Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009

Wheel showoffs, onstage Detroit: good press for troubled industry

Despite the auto industry's slumping sales and questions about the financial future of the U.S.-based companies, auto shows like the one in Detroit remain important global stages for American car and truck makers and many of their foreign rivals.

The North American International Auto Show, which opens to the public Saturday after a week of previews, showcases new and upcoming vehicles and draws thousands of automotive journalists, experts and industry people. It's where automakers debut many creative concept vehicles that may or may not reach dealers' showrooms.

Here are some questions and answers about the role of the shows in today's troubled auto industry.

Q: What's happening at this year's Detroit show?

A: Automakers were scheduled to unveil at least 50 new models during the press preview that began Sunday. This year's lineup has so far featured a focus on energy efficiency, with several automakers pulling the wraps off gas-electric hybrids, battery-powered models and minicars that get more than 40 miles per gallon.

Executives for the U.S.-based companies used their opening news conferences to reassure the press and public that despite financial woes and weak sales,they are doing everything possible to develop successful products and stay in business.

Besides the big news conferences, auto companies use the show as a meeting place to hold interviews and get their message across to journalists from around the world who attend the show.

Q: Why is it important for companies such as General Motors and Chrysler to incur the expense of an auto show, just after taking billions of dollars in loans from the federal government to avoid bankruptcy?

A: It's hard to put a price tag on the huge amount of press the automakers reap from events such as the Detroit show.

Although relatively small in terms of consumer attendance, the event tends to get the most press exposure among the major U.S. auto shows, especially from foreign journalists. More than 6,300 journalists were registered to attend this year's event, up by about 100 from the year before.

The automakers hope this year's show will help energize their customer base and drive them back to dealer lots after a miserable sales year in 2008. Last year's Detroit show drew about 700,000 people.

That said, some prominent foreign automakers have bowed out of this year's event, including Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Land Rover, Rolls-Royce and Suzuki. Nissan said in November it was skipping the Detroit and Chicago shows because it didn't have a new model to introduce. Q: Are the automakers doing anything to scale back this year's events in light of the industry's current condition and overall economic downturn?

A: Yes. Gone are the glitzy, expensive displays of past years.

Many automakers have slashed their show budgets and say this year's focus will be purely on business and vehicles.

For instance, Chrysler, which last year drove a herd of 120 cattle through the streets of Detroit to promote its Dodge Ram pickup, slashed its expenses by eliminating free parties, lunches and temporary offices for members of the press. It also cut its trademark Jeep waterfall from its display.

GM cut thousands of square feet of elevated flooring from its exhibit and will merely have carpeting over concrete. It also got rid of the second story of its massive display area.

Q: What other cities have auto shows and how do they compare in attendance?

A: Despite the large number of press that attend the Detroit event and the volume of new vehicles unveiled there, its consumer attendance pales in comparison to those of other auto shows around the world.

The U.S. auto show season kicks off in November with the Los Angeles Auto Show, which drew nearly 1 million attendees in 2008.

After Detroit, February's Chicago Auto Show is the next big event. Organizers for that show do not announce attendance figures.

The season wraps up in April with the New York International Auto Show, which draws about 1.2 million people a year.

Globally, the Paris Motor Show, which alternates each year with a show in Frankfurt, Germany, drew more than 1.4 million people at its October 2008 event. The Tokyo Motor Show, which is held every two years in the fall, drew more than 1.4 million people in 2007.