The Frankfurt auto show buzzed with an amusement park atmosphere as it opened to the public on Saturday amid signs that Europe’s biggest economy could soon pull out of a historic recession.
Despite warnings that the German auto sector is headed for a sales slump now that a state car scrapping scheme has expired, visitors thronged to photograph new models and plop down inside their favorite sports cars.
“The crisis is not really in people’s minds,” Fiat product manager Olivier Willand said as his mini-skirted receptionists welcomed visitors, whose appetite for cars appeared undiminished by the economic downturn.
PHOTO: AFP
“Personally I don’t feel the recession, and I don’t see it in my clients either,” said one visitor, a German tax consultant who gave his name as Frank as he and his wife Sabine headed for the Saab stand.
The festive ambience, with a rocking and wailing Renault Formula One simulator and a rollercoaster-style four-wheel-drive test track mirrored recent signs that the mood among European consumers is perking up.
Their confidence rose last month for the fifth month running, EU data shows, with strong gains in Britain, the Netherlands and Germany, which is emerging from its worst slump in 60 years.
Elsewhere in the world, economies are showing clear signs of recovery as well — and visitors came to the Frankfurt show from all over.
As car lovers lounged in the sun on big football pillows provided by Korea’s Kia or pressed around Ferraris and BMWs, cloudy unemployment forecasts took a back seat to the fun and the beer was flowing well before noon.
Though attendance was expected to be noticeably lower than the last show, “it’s not a funeral,” said Eckehart Rotter, press director for the VDA auto federation that organizes the event.
Toyota marketing manager Denis Haecker said: “All the companies here are showing that they are investing in the future, that they are investing in alternative technologies.”
Others did not have money for a new car but came to see the wide range of displays, from a clean white theme for ecological models by Volkswagen (VW) to deep red for Mercedes’ AMG SLS gull-wing roadster.
“I like the design, that is what’s interesting,” said Jeanette Stadtmueller, who is studying to be a social worker.
“I like the inspiration you get here,” said Tobias Langer, a software product manager based in Stuttgart who came with his wife Nadine.
They had no plans to turn in their old Renault Clio, but still wanted to see the new Clios as well as rival VW Polos, and some Porsches.
Chlodwig Lauser, a technical advisor for Porsche luxury cars, summed up the attitude of those who waited to slip into a 141,000 euro (US$208,000) 911 Targa 4S as: “I don’t have the money, but I’d like to sit once behind the wheel.”
On the fairground’s main street, a Czech ice-cream vendor named Hanna who studies sociology in Munich reckoned the crowd was “happy and cool” because visitors were indulging their hobby.
“People are always ready to spend on that despite a crisis,” she added.
And while lots of electric, hybrid or otherwise environmentally friendly models also got attention, the crowds were almost always captivated in the end by what Mercedes boss Dieter Zetsche called “the fascination” of fantasy cars.
VW’s Lamborghini stand was packed by those who wanted to see three models, including the 1.1-million euro (pre-tax) Reventon, of which only 15 will be built.
Another big draw was the VW group’s Bentley stand, where the gleaming new Mulsanne limousine was on display.
Chinese chemistry student Yuan Ping said Bentley was one of his favorite makes, but that he would get by with a VW Passat or a BMW for now.
And why had he come to the auto show?
“For the dream,” he said with a smile.
SEASONAL MORATORIUM: The boat was boarded and seized by the China Coast Guard east-northeast of Liaoluo Bay outside restricted waters on July 2 Four crew members of a Taiwanese fishing vessel detained by Chinese authorities since July 2 are expected to be released today, but the return dates of the captain and the boat remain uncertain, a former official said. The Fujian Provincial People’s Government’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) is likely to first release the crew members today, including a Taiwanese surnamed Ting (丁) and three Indonesians, former Penghu County Council deputy speaker Chen Shuang-chuan (陳雙全) said yesterday. They are to take a boat to the median line of the Taiwan Strait, where they would be picked up by the Da Jin Man No. 96
China appears to be using a new type of BZK-005 drone that might be capable of disrupting the radio communications in the Taiwanese military and causing the radar system to malfunction, a military source said yesterday. The military is closely monitoring traces of this upgraded drone after the Japanese Ministry of Defense recently captured images of a BZK-005 drone, which had a large number of antennas under the nose of the aircraft and a pod of unknown purpose attached under the belly of the craft. Defense experts in other countries had warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has bolstered
CHAMPION: Lin Yu-ting overcame adversity and intense international scrutiny on her path to Olympic victory. She said it means so much to win the gold for her country Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) emerged as Olympic champion in the women’s 57kg (featherweight) division on Saturday in Paris (Sunday in Taipei), despite facing online abuse due to gender misconceptions over the past two weeks. Lin defeated Julia Szeremeta of Poland by a unanimous 5-0 decision to clinch the gold, completing a long journey of redemption after being eliminated from the Tokyo Games in 2021 in her opening bout. Lin, who has been competing in women’s events since her boxing debut in September 2013, is the first Taiwanese boxer to win gold, after three other Taiwanese female boxers earned bronze medals in
Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) won a gold medal in the women’s featherweight division at the Olympics on Saturday in Paris, boosting Team Taiwan’s medal count to two golds and five bronzes. The medal count is the third time Taiwan has won two golds in a single edition of the Olympic Games. Lin, 28, clinched the gold in the women’s 57kg boxing division after defeating Julia Szeremeta of Poland by a 5-0 unanimous decision, completing a long journey to success after she was eliminated from the Tokyo Games three years ago in her opening bout. Taiwan’s other gold in Paris was bagged by