2006 Geneva Auto Show

I'm getting ready to fly to Switzerland to cover the 2006 Geneva Auto Show or, as it's officially known, the . The Geneva show is one of Europe's biggest, especially considering this is an off year for Frankfurt's biannual show. I've seen a steady stream of advance notices about the Geneva show, with lots of concepts and exotics. Some of the previews hint at a trend toward mini-SUVs, such as the Volkswagen Concept A, a pretty cool-looking car that might be termed a crossover on this side of the Atlantic, and the Toyota Urban Cruiser, which dips below the Rav4 in size. The exotics are going to be in full force--Ferrari will show the 399 GTB, Brabus will have a V-12 S Biturbo, and Koenigsegg is bringing the CCX, which could turn out to be faster than the Bugatti Veyron. For concepts, we'll be looking for Saab's potential future in its Aero-X, Nissan's proposal for a postapocalyptic tourer with its Terranaut, and Hyundai's design for a crossover competitor in the Hed-2 Genus. There's also the Hornet concept from Dodge, which takes some cues from the Scion xB. Although it's called International, this is a European show, so we will cover a few cars that aren't available in the United States, just to see how the other half, or third, lives. We'll be looking at a tiny French roadster called the Zest, as well as possibly a Skoda or two, and we'll try to find out when Smart will start selling its microcars in the United States.