Thirty years of Motor Show, and the race goes on. Three decades across two centuries, six generations of automobiles and, most of all, more than thirty-two million visitors to the Bologna trade fair centre. The Bologna Motor Show has always been constantly evolving: from mopeds to big scooters, from mini vans to SUVs, down to the latest hybrid vehicles, the public in Bologna has always had sneak previews of the cars and motorcycles that addressed their tastes and met their needs. The Motor Show back then was aimed at the Italian scene; now it is an international event.

As in 1976, the debut year, in 2005 the Bologna show remains a constant point of reference for the public. Customs have changed as radically as the cars and motorcycles since then: in ‘76 the first Concorde flew its commercial routes, Apple Computers was born, Italy was suffering a monetary crisis and devalued the lira by 12%, smoking was banned in public places and movie theatres, Gheddafi became a major shareholder of Fiat Auto with 415 million dollars. And more: an earthquake had terrorized Friuli, “Rocky” won the Award Oscar and Peppino di Capri won the San Remo Festival with the song “Non lo faccio più”. But most of all, a liter of petrol cost 400 lire (a little over 20 Euro cents), only 16 million cars were in circulation, compared to a fleet of nearly 34 million vehicles in our country at the end of 2004.

An important birthday, which the International Car and Motorcycle Exhibition is celebrating in the best possible way: inclusion in the OICA (Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles) calendar, along with the well-known “Auto Shows” of Frankfurt, Detroit, Tokyo, Paris and Geneva.

For its thirtieth, the Motor Show will debut a new exhibition lay-out echoing what has been done for some time at other International shows, where the world's leading groups choose to combine their brands within individual exhibition halls and where makers of all kinds of vehicles opt for integrated displays. This is what the Italian market deserves today, as a market that has always been at the peak of Europe and the world, and that is showing tangible signs of recovery after a difficult start to the year. In September 186,759 cars were registered in Italy, a growth of 3.5% compared to the same month last year.



For motorcycles, the registration results are oscillating: September registrations confirm last year's levels, with a recovery for motorcycles (+1.8%) and a slight erosion for scooters (-0.5%). The overall count for the first 9 months of the year totals 369,586 vehicles (-1.3%), and it is already possible to predict that the year will end with the market similar to the end of 2004.

With all of the characteristics needed to achieve a great event, the Motor Show rests on a foundation of large numbers, confirmed once again at the 2004 edition: 1,273,907 visitors, 106 new cars and motorcycles, 462 exhibitors, 70 meetings, conferences and conventions, 30 car and motorcycle exhibitions involving 223 pilots, as many as 68,090 product trials conducted by visitors, a record for the event. Trade professionals numbered 30,715, journalists 2,921, of whom 995 from abroad.

Finally, for the sixth consecutive year the advertising campaign has been developed by the Armando Testa agency, who has interpreted the uniqueness of the Motor Show, its inherent energy--even a bit provocative--and the historic topic “women and engines.” The new campaign shows a mature woman posing in front of a custom car. This elegant, ironic image is accompanied by the title “You'll see some real beauties”: a brand-new way to show that engine enthusiasts only have eyes for their beloved vehicles. The campaign will air in trade publications beginning in September, and is currently being developed in newspapers and magazines; starting in mid-November it will reach posters, radio, and television nationwide.

The 30th Motor Show, International Car and Motorcycle Exhibition, will be held at BolognaFiere from 3 to 11 December 2005. Thursday 1 will be the day set aside for the press, while Friday 2 will be dedicated to the press and trade professionals.