Not content with one, DTW has two embedded correspondents roaming the fleshpots of the 88th Geneva show press days. Today, Kris Kubrick casts an Auto-Didaktic eye on Palexpo’s highlights.
First up is the Mercedes i30, sorry – A-Class. (It gets so confusing these days) So having taken lines and creases out of everything, one is left with… well, this one supposes. Best put some lines back on then, Mr Lesnik, wouldn’t you say?
Hang on, not so fast there! Also in the line and crease removal business is Mazda, with the Kai concept they first showed at Tokyo last October. This is how they do it in Hiroshima. Rather better, would you not agree? Watch and learn, Bob. Watch and learn.
The devil, as the old saw goes, is in the details. Bad news for Sindelfingen. “Shutline nirvana,” sayeth our man on the ground. Or, to put it another way, how not to do it.
On the subject of shutline management, a certain Mr. Ingenlath will now demonstrate how it should be done. Thanks for that Thomas. Our man in Geneva had this to say of Gothenburg’s latest; “The V60 is a fantastic car. The Volvo look perfected.”
Our hot and cool friends at Daimler also displayed the production version of the AMG concept they previewed here exactly 12 months ago. There was allegedly some debate over the definitive nomenclature, which we believe saw the preferred ‘Granamera’ rejected in favour of the rather more unimaginative GT 4 moniker. Kris however seemed uncharacteristically smitten; “Isn’t his lardarseness a beauty”, he swooned over the ether.
“I hadn’t been aware of this one”, our correspondent noted. “It’s astonishing how little effort it takes to turn the rather comely Mission E into a dog’s dinner.” Woof!
Speaking of dogs – what the hell’s a Mark V Golf doing at Palexpo?
More from Kris at Geneva very soon. Don’t touch that dial.
Driven To Write 
You have to see the seats in the Lagonda: they don’t look like car seats very much and that’s a good thing. And the upholstery is … cloth.
Some praise for the I Pace, please.
Awful name but really quite an impressive product, for a number of reasons. Jaguar have got the jump on their German rivals, for once, but there seems near universal praise for its design. An SUV in name only, it’s really a pretty intelligently configured high-roof hatchback.
Well done, Ian Callum. I think you’ve smashed this one out of the park.
Golf V was my first thought about the A Klasse. But then the A and B Mercs have never impressed me. In France they’re just a way of saying: “My husband’s a banker.”
I do like that Mazda concept (I know, I am predictable), although I struggle to see how that C pillar will translate into a practical family hatchback as it looks bigger and so less practical than the current car (much discussed here – OK, by me). I agree with @jacomo, the i-Pace (stupid name aside) is IC’s best work for may years (ever?!) and deserves plaudits. For JLR, it’s a cracking achievement to beat the likes of Audi, Mercedes and VW to the market with a dedicated EV model.
The best thing about this Lagonda concept (as far as I can ascertain) are the seats. Wool! Oh joy, oh rapture!
The I-Pace will receive some Auto-Didaktic attention very soon, so stay tuned. Spoiler alert: our man on the ground is impressed.
I too was ambivalent about the Mazda, but Kris assures me that both Mazda concepts are deeply accomplished in the flesh. He tells me the surfacing is exemplary.
I don’t think anyone should be surprised to learn that the A-Class is, according to our roving reporter, as awful in the metal as it appears in photos…
I think Mazda makes the best Alfas nowadays.
Just imagine those lines and the SkyActiv-X which is rumored to be just as good as they claim it to be.
It took Mazda’s designers two years to perfect the surfacing of the recent concept cars. They also assured me that its effect on future production cars will be very much unlike what we saw with the most recent, ‘de-creased’ Mercedes models.
They’re a very determined bunch these days.
Hey Kris, I completely agree. Ever since I saw the RX Vision Concept I had to go back a step and re-evaluate their current range and how well it was designed. Also may I say that if they don’t make that concept into a real sports car (silly engine or not) this will be a crime of the Nuova Fulvia or Nissan ID-X magnitude.
To be honest, I don’t care that much about which format they choose. If they get this kind of sophisticated surfacing in production, I’ll be seriously impressed.
I’m sure the sophisticated new surfacing will see the light of day. It’s simply their next step in evolving the current design language (kodo was it?), one needs to look no further than the previous line of concept models and how little they lost in their translation to production form. So I’m expecting the next 3 to look 95% as good as the one pictured above, same goes for the 2 and 6. So I’m not concerned about that.
I’m concerned that the coupes are a dying breed, especially the kind I believe this one represents. An automobile that is designed for a gentleman. That is something I haven’t really seen in the past 15 years. Also one that is said to have been inspired by the classic Ferraris from the 50-60s and looks every much the part.
It surprises me somewhat that the Lagonda is not generating more comment. Was it a mistake to show it in black? It is very hard to make out quite what it is like. However, I think this is an excellent marque to adapt to electrric propulsion.
One thing I will say in the Lagonda’s favour – (with the proviso that I too have only the photos to work from) – is that at least they haven’t created another godawful SUV monstrosity. So it appears that lessons have been learned from the Dr. Bez days – notwithstanding the forthcoming Aston SUV of course…
On a wider point, there must be a risk in revealing one’s car / concept at a show like Geneva. With a following wind, it’s perhaps the best publicity imaginable, but there is also a strong risk of it getting lost amidst the noise and bustle. I’d suggest the latter is what has come to pass for Newport Pagnell’s flagbearers.