Sydney Motor Show

[gmd97]

went to the sydney motor show yesterday. quite good, but was a bit disappointed there were no porsche or jaguar stands there. i can understand that jag might not have had any new models to show off, but porsche had the cayenne and the carrera GT for people to see.

probably the highlight of the show was the lambo stand, which had a black gallardo and two murcielagos (sp?).

any australians heard why car manufacturers have been pulling out? is it due to vandalism? i noticed most sports/prestige brands werent letting people into the cars, and VW had "These vehicles have been locked due to vandalism" signs everywhere.

[cho_888]

it is a real disapointment that a few people have to go and ruin the fun for the rest of us. at melbourne last year, i even got in the V12 7 series BMW. the only thing you couldnt go near were the ferraris and lambos.

[Kangaroo Boy]

I went last year,and anything sporty was off limits except BMW.I was lucky last year,Jaguar stand was up and running and same as MG and VW.

[sikx5]

At the brissy one they had every car locked...must have be something in brisbane the organisers dont like...and the enzo didnt rock up either...so pissed about that :x

[stracing]

i'll post some pics soon
bit dissapointed the carrera gt wasn't there. they say it takes upto 500k to hire space for display. so now porsche is doing it bi-annually. also the brera was damaged in transit.
anyways the girls at alfa, renault and peugeot made up for it.

[cho_888]

yeah porsche were not in melbourne this year either! i was pissed

[gmd97]

. they say it takes upto 500k to hire space for display. so now porsche is doing it bi-annually.


u would think that they could let porsche into it at a discounted rate, as they are one of the major attractions at the show. though i guess then ferrari, lambo etc would want a discount and they would lose out.

[stradale]

Here in the Netherlands we have the same problem. The autoshow of Amsterdam, the AutoRAI, is only once every two years. Still, this year BMW thought it wasn't worthwhile to show up. They say the dutch market is too small to spend that much money on a stand. Ferrari, Lamborghini etc were there, but who knows for 2005. Maybe they'll skip the AutoRAI as well.

The mistake BMW made here and Porsche and Jaguar in Sydney IMO is this. Their products do so well because enthusiasts love them. That largely gives the marque and the cars the respect they have on the streets. And, unfortunately or not, that's why most people want to buy them. By neglecting the enthusiasts by not showing up they damage that. Because to the enthusiasts it's not all about sales figures and costs. I'm not saying I don't like BMWs anymore, but my respect for the marque has certainly dimished because of it. I think this will turn out to backfire one day.

[stracing]

well gemballa was there. i was hoping they had the 750hp one but nope they didn't.

they had a 4.8L twin turbo cayenne. imagine my mum driving that when i was at school. that would've of been so cool, get to see all the envious faces. :mrgreen:

[gmd97]

yeah, that 500 hp boxter was nice... though u could get a 911 turbo for less.