Volkswagen's blue ice

Car shows are flamboyant affairs, a fact made very evident by Volkwagen's launch of its new Concept A mini-SUV. That's it in the picture, but that's not the story here. After watching its unveiling, I stepped up to get a closer look and put my hand down on a big, icy-looking block, one of many forming the backdrop for and surrounding the Concept A, only to find out what looked like ice actually was. Maybe ice is pretty easy to come by in the frigid winter climate of Geneva, but it can't be easy to drop 4-by-4-by-4-foot cubes of blue ice into the middle of a convention center. I think the bar for impressive car launches has just been raised.