Live From the Show - Updates and Impressions
GMI Live @ NAIAS 2009!
Robinson Mason aka "Ming" of GMInsidenews.com
www.GMInsidenews.com
1/12/2009
After a full day at the auto show and some time to absorb it all (and upload) I thought you fellow GM fans who could not be with me here would enjoy reading about the experience of being in Detroit in the center of it all.
The atmosphere here is upbeat.
Yesterday morning there was a rally from GM employees eager to support GM and GM management that began gathering an hour and a half prior to the press release and unveils. Chants of "Let's go GM, Let's Go!" kept the mood in the GM portion of the hall lively. They stood alongside a pathway that was roped off to allow the parade of GM vehicles to pass. As each vehicle rolled by, cheers erupted from the heavily GM employee populated crowd.
What might have felt phony at any other show felt real here, and it was hard not to get caught up in the excitement.
After all, many of the cars I've hoped GM would bring to the US market are finally coming here. The Spark, a version of one of the three Minicars we were told were off again, on again is coming. The Cruze is exactly the kind of car from styling to powertrain that I've been requesting from GM, and the Buick LaCrosse is not just another W-Body reskin - it looks great, fresh and upscale like a Buick should. The Orlando and Converj were just like more icing on the cake. It began to feel like overkill!
GM executives were approachable and accessible -- but I could only squeeze in a few interviews here and there since the crowds were unbelievable, and pushy. To one side of me, a British reporter was giving a dire report of the economy and playing down the excitement with a frown. "But this all depends on Americans buying cars," he said with a heavy dose of newsy BBC accent. But other reporters from CBS and elsewhere were also caught up in the moment. They were mentioning to one another how much they love the Volt and how the Volt and the Converj have made GM "relevant" again.
A reporter from Denmark approached me and told me how much she loves the Volt - I think she was more enthusiastic about it than I was!
The goodness kept coming, like GM was opening the floodgates to all of the great pent-up ideas that beancounters and naysayers have kept from us since the early 2000's. I felt my once battered-down GM Fanboy flag rising again.
The only moderately depressing press conference I attended was the one given by Chrysler yesterday. They had plenty of positive news regarding their quality and progress on the warranty front "best in the history of Chrysler", but the crowd was rather muted at Jim Press' jokes and overall atmosphere was nothing like the pep rally feel of the GM press conference earlier that morning.
The best response from the crowd came to the Chrysler 200C EV concept. (Personally I liked the Jeep Liberty EV reveal) Still, it was nothing like the reaction to the Cadillac Converj and the other GM vehicles.
Today things are much less hectic and have calmed down a bit, but GM executives, designers and other employees are still around and (with enough patience) available to discuss concerns and take questions - or will find someone who can. It has also given me a chance to upload more photos and snap more shots on the show floor.
We had the announcement this morning regarding the Volt battery supplier being Korean, and the floor had its fair share of Korean journalists covering the announcement. This also gave me a chance to talk to Tae-Wan Kim, the Cruze designer, if only for a moment. Most of the interviews he was conducting were in Korean.
The other portions of the show, Ford, the Luxury brands are all looking quite good. The tall, thin models in black with darker sets that surround the Audis and BMW's on display offer a distinctly different feel from the Toyota display with its all white, pristine image of green-ness. The Koreans - Hyundai and KIA both had some very promising vehicles, and I must admit I like the new KIA Soul and Hyudai Elantra Touring cars.
I heard that Saturn has something special going on outside, so I'm off to check that out.
I'll update with more later - look for more photos and info to come as I'll be here until mid-day tomorrow.
Thanks for all of the comments on my coverage here, I'm just happy to have the opportunity to get up here from Texas and talk directly to (or hover in the presence of) all of the big names at GM that I've long read about. The show itself is, of course, fantastic in its own right and I highly suggest that if you're a GM fan in the general vicinity of Detroit that you come check it out!
