FRANKFURT AUTO SHOW Result with Hotter Rumours

FRANKFURT AUTO SHOW 2011 Result with Hotter Rumours, Hot Models and New cars. This is the news coverage about the 2011 Frankfurt auto show that is sure full of new things about new cars, interwoven cooperation between the manufacturer of the car world. At every big auto show the spectacle of car company bosses being chased by hundreds if not thousands of hungry journos is the backdrop for a raft of new model and concept car introductions. It’s all high drama mixed with slapstick comedy. Entertaining stuff.

And so it was this year at the biennial 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, a massive affair that sprawls over 11 different halls.

As Daimler was rolling out its new B-Class compact, we also heard talk of a Daimler tie-up with Nissan to share a small-car platform for the Infiniti brand. Daimler chief executive Dieter Zetsche and Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn have already inked an alliance, so this one makes some sense as a next step. Small-car economics are making for strange bedfellows in the car business.

Or what about suggestions that Volvo is thinking about building a new plant in North America? Ontario? Not a chance.

But Volvo CEO Stefan Jacoby did hint at having a having “a North American industrial footprint,” reported Bloomberg, even as the Chinese-owned Swedish car company is building a new plant in China. Yes, you need a scorecard to keep track of who owns what in this industry.

Same for the concept cars and Volvo had an interesting one. The Concept You hints at what Volvo officials mean when they say Volvo is moving up-market. The car has seatbacks tailored like grey flannel suits – very business-like – and is loaded with new technological ideas. For instance, the touch-sensitive central control panel in the cockpit stays in “sleep” mode until a driver stares at it. Infrared cameras that pick up visual cues, thus waking up the control panel.

Audi? The Volkswagen Group’s money-printing premium brand rolled out some 10 new models at this show while also touting an increase in its worldwide sales forecast for 2011 to 1.3 million vehicles. That means Audi could pass Mercedes-Benz to become the world’s No. 2 premium brand by sales, just behind BMW. Mercedes is expecting its global sales to come in at 1.25 million while BMW is shooting for 1.4 million.

The most interesting Audi unveiling? The A2 concept. Small and ideal for congested roads, the A2 is equipped with what Audi calls Semi-Autonomous Drive, which will inch the car ahead for you in stop-and-go traffic. There is little doubt Audi has an A2 in the works. But given the compact-sized A2 shown here lacks actual doors, a production-ready A2 seems a far off into the future.

a Jaguar hybrid concept

Tata Motors’ Jaguar Land Rover unit had two Land Rover Defender models on display, along with a Jaguar hybrid concept. Yet the new-model buzz was muted by speculation over why Carl-Peter Forster, the Tata Motors CEO, had just quit due to “unavoidable personal circumstances.”

Jaguar’s global sales have declined for six straight months just as JLR is planning to invest $2.4-billion annually in new models and new facilities in Asia, especially China, making Forster’s departure a big, big deal.

Forster is the key architect of that plan to grow JLR’s products and global footprint and he’s now gone. In an industry where bosses are often outsized personalities, what does Forster’s skedaddle mean for JLR? Perhaps a lot.

That said, Jaguar’s C-X16 hybrid concept is a stunner: low, sleek, sexy and fast, this two-seater has a top speed of 299 km/h and suggests Jag has plans for a smaller sports car. High time, too.

the Land Rover DC100 concept

Meanwhile, there is a new Defender coming in 2015 and hints of what that will look like are in the Land Rover DC100 concept. Don’t rule out the next Defender coming to Canada, either. Now all JLR needs is a boss.

Many surprises at the 2011 Frankfurt auto show and the best German course for the avid car users jet set lifestyle. a lot of success happens there.