Geneva Motor Show (Salon Auto Show)

The Geneva Motor Show is the world’s only international motor show held annually. The Geneva Motor Show doesn't have the most debuts or the biggest attendance, but year after year it always manages to draw plenty of interest from nearly every major auto manufacturer. In addition to the usual suspects, the Geneva auto show also attracts a large contingent of European design houses that use Geneva's intimate show floor to display their latest designs. Without a home country to dominate the proceedings, there's guaranteed to be an interesting mix of both production and concept vehicles from every corner of the world. And its place on the calendar each spring gives the European auto manufacturers one last chance to debut new models before the summer selling season.

The Geneva Motor Show is often called "a nice little show" because of its laid-back feel and easy-to-navigate show floor. With only two levels of displays in one giant hall, you can see just about everything on the show floor in one easy lap. Most of the major manufacturers have the kind of large displays you would expect, but the Geneva auto show floor also includes smaller stands where designers and small-volume specialty builders show off outlandish creations that you're not likely to find in most auto shows.

Since its start in 1905, the frequency and neutrality of the Geneva auto show has made it a popular place for significant world premieres. Jaguar in particular has brought out some of its most famous nameplates at Geneva auto shows past. In 1951 it showed off the XK120 coupe, followed 10 years later by the now legendary E-Type. Ten years after that it was the Lamborghini Countach (1971) that drew the stares of show goers in Geneva. Another 10 years on and it was the Audi quattro (1980) making its world debut, followed a year later by the Volkswagen's Scirocco coupe (1981).

Last year at the Geneva Motor Show the big news revolved around the battle between BMW and Lexus. In one corner it was the 2006 BMW 3 Series, the benchmark of the small sport sedan class. It didn't need car show girls or over-the-top presentations to make news, it just needed to show up. In the other corner was the 2006 Lexus IS 250, a redesigned version of the IS 300 that never really made a dent in 3 Series sales since its introduction. Lexus wanted to change all that and figured it could steal some of the 3 Series' thunder by making its world debut in the same hall.

Exotics took up their share of the auto show floor at last year's Geneva auto show. On one stage stood the 2006 Ferrari F430 Spider, the convertible version of the "entry-level" F430 coupe. It looked good top up or down and featured the same 483-hp V8 as the coupe. If there was one car that stood a chance of drawing the press away from the Ferrari stand, it was the 2006 Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Even painted an unflattering shade of yellow, it still looked gorgeous. With "only" 380 hp it would be no match for the Ferrari at the track, but its style, both inside and out, made it look worth the risk. Last on the exotics list was the 2006 Bentley Continental Flying Spur. Essentially a sedan version of the hugely popular Continental GT, the Flying Spur was billed as the world's fastest sedan. And with 550 hp we didn't doubt it.

As you can see, no one auto manufacturer can call Geneva home. From the British to the Italians to the Germans, you can find a little bit of everything at the Geneva Motor Show.

Geneva is one of Europe's biggest motor shows - no arguament there - but unlike a Detroit Motor Show, or even a Frankfurt Motor Show, Geneva is more about style and design, rather than all-out horsepower.

That's not to say that the 75th annual Geneva International Motor Show at the Geneva Palexpo exhibition complex didn't host a number fire-breathing exotic sports cars.

Indeed, Ferrari's F430 Spider, Aston Martin's new V8-powered Vantage and Lamborghini's Concept S are just a few of the rare stars from this year's show, but a real sense of style and elegance, what the French might call élan, pervaded the event.

So if it's visual feast that you're after, then you won't be disappointed with what the Geneva Motor Show offered up, with more new cars and concept studies than you shake an dipstick at. Just take a look at the list below to see how many new cars were on show - and there are many other models than we simply couldn't cover in time.

One of the more interesting new cars to make its debut in Geneva was the second generation Lexus IS range, which as well as getting a Europe-friendly diesel engine, also packs a new petrol powered V6. Should be one watch.

The German arm of General Motors, Opel, also unleashed its new Zafira, which will give Honda's impressive Odyssey solid competition not only in the exterior styling stakes, but also in terms of power - the go-fast version makes 176kW!

Mitsubishi showed off the exciting Pininfarina-styled Colt coupe-cabriolet, complete with a folding metal roof (like the Peugeot 206 CC), which looks like becoming one of the hotter items in the Mitsubishi stable thanks to its bold styling and compact dimensions.

Alfa Romeo's new Brera and 159 models gave the Italian automaker something to crow about, Honda released a new concept car that shows what the next generation Civic models will look like, and we can't forget Mazda's new MX-5 either, which is perhaps one of Japanese car makers most important models since the RX-8.