Re*Move

Geneva 2009: Infiniti Essence (Video) - right car, wrong time

No one appears to have told Infiniti that there’s a global financial crisis and that (apparently) the world now only wants to buy clean, economical city cars. Not that we’re saying a production version of the Infiniti Essence couldn’t be green(ish) you understand. Autopia is reporting that the real McCoy might even come with a diesel engine, coupled to a hybrid…

But don't worry about that happening - cos it'll never be built. And to be honest, we think that if it was, shoving a diesel-electric unit under the hood would be a bit of shame. There comes a time when you just have to say “stuff it”, and to be honest that’s pretty much what Infiniti have done here. It’s clearly a case of ‘right car, wrong time’, but hey, if you were 20 years old, wouldn’t you build yourself a nice birthday present?

So no, we think that this is one of those cases where a drop-dead gorgeous, large, 2-seater coupe would be just fine with a snorting great V8, thanks very much. In all seriousness, what the Essence could show though, is a way forward for Infiniti’s design language. This car has – frankly – unbelievable body surfacing. It will doubtless have its detractors, but from a design standpoint, the complex surfacing and highlights are incredibly well controlled, and the proportions of the car are pretty much spot-on. All in all, this was one of, it not the highlight of the Geneva 2009 autoshow.

We didn’t really expect it to be Infiniti who would throw caution to the wind and build a “screw you and your economic downturn” supercar concept, but we’re rather cheered by the fact that they did – and that it looks as good as this. See for yourself in the Video (top).

With thanks to Drew Smith – who pointed out the Infiniti, which I had previously missed due to tiredness and stupidity, as one of the stars of the show – and who makes a cameo voice-over appearance in the video. Check out his Downsideupdesign blog, too – because it rocks.

Posted by Joseph Simpson on 5th March 2009

Geneva auto show 2009: video review (in three parts)

 

I spent a (very) long day on Tuesday at the 2009 auto salon in Geneva. Setting out to see all the major new unveils and concept cars was a tough job, but hey, someone had to do it! The key aim of the day was to try and gauge the mood of an auto industry which is currently up against the wall in face of a global recession and plummeting sales.

While the show floor was packed with new models and concepts, there was little from the industry to suggest it had the answers to its current issues. Instead, there was a mildly defiant air of 'business as usual', but a sense it might be slowly sinking in among some that 'business as usual' might not work for very much longer. It can be hard to try and take in everything at a show as big as Geneva, whether you're on the show floor or sitting behind a computer watching the world's automotive sites fight to get pictures up first. So, as an experiment, for the last half hour of press day one, I ran around the floor shooting footage and providing commentary on (almost) all of the important launches (sorry Opel, I know the Ampera's important, but it does so little for me (visually) that I forgot to film it!).

The videos are split into three, and each lasts ten minutes or less. If you weren't on the show floor earlier this week, then hopefully they give you a sense of what it was like to be there.

The first video features Infiniti, Hyundai, Ferrari, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley and VW:

The second covers a bit more of VW, Nissan, Honda, Fisker, Dacia and Toyota:

And the third and final one covers Kia, Alfa, Ford, Aston, Magna Steyr, BMW, Mercedes and Rolls Royce - before me rounding off with a few thoughts and feelings from the show:

Check back later for more from Geneva, and as ever, if you were there, have thoughts, agree or disagree, or have a question on anything here, do leave a comment or drop me a line.

Posted by Joseph Simpson on 5th March 2009