The Frankfurt motor show kicks off today, giving the car industry an opportunity to forget its problems and revel in an array of product launches.
The 10-day event will include the unveiling of the latest Vauxhall Astra, a clutch of hybrid cars billed as high-performance and eco-friendly, and luxury vehicles from Rolls-Royce, Porsche and Lamborghini.
But amid the bright lights, flash photography and elegantly dressed "hostesses", the industry is aware that it is still suffering one of its biggest slumps in decades. Yesterday, the Canadian vehicle assembly company Magna, buyer of Vauxhall's parent company, GM Europe, confirmed plans to cut 10,500 job cuts across Europe.
Despite the benefits of car scrappage schemes and production cuts, repairing the damage caused by the recession could take years.
Matthias Wissmann, president of Germany's VDA auto-industry group, predicted last night that sales might not recover to pre-crisis levels until 2014. He told reporters in Frankfurt that global sales would struggle to hit 50m cars this year, not the 60m predicted 18 months ago.
Japanese carmaker Toyota also fears Europe's car industry is far from recovery. Tadashi Arashima, its chief executive, warned that the various "cash-for-bangers" programmes set up by European governments have artificially fuelled sales in recent months.
"Next year, without any government incentives, sales could be down another 10%," Arashima told a press conference.
According to Wissmann, emerging markets such as China offer the best chance of a sales boost – eventually. He said: "In two, three, five years – nobody can say exactly when – worldwide demand will increase strongly. Recovery of the US market is of key importance, while Chinese and Indian car ownership rates are likely to increase as the countries become more prosperous."
Some manufacturers, including Nissan and Honda, are giving this year's show a miss, and experts believe there will be less free hospitality across the show floor.
But despite the new regime of belt-tightening, 82 "world premieres" are scheduled.
This includes the launch of the Lamborghini Reventon Roadster, whose 6.5-litre V12 engine will deliver a top speed of 205mph and a 0-60mph time of 3.4 seconds. Just 20 models will be produced, costing £970,000 each.
Porsche plans to unveil four 911 models, ideal for any City trader lucky enough to have received a bonus this year. There should also be lots of interest when Rolls-Royce lifts the covers off its Ghost at 3pm BST today. The company claims the car will boast "peerless riding dynamics", and a suspension that will automatically adjust when passengers move around the car.
For those more atuned to the demands of the recession, Vauxhall is launching its sixth-generation Astra, whose features include lower CO2 emissions than previous models.
There will be a green theme running through the Frankfurt event. Renault, which has invested heavily in eco-technologies, plans to show off four electric cars. And BMW claimed its ActiveHybrid X6 will deliver eco-friendly high-performance - but its CO2 emissions of 231 grams per kilometre compares badly with the EU's 2012 target for average emissions from new cars of 120g.
And for those of you saving up to buy a swanky new motor in a few years, there will be the Volkswagen L1 concept car, which the company said will be the "most fuel-efficient automobile in the world". If so, it's rather a shame the car is not expected to go into production until 2013.
