Worldwide spotlight burning bright for Detroit auto show

Detroit Free Press (MCT) - The same global economic crisis that has sacked the automotive industry and led to budget cutbacks for the 2009 North American International Auto Show is also leading to heightened news media interest in Detroit's best-known annual event.

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More than 4,000 journalists had applied for credentials for this year's event as of Jan. 4, auto show organizers said. That's about 50 more than last year at that time. Typically, there is a flurry of reservations in the final two-week lead-up to the event and about 6,000 journalists attend.

Maintaining news media interest is critical for the Detroit auto show because organizers bill the event as the most newsworthy of all auto shows.

"If we can keep the media excited about this show, then we can use that and say to them, 'This is where you need to be,'" said Joe Serra, senior co-chair of this year's auto show.

Serra suspects the heightened interest is due to an industry-wide sales meltdown that led the Detroit Three to travel to Washington, D.C., and plead for government aid.

"Because of that ... the media is making it a point to be here this year" Serra said. "They want to know what is going on."

The Detroit Auto Dealers Association, which produces the auto show, now expects that automotive manufacturers will reveal 49 new production or concept vehicles to the news media over three days starting Jan. 11. Of those, 85 percent are worldwide debuts, Serra said.

The show is open to the public from Jan. 17-25.

"That's really what the Detroit and the North American International Auto Show is all about," Serra said.

This year's expected highlights include an all-new Ford Taurus large sedan, a redesigned Toyota Prius hybrid, an all-new Buick LaCrosse large sedan and the production version of the Honda Insight, a new hybrid vehicle.

But while news media interest is up, show organizers are struggling to adjust and adapt to economic conditions that have caused some manufacturers to pull out of the show and are causing slower ticket sales for the Charity Preview _ the annual black-tie gala that typically raises about $6 million for 12 children's charities in a one-night event.

At $400 a piece, ticket prices are steep. But organizers are trying to make it a better deal by adding entertainment options. This year, the event will include two internationally known music groups _ the Doobie Brothers and the Jonas Brothers _ who will perform in separate concerts.

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Appealing to baby boomers, the Doobie Brothers will play immediately after the Charity Preview in Detroit's Cobo Arena, while the Jonas Brothers, who are popular among teenagers, will play on Jan. 18 in Joe Louis Arena.

"What we are trying to do is bring additional value and not be blinded or deaf to this current economic situation that all of us are facing," Serra said.

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Serra declined to say whether the Doobie Brothers or the Jonas Brothers provided a price break to play at the charity event, but said that even with two musical acts booked, the dealers association was able to keep the cost of the event at just 12 percent of the expected ticket sales revenue.

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Despite the entertainment options, Serra said ticket sales for the Charity Preview have still slowed. So far, the dealers association has sold about two-thirds of the tickets normally sold by now.

"That's about as good as I anticipated, but not as good as I had hoped," Serra said.

Total capacity for the event is about 15,000.

The biggest blow for auto show organizers came in November when Nissan announced its decision to pull out of the event. While several other smaller manufacturers previously announced decisions to skip Detroit, Nissan was the first major manufacturer to cancel.

Since then, some Detroit-area Nissan dealers have banded together to pay for and staff a Nissan display at the show, but other manufacturers have scaled back on display costs and other marketing events.

Toyota, meanwhile, has canceled an annual news media party. And even though Honda will display its Insight at the show, it isn't holding a news conference.

The departure of the manufacturers has led to a reconfiguration of floor space and has led to two Chinese automotive manufacturers, BYD and Brilliance, making their first appearance on Cobo Center's main show floor.

Serra also said talks are under way with several manufacturers to assemble a central area in the lower level of Cobo Center where automakers can display hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles.

Ford Motor Co. said it likes the idea.

"It seems like an interesting initiative," said Ford spokesman Jay Ward.

So while this year's Detroit auto show will have less glitz and glamour than in years past, it remains an effective global stage for product unveilings.

"It's going to be a little bit more of a business tone, which I think is proper right now," Serra said.

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© 2009, Detroit Free Press.