It’s show time
The 2008 North American International Auto Show to be specific. In a time of the year when people are normally settling in for the post-holiday blues Metro Detroit gears up and puts on a great show that is pretty much guaranteed to keep you out of a funk. Despite the economic hardships that the area is dealing with, the Auto Show offers a real sense of hope that the future will get better.
And I have to say, despite the economic situation being what it is things are still improving. This signals to me the start of a long needed change in attitude. The product pipelines from the automakers seem to be improving nicely and now that reliability issues are behind them they can turn their attention to making their cars greener and more technologically advanced. The city itself is also working hard to better itself, and is really starting to challenge long held perceptions that the city is a place you wouldn’t want to visit. And projects like the recently announced Cadillac Center will continue to help and show that the attitude around here is starting to shift. I look forward to what people will do with those attitudes when the economic situation does shift (though that might take a few years).
But enough about that, back to the show itself. Like I already mentioned this year there is a new emphasis on green technologies, which is a good thing and a long time coming. Already we’ve seen announcements from Ford and GM that they’re not only developing new platforms, but also focusing on increasing fuel efficiency considerably by using technologies like direct fuel injection, turbo charging engines with smaller displacement. They’ve also done some great work improving the “desirability” factor as well as all the other little touches that make a good product a great one.
The NAIAS is really something you need to attend to experience. Beyond the cars and the amazing displays, extravagant events and flashy unveilings it’s good to see the crowds wandering around a city I love with smiles on their faces. I won’t even complain about all the extra traffic I’m going to have to deal with for the next two weeks.
January 14th, 2008 23:40
Autoshow time is my fav time of the year. Gives detroit a time to shine. So much neater than the Chicago autoshow in my opinion…
Cannot wait for the saturday.
January 15th, 2008 00:00
I’ve been to the Chicago auto show and while it’s cool, it’s really not the same thing. In my opinion the only other auto show in the US that can compete is the LA auto show, but of course I’m partial to ours. It’s still the largest. Hopefully some concrete plans to expand Cobo in the next couple years will hit and cement our rightful place.
Ever since I’ve been a little kid this time of the year has meant a lot to me. Now that I work for a company that does a lot with all the auto companies I can go to the show and take some small amount of personal satisfaction that the work that I do helps these companies make the cars that I love. It’s going to be great.