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Moving the Detroit Auto Show From January to June - A Good Idea or A Dud? +VIDEO


PHOTO (select to view enlarged photo)
Rendering of the New Detroit Auto Show look

Automotive Journalists Sound Off On New Show Dates


AUTO CENTRAL - May 23, 2019: Beginning in 2020, the North American International Auto Show (commonly known as the Detroit Auto Show) will be moving their exposition dates to June from January. This represents a radical change in the consumer auto show schedule. The Auto Channel's Steve Purdy and video producer Mark Ducker spoke with several auto journalists about this. Here's their report:




The following is the Detroit 2020 promotional video:




Marc Rauch, Exec. Vice President/Co-Publisher of The Auto Channel, had this to say about the move:

    "When I first heard about this, a few months ago, I thought it was a bone head move. But the more I think about it, the more I believe the move can re-establish the Detroit Show as the preeminent American show. It comes during a generally slow news cycle (the Summer months), consequently more attention will be focused on the show; it has a better lead-in as a forward looking show (Hey folks, look at what's coming our way...), which could help to position the show as a technology news leader rather than just presenting sloppy seconds of tech news that was just made a week or two before in Las Vegas; and the better weather of June will attract far more consumers and media reporters. If the city of Detroit can ever rebound as a significant tourist and industrial hub, this may be the first real shot at making it happen.

    "For years, I thought that the LA Auto Show made a great mistake by dating their November/December show with the out-going year. I felt they should project forward. So, for example, the LA exposition that was held in November 2018 should have been called the '2019 Los Angeles Auto Show,' not the 2018 Auto Show - it wasn't debuting the previous year's models, it was premiering the coming year's models. The Detroit Show may officially call itself the '31st NAIAS,' and try to stay away from a year-date stamp, but ultimately people will refer to it as the 20?? Detroit Auto Show. They might as well call the June 2020 show the '2021 Detroit Auto Show' to be on the leading edge. And I hope it causes the LA show producers to re-date their shows with the coming year (so this November's show will be the 2020 LA Auto Show, not the 2019 Auto Show). I think the Chicago Show should continue with their dating, and then it doesn't really matter what New York does because it's too early for the next year's models, and too late for the last year's models, and they should stop holding the show during Passover.

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