Last Update on : March 3, 2008
Geneva's green veneer hides an SUV passion
.jpg) The Geneva Auto Show, much like the Detroit show in January, will feature a parade of new, fuel-efficient products from an industry determined to demonstrate its green credentials. But many of the products aren't quite ready for prime time.
For example, the BMW X5 and Volkswagen Golf diesel hybrids, which are on display here for the first time, are still just concepts. They're being displayed to demonstrate to politicians and the public that the industry is gearing up for a leaner, greener future.
The annual Geneva event, which opens Thursday, is Europe's first big car show of the year, and although the environment is undoubtedly high on the agenda, most new products will reflect manufacturers' hopes that upcoming rules on fuel efficiency from the European Union will still allow people to buy cars that are fun to drive and enable the industry to make profits too.
The globalization of the auto industry is also showing itself in Geneva this year. Many of the vehicles on display and being introduced for sale to the European market soon also will be available in the United States, including Ford's new little Fiesta, which was shown in Detroit as the Verve concept, Volvo's XC60 compact SUV and the Audi A4 station wagon. The new Infiniti FX crossover makes its world debut here and will be the first Infiniti available in Europe.
Big and small
Sales of SUVs across Europe in 2007 increased 7.8 percent to 1.2 million. This trend will continue in 2008, according to the European newsletter AID, which tracks vehicle sales.
"A flood of new SUVs and crossover vehicles are heading for European dealer showrooms, and some of these will be unveiled for the first time to the buying public at [the] Geneva motorshow," AID said in its latest edition.
These include the Ford Kuga, Toyota Urban Cruiser, Renault Koleos and Mercedes GLK, which will swell the ranks of SUVs now available to Europeans.
One non-SUV that will appeal to traditional, small car-buying Europeans is the Toyota iQ minicar, which looks like a slightly swollen Smart. The iQ's small size camouflages a nifty seating arrangement for two adults in the front and one in the back, plus a child's seat behind the driver. Other cars ready for the road to be unveiled at Geneva include the VW Scirocco coupe and Honda Accord. And Rolls--Royce debuts the Phantom coupe, a V-12 luxury ride that sells for $450,000.
Style and substance
"We are going to see a lot of green hybrids and hydrogen solutions, giving some indication of the direction the manufacturers are going," said Krish Bhaskar, who heads the Motor Industry Research Unit, based in Nice, France. "But also the Europeans will be putting on the style, to distinguish themselves from and seeking to trump the upcoming increased competition from the Koreans and later the Chinese."
Bhaskar said he is puzzled by the lack of hybrid cars available from the Europeans.
"Most Europeans could produce hybrids now, but they are not doing it. It's very strange," he said.
European manufacturers could be delaying their hybrid introductions until new carbon dioxide rules are set by the European Union.
These rules, likely to be agreed upon later this year, could force tougher fuel targets by 2015 to an average equivalent of 42 miles per U.S. gallon, up from about 35 mpg now.
But for one vehicle, that wouldn't much matter.
The Rinspeed sQuba is a battery-powered concept roadster. Rinspeed officials say it could reach 80 mph with a range of up to 65 miles. And it could float on water and perform like a dolphin while submerged.
Rinspeed is a Swiss design engineering company led by Frank Rinderknecht, who said he was inspired by a scene from the James Bond movie "The Spy Who Loved Me," which shows Bond driving Barbara Bach in a Lotus Esprit underwater. That scene was faked, but Rinderknecht said this can now be done for real.
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