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| Photo Credit: AP. |
DETROIT (AP) — When it came time to showcase its electric Chevrolet Equinox SUV to the public this year, General Motors decided against doing so at the big Detroit auto show, as it typically would have done in the past. Instead, it unveiled the Equinox six days earlier.
GM’s
decision symbolized just how much smaller this year’s auto show will be, with
few new model debuts, less-glitzy displays, fewer journalists and possibly
lower attendance.
Though the
pandemic is partly to blame, larger forces are at play, too: Automakers have
figured out that new models can make a bigger splash when they’re unveiled to a
digital audience on a day where they don’t have to share the spotlight with
their rivals. Not to mention that making a debut at an auto show can be hugely
expensive.
So despite
moving the show from January to balmy September and adding outdoor events, the
North American International Auto Show won’t be the glitzy event it was the
last time it was held in chilly January, more than three years ago.
“The
industry has changed — the world has changed,” said Karl Zimmermann, vice
president of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, which runs the show. “Do I
think it’s going to be the same as it was before? No. It’s a much different
format. We’re using indoors. We’re using outdoors.”
This year’s
show will be geared more toward consumers and less toward the industry. General
Motors and Volkswagen will offer test drives. There will be ride-alongs in new
electric vehicles from Ford and others.
“I think
that’s the likely track of the future — more consumer-focused than
industry-focused, because the consumers don’t need all the the fanfare,” said
Jeff Schuster, president of global forecasting for LMC Automotive, a
Detroit-area consulting firm. “They can essentially have it look like a
showroom.”
Gone from
Detroit’s Huntington Place convention center are the elaborate multi-story
displays that cost millions and took months to construct. There won’t be any
attention-grabbing stunts, like driving cars up steps and through the front
doors or an ice rink with figure skaters. Though many automakers, including
some from Europe and Asia, decided not to attend, area dealers stepped in with
displays for their brands.
Instead of
around 50 new model debuts as in past years, there’s only one truly new one:
The Ford Mustang, unveiled Wednesday night at a big outdoor event along the
Detroit River attended by about 3,000 Mustang enthusiasts and Ford employees.
Instead of the usual 5,000 journalists, only about 1,900 received credentials
this year.
The
seventh-generation Mustang, which goes on sale next summer, may well be the
last gas-powered version of the muscle car as Ford powers more of its lineup
with batteries. The company plans for half of its global production to be electric
by 2030.
The new
Mustang is built on the same underpinnings as generation six. But it gets an
all-new look inside and out with a revamped 5-liter V8 in the GT and a new
2.3-liter turbocharged four for lower trim lines.
The V8′s up
to 500 horsepower tops any other Mustang engine, and the four-cylinder will be
more efficient than its predecessor.
The company
wouldn’t say whether the next generation would be electric, but Khan said Ford
can meet government fuel economy requirements for this generation because of
the four-cylinder engine and the Mustang Mach E SUV and other electric
vehicles. Last month Stellantis said fuel economy requirements are one reason
it’s canceling its gasoline muscle cars by the end of next year. The company plans
an all-electric Dodge Charger in 2024.
“Where we go
next, we’ll see how things will go,” said Eddie Khan, engineering manager for
the car. “The whole industry is changing.”
The Mustang
gets all new sheet metal outside, and Ford says it has lower wind drag than any
other generation. You can still get a six-speed manual transmission on the GT;
otherwise it’s an improved 10-speed automatic.
Don Andrews
of Detroit, who owns a 2018 V8 Mustang, said he hopes this isn’t the last
gasoline version. “I hope they keep it petrol because more people like it,” he
said. “Everybody likes that rev, that noise. That’s what makes it a Mustang.”
Andrews said
he’s glad the show was moved to a warmer month so events like the Mustang
reveal can take place outdoors. He thinks more people will attend the show than
they did when it was in January.
Zimmerman
said the downsizing of auto shows is part of worldwide trend that started about
a decade ago and this year forced the cancellation of the auto show in Geneva,
Switzerland. Other auto shows, too, are shifting their focus to letting
customers in their region see and even drive new vehicles.
Even with
the changes, the show still amounts to a major production. So much so that
President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg attended.
Biden, a
gearhead who owns a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, sat in a high-performance
Corvette Wednesday, and he drove a Cadillac Lyriq electric SUV slowly down an
aisle in the convention hall.
The show
won’t be entirely devoid of glitz. Ford, Jeep and Stellantis’ Ram brand have
displays that will hold vehicles as they drive over steep slopes. Dirt and
trees were trucked in for a natural look. There are tracks where customers can
ride in new electric vehicles, including Ford’s F-150 Lightning pickup.
Outside, there’s a 60-foot-tall inflatable rubber duck, paying homage to a Jeep
tradition of enthusiasts leaving a small yellow duck on a Jeep they think is
cool.
Zimmermann
agreed that attendance will likely be smaller than the roughly 800,000 the show
drew during peak years of the past. He said he would be pleased with 500,000
for the 12-day show. This year, those who attend outdoor activities alone won’t
be counted, which will hold down the total.
One thing is
sure: Electric vehicles will be big draws for the public. Many will be on
display for the first time to customers even though automakers unveiled them
earlier.
“They want
to know how they ride, how they drive and have experience with them,”
Zimmermann said. “It’s not just enough to see a car on a carpet or to see just
a digital display on a screen, but to really interact with the vehicle.”
It’s the
interaction, with vehicles and with other people, that Zimmermann says will
enhance the show after the lengthy pandemic pause.
“We like to
think that after 3 1/2 years away, we’ll do nothing but grow,” he said.
AP White
House reporter Colleen Long contributed to this report.