Car UK May 2019

60 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | MAY 2019

Car makers desert shows to stage their own events, to divert more mon-

ey into Mark Zuckerberg’s social media pockets, and to attend consumer

electronics shows such as the CES in Las Vegas. Or because they’re current-

ly skint (Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Vauxhall). As we head for our brave new

electric, autonomous and fully-connected AI future, many car companies

now think shows like CES are more important than any motor show.

Well, of course the car business is changing. But if cars are to be merged

into general consumer electronics, then it’s a very sad day for this business

and this enthusiasm we share. I go to shows such as Geneva to ogle the

hardware: exquisite new Ferraris, their V8 twin-turbo engines gleaming;

carbon-bodied McLarens of fine form and function; fascinating new

baby cars (Fiat’s Centoventi, Citroën’s Ami One and Honda’s e Prototype,

all at Geneva) that may yet revolutionise city transport; Rolls-Royces as

beautifully hand-wrought as any man-made object; new technology that

will change my world. And all under one roof! By all means leaven this

hardware-fest with software updates, but when the big news is the cloud,

connectivity and CarPlay, I’ll leave and go kick some tyres in the car park.

Car shows may change and probably should. The Festival of Speed is

now the de facto British motor show organised by the car world’s favourite

entrepreneurial duke. The last Paris show went way beyond the halls of the

Porte de Versailles, including test drives at the Place de la Concorde.

That’s all fine. But when cars become mere consumer electronic goods,

bit parts at the CES, they cease to be special. And that’s when this business

falls apart and loses its love.

For more Geneva insights from Gavin Green visit the

Motor Shows section of http://www.carmagazine.co.uk

op car companies

should be at top car

shows. For me, this is as

straightforward as Rolex

displaying tasty timepiec-

es at the Baselworld watch

fair, and dogs with posh

names like Fenton of Kentwood

and Brookewire Brandy of Layven

(both past winners) starring at Crufts.

So I was very sad to see Jaguar, Land Rover, Ford, Volvo and

Opel/Vauxhall absent from the recent Geneva show. This is the great-

est car show on Earth, has been for at least 40 years, attracts the world’s top

car executives, designers and engineers and – just as crucially – brings in

more than 650,000 paying customers. Significantly, 30 per cent are aged

between 15 and 29 – important, as car makers try to woo millennials – and

half come from outside Switzerland. This is the world’s car show.

Motor shows have been haemorrhaging exhibitors for years, of course.

The London show at Earls Court was once the most spectacular car fair in

the world – notable for girls disrobing as well as cars unveiling – before it

slowly ground to a halt, like the traffic outside on Warwick Road.

The Detroit show is a shadow of its former self, sadly mirroring the for-

tunes of the city. Last year’s Paris show was without Ford, Fiat, Volkswagen,

Volvo, Vauxhall/Opel, Nissan, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Jeep, Aston Martin

and Mazda. The French makers – who did attend, and in force – briefly

looked like they ruled the world.

One reason Geneva is so pleasant is that it’s in a neutral country that

doesn’t have a motor industry. So the Germans can’t flex their muscles,

the French can’t preen, the Japanese can’t pretend that electric wheelchairs

are the answer to the world’s transport needs, and the Chinese can’t copy

Range Rovers and Mercedes-Benzes with impunity. The only problem are

the prices demanded by Swiss hoteliers.

Notwithstanding the lack of a few major players, it was another very

good Geneva show. Instead of the big names, there were many new names,

mostly electric start-ups. These included a familiar name (Piëch, run by a

son of the great Ferdinand) and an historic name (Hispano Suiza). Tesla’s

high share price has convinced investors to back electric. Now all it needs

is for car buyers to do the same. And for an electric car company to make

some money.

Illustration by Peter Strain

T

‘If cars are to

be merged

into consumer

electronics shows

then it’s a very

sad day’