Minnesota | schwingeninswitzerland

Many US cities have auto shows (Detroit, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Cleveland, Columbus, Portland, Minnesota’s Minneapolis/Twin Cities, Orange County (OC), New York, Miami, South Florida, St. Louis, Richmond, Los Angeles (LA), Seattle, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Silicon Valley). Click here for a 2012 auto show schedule and here for a list of Motor Trend shows. He has even been to the Detroit show several times. I’ve never been, so I was excited to see what it was all about. The Geneva Motor Show is held at Palexpo every March.

Last Friday, we had date night. I picked him up after work, but didn’t tell him where we were headed. Tickets to the Geneva Auto Show (officially known as the 82nd International Motor Show and Accessories) are half price after 4:00 p.m., so it was cheaper to go to the car show than to go to a movie! Although we know people who spent days there, a few hours was enough time for us to hit the highlights. He was pretty excited when he realized where we were headed and we had a really good time.

“You got cars, they got rims.” There were countless booths filled with rims.

The show isn’t just cars, there is also a hall full of accessories booths. From rims, to tools to garage doors, to car washes, it has just about everything auto-related you can imagine. Walking through that hall, he said it reminded him of a trade show.

These doors are made to be opened by your driver.

Since this is Geneva, there were luxury cars galore.

Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?

I loved the matte paint job.

BMW 6 Series Grand Coupe

Despite the hype about the new Bentley SUV, the only thing we liked about the car was its sweet rims. We predict you will see these on Cribs soon.

You can see their appointment to the queen in the top right corner. He liked the Aston Martins better.

The name is Bond, James Bond. Yeah, baby.

Car enthusiasts were jazzed about the new concept cars (also known as prototypes), cars made to showcase new styling or technology . Many of them were electric. While these are not yet on the market, they provide a glimpse into what what we’ll see in the future.

BMW i8 Concept Car

The American Car companies were there and they offered great value for the money, running much less than comparable European models.

Chinese automakers were also there. I’ve seen several SsangYong‘s around Geneva.

Some booths offered entertainment like foosball or a simulated driving game.

He was expecting to see more models, but apparently they only hire models in evening gowns and cocktail dresses for the press days and special events. The cars were the real eye candy. The sports cars were some of the biggest attractions; they just looked sweet.

Kids loved this car.

Many of the exhibitors restored or modified cars. I have never seen as many flip-up doors. It was like a giant episode of Pimp My Ride.

Some of the modifications were more useful.

You can buy cars at the auto show. Each of us decided on the three we wanted. His top three: Aston Martin (any of them), the Jeep Cherokee and the Tesla Sedan.

Being small, I love a small car. I wanted a Mini and any Lotus. Although I am sure this phrase has never been written, for my third, the Maybach edged out the Smart Car. The champagne in the back helped sell me.

Sorry Smart, you lost by a nose. If it is any consolation, I am more likely to buy you in real life since I can’t afford a Maybach.

Geneva Auto Show highlights automakers fight (cbc.ca)

When you think of Switzerland’s winter sports, you probably think of skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, ice skating, hockey or maybe even Telemark. When you think of dog sled racing, mushing, you probably think of places like Finland, Canada, Alaska, Colorado or even Minnesota. Chances are, Switzerland isn’t your first thought. In the 1950’s Switzerland encountered sled dog racing. It didn’t take long for it to become popular.

While they don’t host the Iditarod, Switzerland hosts many large races. Les Mosses, near Chateau d’Oex, hosted the Mara Cross-Country Dog Sled Race, one of the most important of the season, this past weekend.

The race was 16 kilometers long and the dogs traveled of speeds averaging around 20 mph (32 kph). In the competition there was no limit on the number of dogs that could pull the sled. Generally, the number ranged from 5 to 10.

The dogs can be any breed, although most were some type of husky. There were also Malamutes, Labrador Retriever, Samoyeds and Greenland Dogs.

The level of cooperation between the dogs and the mushers was astounding. The musher would say “left” or “right” and the dogs would turn accordingly. When they crossed the finish line, the musher would stay stop and immediately the dogs obeyed.

Speaking with some of the participants, they said that the hardest part is training the dogs. They said that it was in their blood so, most of the dogs picked it up quickly, but there is always an occasional dog who is never able to master the necessary commands.

They said that the next most difficult part is choosing which dogs to put where in the harness (the lineup). The smartest, most obedient and most dominant go up front. The strongest go in the back. The dogs must be arranged so they can work together and maintain the same speed.

The dogs get extremely excited when they are hitched up to the sled as they know they are going to get to run. They bark and jump. People hang on to the dogs to ensure (along with the brake), that the dogs don’t take off too early and things stay under control. When the officials count down to the start, the assistants let go and the musher gives the start command, the dogs sprint off the line.

When the dogs finish, they are scanned to ensure that the dogs that finished were the same ones that started and no dogs were swapped for fresh ones while out of sight on the course.

It looked like tons of fun. We are dog lovers. Watching the race made us want to try a lesson, a dog sled tour, or even a trip. It looked like so much fun. Although I don’t think you will see us participating in the Iditarod anytime soon, dog sledding has definitely been added to the list of things we would like to do next year.