Geneva shows cars for the rest of us, too
06 March 2003: GENEVA MOTOR SHOW A motor show always has specialist cars and concept cars, but the main attractions have to be the bread-and-butter models that make the profits which allow the luxury of conceptualisation.
06 March 2003: GENEVA MOTOR SHOW This is the time of year that we rarely get the chance to leave the brolly and the raincoat behind, but that doesn't stop car manufacturers from continuing with the rise and rise of the reborn cabriolet scene.
05 March 2003: GENEVA MOTOR SHOW 'Between Passion and Reason' is how one of the local newspapers here headlined the 73rd International Motor Show at Geneva. Which quite sums up much of what was on display, and perhaps also hints at what the motor car actually means to most of us.
Upgraded Accent for Ireland in April
05 March 2003: GENEVA MOTOR SHOW Eugene O'Reilly of Hyundai Ireland is feeling pretty confident about the refreshed Accent due in Ireland in April. But he wasn't giving anything away about whether prices will change much when IrishCar.Com caught up with him at the Geneva Motor Show today.
Scope for new SUV at GM Daewoo
04 March 2003: GENEVA MOTOR SHOW The Daewoo Scope concept at Geneva this year indicates the importance which this fledgling new company (albeit with the resources of the world's biggest carmaker behind it) sees in getting together a full line-up of modern cars.
Peugeot: the sublime and the superb
04 March 2003: GENEVA MOTOR SHOW Though the primary interest on the Peugeot stand at Geneva today was the production version of the new 307 coupe-cabriolet (above) shown in concept form in Paris last year, one of the other intriguing ideas was the 807 Grand Turismo concept MPV.
Diesel important in GM's medium future
GM's Bob Lutz speaking at the Geneva Motor Show.
04 March 2003: GENEVA MOTOR SHOW The significance of diesel in the future of GM in Europe was strongly underlined at the carmaker's annual keynote corporate press conference this afternoon at the Geneva Show, which featured some of the company's top people both globally and in European terms.
Espace for Ireland will be VRT-beater
Paddy Barret, Jerr Nolan and Ray Cella of Renault Ireland at the Geneva Motor Show.
04 March 2003: GENEVA MOTOR SHOW Renault's new Espace large MPV will be launched in Ireland in the next month or so, and will likely be sold at less than E40,000, targeting the segment dominating Ford Galaxy with a higher comfort specification and better VRT efficiency.
Next main Peugeot to appeal to younger buyers
Emma Toner, Dave McConnell, and Mark O'Connell of the Gowan Group at the Geneva Motor Show.
04 March 2003: GENEVA MOTOR SHOW The next D-segment Peugeot, the 407, will appeal to a much younger buyer segment than much of the competition in the area dominated by the Toyota Avensis and Ford Mondeo.
Sporty Prius for launch before end of year
Steve Tormey of Toyota Ireland at the Geneva Motor Show, pictured with the Toyota fuel-cell concept car at the show.
04 March 2003: GENEVA MOTOR SHOW A new Toyota Prius which is due for launch before the end of the year will totally change the image of the rather dowdy but worthy current eco-car, which has sold around 150,000 copies worldwide.
GTC confirmed as 'very close' to next Astra
04 March 2003: GENEVA MOTOR SHOW The Opel GTC Geneve concept car which was unveiled this morning in Geneva is 'very close' to what the next 3-door Opel Astra will be like, it was confirmed to IrishCar.Com today by Opel Ireland's woman on the spot, Michaela Dennehy.
Ford's C-MAX will have three engine options
04 March 2003: GENEVA MOTOR SHOW Ford's new compact MPV, based on the critically acclaimed Focus, will be available in Ireland in September.
'Know your strength' to hold automotive future
04 March 2003: GENEVA MOTOR SHOW The future in automotive terms belongs to companies that 'know where their strengths are' according to the chairman of BMW, Dr Helmut Panke.
PRE-SHOW STORIES BELOW
03 March 2003: Specialist Alfa Romeo international tuning and design house Autodelta will showcase its latest interpretation of the Alfa Romeo 156 GTA sports saloon at the Geneva Show this week.
Toyota moving strong on fuel cell
03 March 2003: Toyota will be exhibiting its FINE-S concept fuel cell car for the first time in Europe at the Geneva International Motor Show this week.
Most powerful diesel car for reveal
28 February 2003: Volkswagen is introducing the world's most powerful diesel-engined passenger car at next week's Geneva Show - the Phaeton V10 TDI. This new model will go on sale in Germany at the end of March 2003, at a list price starting at E82,600.
Chrysler luxury concept for show
28 February 2003: The Chrysler Airflite concept will be revealed next week at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show, featuring the styling of a coupe and the practicality and function of a saloon car.
Opel reveals more of Astra concept
27 February 2003: More preview shots of what is generally accepted as the concept close to the next Opel Astra have been released.
27 February 2003: The BMW-owned MINI brand will showcase two new versions at Geneva - a howling 'works' version from Cooper, and the new diesel MINI with engines supplied by Toyota.
Compact MPV competition hots up
27 February 2003: Renault will unveil the first of two new Scenic MPVs at next week's Geneva show, a 5-seater, and a 7-seater Grand Scenic will come on line in 2004.
Volvo concept will showcase technology
27 February 2003: Volvo is to show a concept car at Geneva which showcases new technology to demonstrate how a future large, luxury Volvo estate could be fast and economical - and smarter.
26 February 2003: Peugeot's 307 Coupe Cabriolet will make its first appearance in full production guise at the Geneva Motor Show next week. It will be available in Ireland in the autumn, with a pair of 2-litre engine options outputting 138bhp and 180bhp resepctively.
Alfa roars in with sexy new models
24 February 2003: Alfa Romeo returns to the Geneva Motor Show in the first week of March with no fewer than three world premières and lots of additions to the current range.The standard production models on the stand rub shoulders with racing cars, concept cars and cars outfitted with the TI sports kit.
24 February 2003: Opel has put a new turbocharged engine into its Speedster, giving the 2-seater sports car a 0-62mph performance of 4.9 seconds.
24 February 2003: Porsche will show their new 911 GT3 at next week's Geneva Motor Show, along with the Carerra GT.
24 February 2003: Rinspeed Design, the Swiss powerhouse for automotive concepts and emotions, once again presents a unique attraction at Geneva this year, the Rinspeed Bedouin.
Signum now on order in Germany
22 February 2003: The new Opel Signum, which goes on sale in Ireland later this year, will have its world premiere at the 2003 Geneva International Motor Show. Orders are already being taken in Germany at an entry price of E23,000.
21 February 2003: Fiat's new supermini and its new compact MPV (above) will be the stars of the company's stand at the Geneva Motor Show the week after next.
Sleek new Opel concept for Geneva
21 February 2003: A special Opel concept car which will be shown at Geneva in two weeks' time - the GTC Genève - will use design cues which have already been seen in studies like the Snowtrekker and in production models like the Speedster and the Vectra.
21 February 2003: Ford is unveiling a Fusion Plus version of its Fiesta-based MPV at Geneva this year. It features exterior design enhancements including unique alloy wheels, a full perimeter body kit, and a unique front grille treatment, plus privacy glass.
C-MAX production model for Geneva
20 February 2003: The Ford Focus-based MPV, the C-MAX, will be available in Ireland later this year, following its upcoming introduction at the Geneva Motor Show.
Fiat to launch two cars, new diesel, at Geneva
09 February 2003: Fiat is to launch two new cars at the Geneva Motor Show in the first week of March, one of which the company describes as 'the compact car of the future'. The other will be an MPV in the B segment. Both are likely to be featured with the new 1.3-litre turbodiesel developed by Fiat in association with GM.
30 January 2003: A new Mitsubishi MPV, which is expected in Ireland next year, will be unveiled to the European motoring public at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.
30 January 2003: The new Daewoo Nubira, to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March and due to reac showrooms later this summer, will take to the road with a special suspension set-up in tune with European tastes and road conditions.
Coverage by Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan
©2003 irishcar.com