Auto Shows taking a hit
 

Unless you live in Detroit, Geneva, Tokyo, or where ever, maybe you have noticed the autoshows in your cities are lacking from previous years?

I just went to the Silicon Valley Auto Show last weekend like I do every year and this year was seriously lacking. Even in a place like the SF Bay Area that still has an amount of disposable income...a place where my mom drove by a veyron on her way to the airport to pick me up on friday. Nissan, Mercedes, Jaguar, Audi, KIA, Infinity, Volvo, Smart and Mitsubishi were just some of the companies that were absent from the show this year. There were also no displays with extreme concepts for the future or rotating car stands with people talking about the model. I wanted to compare the KIA Forte Koup and the Mitsubishi Lancer because Im interested in buying one but......:-(

Have any of you experienced the same thing in your cities? :crying:

Detroit's show has been in decline the past few years, and in fairly noticeable ways. Last year we were missing Nissan, Porsche, Ferrari and several others and the Chinese manufacturers had made it onto the main floor rather than being in the basement. I hope that this year is a bit of an improvement, but I'll have to wait until this weekend to find out.

Hmm... wasn't Ferrari there last year? with the Blue Scud?

Ferrari are "there" this year with the 599xx in the .... Chrysler booth? The Gallery at the MGM will be pretty good.

NAIAS is still one of the premier shows in the world; and until there is no domestic industry, it will continue to be. That said, IMO the show peaked in 2001-2002. The money spent, the cars displayed, the prototypes built... no expense was spared from Ford to Suzuki and everywhere in between. 17 million vehicles per year will do that for a mfr.

This evening, I had dinner with some heavy hitters, some are doing really well; others are "surviving" and others are wondering how much longer their independent firms can keep on going. Staying still will kill you, and spending recklessly will as well. Tough times indeed.

All I can say is "well done Ford... too bad the cost was so high."

As someone that has been going to the LA Auto Show for the last 33 years straight (my Father started taking me as a baby), I can say that it has most certainly been getting worse with each year. I continue to go now just to maintain the tradition.

You might be right about Ferrari Nth. I thought that that was Jack Cauley's booth though, not an official factory-sponsored Ferrari booth. As far as Ford...I kind of wish I'd bought more stock as the market dropped...

Yes, it was operated by Cauely; but factory sponsored. The only show in the world where that combination happened. This year Cauley will not be at Cobo; but the 599xx is in the Chrysler booth and "not to miss."

You and me both. It wasn't long ago it was trading for 1-2$ and it's only heading up up up. Still a good buy.