London, England - Having grown up in the UK, many of my fondest auto show experiences took place in that country when I was a child. Way back then, the annual Motor Show, as they call it over there, was staged at the wonderfully historic Earls Court Exhibition Hall.
I can still remember staggering out of there, a gangly 10 year-old with aching feet and a huge grin on my face, clutching plastic bags filled to the brim with automotive brochures and items which the car manufacturers freely handed out to eager young automotive fans like me. In fact, it could be said that memories of those childhood days are largely responsible for what I do for a living today.
Yes, happy memories, but, of course, times change, and so did the British Motor Show. For several years, the event was held at the NEC (National Exhibition Centre) in Birmingham, until, after a certain amount of pressure from the British public, it finally returned to the nation's capital in 2006.
Its new home is the magnificent ExCel Centre, constructed in recent years along the banks of the River Thames, in an area known as Docklands. Once the thriving shipping port of London, as river traffic declined, the area fell into abandonment for many years. Finally, a plan was set in place to revive the area and today, it is home to several corporate head offices and is a showcase to the world of what intelligent development can do.
However, enough of the history lesson, let's get on to the Motor Show.
World-class, yes! But International?
Well, as much as it pains me to say this, me being somewhat of a patriotic Brit, I was a little disappointed in some ways with this year's event. My fond memory of every automobile producer on the planet being in attendance at the annual British Motor Show was dashed by the fact that several well-known manufacturers were noticeably absent this year. The show may well be called an International event, but to me, it was a little shy of that nameplate.
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I can still remember staggering out of there, a gangly 10 year-old with aching feet and a huge grin on my face, clutching plastic bags filled to the brim with automotive brochures and items which the car manufacturers freely handed out to eager young automotive fans like me. In fact, it could be said that memories of those childhood days are largely responsible for what I do for a living today.
Yes, happy memories, but, of course, times change, and so did the British Motor Show. For several years, the event was held at the NEC (National Exhibition Centre) in Birmingham, until, after a certain amount of pressure from the British public, it finally returned to the nation's capital in 2006.
Its new home is the magnificent ExCel Centre, constructed in recent years along the banks of the River Thames, in an area known as Docklands. Once the thriving shipping port of London, as river traffic declined, the area fell into abandonment for many years. Finally, a plan was set in place to revive the area and today, it is home to several corporate head offices and is a showcase to the world of what intelligent development can do.
However, enough of the history lesson, let's get on to the Motor Show.
World-class, yes! But International?
Well, as much as it pains me to say this, me being somewhat of a patriotic Brit, I was a little disappointed in some ways with this year's event. My fond memory of every automobile producer on the planet being in attendance at the annual British Motor Show was dashed by the fact that several well-known manufacturers were noticeably absent this year. The show may well be called an International event, but to me, it was a little shy of that nameplate.
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