Geneva Auto Show – One of The Best Events in Switzerland
The International Geneva Auto Show is about cars and its belonging accessories. The Show in Geneva does not have the most debuts or the biggest attendance. But despite that, it is one of the best events in Switzerland and always manages to attract plenty of interest from nearly every major auto manufacturer. Every year, it offers an amusing look at the numerous new developments and world novelties in the automobile branch. Rinspeed iChange... In spite of the biggest crisis of the last decades, the 79th Geneva Motor Show was booked up completely. And so it was that more than 700,000 visitors attended at the 2009 fair. However, while many car manufacturers did not participate at the auto salon in Detroit in January, the exhibition space at the Geneva fair halls was as full as ever. Forget the fetching designs and cutting-edge technology, because it seemed that this year’s international car show was more about survival. Despite of that, luxury models continued to dominate the Geneva Auto Show. Present as always at the Palexpo was the Swiss high society as well as other famous people from abroad including green turned California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, in Geneva Mr. Schwarzenegger seemed more interested in luxurious cars than the new wave of electric powered technology. I do not blame him at all as I myself like powerful sporty machines. And so did all the pretty hostesses that draped over the expensive models, many of them with astonishingly high price tags. No wonder, the Pavillon Vert, or "Green Pavilion" displaying environmental technologies was at times a bit deserted. There still seems to be a lot of hype about electric cars these days. However, the numbers of available models on the market are still rare. Many car manufacturers are doing extensive research to overcome the biggest challenge – building a lighter with higher storage compact lithium-ion battery. Yes, it is true that many of the major manufacturers have concept models on display. Nissan for example is promising to release its zero-emission Nuvu electric car in Switzerland and the rest of Europe in 2012. Tesla, the more advanced American electric car manufacturer, was among the few of other exhibitors in the Green Pavilion. Its two-seater sport models are selling for 135,000 Swiss francs but only available by reservation only. Another car with green performance is the "Lampo Electric Car" produced by the Swiss company Protoscar. The zero-emission electric driven Lampo delivers a total output of 268 HP and a torque of over 440 Nm, which allows for a range of over 200 km. Lamborghini Gallardo The trick: You can extend the tail section of the car with the push of a button. Driven is the "Rinspeed iChange" by a strong 150KW electric motor, which can accelerate the car up to 220 km/hour. The car is incredibly fast and sprints from 0 to 100 km/hour in little more than four seconds. There were of course other interesting types for the future. Two hybrids that may succeed are the Opel Ampera or the Chevy Volt. Personally, I do not believe the hybrids are the way to go. There are still few cars powered by other clean technologies like air-pressured prototypes or even solar powered cars. Just in case you are wondering, I am not an environmentalist. I simply enjoy fast sport cars, but they do not need to gobble up over 20 litres for one hundred kilometres of driving. That is exactly what most luxury cars like Giugiaro Namir, Bugatti Veyron still do.
The 2009 Geneva Auto Show represented 250 exhibitors with displays covering almost 80,000 square meters of floor space. That is only 10 exhibitors less than in 2008. So let us hope that for next year, we are getting a bit closer to that super efficient but powerful zero emission car. After all, combining the fair with a holiday could be ideal – skiing a few days in the Swiss Alps and than visiting the Geneva Auto show on your days off. Return from Geneva Motor Show to Switzerland Tourism Return from Geneva Auto Show to High End Travel Switzerland
|
The event takes place in early March for ten days 