We could hardly see the cars for the girls in the wire pictures for China Auto 2006. Now, you might wonder what's wrong with young mainland and Russian lasses donning skimpy kit for a capital pout on a bonnet. But pretty girls are such a routine part of motoring writing, we now focus on the cars.
Although models have long played a role in vehicle marketing, the Beijing Auto girls need to learn that the car, not them, are the centre of attention - particularly when the mainland hopes to export.
Clockwise from top left (of first four below): See how a Beijing stunner steals a Range Rover's limelight; another obscures the A-pillar of the Dongfeng Nissan Sylphy, whose bonnet isn't quite closed; and three crowd about the BYD F-8. Then there's the subtlety of Chrysler's presentation of the new 300C with the 'Arsenal Back Four' technique on the Changhe-Suzuki stand, where you'll have to bend your eye like Beckham to get to the 1.4-litre, Euro IV-compliant Landy 'smart multi-purpose vehicle'. But our car of the show is the 1955 Chrysler 300 (below), presented, at a respectful arm's length, by the besuited Chrysler Group president Tom Lasorda. Now, that's the way to show a car.
We congratulate the drivers of the 36 Mercedes-Benz E-Class that arrived at Beijing's Yongding Gate after a 14,000km drive from Paris. We can think of worse cars for a transcontinental trek, especially as the facelifted models have Presafe; brakes whose lights flash on deceleration and activate the hazard warning lights when the vehice's at a stop; and new lights that adapt for town and motorway driving and cornering, with sharper fog lights.
Dealer Zung Fu lists nine models of E-Class, with prices ranging from HK$478,000 for a 1,796cc E200 Kompressor, to HK$688,000 for a 3,498cc V6 E350 Elegance, and HK$1.388 million for a 6,208cc V8 E63 AMG saloon.
We hope the local dealers highlight the E-Class' endurance at its Mercedes-Benz High Performance Vehicle Motor Show, which runs from 10am until 7pm, today and tomorrow, at Hall 1C of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai.
