New York Auto Show
Just came back from one of the best auto shows this year, at least here in the U.S., and we didn’t even show something new.
Here are a few things about auto shows you probably never thought about:
- An environmentally induced illness that everyone gets
- Media folks wanting press kits
- Miserable food
- Lack of sleep
Auto Show Nose: Most car manufactures lay out brand new plush carpet for folks to walk on which gives their stand/booth/area a luxury feel. The problem is it gives off gasses and the air is full of carpet lint. So breathing in both will, by days end, give you one wicked allergic reaction and sometimes a sore throat that lasts even after we’ve gone home. We use a very Scandinavian way of showing luxury: nice blond wood floors. Yes it’s hard on feet, but it’s the right thing to do.
Press kits: Going back to 1996, we used to spend over $150,000 on kits. Paper, paper, paper, photographic slides, binders, mailing and enough copies for reporters. Now that I think about it, the cost was way more than 150k. Today (thanks Mr. Babbage – 1822), we do it all electronically. At shows, we hand out a small card directing media to Volvo’s PR website (www.volvocars-pr.com). It saves us a ton of Kroner and saves a little bit of our environment too.
Food: More a lack of something good to eat and time to eat it. I swear, we all shed at least a couple of pounds during each show.
Lack of sleep: Getting to our stand early to make certain that if TV crews show up, we have someone available to be interviewed and to answer questions. James and I split who’s on deck. It’s nice to have a willing PR partner.
BUT this show was amazing. Our booth was packed even though we didn’t have anything really new. We did announce the S60 R-Design and the XC60 R-Design will have HP bump (300 to 325 hp and 325 to 354 lb.ft.) which is really sweet, but not a heavy journalist draw. Journalists wanted to talk about where we are going, our plans, and what’s happening with future products, which made for one fun day.
If you go, talk to Tom Leaman, who’s an old friend, fellow Volvo employee and just one knowledgeable guy.
2012 S60 R-Design
dan
3 Comments
Great post!
Hi Chris,
My job is easy compare to your’s. Thanks for all your hard work.
Kind regards,
dan
The new models – I mean s60 and Xc60 – are amazing! Both cars are great. XC60 is very interesting, even that there are some very good cars in this class (Q5, X3, GLK, EX) Volvo is cheaper than other competitors. What I like in Volvo is that this is cheapest premium car brand. You can have similar car to other prestigious competitors and SAVE MONEY! This is good. S60 is another great car. One of the best in its class. T6 AWD is my dream car. I know that there are faster/more powerfull cars (S5/RS5/S4/RS4, 335i/M3, C AMG, IS-F) but Volvos top models are more than enough in daily use. If S60 is as reliable as its predescessor was it will be a bestseller. Quality, styling and safety are first class. And as I said before – they are all well priced!.