'The glory days are gone': Automotive analysts react to scaled down show in Detroit

Media Preview Day took place Friday for just four hours inside Huntington Place, in advance of the start of the Detroit Auto Show (DAS).

It marks the first time the organizers are officially dropping the title NAIAS – North American International Auto Show.

“We were returning to our roots,” DAS Chairman Karl Zimmermann said Friday. “It's not so much about the media, but it is about our industry. It's about cars. It's about the consumers and about our community.”

Zimmermann noted the Detroit Auto Dealers Association - which organizes the event – started in 1907 “for the express purpose of having an auto show.”

He said the glitzy unveilings and grand spectacles came over time, particularly with big shows by Lexus in the 1980s.

“I miss the glitz, the glamor, the excitement,” Alisa Priddle, Detroit editor for Motor Trend said Friday. “Every CEO from every automaker in the world had to be in Detroit in January. It was a mandatory thing. They didn't have to be at any other of the major U.S. shows, but they had to be in Detroit.”

“The glory days are gone,” she said.

Priddle said it “boggles the mind” there wasn’t a single news conference Friday and not a single new vehicle unveiling.

“Yet this has been coming for a long time,” Priddle said. “Automakers have realized that it's expensive to do press conferences at auto shows. And I guess they see there's not a lot of payback [or] return on their investment that way.”

“It all comes down to a lot of social media and bean counters figuring out that the car shows aren't worth it to them,” said Sam Fiorani with AutoForecast Solutions.

For the first time in three decades, Fiorani will not be attending the DAS.

He said the September versions in 2022 and 2023 were a disappointment.

“I'm hearing from journalists who are surprising other people by saying, ‘Oh, I'm going to the Detroit Auto Show. Really? There's that much for you to do there?’” Fiorani questioned. “It just doesn't make a lot of sense for people to fly in from Los Angeles or from New York, or international for what is a few hours on Friday.”

Zimmermann understands and notes the show must evolve along with the industry.

“Things have changed. Technology's changing, media is changing, consumer buying habits are changing,” he said.

“We're finding folks want to come into the showroom, they want to experience vehicles,” Zimmermann added while explaining there is no shortage of things for consumers to do over the 11-day show.

“Ticket sales are way up [and there’s] a lot of great indicators that it's going to be a great week,” Zimmermann said.

Click here for all the details you need to know about this years’ show.