OPEL MILLENNIUM EXPERIENCE

R�sselsheim/Frankfurt. Opel is the first carmaker to present a train at the Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA). The "Opel Millennium Express", a rolling, interactive theme world on the future of the automobile, transport and mobility will be in Frankfurt for the full duration of the IAA from September 14 to 26. Frankfurt is the 12th German city to host the world�s longest exhibition train on the first phase of its two-year European tour. At the IAA, the 280-meter-long train will be on show in a specially built hall opposite fairground gate 4 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Admission is free. Before the IAA, 130,000 visitors came on board the unique show train on 29 exhibition days in Germany.

The "Opel Millennium Express" started its tour at Opel�s home plant in R�sselsheim on July 28. After Germany, visits are planned this year to Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy. In the year 2000, the "Opel Millennium Express" will make its way to The Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Central and Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. The train is one of several special events and activities marking one hundred years of Opel cars.

Fascinating Glimpse into the Future
The emphasis of the Millennium Express rail show is on the global trends of the outgoing 20th century and their effects on the automotive technology and traffic of tomorrow. The nine main subject-areas include environmentally friendly propulsion systems such as the fuel cell, new safety systems and digital information technologies that will transform the next generation of vehicles into mobile communication centers. Opel has adopted an unusual combination of information, interaction and vision. Future drive technology, for instance, is presented as a holographic 3D-animation. The three-dimensional images and the accompanying soundtrack give visitors the impression that they are standing in the middle of a huge fuel cell and enable them to understand how oxygen and hydrogen are converted directly into electrical energy.

Visitors are also actively integrated into the other theme-related vehicles, for example in the "Digital World", where they can operate a "cockpit of the future". In the "safe world" the "Night Vision" system turns night into day, and the visitors can gaze in wonder at their own projected infra-red thermal images.

Unusual Appearance
The outside of the "Opel Millennium Express" is also likely to cause a sensation at railroad stations and on its journeys between cities. World famous photographers have transformed the sinuous 280-meter long train into a rolling picture book, such as has never been seen before in the history of the railroad. The stream of pictures is interrupted by glass containers in which vehicles such as the Opel "Signum" or a full-scale version of the RAK2 rocket car dating from 1928 are on display.

These oversized showcases are a part of the novel technical concept on which this exhibition of the future is based. The entire train consists of 42 special containers grouped into units of three, each on a single vehicle. Inside, further superlatives await the visitor. The "Opel Millennium Express" is for instance the first fully networked train in the world, with 50 computers, 145 monitors, plasma screens and LCD displays plus an on-board video conferencing system which will allow visitors to communicate with one another. In order to appeal to all our senses, the sound designers even went so far as to develop a specific acoustic background for each individual theme-related module.

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