Taiwan's largest auto show, currently underway in Taipei, is showcasing a wide variety of cars, from real to virtual ones and from colorful ones to a transparent one. While many visitors were gazing covetously at shiny sports cars or breathtaking models of concept cars, scores of students from 18 car-related schools were lining up to test PlayStation's latest racing car video game Monday. Another attraction for visitors is a 'crystal model' of a Lexus two-seater. The model, made of a transparent acrylic material, is on display in a dark room and reflected by white and blue lights to allow almost every component to be seen. Cheng Ching-tien, head of the Taipei Automobile Distributors Association, said the association organized the event despite a difficult business climate for car firms. Major European and U.S. car companies that were absent from the recently concluded Tokyo auto show are taking part in the Taipei event due to the support of the association members, he noted. The show features cars from 25 companies, including Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Toyota, Audi, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Taiwan's new brand, Luxgen. 'Some models of cars are not yet out in the U.S.' said one visitor from Boston who told selfnews he had read about these new models of cars in magazines, although they will not be introduced to the U.S. until later. 'It's always fun to see the real cars,' he said. After touring the show for an hour, he observed that many of the photographers were taking photos of pretty showgirls posing next to the cars, but said he would rather look at the cars. 'Beautiful girls you can see anywhere, but cars not so much, ' he said. His view was shared by French engineer Jean-Francois Fort, who said the first impression of the show was that many people were more interested in photographing the models than the cars. 'They should at least take some photos of the cars,' he said. As a regular visitor to the Paris car show, Fort said that both car shows are similar in format, although the Taipei show is smaller than the one held in the French capital. Fort also noted that many of the cars on show in Taipei are not distributed in Europe. More than 40,000 people have visited the show, which takes places every other year, according to the organizers. Coraline Lin, the publicist for the event, said that companies at the auto show are not so much seeking orders as using the event to understand market needs. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily at the Taipei World Trade Center's Exhibition Hall I, with an admission fee of NT$250 (US$8). It will close Jan. 3. 