Smoke, mirrors, girls and CARS

There were pretty girls galore, plenty of smoke and mirrors and then there were those CARS! The Johannesburg International Motor Show has come of age and compares favourably with the world's best showcases for petrolheads.

There were some cars that drew little attention and then there were some that had been placed on the manufacturers' stands to judge public opinion and others as a tease!

Volkswagen teased the eagle-eyed enthusiasts with a red Polo Vivo GT, complete with specs, but no mention was made of it during MD Dave Powels's speech.

Also on the VW stand, was the new Tiguan, Golf Cabriolet, Go concept car and the new Polo R WRC rally car which will make its appearance next year.

Stealing the limelight at this year's show is the FT-86, Toyota's interpretation of a true lightweight sports car.

The FT-86 concept hints at the final production version of this exciting front-engine, rear-wheel drive car, which is set for international production and South African introduction in 2012.

The completely new Yaris which is set for local introduction next month was also on the stand.

Star of the show

Visitors also got the first glimpse of Toyota's long-awaited Etios entry-level hatchback and sedan which is set for local introduction next year and is sourced from India.

Mercedes-Benz debuted the high-performance, heart-stopping SLS AMG Roadster. The Concept A-Class, is the overall star of the show.

Believe it or not, there was also a bicycle on display, the Smart ebike, which provides emission-free electric mobility on two wheels.

Ford unveiled the new Ranger bakkie along with the all-new Focus ST and the soon-to-be-launched Kuga.

Opposite the Ford stand was the new Mazda BT-50 bakkie which will come to market early in 2012, as well as a new Limited Edition version of the Mazda2.

For Audi the e-tron concept car, which made its global debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit earlier this year, was a highlight.

The Audi R8 GT Coupé was also there - only nine of these exclusive supercars have been allocated for the local market and all are spoken for.

Another first for South African showgoers was the Audi RS 3 - the latest in a long line of RS performance models based on standard Audi production cars.

The new BMW 1 Series, 6 Series Coupé, M5 and other performance cars locked attention on its stand.

Hyundai confirmed that the Veloster - a novel approach to the compact coupé segment with an unique third door - will be sold in South Africa soon.

Citroën's DS5 was the big attraction on the French manufacturer's stand. It will be available in South Africa next year.

After making its world debut at this year's New York Motor Show in April, the all new Kia Optima, together with the new Rio, were unveiled by Kia at this year's show.

The XKR-S, the most powerful and fastest series production sports car Jaguar has ever built - with a top speed of 300km/h - drew the petrol heads who visited the show like bears to a beehive.

Special mention must be made of Land Rover.

Not only was the new, radically re-designed Evoque a big crowd-puller but the off-road firm also showed off its electric Defender Game Viewer Concept Vehicle.

This vehicle has been developed by local Land Rover specialists, Barker Performance Products, with technical support from Land Rover product development engineers.

It sends a message to electric vehicle manufacturers that one does not have to spend millions of South African taxpayers' money in the development of a viable electric vehicle.

For Honda, the all-new Civic in four-door sedan and five-door hatchback guises was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the stand.

The line-up of new Honda models includes the recently-launched Ballade sedan, the recently-updated Honda Jazz range and the improved Honda Accord range.

• There are only three days left to get along to the show at Nasrec, so do yourself a favour and get down to the biggest gathering of the motor industry in the southern hemisphere.

The show opens each day at 9am and closes at 7pm with adults having to pay R80 for entry and children aged 6-12 R20.

Either buy at Computicket or at the gate and if you are worried about missing out on the Rugby World Cup semifinals, don't frettoo much, as the Rugby Fan Park will be televising both games live on big screens.