An auto show , also known as a motor show or car show , is a public exhibition of current automobile models, debuts, concept cars , or out-of-production classics. It is attended by automotive industry representatives, dealers, auto journalists and car enthusiasts. Most auto shows occur once or twice a year. They are important to car manufacturers and local dealers as a public relations exercise, as they advertise new products and promote auto brands. The five most prestigious auto shows, sometimes called the " Big Five ", are generally considered to be held in Detroit , Frankfurt , Geneva , Paris and Tokyo . Car enthusiast communities along the historic U.S. Route 66 are credited with general popularization of car meets, including ethnic groups such as the Hispanos of New Mexico , Chicanos , and Mexican-Americans of the Southwestern United States ; lowrider , high technology , electric vehicle , and other enthusiast show, are popular in Los Angeles , Las Vegas , Albuquerque , San Francisco , and Chicago for this reason.
21-546: The Austin A40 Sports was introduced at the 1949 London Motor Show at Earls Court as a four-passenger, aluminium-bodied convertible variant of the Austin A40 – carrying an Austin of England nameplate, bearing Austin 's Flying A bonnet mascot hood ornament , and designed and manufactured in conjunction with Jensen Motors . Production of the A40 Sports, which was intended as a sporty touring car rather than
42-567: A floor gear change and dashboard identical to that of the Devon. The later GD3 Series began production in August 1951 and ended in April 1953, featuring a steering-column gear change, full hydraulic brakes, and a revised dash with a centred instrument panel. 4,011 A40 Sports were manufactured. The A40 Sports had trouble maintaining 60 to 65 miles per hour (97 to 105 km/h) cruising speeds – despite
63-558: A top speed of 77.8 mph (125.2 km/h) as recorded by the British magazine The Motor in 1951 – and could accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 25.6 seconds. Tests achieved a fuel consumption of 29.3 miles per imperial gallon (9.6 L/100 km; 24.4 mpg ‑US ). Reporting similar performance figures, an Autocar road test in 1950 described the acceleration as "not startling, but more than adequate". The brakes and steering were commended, along with
84-619: A true sports car , began in November 1950 for model year 1951. By the time production ended in 1953, just over 4,000 had been manufactured. As one in a series of collaborations between Austin and Jensen Motors of West Bromwich , the A40 Sports originated when Austin's chairman Leonard Lord saw the Jensen Interceptor and requested that Jensen develop a body that could use the A40 mechanicals. The resulting body-on-frame A40 Sports
105-510: A variety of vehicles ranging from private to commercial. The International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers organizes many auto shows, including the Big Five. These shows all have an advertising purpose. They are held as part of the sales strategy of the manufacturers. There are other car shows that are organized by car enthusiast associations, automobile dealers, retail businesses, charitable organizations, or municipalities. There
126-748: The Earls Court Exhibition Centre , it moved to the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham in 1978, where it stayed until 2004. The International motorshow alternated with the London Motorfair which continued in Earl's Court from 1977 to 1999 The SMMT announced in 1975 that in future that the show would alternate locations with Birmingham and from 1978 until 2004, it was held every second year at
147-779: The Great Recession , and there was no 2014 show. The last British International Motor Show in the UK was 2008, and after the 2012 cancellation, ended the involvement of the SMMT. The 2010 and 2012 shows were cancelled due to the Great Recession . With the absence of an international show in England, between 2016 and 2019, there were annual motor shows held under the London Motor Show banner held in Battersea Park for
168-568: The National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham , with the 2004 event being held in May, rather than the traditional October, to avoid a clash with the Paris Motor Show . The 1980 event was attended by both the actor Lewis Collins and the stand-up comedian Stewart Lee . The July 2006 and July 2008 shows were held at ExCeL London . The motorshow was held at ExCeL London in 2006 and 2008. The 2010 and 2012 events were cancelled due to
189-471: The Vauxhall Velox , was offered for £550 and Austin's own A40 saloon was offered for slightly more than £500. As a publicity stunt to promote the A40 Sports, Leonard Lord bet Alan Hess of Austin's publicity department that he could not drive round the world in 30 days in the car. In 1951 an A40 Sports driven by Hess achieved the round-the-world feat in 21 days rather than the planned 30 – with
210-483: The "very good luggage space" and the "clear to read" instruments, but it was noted that a "considerable leg reach" was needed to use the "foot-operated dip switch" for the headlights. In the United States – initially targeted as its primary market – the A40 was priced at about $ 2,200 (equivalent to $ 25,250, 2021). It was listed at about £818 in the UK, at a time when a mainstream middle market six-cylinder saloon,
231-670: The Motor Show are asked by Scotland Yard to leave their cars at home Attendance: Attendance: 428,000 reported 12 months later The Zagato coachwork stand exhibits a Mini-Minor named Gatto beside a Bristol and an Aston Martin Attendance: 578,034 and a further 20,000+ overseas visitors Attendance: 474,086 and 21,199 more from overseas. It was noted the paid attendance was 103,948 less than last year Paid attendance believed to be in excess of 550,000 people. In September, Earls Court Exhibition workers threatened to strike. The day
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#1732798170255252-481: The assistance of a KLM cargo plane – covering about 10,000 land miles, averaging 475 miles per day and achieving 29mpg. British International Motor Show The British International Motor Show was an annual (bi-biennial after 1976) motor show held by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) between 1903 and 2008 in England. The show was relaunched in 2021 with a new location at Farnborough under
273-621: The first two years and moved to Excel for 2019. The 2020 show was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The cars listed are those announced in the late summer lead up to the show or during it. Attendance 562,954 highest previous attendance 315,000 Attendance 462,538, plus about 4,000 from overseas who entered free of charge For the first time since 1938, foreign exhibitors were present, including Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen Attendance 612,953 Jowett and Lea-Francis do not appear New exhibitors Skoda and DKW New models introduced during
294-1558: The last international show at Earls Court 67 makes from 16 countries More diesel cars displayed than ever before Concept Cars Alfa Romeo Spider (United Kingdom Introduction) Aston Martin Rapide (United Kingdom Introduction) Bentley Continental Flying Spur Mulliner Driving Specification BMW M6 Convertible Chevrolet Captiva (United Kingdom Introduction) Chrysler Sebring sedan (Europe Introduction) Dodge Nitro (Europe Introduction) Ford Focus coupe convertible (United Kingdom Introduction) Honda Civic 3-door hatchback Jaguar XJR Portfolio Jaguar XK R Kia C segment model (codename ED) Land Rover Freelander 2/LR2 (World Introduction) Lexus GS 300 Limited Edition Lotus Europa S (United Kingdom Introduction) Lotus Exige S (United Kingdom Introduction) Mazda BT-50 (Europe Introduction) Mazda3 MPS (United Kingdom Introduction) Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe MINI GP (United Kingdom Introduction) Mitsubishi i (Europe Introduction) Rolls-Royce 101EX (United Kingdom Introduction) Saab 9-3 Convertible BioPower SEAT León Cupra and FR SEAT Altea FR Smart Fortwo EV Toyota RAV4 (United Kingdom Introduction) Toyota Yaris (United Kingdom Introduction) Vauxhall Corsa 3 door and 5 door (World Introduction) Volvo S60 Volvo S80 (United Kingdom Introduction) Volvo XC90 (United Kingdom Introduction) The SMMT promoted an all new showcase of
315-1304: The latest electric vehicle models. "The Electric Vehicle Village" brought together one of the largest collections of zero emissions vehicles ever seen in the United Kingdom, with a display of more than twenty battery powered vehicles. The motor show displayed a number of high priced, high performance electric cars, such as the Lightning GT and Tesla Roadster (2008) . Alfa Romeo Mito (World/United Kingdom Introduction) Ford Focus RS Lotus Evora (World premiere) Mastretta MXT (first Mexican sports car) Nissan Qashqai+2 Ford Fiesta ECOnetic Vauxhall Insignia SsangYong Rexton R-Line Tesla Roadster Concept cars: Cadillac CTS Coupe Chevrolet Camaro Convertible Citroen C-Cactus Honda OSM Kia Excee'd Convertible Kia Kee Land Rover LRX Lexus LFA Lotus Elise Eco Saab 9-X Biohybrid Smart electric drive Auto show Some auto shows have more than just cars including: all sorts of other vehicles. The types of vehicles can include buses , trucks and almost any other types of vehicles such as Auto Expo in Delhi brings
336-568: The name of British Motor Show and was the first motor show event to take place after the COVID-19 pandemic . Britain's first motor show —for horseless carriages—was held in South Kensington in 1896 at the Imperial Institute under the auspices of Lawson's Motor Car Club. The first British Motor Show organised by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) was held at The Crystal Palace , London in 1903,
357-498: The open body. The A40 Sports also employed a twin- SU carburettor version of the 1.2 L engine producing 46 bhp (34 kW) rather than 42 bhp (31 kW). Gear selection was originally via a floor-mounted lever. Steering was worm and roller type, front suspension was independent coil springs with rigid beam axle and semi-elliptic leaf springs at the rear. Production of the A40 Sports occurred in two series. The initial GD2 Series began in November 1950 and featured
378-619: The same year that the speed limit was raised from 14 miles per hour (23 km/h) to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) by the Motor Car Act 1903 and two years before the formation of The AA . In 1905, it moved to Olympia, London , where it was held for the next 32 years before moving to the Earls Court Exhibition Centre from 1937 until 1976, except for the period of World War II during which time there were no shows. Initially held in London at The Crystal Palace , Olympia and then
399-463: The show opened, two UK major manufacturers had assembly lines at a standstill. British makes on display: 28 Foreign makes on display: 46 including a sales team from Russia Four hundred manufacturers of cars, components and accessories There are girls dressed as rabbits, sailors, and as Nell Gwynn, and girls in "extremely inadequate" chain mail It was agreed that Earls Court was no longer an adequate venue Seventieth show Widely publicised as
420-467: The year by Standard, Morris, Singer, Austin, Rootes, Vauxhall, Bentley, and Rolls-Royce Attendance 523,586 Exhibitors: Attendance 516,811, including overseas visitors 13,750 Exhibitors: Orders taken at the Motor Show enabled Austin to return to a five-day working week Attendance numbers were not reported Neither Allard nor Lagonda book stands at the show Exhibitors: Attendance 534,422 Opened by Prime Minister Harold Macmillan . Visitors to
441-468: Was designed by Eric Neale , a stylist who had joined Jensen in 1946 after working at Wolseley Motors . During production, A40 Sports bodies were built by Jensen and transported to Austin's Longbridge plant for final assembly. Per Lord's intention, the A40 Sports was based on the mechanicals of the Austin A40 Devon , though the centre section of the chassis was boxed to provide rigidity for
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