Trabant cars in Berlin, Germany. Trabi Safari takes tourists on tours through the streets of Berlin in Trabants, or Trabis, which were the iconic cars of the former, communist East Germany. East Germans waited years to be able to buy a Trabant, a car known for its sputtering engine, synthetic body and thick fumes. Sean Gallup/Getty ImagesSean Gallup/Getty Images
Of all the new models and concept cars to be unveiled this week at the critical Frankfurt auto show, I am most anticipating the electric Trabant.
When we last checked, the "Trabi" was an exhaust-belching monument to that poisonous combination of communist eastern Germany incompetence and ideology. Now German manufacturer Herpa Miniaturmodelle GmbH plans to show a "New Trabi" prototype in Frankfurt.
The hope is that the concept will reel in investors to fund the re-launch of a modern, environmentally-friendly Trabi. Herpa, which is based in Zwickau where the original Trabant factory was, makes model cars and airplanes. But it bought the Trabant copyright in 2007.
Herpa can only dream of a production Trabi enjoying the sales success of the boxy original sold in East Germany's closed economy. From 1957 to 1991, three million were built and unloaded on the poor Germans in the east. While the communist Trabi was ugly, underpowered and highly unpleasant to drive, it was also magnificently unreliable.
The new Trabi - at least the one envisioned by Herpa -- will have a rooftop solar panel for recharging its battery, a range of about 250 km and weigh less than 1,000 kg.
Here in no particular order are some of the other cars I'll be looking for when press days get under way tomorrow:
BMW is unveiling the Vision EfficientDynamics, a plug-in diesel-electric supercar concept. Also, the 5-series Gran Turismo and X1 crossovers will have their public debut. The Gran Turismo is based on the new 7-series platform and is almost as long as the BMW flagship.
Renault-Nissan will show a line of nearly production-ready electric cars - as many as four of them - and talk about its alliance with Better Place, a company with dreams of creating an electric vehicle infrastructure for the world.
Toyota will unveil a plug-in Prius electric vehicle.
Aston Martin is unveiling the four-door Rapide sedan due for sale in early 2010.
Bentley is presenting the new Mulsanne, a replacement for its top-of-the-line Arnage.
Rolls-Royce is offering its new "Baby Rolls," the Ghost, the smallest Roller yet.
Ferrari will officially introduce its sleek new 458 Italia, a replacement for the successful but long-lived F430.
Maserati goes topless with a new GranCabrio roadster; it has a folding hardtop. Pininfarina, the design house based in Turin is said to have had a hand in both the Ferrari and Maserati, along with the update of Volvo's C70, another Frankfurt introduction.
Audi is expected to reveal an electric-powered concept version of Audi R8 and also a convertible version of the R8 known as the R8 Spyder. The A5 Sportback, a four-door variant of the A5 coupe, will also be on hand.
Ford is expected to show the latest version of its C-Max minivan and announce that the minivan will be sold in North America.
Kia will show the Venga, a subcompact, along with a re-engineered Cee'd compact. Both will be available with stop-start technology, as will EcoDynamics models of other Kias.
Land Rover is rumoured to be showing a small SUV. It continues down the path blazed by a three-door concept shown at the 2008 Detroit auto show. Land Rover will decide on a production version this year.
Mercedes will show an electric-powered concept SLS AMG supercar and the E-class station wagon that goes on sale in North America next summer.
Mini's concept has an aluminum roof and a low profile. It's a coupe that could expand the brand's lineup to five models.
Porsche will have the seventh generation of its flagship 911 Turbo, in coupe and cabriolet models. The new model features a new flat-six 500-hp, 3.8-litre power plant.
Saab's new 9-5 flagship will be shown this week, even though the company is being sold by General Motors and is in bankruptcy in Sweden. GM has reached a deal to sell Saab to Koenigsegg Group AB.
Volkswagen will focus on environmentally friendly technologies. The company will show an electric-car concept and a study for a so-called "1 Litre Auto," a two-seater that burns one litre of fuel per 100 kilometres.
VW also will show its latest Golf station wagon, which is built in Mexico, and the three-door version of its Polo subcompact.
VW is considering selling a Polo sedan in Canada and the United States starting in 2011 or 2012, followed later by a hatchback with more space than the European version. The new Golf goes on sale in Canada later this fall.