Tweet Ralph Gilles kissing another "baby." Photo courtesy of Chrysler Group LLC Watching Twitter during an auto show is like a whirling dervish. As intoxicating the tweets, impressions and links of posting and photos, it is all dizzying. That was my feeling after reviewing a day's tweets and Facebook updates from the New York International …
Tweet Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz USA Not all auto shows this year will be cause for celebration. As Palexpo opens up for the annual auto show in Geneva, a pall of uncertainly looms across Europe. Debt crises, currency concerns, political gamesmanship and higher than allowable unemployment are not making things easier across the Atlantic. Some …
No, I was not there this year.
If you read my Twitter, you'd probably wondered if I were to show up at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Unfortunately, the stars did not align properly. Yet, I was asked by fellow journalists, media relations people and other industry support people whether I would make the trek to the Motor City for this very important exhibition of the automobile. Not this year. I will someday.
Because of the speed of information available online and the ability to see video and images from the show readily, I was able to ascertain the big debuts and the most curious appearances at Cobo Hall. This helped in my coverage last year from my home in the Twin Cities.
Of course, there's nothing like being there. You get to see and touch these new products ahead of consumer sale. You get to see whether you'd feel comfortable behind the wheel of one. That’s why we go to auto shows, right?
Without further ado, here are my picks from NAIAS…
The annual sales figures are in! I could recount which vehicles were the best sellers in the nation, but I’d rather concentrate on how last year’s main vehicle review subjects fared in 2011. Also, I try to analyze how each vehicle could fare in the coming year.
In May on V&R (and in October in Lavender), there was an article looking at the corporate view of the interconnection between the automotive industry and the LGBT community. It spurred plenty of discussion offline on how this information either helped both sides of the question – or, whether it truly mattered at all.
As an update to these articles, the Human Rights Campaign just released their 2012 Corporate Equality Index.
The list can go on forever, but I will concentrate on the most important thing overall: Graduating high school. As I realize today that I am indeed on the latter side of my forties, remembering every moment of that year seems a bit difficult these days.
Tweet 2013 Lexus GS by Five Axis. Photo courtesy of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Remember the IAA in Frankfurt? Of course you did. Any automotive enthusiast that the September European auto show (alternating between Frankfurt and Paris) kicks off the global exhibition season. It also kicks off the season where manufacturers would debut their latest …