Saturday, July 26, 2008

Motorshow: 2008 British International Motorshow



































Yesterday, we attended the British International Motorshow (BIM). Although, in the morning it wasn't crowded, during the afternoon, it was heaving.

Its not surprising that Ford attracted heaps of attention thanks to the new Fiesta hatchback and Kuga SUV. Both cars had people swarming around them, particularly the Fiesta. So much so, there was a queue just to sit inside it. To draw more people in, Ford did a song and dance exclusively for the Fiesta's launch. The Fiesta looks just as good in pictures as in real life.

The Top Gear stand showed off Richard Hammond's pink Suzuki Vitara police car, alongside James May Lexus LS and Jeremy Clarksons Fiat Coupe police cars. Although the cars belonged to the BBC, no-one was allowed to sit in them.

The all-new Nissan Murano showed up with the Qashqai+2, Cube Denki and GT-R super-car, including the half-cut GT-R. The Qashqai+2 is a slightly revised and longer version of the regular Qashqai, just with a tweaked bootlid, boxier roofline and radiator grille.

The Murano sat alongside another 2 new Murano's. The interior was defiantly an improved over the outgoing model. Its fresh, practical and stylish. The front fascia turned me and others off since it looked as if the headlamps and radiator grille seamlessly blended into one, unlike the previous model. The 3.5 V6 petrol engine now emits 261g/km of CO2 and returns 18.5mpg around town and 25mpg combined. The current V6 emitted 295g/km CO2 and had a combined fuel economy of 23mpg. A diesel isn't planned but could find its way under the hood sometime in 2010. Both the Qashqai+2 and Murano crossover will go on sale in October with the Murano statring at £33k. All 3 GT-R's were on stands so no-one had any access into the cars. The Cube Denki looked chic and stylish. Its LED headlamps turned many heads along with its futuristic exterior and interior. The production version of the Cube will be unveiled at the Los Angeles motorshow in October.

The Renault Megane concept wowed the crowds with its unique gull-wing opening doors and its sleek, smooth exterior styling. This will be its last motorshow debut, before the production model premieres at October's Paris autoshow. The Laguna Coupe concept also stood with the Megane in its own stand. A production-version of the Kangoo MPV will go on sale in Spring 2009.

Like many other cars at the show, Telsa didn't let anyone sit inside their new Roadster, which uses electricity to power it. A host of other electric cars were on display like the Smart ED, G-Wiz, Paggio Porter and the Quiet Car Company electric car.