Want to report the Geneva motor show with PistonHeads? All you have to do is win!
We know what you think about us here at PH HQ. Swanning around in flash motors all day, lavishly entertained by PR departments desperate for coverage on the homepage, and generally living the high life. It gets worse at motor show time, when the industry pulls out all the stops to entertain us with leggy models draped over shiny new metal, celebrity chefs hired to ply us with oddly shaped things on cocktail sticks, and a heady procession of champagne-fuelled parties.
Is this your chariot a-waiting?
You're not far wrong, as it happens, but at least here at PH we believe in sharing the love. Here's how we're going to do it.
It's all thanks to the support of our own new best mates at SEAT, the ones who put emo-thee-ohn, pah-thee-ohn and paella into performance. (It's all right, they're from Barcelona.*) Yes, thanks to SEAT's generosity, PH will be taking two new temporary team members to Geneva for a 'trip of a lifetime' to help us report on this year's motor show. And we're picking our ace new reporters with this excellent competition - so it could be you!
The premise is simple. You (the winner) will be doing the words, and you'll be taking your best mate** along for the ride, specifically to take pictures*** for your article. And in return for this largesse from SEAT and ourselves, we want to publish a diary-style report detailing your adventures. So you'll need to file an article within 24hrs of your return to the UK, at which point your exploits will be exposed to public scrutiny on the PH homepage.
Geneva for lunch? Let's call it dinner...
The fun starts bright and early on the morning Monday Feb 28th, when our lucky winner (and companion) will rendezvous with PH writer Riggers here at PH HQ in Teddington. Riggers will hand you the keys to
RacingPete's long-term SEAT Leon Cupra R
, which will be your personal chariot for the road trip, and you'll set off in convoy for Geneva and the show. (Crossings, fuel and baguettes en-route to be covered variously by SEAT and PH.)
Arriving at your SEAT-funded hotel (near to Geneva) that evening, having hopefully enjoyed your experience with one of the best-performing hot hatches in showrooms today, you'll likely be plied with traditional show fare of Steak+Frites, possibly a frothy stein or two, and encouraged to take an early night ready for a long day ahead...
The Geneva show hall - Palexpo
You'll be up with the lark on March 1st, when you'll start for the show with our man Riggers. He'll hand you your passes at the front door, you'll meet the rest of the PH HQ show team, then we'll leave you to get on with your report with no additional interference from us.
You can follow the daily schedule of press conferences if you wish, or fly solo, homing in on the metal and stories that you think fellow PHers will want to read about. All the great and the good of the industry will be there, from automotive magnates, through legendary designers to project engineers - and if you spot 'em, the chances are your PH credentials will mean they stop for a chat. Or indeed, run away. Lunch on the day will be provided by the kindly folk on the SEAT stand.
That evening, Riggers is authorised to splash more of the PH budget on more Steak+Frites, or alternatively you could attempt a feat that no motoring journalist has achieved in living memory, by talking a couple of the glamorous show models into a dinner date. (Your names will be legend, but don't expect help from Riggers...)
Blokes do this too, but try finding pics...
Day three is the road trip home in the Leon Cupra R (assuming it's back from the bodyshop, eh Pete?) again in the convoy with our intrepid reporter Riggers. AKA the man with the PH expense account. (See small print for exclusions. Er, no, the other small print...)
Competition Entry Instructions:
Have you and your best mate got what it takes? Then send an e-mail to competitions@pistonheads.com, with GENEVA in the subject line, a link to your PH profile, your mobile phone number, and a 150-word article detailing why your fellow PHers will (perhaps grudgingly) be pleased that you got picked to report on the Geneva show, when they didn't...
The winners will be chosen by the PH editorial team, who will read every entry. Closing date for entries is Monday 14th February, at 9am PH time. (Valentine's day, as if you might forget...)
Meanwhile for those of you who don't win, maybe you should consider a road trip of your own? Details are here, and 2011 is shaping up to be a mega year, we reckon.
* Milton Keynes.
** If you haven't got a best mate, you'll never get a better chance to find one.
*** We're not looking for art, but a mobile phone isn't going to hack it...
Because this is such an undeniably ace compo, you won't be surprised to learn there are a few minor hurdles to entry:
- Insurance stipulations require entrants to be 25 years old at least, and to have held driving licences for a minimum of 3 years. They must have no more than 3 'live' points on those licences, and no Drunk or Dangerous driving convictions, ever. Copies of licences must be produced as proof of the above.
- You and your friend must hold valid passports, and be available to travel on the dates stated. (Sheesh...)
- You must have a real friend. Imaginary friends are specifically excluded.
- There are no alternative prizes, and travel to and from Teddington is not included in the prize.
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