We’re done in regards to new-vehicle press events for 2011, as the year is winding down and Christmas is only a few days away.
We are, however, already planning our upcoming 2012 auto show season coverage including Detroit and Montreal in January, Chicago and Toronto in February, Edmonton and Calgary in March not to mention Vancouver and New York in April.
Unfortunately, the Canadian show circuit doesn’t host many North American or world premiere introductions; since they’re days apart from US shows, we usually get the shaft.
Every week, we receive press releases and sneak previews of what manufacturers will be presenting at the upcoming shows. Most of the time, they even send pictures and/or video. If you feel that this spoils the show, you’re not alone.
Why do manufacturers spend so much time and money setting up an unveiling if everyone across the globe already knows what the vehicle looks like? The thrill is gone, as they say. On press days, no more oohs and aahs, enthusiastic cheering and applause; when the cover is lifted or when the vehicle cuts through a cloud of smoke, a few claps are heard, muffled by the sound of journalists getting up and clearing the floor.
Truthfully, there isn’t much manufacturers can do. In a social media driven world, even the most tight-lipped automakers can’t hide their new products from spy photographers, and are unable to control employees who either slip up or leak out info to the media. I’ll even bet that certain manufacturers create fake leaks and use them as product unveilings.
Sometimes I wish I was doing this job back in the ‘50s and ’60s when the auto show was the official, be-there-or-be-square presentation of brand new cars and trucks and their breathtaking bodywork. And when I look back at GM’s Motorama shows in the Fifties, which included a spectacle of singers and dancers, THAT was considered a happening.
General Motors even produced short films presenting their Motorama shows, which goes to prove how grandiose these events were:
Design for Dreaming (1956)
A Touch of Magic (1961)
So, will you be visiting your local auto show in 2012?
We are, however, already planning our upcoming 2012 auto show season coverage including Detroit and Montreal in January, Chicago and Toronto in February, Edmonton and Calgary in March not to mention Vancouver and New York in April.
 |
| Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com |
Unfortunately, the Canadian show circuit doesn’t host many North American or world premiere introductions; since they’re days apart from US shows, we usually get the shaft.
Every week, we receive press releases and sneak previews of what manufacturers will be presenting at the upcoming shows. Most of the time, they even send pictures and/or video. If you feel that this spoils the show, you’re not alone.
Why do manufacturers spend so much time and money setting up an unveiling if everyone across the globe already knows what the vehicle looks like? The thrill is gone, as they say. On press days, no more oohs and aahs, enthusiastic cheering and applause; when the cover is lifted or when the vehicle cuts through a cloud of smoke, a few claps are heard, muffled by the sound of journalists getting up and clearing the floor.
Truthfully, there isn’t much manufacturers can do. In a social media driven world, even the most tight-lipped automakers can’t hide their new products from spy photographers, and are unable to control employees who either slip up or leak out info to the media. I’ll even bet that certain manufacturers create fake leaks and use them as product unveilings.
Sometimes I wish I was doing this job back in the ‘50s and ’60s when the auto show was the official, be-there-or-be-square presentation of brand new cars and trucks and their breathtaking bodywork. And when I look back at GM’s Motorama shows in the Fifties, which included a spectacle of singers and dancers, THAT was considered a happening.
General Motors even produced short films presenting their Motorama shows, which goes to prove how grandiose these events were:
Design for Dreaming (1956)
A Touch of Magic (1961)
So, will you be visiting your local auto show in 2012?
 |
| Photo from : Touch of Magic, A (1961) |