“Go away,” said the flustered young man from a major Japanese car company. “I am too busy to talk to you. Come back at prayer time.”
It was nice to know that business was good; low marks for PR, but with 50 percent or so of the Saudi car market, who needs it? But then retail exhibitions are like that; pressure, flounces, successes and failures all woven into a rich tapestry of flummery, fantasy fulfillment and bad temper and the odd little islands of very sensible bits. Wonderful stuff!
The Jeddah International car show, which ended on Wednesday, was all of that. Not seen in the city for two years, it burst on the scene with a wealth of launches, a striking concept car from KIA and a prominent presence from the Jeddah Traffic police that attracted very great interest.
The national male love affair with cars ensured that the attendance was high. Conspicuous by their absence from the show were the top-end brands — Mercedes, BMW and the ultra luxury and sports car makers. Perhaps this indicates an adequacy of sales or more likely reflects the reality of the financial appeal of the mass car producers for the burgeoning entry level and mid range market in the Kingdom that is driven by demographics.
“We have given away most of our literature,” said an officer manning the stand. “Interest has been high and the reaction of the public to our videos has been gratifying.”
An official at the stand said that the number of visitors was overwhelming. More than 5,000 traffic police awareness and regulation publications were given away during the first
two days, he said. Most of the enquiries had been about the new style license plates, new traffic regulations and interest as to what the traffic police had to offer.
The videos ranged from cars “donutting” on quiet roads for the amusement of spectators to spectacularly stupid road manners and the gruesome results of accidents resulting from them. Adding a note of shamefaced sobriety, slightly less arrogant souls arrested for these transgressions were interviewed while behind bars for the camera.
The display certainly grabbed the attention of the visitors.
One of the viewers Saad Al-Umari, a 19 year-old high school graduate, said that he visited the stand to get updated about traffic regulations and fines especially as he had recently obtained his driving license. “The booklets that I found here about regulations and safety measures were very interesting to read because they are quite thorough and informative,” he said.
Talal Al Ruhaili, a Saudi in his early 40s, came to the stand with his four-year-old son to watch the video. He said that it was a good chance to show his son the dangers that might occur when violating traffic regulations. “Awareness is a good method to solving problems,” he said, adding that all young boys should understand the responsibility that lies upon them when they are behind the wheel.
Having experienced the safety and awareness, the elements of the show that attracted the crowds had to be the opportunity to indulge in the fantasy of ownership. Seductively presented entirely dent and scratch free, the gleaming offerings and (mainly) enthusiastic sales force tempted the visitors. Banks and finance company stands frequently had queues.
However for some a car is a car. The KIA stand showed an exotic looking machine that was not a car but fantasy incarnate. The massively proportioned squat Mesa, yet to be put into production, was butch enough to satisfy the most ardent armchair Rambo. The low roofline and massively chiseled body on huge wheels that looked solid enough to support a Jumbo Jet lifted the hearts of the visitors.
Amr Mahasseny — business development director at Modern Ajwad Commercial Investment Co, agents of KIA motors in the Kingdom — said, while gently batting enthusiastic young men away from trying to climb over the ropes around the car to get a closer look, that the Mesa was designed to compete in the high-end 4x4 market alongside cars such as Range Rover within a year or two.
“They usually change the wheels when they go into production,” he said. A shame, that they were really something else.
Not resting at that, KIA is to produce a competitor for the much-loved Volkswagen Golf — produced in Slovakia they have nicknamed it the Golf Killer; we’ll see.
Toyota had the new FJ Cruiser perched on rocks to attract the crowd. The FJ’s wacky no-center-pillar appearance is certainly arresting. Deliberate styling cues from the first-generation Land Cruiser include round headlights with an integrated grille, the upright windshield, the white-cap roof, and wraparound rear glass.
Jin Won Kim who designed the FJ is said to have derived its urgent stance from his pet childhood pet, a pit bull. “I’ve been inspired by the stance of the pit bull when it’s about to attack-it’s got that forward-leaning gesture and a really strong stance.” Fantasy? Why not — it is a motor show! At least an original refutation to the suggestion that Toyota is jumping on the recent retro-styling bandwagon.
Outside the main hall, exotic confections customized almost beyond the limits of street credibility were there for all to see.
The cars were as interesting; the “Jeddah Boys” and individual car-nuts cheerfully showed off their once standard cars now fitted with “gull wing” and “insect wing” doors, side opening hoods and trunks and very disturbing hydraulic suspension. It was unnerving to watch what appears to be a standard vehicle drop sharply and lift a wheel of the ground. The enthusiasm and devoted attention that had been lavished on these vehicles was clear. There was nothing wrong with the mechanical knowledge or work ethic of these lads that was for sure.
Now it is all over for at least another year. Profit and loss — well, leave that to the bean counters. The memories taken away with the bags of freebies and the few moments of fantasy were what the crowds came for.
