Expand / Collapse search
☰

NAIAS will have larger focus on autonomous technology this year

Published  December 17, 2018 7:24pm EST
News
FOX 2 Detroit

(FOX 2) - Excitement's building on the floor at Cobo as FOX 2 takes a look at what's new and what's coming to the NAIAS.

"I love cars, always have," said Bill Golling.

That's the number one requirement for anyone who wants to be the chairman of the NAIAS. And so Bill is glad to take the wheel and lead the final January auto show at Cobo. Two years ago, the show introduced AutoMobili-D, a look at the start ups helping put the tech into the show.

"It's not only the new cars that we'll have -- we will have 750 new cars here in the showroom floor -- it is also the new launches and introductions that we've always had, but obviously it's the application of the technology and the continued growth of the technology in our automobiles," he said.

There will be an even larger concentration on autonomous technology in 2019, something tech shows across the nation have been featuring.

Roop: "You hear a lot of competition from the tech show out in Las Vegas and they say that's where people are going to go, people don't want to go to the auto show anymore, they just want to go see the technology. What do you say to someone who says that?"

Bill: "I don't agree with that. I mean, we had over 800,000 people last year, so you take a look at auto shows still are a very incremental part of launching new cars."

The show is celebrating it's last year in January. Starting in 2020, it moves to June. Golling will help with that transition.

"But it will always be based here at Cobo Center. In the June show, we've got 14 acres between here and Hart Plaza that will be a part of the show as well," he said.
 
So this is the last year you'll have to lug around a winter coat inside Cobo, but when 2020's show happens, it will be more than just a chance to show off cars but to show off the city.

"You're gonna start with the Grand Prix, you're going to come into the Auto Show, and then you're going to finish up with the Freedom Festival, the Ford Fireworks show so June will become an automotive festival downtown," he said.

Officials say 5,000 journalists from across the globe will be descending on the D in one month, letting the world see first hand the city that puts the world on wheels.