There's an anecdote I like to use when I'm around folks in the auto industry. My first day at Plastics News, I tell them, was the day General Motors introduced the Aztek. And luckily, my future was brighter than that of the ill-fated crossover. (While the Aztek had many features drivers liked, including an integrated cooler, it had the look that only a mother — or corporate management — could love.)
Those were the days when the North American International Auto Show in Detroit boasted over-the-top stunts. There were performances by acrobats and musicians who once topped the charts. Ray Charles performed at a Ford event. Actors joined executives on stage, among them Eva Longoria, who traded lines with former DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche when Desperate Housewives was among the top television shows in the U.S. Another Chrysler executive rode a motorcycle with a 1,000-horsepower engine onto the stage. Volkswagen handed out replicas of Beetles produced on a small injection molding machine.
Most news conferences were standing room only, and media lunches saw chefs in white coats carving roast beef. And, of course, the appearance of a herd of longhorn cattle on a downtown Detroit street for a pickup truck introduction.
Most of those extravagant displays disappeared with the Great Recession, but through 2019 — the last winter show, which was already planned for a shift to summer — you could still count on massive crowds of everyone from the media and executives to suppliers and car fans.
What I hadn't really seen until the 2022 edition was lack of big applause for at least a few of the new vehicle introductions. Not that the media and others at the show didn't like the cars, but with reduced attendance, there simply wasn't the same crowd to hype up the cars.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, automakers have found new ways to introduce car models. They no longer have to rely on just a handful of big auto shows, but instead can use targeted events to unveil new models.
That's not to say that there was no media hype at the show. (The biggest event at the show was one that the general press weren't invited to attend: a private walk-through from President Joe Biden, which led to increased security for everyone attending, including a person with a dinosaur costume for a display on the show floor at Detroit's Huntington Center.)
Quite a few major automakers didn't bother with displays for the 2022 show, but in their place were suppliers showing off how they'll meet carmakers' needs in an electric vehicle landscape.
Those automakers who did attend had more space to show off their cars. There were test tracks and opportunities for car buyers who want to see what, exactly, all the fuss is about when it comes to EVs.
Stellantis NV's Jeep lineup, for instance, is in the process of converting to electric vehicles, with a target that half of Jeeps sold in the U.S. by 2030 will be electric vehicles.
In Detroit, Jeep officials also have a chance to show how the combination of off-road abilities and an electric motor will allow drivers to get out in nature and hear birds rather than revving engines.
Plastics have played a big part in traditional vehicles to either muffle or tune an engine's sound. In electric Jeeps, the plastics that are in an EV engine will be part of a system that won't require thermoformed acoustic panels.
So when a hybrid 2023 model year Jeep Willys made its way on stage via a 45-degree ramp up and around the car company's display, it stood out by copying the climbing capabilities of other Jeeps, but without the engine noise.
"Something you might not have noticed, because it literally didn't draw any attention to itself, was the lack of sound this vehicle makes," said Jeep CEO Jim Morrison.
Will this low-key show be an example for the future? Or just a one-time post-COVID adjustment? As always, we'll have to wait and see.
Rhoda Miel is Plastics News' managing editor and author of the daily Kickstart blog. Follow her on Twitter @PNRhodaMiel.
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