Carfreax

TOKYO MOTOR SHOW PART III

Are you ready? Damn right we are! This is the 42nd Tokyo Motor Show and we are here to soak up the energy. Japan, a country with a positive and sympathetic attitude. The tsunami earlier this year had a major impact. Still one can feel the the aftermath of the catastrophe reverbing. The annual motor show as a kind of catharsis.

I have always thought of Japan and France being the most creative cultures to push new concepts of mobility. Playful, full of humor and daring. The Tokyo experience seems to underline this hypothesis. For hours we bump from one strange thought dressed up as means of mobility into the other. An eclectic mix of style and technology.

After the obvious we move to the west halls for some haute couture. Projects seen somewhere else before perfectly tangent to the asian thought of mobility. Off beat, out of sync, over here, nothing is impossible.Wooden cars, a link to tradition, strange packages. The olympic games of the industry. Let's go crazy and be proud of it.

This is your usual press days hectic, but with a different taste. The difference is in the detail. Why do we so many wind deflectors on cars over here. The use of the climate controls is local and so is the atmosphere. Breathing masks, eye for detail, taking pictures with a strange perspective. We adapt as we move on.

After a long day I am loaded with impressions. Japan, the country of the hybrid, the mould breaking approach, the friendly and the technological, the robot and the  manga. It is all summed up at the motor show. It is five o'clock as we call it an automotive day. Let's hit the streets of Tokyo to inhale reality while we still have time.

-Matt.

TOKYO MOTOR SHOW PART II

A stroll over the Tokyo Motor Show. What is served by the big three of Japan? I have a soft spot for Honda. This is the brand of the spaghetti exhausted '67 Formula One racer, the Monkey motor cycle, the groundbreaking Jazz and the Senna inspired NSX. The  asian brand can be seen as the BMW of the east, innovative and still independent. A spyder concept loaded with carbon, a foldable scooter, a mobility concept and a racy livered motor cycle. A range of heritage dressed up for today. Inspiring.

Suzuki shows a bunch of rather quirky concepts, based on tomorrows  needs and sustainability. The green car is classic, strange, organic and pixelated at the same time.A blend of efficiency and nu-tech. I have to get used to my cup of tea with a chai flavor.

Toyota. The biggest player on a global scale seems to have re-invented itself from a rather dull overall brand to a more lively identity. The Tokyo Motor Show as a reset button. Positive, colorful, playful and human. Fun to drive again, Jean Reno included. We stand in front of a concept with projected graphics on a body side, waiting for a change. After five minutes we give up, realizing this innovative idea is rather static. Reborn? Not yet.

-Matt.

TOKYO MOTOR SHOW PART I

I have never been here before, and yet I feel at home. The Tokyo Motor Show, it has always been on top of my list since I was a kid. One of the grand slams of automotive car shows and probably the most exotic in the pack. The Asian view on things. Finally a check mark after all those years. Hardly I have put this event in context before we hit the floors of the quiet compact compound. With a group of colleagues we have touched down on Japanese ground and are still lost in translation.

To get in contact we start with the oblivious. The German side of the show. The Audi corporate identity suits the location. Clean, professional and with a local touch. Love the graphics on the soccer edition Audi A1. Neat colored detailing inside of the head lamps.

Tokyo seems to be a good opportunity to take a second and more intense glance at concepts I have seen in Frankfurt before. The rounded and also edgy Smart concept feels more at home in this urban environment. Formed in a different medium, plastics can be formed so precise and crisp, inside and out. This compact car is loaded with innovative ideas. The big and blobby Mercer fits the Tokyo approach. Let's show a crazy vision of the future.

We walk the floors of the show as we hear the touching speech of the European biggest CEO, addressing the power and innovation of Japanese car culture and its role in the automotive industry. Put aside all the novelties this is also a kind of resurrection of a country after the Fukushima disaster. The team from Wolfsburg surprises with a cross over coupe, based on a new platform. It looks great in overall stance and detailing. One of my Tokyo high lights. 

Another Wolfsburg premiere is a special edition Beetle, featuring a rather rock and roll in your face theme. Volkswagen goes guitar hero with the Stratocaster. The wood inlays are fake, but hey, this is Tokyo!

-Matt.

FRANKFURT PART FIVE

These are my final five cents for this years Frankfurt show, part five. An Escher-esque perspective on the status quo, the end is the beginning. We enter the fair at the south side and stumble into the BMW show. The first impressions of the day, we are excited and glare at the displayed products. The Bavarian brand puts us into to the automotive loop, visitors at a circus full of energy rather than consumers of metal dreams. Is Frankfurt all about metal or is it the story telling, the car culture, what it's all about these days?

Next to the all new One series the guys from Munich have enough stories to tell. Conceptually it is all about dotting the i, and yes I dig these fairy tales. Two cars, two book ends. Siblings with their own character, but connected by a strong formal formula. One is soft and fluent, the other more industrial and pragmatic or functional.  Respect goes out to the underlaying blueprint that must have been the starting point of this adventure, design inside out, a throughout vision of what might be the future. And yes, I really like that I3 steering column for its smart and optical light weight appearance.

Free form butterfly glass doors anyone? We will have to see and wait what will reach the market. In a  far corner of our first hall we see a clean stand of BMW Individual. Clean lights and lots of reference from the world of design. Eames here, B&O there. Window dressing or philosophy? First lesson in Frankfurt; it is all about context!

-Matt.

FRANKFURT PART FOUR

Surf's up dude! In the German media landscape the brand from Wolfburg has drawn a lot of attention during the weeks ahead of the Frankfurt show. A new small car for the folks, compact, efficient  and affordable, the real new beetle? A bold move back to the roots. Many thought  the name would change from Up to Lupo, following the strategic sneaky peaky hocus pocus way the new Sc-Iroc-co made it to the market. This time the friendly, almost Pixar-esque name will stay, Up! Plus one so far. And yet, at introduction time Volkswagen displays a wide array of possibilities. Love the tucked down GTI version. The urban Nils car is a welcoming side kick, very producty, nimble and white.

Surf's up and some unforeseen guests join the waves. Greenpeace bashes the party. We never before have seen political statements unfold during an auto show, this year it all comes together at the VW stand. The dark force enters the stage for the big pay back. Is this easy money? The peeps from V dub take it this chin in cheek positive, knowing that they have redrawn the big picture .....of a small car.

- Matt.

SHANGHAI REVIEW PART TWO

So you think you are a carfreak hu? A stroll over the Shanghai Auto compound will teach you something different. I, at least, never felt so overwhelmed and confused visiting a car show. An eclectic mix straight out of Car Magazines GBU. First of all the diversity of models at display. An endless list of car brands one has never heard of. I gave up trying to feed them into my personal matrix, no chance! And yes, I could have taken photos of all the company logos, but who cares. The Shanghai experience beams you back to the early 20th century when Europe had hundreds of car manufactures. I guess we have to wait and see who will survive the big shake out that will come eventually. 

In this trial and error process many times help comes from abroad, be it in cooperations or copy machines. One thing is for sure, the Chinese manufacturers are eagerly and amazingly quick in learning the job and adopting design languages seen somewhere else. A Hyundai Curb Concept (Detroit 2011) body side on an unbalanced sedan, combined with a Gandini-esque wheel arch, no problem. A Mazda Shinari look a like? Yes we can! 

On average the surfacing quality is not bad at all. TIme after time you see stands with three concept cars lined up, all of them with completely different design directions. The red Brilliance a delight, and next to it its ugly sister. Confusing. Later I hear the limousine with touches of Skoda meets Ford has been conceived in Turin, the other car in Tokyo. More is more. Spread your wings and fly, we worry about the landing when we'll get there. The one component that is missing is brand identity. This will be the next challenge for Chinese manufacturers.

The Japanese have come a long way and the Korean are getting there. A quick look at Kia will show you how you can positively transform a brand in a couple of years. The work of Peter Schreyer and his team has started to pay off. The Chinese will follow soon, learning by doing.They might even set their own standards. Who needs Euro NCAP if you can create your own label, five stars within reach. 

Two days at the Shanghai chicken run. The music has been too loud, my ears are deafened and my mind is soaked. A look inside a start up circus. Where can we find the golden egg. Definitely have to come back in a couple of years. Put Shanghai on your short list, it will broaden your horizon!

- Mattijs.

GENEVA REVIEW - PART 20

 
Fighting spirit

One can't help but wonder which picador Maranello could still have up its sleeve, in order to turn the design tide from Sant' Agata Bolognese (the toreadors from Zuffenhausen, as we all know, have counted their blessings and joined the bull protection front). Will Ferrari's more traditional approach to style be able to counter the sheer and overwhelming power of the likes of this latest raging bull from Ferruccio's stables, the marvellous Aventador?

GENEVA REVIEW- PART 19

Show time!

Why are we blocking our agendas way ahead of March? Why do we anticipate the Geneva show each and every year with such thrills? Yes, it is the real start of the season, the location and settings are perfect , a turbo charged compact overview of the automotive sector. Most of all we come back for show time!

Walking the floor, skimming the surface, digging for details, scanning the atmosphere, watching the theatre. Big names of the industry are here and so are old friends and colleagues. Geneva is on fire.

GENEVA REVIEW- PART 17

Carbon Copy

Carbon as a choice of material is obvious in the ongoing light weight race for smaller carbon foot prints. Slowly it trickles through into mass production, be it for the status quo at the super car end of the spectrum. And yes, there were a lot of new super cars in Geneva this year. Visible carbon parts everywhere to communicate tthat he the industry has been to the weight watchers. The old trick of digging a hole still works as well. The future is light, let's wait and see.

- Mattijs.

GENEVA REVIEW- PART 16

Retro?

At the eye of the Geneva storm there is a little stand where probably the last independent British brand releases a new product. Hello and good morning, we are still here! Morgan succeeds in a fast moving industry by deliberately sticking to its roots. Can something be retro in this perspective? Wood structures, three wheelers, light weight and simple. Where is the cup holder? Is this progress? Definitely British indeed with tongue in cheek. Low profile and happy faces. Someone's cup of tea.

- Mattijs.

GENEVA REVIEW- PART 10

Pad Sounds

Blue, clean, green, sustainable, we have all seen it the last couple of years. Big splashes of animated graphics all over the Geneva floor thanks to LED technology. It is all still there and growing in numbers. The 2011 show might go in the books as the year of the i pad. Everywhere you look you will notice the ultra thin media device, be it on display, in cars or carried by hostesses. Click, click, swoosh. Forget folders and carrying bags filled with press material. Geneva 2.0. And yet, in the midst of all this high tech, it is the view at an analogue classic exhaust pipe without any fringes that puts a grin onto our face. 

- Mattijs.

GENEVA REVIEW - PART 9

Bulli

Cherry colors at the Volkswagen stand. A second attempt to revive the Bulli after of the Microbus concept of 2001. Smart maximization of space. This time it is scarily compact, but still seats up to six people. Journalist climb in and out of the car, taking notes and wonder how close the flanges are to production. That, after all, is one of the best indicators to predict show-to-street time. The 50ties two-tone and chrome scheme should keep us in the past for a little bit, whilst the i-pad dock and electric charger communicate: the future is bright and closer than you think!

- Mattijs.

GENEVA REVIEW - PART 6

Check, mate!

Cool and self-conscious, yet soft and sensuous, a far cry fron the box this segment used to materialise - the next gen Renault MPV only sports boxiness in its 3D-pixelated lounge and its multi-coloured checkered sunroof. The lozenge stands proud in Renault's new family face and a generous bow wave disappears into fast flanks, with true speed boat feel. Mmmmmm...

Although the disrupted interior theme does not really convince in the flesh, the message is clear: this car is meant to break the mould. Renault has invented the MPV -at least in Europe- and it is clearly determined to stay ahead of the curve with this curvaceous beaut'.

La France: douze points.

- Geert.

GENEVA REVIEW - PART 5

Copper Cornucopia

1994 seems light years away. With the (then usual) one-showcar-per-year interval as rule of thumb, the 'Esprit Nouveau' of the Renault Argos blew the car design community off its socks. Straightforward industrial form language and ground breaking use of detail and materials clashed with bold graphics for attention. Be it cool Corbusier or bare Bauhaus basic; its shape clearly influenced the later iconic Audi TT. Nothing compared to this car - and probably nothing ever will.

But now again, a new spirit has arrived in Guyancourt! With a refreshingly new design philosophy and an avalanche of concept cars, a new captain has taken the helm. Four cars were present under the Swiss spotlights - two of them having their debut. These perfectly planned 'happy family cars' were truly symbolic for the re-found optimism, apparent at the show.

The Captur clearly made the biggest splash, with playful spiritual reference to American fun cars like the ground breaking Pontiac Stinger and Ford Splash. Defyingly high on its wheels, a visual horn of plenty with tons of modern materials and finishes; matt and gloss, carbon fibre and rubber, translucency and phosphorescence... The question is: what will be left of this when it comes back ...as the next Megane?

- Geert.

GENEVA REVIEW - PART 4

Proportions

I have a soft spot for the Nissan Z cars. The 240 is a classic, the 350 might be one in a couple of years and although the 370 looks bulky it has an original design theme. What is next? Take away the zero emission marketing bla bla and the Esflow might be a well balanced follow up. Presented in a liquid silver the car looks good in metal. Loving the proportions and sculpted surfacing. The interior sports a sixties Corvette-esque architecture, be it a bit heavy looking. Nevertheless one of the cars I spend some time on during this years show.

- Mattijs.