DETROIT — The 87-acre M1 Concourse, built on General Motors’ former Pontiac West factory site, just may be the perfect venue for tinkering with the future of the Detroit auto show.
Next week, about 15 miles north of the Detroit city limits, Motor Bella will be the first major auto show in the region since 2019. It is taking the place of the North American International Auto Show this year and is being produced by the Detroit Auto Dealers Association.
The world, of course, has changed dramatically since the curtain closed on the final winter Detroit show. But even before the pandemic, organizers were moving away from the traditional static displays and toward a more hands-on, experiential event. Test drives were available in the basement of the former Cobo Center; on Belle Isle, an island park east of downtown Detroit; and elsewhere near the show. But those were mostly slow-moving affairs that didn’t allow participants to get a great feel for the vehicles.
M1, which is constructed around a winding, 1.5-mile racetrack, adds a new twist to the auto show experience. “People can engage all their senses with the product,” says Rod Alberts, executive director of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association. Professional drivers will take attendees around the track at breakneck speeds to demonstrate the massive torque of electric vehicles or the rumbling power of Hemi-engined Dodge Challengers. Attendees can catch rides in exotic cars from Lamborghini and other high-end brands. Jeep officials built an off-road course designed to demonstrate the brand’s capability.
Suppliers will also be a part of Motor Bella. With the transition to electric and self-driving vehicles moving at a lightning speed, suppliers’ presence will be integral to demonstrating the changes fast coming to automobiles.
Motor Bella has been designed as a sort of Disney-inspired, automotive-themed amusement park. It will give Detroit auto show organizers a look at whether an even more interactive show held in warmer weather has the right ingredients to revive the Detroit show.
“It’s a very flexible look into the future of what can be done,” Alberts told me. “After we see Motor Bella and the way it works, then we can set the game plan for 2022 and beyond.”
Attendance at the old Detroit auto show, traditionally held in January, peaked at 838,000 in 2003. After that, not only did attendance decline, but so did the number of automakers displaying concepts and new production vehicles. The last few years of the Detroit show saw prime real estate in Cobo that was once occupied by Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, Jaguar, BMW and others taken up by Chinese automakers that don’t sell vehicles in North America; classic car displays; and supplier exhibits.
Safety is top of mind today when it comes to large events, as the pandemic may be with us awhile as new viral variants emerge. M1 is mostly an outdoor facility, and social distancing should be far easier to ensure there than it would be at an indoor event. I have been there numerous times for weekend classic car events and found that it’s easy to keep your distance from others.
Historians will no doubt note Motor Bella will be a sort of homecoming for GMC. The brand’s Hummer EV SUV will be making its official new-car auto show public debut. (GM displayed the vehicle this summer at the Pebble Beach classic car show.) Millions of GMC trucks and buses were built at the same spot from the early 1900s until 2008, when GM closed the plant.