"This is the Motor City, and this is what we do"

I have mixed emotions about winter. I’m not a fan of the cold, I certainly don’t enjoy shoveling snow, and those sky high utility bills make me cringe. I do however love the holiday season and the way it brings families and friends together. Winter wardrobes are also a plus, and I’ll gladly brave the cold for a skate around the rink at Campus Martius.

The event I most look forward to when the weather dips in the Motor City, is the Detroit Auto Show (also known as NAIAS or the North American International Auto Show). As a gear head it’s my Christmas and COBO Hall becomes my Mecca.

I can’t recall the last time I missed an Autoshow. I know for a fact that my current attendance streak exceeds the age of some of my fellow fellows. This year however was different than any other before it. This year, being involved with the Autoshow and all of its related events was part of my job.

My host company, the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, had a presence both on the main show floor in partnership with IndyCar and in the concourse section in conjunction with Hitachi. Our work with the show meant I had an experience that was unique to that of any I had in the past.

This year I was able to:

See first hand all of the hard work involved in the construction of the elaborate displays
Be present for all of the big unveilings and experience press week with no limitations
Laugh at the corporate espionage in full effect during Industry Preview (aka engineers with camera phones taking photos of every unique detail of competitors vehicles for research)
Be a part of the glitz and glamour of the black tie Charity Preview event along with my lovely wife.
See the madness of the logistics involved with a sitting President attending the show (Still sad I didn’t get to see POTUS)
Witness the thousands upon thousands of attendees embarking on COBO, many veterans such as myself, others wide eyed experiencing it for the first time.

One of the things I enjoy most about working with the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix is that I’m part of one of the few remaining automotive related events left in Detroit. Partnering with another one of those events in NAIAS was a great experience from both a personal and professional standpoint. The 2016 Auto Show was the best I’ve experienced thus far and served as a reminder that the city that put the world on wheels still matters very much in the automotive world.