VILE GOSSIP

by JEAN

JENNINGS

The City of Light. And Heat.

H E PA R I S M O T O R S H OW is not on the list of the world’s most important auto shows—for instance, it comes around only once every two years, alternating with Frankfurt. But Le Mondial de l’Automobile is certainly right up there with the most desirable shows to attend. Like the New York auto show, the excitement of Paris has a lot to do with the city itself as a cultural adjunct to new-car news. The people inside the show are infused with the energy swirling outside the door and are looking forward to the magnifi cent sights of the city, fabulous dinners, and shows. It’s Paris, and Automobile Magazine hit it in full force, as evidenced by our cover and numerous stories throughout this issue. Those of you who follow automobilemag.com have already seen the pages and pages of insider information, insight, and photographs of all the important reveals live from the show fl oor. This magazine gives us more time to comb through our notebooks and ruminate on our week in the City of Light.

First, the show. It was unusually big this year, with nearly four dozen worldpremiere unveilings of signifi cance on the fi rst day, which was open only to the press. The fi rst silk drape was pulled from an Opel concept at 7:30 in the morning, and they averaged one every fi fteen minutes until Chevy’s 5:45 p.m. unveilings of four new models. (Follow Georg Kacher’s long day on page 15.) Paris was a Big Deal.

The number and quality of the corporate execs on our direct Air France fl ight from Detroit was another sign. Ed Welburn, GM’s global design veep, was snuggled in next to Steve Girsky, GM board member and vice chairman. Someone brought up the new Steve Rattner book (which is not especially kind to Girsky) and Girsky muttered, “I’m taking my Ambien now.” Jim Farley and Elena Ford, who must rack up 500,000 yearly frequent-fl ier miles as Ford’s top marketeers, boarded, said hi, and were both asleep before the fi rst champagne was poured.

My traveling compatriot, Joe DeMatio, vividly remembers Paris 2002, fi ghting for English-language press kits “shoulder to shoulder with a lot of sweaty European armpits around me.” That reminded me of how hot it was that year. France apparently shuts down the A/C on the fi rst of September, whether it needs to or not. Back in 2002, it was a steaming cauldron inside. I opened a couple of big service doors to let air in, and the security guards rushed over and shut them. That year, we fl ed the GM and Audi displays because they were on the second fl oor of the exhibition hall. Heat rises, and I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t faint before I made it back down and out the service door, which I’d opened again.

This year, I dressed for the tropics, although I found a thin stream of cold air blowing from a fl oor vent on the Mercedes stand. I returned to it whenever I needed a blast up my skirt. Good thing, because the sleek new fl at-screen displays everywhere were pumping out quite a bit of heat. But they were mesmerizing, especially at Citroën, where a 360-degree thin screen hung over the middle of the stand. The Ford stand was hot in a di erent way. You couldn’t get near CEO rock star Alan Mulally, but his image on the Ford screen was big enough to be seen from the space shuttle.

At Škoda, I found DeMatio asleep on the fl oor and Kacher admiring a scantily clad model in towering heels representing an electric car, which made zero sense. DeMatio and I then met up with Don Sherman and Jason Cammisa at Lotus, which had upped its presence from a tiny basement stall at the Los Angeles show to a massive space with fi ve cars under wraps in Hall 5. “The beginning of their end,” a nearby journalist muttered.

Colin Chapman’s hat was lying in state under glass.

I’m sure that one day, we will remember that it happened at the Paris motor show. AM

Ford CEO Alan Mulally goes all Big Brother on the wall screen running the length of the Ford stand. Shakira is only slightly more entertaining on Seat’s version of the ubiquitous fl at screen. Colin Chapman’s hat was a curiosity under glass at Lotus. 360-degree videos dominated the Citroën display. Cruel shoes at Škoda, unnoticed by the napping Joe DeMatio. My reward after a long day with the cars? Dinner at the incomparable La Coupole, where attentive waiter Yann Denis whips up a little dessert.