Auto shows suck. Half the reveals are lame crossovers and the dry ice and laser shows, when even used anymore, could give someone epileptic fits. It all reeks of the industry trying too hard. How would you fix them?
Our answer? Less reveals, not more. We need to have auto shows go back to being what they once were — regional dealer-run (with automaker support of course) shows for selling new cars. Otherwise, if an automaker wants to get the biggest bang for their buck, they'll either adopt the "MacWorld Model" of revealing a new car at a random date on the calendar, inviting media to show up — or reveal a new car at one of the four shows with a critical mass of media — Detroit, New York, Shanghai or Paris/Frankfurt. Every other show needs to realize they're small potatoes — and the automakers should realize it as well — if they want to get the coverage they're looking for. I mean, we'll still cover them both ways — but the current way is not helping us feel all that excited about the cars we're writing about.
But maybe that's too much, maybe they just need more booth babes and more free booze. You tell us, how would you remove the suck from auto shows?
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