English
Italian
SIAM 2017: ECO-Show à ciel ouvert
SSalon International de l’Automobile
ECO-Show à ciel ouvert
Words: Tommaso Mogge
Photography: Giorgia Rossi
–
February’s first rays of the sun brought an important innovation for the automotive enthusiasts worldwide, an innovation that responds to the name of “Salon International de l’Automobile”. At its first edition, the Monaco event has attracted curious and media from around the world and all in the name of ecology, innovation and prestige. We know that in the Principality of Monaco, the electric and hybrid argument is deeply felt and is still a way that more and more brands feel to take into account, offering to those who need to move around without polluting and spend tons of cash in fuel, always greater and more and more choices exploitable in the real world. Electricity is no longer a mirage but rather a solid answer and a show that is able to make you touch and test many of the proposals on the market is definitely a breath of fresh air.
We at Auto Class we followed the evolution of the event since the morning of the first day, Thursday 16 and along the four days of the fair we could see that the offer is really varied and that the public was not at all indifferent to this new initiative married by the same Prince Albert, who also attended the inauguration. The show à ciel ouvert has opened its doors on time and many people were ready to enter in what was the main area (Quai Albert I), where brands like Lexus, Suzuki, Mercedes, Nissan were exposed but also Lamborghini (with the very rare Centenario) and Renault, although not all officially. We also met our friends from the Montecarlo Automobile with a Tecno F1 and some clubs, retailers and companies that have alternated the eco subject to that of the supercars we all intend. We appreciated the children spot with a large fleet of electric models that could be “tested” by the children present, just in front of the tent exposing the Tresor concept along with three cars chosen by the Prince’s collection. Moving a few hundred meters and reaching the always sparkling Place du Casino, we took a look at the Porsche proposals, which consisted of a 718 Boxster S, a Macan Turbo and the new Panamera Hybrid. In this case it was not very clear the sense to opt for a different area, since the cars were only three and virtually zero staff was there to accommodate the visitors. Last stage, by far the most difficult to reach, the one in front of the Prince’s Palace, where however the Tesla guys were able to set up a very attractive area, with a lot of Model S and Model X and, above all, a nice staff ready to welcome people and driving them to the discovery of the electric car par excellence.
SIAM’s first edition is so gone in archives after four days blessed by the weather, with numbers that may satisfy but we think the organization needs to change the format for next year’s edition. Starting from the location of the different areas, of which only one represented a truly fair area closed to the public, up to the exhibitors (come on, we also had hot rods!) and the type of exposition of the same cars. Being in Montecarlo, the average visitor (and us in first lane) would have expected an eye towards those cars that fill our dreams, regardless of their role in the eco project they wanted to focus on. An adequate media support lacked and in less than half an hour you would have visited the entire event twice, except for the road to go from one area to another and for the terrible traffic due to the inhuman amounts of road works along the streets of the Principality. The only positive note has been the Tesla official stand which also allowed us to make a test drive with the new Model X – for the rest, we are confident that this experience will serve to grow the organization and make the second edition a viable alternative to other motor shows, trying to remain attractive for real cars enthusiasts, even if focusing on such alternative vehicles.
Related tags to article
