A marketing programme to promote the British International Motor Show starts in early September - for an event which opens over a year later on October 24, 2002.

This is because only 543,371 people attended last year's show at the NEC, Birmingham, though the organisers forecast a 750,000 attendance.

This year's London Motor Show, scheduled for October, was scrapped when most carmakers decided to save millions of pounds by not exhibiting.