North American International Auto Show

NAIAS 2005, near the Audi exhibit.

The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan at Cobo Center. It is among the largest auto shows in North America.^[1]

History

The first auto show was held in Detroit in 1907 at Beller's Beer Garden at Riverside Park and since then annually except 1943-1952. It was renamed the North American International Auto Show in 1989. Since 1961, it has been held at Cobo Center where it occupies nearly 1 million square feet (93,000 m²) of floor space. The show is particularly important because the Metro Detroit area is the location of the headquarters of the Big Three American automakers, Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors.

The show

The show begins with press preview days, industry preview days and a charity preview event. The charity preview raises money for local children's charities. In 2004 and 2005, the charity preview attracted 17,500 people at $400 a ticket and raised $7 million in total. 2006 was the sixth consecutive year the charity preview event raised over $6 million. 35,711 tickets were sold for the industry preview representing people from 24 countries in 2005 and 6,897 credentialed press from 63 countries. Over 800,000 attended during the days the show was open to the general public in 2004. It is estimated that the show generates a revenue of over $500 million to the local economy.

The NAIAS is the one of only a few auto shows in the United States sanctioned by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles.

2011

The 2011 show will run from January 10 through January 23.

• January 10-11 - Press preview
• January 12-13 - Industry preview
• January 14 - Charity preview
• January 15-23 - Open to the public

2010

The 2010 show ran from January 11 through January 24.

• January 11–12 — Press preview
• January 13–14 — Industry preview
• January 15 — Charity preview
• January 16–24 — Open to the public

A new "Electric Avenue" section showcased electric vehicles from around the world, including some entrants for the Automotive X-Prize. Saab, Hummer, Infiniti, Suzuki, and Porsche did not attend the 2010 show.^[2] Nissan and Mitsubishi did not have regular floor space, but the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i MiEV appeared in the Electric Avenue section.^[3] A small electrical fire at the Audi exhibit caused an evacuation on January 21. Nobody was hurt.^[4]

Car and truck of the year award

The Ford Fusion Hybrid and Ford Transit Connect were selected to receive the show's North American Car and Truck of the Year awards.^[5]

Production car introductions

Concept car introductions

EyesOn Design Awards

The GMC Granite won the "Excellence in Design Award" for concept vehicles debuted at the Detroit show and the Audi A8 received the top honor for production vehicles.

2009

The scene at the North American International Auto Show on January 18 overlooking the Volkswagen exhibit.

The 2009 show ran from January 11 through January 25.^[30]

• January 11–13 — Press days
• January 14–15 — Industry days
• January 16 — Charity preview
• January 17–25 — Open to the public

Nissan, Infiniti, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Rolls-Royce, Land Rover, Ferrari, and Porsche did not attend the 2009 auto show, the largest number of non-returning automakers in the show's history. As a result, the show became the first with Chinese automakers (BYD and Brilliance) exhibited on the main floor.^[31]

Car and truck of the year award

The Hyundai Genesis and Ford F-150 were selected to receive the show's North American Car and Truck of the Year awards.^[32]

Production car introductions

The 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class was announced and shown to invited members of the press, but it will not be on public display until the Geneva Motor Show.^[40]

GM also announced the production of the Chevrolet Spark mini-car (previously shown as the Chevrolet Beat concept), for sale in Europe in 2010 and North America in 2011, as well as the Chevrolet Orlando compact MPV, for sale in North America in 2011. The Spark will be shown at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show.^[41]

Concept car introductions

2008

The 2008 show ran from January 13 through January 27.

• January 13–15 — Press days
• January 16–17 — Industry days
• January 18 — Charity preview
• January 19–27 — Open to the public

Car and truck of the year award

The 2008 Chevrolet Malibu and Mazda CX-9 were selected to receive the show's North American Car and Truck of the Year awards.^[46]

Production car introductions

Concept car introductions

2007

The 2007 show was held from January 7 through January 21.

• January 7–9 — Press days
• January 10–11 — Industry days
• January 12 — Charity preview
• January 13–21 — Open to the public

Car and truck of the year award

The Saturn Aura and Chevrolet Silverado were selected to receive the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards.^[47]

Production car introductions

Concept car introductions

GM also displayed five "global" concept cars for the first time in North America: Chevrolet T2X, Chevrolet WTCC, Holden Efijy, Opel Antara GTC, and Saab Aero-X.

2006

2007 Hummer H3

The 2006 show was held from January 8 through January 22.

• January 8–10 — Press days
• January 11–12 — Industry days
• January 13 — Charity preview
• January 14–22 — Open to the public

Production car introductions

2006 Audi RS4 2007 Audi S6 2007 Audi S8 2006 BMW 325xi Sports Wagon 2007 BMW M Roadster 2006 BMW M6 2006 BMW Z4 Coupe 2007 Cadillac Escalade 2007 Cadillac Escalade ESV 2007 Cadillac Escalade EXT 2007 Chevrolet Aveo 2007 Chevrolet Suburban LTZ 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe LTZ 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe Two-Mode Hybrid 2007 Chrysler Aspen 2007 Dodge Caliber 2007 Ford Edge 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 2007 Ford Explorer Sport Trac Adrenalin 2007 GMC Yukon 2007 GMC Yukon XL 2007 Honda Fit 2007 Hummer H3x 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe 2007 Jaguar XK convertible 2007 Jeep Compass 2007 Jeep Wrangler 2007 Kia Optima 2007 Lexus LS 2007 Lincoln MKX

2007 Jaguar XK 2006 Maserati GranSport Spyder 2006 Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT and Executive GT 2007 Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec 2007 Mercedes-Benz GL320 Bluetec 2007 Mercedes-Benz GL450 2007 Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG 2007 Mercedes-Benz R63 AMG 2006 Mercedes-Benz S550 2007 Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder 2007 Nissan Versa 2007 Nissan Sentra 2007 Pontiac Solstice GXP 2007 Saturn Sky 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line 2007 Toyota Camry (AutoWeek "Most Significant") 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser 2007 Toyota Yaris 2006 Volvo C70 Convertible Geely 7151CK (the first Chinese automobile ever shown in the United States, only shown to press)

Concept car introductions

Aston Martin Rapide concept Acura RDX prototype Audi Roadjet BMW X3 Hybrid Efficient Dynamics concept Buick Enclave concept Chevrolet Camaro concept (AutoWeek "Best In Show") Chrysler Imperial concept Dodge Challenger concept (AutoWeek "Best Concept") Ford F-250 Super Chief Ford Iosis (North American introduction) Ford Reflex Hyundai HCD9 Talus Infiniti G35 Coupe concept Jeep Patriot concept Kia Soul Lamborghini Miura concept Lincoln MKS concept Maybach Exelero Mazda Kabura concept

Dodge Challenger Concept Mazda Mazda5 hydrogen rotary concept Mini Concept Detroit Mitsubishi Concept-CT MIEV Nissan Urge (AutoWeek "Most Fun"), with built in Xbox 360 Saab 9-5 Aero BioPower concept Subaru B5-TPH Toyota F3R Volvo C30 concept

2005

The 2005 show saw the following important introductions:

Production car introductions

• 2006 Cadillac STS-V
• 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
• 2006 Chrysler 300C SRT-8
• 2006 Dodge Charger
• 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe
• 2006 Ford Fusion
• 2006 Honda Ridgeline
• 2006 Hyundai Sonata
• 2006 Infiniti M
• 2006 Kia Rio
• 2006 Land Rover Range Rover
• 2006 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
• 2006 Lincoln Zephyr
• 2006 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
• 2006 Mercury Milan
• 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse
• 2006 Mitsubishi Raider
• 2006 Porsche 911 Cabrio
• 2005 Saab 9-7X
• 2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca

Concept car introductions

2001

Concept car introductions

The following concept cars were shown:

• BMW X-Coupe
• Chrysler Crossfire
• Volvo SCC

2000

Concept car introductions

• GMC Terradyne

1992

Production car introductions

The following production vehicles debuted at the 1992 show:

• 1993 Audi 100CS Quattro
• 1993 Audi Cabriolet
• 1993 BMW E36 3 Series coupes
• 1993 Chrysler Concorde
• 1994 Chrysler New Yorker
• 1993 Dodge Intrepid
• 1993 Eagle Vision
• 1993 Ford Probe GT
• 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee
• 1993 Mercedes-Benz W140 600SEC
• 1993 Mercury Villager
• 1993 Nissan Quest
• 1993 Nissan 240SX convertible
• 1993 Nissan 300ZX convertible
• 1993 Saturn SW

Concept car introductions

The following concept cars were shown:

• Buick Sceptre
• Chevrolet Sizigi
• Chrysler Cirrus concept
• Dodge EPIC
• Ford Connecta
• General Motors Ultralite
• Hyundai HCD-1
• Lincoln Marque X
• Oldsmobile Anthem
• Pontiac Salsa

1989

The Detroit Auto Show was renamed to the North American International Auto Show for 1989, as Lexus and Infiniti debuted. The show opened on January 11, with press previews and introductions for the first two days.

Introductions:

• Audi V8
• Chevrolet Lumina
• Chevrolet Lumina APV
• Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1
• Chrysler LeBaron GT
• Chrysler Town & Country
• Dodge Dakota convertible
• Dodge Viper concept
• Geo Prizm
• Geo Storm
• Infiniti Q45
• Lexus LS400
• Lotus Esprit Turbo
• Mazda MPV
• Mitsubishi Eclipse
• Plymouth Laser
• Porsche 911 Carrera 4 and Speedster
• Porsche 944 S2 Cabriolet
• Shelby Dakota
• Shelby CSX-VNT
• Volkswagen Corrado

See also

• North American Car of the Year

References

External links

• Official webpage
• Damaged cars

Auto/motor show circuit Annual Detroit (Jan) • Chicago (Feb) • Toronto (Feb)  • Geneva (March) • New York (March/April) • Australia (Melbourne/Sydney) (Oct) • Los Angeles (Nov–Dec) • Bologna (Dec) Biennial Odd years Seoul (April) • Shanghai (April) • Frankfurt (Sept/Oct) • Tokyo (Nov) Even years Delhi (Jan) • Beijing (April/May) • London (Aug) • Paris (Sept/Oct)