Paris Show Aftermath - Media Tops, Flops & Thoughts

In terms as of what to watch out for the immediate future, it's always interesting to see which models draw the most, but also the least, attention of the media as well as to know what the majority of journalists are talking about during the press days of an International Motor Show.

Tops

Audi R8 & Alfa Romeo 8c Competizione : These vigorous supercars where without doubt the ultimate stars of the show. Every time you'd passed through Alfa's and Audi's stands you'd see people crowding in lines to photograph, videotape and of course see these two totally different approaches to a common theme.

Citroen C4 Picasso : In the mainstream field Citroen's second generation mid-sized MPV with its futuristic exterior and interior styling gets the first prize in media attention. Although the French carmaker had hefty number of C4 Picasso's spread out in its large stand and even though we all got heavy doses of "Picasso-itis" as the organizers used a dozen or so C4 Picasso to transfer people from one hall to the other, the stands where always packed with people!

Flops

Lancia Delta HPE Concept - With all the fuss in the internet and considering the importance of this prototype in Lancia's future you'd expect that the Delta HPE would be one of the main attractions in the show. Guess again. As many times as I passed through the Italian stand I never saw more than a handful of people looking at the car. I'm not sure if the positioning of the prototype in a dark area in Hall 1 was to blame or the fact that even the press seems to have abandoned the once great Italian mark, but either way, it was quite disappointing.

Peugeot 207 EPURE - Unlike Peugeot's other concept, the 908 RC, the 207 EPURE didn't manage to concentrate much attention on itself. Rather weird considering the fact that the 207 EPURE practically unveils next year's 207 CC.

Thoughts

C-Segment Crossovers : Sure we've seen a dozen or so carmakers produce mid-size crossovers for Europe like Renault's Scenic 4x4 or the Suzuki SX4 (and its Fiat counterpart) in the past but not to this extent. Most journalists agreed that we just saw the birth of a new mainstream category in Paris that will consist of quite a lot of models in 2007 / 2008 -Dodge Caliber, Nissan Qashqai, Renault Koleos, Ford Iosis-X, VW Golf Plus Cross and the upcoming VW Tiguan. This category could very well be the next big thing for Europe after the explosion of SUV's in the late 90's.

Concepts = Production models : Although baptizing production models as concepts isn't something new, at the Paris Show carmakers took it a step further as the majority of the concepts shown where practically production ready : Ford Mondeo Wagon, Renault Koleos SUV, Toyota Auris, Peugeot 207 EPURE, Lancia Delta HPE, Dodge Avenger, Kia pro_cee'd and in less extent, the VW Iroc, Renault Twingo, Skoda Joyster, Ford Iosis X.