Text and images by Richard Dredge(24 Jul 06)

As I drove down to London I was reliably informed by Radio 2's Sarah Kennedy that the British Motor Show was this week returning to London "for the first time in more than 30 years". Hmm, shurely shome mishtake? Or was I dreaming when I was last at Earls Court looking at the latest metal way back in 1999?

Whatever the gap, the important thing is that the event is once more back on British soil and enough effort has been put into it to ensure it's not an embarrassing joke. The last time I went to the British Motor Show was at the NEC in 2004, and it was like a replay of the Geneva event three months earlier - but without the glitz, glamour or surprises.

As well as being more exciting, attending the Geneva event would also have been cheaper for the average Brit. The NEC had got far too greedy for its own good. The show's organisers realised that and awarded the contract to Excel for the 2006 event - and spurred on by the fact that this year it's make-or-break time, all the stops have been well and truly pulled out to put on a decent show.

As I live 20 minutes from the NEC it was dashed inconvenient to have to travel to The Smoke for this year's event, but somehow I think that if we're to have a British Motor Show, it ought to be in the capital. Especially as the Mayor of London is a petrolhead of the highest order. He's quoted as saying to the Times back in 1999: "I hate cars. If I ever get any powers again I'd ban the lot." If that's not the sign of a car lover then I don't know what is.

Taking Red Ken's beloved Tube and Docklands Light Railway out through the barren wastelands of east London I got to thinking that if this year's event isn't seen as a success, it must surely be curtains for the British Motor Show altogether. So when I got to the exhibition centre for the press day to find that everybody had forgotten to turn up, things were not looking good. However, it was still early so I assumed things would pick up later - but they didn't seem to throughout the whole day.

Go to any international motor show and the place is buzzing. Excel wasn't. There didn't seem to be many press there and when it came to the exhibits, there was no shortage of fresh metal but there were few surprises. What's worse is that several key manufacturers weren't even there; Audi, Skoda, smart, Subaru and Volkswagen to name but five. Those who did turn up didn't necessarily have that much metal on show, and the street theatre that we're used to at such events was pretty much absent.

More . . .

British Motor Show Round-Up
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