2015 North American International Auto Show: How Henny Sees It

By Henny Hemmes
Senior European Editor
The Auto Channel

THE HAGUE, The auto show in Detroit is officially named the North American International Auto Show has been the most important American car show for decades. It was a relief to journalists when in 2005, the L.A. Auto Show decided to move its dates to November.

For decades the LA Auto Show (for most of its life a consumer show) rang in the New Year and followed just a couple of days later the Detroit Auto Show, but the past 9 years Detroit was there by itself allowing the car makers and journalists to catch their collective breaths.

However over the past few years there has been growing trouble for Detroit’s position as January's only major car centric event. As digital, connected cars, autonomous riding, telematics and other esoteric digital elements have become more important to car makers, the world's auto industry has ‘discovered’ the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas that has historically opened just a week ahead of the NAIAS.

Beginning in the 1960's as the electronics industry exploded, CES has become the trade show where the worlds consumer electronics companies unveil their new rocket science products to hundreds of thousand industry participants and has grown so big that it has outgrown the city’s 3 major convention venues and now includes exhibit space in major hotels. This year’s exhibition space amounted to more than 2.2 million net square feet (200 thousand m2) with 3,600 exhibitors!

But now CES has suddenly become an auto show as well, a different kind, but still…

With electronics becoming increasingly important in the car industry, the auto makers started exhibiting at CES. In fact in 2014 CES it became a serious player for the automotive business. Audi brought demo cars, and showed its laser light for the first time. BMW brought i3 demos to the show and an autonomous drifting M235i to the Las Vegas Speedway for media demonstrations. Hyundai-Kia showcased its latest connectivity systems and Toyota unveiled the concept car for what was to develop into the fuel cell-electric Mirai. The FIA unveiled the Formula E race car at a small parking lot where they burned out while the electric driveline produced a high buzzing sound. That was 2014!

This year the four German manufacturers, Ford, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Hyundai and Toyota were not only exhibiting but fro the first time paid for media to come to Sin City first, and then took them on to Detroit. CES was the venue to showcase new concepts and technologies including self-driving and self-parking systems, car sharing possibilities, infotainment and connected car solutions. The reason that Bloomberg called the CES show in Las Vegas ‘the most important car show’.

Detroit Auto Show organizers should be worried indeed. They obviously did not realize in an early stage that cars are quickly moving into what so-called drivable gadgets? Probably Detroit should have started to incorporate a platform for displaying the new technologies during its show. Like Los Angeles has been attempting to do for the past two years during the day before the show opens its doors to the media. And I dearly hope it is not too late. Even though the biting winter cold can be uncomfortable when flying or driving to and staying in Detroit, I love the city and I love the show.

This year, it was exiting, especially for a person like me, who loves performance cars, and in this order….: the Ford GT, Acura NSX, Infiniti Q60 Concept, Mustang Shelby 350 R (race version) Camaro Z28,BMW M6 models, Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS and the Porsche Cayenne S.

The category of ‘sensible’ cars also is well represented in Detroit, such as the gorgeous Buick Avenir concept.

Wrapping up: this year’s show, that runs until January 26 offers a lot of news, with a lot of new models, but I cannot say it was spectacular, as it lacked a bit of glitz and exciting new technology.