Unlike some other automakers, Honda is not pulling out of the Detroit auto show completely. But it is making a major change to this year’s plans. The Japanese automaker has cancelled its press conference scheduled for the show. That means there will be no glitzy product reveals, but rather a simple booth with the cars on display.
“We’re not going to be doing ‘traditional’ product unveilings in Detroit,” spokesman Kurt Antonius told Bloomberg, citing tough financial times. But he said the company is still planning to use the event to showcase the production version of its 2010 Insight hybrid.
This might sound like bad news, but it could certainly be worse. Earlier this week, Nissan announced it would not be attending the show at all. Similar announcements also came from Porsche , Mitsubishi , Suzuki , Land Rover , Rolls-Royce and Ferrari , all of whom cancelled plans for press conferences and exhibits.
Virtually all automakers are expected to reduce spending at this year’s show, making many of the product launches at last year’s event seem unthinkably elaborate. Take Chrysler , for example, which paid 15 professional cattle handlers to march 120 Texas longhorns through downtown Detroit as part of its 2009 Dodge Ram introduction. Don’t expect to see anything like that this year.
While we’re not expecting a major pullback by all automakers, more announcements could come in the next few weeks, sources say, with perhaps a few more withdrawals.
