Everything seemed to be going well.
After the summer break, many involved with cars, both professionals and enthusiasts, were gearing up for a Frankfurt auto show pilgrimage, planning to glean what the next few years will bring to the automobile-loving public.
Everybody was expecting conversations around cars that are becoming more and more intelligent on their way to autonomous driving, electric powertrains and new design languages.
Things started that way, with plenty of world premieres, concept cars and new technologies revealed.
Electric concept cars? They were there in the form of the amazing-looking Porsche Mission E and Audi e-tron Quattro. Sport sedans? There was the Alfa Romeo Giulia and Audi S4. Futuristic concepts? Look no further than the Mercedes Concept IAA.
But the exhilaration and optimism generated lasted exactly three days. That’s when Volkswagen admitted to the disaster named Dieselgate. In the blink of an eye, the euphoria turned to depression. The ethics of the entire industry were called into question. Pundits asked if the famed “Made in Germany” brand had lost its luster forever. There were voices calling it the end of the love affair between people and cars.
Emotions ran high. But, despite the exaggerations, who could blame people for being offended? Take my personal connection to this: I recommended the supposedly clean but frugal and fun-to-drive VW diesels to friends looking for an environmentally correct, driver-pleasing vehicle. Like anyone else, I feel tricked and disappointed.
While diesel car engines probably are goners in the U.S. market after this scandal, turning this story into the end of our love relationship with our cars is a step too far.
In just a few days, we went from feeling great about a future filled with great-looking, fun-to-drive cars that pollute less to discussions of fines and recalls needed to fix engines to make them as clean as advertised.
For enthusiasts, it looked pretty glum – until a couple weeks later, when three cars designed and built purely for the joy of driving were revealed.
I know these events were planned well in advance, with no connection to VW’s controversial diesel engines. However, the mere fact the BMW M4 GTS, BMW M2 and Ferrari F12 tdf were brought into the limelight to rave reviews in a time of depressing news is significant.
It means our romance with cars still is going strong, and the industry knows it. Although not many will be built and sold, these cars are significant; they are bringing new, strong and positive emotions to an enthusiastic driving public.
So, it’s been an extreme season for car lovers everywhere. Here’s to the optimism taking over, and an exciting, fun and clean car future after all.
Theo Nissim is CEO at Silicon Valley-based software provider Gemini Solutions, and an avid auto enthusiast. Theo has owned many noisy and fast cars in his lifetime and has driven super, hyper and luxury automobiles all over the world on both tracks and roads.
