The purpose of an auto show is to give people an idea of what they will be driving a few years from now. Even the most radical concept has some grounding in reality, whether it's the design reflecting the direction the company is headed, the way it's powered, or some of the other technology which is supposed to enhance the driving experience. While the Paris Auto Show has less relevance for North American buyers than most - the big stands are dominated by Renault and Peugeot, who don't sell cars here -- there are always people monitoring the show to spot trends and new ideas.
Judging by most of the reveals, we're all going to be driving supercars. Seriously, in an abrupt departure from the environmental focus that has been in vogue for the last several years, Paris is all about horsepower and insanity. Lotus unveiled five new sports cars at the show, Lamborghini brought only one, but it was the most off the wall. Audi's biggest reveal was a tribute to their successful Quattro rally car. Renault and Jaguar both tried to marry environmental responsibility and the need to fit in by making supercar concepts powered by batteries, and batteries with a turbine back up respectively. A look at the exhibits shows a wide and varied range of cars with ridiculous amounts of horsepower.
Even among the vehicles most relevant to this area, it was power that ruled the day. Ford brought out a rally version of their Fiesta, and their big Focus reveal was the ST model, which might go on sale here. It was shown with a turbo four which makes 247 horsepower. That's a lot in a Focus. Hyundai announced a partnership with famous tuning house Brabus - known primarily for making Mercedes-Benz vehicles with irrational amounts of power. Chevrolet showed off a new Aveo which is somewhat better looking. Alright that last one isn't quite fitting in with the speed theme that dominated that show, but it is good news for dealers.
This isn't to say that there weren't a number of small, electric, environmentally-friendly concepts out there. There were several, from a Saab with a big leaf on the side to the Renault Twizy, which is so small that passengers look like they're cuddling. Like usual, the electrics ranged from fairly useless, to ambitious, to almost ready to go on the market.
Regardless, even the kinder, gentler concepts were still pretty aggressive. While Nissan's Townpod concept looked like it was made out of marshmallows, it was the exception at the show. The rest of the styling was aggressive, no matter how petite or green the car was purported as being. Even the Aveo looks like it wants to do something slightly rebellious.
Green concepts have always had a kinder, gentler look, so the change is abrupt but welcome. If people respond to angry looking cars, it shows a movement towards electrics for everyone, rather than the very niche market to which they are currently pitched.
What Paris showed off was ambition and a bit of anger, an industry which is tired of being kicked around. In some cases the ambition is a bit overreaching, five models from a small company like Lotus seems foolish. Still, it seems that manufacturers think any recession is fading away, and now it's time to angrily take back the market. It should be fun to watch.
