Regular readers know that I’m resolutely anti-auto show. Long before the current international auto industry meltdown led Nissan, Mitsubishi, Land Rover, Rolls-Royce, Porsche et al. to pull out of the North American International Auto Show, I proclaimed the events an enormous waste of time, money and effort. And boring. And outmoded. And so I will again, as I go talking-head-to-talking-head with CNBC’s resident Motown apologist Phil LeBeau (8:30 p.m. EST). In terms of autoblogospherical representation, CNBC is usually Jalopnik’s patch. I’m guessing Ray wasn’t ready to step up and criticize his bestest best friends at this most wonderful time of the year. Either that or he’s speed dialing CNBC right now, and I’ll get a call any second telling me to stand down. UPDATE: view the segment here.
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Just saying to wife the other day.”We are paying more for cable feed,then we payed in rent for our first home”
Now whod’a thunk I’d be looking for CNBC.There it is channel 79{rogers cable}
Hey..I just had a thought. I can push a button and delete RF.Talk about a role reversal!
Just joking dude….GOOD LUCK
well…I’ll still be at work. Maybe I can find a live feed? Maybe you could post one? Good luck either way.
Auto shows are soooo much better if you sneak in on the empty nights.
Go Robert! Does anyone have the link?
Wear something colorful….
It’s a good thing you’re not at the NY Auto Show, then.
God DAMN, Scion didn’t learn from the Hako concept…
Good luck! I’ll TiVo it.
I’ll be watching.
Looking forward to it.
If they were giving you Maria Bartiromo then Ray might be a bit jealous, poor kid probably thinks he’s the only one, but Maria Bartiromo gets around like Tupac.
Since you’ve got Phil LeBeau maybe we should have a “How many drinks?” drinking game to predict how many it takes you to get through the interview.
On a serious note, it will be good to finally have a realist on CNBC. Hopefully you can post the interview so that I don’t have to contribute to their ratings (well, not actually, I’m not a Nielsen household, but it still makes me feel dirty to watch the channel).
Excellent! At last somebody will have a decent shot at keeping Phil LeBeau honest. Good luck, and be sure to post a clip here afterward.
Show, I proclaimed the events an enormous waste of time, money and effort
This.
And it isn’t just the NAIAS…it’s all of em. Can’t walk around without some asshole getting drinking an Evian getting in your way…or those little people from you know where snapping pictures of the largest vehicles in the place.
I have more fun at some bullshit muscle car show on Gratiot Avenue on a Tuesday night.
Good luck tonight, Robert! Too bad you’re HORRIBLY WRONG but that’s another story. I hope your appearance drives some traffic to this wonderful site – I really do think that the more opportunities you get to be interviewed and give expert opinion, the better the site will fare.
I love auto shows they make me so happy. I hope you post the interview segment on TTAC for those of us without cable…
F the auto shows. And that’s all of ’em. Why go to a place that’s packed like sardines full of pretentious douchebags and media types to look at cars that are so cool that they’ll never see light of day through a dealership’s showroom window? Screw that. By the time you’ve fought through it all just to see the 2 concepts and 1 new production car that you wanted to check out, you’re so beaten down that you don’t even give a shit anymore. I used to like it, but I’m too old for that now. No thanks.
superbadd75
May I quote you?
Great job, Robert.
They put Robert up against Sweet Pete, who appeared to be in disarray and wasn’t able to hang with Robert’s comparative alacrity. The CNBC guys had to jump in to put up a fight.
Robert: Great job! I’m curious, could they have been bigger douchebags? Seriously, you had a tough time getting a word in, what exactly was the point of including you? And the shot about getting kicked out of an auto show? WTF??? Again, good job, and F CNBC.
Oh, and quote me anytime, I appreciate the opportunity to express my views here. If it helps, no prob.
I concur, good job Robert!
Just saw it, with Farago and DeLorenzo. It seemed there wasn’t enough time to go over everything. The segment was maybe just over 5 minutes?
You held your own in there Robert. Good job!
You got a lot more speaking time than I thought they’d give you, and you ended up the star of the segment!
Here’s hoping they ask you back, and giving TTAC the exposure it deserves.
Well done. I watched the segment with my GF and her comment was, “I like how they have all these people on and they are apologizing for the waste, and then they have this one guy who speaks the truth and they hop all over him.” That comment was before she knew I read your blog. It put a smile on my face.
It appeared like a bunch of government and automaker-funded commentators (because you know car makers NEVER advertise on television).
I cracked up when one of them said he was THE consumer and he loved going to auto shows to see the cars to keep in mind before he purchased them.
How many real consumers go to those things? I don’t know anyone who has. 99% of the population has an idea of what they want from acquaintances and media, they narrow it down with reviews and ratings publications, and then they go to the dealerships to look, test drive, and ultimately haggle. Where do auto shows fit into this?
Anyways, well done being the voice of reason among the shills.
You did well. Tough to be the fly in the ointment and come across calm and cool. You did.
I laughed at the team person who said he liked to go to auto shows to look at all the models, etc.
Sure. Must not have access to the internet or a dealers row on a street near him, or even a mall parking lot.
Wow Robert, you just Pwned Delorenzo. but in return, the CNBC guys kinda shot down your argument as well. Albiet with idiotic spin, but they still shot you down.
And I agree the last question about you getting banned from an auto show was a cheap shot.
I was at work. Hopefully it will pop up on Youtube.
Sorry I missed it, could you link here ?
I totally disagree. Car Shows, for us, are wonderful things. You get to look at every car at once, pretty much right next to each other.
I recall years back, Mercedes were bank vaults and everything else had poor shut-lines. Now, everything lines up perfectly. The expensive cars have sumptuous interiors and the cheap ones try to do as much as possible with as few cheap parts.
You can go from car to car without salesdroids, open doors, trunks, and look under things to see what’s really there. It is very interesting to see major differences in construction quality for equivalent prices. Some brands don’t give much, while in the same price class, other cars are quite well constructed.
You see the same designs over and over, at different levels of execution.
The only problem is the Javits Center in NY has artificially dry air, and you have to drink a lot of water when you go.
Beats hell out of the Cobo Center, though.
Robert,
Good work tonight with what air-time they did give you.
I switched from watching CNBC to Bloomberg a while ago – after watching tonight’s segment CNBC feels more detached from reality than ever.
The crux of your entire argument is that cash-strapped companies need to control expenses, and auto shows do not have a proven, measurable ROI.
You’d think the bean-counters responsible for some of Detroit’s horrid interiors would, at some point, ask for proof that the benefits of auto shows are worth the costs.
The “business experts” at CNBC could not wrap their heads around that concept – unbelievable. The talking heads seem to think that their gut instincts about the benefits are enough to justify the expense of an auto show.
I think I’ve figured out why the hosts of tonight’s segment so vehemently defended the existence of auto shows – they are journalists. They probably attend shows during press days that exclude the great unwashed masses. I’m sure going to an auto-show without the general public, and having some free food thrown in is a great way to see new cars – but I wouldn’t know.
-ted
Thanks for the kind words, guys.
Appearing on TV is a roller coaster ride; it’s over before you know it. In terms of content, no one remembers a thing you say. All they’re left with: tone of voice and what you look like.
All I wanted to do: point out that GM and Chrysler pissing away OUR money, give a shout-out to a TTAC commentator (’cause you guys ARE the site) and not look stupid.
Mission accomplished? Who knows? Who cares. Back to the grindstone.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1087201027&play=1
Imagine if they had made RF the leader of the PTFOA, wouldn’t that have been a riot?
I was out tonight but I’m sure I’ll catch the segment somewhere. Keep up the good work Robert.
Edit: thanks for the link, checked it out, good stuff. Not too many people get the chance to say “GM and Chrysler are pissing away our money” on national television -woo hoo!
I’d like to see a link if anyone captured this. This was the first I heard of it, so I didn’t catch it.
Regarding auto shows… I will disagree with you.
I like being able to go check out the models from all the manufacturers in one place. It’s not necessarily about going in to find out which new car you want to buy. Of course you’re going to have done the relevant research and narrowed your choices down. The auto show is simply a chance to check out everything at once – manufacturers and models that you wouldn’t go out of your way to stop at or might not think about. Here is your chance to see them all for $10.
Go on a quiet night, not a weekend. Don’t go to be thrilled by concept cars. A couple of glances and a pic maybe, but they’re always roped-off and inaccessible anyhow.
The problem with the Atlanta Auto Show – like many others, I’m sure, is that it’s basically the same shit year after year. You have your Sham-Wow dude hustling, your toy car model booths, crap offerings for food/drink (too expensive to boot), models with fake boobs and finger-long eyelashes that don’t know squat about the vehicle, the same old tired Porsche display where they lock the cars – let’s stop at this one and discuss. I have seen it year after year – Porsche locks the cars because they must think that their babies are just too out of reach for the unwashed masses to sit in and check out. Get over yourselves. I hope they realize the stick up their ass attitude they give off with that. Guess what, I can sit in a $150K Mercedes for some reason. So what if some fat kid twists off the $600 clock option in the 911. You’ll just have to write it off to the cost of doing business. Sorry, /rant.
Oh, I almost forgot – don’t you love the cars where they’ve taken off the stick shift knob? I mean, just have a box of the damn things with you and figure on replacing a few. If little Timmy can screw it off, you can screw another one back on. Again, it’s the cost of doing business. I think a lot is lost when you aren’t able to feel the stickshift properly. That didn’t sound right. Anyhow, same goes for power for the accessories. I want to be able to move the GD seat to see if the car fits me properly. I want to listen to the sound system. And take the tape off of the trunk hinge so that I can hear it close properly.
Well, this sounds like I’m against ’em, doesn’t it? I’m not really. If they’re done right. There is no reason that they can’t be.
There really isn’t any reason that the event needs to even take place in an expensive rented convention center. It could just as well be held outside in a big baseball field parking lot on an off-day where the local car dealerships bring their models and have someone knowledgeable to talk – no sales. It’s just basically efficiency. Getting even a handful of manufacturers together would be good. They could have a test drive loop where you could compare the Accord to the Camry to the Altiima to the Mazda 6 – whatever – this would allow you to have direct comparisons without being a journalist or somehow securing an extended test drive. Even then, you don’t usually get to deal with multiple models at once.
I think that the auto shows need to be less show and more practical hands-on events that make it easier for the consumer to really compare vehicles. Jesus, now I’m starting to sound logical. That means that what I’m talking about will never happen.
Poor Sweet Pete. All he got in was an obvious statement.
Just saw the clip – thanks cc-rider. Robert, I think you did good. At least they gave a few sides to the story. Typical time-frame limitations though. Peter came across differently than I imagined him – stiff, cranky. Interesting topic to cover.
I will say though that you can do all the research on the Internet that you can stomach, but you still have to touch and sit in them. And drive them. That’s why the alternative I suggested of having local dealers provide models in a huge parking lot somewhere makes sense to me. It can be structured to provide more than you get in the stale convention center. You would get to test drive and compare directly.
I have been to several events that are similar. Lexus, BMW, etc. that are structured events with competing vehicles. They are just too far and few and are invitation-only. What I’m talking about would be open to the public and cheap if not free. It would have good food from local companies that cater and actually care about what they do. It would have areas to actually sit down and relax.
Here’s something I’ll throw out: how about TTAC getting behind something like this? It could start small maybe with several dealers providing models at an event described above. The dealers would get the traffic. TTAC would get the exposure. TTAC could have some of the B&B on hand to unofficially discuss the models’ merits and faults.
We need to have current owners and armchair experts at least there to assist. It would be fun and I don’t think would cost an arm and a leg. The dealers simply have to drag out their last marketing balloons and cardboard stuff and drive some vehicles over. I’m sure some locals could be gathered together to gladly provide food/drinks for sale, Leather Creations could provide sofas to sit on, Best Buy could provide PCs to do info checks on, a local credit union could run numbers and provide credit info, all a win-win, you get the idea. None of this was available at the auto show recently. Insurance is an issue, but not insurmountable. Fun stuff just thinking about it.
Congrats on the TV appearance.
I wouldn’t eliminate all auto shows but I think they should be more local than the ones that get reported on in Autoblog/carmags/news sites. It should be about your local dealers meeting at the local arena/mall/high school and showing off the cars they have for sale now, not 3 years from now.
And not some international affair either.
I miss when car dealers would have cars at the county fair.
Well done, Robert. Hopefully this will be the first of many such appearances that will add much deserved credibility and exposure for the site. You have been the most consistent voice documenting the terminal trajectory of the domestic auto industry. It’s about time someone in the mainstream media took notice. Maybe next time they’ll actually ask you about that. Again, Congratulations.
Robert- you came off as angry IMO. Auto shows are significant and well attended. Your point of view was summarily dismissed though you managed to continue your rant against the domestics. Better luck next time.
I agree the internet is a powerful marketing alternative to the auto shows. But the internet isn’t 3D. I have changed my mind more than once about the car I saw in the form of an image vs. what I saw in person. Yeah, I can traipse over to the showroom, but it IS convenient to dream, gaze, and be appalled under one roof.
It’s another question if GM and Chrysler should be spending taxpayer dollars to have a presence. But as long as other manufacturers support the shows, the absence of the Big 3 fuels the perception they’re going the way of the dinosaur. I don’t know how much these shows cost, but I don’t see why they should be so expensive.
Finally, don’t forget that the car shows are an important source of support for the state auto associations that produce it.
Robert, you did well. Next time, wear a red jacket to match your flamboyant prose. You might even get a wink from Melissa. She’s hot.
Bridge2far :
Robert- you came off as angry IMO.
I’m quite certain that Robert didn’t get the phone call because he’s “objective.” And I for one am happy that FINALLY somebody is angry on national television, and it’s not a fake angry vituperous congressman/woman/thing.
State the facts, yes. But without passion and conviction, your audience won’t have any reason to believe you mean what you say, and accordingly, they won’t be able to identify with you.
Auto shows are significant and well attended.
Sez you. The last few times I attended the one in Orlando, they were majorly boring. You’d hear crickets, except that the crickets all left the convention center to find something more exciting to do! And as was mentioned in an earlier post, you never see any of the fun aspects of the concept cars make it to a dealer’s floor or to the street. I’m tired of that, and I refuse to pay $5-$10 for parking and another $10 per adult to get in. I’d rather attend a home show (I can’t afford anything but the fancy cheese grater), a boat show (I don’t boat), a gun and knife show (I’d probably shoot or stab myself in the foot), or hell, any show that holds promise of a knock-down/drag-out between Billy Mays and that Sham-Wow guy! Yeah, I’d pay to see that!
Your point of view was summarily dismissed though you managed to continue your rant against the domestics. Better luck next time.
Of course Robert’s point of view was summarily dismissed, but not because of any supposed ranting on Robert’s part. He was dismissed because CNBC itself is slanted and unobjective. Think about it: If it’s anybody’s job to be objective, it’s CNBC’s job, not Robert’s.
Good showing Robert. But Good God the “dynamic” is annoying! “five-second” answer, constant interruptions, short sound-bites, haughty soapboxing, facetiousness, condescension, sophomoric smirk… This is a serious show? You — and perhaps the anchor — were the only adults on there.
It was pathetic.
UPDATE: just occurred to me that maybe I’m protected from that 24-hour “news” trash here in Canada.
My kids and I dig the LA Auto Show, where they can climb around cars and pretend to drive without getting accosted by salesmen.
I get to look and sit in some cool cars that I’ll never be able to afford.
So, I don’t agree with you about that, but you appeared intelligent and articulate on TV. Congratulations. Hope it helps the site.
While I have never been to a big show, like in Detroit or Chicago, I really enjoy the Toledo Auto Show. I use it as an easy way to shop for a new car. Almost every brand is there, along with most models. I can easily cross shop and speak to dealers.
Does Pete. D have a skullet?
Hey Robert good job, you represented your side pretty well and had answers for the challenges. You’re probably right, the auto show business model probably isn’t too great, but I still absolutely love ’em.
Why don’t the local auto sellers get together and put on their own show? It seems like it would be doable and significantly cheaper if instead of the big automakers sending cars all over, the local dealers agreed to bring all the new models on their lots to a convention center for people to check out. It’s nice to see concept and upcoming models, but I just love going to see what’s on the market now and to sit in all the cars I see on the street.
Idunno. I love the auto show, it’s the best time of the year and I hope they keep it up even if it isn’t the best business decision, though I agree they could do it more cost-efficiently.
Next stop, Cavuto.
good work robert, he pitched you a softball and you hit it out of the park. you came across very well.
Overall good, but nobody ever challenged the assertion that a car show in the middle of a workday in New York City is somehow physically exposing “consumers” to autos. Really? Consumers without jobs who happen to be living in New York, maybe.
RF you were great. But I always want to reach through the screen and bitch slap that whiney Ru Paul clone every time he opens his mouth.
Ugh. How many times did you have to bathe afterward ?
Good showing Robert. But Good God the “dynamic” is annoying! “five-second” answer, constant interruptions, short sound-bites, haughty soapboxing, facetiousness, condescension, sophomoric smirk… This is a serious show? You — and perhaps the anchor — were the only adults on there.
I think a lot of good would be done by introducing, or reintroducing, Mace debates in the media. I don’t think the likes of O’Reilly would like it, if for no other reason than they wouldn’t be allowed to use cheap histrionics and/or berate their participants. It’s also not soundbite-friendly.
But it’d certainly raise the intellectual level of popular debate, and probably that of the viewing audience as well.
I’d love to see a Youtube clip of this. I don’t watch television as a rule and had no idea this was coming.
God, read this site religiously and haven’t posted in forever. This time it was necessary. Robert did about as well as he could in that court of fools. I am ashamed to see what CNBC has digressed into being. I wished Jon Stewart’s pantsing of the network gained more traction than it did.
Me thinks this organization is still reeling from the bitch slap they got from Stewart. The newschick’s comment about Robert not getting into auto shows after this interview shows just how tasteless CNBC truly is.
Good job, Robert. I don’t know how your head didn’t explode when those three CNBC-ers gang-spun you, but you kept your cool.
I am ashamed to see what CNBC has digressed into being.
This is big media’s big problem: they’ve forsaken stability for growth, and the only way you’re going to grow is appeal to a sufficiently broad audience. The only way to do that is dumb yourself down to the point where you can safely appeal to a lot of people.
By doing that, though, you alienate your core market, and make yourself vulnerable to whomever is willing to stoop to levels you aren’t, or is quicker, more agile, or deeper-pocketed than you are. And thusly you race faster to the bottom, getting bigger, shallower, acquiring more debt and weakening you brand until, poof, you’re done.
What’s happening in automobilia is nothing compared to the housecleaning that’s about the happen to the media.
Good try, but I don’t think you got through to anyone. But that’s not the point of TV news anymore, is it?
I have to say I totally disagree about the usefulness of auto shows, but it’s good to hear other views.