A rebuttal to Chris Harris, and a defense of the NAIAS

"themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles" (themanwithsauce) 01/09/2015 at 10:37 • Filed to: None

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Having just read !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on the yearly reason for me to care about the whole month of January in southeast Michigan when I was growing up, I feel the need to stand up as a defender on its behalf. See, there are quite a few things that the NAIAS represents to us enthusiasts that can not be forgotten. There are quite a few more if you work in the industry itself to make the damn things. Even when surrounded by gray skies, biting winds, decrepit buildings, and scientologists (seriously, I run into more scientologists than homeless when I go downtown for things.....) I always look forward to that magical day in January where I walk 20 miles in a concrete warehouse with carpet and lights in it for three days and go back to being a kid again among the glitter and gold of the shiniest and newest cars and technology.

But let's get one thing out of the way first......If you were to ask me "Is the NAIAS a perfect show?" I would give you the short answer of "No." the long answer? "Very no." And the location is a big issue here because of the logistics of attendance. It causes a much bigger problem than just the bad parts of town. Let's look at parking, and let's also look at the time of year the show is going on. Cobo Hall (the home of the NAIAS) is right near the waterfront and is a stone's throw away from the Joe Louis Arena (home of the Red Wings)......hey guess what's in full swing right now? You guessed it! Hockey! Thankfully the lions are never in the playoffs long enough for the Lions games to cut in on weekend parking as Ford Field is not too far away. There is some parking, yes, but unless you know where you're going, you end up paying a lot to walk way too far. And once inside the show, it always feels crowded and cramped in certain areas. Like Cobo Hall isn't *quite* up to task. Then you go to the basement and see a bunch of colleges and vendors and.....an electric car test track? No joke, the basement has a small course where you can take a ride in an electric car. Why? I don't know. I never liked it and it always struck me as wasted space. I miss the old days when it was used for tuners and aftermarket companies (and a food court before that, in the mid 90s). I guess I'm just showing how much I made that show a part of my life. It really has played a surprisingly important part since birth and I'm not alone.

There is a certain energy not found in other shows besides *maybe* Turin and Tokyo. Why? The Detroit Metro area basically turns into the industry's biggest Mexican standoff until the first reveals happen. Then it devolves into an automotive dick measuring contest and I pity you if your limp lineup makes you hang your head in shame and leave the showers without making eye contact lest you accidentally steal a glance at the massive displays of your competitors, standing tall on massive erections of steel and lights. And it makes perfect sense as to why - You have the headquarters for GM in the backdrop. Ford has their name in giant blue lights above a football stadium nearby with their HQ and production plants nearby too. Chrysler has their entire R&D and HQ campus an hour north. GM's technical center is half an hour away. Suppliers for every automobile company worldwide surround Cobo Hall in a 75 mile radius. And they ALL send people to the show for the industry preview.

My mom worked at GM from the mid 90s until 5 years ago and her stories of some of the tension on the floor, while not as epic as I would hope, are still indicative of some industry pride. And when I finally had my chance to go when I worked for a tier one supplier in 2008, I felt some similar vibes. Don't get me wrong, getting free reign to crawl into and on top of the cars on display without greasy kids giggling in the driver's seat for 15 minutes while mom and dad sit in the backseat of an impala to rest their feet for a minute is great. But being there to, effectively, scout the competition is another. In this regard, Detroit is the perfect place to launch your new car because you have the focus of everyone else on you, live and in person.

If you've got a real winner on your hands, it's a chance to deliver a right hook to the jaw of every. single. competitor. (Dodge challenger reveal, anyone?) Likewise when your opponent flubs a launch (Chevrolet SSR reveal, anyone?) or you get in a new model year car and you can see the cut corners (Chinese cars so far), it is a real shot in the arm for your own crew since you know you did it better. I went with a friend who worked for an interior plastics company and he fell out of a kia forte laughing at the poor fill lines and obvious flaws in the raw materials used. I was on sampling detail at my own job - get my hands on those seats and trim pieces and take notes. Take ALL the notes. Pictures too if possible. Oh, and I got paid for two days to do that AND I got free lunch. Best day at work ever.

And then there's the show experience as a car enthusiast. To start with, I think I agree with the notion that the allure of the auto show is dying. New car launches and reveals happen every few days it seems via internet press releases and spy shots. But at the same time, I feel like the NAIAS serves as an important date on the calendar for the automotive world - the annual "rebirth" of the industry. After the holidays and end of the year numbers have been crunched, Detroit is the first big show of the new year. A chance to shake off what happened last year or build on your momentum and put your best foot forward for the new year. As an enthusiast, how can you not want to walk through those doors with the hopes and dreams of a better year than the one before? Even if it was awesome, you can't just say "Whew, last year we got the hellcat, the new mustang, the 918 and P1.......I think we should just have a boring, safe year for 2015". NO! You want to see what will happen next! And this is their chance to do it. To put up or shut up. And the years where there was a bad NAIAS have typically meant some BAAAAAAAAAAD years for the industry, or at least the ones who had a poor showing there. And think about it - if you can't muster up a halfway decent face to show to the public in front of all your competitors and suppliers (not to mention your customers).....what do you really have going for you this year?

Finally, I have to leave a comment on the NAIAS as a resident of the metro area and a child of the auto industry since birth. My mom in the corporate ladder of GM and my dad a technician for every brand under the sun. That "rebirth" metaphor I mentioned earlier fits well with the area. We need one, and in some parts we are getting it. The auto show is reflecting this. I remember as a kid all the posters and swag I used to get in the 90s. Running from booth to booth, and decorating my bedroom wall with what were effectively advertisements........But it was too cool to NOT have the wall above my bed be full of Jaaaaaaaags and Porsches and Bimmers and Porsches and Audis and Porsches and Saabs and Porsches......also more Porsches. But really they were putting on masks to hide problems. I have an old poster for an oldsmobile alero-alpha concept car. It was 1997, I believe. a little over 5 years later? Oldsmobile was dead. I think back to seeing the cool saab prototypes in person and some of the neat brochures and handouts I'd get in my bags from when my dad worked at a dealer for some of these companies. Now? I should probably try and find some of them since they're no more or have changed hands a few times since 1995. But for almost a decade it was......barren and depressing. As if the show on the inside reflected the mood outside. The lies were called out, the bills were due, and the industry learned some harsh lessons. Mercifully the past few years have seen that energy and effort of the old days come back but the lies and pretentious nature of the displays did not.

Oh sure, you occasionally hear a lie or two, but it isn't nearly as bad as it used to be. Back when every exec that said "This is *exactly* how it will look in production" did so with several winks and nudges. When "concept car" meant "we hired some hip-happening artist to sketch something cool and did our best to make it into a static display that we'll never build, or take cues from!". And when they made the crossfire seem like a cool car before releasing the dick-punch-backed-by-a-celine-dion-soundtrack that was the production version (I still have the launch CD and promo video somewhere)....Yet even when surrounded by those false pretenses, the show somehow retained a certain magic to it all. Signs of engineers and artists running through fluorescent lighting filled halls in Warren, Dearborn, and Auburn Hills just down the road going "I FIGURED IT OUT! I FIGURED IT OUT!" and trying something new or different. The concepts rolled out at Detroit are an interesting bunch by necessity - you not only have to wow the consumers and enthusiasts, but with your suppliers and competition sending small armies to crawl over your products and ideas you also need to consider what cards you should play......or NOT play.

In any event, what I'm getting at is if I was an auto journalist who went there in 2007, I can see why you wouldn't like it. And 2005-2009 in general was not a good time to go to the NAIAS or Detroit in general. But the show reflects so highly on the industry as a whole that I ca't see why any self respecting journalist would dismiss it. It is far from perfect, but then again, so is the automobile world it represents. My area roots are showing for sure, but take a moment to consider what the show means beyond some cars parked on carpet in a concrete building (or the carpet sale that happens afterwards). In fact, maybe that's the problem - look at it through the eyes of an enthusiast. I'll even extend an invite - My friends and I are going on the last day of the show that's open to the public. If you come down, the rules are simple - we find a gran turismo or forza or any simulator display that we can, and we all drive. Slowest person pays for the beer afterwards. Besides that, we enjoy the show and try and sweet talk extra handouts from the booth attendees. I once got an Audi motorsports calendar back in 2013. I still have it hanging in my living room 2 years later.

Maybe it will convince you, maybe it won't. But before you pass off Detroit as just another place, please try and understand that it means so much more. Even if that is just an ailing city struggling to grasp at straws as it narrowly escapes drowning in its former sins. Maybe we should move on, but then again, maybe we are poised to be the engineering force for the future. Only time will tell. And maybe, just maybe, you'll glimpse the future at the Detroit auto show.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/09/2015 at 10:38

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I'm in meetings all day, and I wrote this last night so if anyone likes it, please star and I'll get to comments later today

yamahog > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/09/2015 at 10:46

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Stellar, couldn't have put it better myself. I have but one star to give.

I've said it before, but I'm a New Yorker who's lived in LA (now living and working in metro Detroit), and in my humble opinion, you simply will not find a better auto scene in this country. Almost nothing ticks me off more than unironically ignorant people who have more than likely never experienced this city giving it shit left and right because it's trendy to pick on Detroit and it makes them feel better about their lame overpriced suburb of wherever. Meanwhile, the Motor City is making the right steps to be the next Brooklyn, so I'm enjoying the low cost of living while I can.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > yamahog 01/09/2015 at 11:02

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nailed it, and I'm sure you know from experience - the NYC auto show sucks in comparison.

Milky > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/09/2015 at 11:04

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Diiiiccckkkk

Anyways I'm still excited to go on industry day this year for the first time & designers night is always fun.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/09/2015 at 11:05

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Well said, I was pretty pissed off about that article yesterday, it was basically a guy whining about bad weather.

It'd Detroit in January, were you expecting a palm tree?

Did he maybe do a little research to see that there were big time renovations to COBO?

That was purely a "Let's pick on Detroit because we can" kind of piece and that shit pisses me off. I'm not even originally FROM Detroit and it pisses me off (I live in metro-detroit btw). Jalopnik used to stand up for Detroit and it's ties to cars, even having the Jalopnik Detroit sub blog connected to the main page for quite a while, now that's gone and they post Detroit Hate garbage.

Imirrelephant > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/09/2015 at 11:22

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Awesome perspective! It takes me back to the days I went to auto shows with my dad and sat in all the new cars. St Louis didn't have nearly the importance of the Detroit show, but I was kid and seeing all the cars in one place was so cool! I still remember seeing that Chiaretto Red E39 M5 on the revolving platform! Back then I didn't know quite what it was, but you could tell from looking at it that it was something special.

I hope your post get the attention it deserves and makes it to the FP. Just because the jaded auto journos hate the shows doesn't mean they're not important!

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > yamahog 01/09/2015 at 11:22

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To be fair, it was written by an Englishman and the easiest way to tell if a British Airways plane has landed is the fact that it's still whining after the engines are shut off.

yamahog > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 01/09/2015 at 11:27

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Agreed, I've been to the LA one as well and took a lot of pictures, but the tuner displays were more interesting than what the OEMs had put together.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > yamahog 01/09/2015 at 11:31

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One of the things that always got me about NYC was the focus on the foreign brands.

I'm a Big 3 guy and I always have been, my dad and I used to go and we really only cared about the Big 3, who had the smallest displays because the NYC market is so dominated by the foreign brands.

I've always thought that thinking was backwards though because obviously they needed the exposure!

But, wow when I got to the Detroit Auto Show the first time I lost it with how big the Big 3 setups were, it was actually my first time in Detroit. Closest I had gotten before that was riding by on the highway up to MSU. Some buddy's from State and I rode down my freshman year to check out the Auto Show and it was all over for me. NYC sucked and I was never going to anything but Detroit after that.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Milky 01/09/2015 at 12:06

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HAVE YOU SEEN THE CROSSFIRE CONCEPT?!?!?!?!?! I knew it wasn't going to be perfect but the concept was biblically good looking in person. The devil was in the details.....and those vertical lights.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Imirrelephant 01/09/2015 at 12:07

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It would be cool if it does. I have a brief break for lunch so I hope it gets shared, I guess I need to email them or something?

Milky > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/09/2015 at 12:27

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It looks like it got punched in the face!! Its all cross eyed like the morgan aero 8 too.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Milky 01/09/2015 at 13:06

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Looks heaps better than the sebring face it ended up with.

Milky > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/09/2015 at 13:25

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OMGBRO it got the face first! Its not the Crossfire's fault the other Chrysler designers couldn't translate anything correctly to a sedan (or CUV, or SUV, or minivan, or … damn they really played those hood strakes out).

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/09/2015 at 15:59

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Very well written response. I love the show and will be there this Wednesday and again the week after. I really do not understand the need for that dumb test track downstairs anymore. They should bring back the cool exhibits again.