Motor shows are generally superb barometers of the motor industry's health, and the Geneva International Motor Show - hosted annually in March, and therefore Europe's first major car expo each year - is no different.
Switzerland has no domestic motor industry save for specialist builders, and therefore visitors are spared the overt patriotism of the Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo or Detroit shows while gaining glimpses of motoring's future.
Although not in the EU, Geneva is easily accessible from virtually every corner of the continent, particularly as budget airlines have major hubs at the airport. Some brisk walking, though, does justice to the show's seven halls in a single 12-hour day - so it is little wonder Geneva annually attracts 700,000 visitors over 14 days.
Indeed, so eager are manufacturers to reveal their latest wares in Geneva that virtually every brand strutted new ranges and/or technologies. Audi premiered its Q2 cross-over and Porsche a totally revamped (downsized, turbo) Boxster/Cayman range. Hyundai revealed its Ioniq hybrid/all-electric eco series, Bugatti the astounding ￡1.9million 260mph Chiron, and Alfa Romeo showed its long-awaited Guilia.
Among the concept cars - most built specifically for the occasion - Citroen's DS brand displayed the E-Tense all-electric supercar, Volkswagen a variety of hybrid/electric SUVs, and Pininfarina the world's first hydrogen-powered track car (pictured). Specialist builders unveiled dream cars of every configuration, size and propulsion system. All-in, the show pointed to a vibrant future for the motor industry.
Strangely, though, motorsport displays were sparse and mainly disappointing despite the current focus on road-relevant technology. True, the country bans wheel-to-wheel car racing, but the show's brochure made much of Swiss motorsport stars such as past World Endurance champions Marcel Fassler and Sebastien Buemi, plus Formula 1's multiple podium finisher Romain Grosjean. Tellingly, there was not, though, a Sauber in sight.
This writer was not alone in being disappointed: a trusted media source said that Jaguar, about to enter Formula E in partnership with Williams, had sent a delegation to Geneva to check out how various brands leveraged their motorsporting involvements. "After checking out what was on offer they felt they hadn't learned anything," he said.
Could it be that motor manufacturers suddenly feel squeamish about pushing their presence in fossil-fuelled sports, and now treat their participation as one does an embarrassing uncle - hushed away behind locked doors, and only spoken of when asked?
How else could one explain that the VW Group, by far the biggest spender in global motorsport with successful campaigns in the WEC (via Porsche and Audi), World Rally Championship (VW) and the DTM (Audi), and formerly in the World Touring Car Championship with SEAT too, made not a single reference to its sporting successes in Geneva?
Porsche displayed an exquisite endurance racer - the Type 718 after which its new Boxster is named - yet there was no sign of the Le Mans 24 Hours and WEC title-winning 919.
Ditto VW's stand: rather than crow loudly about its WRC domination, its rally team was ignored, and the sport represented solely by Hyundai. It seems rather perverse to spend ￡400m annually on various championship campaigns, then keep the fruits of those endeavours hidden from 700,000 petrol-heads.
Asked whether motorsport suddenly no longer offered road car relevance, a VW spokesperson said: "Of course there are lots of marketing synergies between road and rally - this is the main reason why we are doing it. WRC has a global audience, and our success has a very positive influence on people considering Volkswagen as their next car."
If so, why could VW not dedicate just 10 square yards of its Geneva space (out of 500) to its Polo WRC?
Toyota's attitude was equally baffling: Geneva presented the perfect opportunity of revealing some details of its plans to conquer the WEC again, yet a (virgin) Dakar Hilux truck was Toyota's sole motorsport display. A Toyota spokesman explained that calls about displays lay with regional offices, and not the motorsport division - which seems to be the industry norm.
Of five motor manufacturers - Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault, McLaren and Honda - currently competing in F1, only two, namely reigning champion Mercedes and recent returnee (in a team ownership capacity) Renault, displayed contemporary grand prix cars. In fact, Mercedes, as could be expected, was the only one to do F1 proud, displaying one of its intricate W06s plus a replica constructors' championship trophy.
There was, though, no sign at all of Honda's lamentable current campaign, or even reference to the current hybrid F1 engine - despite the technology being available in Honda road cars. Yes, Honda racers were on display - the 50-year-old RA272 that won the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix, and a WTCC Civic, but that was the gist of it. Did someone say "Racing is in Honda's blood"?
Asked to comment, a Honda spokesperson told Autosport: "Our show car is currently being updated, and we do not display the current engine. The 1965 car is a thing of beauty, and it represents our racing heritage." Yes, but even last year's engine would have been a good start, as would some reference to current F1.
Despite Ferrari making much of its sporting heritage in the run up to its October IPO - and going racing rather than indulging in traditional advertising - its red single-seater was present at the show only during the opening week, and was thereafter replaced by a Ferrari 488 road car for "reasons of space". Against this background one wonders why Fiat/Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne wishes to return Alfa Romeo to F1?
On the Pininfarina stand there was, though, a Ferrari-engined F1 car: the 1969 Sigma design study, created to showcase safety advances. 'Back to the future' sprang to mind.
McLaren Automotive showed sportscars in every hue - and a GT racer - yet there was no sign of its F1 programme - although sponsors at least rated mentions on etched glass display frames. A McLaren source viewed the lack of an F1 car as a "non-issue", explaining: "This year we opted to fill [the stand] with production cars, not least because we had new product to launch and plenty to say about that new product.
"There are and always have been marketing synergies between McLaren Automotive and the other McLaren companies, including McLaren Racing and all who sail in her."
It does, however, seem strange to keep whatever synergies hidden from 1.4 million eyeballs for want of a few square yards.
Synergies were, though, to be found on TAG Heuer's impressively spacious display area that celebrated 100 years since the company invented a chronograph able to time to within one-hundredth of a second. The stand featured more competition cars than all others combined - so it seemed - and included the 1970 March 701 driven by Swiss Jo Siffert, the first driver sponsored by the brand.
Although TAG Heuer and McLaren split last year, the display did more to peddle McLaren's F1 heritage than did the team itself, with a rough and (far from) ready TAG turbo of the type that powered the team to three consecutive mid-eighties titles being on view, as were various visuals of Ayrton Senna during the legendary Brazilian's McLaren days.
The latest beneficiary of TAG Heuer's largesse is Red Bull, and hence the RB12 show car. It will, though, be intriguing to see whether RB13 features on Aston Martin's stand in 2017, for the company's winged logo will appear on the nose of the blue cars as from this weekend's Australian Grand Prix.
Although Red Bull's plans - revealed here in July - to run Aston-badged Mercedes engines in exchange for a joint supercar road car project designed for Aston Martin-Lagonda by Red Bull Technology CTO Adrian Newey came to nought after Daimler (a five per cent shareholder in Aston) nixed the plan, an alternate deal was struck.
Aston Martin's majority owners, an Italian investment fund, plan to list by 2020 and, in the words of a party close to the deal, believe "F1 can add sparkle to Aston imagery". Aston Martin branding will appear on the RB12 from this weekend's Australian Grand Prix onwards, with the road car project announced simultaneously during a function in Melbourne.
Aston Martin executives Dr Andrew Palmer and Simon Sproule are close to Red Bull's management, having cut the Infiniti Red Bull title sponsorship deal while with the Renault-Nissan alliance, and effectively the latest arrangement is a continuation of that concept using a different brand.
What of Renault itself? Its stand featured an F1 car pointing skywards like a rocket ready for take-off (occupying less space that way?), sat as it was alongside a similarly poised e.dams Formula E car, while a Renault Sport Series one-make racer rated a dedicated stand.
"The [hybrid F1] engine has been on display in previous years, and [it was] time to give space to something else - space is not infinite at these events," was a Renault spokesperson's response. True, but perceptions linger, and Geneva provided the ideal opportunity to reveal the F1 team's new battle dress rather than doing so in Melbourne's docks (pictured above) two days before the opening grand prix.
In fact, Renault's e.dams Formula E car was one of a quartet of such cars in Geneva: TAG Heuer showed one, as did DS alongside the E-Tense (DS sponsors Virgin Racing's entry), with the fourth gracing (Audi tuner) Abt's corner. Kudos to Citroen, too, for showing its WTCC C-Elysee, and rolling out drivers Jose Maria Lopez and Yvan Muller at a press conference.
That Formula E machinery outnumbered contemporary F1 cars by four-to-three suggests the FIA's nascent electric formula is gaining traction over hybrids at manufacturer level, with Jaguar's pending entry about to further skew the equation. True the spectator numbers aren't there, but a trend is a trend, and F1 commercial rights holder Formula One Management should take note.
Here, though, dogs and tricks spring to mind, for strategic marketing has never been FOM's strongest point. For proof look no further than the fact that the perfect demographic rolled up in Geneva - an audience totalling 10 times the average Sunday grand prix attendance - yet not as much as a single F1 T-shirt was on sale.
F1 therefore missed a golden opportunity of reaching out to its fans, of explaining its intricacies - ahead of a new season, which brings with it changes to tyre regulations and qualifying procedures - of increasing awareness of F1's social media platforms and live timing apps. And this jibe is not aimed solely at FOM: 75 per cent of teams gave the show a miss. Any wonder spectator numbers are dwindling, sponsors fleeing?
A regular refrain in paddocks across the globe is a lack of interest in whatever category and a shunning of motorsport by sponsors and commercial partners. Geneva illustrated vividly why prospective sponsors give F1 and other motorsports genres a wide berth: if teams and commercial rights holders simply cannot be bothered to provide exposure for their current portfolios, what chance in future?
The FIA's stand - split, as it should, between touring and sport - showcased road and sporting safety programmes, including emergency extraction demonstrations. That is, though, as far as it went, and for good reason: having leased out the commercial rights to all its championships, the FIA should not be called upon to fund marketing programmes of various promoters, from F1 through WEC/WRC to WTCC.
A senior motorsport media executive, asked to comment on what is an extremely perturbing situation, expressed an incisive observation: "This is an interesting and illuminating analysis of where motorsport sits in the overall 'big picture' for manufacturers.
"It is definitely not front and centre - [it's] a fringe activity in many ways. It's a fact I need to remind my colleagues of quite often - motorsport is not the centre of the world, it's just the centre of our world."
Why, then, do manufacturers annually spend hundreds of millions on motorsport programmes without bothering to systematically exploit the benefits? Which in turns begs the question: does motorsport actually have a future? Clearly only with alternative energies...
Motor shows are generally superb barometers of the motor industry's health, and the Geneva International Motor Show - hosted annually in March, and therefore Europe's first major car expo each year - is no different.
Switzerland has no domestic motor industry save for specialist builders, and therefore visitors are spared the overt patriotism of the Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo or Detroit shows while gaining glimpses of motoring's future.
Although not in the EU, Geneva is easily accessible from virtually every corner of the continent, particularly as budget airlines have major hubs at the airport. Some brisk walking, though, does justice to the show's seven halls in a single 12-hour day - so it is little wonder Geneva annually attracts 700,000 visitors over 14 days.
Indeed, so eager are manufacturers to reveal their latest wares in Geneva that virtually every brand strutted new ranges and/or technologies. Audi premiered its Q2 cross-over and Porsche a totally revamped (downsized, turbo) Boxster/Cayman range. Hyundai revealed its Ioniq hybrid/all-electric eco series, Bugatti the astounding ￡1.9million 260mph Chiron, and Alfa Romeo showed its long-awaited Guilia.
Among the concept cars - most built specifically for the occasion - Citroen's DS brand displayed the E-Tense all-electric supercar, Volkswagen a variety of hybrid/electric SUVs, and Pininfarina the world's first hydrogen-powered track car (pictured). Specialist builders unveiled dream cars of every configuration, size and propulsion system. All-in, the show pointed to a vibrant future for the motor industry.
Strangely, though, motorsport displays were sparse and mainly disappointing despite the current focus on road-relevant technology. True, the country bans wheel-to-wheel car racing, but the show's brochure made much of Swiss motorsport stars such as past World Endurance champions Marcel Fassler and Sebastien Buemi, plus Formula 1's multiple podium finisher Romain Grosjean. Tellingly, there was not, though, a Sauber in sight.
This writer was not alone in being disappointed: a trusted media source said that Jaguar, about to enter Formula E in partnership with Williams, had sent a delegation to Geneva to check out how various brands leveraged their motorsporting involvements. "After checking out what was on offer they felt they hadn't learned anything," he said.
Could it be that motor manufacturers suddenly feel squeamish about pushing their presence in fossil-fuelled sports, and now treat their participation as one does an embarrassing uncle - hushed away behind locked doors, and only spoken of when asked?
How else could one explain that the VW Group, by far the biggest spender in global motorsport with successful campaigns in the WEC (via Porsche and Audi), World Rally Championship (VW) and the DTM (Audi), and formerly in the World Touring Car Championship with SEAT too, made not a single reference to its sporting successes in Geneva?
Porsche displayed an exquisite endurance racer - the Type 718 after which its new Boxster is named - yet there was no sign of the Le Mans 24 Hours and WEC title-winning 919.
Ditto VW's stand: rather than crow loudly about its WRC domination, its rally team was ignored, and the sport represented solely by Hyundai. It seems rather perverse to spend ￡400m annually on various championship campaigns, then keep the fruits of those endeavours hidden from 700,000 petrol-heads.
Asked whether motorsport suddenly no longer offered road car relevance, a VW spokesperson said: "Of course there are lots of marketing synergies between road and rally - this is the main reason why we are doing it. WRC has a global audience, and our success has a very positive influence on people considering Volkswagen as their next car."
If so, why could VW not dedicate just 10 square yards of its Geneva space (out of 500) to its Polo WRC?
Toyota's attitude was equally baffling: Geneva presented the perfect opportunity of revealing some details of its plans to conquer the WEC again, yet a (virgin) Dakar Hilux truck was Toyota's sole motorsport display. A Toyota spokesman explained that calls about displays lay with regional offices, and not the motorsport division - which seems to be the industry norm.
Of five motor manufacturers - Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault, McLaren and Honda - currently competing in F1, only two, namely reigning champion Mercedes and recent returnee (in a team ownership capacity) Renault, displayed contemporary grand prix cars. In fact, Mercedes, as could be expected, was the only one to do F1 proud, displaying one of its intricate W06s plus a replica constructors' championship trophy.
There was, though, no sign at all of Honda's lamentable current campaign, or even reference to the current hybrid F1 engine - despite the technology being available in Honda road cars. Yes, Honda racers were on display - the 50-year-old RA272 that won the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix, and a WTCC Civic, but that was the gist of it. Did someone say "Racing is in Honda's blood"?
Asked to comment, a Honda spokesperson told Autosport: "Our show car is currently being updated, and we do not display the current engine. The 1965 car is a thing of beauty, and it represents our racing heritage." Yes, but even last year's engine would have been a good start, as would some reference to current F1.
Despite Ferrari making much of its sporting heritage in the run up to its October IPO - and going racing rather than indulging in traditional advertising - its red single-seater was present at the show only during the opening week, and was thereafter replaced by a Ferrari 488 road car for "reasons of space". Against this background one wonders why Fiat/Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne wishes to return Alfa Romeo to F1?
On the Pininfarina stand there was, though, a Ferrari-engined F1 car: the 1969 Sigma design study, created to showcase safety advances. 'Back to the future' sprang to mind.
McLaren Automotive showed sportscars in every hue - and a GT racer - yet there was no sign of its F1 programme - although sponsors at least rated mentions on etched glass display frames. A McLaren source viewed the lack of an F1 car as a "non-issue", explaining: "This year we opted to fill [the stand] with production cars, not least because we had new product to launch and plenty to say about that new product.
"There are and always have been marketing synergies between McLaren Automotive and the other McLaren companies, including McLaren Racing and all who sail in her."
It does, however, seem strange to keep whatever synergies hidden from 1.4 million eyeballs for want of a few square yards.
Synergies were, though, to be found on TAG Heuer's impressively spacious display area that celebrated 100 years since the company invented a chronograph able to time to within one-hundredth of a second. The stand featured more competition cars than all others combined - so it seemed - and included the 1970 March 701 driven by Swiss Jo Siffert, the first driver sponsored by the brand.
Although TAG Heuer and McLaren split last year, the display did more to peddle McLaren's F1 heritage than did the team itself, with a rough and (far from) ready TAG turbo of the type that powered the team to three consecutive mid-eighties titles being on view, as were various visuals of Ayrton Senna during the legendary Brazilian's McLaren days.
The latest beneficiary of TAG Heuer's largesse is Red Bull, and hence the RB12 show car. It will, though, be intriguing to see whether RB13 features on Aston Martin's stand in 2017, for the company's winged logo will appear on the nose of the blue cars as from this weekend's Australian Grand Prix.
Although Red Bull's plans - revealed here in July - to run Aston-badged Mercedes engines in exchange for a joint supercar road car project designed for Aston Martin-Lagonda by Red Bull Technology CTO Adrian Newey came to nought after Daimler (a five per cent shareholder in Aston) nixed the plan, an alternate deal was struck.
Aston Martin's majority owners, an Italian investment fund, plan to list by 2020 and, in the words of a party close to the deal, believe "F1 can add sparkle to Aston imagery". Aston Martin branding will appear on the RB12 from this weekend's Australian Grand Prix onwards, with the road car project announced simultaneously during a function in Melbourne.
Aston Martin executives Dr Andrew Palmer and Simon Sproule are close to Red Bull's management, having cut the Infiniti Red Bull title sponsorship deal while with the Renault-Nissan alliance, and effectively the latest arrangement is a continuation of that concept using a different brand.
What of Renault itself? Its stand featured an F1 car pointing skywards like a rocket ready for take-off (occupying less space that way?), sat as it was alongside a similarly poised e.dams Formula E car, while a Renault Sport Series one-make racer rated a dedicated stand.
"The [hybrid F1] engine has been on display in previous years, and [it was] time to give space to something else - space is not infinite at these events," was a Renault spokesperson's response. True, but perceptions linger, and Geneva provided the ideal opportunity to reveal the F1 team's new battle dress rather than doing so in Melbourne's docks (pictured above) two days before the opening grand prix.
In fact, Renault's e.dams Formula E car was one of a quartet of such cars in Geneva: TAG Heuer showed one, as did DS alongside the E-Tense (DS sponsors Virgin Racing's entry), with the fourth gracing (Audi tuner) Abt's corner. Kudos to Citroen, too, for showing its WTCC C-Elysee, and rolling out drivers Jose Maria Lopez and Yvan Muller at a press conference.
That Formula E machinery outnumbered contemporary F1 cars by four-to-three suggests the FIA's nascent electric formula is gaining traction over hybrids at manufacturer level, with Jaguar's pending entry about to further skew the equation. True the spectator numbers aren't there, but a trend is a trend, and F1 commercial rights holder Formula One Management should take note.
Here, though, dogs and tricks spring to mind, for strategic marketing has never been FOM's strongest point. For proof look no further than the fact that the perfect demographic rolled up in Geneva - an audience totalling 10 times the average Sunday grand prix attendance - yet not as much as a single F1 T-shirt was on sale.
F1 therefore missed a golden opportunity of reaching out to its fans, of explaining its intricacies - ahead of a new season, which brings with it changes to tyre regulations and qualifying procedures - of increasing awareness of F1's social media platforms and live timing apps. And this jibe is not aimed solely at FOM: 75 per cent of teams gave the show a miss. Any wonder spectator numbers are dwindling, sponsors fleeing?
A regular refrain in paddocks across the globe is a lack of interest in whatever category and a shunning of motorsport by sponsors and commercial partners. Geneva illustrated vividly why prospective sponsors give F1 and other motorsports genres a wide berth: if teams and commercial rights holders simply cannot be bothered to provide exposure for their current portfolios, what chance in future?
The FIA's stand - split, as it should, between touring and sport - showcased road and sporting safety programmes, including emergency extraction demonstrations. That is, though, as far as it went, and for good reason: having leased out the commercial rights to all its championships, the FIA should not be called upon to fund marketing programmes of various promoters, from F1 through WEC/WRC to WTCC.
A senior motorsport media executive, asked to comment on what is an extremely perturbing situation, expressed an incisive observation: "This is an interesting and illuminating analysis of where motorsport sits in the overall 'big picture' for manufacturers.
"It is definitely not front and centre - [it's] a fringe activity in many ways. It's a fact I need to remind my colleagues of quite often - motorsport is not the centre of the world, it's just the centre of our world."
Why, then, do manufacturers annually spend hundreds of millions on motorsport programmes without bothering to systematically exploit the benefits? Which in turns begs the question: does motorsport actually have a future? Clearly only with alternative energies...
