Features

GENEVA — Volkswagen’s functional Passat family car may have taken top honours as car of the year at the annual Geneva Motor Show, but there is no doubt what the visitors come to see at this glitzy gathering: high-end supercars.

When doors open to the public on Thursday, there will be plenty for crowds to gawk at, with unveilings by Ferrari, Lamborghini and Mercedes sure to turn heads and get cameras flashing.

“There are an awful lot of fast cars and supercars on display this year,” said Jim Holder, editor in chief of Autocar magazine. “What you see now is an industry that has got its swagger back and wants to show off a bit rather than put its hair shirt on about high miles per gallon and these slightly more mundane things.”

Ferrari 488 GTB

The legendary sports car maker from Maranello, Italy, is sure to draw crowds with its 488 GTB, which CEO Amadeo Felisa says is “not an evolution — it’s a new car”. Drawing on the company’s long racing history, its newly designed turbo-charged V8 engine accelerates the two-seater from stop to 100kph in 3 seconds flat.

Felisa vaunted the engine’s characteristic Ferrari sound, the “deep, seductive soundtrack” in Ferrari’s words. “It’s the sound of a sports car,” Felisa said in answer to questions from reporters who noted that Ferrari’s turbo-charged California had lost that trademark scream.

Ferrari has even invented a new shade of its legendary red colour for the 488’s paintjob. Millions of tiny particles are suspended in the paint to give it extra glossiness.

Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce

During a demo, the driver for the Superveloce (superfast, in Italian) made sure to gun the engine and show off the metallic music made by its mighty 750 horsepower engine.

It has the classical Lamborghini design — low-slung, angular and lethal looking with lots of expensive carbon fibre materials. It can hit a a top speed of 350kph and its powerful brakes can bring it to a stop in only 30 metres from 100kph.

It’s not environmentally friendly, however — it puts out 375 grammes of carbon dioxide per kilometre, compared with the fleet average limit of 130 grammes, and consumes an average 16 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres.

Audi R8

The German luxury carmaker from Ingolstadt in Bavaria unveiled its second-generation R8 supercar on its stand in Geneva.

With a V10 engine capable of zero to 100 kph in 3.2 seconds, and an aluminium and carbon fibre chassis shared with the Lamborghini Huracan, the new R8 weighs 50kg less than its predecessor while being 40 per cent more stiff, Audi says. Style cues from Audi’s TT roadster are present, but the muscular angles and scooped out sides scream supercar.

European versions of the car will have optional laser-powered high beam headlights with cameras to help drivers see further. Audi is also introducing an electric version of the R8, with a battery pack capable of reaching a range of 444km and matching Tesla’s Model S in performance.

Mercedes-Maybach S-600 Pullman

The new Mercedes-Maybach S-600 Pullman is a limousine of nearly unheard of luxury. With armour cladding as an option, the new Pullman is more than a metre longer than the next biggest Mercedes S-class and significantly taller, too.

After noting that John Lennon owned an original Pullman which he modified by adding a state-of-the-art Hi-Fi system, Mercedes unveiled the massive limo beneath a video recording of the Fab Four performing “Can’t Buy Me Love” — and at over $500,000, few in the crowd could contemplate buying the car either.

Four quilted leather reclinable seats face each other in the limo’s rear, with a champagne cooler in easy reach. A retractable glass partition can transform from transparent to opaque at the push of a button for more privacy.

BMW 2-Series Gran Tourer

What’s a minivan doing on this list? The new 2-Series Gran Tourer might not be a supercar, but it is a blinged-out people mover for “young active families,” the Munich-based carmaker says.

BMW says its the first premium compact able to carry up to seven people, including up to five child seats for those carpool runs to football games or birthday parties.

Based on BMW’s Active Tourer, the “Gran” version adds more space as well as seating configurations. With rear seats folded into the floor and the middle row seats collapsed, storage space can be added or removed as needed — up to 1.9 cubic metres according to BMW.

The $30,000 van aims to help BMW take on rivals such as Renault’s Grand Scenic in a market category that BMW hasn’t traditionally competed in.

BANGKOK — They sell everything from noodle soup to sex toys, but Bangkok’s famed street hawkers are now facing a crackdown as authorities in the fast growing metropolis struggle to make space for pedestrians on the crowded pavements.

The move to relocate thousands of sellers from main roads to side streets or restrict touting to the night is part of a campaign to “reclaim the sidewalks” that comes as the ruling junta vows to “clean up” Thailand’s image.

Bangkok residents have long shared their streets with merchants, relying on them for cheap meals and household goods, while tourists are readily found haggling over knock-off handbags, T-shirts or cut-price DVDs.

The stalls that festoon many streets have come to define one of Southeast Asia’s most vibrant cities, but are also prompting complaints from some Thais who decry them as hazards — raising questions over how the bustling capital uses its public space.

“We must return most sidewalks to the people,” said Police Major General Vichai Sangparpai, claiming vendors had colonised around a dozen of the city’s main roads, obstructing people and traffic as well as damaging the environment.

Action to tackle the congestion has gained momentum since Thailand’s generals seized power last May, cracking down on activities including gambling and drug-use in a mission to “restore order” to the nation.

Operations are already under way to evict hawkers from cluttered beaches in tourist hot spots such as Phuket.

But, for the most part, Bangkok’s vendors “will be allowed to sell” if they shift to designated zones or stop selling at peak hours, according to Vichai.

Dividing the city

Pouring cups of instant coffee from his cart, Mongkol Moradokpermpun said he is one of 3,000 vendors at Khlong Thom market, in Bangkok’s historic heart, who have been given until March 1 to relocate several kilometres away.

The 59-year-old, who has sold drinks at the same spot for three decades, is worried about the cost of commuting to the new site.

“If they don’t change their mind, thousands of people will suffer. It will affect our business. Every family will have problems,” he said.

It is a common view at the areas being targeted.

In downtown Silom, noodle-seller Juttigan Jitcham told AFP the new ban on daytime sales has halved her income.

“I can no longer pay school fees for my children,” the 30-year-old said as she dished up steaming bowls of noodles to evening customers.

Apart from congestion, the crackdown is also taking aim at the criminal networks — and graft-prone officials — that have flourished in-step with the mushrooming number of vendors.

A Thai army officer was charged last July with extorting money from salesmen in the seedy Patpong area, a wedge of go-go bars and stalls popular with tourists.

According to Bangkok’s town hall, there are 20,000 registered vendors, but thousands more operate without a permit in a nation where a sprawling informal sector accounts for Thailand’s remarkably low unemployment rate.

A government survey in 2000 found up to 400,000 people touted goods on the capital’s streets, a number thought to have risen with growing numbers of middle-class vendors joining the ranks of lower-income sellers, many of whom have migrated from Thailand’s poorer northeast.

Public backlash

Narumol Nirathron, an academic from the social administration department of Thammasat University, says while curbs are needed to control overcrowding authorities need a broader plan to address vendors’ needs.

“I am worried about the effect on the poor who depend on street vending for their livelihood,” she said. “The pavement is not only for the pedestrian but it’s for the people to earn their living also.”

Roadside sellers bind different elements of Bangkok, a capital with a large and widening wealth gap, by bringing together street food patrons from all parts of society and injecting energy and colour into the city.

But they are also facing a growing public backlash.

A Facebook page campaigning for the rights of pedestrians in Bangkok has more than 8,000 “likes” and is full of angry posts blaming vendors for monopolising sidewalks.

Some instead laud Singapore’s model for retaining budget food with efficiency by relocating traders during the 1980s to dedicated hawker centres.

Yet Narumol thinks Bangkok could never go as far to de-clutter its streets. “It’s too integral a part of Thai life,” she said.

In recent weeks, authorities have wrestled back control of sidewalks in parts of the city by demarcating pitches with freshly painted yellow lines.

But long-time hawkers say it will not be long before the stalls are once again unfettered.

Observing police officers speaking to vendors opposite his patch in Khlong Thom, a merchant, who asked to stay unnamed, predicted the crackdown will soon ease.

“Authorities will come and we will hide. When they leave, we will come out to sell again,” he said.

When I was a smoker, I blew smoke rings in the air. Actually that is not strictly true. Let me start again. When I was a smoker, which was a period that lasted for a good 20 years, I tried to blow smoke rings in the air. It was one of those tricks that all smokers tried to perfect. Most of the time I did not succeed, I am sad to report. But occasionally I did and when that happened, I was suffused with joy. Yes, there is nothing to beat the simple pleasures of life.

It was not easy to learn and many cigarettes got wasted while struggling to master it. One needed patience, persistence and learning to pucker the mouth in a particular perfect pout. While exhaling, that is. My older brother and my spouse were the instructors and we would sit in one line and try to outshine each other.

I was also assigned the thankless task of watching out for elders, especially my Mom. In our culture it was disrespectful to smoke in front of parents. In fact it was impolite to even acknowledge that we were smokers. And so whenever our mother came into my room and sniffed the air suspiciously for nicotine smells, we denied it. Or in a worst-case scenario, pointed to one another while trying to confuse her. She was far too smart to be thus deceived and we would get an earful from her. “Smoking thrills but kills,” she would announce, misquoting the road warning signs for speeding. “That caveat is for reckless drivers,” I tried to correct her once. “And foolish smokers too,” she asserted. 

But in those days, some 30 years ago, smokers were not treated as social pariah. One generally was careful not to smoke in front of small children but that was about it. There were no designated smoking areas at the airports, malls or hotels. Public places were a free for all. Actually, even in airplanes people could light up as and when they felt like. No smoke alarm would go off and there was no question of even being asked to pay a penalty for smoking. 

Visitors to Jordan might feel that time has stood still, at least where the smoking laws apply. Unlike the rest of the world, here one can smoke as frequently as one wants, and pretty much wherever one wants to. None of the restaurants shoo the smokers away. On the contrary, ashtrays are very thoughtfully provided along with the dinner plates in case someone feels like smoking during a meal. People are happily tolerant towards smokers and no one feels the need to ostracise them. 

I was on a flight from London to Amman recently and was seated next to a charming gentleman who insisted on sharing his bag of goodies with me. I could not understand why he was carrying so much junk food till he sheepishly confessed that he was a chain smoker. Being locked up in a plane for five hours without being allowed to smoke was his worst nightmare. So he munched constantly on popcorn, chocolates, crisps, jellybeans and so on. Being the generous sorts, he kept passing the packets to me also.

“Did you ever blow smoke rings,” he asked me suddenly.

“Perfect concentric circles,” I boasted.

“Really? Why did you give it up,” he was curious.

“Smoking thrills but kills,” I said solemnly.

“Speeding does that,” he corrected.

“Same difference,” I smiled.

MILAN — He may be a Swinging Sixties icon, but British photographer David Bailey up close is a wise-cracking crank who shrugs off his immense success as one of the world’s most famous celebrity photographers.

“I’m not proud, I don’t do proud,” he told AFP at the press opening of his Stardust exhibition, which is coming to Milan from March to June after a run at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Intimate portraits of stars such as Kate Moss, Jack Nicholson and Mick Jagger gaze down from the walls of the Padiglione D’arte Contemporanea, alongside photographs of his fourth wife, model Catherine Dyer and children.

A section dedicated to naked unknowns who posed for his “Democracy” project between 2001 and 2005 follows a series capturing the 1960s in the East End of London, where he was raised by his father, a tailor’s cutter, and machinist mother.

“...What a lot of work”, Bailey says of the exhibition, but he won’t be drawn further, however, fobbing off questions with his characteristic bluntness: “it’s just my job, it’s what I do.”

The 77-year old famously suffered from dyslexia at school and truanted regularly before dropping out entirely, practically illiterate, aged 15.

“I didn’t know I was dyslexic until I was 30, I thought I was an idiot until then,” he says.

Bailey ended up selling suits and credits his interest in photography to a 1948 image by Henri Cartier-Bresson of Muslim women wearing long cloaks in front of the Himalayas, a shot which he said made the women appear to be mountains themselves.

He crossed paths with the East End underworld including the notorious Kray brothers, who ran a protection racket and carried out a series of murders and robberies in the 1950s and 60s — and whose photographs he took in 1965.

‘No regrets’

He says he was beaten up several times during his life and found out a few years ago that the Krays, who he spent a couple of weeks with during the shoot, had knifed his father.

But he does not regret the time spent with the gangsters, or anything at all for that matter — not even his three divorces.

“I have no regrets, and there’s no nostalgia in my life,” he said.

“That was the time I was living through. I live in the moment and always see the ridiculous side of life,” he adds, quipping: “you’ve got to seize the moment. See that moment? It’s just gone!”

Bailey has been known to take portrait photographs on smartphones but is somewhat dismissive about the digital medium compared with old-fashioned film.

“Yeah I’ve used phones, the phone is just another machine, a tool. It’s not the camera that takes photos, the person does.

“I prefer film though, there’s no magic with digital, you cannot make mistakes — and if you do you delete them immediately. There’s no mystery.”

Despite signing the odd autograph, he doesn’t appear comfortable with fans, turning his back on his photographs and insisting his life “is a lot bigger than this. I make bronzes, movies, paintings too”.

But what was it like living through the Swinging Sixties as someone as famous as the stars he was photographing, working with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and becoming a sex symbol of sorts in his own right?

He shrugs, saying: “It wasn’t very swinging if you were a coal miner or a steel worker,” and no, on the sidelines of Milan fashion week, he won’t be drawn on models he would like to photograph today either. “I don’t know any models and don’t like actresses,” he said.

Wrapped up in a red coat with sheepskin ruff and with bags under his eyes, Bailey, whose career inspired Michelangelo Antonioni’s film “Blow-Up, has a simple answer when asked how he went from dyslexic drop-out to Vogue collaborator, the start of his stellar rise to fame.

“I worked hard. The harder you work, the luckier you get,” he said.

WASHINGTON — John Oliver may have been ruled out of the running to replace Jon Stewart but the British comedian’s role in helping sway the debate over “net neutrality” has cemented his status as The Daily Show host’s spiritual heir.

Oliver was the first name on most people’s lips last month when Stewart sent his legions of fans into mourning after announcing he was stepping down from the satirical Comedy Central show after nearly two decades as host.

The prospect of the 37-year-old Birmingham native sliding into Stewart’s chair receded, however, when HBO swiftly announced it was renewing his own show, “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver”, for two more years.

Yet Oliver’s role in galvanising American opinion over the once-arcane concept of access to the Internet was in the best traditions of Stewart, a master of using biting humour to unravel complex questions of the day.

Oliver’s 13-minute segment on “net neutrality” last year, in which he exhorted viewers to deluge the US Federal Communications Commission forum with objections, is widely credited with crashing the FCC’s comments page.

Within 24 hours of Oliver’s rallying cry, more than 45,000 comments on net neutrality had been posted on the FCC forum, according to The Washington Post.

Fast forward to last Thursday, and the FCC acquiesced, approving landmark rules to prevent broadband providers from separating online traffic into two unequal lanes, which would allow them to charge fees for better access.

Many people gave credit to Oliver.

“The democratic support for this decision relied heavily on citing the millions of citizen comments submitted via the FCC’s website, and those comments were overwhelmingly inspired, directly and indirectly, by Oliver’s advocacy,” Aram Sinnreich, a professor of journalism at Rutgers University, told AFP.

Oliver, whose show just kicked off its second season, gained massive popularity in 2013 when he stood in for Stewart to guest host “The Daily Show” while the Comedy Central comedian took a leave of absence to make a movie.

“I’ll do anything for him, whether it’s hosting this show or disposing of a body,” Oliver said.

The ‘John Oliver effect’

HBO came to Oliver with the 30-minute show, which has only grown in success since.

Stationed at a desk, wearing a standard suit and tie plus dark-rimmed glasses, Oliver has pilloried, in a series of clear, well-documented and wonderfully funny arguments, vitamins, the militarisation of American police, FIFA football corruption and the bikini-clad women of Sports Illustrated magazine.

Time magazine recently ran an article titled: “How the ‘John Oliver Effect’ Is Having a Real-Life Impact.”

It credits Oliver, in part or whole, with a list of accomplishments including increased donations to an association of women engineers, a proposed bill in the US state of Washington to allow online video comments on new legislation, and Attorney General Eric Holder’s announcement that he will enact major limitations on a controversial confiscation law.

“Stewart created the opening, and Oliver has made a significant contribution by expanding it even further,” said Lance Strate, a communication and media studies professor at Fordham University in New York.

“Both Stewart and Oliver are doing the job that the press ought to be doing, acting as a fourth estate and holding politicians, corporations and the new media themselves accountable for their actions and statements,” he said.

Furthermore, said Paul Booth, a professor of media and cinema studies at DePaul University in Chicago, “many Americans do love the English sense of humour”.

“Oliver definitely embodies some of the best traits of British humour — he’s sly, witty, charming, able to poke fun at himself, a bit awkward,” he said.

Cambridge-educated, Oliver began his career in Britain before hopping the pond to audition in 2006 for “The Daily Show”, becoming its “British correspondent”.

Married to an American, Oliver claims to love reality TV and hate massages.

“The idea is horrifying to me that a stranger would physically force you to relax,” he recently told Vanity Fair magazine.

In summarising his take on humour, he said: “If you want to do something evil, put it inside something boring. Apple could put the entire text of ‘Mein Kampf’ inside the iTunes user agreement, and you’d just go agree, agree, agree — what? — agree, agree.”

LOS ANGELES — Sexy con-artist flick “Focus” stole the top spot at North American box offices this weekend, vaulting over bondage film “Fifty Shades of Grey”.

The fast-paced and glittering dark comedy full of deception stars Will Smith as crook Nicky who takes on protegee Jess, played by Margot Robbie.

“Focus” got $18.7 million in sales, handily winning first place, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Staying steady in the second spot was British spy film “Kingsman: The Secret Service”, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Firth.

The comedy took in $11.9 million, enough to hold off children’s animated film “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water”, that kept its third place with a projected $10.8 million haul.

Erotic bondage tale “Fifty Shades of Grey” slipped out of its spot on top of the box office, ending a run that saw a record February opening.

The film, starring Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey and Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele, brought in $10.6 million in its third week for the fourth spot.

Horror film “The Lazarus Effect”, about medical students who discover a way to bring people back to life, earned $10.2 million in its debut weekend to come in fifth.

Kevin Costner sport drama “McFarland, USA”, about a student cross-country team from immigrant families took in $7.8 million in its second week for the sixth spot.

Controversial war-drama “American Sniper” had $7.4 million in box office sales for the seventh spot. 

The Iraq war film directed by Clint Eastwood set box office records and has pulled in $330.8 million so far.

The film’s portrayal of late Navy Seal Chris Kyle stirred up debate over its depictions of Arabs and Muslims.

“The Duff,” a teen comedy about high school cliques featuring Mae Whitman, slipped three spots to land in eighth with $6.9 million.

Critically acclaimed drama “Still Alice”, starring Julianne Moore as a linguistics professor diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, took in $2.7 million to land in ninth.

“Hot Tub Time Machine 2,” about a magical hot tub that sends its users into the future, sold the 10th most tickets, bringing in $2.4 million.

“This was a rather slow weekend at the box office,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at box office tracking firm Rentrak, noting that Oscar winners such as “Still Alice” and “Birdman” had received a good boost from Sunday’s awards.

“The severely inclement weather in the South and Midwest threw off our number,” said Jeff Goldstein, executive vice president of domestic distribution for Warner Bros, the Time Warner unit that released “Focus”.

“When you look at the markets not hit by weather, we did really well,” Goldstein said, adding that the film had played especially well with younger audiences, where “word of mouth will really help”.

International box office would further boost the film’s fortunes, Goldstein said.

BARCELONA — Phone and Internet firms are rolling out cheaper handsets and may turn to hot-air balloons to boost network coverage in developing countries, where sales of smartphones are booming.

Even though mobile network coverage is generally weaker in the developing world, firms are mining a gold rush of new clients in China, India and beyond, as smartphone demand slows in the rich world.

Several top phone and Internet companies attending this week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the biggest wireless telecom fair on the planet, have unveiled new products aimed at developing markets.

Smartphone sales grew by 23 per cent worldwide in 2014 to 1.3 billion units, according to a study by German research institute GfK.

As demand has slowed in smartphone-saturated markets such as Western Europe, Japan and north America, it has exploded in Latin America, southeast Asia and Africa.

In response, US online giant Google has launched a low-cost smartphone in India for $105 (94 euros). 

Its US rival Microsoft says it plans one that will cost $29 while the Mozilla foundation, owner of the Firefox search engine, plans one for $25.

The world’s biggest seller of smartphones, South Korean firm Samsung, has also launched products tailored for the Indian market, as its major US competitor Apple focuses on its higher-end iPhone line.

The rise of budget smartphones has also been driven by manufacturers such as Xiaomi of China, which overtook Samsung for sales in the Chinese market last year.

By 2020 about three quarters of the world’s smartphones are expected to cost less than $100, consulting group Gartner estimated in a study.

“You get good lower-end smartphones for $20 and the higher end for the mass market is now around $60,” said Sigve Brekke, Asia director for Norwegian telecom group Telenor, which operates in six countries in the region.

“We think that we will see these prices continue to fall this year.”

He forecast there would be smartphones connected to the 4G mobile network — currently the most advanced — for $45 by the end of this year.

Balloons, drones

It’s not just about the price, though.

In areas where home computers are scarce, “a smartphone is often the only way to get on the Internet”, said Annette Zimmermann, a telecom specialist at Gartner.

Smartphone users in such markets typically demand common messaging and social applications such as Facebook and Whatsapp, online radio, a torch light, text messaging and a reliable battery, she said.

Consumers in developing markets also often want a phone with two or three SIM network cards so they can switch between different telecom operators to get the cheapest rates, or share the phone with other users.

Network coverage infrastructure still puts limits on what smartphones can do, however.

Many districts, particularly rural ones, only have the 2G coverage standard, which offers relatively low capacity to transfer data. It can handle emails and basic versions of apps, but not much more.

Some 60 per cent of users in African are restricted to 2G, according to the GSMA world phone sector consortium.

It expects the number of smartphone users in the world to swell to more than three billion by 2020, compared with 2.2 billion in 2013.

To improve coverage in remote parts of the world, Google has also proposed deploying hot-air balloons or drones equipped with network cells to areas where telephone lines and towers do not reach.

The giant US-based social media network Facebook has also partnered with several telecom companies to expand Internet coverage for customers in developing rural areas.

“We’re trying to help people connect with other people and share with each other,” Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg told an audience at the congress on Monday.

NEW YORK — Samsung’s new Galaxy smartphones improve in two major areas: design and picture quality.

Samsung ramped up its camera technology in last fall’s Galaxy Note 4, and the camera is even better in the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge announced Sunday. More importantly, the new phones have a more stylish design.

I had less than 90 minutes to try out the new phones in controlled settings, so it’s too early for a definitive assessment. But I’m impressed with what I’ve seen so far. The phones will start selling in April, at prices not yet determined.

Design

For years, Samsung phones have had removable backs made of plastic. That allowed for battery replacement, but made the phones look cheap. I’m glad to see the metal frame and glass back in the new phones. The phones are lighter than before, even with metal.

The main S6 model feels boxy in my hands. More recent iPhones have smoother, curved edges. The S6 Edge curves on the left and right sides to create side displays, so it feels better. But boxy or not, I prefer Samsung’s new design over its old models.

Camera

The Note 4 camera was excellent for producing images rich in colour. However, the colours sometimes felt unnatural, especially with indoor shots. The S6 phones seek to fix that by using their infrared sensors (normally used for heart rate tracking) to better detect and adjust for specific lighting conditions. This sounds promising.

The S6 phones also sport better focus, borrowing technology from Samsung’s stand-alone NX1 camera. You already can focus on a person by touching that part of the screen. But if the person walks away, the focus is off. 

With the new technology, the focal point moves with the person. It worked in my limited tests, though the subjects were still blurry because of poor lighting conditions. I may get better results outdoors.

One handy feature: Double tap the home button anytime to open the camera app quickly, so you don’t miss shots.

Battery

You can no longer replace the battery with a spare, but there’s fast-charging technology to get you from zero to 50 per cent in a half-hour. Although I didn’t get to test this with the S6 phones, a similar feature worked well on the Note 4.

With wireless charging, you can place the phone on a special mat to charge it. No cords needed. This will be handy when coffee shops and restaurants start making these mats available. Until then, I don’t mind the cord, especially as wireless charging is slower.

Side displays

The S6 Edge model has curved sides, similar to last fall’s Note Edge phone. The S6 Edge improves on the Note by having the display curve over both the left and right sides. The Note Edge’s side display was on the right only, making some features awkward for lefties.

With the S6 Edge, you can assign colours to important contacts — such as red for your spouse. With the phone face down, the side will flash red when a call from your spouse comes in. You can decide without rudely lifting the phone whether you really need to take that call.

Mobile pay

When it launches this summer in the US and South Korea, Samsung Pay will let people pay with a tap at retail stores. The service promises to work at more places than Apple Pay because it has backup technology that replicates the magnetic-strip signals on plastic cards. 

However, based on Samsung’s descriptions, Samsung Pay will require a few more steps than Apple Pay at checkout.

Other ‘touches’

The S6 phones have improved fingerprint sensors. Before, you had to swipe down on the home button; the phone wouldn’t unlock if you didn’t swipe correctly. Now, you simply touch the home button, just as you do on iPhones. 

The fingerprint ID will authorise mobile payments too.

Samsung also streamlined the software interface. Currently, the menu of additional options is accessed by tapping on the three vertical dots on the top right. Why three vertical dots? Who knows? That’s been replaced with the word “more.”

Little touches like these will help make the phones more accessible to customers.

PARIS — The mass-market convertible car emits its last gasp this week at a Geneva Motor Show bristling with sport utility vehicles and low-cost models — more evidence of the pragmatism of European consumers marked by years of austerity.

Mainstream brands from Peugeot to Volkswagen are quietly axing cabriolets, as customers with cash to spend increasingly plump for a crossover, or choose to buy a low-cost car and keep the change.

That’s just fine with most carmakers, who would rather sell an offroad-styled city car or budget model, either of which typically brings lower production costs and fatter profits.

“We’re seeing the end of noughties bling-bling,” said Francois Roudier, spokesman for France’s CCFA auto industry body. Outside the luxury market, “today’s buyers want either a safe family car or something a bit more rugged”, he said.

Global production of convertibles and roadsters has fallen by 59 per cent since 2007, the eve of the financial crisis, according to industry data from IHS Automotive.

SUVs have, meanwhile, surged to account for one in five European vehicle sales, according to the forecaster, creating a pocket of growth in an otherwise lacklustre market.

Conspicuous by its near-absence from Geneva is the coupé-cabriolet (CC), whose hard roof folds and stashes electronically into what might otherwise be useful luggage space.

Peugeot is dropping the once hot 207 and 308 CC, descendants of the pioneering 206 CC it unveiled as a 1998 Geneva show car.

Renault scrapped its Wind convertible roadster in 2013, with the larger Megane CC expected to follow soon. VW last month killed off the equivalent Eos, while keeping soft-top Golf and Beetle cabrio versions for now.

Belly flops

Unlike the Peugeots, once a big hit for the manufacturer, rivals including drop-top variants of the Ford Focus and Nissan Micra have never really caught on.

“We’ve seen a few belly flops,” said IHS analyst Ian Fletcher, adding that convertible versions of cars such as the Focus require major design changes going way beyond the roof.

“It’s an expensive exercise — and a painful one when they don’t sell,” he said.

A CC version also piles on weight from the mechanical roof and chassis reinforcements required to pass crash tests, posing a fuel-efficiency challenge amid ever-tightening CO₂ rules.

Mid-market brands are glad to be rid of coupé-cabriolets and selling SUVs instead, said Laurent Petizon, a managing director for consulting firm AlixPartners, which advises major carmakers.

“This is doing them a huge favour,” he said.

Whereas convertibles often need expensive niche production or outsourced manufacturing, crossovers typically use the same assembly lines and modular architectures as their car siblings — while still commanding a hefty price markup.

“They allow the carmakers to differentiate their offering while using their own production capacity and generating much better profit margins than coupé-cabriolets,” Petizon said.

The shift away from mid-market convertibles fits a broader push to cut development and production costs by building more vehicles from a smaller number of common platforms, while sharing those architectures with other brands.

In Geneva, Renault will wheel out the Kadjar SUV derived from alliance partner Nissan’s best-selling Qashqai. Nissan’s premium Infiniti marque is presenting the QX30 crossover built on Mercedes-Benz architecture.

A new vehicle announced by PSA Peugeot Citroen last week for its upscale DS brand is also expected to be a mini-SUV, sharing underpinnings with the Peugeot 2008 crossover.

With the French carmaker now trimming its model lineup under new boss Carlos Tavares’ turnaround plan, ditching the CCs was a no-brainer, Peugeot product chief Laurent Blanchet said.

“We’re producing vehicles that are more global,” Blanchet said in an interview. “That’s why we’ve decided to invest more in crossovers — which also generate very nice margins.”

Introduced in 2008 as Hyundai’s first export executive saloon, the Genesis gambit paid off and took the largely German-dominated premium automotive segment by surprise. Garnering acclaim from the motoring press, the original Genesis was particularly well-received in the crucial North American market.

The right car at the right time, the first generation Genesis was a galvanising halo model, as an across-the-board product improvement coincided with global recession to make Hyundai an almost irresistible value proposition. On ascendancy since then Hyundai has in the last few years benefited from dramatic sales and market share increases. Consolidating its enhanced brand perception and luxury credentials, the latest second generation Genesis is the first of a new maturing phase for Hyundai.

Ambitiously luxurious

Larger and more luxuriously and high tech, the new Genesis is noticeably more up-market than its predecessor, whose refinement goes deeper than its handsome design and fancy new Genesis-specific emblem. Discernibly more Euro-flavoured in aesthetic and improved driving dynamics the new Genesis also boasts more nuanced and fluent chassis fine-tuning — US-spec models even get chassis development input from British sports car maker Lotus.

At the forefront of Hyundai’s ambitious intentions for enhanced brand positioning, the Genesis is not intended as a standalone prestige brand or independent sub-division, with a standard Hyundai boot-lid badge retained to underline the fact. However, the new be-winged Aston Martin-like bonnet and steering wheel emblem seemingly leaves open the possibility for a future premium sub-brand.

The first all-new model since current Kia President Peter Schreyer was concurrently appointed as Hyundai design chief, the 2015 Genesis debuts a maturing Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 design language. Set to influence a model-range wide aesthetic evolution, the re-interpreted design direction is intended to carve out a more familial and refined brand identity.

With a distinctly European-influenced air of imposing presence the new Genesis is a handsomely sculpted machine with an elegant arrogance worthy of a premium German player. In its first outing, Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 is somewhat of a blank slate ready to be carved into an instantly discernable and rooted sense of lineage.

Projecting power

Wider, lower and longer and with a long wheelbase, short front overhang, snouty bonnet and strong shoulders, the new Genesis’ sits on the road with luxurious, formal and assertive presence. With chiselled, clean and classy design, the Genesis’ styling centrepiece is its’ wide and upright matt metallic-edged trapezoidal grille, while widely-spaced horizontal slats emphasise its width.

Prominent bonnet ridges taper to a rakish roofline and high-set short bonnet. Meanwhile, a sharp crease begins at the edge of its wraparound headlights and arcs along though door handles before descending towards its rear bumper. Complementing its generous size and discretely athletic proportions, the Genesis wears large 245/40R19 front and 275/35R19 rear tyres.

Smooth, quiet and refined, the top-of-the-range Genesis’ 5-litre direct injection V8 ‘Tau’ engine is characterised by its seamlessly progressive delivery. An under-square naturally aspirated engine eager to be extended to its high-end sweet spot, the Genesis’ V8, however, also pulls cleanly and meaningfully from tick-over, through peak 383lb/ft torque at 5,000rpm and to its 420BHP maximum at 6,000rpm.

Driving the rear wheels through a version of the ZF 8-speed gearbox used by Dodge, Rolls Royce and many manufacturers in between, the 2,059kg Genesis completes the 0-100kph dash in 5.4 seconds, and onto an electronically restricted 240kph. With responsive shifts and close ratios, the Genesis’ gearbox aids mid-range flexibility and fuel efficiency, rated at 13l/100km combined.

Smooth and sophisticated

Having accomplished significant improvements in terms of technology, refinement, packaging, sales and brand perception in recent years, the new Genesis is a very clear and notable indication that Hyundai is now turning its attention to achieving similar improvements in chassis development and driving dynamics.

With perceptibly more European feel, the new Genesis has more buttoned down and composed ride and handling qualities on straights, corners and rebound from crests and dips. Firm but smooth, it was balanced and composed on a mostly straight diving route in Dubai. Quicker and more direct, the Genesis’ electric-assisted 2.55-turn rack and pinion steering has meatier quality than its predecessor’s lighter-feeling steering.

Built on a stiffer frame and riding on sophisticated multi-link suspension with active dampers the new Genesis both handles and rides better than before, with reassuring planted stability, smooth comfort and refined confidence on highways. Composed and tidy into corners, the Genesis well controls body roll, while its’ naturally aspirated and progressive engine characteristics provide precise throttle control for smooth on-throttle exits from corners.

In addition to powerful 360mm front ventilated disc and 315mm rear disc brakes, the Genesis features an extensive sensor- and radar-based semi-autonomous driver assistance and safety systems suite, including lane departure warning and blind spot detection. Adaptive cruise control actively keeps safe distance from the car ahead, while Autonomous Emergency Braking automatically brakes if it suddenly brakes.

Classy and compelling

With dark matte wood grains, soft textures, ergonomically designed leather stitched steering wheel and upholstery, the Genesis’ luxuriously refined cabin is comfortable, well-kitted and elegant. Set slightly high, seats are, however, well-padded and highly adjustable. Cabin space — including headspace headroom — is spaciously accommodating for larger passengers. Designed with neatly symmetric layouts, the Genesis’ instruments and functions are user-friendly.

Extensive equipment levels even include automatic motion-sensing boot opening, HUD windscreen info display, bird’s eye around view camera, smart multi-zone climate control with CO₂ sensor and puddle lamp and High Beam Assist which senses and adapts to oncoming cars. Optional equipment includes adjustable rear seats, 17-speaker sound system and 9.2-inch front infotainment and rear multimedia screens.

A demonstration of Hyundai’s quick learning curve, the new Genesis’ improvements seem to have leap-frogged over an evolutionary generation from its predecessor. While the original Genesis proved that a Hyundai executive car can be competitive and isn’t to be scoffed at, its successor demonstrates a keen evolutionary responsiveness.

With new design, classy cabin, high-tech equipment and much improved chassis tuning and driving experience, the new Genesis rightfully earns a spot on the premium executive saloon table.

Though priced significantly under-cutting rivals, both the top-of-the-range 420BHP 5-litre V8 Genesis is not just competitive in terms of value, but is a compelling alternative to its main Japanese rival, and is quickly closing in its closest and most similar German rival.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 5-litre, all-aluminium, V8 cylinders

Bore x stroke: 96 x 87mm

Compression ratio: 11.8:1

Valve-train: 32-valve, DOHC, variable valve timing, direct injection

Gearbox: 8-speed automatic, rear-wheel-drive

Ratios: 1st 3.795; 2nd 2.473; 3rd 1.613; 4th 1.177; 5th 1.0; 6th 0.831; 7th 0.652; 8th 0.571

Final drive/reverse: 3.538:1/2.467

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 420 (425) [312.5] @ 6000rpm

Specific power: 83.3BHP/litre

Power -to-weight ratio: 204BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 383 (519) @ 5,000rpm

Specific torque: 103Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight ratio: 252Nm/tonne

0-100km/h: 5.4 seconds

Top speed: 240km/h

Fuel economy, city/highway/combined: 

15.6/10.2/13 litres/100km

Fuel capacity: 73 litres

Length: 4,990mm

Width: 1,890mm

Height: 1,480mm

Wheelbase: 3,010mm

Track, F/R: 1,620/1,633mm

Overhang, F/R: 845/1,135mm

Aerodynamic drag co-efficient: 0.26

Legroom, F/R: 1,160/890mm

Headroom, F/R: 1,000/970mm

Shoulder room, F/R: 1,480/1,450mm

Boot capacity: 493 litres

Kerb weight: 2,059kg

Suspension: Multi-link, coil springs, active dampers, stabiliser bar

Steering: Electric assistance, rack & pinion

Lock-to-lock: 2.55-turns

Turning radius: 5.52-metres

Brakes, F/R: 4-pistons, ventilated discs, 360mm/single piston, discs, 315mm

Tyres: 245/40R19/275/35R19

Price, on-the-road: JD58,000