The 2012 North American International Auto Show: A Wrap-Up

On January 9 and 10, I woke up at 4:00am to cover the North American International Auto Show in Detroit for Autoviva. It was the first time that I had been to NAIAS as a journalist and the first time that Autoviva covered the show. We learned a lot over those two days that will definitely improve our coverage of future auto shows, but I hope we also provided you with great media about the show. If you have not seen it yet, check out our gallery from the show. 

The first thing that you need to know about being at NAIAS as a lone journalist is that comes with a lot of advantages and challenges. Even though there are thousands of journalists and PR people there, there is still more than enough room to sit in practically any car that you want. However the way NAIAS is scheduled, there is almost no time to actually sit in anything because you are running from press conference to press conference.

The first press conference on Monday was the announcement of the North American Car and Truck of the Year. It was scheduled for 7:15am but actually started closer to 7:30. Each press conference lasts between a half an hour and 45 minutes with about 20 minutes separating each conference. 

The problem with that is actually being able to get to a spot where you can see anything at each press conference. Cobo Hall, where NAIAS takes place, is big but not huge. You are never more than five minutes from the next press conference. However, many media outlets send multiple people to the show, and they camp out in the front row. If you were following Autoviva's tweets, you saw that there were times when the crowd was 10 to 15 people deep. If you are at the back, then there is no way that you are getting any pictures and relegated to watching the conference on a screen. Some of the booths like BMW and Scion are so tight that you just have to accept that you missed it.

Internet at NAIAS is like water in the desert. If you find it, you are lucky, and it is incredibly valuable. Thankfully there was a media area with Ethernet cable to allow journalists to upload pictures and work. 

Ford started the show on Monday and knocked it out of the park. The new Fusion, and that car might also be the new Mondeo, is absolutely world class in looks and technology. It looks to much better than the Mallibu, Camry,  Altima and Accord that it just is not fair. Its only real competition is the Hyundai Sonata, and it can't even out do the Fusion in engine options. 

Next up was Chrysler, which showed the Dodge Dart. It might be a decent car. Chrysler has not had a real small car since the Neon (the Caliber does not count), and this might be the right car for right now. I think it looks okay, but I wonder how it will compete against the Elantra. 

The new BMW 3-series kind of got ignored at the show, but it deserved it. I sat in one and found the interior to feel really cheap, especially compared to older BMWs that I have been in. I honestly think that the E46 chassis had a better quality interior than the new car. 

The Lexus LF-LC was impressive, and it looked much better in person than in pictures. However, Lexus really copped out of its press conference. It spent most the time talking about the LF-LC, mentioned at the end that it is updating 9 of its cars and that was all. It did not go into any details about the 9 upgraded cars and ignored that the new LX570 was sitting in a dark corner of its display. 

Acura was also disappointing. I find the style of the ILX boring, but it might end up being a good car to drive. The RDX is not in my wheel house so I basically ignored it. I think the new NSX is interesting, but Honda has tricked us once with the HSV being put into production, so I won't believe there is a new NSX until it goes on sale. 

Toyota might have had one of the secretly best displays. The Prius C is not interesting to enthusiasts, but it is going to be a car with 52mpg in the city for less than $19k. I think it will really sell in the US.

Hyundai also had a great display for enthusiasts. The Veloster Turbo and revised Genesis Coupe are both great cars for American enthusiasts. If I was Mini, I would be nervous about the Veloster Turbo. It will likely be cheaper, and it makes a ton more power.  

For some reason, Cadillac did not have a press conference but brought two cars that are fantastic. The ATS and XTS look great and should perform great. I don't know why Cadillac is offering the naturally aspirated ATS, but otherwise it has a great engine lineup. The XTS will take the place of the DTS and STS, and it should do a great job doing it. 

The show this year had some ups and downs. Hybrids are growing in the US. Every major maker now as at least one hybrid in its lineup somewhere and most of them have more than one. 

It is still a great time to be an automotive enthusiast in the US. There are at least five entry level performance cars coming to the US this year: the Sonic RS, Scion FR-S, Subaru BRZ, Hyundai Veloster and Hyundai Genesis Coupe. Plus there will likely be a new Subaru WRX by next year. 

I really hope that you enjoyed our coverage of NAIAS.