Frankfurt Auto Show Goes On

Suddenly, selling cars took a back seat, but the auto show went on.

In the wake of the terrorist attacks in the United States, companies at the Frankfurt International Auto Show canceled or scaled back what would have been elaborately produced media events Wednesday.

The trade show remained open, however, and organizers said it would still open to the public today as planned.

“We can’t allow ourselves to be deprived of the freedom to trade by terrorist forces,” the organizers said in a statement, adding that a two-minute silence will be observed at the fair today.

“Comprehensive measures to strengthen security” are being applied, they said.

DaimlerChrysler, the third-largest auto maker, Lear Corp. and Visteon were among major companies that canceled news conferences.

Delphi Automotive Systems weighed canceling a news conference Wednesday to announce new products--such as voice activation for navigation and on-board e-mail--but decided to hold it.

“We changed the tone from glitzy show business to somber and abbreviated,” said Delphi Chief Executive J.T. Battenberg.

Nissan Motor Co. announced at the show that it plans to establish a joint network of 500 dealerships in Europe with French auto maker Renault to cut costs. Renault owns 37% of Nissan, Japan’s third-largest auto maker.

Nissan and Renault will name 350 dealers in seven countries entitled to sell both companies’ cars, though with each brand offered at separate outlets, said Nissan Europe Senior Vice President Mario Canavesi. The remaining 150 will focus on one brand.

Talk at the show, especially among Americans, turned to the attacks in New York and Washington and related concerns about whether plants would be running and how to return home with international flights interrupted.

U.S. auto makers restarted production, with Ford Motor Co. keeping two plants closed because of parts shortages.

Delphi’s Battenberg said his company’s business had been slowed by “100% inspections” at the U.S.-Mexico border but that things were returning to a normal pace.