Though it’s held in Germany, the Frankfurt Auto Show holds a fair amount of significance for the North American market. Frankfurt is the first show of the season, and gives automakers a chance to showcase production and concept models, some of which are ready for showrooms, some a few steps shy of the assembly line, and others that are nothing more than exercises in design.

This year, Frankfurt was the stage for the debut of near-production models like the BMW Z4 Coupe and was the official launch pad for the 2006 Porsche Cayman, a model that has been publicized for months. Other highlights included a larger, performance-oriented Toyota RAV4 and hints about the next Kia Optima and Saturn Vue (Opel Antara GTC). And then there was the Jaguar XK Convertible, a model that was announced but visible only on an 8x10 sheet of Kodak paper.

On the following pages are brief summaries of 24 Frankfurt debuts of particular importance to U.S. car shoppers.