As you've probably heard by now, the International Auto Show (IAA) is taking place in Frankfurt on September 15.  If you don't know much about the show, it's Germany's largest trade fair, generating more than one million visitors in a ten day span.  The IAA dates back more than one-hundred years, and Mercedes has always used it as a launching platform to showcase their new models.

This year, Mercedes is planning the largest exhibit of the show, an effort that has taken 650 employees 56 days to complete.  In celebration of this year's event, Mercedes has released a retrospective press release looking back at almost 100 years of Mercedes at the IAA.

We've included many of the photos from previous shows, so sit back, relax and enjoy.  And if you're on a dial-up connection, go grab a snack while you're waiting.


OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


A Historical Review: The International Automobile Show



Stuttgart, Sep 09, 2005

"Automobile exhibitions are highly popular events which attract far more visitors than just those able to afford a car", the "Untertürkheimer Zeitung" commented in a report on the International Automobile Show (IAA) in 1953. The same is true today; however, it was not always so. In the early years of the automobile most people had no interest whatever in this completely new form of horsepower. On the contrary, visitors to the first trade and world fairs at which automobiles were exhibited proved extremely skeptical where these newfangled horseless carriages were concerned.

The International Automobile Show (IAA), which nowadays opens its doors in Frankfurt am Main every two years, is always an important exhibition for Mercedes-Benz. It is Germany’s largest trade fair, and fascinates the motor industry and vehicle buyers in equal measure. The IAA has been held for more than 100 years and therefore has a long and varied history – in which Mercedes-Benz has secured its place.


Modern times: Art Nouveau presentation of vehicles by Benz in Berlin in 1907.



Everything for everyday mobility: The Daimler stand at the 1911 International Motor Show in Berlin.



Glorious: A key exhibit of Benz at the 1911 International Motor Show in Berlin was the 200 hp record-breaking car, the Lightning Benz.



Everything for everyday mobility: The Daimler stand at the 1911 International Motor Show in Berlin.



Glorious: A key exhibit of Benz at the 1911 International Motor Show in Berlin was the 200 hp record-breaking car, the Lightning Benz.



Future-oriented: Mercedes-Benz touring coach with streamlined body, presented at the 1935 International Motor Show in Berlin.



Sporty luxury car: Mercedes-Benz 500 K special roadster, displayed at the 1936 International Motor Show in Berlin.



Superior car: Mercedes-Benz displayed its streamlined record-breaking car at the 1938 International Motor Show.



Discreet elegance: The Mercedes-Benz stand at the 1950 Auto Show in Berlin.



Beleaguered: The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL racing coupe attracted the greatest attention at the 1953 International Motor Show.



Crowd-puller: People thronged around and admired the Mercedes-Benz 300 also at the 1953 International Motor Show, two years after the car’s launch.



Beleaguered: The production version of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, its motor sport brethren and the 190 SL at the 1955 International Motor Show in Frankfurt/Main.



Elegant: Mercedes-Benz 220 SE at the 1959 International Motor Show, behind it the convertible.



Review: History revisited on the truck and bus stand at the 1961 International Motor Show.



Police protection: Security officers accompanied the Mercedes-Benz 600 as early as the 1963 International Motor Show.



Crowds of visitors: Hoping to catch at least a glimpse of the Mercedes-Benz 600 at the 1964 International Motor Show.



Beleaguered: The S-Class coupe from the 126 series at the 1981 International Motor Show.



In grand style: The S-Class coupe from the 126 series at the 1981 International Motor Show.



A typical view: People throng around the cars, here the Mercedes-Benz W 124 mid-series in 1985.



Clearly structured: The Mercedes-Benz stand at the 1989 International Motor Show.



Motor show star: The new Mercedes-Benz SL (R 129 series) at the 1989 International Motor Show.



Impressive: The stage show presenting the new C-Class at the 1993 International Motor Show.



Treasures from bygone ages: At the 1999 International Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz provided a historical review.



Look ahead: The fuel cell was a key theme of the Mercedes-Benz presentation at the 2003 International Motor Show.



Get-together of the generations: At the 2003 International Motor Show, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren was brought together with its older brother, the 300 SLR from 1955.



Crowd-puller: At the 2003 International Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz used the Vision CLS to investigate the level of interest in a production car of this type – which was given the green light immediately after the show.


Copyright © 2005 , Daimler Chrysler AG