Many consumers look forward to checking out the new cars and trucks each year, and auto shows give brands a perfect platform to make announcements and draw attention to their products. To help meet this need, the organizers of the North American International Auto Show have introduced Motor Bella, a new event taking center stage as this year’s premier Detroit automotive showcase.
Motor Bella is slated for September 21-26, with the first two days as press days and the rest open to the public. And unlike a traditional auto show, it’s taking place completely outdoors at the M1 Concourse racetrack in Pontiac, Michigan.
Rod Alberts, Executive Director of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association and NAIAS, said Motor Bella aims to involve all who attend with an immersive, interactive experience. Unlike NAIAS’ historic format, cars won’t be static. Instead, manufacturers can show their vehicles on the move and even take attendees on passenger rides. Alberts said around 40 brands are attending.
“Putting people in cars and letting them see, hear and feel the product on the move is really the way media and consumers should experience cars at an auto show,” said Alberts at a recent Automotive Press Association webinar.
Motor Bella is taking full advantage of M1 Concourse’s 87 acres. The center of the venue will be a display section of the 40 brands on offer, separated into Global Brands, Luxury Brands and Performance Brands. This section will also house a Technology wing. Surrounding the display is the racetrack and accompanying staging area. Additionally, OEMs will be able to show off their off-road oriented products at the 300,000 square-foot Off-Road Experience section.
And while Motor Bella is certainly about immersing attendees in current product offerings, it’s also about showcasing the future of mobility. This will be the focus of the Automobili-D section, which will highlight future automotive and infrastructure technologies in Detroit and beyond. During the press days, there will also be thought leadership speaking events.
It provides a better format for press than the traditional, static auto show too. Cars on the move bring exciting ride-along and video opportunities to a changing media landscape, while preserving traditional written opportunities. Alberts even said the press and attendees should be on the lookout for some new vehicle launches, although he cannot yet confirm specifics for obvious reasons.
This makes Motor Bella a perfect intersection of current products and future mobility, all wrapped up in a beautiful outdoor racetrack venue with state-of-the-art facilities. But while NAIAS is postponed until 2022, Motor Bella won’t be the only automotive event born out of NAIAS in Detroit this summer.
The Motor City Car Crawl (MC3) is an exciting event taking the place of the annual Charity Preview that preceded NAIAS in January. The private event will be centered around Campus Martius and showcase around 60 vehicles. Sheryl Crow will be performing, award winning restaurant Parc will be catering, and proceeds will be donated to several Detroit-area charities. This high-profile event is sure to impress.
Motor Bella and MC3, while not a replacement for the revamped downtown Detroit NAIAS in 2022, are poised to fill the gap with an exciting summer for residents and automotive professionals of Metro Detroit and beyond.
