Isuzu pulls out of 2006 North American International Auto Show

Discouraged by dwindling U.S. sales, Isuzu announced yesterday that it won't be joining the rest of the automotive industry at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.  The move is one that has some wondering about the automaker's future plans for the United States in general, though officials at Isuzu reassured reporters that it will be sticking around for the long haul, and that its choice to pull out of the Detroit show only reflects the brand's poor reception in the Detroit market. Isuzu will still show in its stronger markets, including Sacramento, San Antonio, Raleigh, Albuquerque and Knoxville.

As a person with some background in public relations, I wonder where the hell their PR people were when this decision was made! Detroit has 7,000 journalists show up to that show. I realize these shows aren?t just for the media, but it?s stupid to completely avoid the shows with good media turnout because the people who don?t attend shows are reading coverage of those shows in consumer magazines. Last time I checked, the Motor Trends of the world weren?t covering the Knoxville Auto Show. Although I suppose if you?re trying to cut costs, this might be one way to do it.