CarSite's roving reporter James Barrell takes you behind the scenes of CarSite.co.uk's Geneva Motor Show coverage, live from Switzerland (and sometimes France).
Wednesday 5th March 2014
09.13 (CET) - Geneva Airport
This will be my final blog post as I’m currently waiting in the departure lounge at Geneva Airport, ready to board the flight back to BHX. Today is the second press day of the Geneva Motor Show, and Palexpo opens its doors to the public tomorrow for eleven days.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this behind-the-scenes coverage of what it’s like to report from the motor show floor. We’ll be adding more articles, including news and features, over the next few days, so visit our Geneva Motor Show news page to stay posted.
Tuesday 4th March 2014
22.13 (CET) - Divonne-les-Bains, France
Realising that it was the best part of fifteen hours since I last ate, I went for a pizza at an Italian restaurant in Divonne-les-Bains, the village on the Franco-Swiss border in which I’m staying. Unfortunately, none of the waiters spoke ANY ENGLISH whatsoever – a slight problem, given that I speak NO FRENCH whatsoever; seriously, there are three things I can say in French: 'Merci' (thank you), 'L'addition, s'il vous plait' (the bill, please) and 'Un Cochine d’Inde' (a guinea pig).
I’m flying back to Blighty tomorrow morning and I’ll be sad to see the back of Geneva. There will be more articles and features going up on CarSite.co.uk towards the end of the week, so keep your eyes peeled.
In the meantime, I thought I’d leave you with a photo of the arse end of an original Abarth 595, for no other reason than because it’s brilliant.
15.52 (CET) - Palexpo, Geneva
Apologies for the dearth of updates on this blog, but I’ve spent the last few hours furiously scribbling up the first batch of Geneva news for your delectation. You can read the fruits of my labours by clicking on any of the links below, each of which will take you to the full article. There’ll be more to come this evening and tomorrow too, so stay tuned.
Me? I’m off for a beer and another scoot round Geneva’s cavernous halls. Toodles!
Next-gen Audi TT revealed in Geneva
Honda Civic Type R concept revealed
Lamborghini Huracan makes Geneva debut
Volkswagen T-Roc concept unveiled in Geneva
New Renault Twingo unveiled at Geneva Motor Show
McLaren 650S Coupe and Spider make Geneva debut
Toyota Aygo revealed alongside new Citroen C1 and Peugeot 108
Ferrari unveils new California T at Geneva Motor Show
09.02 (CET) - Palexpo, Geneva
Finally arrived back at Palexpo for the first day proper of the Geneva Motor Show. I’m slightly late because I used a convoluted combination of taxi-train-bus to get here due to Geneva’s exorbitant taxi prices. On a side note, my taxi driver was the spitting image of scary actor Steven Berkoff. I would have tried to take a picture but I feared that if he caught me he would have tried to murder me.
Anyway, I’m going to have to maintain radio silence for a few hours while I try to get round as much of the show as possible. See you later!
01.07 (CET) - Divonne-les-Bains, France
I've finally arrived at my hotel, ten hours after landing in Geneva and my bed beckons. Join me bright and early tomorrow for live coverage of the first day of the Geneva Motor Show.
Monday 3rd March 2014
20.10 (CET) - Geneva
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The new Mondeo Vignale and Edge Concept were also on show, while we also got a sneak preview of the new Need for Speed film which is due out later this month. Looks good too.
20.00 (CET) - Geneva
And here it is: the new 2015 Ford Mustang. Looks good doesn't it?
19.15 (CET) - Geneva
Just before I go into a pre-show event hosted by Ford, there's just enough time to snap a pic of Lake Geneva. More interestingly, the Ford show will be CarSite's first chance to see the new 2015 Ford Mustang and the new Mondeo Vignale in the flesh.
17.08 (CET) - Palexpo, Geneva
So, the Peugeot 308 has romped home with the 2014 European Car of the Year title, fending off competition from the likes of the BMW i3, the Mercedes S-Class and the Tesla Model S. Having just spent the weekend with the 308 I'm glad to see it win the title, and to celebrate, here's a photo I took of it this weekend in the glorious New Forest.
15.00 (CET) - Geneva
After what feels like a six-mile walk from the passport control, I finally arrive at Palexpo, the home of the Geneva Motor Show. RIght, I'm off to check my bag, grab myself a coffee and have a good ol' mosey round.
13.20 (GMT) - Somewhere in the sky
Finally I'm in the sky and a quick flick through the in-flight magazine reveals an advert for the Peugeot 308 -- nominated for this year’s European Car of the Year awards, which are being announced later. On top of this, it's our current test car; however, is it good enough to take the title?
11.45 (GMT) - Birmingham International Airport
Finally made it through customs at Birmingham Airport, one can of deodorant lighter. Unfortunately, it seems that a 150ml van of Right Guard Total Protect is a security threat, so I'm going to absolutely reek for the next 48 hours. Or I suppose I could buy another can of deodorant.
The flight to Geneva has been delayed by 35 minutes so I’m killing time in the departure lounge with a succession of Cafe Americanos. The WiFi in here is fairly iffy too so trying to update this blog is a bit like trying to stream an HD movie using dial-up.
Normally these things would enrage me, but not today. Because in an indeterminate length of time I'll be in Switzerland, ready to report back with all the reveals straight from the floor of the Geneva Motor Show. Plus, by the end of the day we'll know what has been crowned the 2014 European Car of the Year.
So keep checking this blog to catch up with the latest news from Geneva as it happens.
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