Geneva Preview: Pininfarina will bring B0 (B Zero) concept to Geneva
If you couldn't get enough of the gorgeous B0 (B Zero) electric car concept that the Italian design house of Pininfarina unveiled at the Paris Motor Show early last October than you might construe this as good news, it's coming to the 2009 Geneva Motor Show as well. Unfortunately, that means they won't be bringing a working prototype of the concept as had been expected. According to a report by Reuters, the Pininfarina family is selling off a majority stake in the company in an attempt to deal with its debt which, thanks to an 80 percent drop in its stock price over the past year, is many times its market capitalization.The effects of the global economic slowdown on its customers has not helped the situation and so production has been slowed at its three factories in an attempt to reduce costs.
Not only are we a little disappointed about this development but we aren't sure that leaving the prototype at home was the wisest of decisions. Since the B0 is seen as an important part of the company's future viability and the search for a buyer is about to begin in earnest, wouldn't it be prudent to trot out a marketable prototype for the world's automotive press to fawn over? We say, "Swing per la recinzione!" (Swing for the fence!) What say you?
Gallery: Pininfarina B0
[Source: Reuters]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
hodad66 8:48PM (2/23/2009)
looks like a stretched IQ......
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gorr 9:37PM (2/23/2009)
Another gasoline and battery resellers that dissapear painfully. These technologies don't work so why stick with it ?? I said that energy come from water, the rest is vegetation, humanity, foods, sun, wind, sound, music, jimmy hendrick, washing machine, tv's, etc.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2009/02/arb-chairman-ch.html#more
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ben 11:06PM (2/23/2009)
We are running battery electric cars using our abundant wind power (in the upper midwest). Rather than more homebuilt (however excellent) cars I was looking forward to cars like the Bo. I think Pina should look for hope in their electric models rather than give in, give up, because its not fully proven. The cars that will sell in the next few years will be increasingly BEV's.
btw over 1,000 homebuilt electric cars here to date! Not bad seeing how most of the builders had little or no background what so ever with cars.
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ryan 3:52AM (2/24/2009)
Am I the only one who usually skips any articles with the word "concept" in them? We need real solutions now.
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Scatter 5:27AM (2/24/2009)
"Since the B0 is seen as an important part of the company's future viability"
I'm sure i read somewhere that the company was ditching everything to focus on the B0. So I would argue that it's seen as the sole part of the company's future viability.
I'll say again that it is a hell of a design. A seriously good looking vehicle.
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John Rowell 1:02PM (2/24/2009)
I like how they're using solar cells for the grille. They get style points for that.
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