Put Your Clothes On - You Are Under Arrest
Not enough that people in Belgium are losing their appetite for cars (last we looked the market was down 11 percent), now people have even less reason to go to the Brussels motor show: Belgium’s equal opportunities minister Joelle Milquet asked carmakers to keep their product specialists fully dressed.
“A motor show is a place where you go with your family, we have to question the stereotypes we are passing on to children and young adults,” the minister wrote in a letter obtained by Reuters. The missive was allegedly prompted by lewd behavior on the part of some male visitors at last year’s event.
Belgian car federation Febiac, which organizes the annual event, said that following the letter it had asked carmakers to ensure appropriate dress at their stands.
Carmakers assured compliance. TTAC has obtained a preview image of models rehearsing for this year’s event.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
More by Bertel Schmitt
Latest Car Reviews
Read moreLatest Product Reviews
Read moreRecent Comments
- V8fairy Not scared, but I would be reluctant to put my trust in it. The technology is just not quite there yet
- V8fairy Headlights that switch on/off with the ignition - similar to the requirement that Sweden has- lights must run any time the car is on.Definitely knobs and buttons, touchscreens should only be for navigation and phone mirroring and configuration of non essential items like stereo balance/ fade etc>Bagpipes for following too close.A following distance warning system - I'd be happy to see made mandatory. And bagpipes would be a good choice for this, so hard to put up with!ABS probably should be a mandatory requirementI personally would like to have blind spot monitoring, although should absolutely NOT be mandatory. Is there a blind spot monitoring kit that could be rerofitted to a 1980 Cadillac?
- IBx1 A manual transmission
- Bd2 All these inane posts (often referencing Hyundai, Kia) the past week are by "Anal" who has been using my handle, so just ignore them...
- 3-On-The-Tree I was disappointed that when I bought my 2002 Suzuki GSX1300R that the Europeans put a mandatory speed limiter on it from 197mph down to 186mph for the 2002 year U.S models.
Comments
Join the conversation
"The Beijing's Capital Ethics Development Office said on its website that the revealing clothing of some models at the 2012 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition has had a "negative social impact." The office criticized the "vulgar publicity" surrounding the models. The exhibition's organizers were asked to correct the situation on Thursday to ensure that it does not happen again." So a Belgian government minister and China's one party state government are equally prudish. Discuss amongst yourselves.
It's amazing how many people thing only they can decide on freedom of speech and expression for others. In the U.S., the founding fathers never promised good taste.