Liberated from its longtime slot in the deep freeze of January, the Detroit auto show had big plans for the 2020 event that were years in the making.
It was supposed to be a summertime celebration for a transforming auto industry and a resurgent downtown. With just months to go before the new June date, plans were largely set:
Barges would be docked along the Detroit River showcasing new vehicles. Downtown parks dotted with food trucks and automaker-sponsored displays. Ride-and-drives zipping along the riverfront.
Working with 14 acres of outdoor space, officials received permits to block traffic in order to park British and Italian classics as part of a Concours-like expo. A German Haus across the street from the convention hall was planned with a biergarten and curbside space to show off Audis and Volkswagens.
There was even talk of helicopter companies staging demonstrations of vertical takeoffs and landings.
Then the coronavirus hit.
Today, downtown Detroit sits mostly barren, its thousands of office workers that officials hoped would spend their lunch hours perusing displays instead relegated to their homes. The convention hall's only visitors have been a smattering of coronavirus-stricken patients and members of the Army Corps of Engineers who quickly transformed TCF Center into a nearly 1,000-bed field hospital.
The 2020 North American International Auto Show is no more, a victim of a global pandemic that hit Michigan particularly hard and halted most major events around the world. Show organizers, seeing no viable late-year options, are instead looking toward June 2021.
"We're very optimistic there will be not only pent-up demand to see cars and product, there will be pent-up demand for people to want to see downtown Detroit," said Doug North, the chairman of the 2020 show who will stay on to lead the 2021 event. "We're very optimistic but sensitive and very aware of the challenges. Detroit is the Motor City, and boy do we like our cars. We're really excited about what can be, recognizing we don't know every part of how it's going to look yet."
The 2020 show would have featured eight events over two weeks and included at least 20 vehicle debuts, North said.
TCF Center would house the usual automaker displays, although a large chunk of the show floor was being reserved for mobility startups participating in an expanded Automobili-D showcase. The startups previously had been relegated to the basement.
Outside, the show would stretch along the river to General Motors Co.'s headquarters in the Renaissance Center. That would give GM a built-in advantage as other brands vied for space in the show's many outdoor "activation zones."
The company recently refurbished its "GM World" exhibit on the lower level of the Renaissance Center, and the popular riverwalk path that passes its headquarters "looks a lot better in June than it does in January," GM spokesman Terry Rhadigan said.
The German Haus, located in a medical records building, would host meetings, panel discussions and be a staging area for some ride-and-drives from German brands. North said show officials got the idea for the biergarten at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.
Among the eight events debuting this year was Motor Bella, a three-day weekend kickoff to the show featuring Italian and British supercars. Organizers wanted to stage vehicles in parking lots across from the Detroit Athletic Club and Detroit Opera House, as well as along a stretch of Broadway Street. Italian eateries were expected to set up tents along the boulevard.
Full-access tickets for attendees were to come with RFID wristbands allowing them to visit any indoor or outdoor display. The show also planned to sell various multi-day passes, allowing downtown workers to check out a specific display during their lunch hour and return on the weekend for a more in-depth experience.
For out-of-town guests, various state agencies planned autonomous shuttles running from the airport to nearby hotels.
The annual Charity Preview, a black-tie gala and one of the world's largest single-night fundraisers, also would have had an outdoor component. Organizers planned at least two ticket prices and a looser dress code to allow for flexibility in the warmer weather.
North said the show still plans some type of event this year, possibly in September, to raise money for the charities the event usually supports.
In the meantime, organizers already are crafting plans for the 2021 show. They hope much of what they wanted to do this year will remain, but Rod Alberts, chairman of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, said the show will need additional safety measures, such as hand sanitizer stations or crowd size limitations. The outdoor aspect could be an advantage there, he said.
"We want to be that global stage to create that environment where people can come see that product," Alberts said. "We can do it better than anyone else."
— Automotive News reporter Hannah Lutz contributed to this report.
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