REPORT: Sydney Motor Show scrapped, Melbourne to go on
Eight automotive brands failed to make the trip to this year's Detroit Auto Show. Compare that to last year's Sydney Auto Show in Australia, where eighteen brands declined the offer to showcase their wares, and you might conclude that things in Cobo Hall really aren't that bad. The shortfall of manufacturers on display contributed to a 40% dip in visitors to the Sydney show last year. Facing that same predicament this year, the options were to put on another dismally attended show or go to a biannual format and let Melbourne handle the 2009 honors.
Unsurprisingly, Sydney has voted for the latter. Carmakers have been pushing for just one show major show in Australia for some time now, which makes some sense given that Sydney and Melbourne combined don't even have the population of Los Angeles County. The Melbourne Motor Show will still run from February 27 to March 9 this year, and Sydney will return in October of 2010.
[Source: WA Today | Photo by Greg Wood/Getty]]
