DETROIT
The Detroit Auto Dealers Association and the North American International Auto Show are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the annual showcase of vehicles this week at Cobo Center.
"An anniversary like this happens once in a lifetime," said Robert Thibodeau Jr., a Ford dealer and NAIAS 2007 senior co-chairman.
The Troy-based DADA and the NAIAS began celebrating the centennial of their long and successful association by hosting another of the world's top automotive showcases with last weekend's media previews.
What is billed as one of the biggest auto shows in the country will open for the public Saturday.
Carl Galeana, NAIAS 2007 co-chairman, said the early members of the DADA would be amazed by the stature and prestige the show has attained over the years.
"We are excited and proud to be a part of history and pledge to build on our predecessors' success," he said. "The Detroit Auto Dealers Association is proud to be a part of a legacy that has been such a huge contributor to the Detroit community."
Southgate auto dealer Richard Genthe, past chairman of the NAIAS, made a special visit to the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber's November board of directors' meeting to talk about the upcoming show, as well as to retrace the history of the event.
The first edition of what eventually evolved into the NAIAS was held in December 1907 at Riverview Park in Detroit only a few months after the formation of the DADA. Since then, the show has grown from a regional event with 17 exhibitors to a world-class showcase featuring more than 60 exhibitors, Galena noted.
Over the years, the auto show has been held at many sites around Detroit, including the Light Guard Armory on Eight Mile, the old Wayne Gardens Pavilion and the Michigan State Fairgrounds before finding a permanent home at Cobo Center in 1965.
The show's organizer now estimates the NAIAS pumps some $600 million into Michigan's economy each year, including about $100 million that is spent in the city of Detroit.
"The NAIAS covers two full weeks, plus the considerable assembly that begins in late October each year and the dismantling of the individual exhibits afterward," said David Sowerby, CFA, portfolio manager and chief market analyst at Loomis Sayles & Co. "The NAIAS is consistently the No. 1 contributor to business activity in Detroit due to the amount of time spent on its extensive setup and execution,"
The Detroit Auto Show and later the NAIAS have hosted the introduction of such classics as the Chevrolet Corvette in 1954 and the Ford Mustang in 1965, as well as the very first minivan and some of the first sport-utility vehicles.
Another milestone came earlier this year when Geely became the first Chinese carmaker to display a vehicle during the NAIAS's press preview.
"The NAIAS is the premier North American auto show for design and technology," Thibodeau said. "Vehicle design and the accompanying technology are essential elements to the automotive industry and a driving force behind the elaborate exhibits and concept vehicles unveiled at our show."
The NAIAS is the only auto show in the United States to earn an annual distinguished sanction of the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles, the Paris-based alliance of automotive trade associations and manufacturers from around the world, and is one of the largest media events held annually in North America.
In addition, recent studies have shown the NAIAS gets more media attention than other shows, according to MillardBrown and Multiview, companies widely used by automakers to evaluate the impact of media coverage and gauge the amount of news coverage generated by the show.
The NAIAS gets 61 percent of the attention when compared to the other three major shows in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
The disparity is even wider in the overseas media, where the Detroit show's annual media attention reaches 81 percent.
"It clearly spells out the media influence and dominance of Detroit," Thibodeau said.
The DADA study suggests that the success of the show has less to do with the downtown hall and more to do with the ambience around the show and the large number of new vehicle introductions, show organizers said.
— HPR Media Services
GO
Generalinfo
