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NAIAS Attendance Tops 770,000 at Cobo Center
Largest Crowds Since 2005
Updated: Monday, 23 Jan 2012, 8:48 PM EST
Published : Sunday, 22 Jan 2012, 10:35 PM EST
DETROIT, Mich. (WJBK) - DEARBORN, Mich. (WJBK) -- Nine days and more than 770,000 people crowded Cobo to get a glimpse at potentially their next car. This year's North American International Auto Show had the best attendance since 2005.
"We never gave out as many free passes at this dealership in any year that I can remember," said 2013 North American International Auto Show Chairman and Village Ford owner Jim Seavitt.
A successful auto show fuels future business.
"The equation is the more people that go to that, the more people that buy, especially with the optimism in the air," Seavitt explained.
In the air at Village Ford along with the new car smell is a hint of that optimism thanks to some of the stars of the show on the showroom floor and some that are yet to come.
Usually the prestigious best in show award goes to a luxury car. This year, for the first time in many years, it went to an affordable and American car -- the Ford Fusion. It's priced around $19,000.
"That car just has the styling, the fit and finish of a car much more expensive than it's going to be. It's not going to be much more than the current Fusion that we have now, and the car has that look, that front end stance. It's the future of Ford. That look is the future of Ford," Seavitt said.
It's all good for one brand in particular -- Detroit.
"It does nothing but help the image of Detroit right now. I think the show will stay the North American International Auto Show because we branded it and have done very well, and we're up there with the elite shows. We're up there with Paris and Geneva, Beijing and Tokyo. We're there with the top shows," Seavitt told us.
The new Ford Fusion will be available at dealerships by mid-summer and they're expecting quite a crowd to come see it and hopefully buy it, as well.
In the meantime, the new chair of the auto shows says he's hoping other automakers such as Jaguar and Land Rover will actually make a return to the show in 2013. They're currently in talks.
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