Electrified Geneva Show

Traditionally, the Geneva Motor Show has been for the spats and gaiters set. Half-a-million-dollar bespoke sedans, custom sports cars, Lagondas for hedge fund managers, that sort of thing. But even the sleepy lakeside winter show has realized, the automotive world is going electric.

Sure, there's a mock-up of a not-yet-built $19 million one-of-a-kind Bugatti, but the real news is the number and variety of electric vehicles (EVs) dotting the show:

In the "go ahead and take the T-Bird away this will be more fun" category there was the VW ID Buggy concept car. It harkens back to the days when people ripped the bodies off of VW Bugs and planted curvaceous fiberglass molds on top, heading for the beach. This EV is only going to get about 150 miles of range, but that's plenty, and it will make any Tesla look downright square, man. (VW indicated that the ID Buggy could appear stateside within 2 years.)

Polestar (we're not really Volvo, really) got the best buzz with its debut of the Polestar 2, an all-wheel-drive EV with a 275-mile range. It's spec'ed out to go from 0 to 62 mph in less than 5 seconds, but when it arrives in the U.S. next spring, it will probably do better than that. Gorgeous? Yes. And they'll sell out before you can say, "pre-order."

In the people-moving, car-sharing category there's the Citroën Ami One. It's another concept EV that seats two and has a range of about 60 miles and a top speed of 28 mph. Think of it as a substitute for e-bike shares on rainy days. There's plenty of skepticism about vehicles like this, but they could work in many urban environs, especially when the EVs go autonomous.