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Geneva Auto Show

PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 4:43 pm
by brassringfarm
Lotus Friends -
...Went to the Geneva Suto show today and wanted to give a quick impression
to the group. This is one of the largest shows and, as you'd expect, there
are a lot of high end European manufacturers and customizers. Despite a surprise
3" of snow last night, the place was packed - probably 10-20,000 people there
at least. Lotus had a small stand of 4 cars that was quite close to the new
Ferrari 599, Bugatti, Lambourghini, and other high end cars. As promised
on the Lotus website - the new Europa was there, along with the other current
models. To be honest, the Europa looked almost identical to the current cars
from the front, with minimal differences from the side, but a totally new
rear end. It appeared to be only slightly larger. I guess I was hoping for
something that would differentiate itself more from the current lineup.
I did have to laugh at the Morgan exhibit. They were touting their aluminum
chassis for the new Morgan. Although there were some areas of glue bonding
- it really looked much more like old-school frame thinking, compared to
the Lotus's frame. Looked like the frame from my old Austin Healey or my
former 1953 Farmall Tractor. (I take that back - my Farmall incorporated
the engine block as a stressed component!)
Of course, people were around the new Ferrari and the new Z4 convertible
and the other customizers like flies on old meat - but there was a strong
new presence for Dodge this year. Also, Chevrolet and Cadillac were both
larger than last year. Only saw one truck in the show. More SUVs now than
last year - but overall they are smaller than the US. Lots of space given
to alternative (ethanol, fuel cell, hybrid) cars.
Your intrepid reporter
Paul Zimmerman
65 S2 - 4000 miles away!