Running from July 23 through Aug. 1, 2010, the nation’s biggest annual vehicle exhibition will see a significant increase in participants, expanding its overall space at the Jakarta International Expo to 100,000 square meters from last year’s 60,000 square meters.

At least 22 vehicle brands, accompanied by 155 car accessory companies, will swarm the four main halls, the semi hall, the covered entrance and the outdoor space of the venue.   

Targeting to attract at last 260,000 visitors, the display of breathtaking concept cars is just one of the lures. The splashing out of new rides from various brands, on the other hand, is going to be the main highlight.   

For premium brands, BMW says in a press release it will display four new models in addition to the BMW M1 Homage concept car at the event, namely the new BMW 5 Series, the new BMW Gran Turismo, the all new BMW X1 and the new BMW X5 M.

Another German car producer, Audi, is going all-out with its line of super cars, most notably the Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro and Audi R8 V10 Spyder. “We’re not going to just display the Spyder, it will in fact be up for sale. Anyone wanting to own the car after seeing it can have it right there,” said Wanny Bhakti on one occasion, the public relations manager of Garuda Mataram Motor (GMM), the Indonesian license holder for Audi.

More affordable yet still stylish, a number of city cars will also enjoy their debut at the 18th IIMS.

Chevrolet, for example, has finally brought in the All New Spark, one of the toughest, meanest small cars on earth just months after releasing the sleek Chevrolet Cruze.

Powered by a 1.2 liter S-Tech II DOHC engine, Spark’s astounding aspects rely on its unusual exterior design. Though the more extreme exterior from its concept has been dropped, the polished result is still tougher than the average, adorned by tough straight lines and what remain aggressive huge headlights.

The interior is definitely way too stylish for its price range, replacing the monotonous cabin with touches of colorful patterns on the seats and digital display on the dashboard.

The five-seat compact nevertheless appears small for a five seater and could be quite uncomfortable for over-sized people. With a maximum power of 82 bhp/6400 rpm and maximum torque of 108 bhp/4800 rpm, the little beast is made to dance along the narrow streets of Jakarta.

The only thing that might be a problem for the market is the car’s lack of automatic transmission as it comes only in five-speed manual here. Yet the rest of the car — the look, the 170 liters of baggage space and the spacious cabin for back row passengers — is definitely a plus.

Another competitor to consider in the same class is the equally astounding Hyundai i10, which is more like the wolf in sheep’s clothing, and the latest Indian produced Suzuki Alto. But there’s no doubt about it that All New Spark, for a start, definitely has the most comfortable front cabin in this class.

Seemingly without the intention of breaking the bank, Chevrolet’s All New Spark is marketed at a very reasonable price, that is, Rp 139 million on the road. The Hyundai i10 costs is slightly less.

Another new car to look keep an eye on is one from Ford. Aimed at kicking the behind of competitors in the market dominated by the Honda Jazz, the Mazda 2, the Suzuki Swift and the Toyota Yaris, Ford Motor Company is gracing this year’s IIMS with the debut of its fantastic All New Ford Fiesta, a big seller in Europe and presumably soon in Indonesia.

There are reasons why we’re optimistic about the new Ford, and that includes the overall aspects of the car. Made entirely by AutoAlliance Thailand, a result of Ford and Mazda’s latest cooperation, the new Fiesta has got everything figured out to make it a worthy competitor.

Comfort-wise, the Ford design team seems to have done extra work in making sure the All New Fiesta is larger than the previous model, making it both spacious and mean. The static pounce position embedded on its exterior is superb, making it almost shorter in height than the average. The foxy-eyes headlight design contributes to the magnificent front appearance of the car, highlighted by smooth elegant lines with daring black grill design.

The car might also have the most outstanding rear design in its class, although the thick c-pillars and small rear windscreen could make parking a bit of a challenge.

It, nevertheless, compensates by the car’s interior design. It’s a bit shocking to know that a car in that particular class comes complete with features normally found in cars of a higher class.

The silvery center-stack design looks bright on the center of the dark dashboard with supposedly
a red LCD screen on top. The steering wheel design is way more luxurious than expected. Its Human
Machine Interface technology provides Bluetooth connectivity and voice activation control with USB and AUX features for mobile phones and MP3 players.    

 We’ve heard that the All New Fiesta’s maneuvering abilities stand out, supported by a highly dependable chassis. There are also rumors about the strength, possibly powered by 1.4 or 1.6 liter engine, but Ford is keeping tightlipped until the kicking off of IIMS 2010.

Other new cars that can be seen at the IIMS 2010 are Exora Premium from Malaysian car producer Proton, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport 3.8, Foton MPX, Suzuki Swift GT3 limited edition and New Hyundai Tucson ix35 SUV.

And yes, there will be more, but you will have to go there to see them for yourself.



The splashing out of new rides from various brands, on the other hand, is going to be the main highlight.

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