Frankfurt 2001.(motor show coincides with World Trade Center attacks)(Brief Article)(Editorial)

The Frankfurt Motor Show attracts worldwide attention every two years as manufacturers display their latest offerings in the maze of buildings that make up the Frankfurt Messe. While there were many dazzling new products and tantalizing new concepts, Frankfurt 2001 will forever be known by those in attendance as the day our world changed.

Not because of the events taking place along the Rhine, but because of what happened across the ocean in New York City and Washington, D.C., and the countryside near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For many hours and, at this writing still many days later, the vehicles on display in Germany for the world to see for the first time seemed insignificant next to the horror that took place Sept. 11.

The first press preview day of the Frankfurt show was coming to an end when a buzz worked through the numerous buildings on the trade-fair grounds. ``Have you heard about the World Trade Center?'' Some manufacturers with press conferences slated for late in the day (Frankfurt time is six hours ahead of New York) canceled their presentations, handed out press kits and that was it. The word spread quickly through the thousands of journalists that something horrible had taken place in New York and the show, while an important part in our lives, had to ...