History Of Mercedes-Benz And The Geneva Motor Show

Small but refined: The Geneva Motor Show

Geneva - February 20, 2006: Switzerland is not necessarily associated with engines and motor vehicles, yet the country is a must for the automotive industry. The Geneva Motor Show is now the only European motor show to be held every year – even though Switzerland is a country with no significant car production of its own. Or perhaps that is reason enough: after all, it is neutral ground where no manufacturer has a home advantage.

The Geneva Motor Show celebrated its 100th anniversary with the 75th event held in 2005. Since 1924 the show has been officially recognized as an international car exhibition in the event calendar of the OICA (International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers). From that time on this initially national show developed into a must for the world’s motor manufacturers.

Beginnings in a polling station

In 1905 the topics under public discussion in Switzerland were the foundation of the national bank, a ban on absinthe and the completion of the Simplon Tunnel linking the canton of Valais with Italy. There was hardly any mention of the automobile at the time. Only elite business circles in Geneva were enthusiastic about this ten year-old invention. Around 400 vehicles were to be seen on the roads of Geneva – as many as all the other Swiss cantons put together could muster.

The Swiss were able to admire the first horseless carriages at the national exhibition in Geneva in 1896, and from 1898 the Swiss Automobile Club (ACS) looked after the interests of the small number of Swiss car drivers. The idea of organizing a motor show in Geneva also came from this association. In February 1905, and despite a number of financing problems, the ACS decided to hold the first national exhibition in a polling station on the Boulevard Georges Favon from April 29. On an area of 1,200 square meters, 37 stands were distributed, and the décor of the hall was in violet and gold. When the exhibition ended on May 6, more than 17,500 visitors had attended the first national motor show. "Each of them felt the first stirrings of the slumbering automobile lover in his breast," the magazine “L’Auto-Sport” reported.

Owing to the large number of visitors, the polling station was enlarged to provide a display area of 2,200 square meters in 1906. There were now 59 exhibitors showing their automotive products to the amazement of 25,600 visitors. The show was also able to position itself as a direct competitor to the Vienna motor show.

This show was not without its minor scandal either. The advertising posters for the second motor show had to be partially obscured, as the exposed breast of a lady posing like a goddess in front of a car was considered to be in poor taste.

The automobile was not universally popular, however. There was no shortage of adverse comment in the press. In 1905 the "smell of gasoline all around the polling station" was criticized, as were the "murderous machines which mow down unsuspecting pedestrians like stray mongrels" in 1906. In 1907 the show therefore relocated to Zurich. Switzerland’s largest city was always the major domestic competitor to Geneva, and during the course of the 20th century it regularly claimed the right to host the motor show.

The third national exhibition held in Zurich occupied twice the display area, featured 90 cars and six motor boats and attracted 32,000 visitors. Mercedes also received its first mention as an exhibitor in 1907, in a report by the newspaper “Allgemeine Automobil- Zeitung” describing it as a "very reputable brand" which had been brought to the show by its Swiss representatives.

In 1908 enthusiasm for the automobile had clearly been dampened somewhat, leading the committee to cancel the event until further notice. It was not until 1911, on the occasion of the first exhibition for sports equipment in Geneva from June 1 to 18, that cars were once again exhibited. But even this proved short-lived, as World War I and widespread skepticism concerning the automobile prevented any further motor shows for the time being.

It was only in 1921 that the Swiss made another attempt to organize a motor show, however the event planned for the exhibition site in Basle was canceled owing to a lack of exhibitors. Europe was in the grip of an economic and financial crisis shortly after the end of World War I. In fact Switzerland did not host another national motor show until 1923 – and once more in Geneva. The city had meanwhile become the headquarters of the League of Nations, and had already taken Cointrin airport into operation. For the first time this fourth car and two-wheeler exhibition bore the elegant name "Salon de l’Automobile". The stars of this show were now internationally famous manufacturers such as Maybach and Rolls-Royce.

This first post-war event was not very professionally organized, but with a little goodwill on the part of the authorities the exhibitors were able to demonstrate their vehicles outside the exhibition hall despite the lack of a test track; even the ban on Sunday driving was temporarily suspended as a special concession. In an area of 3,000 square meters, 38 chassis and 109 vehicles were displayed. Both the press and the 30,000 visitors were highly impressed with the brown color scheme in the hall: "A feast for the eyes from the very first moment," the newspaper “Journal de Genève” commented.

The success of the 1923 show not only assured the future of the event itself, but also made Geneva an international motor show venue and therefore a competitor to those which had established themselves before the war, e.g. Paris, London, Berlin or New York. The newly formed committee of the Swiss Automobile and Garage Association, which organized the show from then on, also decreed that it would be an annual event.

Geneva shared the fate of many host cities, however: not enough exhibition space. A temporary solution was found for the show in 1924, for example erecting tents outside the hall and connecting the polling station with an adjacent meadow by means of a bridge with a moving walkway. The press not only criticized the crowded conditions, but also the poor presentation and restrictions which e.g. stipulated only green plants as decorations. The organizing committee would be well advised to arrive at more lively forms of representation, the “Journal de Genève” wrote.

In 1925 the magic threshold of 100,000 visitors was exceeded for the first time, but there was simply not enough space available. Accordingly the committee decided to relocate to the site of a former skating rink on the Boulevard du Pont d’Arve, though it was first necessary to level the 10,000 square meter floor area of the hall dating from 1910. But despite constant extension work, this Palais des Expositions inaugurated with great ceremony in 1926 was soon too small to accommodate the large number of exhibitors and visitors. For this reason the organizers decided to divide the exhibition in 1929. Automobiles were displayed in March, while commercial vehicles, motorcycles and aircraft were exhibited at the end of April/beginning of May.

Reorganization following irregularities

While the permanent organizing committee concerned itself with financing questions until 1948, the increasing importance of the show led to the "International Geneva Motor Show Trust" taking on this task. Unfortunately the legal structure and distribution of profits were so nebulously formulated that a scandal broke in 1952: the President admitted a number of irregularities and resigned. The German-speaking Swiss seized this opportunity to demand a reorganization of the entire structure. The control mechanisms available to those responsible were subsequently improved during a reorganization proposed by an arbiter. It was also decided that each region would be represented on the committee in proportion to its size. De facto this meant that more German-speaking Swiss would be responsible for the fortunes of the Geneva Motor Show in future.

During the 1950s major politicians and the CEOs of large brands made pilgrimages to Geneva. "In contrast to other ’international’ events, the Geneva Motor Show is well justified in laying claim to this frequently misused term," the “Neue Zeitung” wrote. "For every company of note in the world of automotive engineering has left its calling card there." In 1950 German companies such as Mercedes-Benz still needed to choose carefully who could go to Geneva and who could not: "The foreign exchange situation makes a large presence impossible," an internal memo revealed.

The first showbiz effects

During the 1950s there was a noticeable change in the behavior of visitors. While the pre-war shows were primarily intended as a general presentation of the cars, and were above all used for marketing purposes by the manufacturers, the event became more of a sales show after the war. Most of the visitors were now potential buyers, and sales would often exceed all expectations. Accordingly the manufacturers sought to distinguish themselves from others by presentation. Spectacular light shows, sophisticated decorations, extravagant flower arrangements and off-beat presentations replaced the display of purely technical aspects.

The show organizers also made efforts to offer more: in 1953 they managed to have a test route with tight bends and long straights cordoned off right in the center of Geneva. According to reports, even the nuns at the neighboring Nôtre Dame convent responded enthusiastically to the cars as they roared past.

But in principle the Swiss organizers favored subdued presentation methods: "The show made it easy to draw comparisons, as all the brands were on display in close proximity and could only make an impression with their vehicles, therefore one was not distracted by all-too imposing advertisements," a Mercedes-Benz employee reported on the 1954 show, for example.

Meanwhile Mercedes-Benz steadfastly followed its in-house philosophy of building the best cars and offering class rather than gimmicks: "The display by Mercedes-Benz is attracting a great deal of attention," the newspaper “Handelsblatt” reported during the 20th show in 1950. “Cosmo Press” proved no less enthusiastic: "The sometimes extremely conservative contours of the cars on display immediately capture the hearts of many drivers. [...] Lack of capital forces the companies to exercise wise self-restraint and concentrate on what is important. Accordingly Mercedes-Benz has decided to make only gradual changes to its well-proven pre-war models, and initially to carry out a highly successful redesign to the chassis, as the four- cylinder 170 S shows."

The place for premieres

After the war this spring-time show was increasingly used for model premieres by car manufacturers. Up to the month of March, manufacturers were easily able to present new models to the public which they intended to sell during the course of the year. The Geneva Motor Show was particularly attractive to the Americans because it was located in the middle of Europe, the country was politically neutral and the Swiss population had a high purchasing power. The German manufacturers also had a "lively interest" in the Swiss market, according to “Der Motorist” in 1955. From 1953 the Federal Republic was once again the largest exporter to Switzerland, and the automobiles made in Stuttgart were no exception: "The new Mercedes- Benz 170 S was awaited with great excitement and attracted great attention," “Neue Zeitung” reported in March 1950. In 1954 Mercedes- Benz presented the new 220 and the 300 SL with gullwing doors for the first time in Geneva; the 190 SL celebrated its European premiere in 1955 and the 300 SL roadster in 1957.

Nonetheless a number of reports in the 1950s warned against being seduced by innovation. For example “Cosmo Press”: "The layman all too easily makes the mistake of seeing a motor show as an exhibition of new inventions. He goes in search of spectacular effects and major impacts [...] while overlooking the fact that particularly in recent years, the automobile has achieved enormous and amazing advances in engineering."

During the 1960s the show lost its status as the place to present new models. Many manufacturers preferred to show their new products at the Turin and Paris fairs in the fall, or at the biennial International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt/Main. They feared that too early a presentation of their new models might endanger sales of their current models.

But in 1961 the show still had premieres of another kind to offer, as this was the year when the three Soviet manufacturers AZLK, GAZ and ZIL exhibited their models for the first time. And tucked away in a corner there was also a car named the Hino Contessa: only persistent enquiries elicited the fact that this car was made by a company called Nissan – the first Japanese automobile had reached Swiss soil. In 1963 an Israeli manufacturer also took part in the Geneva Motor Show for the first time with the Sabra brand.

During the 1960s the automobile became increasingly popular in Europe and the USA. Instead of sensational innovations, the manufacturers therefore developed models for large-scale production to meet the demand. Safety also became an increasingly important factor in car production, and this included the test track available at the show: in 1960 new rules were introduced for test runs, as these had increasingly been misconstrued as minor racing demonstrations by the manufacturers. "It is worth mentioning that this is hardly the best way to convince a potential buyer. Who could possibly be won over by being thrown against a fellow-passenger on bends, only narrowly escaping a heart attack?" the newspaper “Tribune de Genève” wondered.

The subject of safety was also to remain important at the Geneva Motor Show in the 1970s. In 1971, for example, visitors were able to discover the effectiveness of the seat belt at first hand by experiencing a frontal collision in a car.

Shortage of space a continued problem

During the 1960s, the fact that the event was bursting at the seams became an ongoing problem for the Geneva Motor Show committee and a favorite subject for the press. The exhibition site had been repeatedly expanded since the end of the war, and in 1961 the passenger cars occupied the entire Palais des Expositions for the first time, but space and infrastructure problems remained an ongoing subject. In 1963 the committee therefore decided to stage the commercial vehicle show every two years, allowing the passenger cars and accessories to occupy the entire display area. Naturally this only postponed the problem for one year, until the two-year arrangement came into effect. The car show was finally separated from the commercial vehicle and boat show as late as in 1970.

Accordingly the 1966 show was provisionally held in three complexes: in the Palais des Expositions for passenger cars and body manufacturers, in the timber halls for commercial vehicles, tractors and construction equipment, and in the inflatable hall introduced in 1964 for garage and other accessories. By the end of the 1960s both the exhibitors and visitors had become increasingly dissatisfied with the conditions prevailing at this still prestigious event. The construction of an exhibition site with significantly more space, easier access and better park-ing facilities was urgently necessary if the Geneva Motor Show was to retain its high reputation.

In 1968 the canton of Geneva acquired a site covering 18 hectares near the airport in Grand-Saconnex for the construction of "Palexpo" as the new show venue. As the profits from the motor show had been partly disbursed to the exhibitors since 1953, the Trust was able to finance part of the new construction by reducing these payments. Nothing more happened for a while, however. Work could not be started until 1977, as various protest groups raised objections to the new facility.

The 1970s were overshadowed by the oil crisis, saturated western markets and industrial restructuring. Rolls-Royce was even obliged to call in the receivers, for example. Where the manufacturers were concerned, the golden age was over for the present. Sensible cars were in great demand in view of scarce, expensive resources, and environmental pollution became a topic of discussion. The result was something of a diesel boom. Whereas Mercedes-Benz had previously been almost the only manufacturer of diesel cars, more and more brands now turned to this more economical alternative.

"Our Mercedes cars are even occasionally taken as a standard by the American industry, and seen as prototypes for an economically sensible size – as luxury economic small cars,” Daimler-Benz board member Heinz Schmidt told press representatives at the Geneva Motor Show in 1975. "If factors such as durability, safety and comfort now count for more than pseudo-sportiness or fashion gimmicks in car design, then Daimler-Benz sees this as confirmation of its long-held principles."

In the 1980s the world economy was rocked by a second oil crisis. Exhaust emission standards became more stringent, and Japanese manufacturers became more and more of a threat to their European and American competitors.

On December 18, 1981 the Geneva Motor Show temporarily overcame its greatest handicap, namely lack of space. Built at a cost of 145 million Swiss Francs, the new Palexpo site was inaugurated with a major ceremony on that date. Covering an area of over 38,000 square meters, the new venue for the Geneva Motor Show successfully received its baptism of fire by hosting the commercial vehicle show at the end of January 1982.

The 1982 passenger car show was also a great success, even though it soon became clear that there was insufficient parking space for the mass of visitors, especially at weekends. By 1985 the new Palexpo was already too small for both the passenger car and commercial vehicle shows; therefore it was decided to build an additional hall with an area of 16,000 square meters. The addition of the new Hall 5 in 1987 led the journalists at “Équipe” to make the somewhat exaggerated claim that Geneva had now relegated Paris and Frankfurt to provincial shows and Tokyo to a communal event. But it was only when further halls were added in 1995 and 2003, finally giving Geneva an exhibition area of just under 77,000 square meters, that the Geneva Motor Show offered space comparable to that of other shows. Still no comparison with Frankfurt though. At the world’s largest motor show, the IAA, the available display area in 2005 was around 225,000 square meters.

More and more spectacular

Towards the end of the 1980s Geneva regained its importance as a venue for new model premieres. Until then the Italians, French and Japanese reserved their new products for their respective national shows. The tradition continues unabated: 53 world and 18 European premieres were announced for the 75th Geneva Motor Show in 2005.

Things became really spectacular in the 1990s. As in Detroit, Frankfurt and Tokyo, not only cars were now shown in Geneva. Since then our mobile, fun-loving society has been treated to shows with artistes and ballet troupes, artificial watercourses, gigantic loudspeaker systems and airbag demonstrations. The show organizers ascribed the success of the 62nd motor show, during which visitor numbers reached a new record of over 683,000, to increasingly attractive stand design and imaginative forms of presentation.

The Marketing department at Mercedes-Benz considered the company’s presence in Geneva to be so important because the motor show not only radiated its effects into the Swiss market, but also into the international and German markets, as an internal concept proposal of 1992 showed. Because Mercedes-Benz was able to score highly in the seven decisive disciplines of "high design, high performance, high quality, high safety, high ecology, high intelligence und high touch," the 1,400 square-meter stand was to be designed accordingly. Not merely to appear in force, but to create an inviting presence, was also in line with the wishes of Mercedes-Benz Switzerland AG.

Indeed the organizers imposed a certain level of restraint: "With a Calvinistic sobriety reflecting the spirit of the city, all the exhibits here are traditionally displayed at the same level," “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” wrote about the 62nd motor show in 1992. "Only really new products are permitted to present themselves to the admiring public in a position raised by a prescribed number of centimeters. This gives the motor show its traditional face: things are kept fair and comparable."

In 1992 the Mercedes-Benz stand featured an architecture similar to that of the preceding year. "The focal point of the stand is once again a revised forum in which the S-Class coupe is portrayed in the right light," a brochure by Mercedes-Benz Switzerland reads. Once again the well-proven principle of the previous year was used to direct visitors onto a ramp which enabled them to view the vehicle from above. Amid the hustle and bustle, the linear Mercedes stand was clearly well received: 27 percent of visitors indicated that the Mercedes stand was their favorite – no other manufacturer was able to gain the enthusiasm of so many. Almost half the respondents stated that they particularly admired the clean, orderly appearance of the stand.

While motor shows increasingly became stage performances, there was a resurgence of Middle Eastern conflicts during the 1990s which also had severe effects on the car industry. Outsourcing and mergers became frequent occurrences, therefore the motor show was reorganized in 2000 to reflect the new brand conglomerates, and eight out of ten exhibitors were obliged to relocate to different halls. Catalytic converters were no longer a topic of conversation in the 1990s, as they had become a matter of course. On the other hand the diesel engine now became the subject of criticism, and the prescribed exhaust emission standards presented manufacturers with considerable problems.

In 1995 the Geneva Motor Show became the only such European event to be held annually. For financial reasons the international manufacturers’ association OICA had decided to reduce the other shows – particularly Turin and Paris – to biennial events. A similar arrangement had also been under regular discussion in Geneva since World War II. "In the long term it would certainly be better to hold the events in Geneva and Detroit in a two-year cycle, with Tokyo and Frankfurt alternating. This would provide a major international event in the spring and one in the fall," an internal Daimler-Benz report stated.

Meanwhile the Geneva Motor Show was continuously increasing its appeal to the press: "Geneva remains the most important show for Europe – not least because of its ideal conditions for the press,” a basic paper by Daimler-Benz dated 1993 read. "Our activities must therefore not only be aimed at the visitors, but in greater measure also at the press which influences visitor interest by means of its advance reporting."

More premieres

DaimlerChrysler AG, created by the merger of 1998, used the 69th Geneva Motor Show to demonstrate its strength with a world premiere and two European premieres. The group presented the Mercedes-Benz CL for the first time in Geneva, the coupe based on the new Mercedes- Benz S-Class. Chrysler presented the Neon and the PT Cruiser to the Europeans.

The German-American manufacturer still uses the neutral ground in Geneva as a showroom for new introductions. At the 74th International Motor Show in Geneva in 2004, Mercedes-Benz demonstrated that the second product drive by this tradition-laden automobile brand was fully under way. No less than three new Mercedes models celebrated their world premiere at the time: the four-door coupe in the CLS- Class, the sporty SLK roadster and the new-generation C-Class. In addition Mercedes-Benz presented the new G 55 AMG with a 350 kW (476 hp) supercharged V8 engine and the improved international emergency call system TELEAID to the public for the first time.

At the 100th anniversary event in 2005 Mercedes-Benz once again joined in the presentation of new models. A total of 53 world premieres and 18 European premieres were announced for the 75th Geneva Motor Show. Mercedes-Benz presented the B-Class to a world- wide public for the first time, while the M-Class celebrated its European premiere. In addition Mercedes-Benz presented the redesigned and technically enhanced CLK-Class, as well as nine new six-cylinder models in the C, E and SLK-Class.