Porsche says no to Detroit Auto Show (update, Ferrari and others and Nissan)
06-12-07, 07:29 AM
#1
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Porsche says no to Detroit Auto Show (update, Ferrari and others and Nissan)
Porsche says no to Detroit Auto Show
Posted on: June 11th, 2007
When the next Detroit Auto Show rolls around, Porsche will be a no-show. The German auto maker is pulling itself out of the Detroit Auto Show in order to focus more in regions where it has more customers. Porsche sold only 290 cars in Michigan last year as compared to 8,827 in California, 4,177 in Florida and 2,172 in New York.
“It was purely a business decision,” Tony Fouladpour, a spokesman for Porsche Cars North America Inc, told Automotive News. ”We want to target our marketing resources on more direct customer contact.”
Porsche decision came as a surprise to the executive director of the Detroit Auto Show, Robert Alberts. Alberts said that if Porsche decides to make a return to Detroit, it may end up in the basement for several years.
Porsche will be displaying its cars next year at the Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Miami, Toronto, Dallas, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Washington shows.
Source: Automotive News (Subcription Required)
Posted on: June 11th, 2007
When the next Detroit Auto Show rolls around, Porsche will be a no-show. The German auto maker is pulling itself out of the Detroit Auto Show in order to focus more in regions where it has more customers. Porsche sold only 290 cars in Michigan last year as compared to 8,827 in California, 4,177 in Florida and 2,172 in New York.
“It was purely a business decision,” Tony Fouladpour, a spokesman for Porsche Cars North America Inc, told Automotive News. ”We want to target our marketing resources on more direct customer contact.”
Porsche decision came as a surprise to the executive director of the Detroit Auto Show, Robert Alberts. Alberts said that if Porsche decides to make a return to Detroit, it may end up in the basement for several years.
Porsche will be displaying its cars next year at the Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Miami, Toronto, Dallas, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Washington shows.
Source: Automotive News (Subcription Required)
06-12-07, 07:54 AM
#2
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I always thought the Detroit show was more for car magazines to knock of shots of the various car models, while when there are shows in other cities they are more hands on for the consumer.
06-12-07, 08:05 AM
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In any case, it doesn't surprise me that Porsche is pulling out. If you drive through Detroit in anything other than a Ford, GM, or Chrysler, your chances of being an innocent victim of road rage goes up considerably.
06-12-07, 09:35 AM
#4
Lexus Fanatic
Boy, am I glad to see this. Andrew, you made my day with this post. If you lived in this area I would take you to lunch.
It's about TIME that auto manufacturers stopped worshipping at the altar of the Detroit Show. (I've posted and talked about this a number of times). I'm not against the Detroit area having a show, of course, but the enormous extravagance and pomp of the show......and the concentration of new vehicle introductions and concepts at that show...has been blown WAY out of proportion to the area's actual importance. For instance, my own D.C.-Baltimore area, the country's second-largest new-car market, sells SIX TIMES the number of new vehicles that the Detroit area does.....and Southern California, the country's largest, TEN TIMES the number. Yet, where is all the show action?......Mostly in Detroit...with slightly lesser amounts at the L.A. and New York shows, although our own Washington, D.C. show as been gaining in importance lately, as it should be....it is now a borderline Class A show instead of a Class B.
Porsche decision came as a surprise to the executive director of the Detroit Auto Show, Robert Alberts. Alberts said that if Porsche decides to make a return to Detroit, it may end up in the basement for several years.
Last edited by mmarshall; 06-12-07 at 09:46 AM.
06-12-07, 10:29 AM
#6
Pole Position
I wonder how many cars are sold in Geneva?!?
The point is to have a show that is *the* show for an area. Detroit, Geneva, Tokyo all make sense. If they want to have a roaming show (Chicago, Detroit, LA, NY) great! But IMO there should be one NAIAS that has the majority of introductions.
The point is to have a show that is *the* show for an area. Detroit, Geneva, Tokyo all make sense. If they want to have a roaming show (Chicago, Detroit, LA, NY) great! But IMO there should be one NAIAS that has the majority of introductions.
06-17-07, 11:53 AM
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RANTS by Peter M. DeLorenzo
Porsche cuts off its nose.
Detroit. Porsche doesn't need Detroit, apparently, as they announced this past Monday that they were pulling out of the 2008 North American International Auto Show, citing market realities and the fact that Porsche derives a minuscule share of it U.S. sales total from Detroit and Michigan. Porsche sells fewer than 300 cars in this market, a tiny total to be sure - as opposed to California where close to 9,000 Porsches are sold annually. But make no mistake, no manufacturer equates the Detroit show with moving the metal, instead, it's an industry showplace allowing manufacturers to demonstrate to their competitors and to the media that they are fully engaged in the game. So Porsche's explanation simply doesn't wash. This move has nothing to do with the number of sales in this state and everything to do with the fact that Porsche is declaring the NAIAS - one of the world's five top auto shows - "insignificant" to their needs. And on the surface that may be so, but there's always more to these stories than meets the eye.
Detroit, along with Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo and Geneva (soon to be joined by Shanghai), are the world's most important auto shows. Even though the Chicago auto show plays to the heartland with an impressive facility that shames Detroit's ancient Cobo Hall, and New York and Los Angeles claim significance simply because they're in New York and L.A., there is simply no getting around the fact that Detroit, with its long history as the center of the automotive world (even though that title is under severe pressure as of late), is still the straw that stirs the drink when it comes to "must be there" auto shows in North America.
Detroit's position in this regard has actually been strengthened of late - what with the number of suppliers and Asian car companies establishing technical centers in and around this area to tap into the talent and expertise available here - so the North American International Auto Show, or the Detroit Auto Show, as we prefer to call it, will retain its role for the foreseeable future.
Porsche claims its move is part of an overall strategy of allocating its marketing resources in better ways, but that's flat-out bull****. What it's really about is Porsche's classic, "holier than thou" arrogance more than anything else. And Porsche has always flaunted that arrogance more so than any automobile manufacturer, which is admittedly hard to do when you have three other German automakers - Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW - vying for that crown. But Porsche clearly operates with an attitude and a rarefied air of superiority that the others can't match.
Porsche management is led by Wendelin Wiedeking, who is now starting to challenge VW's Ferdinand Piech for the "Most Arrogant Automobile Executive in the World" title - a title we thought Piech had retired for life. This is the guy, after all, who dropped some of Porsche's classic ad themes from the past ("Excellence is expected," "There is no substitute") out of the company's media releases in favor of the now officially preferred, "Most profitable car company in the world."
This is the guy who has been canonized by the German business media as being the proverbial "smartest guy in the room," even though he has seriously degraded Porsche's market image and turned-off countless former Porsche loyalists with his drive for profitability at all costs, steering Porsche away from being an exclusive maker of some of the world's finest sports cars into becoming a "full-line vehicle manufacturer," or as I like to refer to it - just another car company.
I hesitate to rehash the fact that Porsche is offering a bloated, overpriced, full-size SUV in a market that has decidedly turned away from such vehicles, because Porsche apologists will always come out of the woodwork and say that the Cayenne's impact on Porsche's bottom line was well worth it. I disagree. The Cayenne (and the new four-door Porsche Panamera coming in 2009) prove once and for all that the future of Porsche, according to Wiedeking, lies not in innovation or inspired creativity, but in vehicle architecture-sharing and other behind-the-curtain savings, because the company that was once all about flaunting its technical brilliance now is all about flaunting its financial acumen instead - when it's not meddling with Volkswagen in its spare time, that is.
But criticize Porsche and you do so at your peril, as I've found out repeatedly in the eight years of publishing Autoextremist.com. I've never understood why hard-core Porsche enthusiasts continue to defend a company that has clearly turned its back on its hard-core constituency - the very people that propelled Porsche to its (albeit now shaky) standing in the automotive world to begin with - but that's exactly what has happened. How else to explain the typical Porsche options list, which is such a blatant exercise in egregious price gouging and unmitigated greed that consumers who are seeking the pure essence of Porsche (or at least what used to count for such) are sentenced to wade through a mind-numbing display of $4,000.00+ "special leather" options and other pricey flotsam and jetsam - not to mention all of the other "exclusive" options that regularly add $5,000-10,000 to the actual transaction price of any Porsche.
I'm all for auto companies making a profit, I might add, but ask the majority of Porsche buyers what they really think of Porsche's sky-high options price list, and no matter how well-heeled they are, I predict you will get a negative earful.
Some pundits will crow that Porsche's move out of the NAIAS diminishes the importance of the show and that other manufacturers will follow their lead - but that's simply not the case, and don't believe it for a second. The Detroit auto market might be irrelevant to Porsche's marketing plans in this country, but in terms of its prestige, importance and world standing, the Detroit Auto Show certainly isn't.
By focusing on the local market reality in Detroit instead of the Big Picture of the global automotive stage, and by marching to the tune of its own closed-minded, "the automotive world revolves around us" arrogance, Porsche is cutting off its nose to spite its face, or, slitting its own throat to be more accurate.
And when they realize what they've done - without admitting to any mistake of course - after all, that would be so un-Porsche - they will go back to the NAIAS organizers fully expecting to take their "rightful" position on the main floor at Cobo Hall where they used to be. And then the organizers will politely tell them that since they left the show and gave up their position on the main show floor, they have to get back in line with the other manufacturers clamoring to get in - and thus can take up a position in the basement - which, come to think about it, will be poetic justice.
Thanks for listening, see you next Wednesday.
http://www.autoextremist.com/index.shtml
Porsche cuts off its nose.
Detroit. Porsche doesn't need Detroit, apparently, as they announced this past Monday that they were pulling out of the 2008 North American International Auto Show, citing market realities and the fact that Porsche derives a minuscule share of it U.S. sales total from Detroit and Michigan. Porsche sells fewer than 300 cars in this market, a tiny total to be sure - as opposed to California where close to 9,000 Porsches are sold annually. But make no mistake, no manufacturer equates the Detroit show with moving the metal, instead, it's an industry showplace allowing manufacturers to demonstrate to their competitors and to the media that they are fully engaged in the game. So Porsche's explanation simply doesn't wash. This move has nothing to do with the number of sales in this state and everything to do with the fact that Porsche is declaring the NAIAS - one of the world's five top auto shows - "insignificant" to their needs. And on the surface that may be so, but there's always more to these stories than meets the eye.
Detroit, along with Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo and Geneva (soon to be joined by Shanghai), are the world's most important auto shows. Even though the Chicago auto show plays to the heartland with an impressive facility that shames Detroit's ancient Cobo Hall, and New York and Los Angeles claim significance simply because they're in New York and L.A., there is simply no getting around the fact that Detroit, with its long history as the center of the automotive world (even though that title is under severe pressure as of late), is still the straw that stirs the drink when it comes to "must be there" auto shows in North America.
Detroit's position in this regard has actually been strengthened of late - what with the number of suppliers and Asian car companies establishing technical centers in and around this area to tap into the talent and expertise available here - so the North American International Auto Show, or the Detroit Auto Show, as we prefer to call it, will retain its role for the foreseeable future.
Porsche claims its move is part of an overall strategy of allocating its marketing resources in better ways, but that's flat-out bull****. What it's really about is Porsche's classic, "holier than thou" arrogance more than anything else. And Porsche has always flaunted that arrogance more so than any automobile manufacturer, which is admittedly hard to do when you have three other German automakers - Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW - vying for that crown. But Porsche clearly operates with an attitude and a rarefied air of superiority that the others can't match.
Porsche management is led by Wendelin Wiedeking, who is now starting to challenge VW's Ferdinand Piech for the "Most Arrogant Automobile Executive in the World" title - a title we thought Piech had retired for life. This is the guy, after all, who dropped some of Porsche's classic ad themes from the past ("Excellence is expected," "There is no substitute") out of the company's media releases in favor of the now officially preferred, "Most profitable car company in the world."
This is the guy who has been canonized by the German business media as being the proverbial "smartest guy in the room," even though he has seriously degraded Porsche's market image and turned-off countless former Porsche loyalists with his drive for profitability at all costs, steering Porsche away from being an exclusive maker of some of the world's finest sports cars into becoming a "full-line vehicle manufacturer," or as I like to refer to it - just another car company.
I hesitate to rehash the fact that Porsche is offering a bloated, overpriced, full-size SUV in a market that has decidedly turned away from such vehicles, because Porsche apologists will always come out of the woodwork and say that the Cayenne's impact on Porsche's bottom line was well worth it. I disagree. The Cayenne (and the new four-door Porsche Panamera coming in 2009) prove once and for all that the future of Porsche, according to Wiedeking, lies not in innovation or inspired creativity, but in vehicle architecture-sharing and other behind-the-curtain savings, because the company that was once all about flaunting its technical brilliance now is all about flaunting its financial acumen instead - when it's not meddling with Volkswagen in its spare time, that is.
But criticize Porsche and you do so at your peril, as I've found out repeatedly in the eight years of publishing Autoextremist.com. I've never understood why hard-core Porsche enthusiasts continue to defend a company that has clearly turned its back on its hard-core constituency - the very people that propelled Porsche to its (albeit now shaky) standing in the automotive world to begin with - but that's exactly what has happened. How else to explain the typical Porsche options list, which is such a blatant exercise in egregious price gouging and unmitigated greed that consumers who are seeking the pure essence of Porsche (or at least what used to count for such) are sentenced to wade through a mind-numbing display of $4,000.00+ "special leather" options and other pricey flotsam and jetsam - not to mention all of the other "exclusive" options that regularly add $5,000-10,000 to the actual transaction price of any Porsche.
I'm all for auto companies making a profit, I might add, but ask the majority of Porsche buyers what they really think of Porsche's sky-high options price list, and no matter how well-heeled they are, I predict you will get a negative earful.
Some pundits will crow that Porsche's move out of the NAIAS diminishes the importance of the show and that other manufacturers will follow their lead - but that's simply not the case, and don't believe it for a second. The Detroit auto market might be irrelevant to Porsche's marketing plans in this country, but in terms of its prestige, importance and world standing, the Detroit Auto Show certainly isn't.
By focusing on the local market reality in Detroit instead of the Big Picture of the global automotive stage, and by marching to the tune of its own closed-minded, "the automotive world revolves around us" arrogance, Porsche is cutting off its nose to spite its face, or, slitting its own throat to be more accurate.
And when they realize what they've done - without admitting to any mistake of course - after all, that would be so un-Porsche - they will go back to the NAIAS organizers fully expecting to take their "rightful" position on the main floor at Cobo Hall where they used to be. And then the organizers will politely tell them that since they left the show and gave up their position on the main show floor, they have to get back in line with the other manufacturers clamoring to get in - and thus can take up a position in the basement - which, come to think about it, will be poetic justice.
Thanks for listening, see you next Wednesday.
http://www.autoextremist.com/index.shtml
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06-17-07, 03:43 PM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
I wonder how many cars are sold in Geneva?!?
The point is to have a show that is *the* show for an area. Detroit, Geneva, Tokyo all make sense. If they want to have a roaming show (Chicago, Detroit, LA, NY) great! But IMO there should be one NAIAS that has the majority of introductions.
The point is to have a show that is *the* show for an area. Detroit, Geneva, Tokyo all make sense. If they want to have a roaming show (Chicago, Detroit, LA, NY) great! But IMO there should be one NAIAS that has the majority of introductions.
And....the thread topic.....Porsche apparantly agrees. They now see that it is more important to work close to your markets. I would not be surprised to see more automakers soon follow suit. My guess is that Isuzu will be next. The company, in the American market, is so small that it is a waste of time for them to go to Detroit...their SUV's and pickups (actually rebadged Chevrolet vehicles) have more potential appeal out West. Last year they had only a very small display at the Washington DC auto show here....this year they didn't have one at all.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not a big Porsche fan......never was. I agree with Pete DeLorenzo that Porsche is an arrogant company producing overpriced cars and run by a bunch of snobs. While a few of their people at the auto shows (I have dealt with them) have been just marvelous, most of have acted more or less like Prussian aristocrats. But they didn't get to be one of the world's premier sports-car companies by lousy marketing. If they are pulling out of Detroit is for a damn good reason.
Last edited by mmarshall; 06-17-07 at 04:55 PM.
06-17-07, 04:47 PM
#9
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I understand your point, but still can't totally agree with it. Detroit, long ago ceased to be even the center of America's car industry, much less sales. While there are still some corporate HQ buildings and a few assembly plants left in the area, much of the industry has gone south and west. Lincoln-Mercury, for instance, moved its corporate HQ a number of years ago to Irvine, CA; many assembly plants, for just about every car make, have moved south to get cheaper labor, and most of the law and regulations governing the new-car industry (and a huge number of sales) come from the Washington, DC area. Like it or not, Detroit is living off its automotive past.....it has a huge auto show, but not much else.
And....the thread topic.....Porsche apparantly agrees. They now see that it is more important to work close to your markets. I would not be surprised to see more automakers soon follow suit. My guess is that Isuzu will be next. The company, in the American market, is so small that it is a waste of time for them to go to Detroit...their SUV's and pickups (actually rebadged Chevrolet vehicles) have more potential appeal out West. Last year they had only a very small display at the Washington DC auto show here....this year they didn't have one at all.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not a big Porsche fan......never was. I agree with Pete DeLorenzo that Porsche is an arrogant company producing overpriced cars and run by a bunch of snobs. While a few of their people at the auto shows (I have dealt with them) have been just marvelous, most of have acted more or less like Prussian aristocrats. But they didn't get to be one of the world's premier sports-car companies by lousy marketing. If they are pulling out of Detroit is for a damn good reason.
And....the thread topic.....Porsche apparantly agrees. They now see that it is more important to work close to your markets. I would not be surprised to see more automakers soon follow suit. My guess is that Isuzu will be next. The company, in the American market, is so small that it is a waste of time for them to go to Detroit...their SUV's and pickups (actually rebadged Chevrolet vehicles) have more potential appeal out West. Last year they had only a very small display at the Washington DC auto show here....this year they didn't have one at all.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not a big Porsche fan......never was. I agree with Pete DeLorenzo that Porsche is an arrogant company producing overpriced cars and run by a bunch of snobs. While a few of their people at the auto shows (I have dealt with them) have been just marvelous, most of have acted more or less like Prussian aristocrats. But they didn't get to be one of the world's premier sports-car companies by lousy marketing. If they are pulling out of Detroit is for a damn good reason.
Heck, all the foreign companies open up studios in Cali, not Detroit.
I agree with you.
06-17-07, 06:31 PM
#10
The Detroit Show is a relic of a by-gone era when the "big three" used to run Detroit. With more and more manufacturers coming into the game that are much bigger on a global level than the "big three" will ever hope to be.
Oh, and what a surprise... a member of the media thinks that it's a bad move by Porsche... go figure...
Oh, and what a surprise... a member of the media thinks that it's a bad move by Porsche... go figure...
06-18-07, 07:18 PM
#11
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off topic, but isnt everyone and everything saying no to detroit?
http://knuttz.net/hosted_pages/Detro...-City-20070320
http://knuttz.net/hosted_pages/Detro...-City-20070320
06-19-07, 05:47 AM
#12
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off topic, but isnt everyone and everything saying no to detroit?
http://knuttz.net/hosted_pages/Detro...-City-20070320
http://knuttz.net/hosted_pages/Detro...-City-20070320
11-13-08, 07:41 PM
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Ferrari, Land Rover, Rolls-Royce, and Suzuki all pull out of Detroit auto show
http://www.leftlanenews.com/ferrari-...roit-show.html
After General Motors’ announcement yesterday that it is canceling its annual Los Angeles Auto Show press conference, the news that Ferrari, Land Rover, Rolls-Royce and Suzuki are skipping the Detroit show comes as less of a surprise than it could have. Los Angeles’ show has been taking away some of Detroit’s glory and with the auto industry in turmoil, automakers from all sides of the market are scrambling to save cash.
GM will, however, exhibit cars at the Los Angeles show next week, whereas Ferrari, Land Rover, Rolls-Royce and Suzuki will not have any presence whatsoever in Detroit for January’s North American International Auto Show.
The automakers all say that their decisions to pull out of the Detroit show is not a reflection on the Detroit-area market or the show itself, but rather because they have no new products to exhibit and they are looking to save money on the cost of transporting cars (up to $10,000 per car) and show stands. The Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago and New York auto shows are all unique in that the automakers typically foot the bill for the vehicles and displays, whereas smaller shows come out of dealer pockets.
Chrysler, however, is forcing its local dealers to pay for its stand in Los Angeles.
http://www.leftlanenews.com/ferrari-...roit-show.html
After General Motors’ announcement yesterday that it is canceling its annual Los Angeles Auto Show press conference, the news that Ferrari, Land Rover, Rolls-Royce and Suzuki are skipping the Detroit show comes as less of a surprise than it could have. Los Angeles’ show has been taking away some of Detroit’s glory and with the auto industry in turmoil, automakers from all sides of the market are scrambling to save cash.
GM will, however, exhibit cars at the Los Angeles show next week, whereas Ferrari, Land Rover, Rolls-Royce and Suzuki will not have any presence whatsoever in Detroit for January’s North American International Auto Show.
The automakers all say that their decisions to pull out of the Detroit show is not a reflection on the Detroit-area market or the show itself, but rather because they have no new products to exhibit and they are looking to save money on the cost of transporting cars (up to $10,000 per car) and show stands. The Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago and New York auto shows are all unique in that the automakers typically foot the bill for the vehicles and displays, whereas smaller shows come out of dealer pockets.
Chrysler, however, is forcing its local dealers to pay for its stand in Los Angeles.
Porsche was the beginning of the end for Detroit... 
