Do Automakers Need to be More Secretive?

Does it pay to be the most forthcoming industry in the world? In most major industries, trade shows are still a necessary evil. Sure, it might cost Electronic Arts EA two million dollars to build a flashy booth. But without it, what will attract the 50,000+ attendees of E3 (the Electronic Entertainment Expo)? E3, however, is an event that is specifically designed for those who work within the video game industry. Auto shows, on the other hand, are heavily geared toward consumers, who are encouraged to interact with the latest and greatest automobiles. It's a very unique environment that has begun to evolve as automakers attempt to one-up each other weeks before each auto show begins. In the case of the world's most prominent auto expo – the North American International Auto Show – automakers can't resist the temptation to tease consumers ahead of each unveiling. But in terms of pre-show hype, that's the tip of the iceberg. “Stuff gets leaked – in some cases weeks at a time, sometimes days, sometimes hours,” Ray Wert, Editor-in-Chief of Jalopnik, told Benzinga. “It all depends on the product. I think the more exciting a product is, the more likely it's going to get leaked early, whether it's pictures of the new, ‘Gotta Have it Green' Boss 302 Mustang, which we got pictures of a couple of days before the [North American International Auto Show].” That said, Wert does not believe that the leaks are on purpose. “They have a PR plan. They have a lot of people that believe they leak this stuff ahead of time and it's just not true. They want to make sure that their product is going out at the times that they want it to go out.” But if that's the case, why are there so many leaks? “Let's say they've given embargoed information to a dozen or a couple dozen different news outlets, and one of those outlets has dropped that information onto a forum somewhere,” Wert explained. “Or they gave it to a friend and their friend decided that they wanted to show off and put it up on Facebook. That's more of a problem for an automaker than their attempt to be able to build buzz by dropping teaser shots.” When asked why the leaks occur, Wert said that he thinks they stem from people who want to show off. “I think it's people who get the information and they just decide, ‘I want to show that I'm in the know, that I have information, that I'm cool,'” he said. “Which is really funny, ‘cause I don't think that of anyone that leaks that stuff. But at the same time I am more than happy to take advantage of it, which means I get to run multiple stories on something that might not be all that exciting.” Ultimately, Wert believes that early leaks tend to build a little more buzz for automakers. “But I think that they would have better quality stories and more interesting reporting if they were to just release everything all at once,” he said. Acura NSX Concept These Days, Auto Shows Are Less of a Show During our discussion, Wert also lamented the loss of the pomp and circumstance. “I'm so disappointed that we don't see as much of it anymore,” he said. “It just costs too much to do that. It's not really making an impact anymore, especially in a digital age when you have so many people covering the show from far distances, it's easier and less costly for them to do an unveiling on Facebook (FB) than it is at an auto show. Consequently, almost every vehicle we saw here at the Detroit auto show we saw well ahead of time.” Looking back, one U.S. automaker provided Wert with one of the more memorable car unveilings. “One of the best displays of that was about four or five years ago when Jason Vines, who was running PR for Chrysler at the time, ran a herd of cattle down Washington Blvd. over Jefferson Ave. to unveil the new Dodge Ram. That was quite possibly the most ridiculous thing that I have ever seen in my entire life.” But if you're going to unveil a new car at any auto show, it might be better to pull a silly stunt than do nothing at all. “I love excitement,” said Wert. “One of the reasons why I think auto shows are less prominent and less exciting is because there's less exciting reveals. When you know everything ahead of time, journalists aren't excited for the show anymore. The follow-through on that is that an excited journalist leads to excited stories. When you have a brand like Cadillac with the CTS Coupe, which we saw for the first time on the auto show floor two years ago, that was considered by almost everyone to be the most exciting reveal at the entire auto show.” For better or worse, Wert doesn't believe that automakers will go back to the old format. “I think that auto shows in general as a PR exercise for companies are becoming less and less relevant,” he said. “I think the priority for most automakers now is to use them as regional marketing tools. The auto show is great for being able to bring in people to see vehicles that they would have otherwise never seen, and for an opportunity for a dealership and dealership networks to market those vehicles directly to consumers in a place where the consumer feels a little bit more safe than the dealership, which I think is seen by most consumers and even a lot of dealers as being an antagonistic environment.” But even with the lack of fresh unveilings, Wert had nothing but praise for the North American International Auto Show. “The Detroit auto show is sort of the varsity leagues of auto shows,” he said. “It really doesn't get bigger than this. This is the place where automakers and journalists bring their ‘A' games. Everyone's got great stories here. Everyone's got great cars they want to show off. And even when it's a bad show year, it's still pretty darn good.” Dodge Dart Conceptually Evolved With regard to concept cars, which used to be a staple of the North American International Auto Show, Wert said they are becoming “less and less the flights of fancy of old.” “They've become more about thinly veiled production concepts,” he said. “I think the one we're most excited about and want to see built is probably the Acura NSX.” “It's a pure, performance-driven sports car,” Wert added. “It looks gorgeous. If fitted with the right powertrain it could be a great performance vehicle. So I think from a concept perspective, the Acura NSX.” As far as production models are concerned, Wert was particularly impressed with the Dodge Dart and the Ford F Fusion. “As a small car, [the Dart] looks fantastic,” he said. “It's not gonna be what you'd call a screamer from a performance standpoint. But it looks cool.” With regard to the Fusion, Wert said that it is “the first time that I've seen a mid-sized sedan where I've actually been like, ‘Huh, yeah, I could totally feel cool driving that!' It's the first time in a long time that I've said that. Maybe the Charger when it first came out in 2006, I felt the same way. But the Fusion is the first time in half a decade.” Rising Star Hyundai's strategy of filling its showrooms with original, sporty vehicles has worked wonders for the company. As Wert notes, “They've taken a brand name here in the United States that was synonymous with cheap and poor quality and turned it into a brand that has pretenses of luxury to it, which is something that I don't think anyone thought would be the case 10 years ago.” “But at the same time, the Koreans have done a very good job of building an industry that's really poised to take on brands like Toyota TM and Honda HMC in a way that we never thought was possible,” Wert continued. “I think that if they continue designing cars that appeal to consumers, and if they continue designing powertrains that are more fuel efficient and more powerful than anything being put out both here in the United States and out of Germany and Japan, they're not only gonna continue turning heads, you're going to be talking about them in the same breath as Volkswagen, Toyota and Renault-Nissan.” “I think they've got a real opportunity here to be able to leapfrog some of the foreign competition here in the United States, and potentially continue leapfrogging the U.S. competition,” Wert concluded. 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