hether you're showing a Bugatti Veyron that zips from 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds or a Ferrari Enzo that accelerates to 217 mph, it's hard to convey a car's sizzling speed when it's parked on the trade show floor. That was the problem Scarborough, ON, Canada-based Honda Canada Inc. wanted to steer around at the 2009 Canadian International Auto Show (CIAS) in Toronto.

Working with 2LK Design Ltd. of Surrey, England, and The Taylor Group Inc. of Brampton, ON, Canada, Honda translated the rush of the open road into its exhibit's architecture, starting with the help of speed lines, the graphical representation of movement used for everything from the Flintstones' Flintmoble to the Jetsons' space car. Inspired by those wiggly little marks, Honda and The Taylor Group constructed a three-part canopy that curved over the 135-by-123-foot booth like giant speed lines. With each section of the laminated-wood ceiling element measuring 15-by-50 feet, the canopy swooped over attendees with the thrust of a Grand Prix racer circling the track.

Beneath the canopy on the show floor, Honda kept the pedal to the metal. The company stocked its booth with 26 automobiles, including a Honda race car and the FC Sport Concept car, which looked like a supersonic roadster out of "Star Trek." Honda posed the racer and the roadster on 10-by-25-foot platforms with Plexiglas stands. Designed to resemble those wavy speed lines, the display stands made the autos look a little like cheetahs poised to pounce.

Even the exhibit's information kiosks offered peeling rubber. Constructed of steel and glass, three 6-by-8-foot freestanding semi-enclosures offered booth visitors 42-inch touchscreens where they could access info on Honda's racing cars and other products.

By incorporating a cartoonist's trick into the booth's architectural elements - along with video presentations that focused on its fleetest vehicles - Honda took the typical inert automotive display and drove it into the fast lane.e