Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Porsche
No Stuttgart snacks for you: Porsche ditches Detroit auto show
by Damon Lavrinc on Jun 11th 2007 at 8:03AM 
When the North American International Auto Show opens up its doors in Detroit this January, one automaker will be noticeable absent from the party. Porsche has decided that its marketing dollars are better spent on "direct customer contact," according to Tony Fouladpour, Porsche's N.A. spokesperson. "It was purely a business decision," Fourladpour goes on to say in an interview with Automotive News, citing that only 290 Porsches were sold in Michigan in 2006, versus nearly 9,000 in California.
The plan is to only attend shows where the marque is in high demand, so Porsche still plans to have a presence at shows hosted in L.A., S.F., New York, Miami, Dallas and a few other smaller venues.
While the logic of blowing off the largest automotive expo in North America escapes us, it would be a pity if Porsche decides to return to the fray, and is subsequently relegated to a less desirable spot at Cobo Hall. It's happened to Kia, so it isn't out of the question. Then again, Porsche is no Kia.
UPDATE: Porsche's official press release has been added after the jump.
[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]
PRESS RELEASE:
Porsche restructures North American motor show activities
Stuttgart/Atlanta. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany, is
reorganizing its trade-fair activities in North America, in close
collaboration with its sales company in Atlanta. As part of the general
reduction in trade-fair appearances which began two years ago, in favor of
greater emphasis on direct contact with potential customers, motor show
activities will in future be concentrated in the main sales areas of
Porsche Cars North America (PCNA). Of the North American trade fairs in
2008, Porsche will among others be attending those in Chicago, Los Angeles,
Miami, New York and Toronto. The company is no longer expected to attend
the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
As a successful supplier of sporty premium vehicles, Porsche is an
exclusive niche manufacturer in the USA and Canada, just as it is
elsewhere. Despite consistently achieving record sales figures, Porsche
constantly strives to use its limited resources in the most efficient,
customer-oriented manner possible. Of the 36,669 vehicles delivered to
customers in North America by Porsche during its record 2005/06 fiscal
year, over 20,000 were destined for the West and East Coasts. These results
go to show that the restructuring of trade-fair activities was a strategic
company decision that is bearing fruit.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
mr.ed 8:21AM (6/11/2007)
Want a deal on one a them furrin cars? Head to Dee-troit. How summa them dealers make munny is a puzzle.
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Mark 8:26AM (6/11/2007)
So let me get this straight. Instead of advertising in a place where demand for your vehicles is low, Porsche feels like it's a good idea to advertise in a place where people already want your vehicles...
Actually it's not too bad of an idea, but I question whether their savings really make a big difference.
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Tyk 8:35AM (6/11/2007)
Detroit isnt the end-all of auto shows anymore... much of the design influence and trends are started out in the west coast (with the exception of Nissan).
Just another hit for Detroit.
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Eric Moretti 8:44AM (6/11/2007)
So when Autoblog, Jalopnik, C&D, MT, etc all go to cover NAIAS, there will be no Porsche photos in that issue.
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Clinton 9:05AM (6/11/2007)
I'm with you on this one. I would think that the press coverage alone would be worth the cost of showing your cars at the NAIAS.
bmoredlj 9:07AM (6/11/2007)
290 Porsches in Michigan? Having a stand at the NAIAS makes about as much sense as a snowball stand in Nunavut.
Perhaps in its place we'll see a lot more automakers from the PRC at Cobo.
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rwdmtparkingonly 9:08AM (6/11/2007)
According to Porsche.com they have 5 dealers in MI, so on average they are selling 58 cars a year.
Things look really bad for Detroit and Michigan right now, but according to this video by 2027 Detroit will be the headquarters for hot clone woman production:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aqwOo6-SSo
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Mr. President 11:27AM (6/11/2007)
Keep your comments related to the topic. Your link has absolutely nothing to do with this article.
Carguy 9:19AM (6/11/2007)
Not very smart...like saying, well we aren't going to show up at the Super Bowl because we don't do much business in Miami. Huh?
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Greg Koenig 9:35AM (6/11/2007)
Autoshows are outdated relics of the past.
Before the internet and blogs like this, autoshows were the big opportunity for a brand to get new products some ink in the automotive section of newspapers and in the buff books. Today though, the automotive news cycle is 24/7 and information about new cars streams out to the public very very rapidly.
Now sure, for companies trying to compete in the "appliance" field, trying to sell cars to people who really don't care much about cars and who's opinions are influenced by their newspaper and Consumer Reports, I could see car shows being worth the investment.
For brands with an enthusiast following and with products that people buy based on passion (and not automotive reviews) like Porsche, autoshows offer very little. Porsche is the kind of company that gets lots of press when they change the shape of their car's headlights. You really think that it is worth them spending a few hundred thousand dollars to show up at an autoshow?
Besides, the kind of people who are going to drop $90k on a new Carrera are not going to want to put up with the slack jawed yokels who show up at these things to finger bang vehicles they are never going to purchase.
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Pedro 9:36AM (6/11/2007)
It seems really weird that the most profitable car company on the planet seems to think that Detroit is a "regional" car show. I echo all of the other comments on this board that the wall-to-wall press coverage that Detroit gets on the internet and in traditional media outlets would far outweigh the small sales.
However, taking a devil's advocate viewpoint, there is mindshare and market share, and I guess Porsche is currently looking to actually reach the people that buy their cars, rather than the people who WANT to buy their cars...
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rwdmtparkingonly 9:50AM (6/11/2007)
The Detroit show is the "Superbowl" of North American auto shows because it gets a lot of big introductions. There is nothing written in stone that says that Detriot should be the most important show. Geographically Michigan is near the center of the country, but it's the coasts and south have the growth and the money.
Leaving detroit is Porsche's way of saying that Detroit shouldn't be the big show. If other exotic and luxury brands follow then, in the eyes of the media, it no longer will be.
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Mr. Oak 10:03AM (6/11/2007)
"Leaving detroit is Porsche's way of saying that Detroit shouldn't be the big show."
I don't know if Porsche is that influential a brand to make that call. The reality is, they feature the same product for 5 years in a row. When they did have something to show, The Carrera GT, they didn't bring it to New York.
BTW: I think that Geography (4wd country)has a lot to do with Porsche's numbers in Michigan. Check the other states in that region, they may also be doing similar numbers.
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rwdmtparkingonly 10:40AM (6/11/2007)
Porsche is still going to the Chicago Auto Show. Only 290 cars is crazy, I bet they sold at least 10 times as many in Illinois, although I can't get free state by state sales figures anywhere.
Porsche, as a company from snowy Germany, makes a number of different awd 911 variants as well as the stupid, but popular in other northern states, Cayenne. Also, as the largest shareholder in VAG Porsche might influence Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti to not show up.
5 Watt 10:24AM (6/11/2007)
Even though Porsche AG will not be at Detroit, I would expect the local dealer origination to have some cars in the show. Unfortunately they may be moved down to the dungeon of the Cobo hall.
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NJ Rambler 11:18AM (6/11/2007)
You guys don't get it! It's more like $1Mil to go to Detroit; the cretin union guys at Cobo Hall destroy your cars; The "media", some of whom can't spell the word yet receive credentials, travel in a pack and get all he releases and pix off the internet anyway; your press kits wind up on e-Bay the next day; the weather sucks; the city sucks; and LA, Chicago, New York and Geneva produce the same amount of ink. You want to go to Detroit, "Losser Central" in January?
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That One Person 4:14PM (6/11/2007)
That is hilarious. You talk about spelling but you can't spell loser.
Yeah, it is the union that is doing this. They pushed Porsche out. You must be a union member. You can't spell loser. The union is killing the auto show!!! No, it isn't gas prices or money issues, it is the unions!!!! I am sure all that money goes straight to the unions and not the surrounding businesses.
#10...Do you know the amount of people that still show up to the Detroit show? By the numbers, I would hardly call this type of thing a relic. People will always enjoy going to an auto show. You get a different experience when compared to looking at pictures on the internet.
Toy Yoda 11:51AM (6/11/2007)
Detroit is the superbowl of North American Autoshows because car manufacturers make it so. If an increasing number of auto mfg decide to debut their hot new cars/concept cars in LA or NY, or even to skip out on Detroit, detroit will lose its *reputation* as the "superbowl. " In other words, there's nothing intrinsic to the Detroit show to make it the "superbowl".
This is another blow to Detroit.
I think what Porsche is doing is smart. Auto enthusiasts will follow the auto industry regardless of where the show is at or even if there's no show at all. It's the marginal fans that Porsche needs to concentrate on. And I don't think marginal fans are particularly interested in Detroit when it has a side reputation of being a loser city, deservedly or not.
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Nick 3:09PM (6/11/2007)
Right....because the only place the NAIAS is seen is Detroit.
Let's examine NAIAS...
North American....all of North America...
International....all of the world...
Well...good game Porche. Not only can you not analyze three words, but you don't know enough about the MI/north-east economy to understand your slumping sales in the region are in relation to a poor economy/flailing industry and the fact that your vehicle is utter indulgance and nothing more...NOT your showing at the NORTH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW. What percentage of your sales out West do you think are directly related to your display at one of, if not the biggest, auto show on the planet. Morons.
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Ted 3:29PM (6/11/2007)
There will still be Porsches at the Detroit Show, just not a Factory / PCNA sponsored booth. Even in N.E. shows like Boston, the Porsche Stand typically has only a few car that are locked tight and only if you are a "known prospect" will you have any chance of really checking out the car. ( That is, assumeing you can actually find and identify a Salesperson.) Most dealerships have waiting lists for cars other than caymans at the moment, so it's not like they to do more than show the Flag.
Now if they actually intend to dramaticly increase the sales volume ( see previous posts ) to the rumored levels ( which is a quadrupling of current volumes) then they will need more than just attending some autoshows to do it.
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