THE SHANGHAI MOTOR SHOW

Well, it's that time of year again and the wild and wacky Chinese are holding their annual (alternating with Beijing) motor show. This year's extravaganza featured the usual conglomeration of unusual Chinese celebrities and business people intermingling with an international cadre of journalists, motor executives and others -- and why not? China has rapidly become the largest automobile market in the world. Let's take a look at a couple statistics that will truly blow your mind.

In the year 2010, new car sales in the U.S. were around 11½ million. In that same year, new car sales in China jumped to over 18 million units, and they are expected to top that figure by 10-20 percent in the current year. So, if you look at these figures and recognize the astronomical growth that is occurring now, and the growth potential over the next 24 months, you see why China has become the world's hottest car market. And, of course, as established manufactures flock to set up plants and build their cars there, they are clamoring for a share of the market.

It is interesting in terms of what China doesn't have, which is an effective homegrown automobile industry base. Oh, sure, there are many, many Chinese automobile manufacturers in the country, more than I could actually name, but they don't produce products that have a market future, not only outside China, but now that the large manufacturers are coming in, even within their own country. It is a situation in which we could basically say that astronomical numbers of cars are build and sold in China, but very little is being designed in China. Well, let's take a closer look at the show, because every car maker was there with a massive presence, indicative of China’s importance.

My first star of the show is the Mercedes A Class. This car is Mercedes' new target vehicle for small hatchback class, and what made it really stunning was its design, from its unusual grille inset to its dynamic, flowing style. This car really captured the best of Mercedes' new design ethos, without the artificial and cumbersome elements that have disrupted some of Mercedes' more recent vehicles (the new CLS). This car was clean, sculpted, beautiful and dynamic, and deserved the plaudits it got in Shanghai. While the A Class platform has never been sold in the United States, the new A Class, which this car will be based on, will be sold in the United States with a 4 cylinder engine. Let's just hope that Mercedes doesn't dilute the concept when it comes into production. Traditionally, Mercedes has a history of sticking pretty close to their vision-name concepts when it comes to production models, and we hope that the A Class follows this pattern. One note about the A Class interior. The infotainment equipment was clearly the next step for Mercedes after their current command system. It featured a very large pop-up screen that essentially looks like an iPad, and has the same kind of UI and same kind of connectivity; and you can see that, as I predicted so long ago when manufacturers were still fighting Bluetooth connectivity, this is the route all manufacturers are taking, producing cars with high-quality, large-screen multi-media units which handle every conceivable infotainment, information and navigation function, and do it all with great graphics. I know this new system from Mercedes, which I have looked at in other concept iterations, will be a world-class when it comes online.

The Volvo Concept Universe was another interesting car in the show, and this clearly is the first fruit of the new ownership of Volvo by Geely, the Chinese auto conglomerate, which could never produce a worthwhile car on its own, and had to buy Volvo to start making competitive cars. This is a very significant moment in automobile history overall, because, as the Chinese buy car companies because they are so wealthy, what will they do with them?

Let's look at what Geely is doing with Volvo, and I think it’s best illuminated by the Volvo Concept Universe. This is a large, executive style sedan that has a generally modern and flowing look, but has a ridiculously ill-proportioned and bizarre front end that can only be described as Chinese design at its absolute, pretentious worst. The grille, the hood line, and the general front of the car apparently represents what the Chinese consider to be "posh" and "upmarket," while the rest of us could only think it looked atrocious and at the end of the day, just funny. Let's hope that some Volvo executives, before they are replaced by their Chinese counterparts from Geely, have enough influence to prevent this concept from coming into production.

The Audi Q3 was Audi's latest attempt at a small compact SUV. This car is one size smaller than the Q5, which gives Audi a full penetration lineup of Q7, Q5 and Q3. Actually, from a styling point of view, the Q3 is the most successful of the three because it is the sportiest, features the most tapered roof line, and generally provides an upmarket experience in a small, soft roader. I like the Q3, although it is not yet scheduled for importation to the United States. One hopes that Audi will bring it in, because it looks like a very high quality and appropriate vehicle for the times.

The Buick Envision was Buick's latest attempt at a large-scale SUV, and it was rather successful, I thought. The design was fluid and flowing. It featured a beautiful interpretation of a blacked-out B pillar, and had unusual doors which opened for the full frame of both front and rear seat passengers. Of course Buick has long been a big-selling brand in China. Long before the automotive crash of 09 and the massive evolution of China as a car market, Buick was America's largest selling brand in China. This is because the Chinese favor big, luxurious, soft-riding sedans as their primary method of transportation, and of course that is what Buick has always built. So, the Envision looks like a neat concept.

Far more relevant and beautiful was the Peugeot SxC. This was my other Star of the Show. This concept for a small SUV was one of the most dynamic and sporting propositions in the field I have seen. It’s like what the Infiniti FX could have been had it been designed by European designers. It has a low roof, a sporty design, very elegant, very minimalist, very clean, striking head and tail light designs, a very nice new-style Peugeot grille, and had a tremendous wow factor. One can only hope that Peugeot puts this car into production.

The Citroen DS5 was a car I have waited for for a long time. Several years ago Citroen introduced a concept car called the C5 Aerolounger. This was a beautiful example of a five-seat, soft-road car in the mold of the Audi Q5, but much more dynamic looking. Well, Citroen has finally built the car and introduced it as a part of their DS line. It looked good. I was a little bit disappointed in the window line between the C and D pillar, which didn't resolve itself as well as it did in the Aerolounger Concept, but still it was a very good-looking car and it had a tremendously upmarket interior. Citroen is, of course, now stacking their DS model cars with better interiors, but this really was the best I have seen. Hopefully it will be a big hit for Citroen, and we can only praise God that Citroen is back a making innovative looking cars. Thank God for the French!

Finally, the BMW 6-Series coupe completed the line, which had already included the introduction of a convertible. You know, BMW design, after being in the dark ages for so many years now seem to be coming back and certainly seemed to reach a design renaissance with the new 5 Series, which is an absolutely stunning and beautiful sedan. The 6 series coupe continues this trend. It’s a classic European and classic BMW shape that definitely will grow on us with time. Certainly not one of the terrible calamities committed by the Boy Who Couldn't Draw (Chris Bangle), but the 6 Series coupe is a little bland, and I think BMW could be a bit bolder and hopefully their Vision Dynamics Coupe, which is coming soon, can make that statement.

So that's about it for Shanghai. It was hysterical and funny and a pleasure to be involved, and it was certainly a sociological moment. Watching the influence of the automobile cultures of Europe and the United States invade China and seeing the response of the Chinese people is an interesting phenomenon. China really has had no automotive culture of their own. Their automobiles were ridiculous mock-ups of other cars for many years. Now that they are bringing in European and American lines to be built and sold in China, it will be interesting to see how this trend develops.