I first met the young Chinese lady inside a Volvo C30, a new two-door baby hatchback, as, she politely leaned over and pushed my feet away from the floor pedals. I was at the Paris Motor Show to take in the scene; she was there to snap digital photos of window latches, push-buttons and other interior fIx ings. I bumped into her again-quite literally-in the new Lexus LS600 hybrid. And I saw her and several others like her taking photos inside a Citroen Picasso minivan, a Bentley Con tinental GTC convertible and even a tiny Smart. Naturally, I was getting curious, so I asked her what she was up to. With a What were those broad grin and perfect English, she sai she had been brought to Paris by her employel; one of the larger China's car makers makers, though which one she wouldn'tsay. Her company planned to launch cars in Europe and the U.S. and wanted to knowwhat the competition was up to.
She and her colleagues, all clad in brown smocks, then con tinued on their errands-the latest sign of China's rising pro fIle in the auto industry. Honda already has begun e},,-porting Chinese compact cars to Em'ope, and cars from China's Chel'J! Automobile may be headed to America via a joint ventm'e \vith DaimlerChrysler. My new friend promised we'd meet again ~in 2008 or 2010. By then, she said, she would be in sales, promoting her company's cars.
Other countries were represented amply at the show.
France's home teams had the flashiest displays, led by Citl'Oen and its concept C-Metisse with gull-wing doors; they open to re veal the entire interior. Peugeot's new top-of-the-line 908RC also attracted big crowds. Though BMW's redesigned X5 was ab sent, its new-looking 3-series and Mini Cooper were winners.
As for the U.S. entries, the new Dodge Nitro, a souped-up cousin of Chrysler's Jeep Liberty, clearly won fans. That was a ' surprise, given that a fIll-up in France can cost 80 bucks or more.
Source: Barron's-JAY PALMER
