Who asked the Detroit News' Show Biz reporter to chime-in with his feelings about the 2008 North American International Auto Show? I mean Jeez; David Phillips is raining on a parade that his employer has been hyping since Buick was asking people if it was time for a real car (ready when you are). Then again, it's an itty bitty blog post, And I suppose that an entertainment writer is the most keenly aware when the stars of the show are off skiing in Park City. "Lexus, Acura, Nissan, Infiniti and Suzuki are taking a pass this year. Porsche is gone altogether. Aston Martin has quietly vanished from the Ford stand for obvious reasons." Which are… "the cost of doing business inside Cobo Center, an automaker's product cadence, the growth in overseas markets, other opportunities, venues and auto shows to showcase new product, etc." Hmm. I wonder if that cost has anything to do with some union or other, and whether Big Ron Gettelfinger could sort them out. (You gotta bend over like this. No, not me. You.) Phillips final remark shows how quick Detroit is to react to economic challenges. "Show organizers should be worried." Ya think? [thanks to starlightmica for the tip]
Find Reviews by Make:
Read all comments
Sadly this year detroit3 will show the least amount of concept cars since 1985.
I don’t see the lack of new concept cars as the problem. Part of the problem is what they do with the concept cars.
Why did Ford pass on that great
Lincoln Continental concept car from a while back? Why isn’t the Hornet slated for production somewhere for Chrysler?
They have had plenty of great concept cars in the past that they never followed up on.
It seems that the Detroit show points out the ’emptiness’ that the detroit companies have to offer. Just updated models of the same old vehicles for the most part. They are all losing money and really can’t afford to update their products. Sure the prototypes are interesting but will they really make the retail market. Where are the cars/trucks designed to run on $4/5 gal gas? The new energy reality still hasn’t sunken in. Detroit is still living in LALA land so to speak. Where are the small cars/ vans etc that are so popular in the rest of the world that has to live with the high energy costs? Detroit hasn’t and won’t get it until it is too late.
I was there a few years back. Downtown Detroit is appalling overall. I took the people mover and saw an architecturally fascinating downtown area and some beautiful buildings, but no middle class person of sanity would set foot anywhere but Greektown. The security guards for some of the old buildings were nice, and let me see some of the “great lobbies of capitalism”. There were some grand entrance spaces built in the 20’s – 40’s.
Cobo was a horror even then.
In the same year, I found myself in Berlin, and saw the Berlin auto show. Comparison ? Owch.
That ZR1 hickfest intro speaks volumes. Best car in the stable, worst stage show..ever.
Hmmm…I see this year’s show is shaping up to be a repeat of last year’s. I say that because in the picture of the Buick display above I noticed that they are using the same wall displays as last year. Guess it’s a sign of the times.
It used to be that everything was changed from year to year, so you really were wowed, now I can pretty much give guided tours each year from memory.
Since moving back to MI in ’99, I have made it a tradition to attend the show every year, because well, there’s just really not anything else to do here in the winter! And despite the fact that I have a seriously messed up leg at the moment (leg came apart at the knee Christmas Eve, go figure) I am bound and determined to go and take in all the sights and watch the reps get all flustered when I ask them why their company did such and such stupid thing-it’s rather entertaining. Oh, and the trip into Detroit with my friends who have never been there is quite fun too! (Look out for that speeding car!!! Yeah, what’s your point?)
I can hardly wait!!!
If Mayor Kilpatrick was more concerned with replacing Cobo, and less with his body guards and mansion stripper parties, perhaps we wouldn’t be commenting on this blog post today.