Dropouts be Damned: NAIAS insists Cobo expansion still needed
by Noah Joseph on Nov 26th 2008 at 9:28AM 
The future is looking bleak for the North American International Auto Show, with automakers dropping out like hippies. Nissan and Infiniti were just two among the hoards of car manufacturers – including Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Rolls-Royce, Land Rover and Ferrari as well as Porsche – that have recently announced their withdrawal from the Detroit show. But that's not stopping the show coordinators from continuing their campaign to have Motown's convention center updated as they see the show making a comeback within a few years.
According to show chairman Joe Serra, the downturn in participation for this year's show is just a reflection of the current economic climate. "It would be foolish for us to think this is how the future is going to look." Foolish or not, we can't imagine the Detroit 3 using much of their Congressional bailout cash on convention center renovations while they're trying to stay on their feet and in the black.
[Source: Automotive News – subs. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
TigerMil 9:32AM (11/26/2008)
Yeah...expansion needed to host all the new Chinese and Indian cars....LOL
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Polly Prissy Pants 9:43AM (11/26/2008)
A lot of people stand to lose quite a bit of money if the expansion doesn't go through so expect to see the key players insist this is still a good idea.
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psu48187 9:50AM (11/26/2008)
Umm....
Detroit has opened (or will open) not one, not two but 5 brand new hotels in the Downtown area. Do you REALLY think those hotels were opened to cater to press and travelers for a week and a half in January? The answer is NO!
Basically COBO is small, probably one of the smaller convention centers of any major city in the country. With a revised and expanded convention center, the city of Detroit is attempting to lure more conventions there. Yes, some of it has to do with NAIAS but it is not the sole reason.
Come on when you write and report things like this, it only feeds the trolls. And no I don't live in Detroit.
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big L 9:59AM (11/26/2008)
So what is the alternative? Let another area of Detroit be run-down and bombed-out?
All these centers or hotel convention areas need to be kept up to date, modernized, made fresh. Even if it is public money, the money has to be spent to look 2006 at least.
there is a lot of competition for the convention buck and pobablythat center is used for other conventions.
Near where I live there is a convention center that was about 20yrs old and just went thru a re-model. It needed it and is now full reportedly.
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JZeke 11:31AM (11/26/2008)
I wouldn't be surprised if the LA auto show only grows as the big ticket in the US. It has climate, auto culture, and fantastic wealth all in close proximity... not to mention some pretty good driving roads only a few hours outside of the city.
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Scott 2:13AM (11/27/2008)
You guys do know that Detroit is an actual city, and not just a collection of three struggling automakers, right? To read your last sentence there, you'd think the Big 3 were expected to put up the money for the expansion. Cobo is city-owned, and the funds to expand it will most likely come from an extension of a hotel tax and other public sources, if local leaders and the State can ever come to an agreement.
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That One Person 5:25PM (11/27/2008)
Everyone in the Detroit area can agree with this. The Auto Show brings in a crap load of money to the city...money that is desperately needed. Expanding it is the only thing they can do.
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