by "RightFootDown" (rightfootdown)
Published 01/12/2017 at 09:56
by "RightFootDown" (rightfootdown)
Published 01/12/2017 at 09:56
No Tags
STARS: 10
If you haven’t noticed, we were at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week. The rest of the boys/men/team/squad have done a few of these types of events before, but my only exposure to big auto shows was the Kansas City one . Which is not quite on the same tier. So I was a bit broadsided by the scale and scope of the event, and got a bit overwhelmed. But now that I’m home, and have had some time to process, I’ve realized something.
The auto industry does not give a runny, caffeine induced, fiber deficient shit about us.
Story copied from the original post at RightFootDown. All photos produced by Andrew Fails, Will Byrd and Josh Taylor:
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I sat in on a few press conferences, in which the major companies went over their corporate philosophies, and featured their newest and greatest cars. Many important things were discussed. But oddly enough, actual driving wasn’t really on the menu at most of these. Ford rented out an arena, filled it with a dozen teleprompters, and made their best attempt at running an evangelical church. All of that to discuss…a truck. And a taxi. And a taxi van. And environmentalism. And bicycles. And some other trucks that they may make at some point but won’t show yet.
We also had Chevrolet. Surely they would dazzle us. The home of the Corvette and the Camaro would absolutely have some new muscle to stun us with. Instead we got a lot of talk about active lifestyles and third row seating. We got an SUV, a crossover, another SUV, and an electric car. Astounding. Yet the assorted media lapped that right up. As soon as they were let off the leash, it was a wave of white guys in white shirts, just scampering and scurrying over the Equinox. Or the Traverse. Whatever.
Toyota erected a shrine to the new Camry, proudly proclaiming that it was the best selling car in America.
That later got removed from the shrine, and placed on an alter in front of a sea of appliances that slowly deflated my soul.
In our very small world, we like to believe that every auto journalist is out there, dicing it up on the track, hyper scrutinizing every gram of unsprung weight. But they’re not. As much as I respect guys like Torchinsky, Okulski, Smith, and George, they are the minority. For every Chris Harris, there are dozens of small town reporters and lifestyle bloggers, eager to regurgitate the new Hyundai press release and collect their free breakfast.
While there were small bastions of performance around the facility, particularly among Audi, Mercedes, and Dodge, it is easy to see the tide turning. Enthusiasts are the vocal minority. We froth and rage for what we want, and then the manufacturers lose money on us. Every single publication raved about the GT86 twins when they debuted, but sales have been continuously declining for a while now. Kia blew everyone away, by debuting a new performance sedan, and people are already worrying if it will sell . The internet loves the Viper and the SS, yet both of those are now gone as well.
We are no longer the target demographic for either manufacturers or press. Take the Nissan Rogue. You won’t, because you don’t care about it. And neither do I, to be honest. But the press conference to launch it was crammed so full of media and industry insiders that you couldn’t even see the stage. Standing room only, easily twenty people deep. For a crossover that I know literally nothing about.
Meanwhile, a short ways away, sat a pair of
Singer 911
s. These are rolling examples of obsessive compulsive designed pornography. I’ve never seen one in person, and could have spent the entire day poring over the details. This tiny Michelin booth, tucked off to the side, had probably a million dollars worth of machinery, between those two cars. So surely it was packed all day. It certainly was all over Instagram. But no. I never saw more than half a dozen people there at any one time. You’d have two or three nerds creaming their chinos, and then a couple people off to the side discussing where Kia had taken them to dinner.
As much as it pains me to say, especially as someone relatively new to this, we are becoming dinosaurs. And not in the fun, Chris Pratt wrassling kind of way. The new car enthusiast is not interested in cars. They are interested in technology, and design, and economics. But it doesn’t need to be this way. Look at vinyl shops and coffee shops. Yes, they are full of hispters who can be annoying. Sure, there are more efficient and cheaper ways to get your music or caffeine, but people are learning to appreciate the craftsmanship and the process itself. Why can’t this be translated to cars?
We can show people the inherent joy of driving for it’s own sake.
We can show people that there are beautiful rolling works of art available, and they should be appreciated as such.
We can show them that a car doesn’t have to just be an appliance that answers your phone and holds your latte.
So, I’m begging you, we need your help to show the world that cars still matter.
Story copied from the original post at RightFootDown:
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"vondon302" (vondon302)
01/12/2017 at 10:11, STARS: 2
Enthusiast goes to Autorama not the naias.
Also this was a real crappy naias we need another cattle drive thru downtown Detroit.
"Wheelerguy" (wheelerguy)
01/12/2017 at 10:14, STARS: 2
And then we’d either be jailed or ridiculed if we make a mistake. Part of the reason why we are an endangered species is that we’re seen as outlaws who waste petrol, make pollutants, make questionable skidmarks. We bicker among ourselves about which car is the best, and in the end nothing is because we always fall back to “the old ones are better”. The rich don’t really help with this, buying superhero cars and driving them as if they’re on assisted living, and even if they are driven beyond limits, the ordinary person sees it as a waste of money, money that could have gone to sensible transportation or furthering the self-driving machine—which is still weird to me, as mass transport can do the same work more efficiently.
Even if we do things properly, the ordinary person wouldn’t appreciate the cars we like. Or maybe they will, if we let them drive the cars.
The mission, then, is to be brave enough to let a non-enthusiast drive a 458. An LF-A. The manual V12 Vantage S. The 911R. A Lancia Deta HF Integrale. A Ford Escort Cosworth. Even a Miata. Any car that you own that you know can give a fizz only driving can give, let them drive it. Give them the keys, remind them to be careful and go home before 11 PM and see if they get where we’re coming from. They may not completely change, and they may still go to a dealership looking for a sensible car, but I tell you...
“fun” will become a key factor in picking their new or next car.
"3point8isgreat" (3point8isgreatest)
01/12/2017 at 10:18, STARS: 2
Also keep in mind that last year was fairly big if I recall. Just to list a few, 2016 had the Ford GT, Focus RS, NSX, Miata RF, and I’m certain I’m forgetting others. We were all going nuts at all of the awesome enthusiast hardware on show last year. But when there’s that much in 1 or 2 years, you would expect there to be a lull in the sportscars for a little bit until mid-model refreshes come along.
"Tazio, Count Fouroff" (tazio0625)
01/12/2017 at 10:20, STARS: 1
Agreed, too many folks, seemingly young people in particular, seem to evaluate cars using the same criteria they use for vacuum cleaners, you know?
Economical — quiet — easy to use — unobtrusive — nonpolluting — require minimal storage space — hold max flotsam — environmentally sustainable...ad nauseam
Yeah, well, me too, when it comes to this genre of transportation: whenever you use them, they BOTH SUCK!!
Thanks for the writeup bro. Keep it runnin’, keep it real
"random001" (random001)
01/12/2017 at 10:24, STARS: 1
But it doesn’t have to be that grand. Let them drive the Corvette’s. I would let nearly anyone behind the wheel of my Z06 when I owned it, purely to share the joy I got from driving it. That car has a magic unto itself. I do the same thing with the Genesis, though the effect is much less spectacular, but a performance V8 is going to be a thing of beauty no matter what. I took people around the track in my MINI S, just for funsies, and turned a few into happy performance car owners.
What I’m saying is you are completely right, but it doesn’t have to be a 458. Corvette’s are better, anyway.
"duurtlang" (duurtlang)
01/12/2017 at 10:30, STARS: 2
I fully understand cars are appliances to most people. That’s where the bulk of the market is so that’s where manufacturers produce the bulk of their vehicles for. That’s absolutely fine. Logical too.
What I don’t understand is what’s seen below:
Why is there a row of boring appliances, all in the same boring color, at a car show? The manufacturer surely believes this is beneficial to their brand and they’ve got decades of experience, so they must be right. That means there’s a significant market for articles written about these appliances. Who reads those articles?
I cook. Not because I like or dislike cooking, I cook because I need to eat food. I own a microwave, a kitchen stove, you name it. Appliances. If I were looking to replace my stove I wouldn’t be reading articles about stoves displayed at an international stove show. I’d maybe do a quick google search for features to look out for and brands to pick/avoid. I’d get me an appliance that fits my needs and is priced right at the right store. That’s it. Only once in many years a half hour google search, looking for articles with a hard data and maybe one or two pictures.
I imagine there really are international stove shows where they showcase the latest and greatest stoves. A place for cooking enthusiasts and professionals. A place with stoves with special features, with nice designs, innovative stoves, specialist stoves, vintage stoves. I doubt they’ll reserve a spot for my anonymous and simple appliance stove.
So, why this focus on appliance cars at an international car show? Is the market for
articles
about appliance cars really more lucrative than
articles
about cars that people might actually care about?
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
01/12/2017 at 10:35, STARS: 4
Absolutely true, but more importantly “questionable skidmarks” would make a great band name.
"K-Roll-PorscheTamer" (k-roll390)
01/12/2017 at 10:43, STARS: 1
I’m not even sure I wanna go this year. If I do go, it’s only for the 2018 Mustang, and those pornographic Singer Porsches.
"duurtlang" (duurtlang)
01/12/2017 at 10:57, STARS: 0
Kids aren’t raised with
fun
cars any more. They grow up in vehicles that are efficient, always work, don’t need attention and of which you won’t ever find the handling limits unless you push them very hard at illegal speeds. Which very few people do. They work as appliances, they are perceived as appliances.
Cars have gotten too damn good.
New cars that are fun to drive
at legal
ish
speeds
are very rare. You’ve got fun new cars, but even an “underpowered” Subaru BRZ will have to be pushed far over legal limits to make it really fun to drive.
Not overly long ago I bought a €300 car, as a toy. A base model subcompact 1986 Peugeot 205. No clock, no door bins, no rev counter, no nothing, no intermittent wipers. A base model. It’s from before the grand Peugeot 205 overhaul of 1987, so it’s even still got the early 1970s Peugeot 104 drivetrain in which engine and transmission share oil.
It does have tall old hard 145
wide
narrow tires on 13" wheels combined with a great chassis, communicative un-assisted steering and very low weight (1700 lbs, excluding driver). Despite the 60 or so hp I actually have fun driving that car around the city and in the countryside. The limits are low, take a corner too fast and you will lose grip. As it’s communicative you’ll be able to sense and correct this. Which is actually fun. You actually have to work in that car while not going any faster than other traffic.
A bonus is that this car is simple. It sometimes needs a little work. Simple work. Something you can do yourself. It’s not for everybody, but it will create enthusiasm among some people. Something a new Corolla will never be able to achieve.
The only way for people to see the light is to make them exerience car enthusiasm. In their own terms. Let them drive fun cars. Push them a bit (responsibly). I believe that’s the only way to convert people.
"bwp240" (bwp240)
01/12/2017 at 11:25, STARS: 0
I went to NAIAS and the Oklahoma City auto show last year. I would pick OKC easily. NAIAS has the content which is neat, but OKC allows you to play with things, test drive cars, and there nowhere near as many people. On the consumer side OKC is superior. From an industry side, it is hard to argue against NAIAS. I am interested in what the KC one will bring, as it is my first year living in this town.
As far as the dying enthusiasts, you are right in that it is a losing market for companies. I think part of it is because auto makers assume enthusiasts want the best of performance, technology, and luxury. What you end up with is a fantastic car that most enthusiasts (especially young ones) cannot afford (ahem Chevy SS). They assume that we will seek those cars out on our own, buy them, insure them, and maintain them (ahem Chevy SS). I pick on Chevy because it is easy, but there are several other examples.
On the flip side look at the STs, they are fun cars that both enthusiasts love and are attainable. Why is the Miata still so popular? I am sure it is not because of its cargo capacity. Look at the Charger, even a V6 RWD can be fun. I think a lot of younger enthusiasts are simply priced out of the specialty car market and are making due with what they can find. Of course there are practical reasons, but that is not important to this case.
So where do we find enthusiast cars? Performance trims. How many times have we wanted just a bit more out of a car? It is much easier and cheaper for automakers to modify an existing car or platform for performance than build a new one. Though the ST is very popular itself, it is dwarfed by the sales of the base models; that is what is keeping that trim afloat.
"uofime-2" (uofime-2)
01/12/2017 at 11:29, STARS: 0
You’re in new york. Think about how people there live and what they’re interested in and you’ll quickly realize this all makes sense.
"Andrew Fails" (fails)
01/12/2017 at 11:50, STARS: 0
I understand that every year can’t reveal new sports cars, but I was most surprised that the media there didn’t care much about the sports cars that already existed. Like the Singers aren’t new, but they are just unbelievably amazing pieces of engineering and design. Yet I never saw media around them.
The biggest shock was to realize that the majority of people being paid to write about cars don’t really care about cars. And if they don’t care, then what hope does the consumer have?
"Andrew Fails" (fails)
01/12/2017 at 11:54, STARS: 1
Singer was great, the Kia Stinger GT is interesting, the MX-5 Speedster is fantastic, the Ford GTs were neat, and you can actually sit in one, which is more than Acura will let you do.
"Andrew Fails" (fails)
01/12/2017 at 11:55, STARS: 0
This was Detroit, not New York.
"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
01/12/2017 at 12:15, STARS: 0
Time for me to replace Mary Barra and make GM Great Again. It’ll be yuuge!
"uofime-2" (uofime-2)
01/12/2017 at 14:10, STARS: 0
reading comprehension failure, that makes this far more shocking.
"Andrew Fails" (fails)
01/12/2017 at 14:26, STARS: 1
No worries! I messed up the acronym more times that I’m comfortable with.