Pony car fans weren’t the only ones jumping for joy when Ford Motor Co. pulled the wraps off the 2024 Mustang this week. The well-attended “Stampede” that brought thousands of Mustang fans to downtown Detroit was the highlight of this year’s North American International Auto Show media preview.

Marking the return of NAIAS after a nearly 4-year COVID pandemic-related delay, the event certainly didn’t live up to past standards. At its pre-pandemic peak, the show hosted 30 or more manufacturers previewing as many as 70 new cars, trucks and crossovers, with 5,000 members of the media racing from one debut to another. This year brought less than half those brands to Detroit’s Huntington Place convention center, with barely 1,000 members of the media turning out for a mere half-dozen unveilings.

Considering the fact a number of other once-successful auto shows have fallen even further from grace, Detroit organizers attempted to put a good face on this year’s Motor City gathering.

“This is a reimaging and rebuilding of auto shows after COVID,” said Rod Alberts, executive director of the Detroit Auto Dealers (DADA), which sponsors the Detroit show. “This is a reimaging of auto shows after the pandemic.”

Success or failure not yet determined

Perhaps, the real test is yet to come. The public portion of the event is just ready to kick off and runs from Saturday, Sept. 17 through Sunday, Sept. 25. And this year, the show adds a variety of new features and events for those potential car buyers — from an interactive dinosaur exhibit to a monster truck demonstration, as well as the world’s largest rubber duck.

Though car shows have been a part of the automotive scene in the Motor City for more than a century, the North American International Auto Show dates back to just 1989 when the DADA amped things up and received a huge industry response. It quickly came to dominate other high-profile U.S. car shows in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York — and rivaled global events in Frankfurt, Paris, Geneva and Tokyo.

But, even before COVID, there were signs of trouble. With public attendance and industry attendance tumbling, the Tokyo Motor Show was moved to a venue a fraction of its original size. Meanwhile, organizers ended the long run of the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2019. And the Geneva Motor Show was scrapped in March 2020, with sponsors there recently calling off the event’s planned return next winter. There are questions about the viability of the Paris Motor Show, and the other key U.S. auto shows have dwindled in size, as well. Chicago used barely half its normal display space this past winter.

Automakers examine auto show ROI

“From a purely business perspective, we need to make sure auto shows are a competitive investment,” said Carlos Tavares, the CEO of Stellantis.

The automaker, formed by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France’s Groupe PSA, did have a moderately strong presence in Detroit this year — but brands like Nissan, Honda, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Kia, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW were among the longtime participants that bailed on NAIAS this time around.

There were a variety of reasons why. For some manufacturers, they simply don’t sell enough vehicles in Michigan to justify a presence. For others, it comes down to that business investment. It has traditionally cost millions just to set up a display at a major car show, and can run millions more to hold a news conference. Simply setting up seating for journalists can run into the tens of thousands.

“You want to spend your marketing dollars in (an efficient) way,” said Tavares. “You have to decide whether to be present at an auto show,” or find an alternative.

Exploring other options

And there are more of those than ever. During the pandemic, some automakers scored by staging virtual previews, some open to both members of the public as well as the media. And there are other public events drawing big crowds. The Texas State Fair has seen the unveiling of numerous pickup and truck products in recent years.

In August, nearly 20 new luxury and performance vehicles were introduced during the week-long “Monterey Car Week,” including the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Clearly said Tavares, “We can go back to the old ways,” which means cutting costs at conventional car shows.

DADA’s Alberts says he recognizes the challenges NAIAS — and other traditional car shows — face going forward. He’s vowed to slash costs. Meanwhile, the automakers that did participate this year took their own cost-cutting measures, he said, noting “They no longer have these two- and three-story displays which are extremely expensive.”

But it’s not just manufacturers that want a change. “People want to have experiential shows,” said Alberts. And that was a key reason why DADA planned to shift the schedule NAIAS from its traditional January date to the summer even before COVID struck.

NAIAS making changes

Settling into a September slot lets the show spread out from the closed confines of Huntington Place and use portions of the Detroit Riverfront and nearby Hart Plaza — where the Mustang Stampede event took place Wednesday evening.

A variety of events that couldn’t take place indoors are on tap this year, including a ride-and-drive event letting showgoers actually get behind a variety of vehicles, including some new battery-electric models. Going forward, said Alberts, auto shows “have to take responsibility in educating consumers” about the changing technology reshaping the auto industry.

What he and other organizers are hoping for is a smoother running event during public days than what they experienced when the media were in town. A last-minute decision by President Joe Biden and members of his cabinet to attend the show Wednesday threw things into chaos. All but a handful of reporters were booted off the show floor for three hours by the Secret Service. That left exhibitors struggling to figure out how to stage news conferences.

Alberts doesn’t deny the 2022 North American International Auto Show fell short of expectations. But he’s billing it as a learning experience.

“We had a great show for 30 years,” he told TheDetroitBureau.com. “Now, we’re coming out with a new show we can build on.” He hopes to double the number of manufacturers participating in 2023 and the number of news conferences, as well. Whether the industry — or the public — will go along remains to be seen.