Leggy Lasses at Motor Show

Despite ardent denials, many image-makers in the auto industry still prefer leggy lasses to peddle their cars at shows like this month's Paris event, to the dismay of feminists. But Carole Francois, a client relations official for Peneloppe, an agency that recruited around 300 hostesses for the Paris show, insisted that the eye candy hostess "no longer exists". And several constructors have opted this year to dress their hostesses in longer dresses, or in trousers and flat shoes. This week a Senate panel on women's rights issued a report to coincide with the Paris Motor Show calling for an end to the cliches around women and cars. It also said the car show should have as many hosts as hostesses.