Sherman’s father had always taken the subway to Wall Street… It was a matter of principle. The more grim the subways became, the more graffiti those people scrawled on the cars… the more determined was John Campbell McCoy that they weren’t going to drive him off the New York City subways. But to the new breed, the young breed, the masterful breed, Sherman’s breed, there was no such principle. Insulation! That was the ticket. That was the term Rawlie Thorpe used. ”If you want to live in New York,” he once told Sherman, ”you’ve got to insulate, insulate, insulate,” meaning insulate yourself from those people. The cynicism and smugness of the idea struck Sherman as very au courant.
— Tom Wolfe, “Bonfire Of The Vanities”
As the United States slouches towards Rio to be reborn as a place where one can only live in the one-percenter heaven or unemployed, lower-class hell, insulation has become a concept with validity far outside Manhattan. The latest manifestation of this sans hoi polloi attitude: “The Gallery”, where “high-net-worth” individuals can meet their next status symbols without the offensive presence of regular people.
The Detroit online magazine Mlive quotes one of the organizers and describes the delights to be had:
According to Caza, The Gallery gives the “1 percent” a unique chance to meet with the executives from the luxury brands and be able to compare all the vehicles in one place.
The Gallery also features a strolling pre-glow dinner with renowned celebrity Chef Wolfgang Puck and a post-glow fashion event.
Puck, who says he is not a “car guy,” said he has brought food from all over the world for the one-night event in Detroit.
“I really like this blue collar town,” said Puck, who drives a Cadillac Escalade. “I really think what I like about Detroit, as bad as people saw it was, that our car industry really got their (stuff) together and they do better.
Hard to imagine that Mr. Puck will get too much of the blue-collar experience serving meals to $500-a-ticket “HNW” consumers, but there you have it.
TTAC couldn’t get anyone in to see the “Gallery”, since we were unwilling to kiss the proverbial rod ring, but we did find this picture of a Lamborghini on Twitter:
While it’s easy to understand why the luxury marques don’t want everyone in Cobo Hall banging up against their inventory — a decade ago, your humble author saw a fellow in a “FUBU” jacket uncaringly drag his zipper along the entire rear flank of a Porsche 996 GT2 — there is something disturbing about the idea of there being a Good Car Show and a Show For The Rest Of Us. Naturally, TTAC will be covering the Show For The Rest Of Us, starting tomorrow. See you there!
“As the United States slouches towards Rio to be reborn as a place where one can only live in the one-percenter heaven or unemployed, lower-class hell, insulation has become a concept with validity far outside Manhattan.”
Jack, you’re not always my favorite editor here, but this is brilliance in words. Unfortunately, many in the US, many auto enthusiasts, and naturally even some posters here seem perfectly ok with this.
I’m not ok with it, but those with their hands on the power levers of the country don’t care what I think, nor what any of us here think. During this election year they will talk about the growing Grand Canyon between the “have mores” and the rest of us. And sadly, neither party will really care enough to try to change things. I guess in this arena the Republicans will be a bit more honest in that they are more open about not caring. The Democrats speak as if they do care, but their actions often speak otherwise.
$500 a ticket? Maybe I’ll stop by the stationary engineer who works for me and check out his two month old Aston Martin DBS and save a few bucks instead…
I, for one, am truly glad that J.B. will be attending as an offsetting force to the marketing farce.
Thanks, Jack, and thanks, TTAC, for being one of the last few bastions and repositories of automotive objectiveness.
Other auto shows also offer these sneek peeks, usually with the money going to charity. It really isn’t bearable to go to an autoshow without the crowd control that these events offer. Not just because of the quality of the people during regular hours, but the quantity.
This is not so much letting the 1%, and others willing to pay a few hundred a ticket, separate themselves from the masses, as it is letting the 1% live like those cash poor, in-kind bribe rich people known as auto journalists, getting a special early look at the auto show.
Jack – even if you are not attending this event I imagine you will be spending at least $500 on at least one Charity while you are in Detroit.
Hwr name is Chastity, not Charity!
The difference here is that the “Gallery” is being held in a separate location from the rest of the show. It’s not a charity preview or a special event — it’s a deliberate physical gap between regular people and “HNW” customers.
Thanks for the clarification, upon further examination I see the difference between the regular Detroit first look for charity, which is $250, and this event, in which the $500 does not even appear to be going to charity. Now this is getting a bit pompous.
http://www.naias.com/the-2012-show/the-gallery.aspx
Now I am keen to know what cars make it into the 1% gallery. Where do they draw the line between the elite and the plebs? Is Jaguar a car for the masses? Is Lincoln special?
If it’s at all possible, check out an auto show on a Wednesday after 8pm or so.
all that, and yet not even ONE good-natured fastball thrown across the home-plate(s) of either Alex Roy or “The Gallery”‘s most-likely-next-employee, Matt Farah?!?
-for Shame, Jack; neglecting your profession like that! :D
$500-a-ticket “HNW” consumers
If they really want you there, you don’t pay. Local luxury dealers have events as well where you get an invitation to get wined and dined – always for no cost.
«as it is letting the 1% live like those cash poor, in-kind bribe rich people known as auto journalists»
So, you think this 1% thingy is a new thing? One wonders whether people think all their predecessors came in steerage (third class).
There always was a first class and a second class, you know. Even in the Mayflower, ship officers got better accomodations than passengers, you know?
Think journos = officers. Guys in the industry get a better deal, you know?
It’s how the world works. Deal with it or move to some commune or whatever. I’m sure there’s still some hippies or something somewhere.
Let’s learn some history and spare us the rending of clothes and the wailing about the 1% please.
And there has always been slavery, totalitarian governments, genocide, etc.
It’s how the world works. Deal with it.
Indeed, let’s learn some history. The singular defining characteristic of the human race has been the distinct inability to learn, grow and evolve. This predisposition to remain stuck in place, accepting of the current state irrespective of how repugnant it may be, certainly must be the motive force behind all human achievement.
You’ve managed to completely misinterpret my comments while also comparing someone that rehashes press releases at Autoblog to a ship captain. Thank you for your senseless rant, you know?
“but we did find this picture of a Lamborghini on Twitter:”
Apparently HNW doesn’t bother with a hi-res digi. Or at least one with SteadyShot.
Autoline After Hours had two guys from NAIAS on, saying that the special venue was employed because it was too expensive for these tiny high end car companies to take space at Cobo. Also, Amex was rounding up black card holders and inviting them over. What great showmanship to make it seem exclusive.
A few more development cycles of this (go-fast cars designed by input from destists, lawyers and others of that ilk), and the 1 percenters will really need some repressive mileage regulations to keep from being ran circles around by ricers in hopped up evos.