Detroit Auto Show 2015

2014 OC Auto Show

Detroit Auto Show 2015

by Joel Arellano

EVENT: Detroit Auto Show 2015 Media Days

WHEN: January 11 – 13, 2015

WHAT: Why This Ride (WTR) started the new year off with a bang by covering the 2015 North American International Auto Show aka Detroit Auto Show. WTR founder / editor MaryAnne Wendt, transportation journalist Arison Knapp and yours truly attended as part of General Motors’ “Influencer Group” which included such notable figures as Bill Moore of EV World, Christopher Demorro of Gas2.org, SoutheastGreen.com‘s founder Beth Bond, and Jeffrey Gomez of The Snob Magazine.

GM had a quite a program for us, which made sense given the disparate subjects covered by each influencer. The first event was the debut of the all-new Buick Cascada at the Detroit Eastern Market. Praise was near universal for the soft-top convertible though more than a few eyebrows rose at claims the Cascada handled like a 3 Series or A4.

2016 Buick Cascada front right 2015 Detroit Auto ShowBut jaws dropped at the almost casual reveal of the Buick Avenir concept car along with the Cascada. Apparently none of the reporters present were even aware of its existence. Such secrecy is almost unheard of in this age of connectivity and Instagram. Kudos to GM and Buick for actually surprising the jaded press.

Buick Avenir concept rear left 2015 Detroit Auto ShowThe Buick Avenir was the first of two surprises by the Detroit automaker. The second occurred the next day (Monday) at the Cobo Center. Press days was now in full swing. The first major press conference for us was the debut of the 2016 Chevrolet Volt. News and images of the second generation EV with its range-extending engine had been out for some time. Still, we were pleasantly surprised at its sporty new look.

But like the Avenir, no one was quite prepared for the reveal of the Chevrolet Bolt concept. News of the EV had leaked just the day before. We had all heard of its 200-mile range and 30-35k price range, but there were no images. That quickly changed as the tall hatchback / crossover rolled out to join the Volt on stage. WTR has various opinions of the Bolt which we’ll present in future posts.

Chevrolet Bolt concept front right stage 2015 Detroit Auto ShowAfter the Chevrolet presentation, we conducted various interviews in groups and as individuals for the rests of the morning. I spoke, for example, with Rob Peterson of Buick Marketing and Tony Johnson, Marketing Manager of the all-new Chevy Colorado. MaryAnne and Arison had their own agendas customized by the GM Social Media team and the PR company, Weber Shandwick.

The rest of the day was spent outside the convention center. The whole group, after a delicious meal at the vegetarian restaurant Seva Detroit, visited the GM Technical Center. There we toured the Alternative Energy Center and the Battery Lab where we saw how the powerplants of GM’s EVs like the Volt and Spark EV were developed. Security was tight; we had to give up our cameras and the lens of our smartphones were stickered over. Afterwards we had extensive interviews with the GM Environment & Sustainability team members. Future posts will explore those conversations which included building shelters for ducks out of battery cases.

onstar 2013-2014 2015 Detroit Auto ShowThe final day of Press Days was a whirlwind. GM took us on a tour of its OnStar Command Center where we saw how the advanced telematics system worked to help thousands of customers daily from unlocking their car doors to saving lives in accidents. Afterwards, we attended the unveiling of the 2016 Cadillac CTS-V. More interviews followed as well as a group tour of the convention by James Bell, Head of Consumer Affairs over at General Motors.

GM’s hosting duties officially ended early afternoon on Tuesday, January 13th. WTR wants to give a shout out to Weber Shandwick and the GM Social Media teams. Their always friendly demeanor and flagless energy helped keep many of us focused and enthused on the subject at hand. We hope to see them – and their equally excellent colleagues – at future GM events.

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