2005 Frankfurt Auto Show

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When you think cars and Germany, Frankfurt probably isn't the city that comes to mind — Stuttgart for sure, Munich maybe, but not Frankfurt. It's a city known more for stocks and bonds, not horsepower and torque. Yet every other year the arrival of the Frankfurt International Motor Show turns the city into the center of the German automotive universe. Actually, it becomes the center of the entire automotive universe as it's the biggest event in Europe and the first major auto show of the year. Its timing in early September makes it the perfect venue for world debuts and this year doesn't look to be any different.

As you might expect, the German companies were out in full force with at least a dozen new models on display. Mercedes rolled out the ultimate S-Class, the 2007 S600 while Audi not only gave us a look at its new Q7 SUV it announced a hybrid version will be available come 2008. They were joined by other notable world premieres like the 2007 Volkswagen Eos convertible, BMW Z4 Coupe concept and 2006 Porsche Cayman.

Its status as a major international auto show makes it more about Germany, however, and there were several other notable cars making their world debuts. Chrysler rolled out two new concepts from Jeep. First up was the Compass, a low-slung wagon-type vehicle followed by the Patriot, a compact SUV similar to the current Liberty. Jaguar made Frankfurt the venue for the world premiere of its 2007 XK convertible while Volvo did the same with its 2007 C70 convertible.

Other production vehicles that made their debuts included the Lamborghini Gallardo Spider, the 2006 Toyota RAV4, 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara and the 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid.

On the concept side of the equation, Frankfurt had a handful of interesting new vehicles. Ford rolled out the slick-looking Iosis coupe while Mazda showed off its Sassou hatchback. Mitsubishi had a pretty slick coupe of its own dubbed the Concept Sportback.

Take a look inside to get all the details, photos and videos direct from Frankfurt.