The stage is set for India's biggest automobile show. A day before Auto Expo 2004 opens here on Thursday, the media got a preview of things to come during the week-long event: expensive cars, sleek bikes and all the glitz that has now become an unalienable part of every car launch.

While Daimler-Chrysler India showcased its Maybach carrying a price tag of Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million), LML Ltd signalled a turf war by launching Graptor, a sleek 150 cc motorcycle that will take on Bajaj Auto's hugely popular Pulsar, complete with a dance troupe, laser show and ear-blasting music.

Big action begins on Thursday immediately after Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani inaugurates the show at 9.30 am -- the ceremony had to be advanced by an hour and a half because of a Cabinet meeting.

While Bajaj Auto will launch its new logo, Tata Motors is going to showcase a new-look Indica and the Indigo Estate, a station wagon on the Indigo platform.

Maruti Udyog will showcase five Suzuki vehicles and a total of 18 vehicles. Among the highlights will be Concept S, a dynamic and futuristic concept car, widely heralded as the "forerunner of Suzuki's next generation vehicles". All told, three concept cars are expected to be displayed at the show.

Also on display are Suzuki Jimny, a compact SUV, Suzuki Twin Hybrid, a 2-seater mini-vehicle showcasing environment friendly technology, the Formula Suzuki Hayabusa, the top of the category track racing car, and Suzuki Hayabusa GSX1300R, one of the fastest motorcycles in the world. Workers were seen polishing mean-looking motorcycles at the Suzuki pavilion but quickly covered the models once shutterbugs approached.

Not to be left behind, the Pawan Kant Munjal-run Hero Motors will launch scooters in association with Aprilia of Italy. Nissan, too, plans to unveil a few of its models during the show.

Meanwhile, the industry was abuzz with talk that Mahindra & Mahindra had stayed away from the show, though Anand Mahindra is president of the Confederation of Indian Industries, one of the three organisers. Sources at CII disclose that Mahindra stayed away because of his focus on international markets.

Despite a few conspicuous absentees like Hero Honda, Honda Motors, Ford, Toyota and General Motors, over 950 automobile and ancillary companies from 26 countries will take part in the show, which is slated to attract 1 million visitors.

The show happens at a time when the automobile sector is reporting record sales. Kapil Jolly, a two-wheeler dealer from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, who has travelled to Delhi to look at the latest machines, says if collections in the past two days -- Lohri and Sankranti -- are any indication, this is going to be a bumper year.