The 2024 Geneva motor show provided a classic case of being able to hold two conflicting opinions and believe both to be true.

You can call the show poor - although perhaps not the “pathetic” that one car maker did in private - yet still have enjoyed being there.

Geneva's problem was as much what it used to be rather than what it was. If a new show were set up in a different city and this were the result, we would probably be giving more credit for getting the manufacturers that did turn up there in the first place.

Still, the two halls were too stuffed with old cars and coffee shops; they would have been better just having the one open to create a bit more buzz and a busy feel.