Auto Show Blues, Part Three

Forget Frankfurt.

Remember when I said I hoped to go the auto show at Frankfurt if it was the last thing I did?  Yeah, about that . . ..  The German International Automobile Show, as the auto show in Frankfurt is called, will not be held in Frankfurt in 2021.  Germany's national automobile association awarded the show for 2021 to Munich instead. Munich (shown above) was chosen in part because it has a good reputation for organizing major events like Oktoberfest.  And while this is in some ways a good deal, considering the Bavarian capital's history and its own automotive heritage (the Bavarian Motor Works, which we all know as BMW, is located there), the show will take on a less traditional theme, looking at newfangled mobility solutions that don't necessarily involve cars and also emphasizing the concept of the digitally connected "smart" city.  It will be less like the Frankfurt shows of yore and be more like a cross between an auto show and the South by Southwest Festival in Austin (canceled this year because of coronavirus, of course).  Anyone expecting a grand auto salon like the Frankfurt shows of yore may be disappointed.

Yeah, well, to quote that great poet David Gates, it don't matter to me.  I'm looking at a future that increasingly appears to exclude foreign travel, and not just because of the coronavirus.  I simply might not be able to spare the time or have the money.  I actually began to look at going sometime last year until an unexpected disruption to my personal life (which I won't discuss here because it's, well, personal), and quite frankly, I think the year 2019 was my last chance of traveling anywhere outside North America.  I think I'll go to the Jersey Shore this summer and look out the ocean in the direction of Portugal, which is due east of New Jersey, and wonder what the other side is like, just like I did when I was a kid.

And if I see any new cars on display this year, it'll probably be at my dealership while I'm waiting for my car to be serviced.

Oh yeah, more good news: Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz are all skipping the 2020 New York Auto Show, citing the great expense involved.  All of these announcements were made before the coronavirus got out of hand.  Among German automakers, that only leaves Porsche showing cars I can't get into and Volkswagen showing cars I can see at my dealer plus a new electric crossover I don't care about!  Why should I even want to go this year at this point?  Call this show "Manhattangrad," as in Stalingrad, seeing how the Germans have retreated from it.