The Auto Writer

Beginning on March 5th, Geneva will start an eleven day journey down the future car lane. The Geneva Auto Show opens, one of the highlight shows on the annual car show calendar, giving car companies from the world over the chance to showcase new and futuristic offerings.

The auto show circuit has been feeling the strain lately as the global recession deepens with automakers bypassing some of the lower tier shows in a bid to save money. Nissan/Infiniti have pulled out of several shows for 2009 (including high end Detroit) and the Tokyo Motor Show will be without some of its own glitter later this year as the US Big Three car makers stay away while other car companies rethink their respective strategies.

All Eyes Turn To Geneva

The Geneva Motor Show won’t be exempt from the problems besetting the auto industry when it officially opens to the public on Thursday (runs through March 15th), but it will still manage to create plenty of buzz thanks to a number of new products being offered including the Fiat 500 Cabriolet, Volvo S80, Saab 9-3X Crossover, Opel Ampera and the Peugeot 3008, each of which will be making their worldwide premier in Switzerland.

And why not travel to Switzerland? After many months of trying to stem a sharp drop in sales, car makers need a bit of a pick me up to at least tell themselves that this too shall past. Plus, with so many people looking for a diversion from the pervasive nastiness, a car show can go a long way in demonstrating just how far along the industry has come and where they’re heading.

Brilliance, Alfa Romeo, Tata and More

Brilliance Auto will be on display, representing the People’s Republic of China and her bid to export cars to the entire world some day. Alfa Romeo will be rolling out several new models including perhaps a handful of vehicles which will make their way to the North American continent if parent Fiat AG can fuse a partnership with Chrysler LLC.

Although it is intially to be available to an Indian car audience only, the $2005 Tata Nano will be on display in Geneva, giving the world a close up look at what kind of car can be built at a price not seen anywhere in decades. Going into production on March 23rd, my thinking is that the Nano will be one of the biggest attractions at Geneva, quite a feat for an absolutely basic car.

I’ll be presenting some of the hits at Geneva later this week in addition to going over what is certain to be another bad month of auto sales.