Ah! Les belles Italiennes!
The Geneva Auto Show. I am required to sum up my experience at this show for you, our car-loving web users. This show is an absolute stunner but I will have to separate the awe with reality. Like me, many of you have seen the lovely bunch of "European" cars (I put European in brackets because makes like Ford are not exactly Euro...) on television, on the web or in magazines. And again, if you are like me, you have always wondered why we do not have these cars in North America. I cannot answer this question but what I can say is that they are hotter, cooler and more desirable in the flesh.
First, the cars!
Peugeots, Citroens, Renaults, Alfa Romeos, Fiats, Opels and most of the super exotics like Koenigsegg, Pagani and Spyker; all present. Obviously, I am excluding Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Lotus and others as they are present in our market. Famous designers, tuners and coach-builders like Sbarro, Rinspeed and Bertone had sizeable displays. All the groups are huddled together in the various halls of the Geneva Palexpo. This was a great opportunity to get a look at all the cars that share similar platforms and mechanicals. Some of the makes did an excellent job in selecting both basic and top-of-line models to display. Toyota, for some reason, decided to feature all their cars in black; not great for picture-taking.
Fiat and Alfa Romeo
The Italian brands really stole the show for me. Fiat and Alfa Romeo have unbelievably gorgeous cars. Name any Alfa, from the 147, to the Brera and onto the 8C Competizione, they are all beautiful. Their lines evoke sexy and romantic getaways in the Alps. Their high-performance engines with their intoxicating sounds (look up any 3.2L V6 equipped Alfa video on the web) make me yearn for the open road. The Fiat Panda, the Punto and the Bravo all have flair and styling that is cruelly lacking with most cars offered in North America. On the other hand, Lancia completely failed to spark my interest. They seriously look like they are trying to hard to capture the Italian essence. More than anything, the cars look like over-the-top Koreans.
The Geneva Auto Show. I am required to sum up my experience at this show for you, our car-loving web users. This show is an absolute stunner but I will have to separate the awe with reality. Like me, many of you have seen the lovely bunch of "European" cars (I put European in brackets because makes like Ford are not exactly Euro...) on television, on the web or in magazines. And again, if you are like me, you have always wondered why we do not have these cars in North America. I cannot answer this question but what I can say is that they are hotter, cooler and more desirable in the flesh.
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| Spyker C12 Zagato |
First, the cars!
Peugeots, Citroens, Renaults, Alfa Romeos, Fiats, Opels and most of the super exotics like Koenigsegg, Pagani and Spyker; all present. Obviously, I am excluding Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Lotus and others as they are present in our market. Famous designers, tuners and coach-builders like Sbarro, Rinspeed and Bertone had sizeable displays. All the groups are huddled together in the various halls of the Geneva Palexpo. This was a great opportunity to get a look at all the cars that share similar platforms and mechanicals. Some of the makes did an excellent job in selecting both basic and top-of-line models to display. Toyota, for some reason, decided to feature all their cars in black; not great for picture-taking.
Fiat and Alfa Romeo
The Italian brands really stole the show for me. Fiat and Alfa Romeo have unbelievably gorgeous cars. Name any Alfa, from the 147, to the Brera and onto the 8C Competizione, they are all beautiful. Their lines evoke sexy and romantic getaways in the Alps. Their high-performance engines with their intoxicating sounds (look up any 3.2L V6 equipped Alfa video on the web) make me yearn for the open road. The Fiat Panda, the Punto and the Bravo all have flair and styling that is cruelly lacking with most cars offered in North America. On the other hand, Lancia completely failed to spark my interest. They seriously look like they are trying to hard to capture the Italian essence. More than anything, the cars look like over-the-top Koreans.
 |
| Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon |