B&B in Germany: IAA - Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung

So, while Bel has been doing some study, visiting, and enjoying her time in Australia, I have had a bit of Boys' Time. :)

On the first weekend I decided to head to the IAA (Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung or International Car Show) in Frankfurt. This is the biggest car show in the world, filling 10 Exhibition halls (some multi-story), plus the Festhalle (Festival Hall containing Mercedes), plus a stand-alone building (contained BMW by itself), plus a bunch of external positions as well - this thing was in 2 words FREAKIN' MASSIVE! I personally buzzed through most of it in 4hours (had another Man-pointment to go to), but I know some people that took 9hours to go through the whole thing on the first public open day.

On the first weekend alone 385,000 people visited the IAA, and I reckon that most of them were in the hall with Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa, and some of the other big names. It was almost impossible to move in this hall, and the only way to move was to squeeze yourself into the stream of rubber-necked camera-carrying locals and internationals and just go with the flow.

That the halls with the big, expensive, and powerful cars were full to bursting point was not shocking, but must have disappointed the organisers a little. The main theme of this exhibition was supposed to focus on CO2 reduction and alternative fuels, in the name of the Environment. To that point though, there were a hell of a lot of hybrid cars there, and it really showed that a lot of car manufacturers are either taking it seriously or "tun als ob"...

Also, genug Quatscherei - here are the pics (click to enlarge)...

VIPER ATTACK! I love this car!	Feel sorry for this guy (and all the others) who permanently had to wipe finger prints and dust off the cars.
Model of a potential future Honda.	Even KIA came up with a pretty decent looking concept car.
This BMW reminds me of a shark.	Crazy arsed Citroen that must have been designed with the female market in mind.
This Hummer is "der Hammer"! I think this one was in the Transformers movie.	Toyota "mixin' things up" a little.
To remind Chis of the good times.	Outdoor off-road track. Queues were massive to get a "test drive" as passenger in these cars.
New McLaren Mercedes with wings (for comfort)	Schick oder?