Unveiled, the new Sbarro Eight – something for everyone at the Geneva Motor Show 2013Eight
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The Geneva International Motor Show, expected to pull in 700,000 visitors during the next 10 days, opened Thursday morning 7 March.
The Swiss, who bought 320,000 cars in 2012 despite European-wide sales that fell by 3.3 million, flock to the show every year, where some dealers offer discounts on cars ordered. Other Europeans, given the context of austerity plans and smaller family budgets, remain a question mark for attendance this year.
The show’s expanded web site provides details on hours and prices, videos of the cars that are premiering this year, and the hostesses, who provide added colour for world media every year.
Be sure to consider using the Palexpo show’s apps, if you’re going, to get around more easily and to help find your dream car(s). Halle 3 is new and halle 6 is larger, giving the show more space this year.
Save on hassle and money: take the tram, bus, train
The CFF and Geneva’s TPG have special offers, to encourage visitors to use pubic transport to get to the show, to reduce traffic congestion. The CFF has a package of four online offers.
The TPG sells ticket+admission deals at Counters at the railway station Cornavin, Rond-Point de Rive and Bachet de Pesay.
Not everyone is happy with the auto industry
An unusual feature of the show this year is outside the doors, at Sarasin Park, where several unions, including United Auto Workers are staging a protest Thursday 8 March to “denounce how Nissan ignores international labor standards, including freedom of association and the right to conduct collective bargaining, denying workers at its plant in Mississippi a fair union election.”
The future of cars
Expect green themes and future mobility to be a major part of this year’s themes. The show incorporates the new Geneva Future Mobility Forum, a series of conferences in German and French that will run every day starting Friday 8 March from 14:00-15:00 and from 17:00-18:00 in room K at Palexpo; no registration required and the presentations are free of charge (programme details).
World media coverage has already begun; to get an idea of what’s hot this year:
- BBC, UK: “Geneva motor show: New car marque unveiled” (About Qoros, China’s new carmaker, being introduced at the show)
- CNET covers not only the beautiful cars but “The bikes of the 2013 Geneva auto show”
- Euronews: “Gloom hangs over Geneva car show”
- Guardian, UK: “Luxury carmakers at Geneva motor show little sign of eurozone gloom”
- Motor Trend goes first for the new glory cars on its “2013 Geneva Auto Show” pages (hybrid LaFerrari, 2014 Porsche 911 GT3, 740 HP Lamborghini Veneno, McLaren P1)
- Telegraph, UK: “Geneva Motor Show 2013, as it happened”
