Paris Auto Show " One Year After" - The Glitz Is Back

PARIS, Sept 27, 2002; Rebbeca Harrison writing for Reuters reported that snazzy new cars, blaring music, a soccer hero and a pop diva put the glitz and glamour back in the Paris car show this week after the September 11 attacks cast black clouds over last year's event in Frankfurt.

French President Jacques Chirac toured the show on Friday, joining French soccer star Zinedine Zidane, diminutive pop queen Kylie Minogue and thousands of journalists and industry insiders for a sneak peek of the latest gleaming vehicles before the show opens to the public this weekend.

Keen to convince visitors that the industry, which is battling tough economic conditions, has lost none of its shine, the world's top carmakers blasted out dance music as they showed off funky concept cars they hope will lure buyers to their more mundane family saloons.

True to auto show tradition, scantily clad women posed and pouted over the bonnets of sleek new vehicles as company bosses checked out their competitors' stands.

"It looks like business as usual," said French automotive journalist Bernard Nadier, as he studied luxury carmaker BMW's flash new Z4 sports car. "Everyone seems to be ignoring the fact that the market is pretty rough and focusing on the glitz and glamour of the new products."

FRANKFURT GLOOM

Such hoopla suddenly came to a halt at last year's show in Frankfurt after the hijacked plane attacks on the United States turned attention away from cars to the market fall-out.

A year on from the attacks, some analysts reckon the industry's slowdown is ending and sales may start to pick up soon, but others warn that the possibility of war in Iraq could deal another blow to already shaky demand.

"Last year was pretty depressing - it seemed a bit inappropriate to be talking about fancy cars after September 11," said Lorenz Bittner, a designer at Japan's Subaru.

"This year there are parties after the show, the music is blaring and they even had Kylie," he said with a grin, referring to the Australian pop star who graced the Ford stand for the presentation of its new Streetka roadster on Thursday.

FRENCH DESIGN SCHOOL

Fast sports cars from Ferrari and BMW, and smooth but sturdy models from Bentley and Porsche seemed to steal the show in terms of wow-factor. Burly security guards struggled to keep the motoring press off the Ferrari stand as the firm presented its new Enzo supercar.

"For me the BMW Z4 was the winner -- it's stylish and sporty and probably the most exciting car here," said Katarina Paulsson, a public affairs products manager at Swedish maker Volvo, owned by Ford.

But new models at French mass carmakers Renault and Peugeot-Citroen PSA also pulled crowds and scored points with guests for daring design.

"The French cars have really surprised us with a bunch of creative new models that show they are really at the forefront of design," said one Dutch motor journalist as he ran his hand over Renault's a new Megane II, which sports a coupe styling with an sharp-angled rear profile.

Renault, whose sales have suffered in recent months from an ageing lineup, hopes the Megane II range will drum up sales and boost its share in Europe's most important mid-sized car segment.

"The Megane is a love it or hate range, but it's so different from the trend that you have to admire them for thinking in new ways," said Paulsson.