Detroit's North American International Auto Show attendance up
Floor plan for next year's show is almost done
Attendance at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit was up this year over last. Nearly 809,000 took in the show at Cobo Hall over nine.
Total ticketed attendance was 808,775, edging out last year’s total of 803,451.
It marks the highest attendance at the auto show in 12 years.
This year's auto show showcased more than 750 vehicles, including 55 car and truck reveals.
The show's chairman, Scott LaRiche, declared the auto industry is back.
“For two weeks, we’ve seen the confidence and felt the commitment that auto manufacturers have placed in our show, and in our city,” he said Sunday. “They unveiled unbelievable products in dramatic fashion; they built beautiful new, interactive displays; and dozens of amazing digital screens created a sensory extravaganza. And for the last eight days, during the public show, people have smiled from ear-to-ear from the moment they arrived. Now that’s confidence.”
Stephen Hudak made the four-hour trek from Newmarket to see the concept cars.
"The Toronto auto show, I've been many times. And the Chicago auto show runs at the same time [as Toronto], so not as many concepts make it down to Toronto. But coming to Detroit, you see all the premiere concept cars," he said.
For Mark Edlund, the Detroit show has become a family tradition. He's been coming with his son for the past 15 years.
"We both like looking at cars. We used to live in Windsor. We'd come over. Now we're coming up here on a regular basis," said Edlund, who now calls London home.
LaRiche says plans are well underway for the 2016 show.
"We've already been going for the last 6-8 months, and, in fact, the floor plan for next year is almost totally done," he said. "So it's exciting for the manufacturers so now they can decide, 'What are we going to bring that's going to be different next year in our display, to get more people into it?'"