m-cause

Over the past couple of weeks, outdoor billboards with a woman in a red shirt holding her hands over her chest in the form of a heart have been plastered all over Geneva.  At first, I thought the ads were for a charitable cause…it was only on second glance that I realized the ads were for the 79th International motor show in Geneva.

This Sunday, my wife & I made our way to the Geneva auto cathedral for an annual look at this PR spectacle…along with thousands of other pilgrims.

Though we are in an economic crisis and many auto companies are struggling in a big way, we didn’t notice anything different as we first entered the expo center.  As always, there were even plenty of flashy new models (probably planned and developed before the current economic crisis).

Making our rounds, we then quickly discovered that most of the major manufacturers had a lot to say about “Green” in 2009…which was great.  Some car makers were even able to make their mega booths Green (and slick) without losing any cool points.  Fiat had the best booth in terms of overall design.  Their display area had a funky Tim Burtonesque feel and they had even submerged one car in a Green forest.  My wife also thought the Fiat show girls had the nicest outfits.

So what about those electric cars?

In 2009, according to Switzerland’s e’mobile association, two electric cars were on sale and available to the public…the Fiat Panda and Renault Twingo (both using conventional batteries).  To have a closer look at upcoming electric autos, we had a look at the new, stand-alone Green pavilion within the Auto Show.

The Green pavilion was surprisingly empty when we were there…so we were quickly able to look at Nissan’s new electric car that will launch in the US in 2010 (only in Europe by 2012).  The Nissan Nuvu (new view) was cute, but has a pretty limited range at the moment.  On the hood (hard to see in this picture) the car has integrated, nature patterned, solar panels…which will supposedly help the car when the battery is running low.

Surprisingly, Volkswagen’s Polo BlueMotion is considered “the most fuel-efficient five seater in the world” as it touts a “hybrid-killing” 71 mpg.  The car sports a 1.2 liter turbo Diesel engine and it looks like it could hit the market as early as 2010.  As great as the VW BlueMotion is in terms of gas mileage, it still runs on fossil fuels…

As we turned the corner in the Green pavilion, we were greeted by the new Tesla roadster.  The Tesla is very cool and I would love to own one.  However, the 99,000 Euro price tag is unfortunately too steep.  I would have loved to see Tesla work on developing a more “mass” model first, however, I think I understand the thinking behind their go to market model (deftly explained to me by the Tesla team).  First, they want to build some equity and credibility, proving their technological prowess in the electric car segment.  Then, they want to take the mass market by storm with a sedan that will apparently roll out in 2011.

Tesla has a great innovation pipeline…and they build slick cars, so I think they have a chance.  I am keen to see an American company (from California of course) incorporate fantastic design into our electric future.  Competition will get pretty stiff very soon in the electric segment, so hopefully they are not risking their future by waiting too long to rollout their more “mass” electric cars.

Speaking of design and American automakers…the rest of the US contingent at this years show was predictably thin, to say the least.  Ford, the healthiest of the Big 3, had the biggest presence, however, when you place a Ford booth between Alfa Romeo, Porsche, Fiat & Honda, it has a tough time standing out…especially when companies like Honda have innovative humanoid Robots!  I could have spent 2 hours watching Asimo jump and run (yes, run) on stage.  This is what grabs a crowd!

Robots, Tim Burton themes, electric cars and Italian design, all gain footfall and PR during these shows–even in an economic crisis.  I don’t know the numbers, but I would bet that Ford doesn’t have super high performance or emotional equity ratings in Europe.  So, they aren’t really going to build much equity or give the press anything exciting to talk about with an average booth.  Bring on the Ford ROBOTS!:-)

If you are ever in the area in March, you should stop by the Geneva show if you want to see great concept & boutique cars.  There are so many cool boutique cars on hand…I have a lot more pictures of my favorites, but I would probably put you to sleep…so I will spare you.