Visit to a trade fair organised by Michelin

At the Geneva Motor Show, I had met someone who invited us to a fair organised by the MICHELIN company. They were looking for electric and solar vehicles for an exhibition and a tour. Hotel and food were paid for and it was sure to be a great experience. We didn't really know much about the event and it was unclear what our exact mission was. After all, we didn't have Michelin tyres mounted on any of our vehicles. When I built my first electric Cheetah, I had done quite a bit to get MICHELIN tyres: They had developed tyres with a sensationally low rolling resistance especially for their own solar racing team. As hard as I tried, I could not get these tyres. And now we were to be invited to an exhibition with our vehicles by this very company?
What we knew very well: we had definitely worked too much, needed some time off and a trip to France seemed very tempting. So Joe Iannelli, Stefan Rittler and I decided to go to the exhibition with our vehicles. We packed up the old Mercedes 310, took out the measuring tape and thought: If we remove the hubcaps from the Cheetah, we can load a CLASSIC and the Cheetah into the bus and Stefan's electric sports car, which had been named "Gun" in the meantime, onto the trailer. So we could drive with three electric vehicles towards Clermont Ferrand in France, to the headquarters of MICHELIN. No sooner said than done! All the luggage was stowed around the vehicles, and alternately during the journey one of us could take a nap in the hold of the Mercedes next to Cheetah. So we arrived at the MICHELIN company very relaxed. What came next exceeded all our expectations: They had hired a drama school that gave an impressive performance. All the windows were removed from eight old taxis and rocking music was played synchronously from all the car radios. The drivers whirled their vehicles around and they danced in time to the music. Then came a parade of various old junk cars, all well staged. Drama students played a very gloomy perspective of the future.
After that, we electric drivers had our turn: we were allowed to turn our circles in front of the audience. There were Peugeot and Citröen prototypes that I had never seen before. Futuristic vehicles from Italdesign that I had no idea were drivable. Record-breaking vehicles that could cover well over 1000 km on a litre of petrol, and in the midst of these vehicles I sat in the Cheetah, Stefan in his Gun and Joe Iannelli did his rounds in the CLASSIC.

The absolute star was Joe. He was the most cheered. Was it his suit, his charm or our CLASSIC? This question could not be answered unequivocally. Over the loudspeakers, we were praised as the mobility of the future, which was already a reality here and now. I had never seen such a huge exhibition and show before, let alone taken part in it myself. I was absolutely thrilled. For me, this fair is still the epitome of a successful event. Full of impressions and overjoyed, we set off on our return journey.
Every time we organise an event ourselves, I always remember what I experienced in France.

I learned from it:

• This is how a fair should be: Wild, rocking, full of emotion, entertaining and extremely educational.
• Time out, presentation and work can be wonderfully combined
• A lot fits into an old 310 Mercedes