Didn?t quite know what I was getting myself into, agreeing to fly to Geneva last night, cover the entire show and then fly back home tonight in time to put the final touches on the magazine.

Must admit that I?m probably not in the best of moods as I step into the Palexpo venue where the Geneva Motor Show is being held. In the last 24 hours, I?ve tackled most of a magazine deadline, a mad traffic rush to OR Tambo, long wait for the delayed flight and then an overnight flight, with the plane?s non-adjustable aircon blowing something of a mid-winter blizzard on me.

Ah, the joys of flying. At least I?ve made it here in one piece and only a few hours late. I clear the component hall I have to pass through to get to the main car stuff and suddenly I feel a perk-up that ten Espressos would never have achieved. Amidst all the depressing doom and gloom and worldwide car sales scary enough provide a plot for Stephen King?s next novel, I?ve found three gigantic halls bursting with newly unveiled cars that I?d never seen in the flesh before. Charlie at the chocolate factory could not have felt this good.

Still, there?s no time for relaxing with so much to see and report on. I?m armed with a camera phone to send pictures back to the online team at home and my camera to take better quality pics for later use. Stepping to the upper level, I see mad crowds have descended to the launch of the Ampera on the Opel stand. So many people there that I can?t even see the car they?re unveiling so I decide to rather catch up on the launches I?ve missed this morning and avoid the crowds by moving behind the chaotic schedule.

This brings me to Volkswagen?s stand, where I see a whole horde of new Golfs as I approach it. Oh wait, these are not Golfs ? it?s the new Polo and it looks awesome, I think as I draw closer. It?s like a Scirocco up front, while the slab-sided body of the current one has given way to a far shapelier profile, with a prominent shadowline flowing to a squat rear end. Sinking inside, I?m highly impressed by the cabin too ? it?s easily one of VW?s best efforts ever. Smart, sporty and finished with some really classy materials, the dash wouldn?t be out of place in an Audi A4.

The pamphlet reveals an interesting new engine ? the 1.2-litre turbo-charged TSI unit that could easily replace the 74kW 1.6 on our market considering it?s got 77kW on tap and with altitude compensation, could be quite a cracker. The fact that the Polo?s body is 7.5% lighter will also be a feather in its cap and for those that really want to go green, there?s a specially enhanced ?Bluemotion? model that VW claims achieves 3.8 litres per 100km on a combined cycle.

Next I sift through some of the specialist stuff at Geneva and find some nice surprises. Koenigsegg?s new Quant catches my eye. It looks something like a Corvette Stingray reinterpreted during an acid trip, but apparently you can charge its 328kW electric powertrain from a solar power unit in 20 minutes and it?ll get you from 0-100km/h in 5.2 seconds, pretty guilt free.

Before long I come across the proud local creation I?d been looking forward to. The Zagato-bodied Perana Z-One looks even more awesome in the flesh.

Joining it in the specialist crowd was the latest and greatest eye-candy from the likes of Spyker, Pagani and others. Tesla has a good presence too, with its latest electric-powered Karma convertible and sedan ? the latter must be among the most gorgeous four-door cars I've ever seen. Numerous other specialist performance carmakers are also strutting their radical-looking stuff, many with natural gas and electric propulsion.

Over to Audi?s stand and the highlight is its new TTS, which looks a tad too subtle for something with such dynamic potential. Seeing that the crowds have died down at General Motors, I storm there to see the new Astra I?d been expecting, but no luck. Opel?s biggest news is the Ampera, a facelifted version of Chevy?s Volt plug-in hybrid, which can do 60km on a charge, without resorting to the range-extending petrol generator. I also get to check out Chev?s new Spark, which looks really funky in the flesh and the interior?s not half bad either.


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