NAIAS ditching January date for better weather

[silvrsvt]

Slightly interesting-this could possibly make the LA Auto show much more important for new product launches. The outside of CES, Chicago (which is shrinking also) auto show would be the first of the year then NY.

 

 

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2018/03/autumn-detroit-north-american-international-auto-show-might-leave-january-behind-report-claims/

[fuzzymoomoo]

Im not for this

 

NAIAS is literally the only thing to do in Detroit in January since the dead wings suck and playoff football is a pipe dream.

[mackinaw]

They may have no choice. With more and more manufacturers skipping the Detroit show (Mercedes is the latest), keeping the status-quo risks making the show irrelevant (except for the Detroit Three).

As for what to do in Detroit in January, tour the DIA and look at the Diego Rivera frescoes of the Ford Rouge plant. Take a walk through the Detroit Zoo. Go ice skating at the Campus Martius ice rink……

[jasonj80]

This actually makes sense, Detroit is a media show and Detroit isn't exactly nice in early January; media people don't want to travel here, which means less new product reviles for the show. Porsche, Land Rover, Jaguar, Volvo, and even Mercedes Benz are all skipping the show next year. It also would open it self up for revels before the LA show. Remember LA moved its auto show date because it overlapped with CES and NAIAS.

[fuzzymoomoo]

They may have no choice. With more and more manufacturers skipping the Detroit show (Mercedes is the latest), keeping the status-quo risks making the show irrelevant (except for the Detroit Three).

As for what to do in Detroit in January, tour the DIA and look at the Diego Rivera frescoes of the Ford Rouge plant. Take a walk through the Detroit Zoo. Go ice skating at the Campus Martius ice rink

none of that is really easily doable with a 1 year old. Except for maybe the DIA.

[mackinaw]

none of that is really easily doable with a 1 year old. Except for maybe the DIA.

 

Forgot about your one-year old, but the DIA is a place to visit. We've spent hours staring at the Diego Rivera frescoes. Diego was a communist and the Rouge Plant frescoes are a comment on capitalist America in the 1930's. Even more interesting is that Edsel Ford commissioned them.

[bzcat]

Weather is just an excuse. The real reason they are contemplating a move is the increasingly irrelevant nature of the Detroit auto show. The show used to be a big deal so automakers save their big reveal for Detroit. But the reality was that the January date never really make much sense, especially for automakers with a global footprint. It only made sense for US car companies that like to reveal new models that will go on sale later in the fall but the rest of the world doesn't follow the fall new model year convention... this is why the other traditional top tier major auto shows overseas are in fall (e.g. Tokyo, Frankfurt/Paris) because they are timed to give car companies a platform for new model debuts that goes on sale in the new calendar year.

 

So moving Detroit auto show to fall makes sense if your goal is to ensure automakers continue to come to your show and have global debuts.

 

I'd put the auto show pecking order like this:

 

Tier 1: Frankfurt/Paris (Sept on alternating years), Tokyo (November odd number year), Detroit (January annual but slipping in prominence), Beijing/Shanghai (April on alternating years)

 

Tier 2: LA (November annual), Geneva (March annual), Seoul (April odd number years), Chicago (March annual), NY (April annual)

 

You can see that there is a opportunity for Detroit to get in on the calendar between Frankfurt/Paris and Tokyo. Especially on the even years when Tokyo is not happening.

Edited March 2, 2018 by bzcat

[rperez817]

Autoextremist recommends renaming NAIAS to Detroit Auto Show and holding it in June. http://www.autoextremist.com/current/2018/1/22/the-detroit-auto-show-is-dead-now-what.html

 

 

 

1. First order of business is to change the official name of the show to the Detroit Auto Show. This should have happened five years ago but it needs to happen now.

2. Next, the Detroit Auto Show needs to move from its traditional January date to June, immediately following the IndyCar weekend at Belle Isle. I am tired of hearing the media attendees at the press days complain about the weather. But I’m not tired of what they’re saying – because it’s dead accurate – I’m tired of hearing about it because it can be easily addressed with some calculated planning. And all of the naysayers who insist that it can’t be done are exactly the reason that the Detroit Auto Show is stuck in neutral. Everything associated with the Detroit show right now – the media attention, the charity preview, the positive affects on the economy – can take place in June when visitors will not only take away a much better impression of this city, they can see this city in a completely new light.

3. If Detroit Auto Show organizers don’t take the first two steps, there is no hope whatsoever of this show ascending to the top tier of auto shows again. Right now the top tier consists of Frankfurt/Paris (conducted on alternate years, still the most important two shows on the calendar), Los Angeles (because of the importance of the vast California market), Geneva (small, but high-quality reveals and intros) and New York (in the media center of the U.S.). CES isn’t an auto show but it has decimated the Detroit show because of its position on the calendar. Chicago is a retail show, a place where consumers actually look over the vehicles they’re thinking of buying. So, where does that leave Detroit? How about floundering and gasping for air? Detroit isn’t important enough to be considered an “international” show anymore; in fact it has taken a giant step backwards to being a regional show for U.S.-based automakers again. No one wants to hear this, but it’s the reality that has unfolded over the last half-dozen years and to pretend otherwise is to function with a level of delusion that is simply not healthy for anyone.

4. And then there’s the notion that auto shows in general have outlived their usefulness. This isn’t an illusion. It’s not just Detroit that has lost its luster and lost manufacturers, other major shows have experienced some of this too. Global manufacturers have grown tired of the costs associated with mounting a proper effort because those costs have multiplied exponentially over the last decade, and they’re realizing that there are more creative ways of getting their message out to consumers. (I still believe in auto shows as a place where people can actually see, feel and touch the vehicles in question, and you only have to spend a few hours at the public days of a show to be reminded of this. And I hope that never goes away.)

 

[fuzzymoomoo]

Honestly if theyre blaming the weather, its way more random here in the fall than it is in January. Its cold af but at least its not as likely to change every hour like it can in fall.

[ANTAUS]

Move it down here to FL, we dont have those issues here during the "Winter" months..

[jcartwright99]

I seriously find it hilarious that the media and others complain about the weather, as if that really makes things so hard. Chicago has as bad if not worse winters and they are only 2 weeks after. Now I get that Chicago is more of a dealer type show with not a whole lot of reveals but still. You don't usually hear people complain about the Chicago weather during their auto show. I think what makes it hard is that Detroit has 0 public transportation, cabs are scarce, and really you have to drive (or get driven) to get to places. Bad weather can make it a little more difficult but wearing boots, hat, gloves, and a warm jacket makes things easily bearable. Also with easily frustrated media folks, with more automakers pulling out they are probably asking themselves, why are they here.

 

I can tell you that there are plenty of good places to eat and drink within walking distance of Cobo. Campus Martius was pretty cool with the shops, food, coffee, beer, and other festivities. I actually had a great time after the show....maybe even more than the show (there was little sizzle this year).

 

2 things are killing this show and none of it has to do with the weather. CES and the fact that automakers are releasing the cars before the show. It's inevitable that as more technologically advanced cars get, that show will showcase a ton of auto tech. NAIAS to follow a week later is a buzz kill. Now in this day and age, everybody (the press) wants the information faster but if you bring up your press site materials at the time of the introduction, you will wow people again. This is a better alternative than to have a midnight release a few days before (why bother showing up if you can stream the intro and have the press kit a day before?

 

I am sad that this is taking such a down turn but as with anything else it's change or die. I think having it in the fall will help but it will be up to the manufactures and the city to really remind people that it is relevant. We'll see how it shakes out! In the meantime, I will keep going.

[rmc523]

Move it down here to FL, we dont have those issues here during the "Winter" months..

 

That'd be nice. The weather is absolutely beautiful today. Completely cloudless, sun high in the sky, 77 degrees, and a nice breeze.......

 

 

Unfortunately the Miami show got canceled this year because of Irma. I was mad, as I was really looking forward to getting to see the Navigator (especially inside).

[ANTAUS]

My only frustration with the Miami (Sort of like what's happening here in Orlando), sometimes not all brands are there. And because of the timing, some of the vehicles that debuted months before, weren't readily open and available for people to sit in. But yes it was great weather today, well cept the sun is out and another 30 degrees cooler and maybe some rain, but I'm weird that way, otherwise it was a nice day for "most" people...

 

 

 

That'd be nice. The weather is absolutely beautiful today. Completely cloudless, sun high in the sky, 77 degrees, and a nice breeze.......

 

 

Unfortunately the Miami show got canceled this year because of Irma. I was mad, as I was really looking forward to getting to see the Navigator (especially inside).

[rmc523]

My only frustration with the Miami (Sort of like what's happening here in Orlando), sometimes not all brands are there. And because of the timing, some of the vehicles that debuted months before, weren't readily open and available for people to sit in. But yes it was great weather today, well cept the sun is out and another 30 degrees cooler and maybe some rain, but I'm weird that way, otherwise it was a nice day for "most" people...

 

 

Agreed. With the show being in September, we tend to get the concepts and what not from the previous years major shows.

[bzcat]

I seriously find it hilarious that the media and others complain about the weather, as if that really makes things so hard. Chicago has as bad if not worse winters and they are only 2 weeks after. Now I get that Chicago is more of a dealer type show with not a whole lot of reveals but still. You don't usually hear people complain about the Chicago weather during their auto show. I think what makes it hard is that Detroit has 0 public transportation, cabs are scarce, and really you have to drive (or get driven) to get to places. Bad weather can make it a little more difficult but wearing boots, hat, gloves, and a warm jacket makes things easily bearable. Also with easily frustrated media folks, with more automakers pulling out they are probably asking themselves, why are they here.

 

I can tell you that there are plenty of good places to eat and drink within walking distance of Cobo. Campus Martius was pretty cool with the shops, food, coffee, beer, and other festivities. I actually had a great time after the show....maybe even more than the show (there was little sizzle this year).

 

2 things are killing this show and none of it has to do with the weather. CES and the fact that automakers are releasing the cars before the show. It's inevitable that as more technologically advanced cars get, that show will showcase a ton of auto tech. NAIAS to follow a week later is a buzz kill. Now in this day and age, everybody (the press) wants the information faster but if you bring up your press site materials at the time of the introduction, you will wow people again. This is a better alternative than to have a midnight release a few days before (why bother showing up if you can stream the intro and have the press kit a day before?

 

I am sad that this is taking such a down turn but as with anything else it's change or die. I think having it in the fall will help but it will be up to the manufactures and the city to really remind people that it is relevant. We'll see how it shakes out! In the meantime, I will keep going.

 

The weather is a real problem for logistics. There is no need to downplay the challenges... getting stuff trucked to Detroit and flying in couple of hundred employees and consultants in January is not cheap under normal circumstances but if the weather is terrible, the costs could easily double or triple.

 

But weather is just a convenient excuse. The fact is January just doesn't work for a major auto show with worldwide prominence as I already explained... it doesn't line up with new model introductions other than for Detroit based car companies. So the show organizers have a choice to make... they can remain in January and be content that it will eventually sink in relevance (it already has) and become a regional show where car companies show US or North America debuts; or they can move it to fall and still have world debuts. The better weather in the fall should also reduce logistic costs so it's really a win win.

[kyle]

Agreed. With the show being in September, we tend to get the concepts and what not from the previous years major shows.

 

 

I remember a few years ago the Miami show had some debuts and it looked like they were starting to become more relevant. I worked that show for Subaru of America in the late 90's and the only thing I remember was it stayed open so damn late and was a long show-10 days?