Robert Farago, he of auto-enthusidom’s (in)famous ‘GM Death Watch’ series over at The Truth About Cars, turns his pen (okay, keyboard) upon the New York
International Auto Show. In his post, he asks if visiting the show—heck, any auto show—is really necessary
these days.
Farago doesn’t foresee the closure of shows, of course. He argues that the need for human
contact will see to their survival: ‘…auto execs need to compare stand sizes with unaffiliated colleagues…As
long as pistonheads need a happy place where they’re not considered nerds,’ auto shows will continue to
exist.
However, Farago points out that the Internet, with its easy access to the industry’s pulse, is
replacing the days where the Next Big Thing needed to be splashed across glossy magazine covers
or even televised on the evening news in order to gain adequate attention. Why fight the crowds or pay outrageous food
bills when you can spin the latest concept on your browser, or discover Ford execs really didn’t know the
underpinnings of the CX-7 at 4:55 AM. Farago even suggests how such “e-shows” could evolve in the future,
where the only physical attendees are diehard fans and reporters.
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Comments.
[Source: The Truth About Cars]