|
DETROIT, Jan. 16-- The year of 2019 is set to be a milestone for the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS): it marks the 30th anniversary for the Detroit event to become an international auto show, and will be the last year for the event to be held in January. The 2020 NAIAS will be held in June, when a food and tourism festival will be held simultaneously. Long seen as the preeminent auto show in North America, the Detroit event had been considered the kickoff event for the auto show season. Now it is struggling to keep pace with similar shows in Los Angeles and New York. Detroit isn't alone. Frankfurt, Geneva, Paris and Tokyo, all have seen their overall attendance, once considered mandatory by automakers, shrink in recent years. The Detroit Auto Dealers Association had signaled its intention of abandoning its traditional, mid-winter schedule, and considered a switch to October, but that would have conflicted with other shows in Europe and Asia. So June was selected. At its peak, as many as 70 new vehicles were unveiled during media previews that would fill three full days. This year saw less than half that number, with barely one day of news conferences. With such brands as Mazda, Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover absent for the 2018 show, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi skipping this year, the Detroit show is but a shadow of its former glory. Automakers strove to break news during this event and went to great lengths to capture the attention of the world's automotive media. Chrysler once drove a Jeep Grand Cherokee up the stairs to Cobo Center - the massive exhibition hall on the banks of the Detroit River where the show is held - shattering the glass doors at the entrance and into the hall as the world's media watched aghast on a massive television screen on the automaker's stage. | 
