not cars with its own brand so far.

Last year GAC built some 510.000 high quality Toyotas and Hondas.

However, having obtained the license to also manufacture automobiles cars with its own brand from the Chinese government, GAC are ready to move into the passenger car territory, as early as 2010.

To this aim, last year they have approved a business plan calling for investments reaching 6.8 billion Yuan ($916 million last year).

In 2007, the company presented three concept-cars at the Guangzhou Auto Show and said that their first model would be a sedan to be positioned slightly below the limousine level but above the intermediate middle-class sedan. This perfectly matches the description of the Alfa Romeo 166 which production was stopped in Italy, in spring 2007. Not because the car was obsolete but because weak sale did not justify its unprofitable production.
Indeed, it has been recently confirmed that, to save time and money the Chinese have been quick to buy from the Fiat Group Automobiles the rights, equipment and tools used for the manufacturing of the Alfa Romeo flagship, the Alfa Romeo 166.

In China, the construction of a new car plant with annual capacity of some 100,000 units per year is progressing quickly. Subsequently the plant would be expanded to reach a potential capacity of 200,000 cars and 250.000 engines.
Now there is a very good chance that the “Chinese Alfa Romeo 166″ named inside as the “VIP Lounge” has the sort of design that will set a trend in China. I have not seen the new GAC sports sedan, just some renderings and pictures. Obviously I am also very eager to discover its style. I have learned from my sources in China that the car looks modern and attractive, even though it is not too progressive and makes more than a concession to the Chinese understanding of a luxury and dynamic sport sedan. As such the “GAC VIP Lounge” is expected to come with the potential of challenging the BMWs and Audis built in China.

The new GAC has been engineered in Turin by UTS (contracted by COMAU) which means that its build quality and capability should be at least as good as any European-built sedan and the car can meet the European safety standards. This seems not to be the case with the Chinese engines yet and their ability to pass the European emission tests. Speaking in an earlier interview, Huang Xiangdong, deputy general manager and head of the company’s R&D team said:  ”The cars will carry our own powertrains.” They belong to the latest Chinese generation but GAC has no plans for export to Europe and the U.S.A. any time soon.

The new GAC is the third public example of a European car redesigned for China, after the Roewe 750 and Roewe 550.

As expected, BMW  will soon be ready to launch another X-series model. This time, after the king-of-the-hill BMW X6 coupé, the all-new addition to the range taks position in the “compact premium” class. A sort of entry-model, if you can call it so.

As usual BMW is not disappointing and it seem that the new X1 will be the sort of SAV you would expect from the company: consequent with the range and the brand quality.

Is this BMW asnwer to the Audi Q5? I wouldn’t say so. On the contrary. The Q5 is Audi’s late entry into the X3 territory and we will have to wait for the Q3 (?) as a rivale of the latest newcomer to come from BMW with an X on its tail.

The following comparison chart of the main dimensions shows where the Audi Q5 and the new X1 fit.

Comparison of Overall Dimensions of BMW X1 Concept with Reference Models.

Click here for X1 Concept complete photo gallery.        

Giorgetto Giugiaro is simply the most talented, productive and successful car designer of all times. The only one nominated “Designer of the Century” by an international Jury, he is celebrated by the Hall of Fame and has been awarded several Honoris Causa doctorate as an architect. With more than 50 years of very intense work as a car designer he is the president of a company that employs more than 1000 specialists and create cars from a white piece of paper (including the Chinese Brilliance Zhongua) and still enjoy himself at designing cars, as well as any sort of products. In his spares time he love to paint, ride his cross-country bike and crossing the Africa deserts.

About being 70, in a fast interview between two meetings he has answered our direct questions, with a smile. Here is his opening statement.

Mr. Giugiaro, you seem to be positively committed to follow the example of (the world-wide famous painter) Pablo Picasso, who at the age of 90 was still enjoying painting. You are still more than 20 years away from that age and – if we are right – you continue to personally design some of the cars created by Italdesign-Giugiaro. Is it really so?

Thank you  for the wonderful link to Picasso, even though it appears to me to be excessive. Anyway; yes, I keep designing myself some of our cars. Designing cars remains my favourite professional occupation. I cannot do all the cars that we are contracted to design because of many our functions I have to perform, but I supervise them all.

We have here a wonderful and great team of talents and I keep stimulating and watching them. I keep orientating our design and check-out the outcome at every steps. I choose the suggested that should be further developed and eventually those to be proposed to our clients. Every day I have to make tenths of choices and tenths of design as well as business decisions. What I like the least is the co-ordination and control work.

Giugiaro celebrated his 50 years of design work in 2005, with his very exclusive Ferrari GG 50.

Click on the image to see just some of his works.