The early bird catches the…uncovered world premiere cars here at the Paris motor show on the first morning of media day number one.
I spent the first hour here wandering about seeing various cars and concepts before the final feather duster gave them a once-over and the dust covers went back on. This is a curious process as there are few cars here which the media hadn’t been alerted to in advance, as you’ll be aware from seeing the links to such models in our preview list.
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Throughout the day, press conferences are taking place, each of which is supposed to last 15 minutes. The problem, is, there’s no break between, so, if the next OEM happens to be a 20 minute walk from where you are, you’ll miss what’s being announced. Luckily, not too much tends to be revealed in the typical speech made by the CEO of brand X. And spare a thought for we gents and ladies of the Fourth Estate as the first event took place at 07:30CET (Suzuki), with the covers being whipped off new models every 15 minutes somewhere else in these vast halls until the last one (Subaru) takes place at 18:15.
While Suzuki was showing off its S-Cross concept, I was wandering about opening doors, bonnets and tailgates or pressing my fingers into dashboard plastics on other stands. Here are my first thoughts of what I found:
- The S-Cross hints at a C-segment crossover above the SX4 replacement, itself also due within the next 12 months
- The facelifted Fiesta doesn’t look too different (new headlights and tail-lights are the main changes) and the interior has also been given only the mildest of makeovers but the addition of both 100- and 125PS versions of the three-cylinder EcoBoost engine should give this car a handy sales boost
- Ford’s stand has three Mondeos on it but these are enclosed by a glass fence, with a hidden gate (why try to keep people away?), and one of these cars has this legend on its registration plate mounting: ‘Mondeo Hybrid Electric’ which is the first time we’ve seen this branding from Ford. A reminder that the plug-in Fusion is called ‘Energi’, while the Mondeo Hybrid Electric’s North American twin is the Fusion Hybrid. Perhaps Ford wants to try to give buyers access to the various incentives available to those purchasing EVs in many European markets? We’ll have to see what happens when the petrol-electric Mondeo is launched (late 2013 or 2014)
- Mazda’s facelift of the MX-5, another world premiere, has made the car look surprisingly fresh – no press pics had been issued until today
- The Mazda6 sedan, which made its debut at the Moscow show, is joined by the wagon in Paris and both look very big for their segment – longer, wider and lower than the pics suggest
- The Peugeot 301 and Citroën C-Elysée twins are enormously roomy but sitting behind the wheel makes you realise these are definitely rivals for the Logan, not booted versions of the 208 – the plastics are hard and grey, the switchgear from a generation ago and the carpet isn’t quite what you’d find in PSA’s pricier models
- Speaking of the new Logan and Sandero, these had the covers over them when I did my early-bird swoop so I might see if I can swing by later.
- Something I hadn’t seen before was a <Fabriqué en France> label in pride of place at the very top of the electronic info read-out adjacent to all versions of the 508 on the Peugeot stand. I found myself wondering if workers at the Rennes plant 100 or so kilometres west of here know that PSA seems to be saying it’s proud of their work – we’ve grown used to so many European firms referring to their loyal employees and contract staff as expendable
- The Adam is going to cost from just 11,500 euro, Opel has just announced -(UK pricing was also revealed today). Both Vauxhall and Opel-badged cars are here but the (LHD) Vauxhalls will disappear after press days
- Happily the inverted Adam, which is quietly and slowly driving its way across the Opel stand’s ceiling on a special track, will remain to delight kids (and certain grown up journalists too) but I heard some cost-cutting first hand when I let the grab handle attached to the headliner go and….snap!, no silicon damping – that’s a rarity these days
- and finally…after that example of GM cost cutting, the second of today’s Saddo Car Spotter’s alerts: any manufacturer that thinks they can get away with propping up the bonnet of their latest model with a cheap-looking metal stick (I’m looking at YOU, Mercedes-Benz A-Class) is in for a shock – not even Dacia is now doing that. Yes, the new Dokker, one of Europe’s lowest priced vehicles, has a gas strut to hoist its hood – how did THAT get through Renault’s cost-killers?
Author: Glenn Brooks
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