WHAT WOULD SERGF GREEN MAKE OF IT?

摘要

Had Serge Green, the mythical busman from Mars, parked his Spacecar outside Hall 3 of the National Exhibition Centre between 2 and 4 November and taken his many legs around the stands at Coach & Bus 2004, his antennae would have picked up a distorted impression of the vehicles that British Earthlings are buying this year. For this was the show that the market leaders didn't want to happen. The exhibition organisers are switching from odd numbered years to even ones, so they followed Coach & Bus 2003 with this latest event before resuming the two-yearly pattern in 2006. The big manufacturers are determined to teach the organisers a lesson that they cannot take their presence — and their hefty financial contributions — for granted. So there was no formal presence by Alexander Dennis, East Lanes, EvoBus, Irisbus, Optare, Scania, Van Hool, VDL or Volvo to name but nine.