Auto Shows Get New Life in New York

I can’t tell you how many times in my past lives I’ve been asked about the future of the auto show. As a journalist we lamented how some OEMs decided to pull out of them entirely as much of the flash of years past went by the wayside post-recession. Then, in my life as a marketer I was asked if auto shows were worth the investment, or would it be better spent on separate events where the automaker could control the narrative.

I won’t bother writing what my responses were then, but after watching coverage of the New York International Auto Show roll in this week I would say it was worth every automaker’s time and money that showed up to the Javits Center.

One of the main arguments of not investing in an auto show is that your product will receive more of a spotlight if it’s revealed on a unique date so it is not overshadowed by everything else on display.

That does have certain advantages, but you never know if another automaker will do the same that week or even on the same day. And you especially won’t know if a certain billionaire decides to tweet something outrageous that takes over the entire news cycle.

There are also very few times when a standalone vehicle launch will receive the mainstream media attention of one of the major U.S. auto shows like in New York. The exposure from a hit on Kelly & Ryan alone is more valuable than a dozen top enthusiast sites covering a one-off launch.

And even watching remotely via online coverage and social media posts I could sense an excitement from my former colleagues in the press. That excitement translated directly to how they covered the show as well. There was good-spirited debate on if a refreshed model’s new wheels looked great but would be hard to clean or if the dimensions on a newly launched mega-SUV were awkward or not.

For automotive enthusiasts it is also something to look forward to in a media landscape that has been nothing but bleak for…well probably since the Cubs won the World Series and certainly since COVID. The cornucopia of car news from New York certainly stood out in my Twitter feed and I’m sure broke through even casual fans' media consumption

It will be interesting to see how the reimagined Detroit auto show is executed and covered and then we’re on to L.A. Even Geneva says it will be back in 2023.

Perhaps one of the positive side effects of the past few years is that the enhanced desire for more experiences that is fueling the travel industry right now will reenergize the industry’s interest in the auto show.

David is the director of content marketing at CDK Global, a leading automotive software supplier to OEMs and dealers. He has spent nearly 20 years in the automotive industry as a product evaluator, journalist and marketer for brands like Autoblog, Cars.com, Nissan and Harley Davidson. In that time, David has tested hundreds of vehicles across all types of tracks and terrain. All opinions above are purely his own.