Irony is the most apparent theme of the world's largest motor show. Ostensibly hailing the latest advances in environmental technology, the fact that thousands of executives, engineers and journalists (and their enormous carbon footprints) flew from the four corners of the world to attend a show that seems to cover half of Frankfurt city didn't feature in any of the hundred or so press conferences.
And for all the feel-good factor of reduced emissions and electrically-powered vehicles of the future, those attending couldn't escape the real reason so many love this show: the shining metal of supercars.
Forget the green agenda - only the engineers ogled the electric concept cars - the real elbowing and jostling of fans still surrounds stands by the likes of Ferrari, Porsche and premium German brands Mercedes, BMW and Audi. And it was the German brands that stole much of the limelight on the show's opening day.
The car industry has established a culture of crisis in recent decades, with one or other of the leading firms facing financial ruin before making a miraculous recovery. For once, however, the host country can boast that all its home-grown car giants have balance sheets in rude health.
And for all their ambition to peer down from the moral high ground when it comes to the environment, they couldn't resist rolling out shiny new models that capture the heart of every car fan, but hardly fit the environmentally-friendly brief.
If the size of the media scrum is anything to go by, then Audi stole the show with its A4 launch, taking its design cue from the recently introduced A5, while BMW ran a close second with its X6 concept that's a cross between a coupé and an SUV.
Of course, the press statements and speeches make much of fuel efficiency and lower emission levels rather than 0-100km/h times and increased brakehorsepower, but it's the speed and bhp figures that will really interest most car-crazy visitors.
Yet the efforts being made on the environmental front cannot be lightly dismissed. One of the key drivers behind this crusade to reduce CO2 emissions may well be a heartfelt concern for the planet, but threats from the European Commission to force car firms to clean up their act certainly help.
EU proposals calling for a car industry average of 130g/km are being taken very seriously and are perhaps the real force behind this scramble for new technology.
Nobody knows how the new EU rules will pan out, but all are concerned about being caught on the wrong side.
Therefore, car firms are keen to reduce their average emissions figure for their full range of models, and for every fantastic sports model launched, there's an equivalent small car added to the range to balance out emissions.
Toyota, at the forefront of efforts to reduce emissions with its hybrid models, introduced the iQ, a microcar that rivals the Smart in size and is likely to go into production in a few years. VW, not to be outdone, launched its own small concept, the VW Up!
While no one has been able to end dependency on the combustion engine just yet, there are plenty of moves to reduce its role and electric power seems to be the way forward.
At the start of the year, General Motors introduced a concept car that would run on batteries that could be charged using a regular plug outlet. They promised to introduce the car to market by 2010, under its Chevrolet brand.
Since then, other manufacturers have followed, with Volvo showing a new concept version of the C30 hatchback with batteries that can be charged from the mains electric overnight and run for approximately 100km on electricity, before the engine takes over or batteries are recharged.
The greatest hurdle to electrically-powered vehicles remains the range and size of the batteries. However, according to Toyota's Masatami Takimoto, significant developments have already been made here. "We are looking to the advances made by mobile phone companies in reducing battery size," he said.
The thousands of car fans due to attend Frankfurt won't be unduly concerned, however. The beauty of electric power is that it's instantaneous and performance figures for electric cars should match - if not surpass - those achieved by oil burning cars. That should keep the show on the road and car fans happy for many years to come.
AT THE SHOW: back in from the cold
Nearly two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a German company plans to resurrect the Trabant, a stinky two-cylinder car that became the symbol of communist east Germany.
The new Trabants will no longer have tiny engines, noxious fumes and plastic bodies, but will retain the iconic design of the original - like Volkswagen's new Beetle or the new Mini.
Herpa, a Bavarian miniature vehicles manufacturer, wants to capitalise on nostalgia for the "Trabi" and plans to create a full-sized version of the car.
The company will present a 1:10 scale model of its concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week. Herpa is considering a model equipped with a BMW engine, which would retail at around €50,000.