Everything used to be better! Was everything better in the past?
03/10/2015
Press days are the last two days before the opening of a motor show. In the past, these days were used to give photographers and journalists an insight into the new products.
Everything could be photographed in peace and quiet and the one or the other could be discussed with the factory representatives right up to the Board of Management.
Whether with a high ladder or a large tripod, it was possible to put the objects of desire in the right light. Regardless of whether the final exposure was 10 or even 30 seconds, you had the time and the peace and quiet to do so. Pictures of cars without crowds of people were the result, which were then shown in the media.
The press days still exist, but today they should be called "pseudo-VIP" days or even better "whoever comes can get in" days. There is hardly any other explanation for the jump from a few hundred to over 10,000 "press representatives".
For us working people, it has simply become impossible to take decent photos of the cars. Smart phone photographers, iPad users and selfie freaks make the days a horror for professionals. Countless wannabes with followers stand in the way or push themselves mercilessly in front of the professionals.
Four full laps of the new Ford GT had to pass before even once the rear of the car could be photographed without disturbing "Kreti and Pletis".
Just like at the baggage carousel at the airport, most people lose all sense of decorum and arrogantly place themselves in front of those already waiting and don't budge.
"Twitter", "Facebook", "selfies" and whatever else is out there are driving entire professions mad. Quality doesn't matter anyway, the main thing is that all colleagues and friends can immediately see what's for dinner at BMW, Porsche or Mercedes.
It was also noticeable this year that mobile network reception seemed to improve massively the closer the person making a phone call or sending a text message was to the vehicle. Leaning against the concept car, it was possible to chat for minutes with a colleague, friend or acquaintance about the weather in Geneva, the air in the Palexpo hall or some other nonsense.
This really makes you wonder whether it wouldn't make more sense to go back to basics and give the press days back to the world press.
Wouldn't it be more beneficial for everyone involved to attract attention with professional publications than to go under with indefinable selfies or some bad Facebook articles?
If you would like to see what it used tolook like at the Motor Show , please refer to our corresponding topic page. And yes, there were a lot of people on the visitor days decades ago too ...
