Our adventurer saw the Great Wall Wingle; his photographer saw the wall itself...

Wednesday 25 April

13.30 (CST)

That's me sorted. Done all I need to do at the conference and heading back to the hotel to put my feet up. Ant should be in the air now, winging his way homewards. I have it all to do tomorrow. After yesterday's appalling weather it really is quite nice outside and you can actually see blue sky above. Maybe a walk then.

08.30 (CST)

Here I am back at the Automotive News China conference, feeling a lot better than I ought to after a few beers out with Ant last night. He arranged for us to meet at his favourite Italian restaurant - well, he's been there once before - and I set out into the night. First stop was the concierge to translate the address into Mandarin. I've done this before you know.

That done, a mile long queue for a cab and when it did arrive the driver hadn't got a clue re the address. The doorman had a go before disappearing back into the hotel to get a map. I meanwhile am wondering how far away it is and how much it's going to cost. Finally on the way and the driver stops twice to look at the map then gets a call on his mobile, the ring tone appeared to be a small child hurling abuse at him. Bizarrely the restaurant is all of four minutes drive from the hotel! I could probably have walked it.

After food we hit a couple of bars, the second of which was a country and western pub called Nashville - and why not when you're in Beijing? Performing on stage were two middle aged guitar playing Chinese women which didn't bode well but they had just the most brilliant country voices. Tried some local beers and one brew in particular was quite challenging, then it was time to have fun with another taxi driver. You would have thought he would know the Westin Hotel? He did, actually, but not before I finally got the message across by saying it in the worst Chinese accent that you'll ever hear.

Tuesday 24 April

18.00 (CST)

At the reception following the Automotive News China conference I bumped into former General Motors Europe chief Nick Reilly. Nick, who was also MD at Vauxhall for a while, retired a couple of months ago but he is obviously not spending his time tending the garden. He has got a couple of gigs with companies looking to expand their presence in China and Asia. Nor is he being the typical retired Brit and decamping to Spain or the South of France - he's going to live in Kuala Lumpur.

16.30 (CST)

I'm glad I've been inside all day, it's absolutely tipping down outside. I can't image what it must be like for those who had stands outside at the show - I wonder if some people had to make the long walk again? Apparently that happened a couple of years ago.

My hosts at JLR have kindly put a Range Rover and driver at my disposal so I'm lording it around town. Automotive News conference is interesting, I'm learning how to sell cars in China, you never know it might come in handy one day. Ant has been sweeping up on the pix then looking to see if there's anything we can do tonight. I have been to Beijing many times but still haven't worked out my way around. Ant has already braved the metro after taking a roundabout route into town via a taxi from his hotel to the airport, then the train into the centre before disappearing underground.

08.30 (CST)

Pretty swanky place called Capital M last night but a very relaxed atmosphere after a hard day at the show. Have taken an executive decision not to go back into the show today having done all I could yesterday. I just couldn't stand the hour long drive back out there. Most of the other journos on the JLR trip have caught the bomber home today. At lunchtime I am off to the Automotive News China conference across town which will be running today and tomorrow. It should provide a good insight into the market here.

Monday 23 April

16.30 (CST)

Well, that's the last interview of the day, with Tony Williams who heads up the design for MG and Roewe here in China. He's now based in Shanghai rather than Birmingham and says it's a bit different but good fun.

Have been charging around a bit too much to see if I can spot any odd vehicles, actually charging is not the right word - trying to dodge through the seething mass of humanity more like. I did see something that looks incredibly like a Mini while my favourite name was the Great Wall Wingle [domestic version of the Steed pickup truck just launched here in UK - ed]. What on earth was GM thinking by putting a lurid green Chevrolet Camaro on the front of their stand?

I never did see Ant again but I see from the site he has been working away, bless him. I think he half knackered himself yesterday climbing the Great Wall, the real one, not the cars. He had to order in a takeaway Italian last night - now there's a different spin on things.

One thing I do know is that I am in desperate need of a shower and other amenities: How can you let about a million people into a show and only have two urinals in each of the toilets? Oh, and don't put carpets on the toilet floor.

There's an informal trough with JLR this evening - a beer might be in order as well.

12.00 (CST)

A bit like the Delhi show earlier this year, I feel some way out of my comfort zone trying to find out what is going on. Try as we might, no one has actually been able to unearth a press conference list, there's not even anything on the organiser's website. Finally found one, of sorts, given to me by Ford PR man Craig Von Essen and guess what? Most of the conferences are at the same time in different halls! Never mind, there's not a lot of point in going to them as my mandarin is non-existent. As I feared, the place is rammed with people and getting around is not easy. It has also become fiercely hot.

11.00 (CST)

Some, it seems, we're not as lucky as us. Just bumped in to [Volkswagen UK's] Paul Buckett who took three hours to get in from the centre of the city. His crew were not allowed along the closed roads and had to hoof the last 40 minutes - good job it wasn't raining. Met up with camera man Anthony Holdgate and have left him snapping away following our lavish brunch in the on-site MacDonalds.

08.00 (CST)

I am totally confused. The place we went to yesterday to collect our credentials (I got the passport back, by the way) was not actually the show halls, despite having 'Auto China' emblazoned all over it. This was a shame as it was only about 10 minutes from the hotel. The actual show is out near the airport, about an hour on a coach away. But how cool is this, we had a police escort complete with blues and twos. Despite the roads around the show being closed, we got the full VIP treatment right up to the doors.

Sunday 22 April

00.00 (CST)

It's midnight and the plan for the early night has gone out the window. I blame those JLR girls. Just come back from the press conference with Victoria Beckham. Huge crowd outside - for her not me. Plan is to head for the show at 7am. I sooooo looking forward to that.

16.00 (CST)

Just spent the morning in JLR's largest dealership in the world in Beijing. It's massive and the showroom alone can hold 20 cars. The customers get pretty well looked after as well. There’s a restaurant, lounge area with wi-fi, a table tennis table (of course) and even a massage room – you won’t get one of those in Honest Joe’s used car lot. It is apparently a nice day, hot and the sun is shining – although you still can’t actually see it, or, indeed, any blue sky, just the smog and an endless cascade of blossom coming from the trees. As I was in China I thought it would be good to have a curry at lunchtime. Actually, the hotel restaurant has a full English roast on offer complete with Yorkshire pudding but I resisted the urge. In fact today was “bubble-iscous” day in the restaurant, hence the bizarre appearance of a girl in a bubble in the hotel foyer – a somewhat surreal site. Even so I still didn’t quite get the “bubble” bit apart from another girl walking around the restaurant in a see-thru ra-ra skirt – she did have a leotard on as well. It was covered in teaspoons.

I really should stop smoking that stuff...

Next it was back in the fleet of Jaguars and Land Rovers to go to the show to collect credentials. Unfortunately there was a queue that appeared to be several miles long which didn’t bode well given how hot it was outside. Fortunately a very nice man from JLR China collected up all our passports and said he would sort it all out for us and sent us back to the hotel... at least I think he was from JLR.

Saturday 21 April

22.00 (CST)

Saturday afternoon and we were stuck in a huge traffic jam! It took considerably longer than expected to get back to the hotel from the press conference but at least there was an hour or so to relax before dinner with the JLR top bods via another traffic jam. Have to say most of us were flagging come pudding. Haven't seen Ant yet, although we have exchanged emails - he tells me he's nice and close to the runway at Beijing airport, in fact he has to keep his windows open so the aircraft can pass through on landing and take-off. He's been doing the sight-seeing thing and is off to the Great Wall in the morning... don't they make cars?

17.00 (Chinese Standard Time) Beijing

That went well, nice list of films to watch on the flight and, er, I fell asleep and didn't wake up until landing time! Still, the time passed quickly. Beijing, as ever, covered in smog so I have no idea what the weather is actually like. No time to rest, it's straight out to the first press conference with Land Rover chief designer Gerry McGovern telling us about the new special edition Evoque, the first fruits of the collaboration with Victoria Beckham. Looks pretty good as well and the Land Rover people are genuinely impressed with Victoria's input. Brand director John Edwards told me they have learned a lot from her about protecting the brand - she is very focused. We'll get to meet her at tomorrow's event.

Friday 20 April

14.28 (GMT) Heathrow airport

So, here we go again - on the road once more for the next round of the 2012 motor shows. Just checked into the BA lounge at T5, already spotted a couple of fellow travellers across a crowded room - PFPR out in in force with Peters Frater and Rawlinson, Ray Massey and Land Rover MD John Edwards. Bound to be a few more before long.

Looks like a busy schedule ahead with a couple of JLR events on Saturday and Sunday followed by the show proper on Monday and Tuesday followed by the Automotive News conference. You'll be able to read all about it on just-auto of course.  Lensman Anthony Holdgate is a day ahead of me, probably still sleeping off the effects of the horse tranquillisers he takes to get him through economy class. I, on the other hand, am in the officers mess - you wouldn't expect anything less, surely?

No Lewis or Stansfield with me this time, dammit, looks like I'm going to have to do some work .......

Just be grateful 'CJ' didn't install this Qashqai dashboard...

I will not be called upon to assemble Nissans any time soon.

Having just spent the day at the company's Sunderland factory in north east England, I found that I couldn't pass the basic skills test, the first towards getting a job on the line. It involved screwing three plates onto a frame and, although I completed the task, it was not within the 'qualifying' time. This will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with my DIY efforts. 

Time means everything on the Sunderland line where the tac time is 59 seconds as the plant churns out more than 420,000 cars a year - Qashqais, Jukes and Notes. And there's more to come with Leaf starting production there next year.

That is the next challenge along with bringing a new battery plant on stream which will supply both Nissan and Renault vehicles. We were visiting the factory for a progress report and all is going to plan.

Plant director Kevin Fitzpatrick said: "My ambition is to keep Sunderland as the number one plant in the UK." He expects output to rise over the next two years with the additional vehicles, including a new B-segment hatch from 2013, and with the Juke selling better than expected.

The Japanese manufacturer has sunk over GBP3.3bn into the factory since 1986 and now employs 4,900 people, 133 are still there from the original 430.

I did somewhat better with the driving as we were let loose on the test track in the awesome GTR and the Juke-R which shares the scary 3.8-litre twin turbo V6 and has an even scarier top speed of 160mph.

At least I thought I had done rather well until Jann Mardenborough from Nissan's PlayStation driving academy took the controls. But then he's obviously done it before... 

A well-earned night out for the team after two busy press days

Wednesday 7 March

TL - 7.00pm (CET) Lausanne

Wednesday - so we - that is Ant (273 pix and counting) Holdgate, boss Anna Ruddock and your correspondent - catch the train and rendezvous with the rest, hosted by Kia's Steve Kitson at a pub called the Pinte Besson in, appropriately, rue d'Ale. We have picked up, if you'll forgive the expression, Georgia Fox of Sims Images. She too is staying out in Lausanne - well out of Lausanne, as she puts it. Pinte Besson is reputedly the oldest hostelry in Lausanne but it serves traditional fondue which we have down our end while Stansfield, Wright and co tuck into the biggest steaks ever seen.

Almost. Well, they probably deserve it. Another show done, emails praising the coverage are shared. How can we improve for next time, asks Roger.

You'll have to wait. And by the way, did you know women have to use 10,000 words a day, but men only 2,000? That's Georgia's theory and she and Anna seemed to prove it. Strong, silent type signing off.

CJ - 5.50pm (CET)

I think that's me just about done. Back at the hotel and all copy written. Time I think to kick back and have a beer or two. The team is meeting up with the Kia PR team this evening. Let's see who wins.

TL - 1.00pm (CET)

Now here's an idea - guilty pleasures (of the four wheel kind) at a motor show, particularly Geneva where the Swiss love their styling. These are cars that you know you shouldn't like but do, according to Ford's Tim Holmes. How about Mansory and Gemball (or should that be Gumball?) for starters? Perhaps not. Any suggestions will be considered!

CJ - 12.50pm (CET)

This is all going downhill very quickly. Getting round the hall is impossible now the heaving masses have entered. Mind you, they seem to be quaffing the hospitality booze with a gusto that many a hack would be proud of. Just heard about Dacia’s plans for the UK and then left my phone on their stand. Why should that induce blind panic? We never used to have mobile phones or email how on earth did we ever manage? Renault then gave me a quick lunch for which I will be forever grateful and then left my bag on their stand. I now have everything back and making my way to the Kia stand to do some writing. Oh no, where are my trousers………

TL - 11.12am (CET) Geneva Palexpo

First baby spotted - well at least it was on second press day and not first when the 'surely too young to be journalists' count was a modest two, both aged around eight or nine.

CJ - 8.00am (CET)

A lie-in, of sorts. Maybe it was more than one last night. Anyway, most of the group are flying back to the UK later this morning but Roger, Steve Kitson and I are heading back to the shows – another pretty full day ahead. I am sooooooo looking forward to it. Plan is to leave early-ish and spend the evening touring the fleshpots of Lausanne. Well, having a fondue anyway. That should please Ant, it’s yellow.

TL - 6.30am (CET)

Forget what I said about Swiss trains last night - first one woke me at 4.30am then regularly from 6am. I need to sleep with the window open and my room in the splendid Royal backs onto the main line. Oh well, at least it gave me time to ponder more metrication: Mark Adams, Opel/Vauxhall chief designer, told me that the Mokka was only 10in longer than a Corsa. So that's 25cm or 25.4cm, as Andrew Didlick tells me.

Tuesday 6 March

TL - 18.30 (CET)

Much though we appreciate having a door-to-door chauffeur service (the aforementioned Peugeot 5008, now seven up including including driver), there is something to be said for using Geneva's free public transport service for show visitors – it's quick! The interminable traffic around Palexpo meant it took more than an hour from leaving the show to getting back downtown. Still, the conversation was entertaining. After nine interviews a beer seems appropriate before getting back to writing.

CJ - 2.30pm (CET)

So, the question is: how do people get the time to sit down and eat? I've been darting from stand to stand and each one is rammed with people filling their faces. But then, as ever, a good number of then can't possibly be journos. Just been in a round table with Opel boss Karl Freidrich Stracke who kept his cards very close to his chest on the subject of Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port factory. Everything is on the table, he said. Read into that what you will. Haven't seen photo shooter Ant since we met in the press room at 7.30am. He's obviously drowned in a sea of reveals. Either that or he's sitting on a stand eating.

CJ - 12.30pm (CET)

So far, I've been running to catch up since that early interview was delayed but I have had some interesting chats with Jeep, Ford, Suzuki and Honda. I've also bumped into a whole bunch of people I have not had a chance to actually stop and talk to. Next stop is the Kia stand. Two coffees and two cokes so far but no food. Someone pulled a lead out of the sound system on the Fiat stand earlier which sent a buzz - a very loud feedback buzz - through the show. This was followed a few minutes later by what sounded like a gunshot. Rather harsh punishment I thought. Also I would like thank Ford for playing the loudest imaginable music while I was interviewing Mike Manley at Jeep. We ended up yelling at each other and I've been hoarse ever since.

TL - 11.00am (CET)

Why do we still use mpg in the UK when all fuel has been sold in litres for 10 years? It was a question raised by Auto Express editor-in-chief Steve Fowler over dinner last might and emerged again this morning when we learnt that the Peugeot 208 will have emissions of between 87g/km and 99/km for the diesel model and from 99g/km for petrol models. See, grammes and kilometres again. Shouldn't we at least have miles per litre for fuel consumption or go the whole hog and switch to kilometres and litres per 100km for consumption? Buy Auto Express to find out the results of their survey, said Fowler, who revealed that a surprisingly large number of people favour miles per litre. Will it ever catch on?

CJ - 09.00 (CET) Geneva Palexpo

I don't know why I find this amusing but two place names on the way in from Lausanne were Gland and Coppet. Anyway the day has got off to a bad start with the first interview being delayed by half an hour which is going to have a bit of a domino effect. Having arrived at the show at 7.30am it all seemed nice and quiet. Not so now, I have already tripped over three trolley bags and why are these people wandering around looking at cars? Haven't they got any work to do?

CJ - 06.30 (CET) Lausanne

We are back on the bus with a packed breakfast. To be honest all I can manage is half a bun and a coffee, after all it is 5.30am at home. It's going to be a long, long day as I'm having dinner with Renault this evening so I will not get back to the hotel until around 11pm. Last night's Kia unveil was in an old stable and I'm sure there's a gag there somewhere but it's too early to think of one.

Monday  5 March

TL - 11.00pm (CET)

Fascinating evening with Keith Ryder, Peugeot's veteran designer, currently working on mid-size cars (so that'll be the 308 replacement, not that he would admit it). Keith, who hails from north-east England, has been with Peugeot for some 28 years and a couple of years ago decided he needed a change so spent 18 months in Sao Paulo, setting up Peugeot's Brazilian design studio. They have huge talent there, he says, and are extremely hard working.

The Sao Paulo studio has 3D capability but doesn't yet extend to building mock-ups. It joins Shanghai and Paris as the third of Peugeot's global design centres. One tip: drive a black car in Brazil. Keith had a 307CC which also had blacked out windows and was never stopped or hassled in the streets. "They must have thought I was a drug dealer," he joked.

TL - 6.10pm (CET)

You really can get six adults and their luggage in a Peugeot 5008 even if Peugeot PR Kevin Jones had to volunteer for the third row alongside the luggage. He assured us there was plenty of room, urging me in the seat ahead of him to move my seat back. Makes a change from catching the train from the airport and walking to the Capitole or the Nashville which have been headlineauto's show stopovers in recent years. The Hotel Royal where Andrew Didlick has us ensconced isn't far from either so handily placed.

Just heard that our snapper Ant Holdgate has had a long delay at London City airport but he's fairly confident of getting in this evening. I won't be joining him for our customary eve of show strategy meeting (a couple of beers at a rather good bar close to the station); dinner with Peugeot's design chief Gilles Vidal is on the agenda.

TL - 5.35pm (CET) - Geneva

Record time from home and through security at Bristol airport (just 19 minutes) gets the first part of the annual Geneva outing off to a good start. Sometimes we need to be thankful for EasyJet. Flying solo as I normally do for Geneva but at least I'm meeting up with Peugeot at the other end and staying with them which should be better than the hotels I normally end up in!

[PR chief] Andrew Didlick has just emailed to book me in for a round table with Frederic St Geours, VP of PSA brands tomorrow. That's interview #9 for me and takes the headlineauto team's tally above 25 for the first press day. It's going to be a busy show - and Matt reckons there are some 130 debuts as well.

This is, I think, my 24th Geneva show and my 20th successive one. I still get a buzz from it - will I still feel like that tomorrow night?

CJ - 2.00pm (CET) - Geneva

Off 'plane and on bus for one hour ride to the hotel in Lausanne. Back into Geneva this evening for a Kia presentation then out for steak and chips...

CJ - 12.50pm (GMT)

Somewhere over France. The BA flight is packed with most of the UK motor industry and journos. Quick chat with Vauxhall boss Duncan Aldred as we were in the queue to board. He was giving nothing away re speculation over Ellesmere Port but that's only to be expected. Roger has time with him tomorrow morning while I am seeing Opel chief Karl-Freidrich Stracke a bit later in the day.

CJ - 9.45am (GMT) - BA departure lounge, Heathrow

Well here we go again, bound for Geneva. Arrived in the BA lounge with the Kia massive. Colleague Roger Stansfield present and correct and moaning about the speed (lack of) of the wifi. Lewis will be joining the crew later going in from far flung Bristol airport. I have already had my shaving foam and deodorant taken away (it was ok last week). So a trip to the shops in the departure lounge which is normally against my religion. Looks like it's going to be a busy one, the three of us have something like 20-plus interviews to get through tomorrow and more on Wednesday so look out for a flood of copy - when we get to write it that is.

Geneva 2011. Compact PalExpo venue an easy walk from the airport is popular with journalists and auto executives alike

I am looking forward to next week’s Geneva Motor Show – I always do. As well as being an important date on the automotive calendar, the Geneva event always seems to mark the end of winter. This year promises to be an exciting show with more than 100 debuts at the last count and some highly interesting news to follow up on.

It will be interesting to hear the ‘world on the street’ from insiders at PSA and General Motors about the new alliance. At the Detroit show in early January there was much speculation that PSA was doing a deal with Fiat after Sergio Marchionne and Phillipe Varin were spotted together. It was a rumour quickly quashed by the Fiat boss who said they were attending a regular meeting of CEOs.

You often have to read between the lines when talking to executives and, to be fair, Marchionne did not seem to be trying to divert us along another path and events this week have shown  this to be correct. One thing Marchionne does keep telling us is that there will be more alliances and that we still have a big overcapacity problem in Europe.

No doubt that’s something we will be talking to car bosses about next week.

It was Detroit with a difference this year. Different largely because of the weather.

I’ve been covering this show for 20 years or so and the city has almost always been covered in snow and certainly freezing cold – minus 17C on one occasion.

Standing outside the Cobo Hall on the morning of the second press day, the sun was shining and it was unseasonably warm, +7C – almost unheard of. Exactly a year ago, my connecting flight through New York on the way home was cancelled because of snow storms.

The warmth this year spread through to the inside of the Cobo Hall. This was Detroit Show with a buzz about it even though there is small chance of the market returning the 16m plus of the mid-2000s. Now, the industry has shaken out and finds it can still make money in a market hovering around 13m.

No outrageous giant SUVs and pick-ups this year, the Ford Fusion and the Dodge Dart represented a softer, more environmentally-friendly approach to new modelsm though there were still cars to drool over. The new Porsche Carrera Cabriolet was one, while it was arguably outdone by the stunning Acura NSX.

Like most shows these days, most companies were talking green but there is still a heavy reliance on the internal combustion engine in the US. Petrol remains considerably cheaper than in Europe but reduced mpg and CO2 is very much at the forefront for all the carmakers with 40mpg seemingly the holy grail.

Form an orderly queue and wait

Chris Wright has been blogging regularly since landing in India for Delhi Auto Expo 2012. Here's the latest from his smartphone. All times local.

Thursday 5 January 18.45

They are very, very security conscious in India. Everywhere you go there are airport-style security checks. (Yet another) army of guards is stationed outside hotels and the show poking mirrors underneath the cars and opening vehicle bonnets and boots. You then have to go through one security scanner while your bag goes through another. Even more unnerving, I just stepped outside the hotel and there's a bunch of guys with Kalashnikovs. Hope they're on our side!

16.00

My day is complete - stray dog wandering around outside hall 14. Actually, I'm just on the way out of the show to head back to the hotel to write some copy. Waiting for the driver I discovered that aloos really are potatoes. They are on sale on the pavement among the vendors of maps of India and toy helicopters.

It's all a bit of rush as there's only a short time before it's cocktails and dinner - again with Mr Tata, he seems to have taken a shine to us. Then bed? Oh no, a 1am car to the airport and a 3.30 am flight back to dear old Blighty, I will only actually have been here for about 36 hours but it seems a lot, lot longer than that.

13.00

There appears to be street markets going on within the showground and around 99% of the people here are not media. I have just been told the show organisers have clamped down this year so I dread to think what it was like before, you can hardly move on the stands. Amongst it all, a Top Gear magazine stand. How about that, a little piece of home - no sign of Clarkson, May or Hammond though.

12:00

Well, I found the press room - or what passes for it - after a particularly long hike through dark corners and dusty alleyways and guess what? Nobody manning the accreditation desks, nor even any information about what to do. All the room needed was tumbleweed, it was deserted. The only useful thing I found was a sheet telling me what time the press conferences were on, an improvement on an earlier email which told me they were on but not when. It also gave me some idea as to where each manufacturer was in terms of the halls - some 14 of them at my last count. So it's back to reliance on the old 'special invitee' pass and some more arm waving.

I have just passed three kids scrabbling about on a pile of rubbish, all it needs now is some stray dogs wandering around.

11.00

OMG. I am never going to complain about Frankfurt again. The Auto Expo venue in Delhi is more like a building site. The halls are just as spaced out as the German show but the whole place is, what shall I say? Grubby. In sharp contrast to the gleaming new models on display inside the halls, the outside is littered with rubbish, it's hot and its dusty. But I guess it has a certain charm when set against the antiseptic levels of Europe, North America or Japan.

In fact, talking to one analyst who has been coming here since 1998, it's actually getting worse, not better. There appears to have been no attempt to tidy the place up.

Next problem, without the press pass, the army of guards on every stand are rather reluctant to let me into the back rooms to seek out interviews which calls for a lot more arm waving, I'm getting used to this. Once on the stand you can't then walk off the same way. Oh no, you have to go out a different way otherwise said guards just block your path. Think I'll have to go find the press room and my badge.

10.00

Another short but chaotic drive to the show after breakfast with Mr Tata. I saw monkeys by the side of the road, parrots in the sky and listened to Bangra music blaring on the radio.

The show is right opposite the law courts so my driver had to dodge gowned barristers crossing the four lane road as well as other traffic.

Fortunately the nightmare of trying to get my press pass was averted thanks to a special invitee pass given to me by JLR. Unfortunately there were still mile long queues to get in - even for those with press passes. Until, that is, I bumped into an old mate, Hormadz Sorabjee, editor of Autocar India. Now here's a man with connections, we were in within seconds and so I made my first interview by the skin of my teeth.

07:00

Up early ready for breakfast with Ratan Tata at my hotel before heading to the show. Some heart-warming news in the Economic Times delivered to my door - the organisers of the Auto Expo have not got fire clearance from the Delhi Fire Service which says that there are shortcomings in the safety preparedness of the venue. Organisers have so far not got back to the fire department and so technically there is no clearance. Oh, what the hell, let's go ahead with it anyway.

Wednesday 4 January 22:00

I've just been out to the flicks and had a ruby afterwards, it's just like being at home. Jaguar Land Rover's bash was held in a very swish cinema in a posh shopping mall and dinner - curry of course - was served in its equally swish restaurant. The Indians like their cinema, Hollywood ain't got nothing on Bollywood, you know, and so a good turn out was a given. I soon discovered that I had seen the films before though as JLR used footage old and new to explain the heritage story.

Thought I wasn't going to get there, though. My driver deposited me at the Maruti Suzuki headquarters and it took some waving of arms and pointing at Land Rover badges to explain where I really should be. I had a vision of now being at completely the wrong end of the city and taking several hours to get back on track. Fortunately the JLR ‘do' was only a few yards down the road. Once there I caught up with the only other two British journos attending the show (as far as I know), Steve Cropley and Gavin Green. Having already collected his show credentials as he came in on an earlier flight, Gavin has warned me of my impending nightmare tomorrow when I go to collect mine. I am soooooo looking forward to that.

Something that always strikes me when I visit India is how amazing opulence and appalling squalor seem to co-exist. Right next door to the very, very posh shopping mall is a huge roundabout upon which a whole shanty suburb has grown. A couple of other things, given the chaos on the roads and the blaring horns, road rage appears non-existent and, when I put my suit on, I was amazed by how much my clothes had shrunk over Christmas...

JLR SUV, Delhi traffic jam

On the road to the Jaguar Land Rover briefing and health and safety has definitely not made it to Delhi.

Every junction and roundabout is littered with tiny kids selling everything from flowers to - bizarrely - 747 jets, not real ones obviously.

Either that or they dodge between the traffic knocking on windows looking for money. No good asking me, I'm a hack - where's the PR?

Whew! That’s the first leg of travel done, actually had a pretty good sleep – apparently the plane hit some big turbulence for 20 minutes which I missed completely.

I’d forgotten how chaotic the traffic is in Delhi and how they use their horns constantly and the air quality!! It’s just a constant fug really.

Nice hotel, the Taj Mahal – not THE Taj Mahal, that would be a bit extravagant. First people I see in the lobby? [Autocar magazine supremo] Steve Cropley talking to Ian Callum and Fiona Pargeter. It’ just like being back home really.

Plan is to meet up with JLR shortly for a press conference and dinner. Breakfast with Mr Tata in the morning.

I’d quite forgotten how chaotic the roads are in Delhi.

Leaving the airport en route to the motor show here, the nice new expressway soon merges into the old two lane highway. When I say two lane, I mean three, four or even five created on an ad hoc basis by cars, buses, trucks, tuk tuks, and bikes, all sounding their horns. It can be quite a cacophony and I remember being told by Nissan when they started building the new Micra in India that the horn switch had to be beefed up for the local market.

Part of the problem, I guess, is that India is outgrowing itself. Businesses of all kinds are setting up all over the place and the infrastructure is lagging behind. Delhi is notorious for its parking problems as well – there are very few car parks.

It will be interesting to see what the motor show, which opens tomorrow, is like. First, I am seeing Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) for a press conference and dinner while breakfast is with Tata Group chief Ratan Tata.

A busy 24 hours before jumping on a jet back to the UK – then another 24 hours before heading to Detroit for the show there. Bit of a crazy start to the new year.

Driving from the centre of Naples to Fiat's Pomigliano factory takes you past some shanty towns that you would only expect onto to see in a third world country.

It's at odds with what Fiat has done to kick-start its struggling plant with an investment of EUR100m (US$130m) that has transformed it into what is now a benchmark for all Fiat and Chrysler's manufacturing sites in Europe, North America and Asia.

Since 2008, the plant has been completely re-structured, closing briefly for a few months when production of the Alfa 159 finished there.

The 7,000 operators have been re-trained and now proudly wear their new uniforms which are as spotless as the factory floor itself. It has not all been plain sailing, a year ago unions locked horns with Fiat concerning what they described as ‘draconian' changes to working practices.

That would appear to be behind them. Pomigliano has to work this time because there will be no more EUR100m investments coming its way.

Fiat manufacturing chief Stefan Ketter said: "Some people ask why did we bother with Pomigliano, it has no future. Well, this is the future for Fiat manufacturing. It's an investment in the people as well as the plant, based on personal responsibility and respect for the rules."

Such is the importance to Fiat of the Pomligliano plant and the all-new Panda which will be built there was that the big man himself, Sergio Marchionne, turned out. A rare sighting on a press launch.

His speech and answers during the Q+A were sharp, cutting even as he aimed swipes at other carmakers concerning their failure to tackle the issue of overcapacity in Europe, and Italian politicians for their failure to tackle Italy's economic woes.

But his best line came as he barely completed his first sentence. A technician rushed up to adjust the microphone placed at the top of Marchionne's woollen jumper.

"That's the first time I've ever let a guy get his hands around my throat," he quipped.