India, March 23 -- Last year, a dear friend who's a motoring journalist colleague-turned-787 Dreamliner pilot (yes!) asked whether I was making plans to meet him in Doha in October. I had no such plans, and definitely not to visit Doha. He thought maybe I would be attending the 2023 Geneva International Motor Show, that's why he called. I told him I wasn't going to attend the Geneva show either. Besides, what is the link between the show and the Gulf country? Why this bizarre line of questioning? Then he stopped teasing me and said that the Geneva Motor Show in 2023 is being held in Doha, Qatar. What.

Cut to 2024, and reports from the recently concluded Geneva International Motor Show at, well, Geneva have just come in, and whatever I ha...