[autostocks]

Attended the North American International Auto Show in Detroit during the industry preview yesterday. The good news is there was a very nice Alfa display with several Giulias in various trim levels on display, plus a Stelvio Quadrifoglio on a dais. They all looked fantastic. The bad news is they were all locked! Could not sit in them, could not open the hood, could not open the trunk. I complained to the only representative on site, an extremely attractive young lady, but apparently not overly bright, whose response was, "I knowwwwww..."


Honest to God, I'm starting to wonder about the people in charge of marketing at Alfa. It seems like one ridiculous decision after another. Directly across the aisle from the Alfa display, people were getting in and out of the BMWs without restriction.


Furthermore, Maserati had no display at all! So you could look at Mercedes, Audi, and BMW, but if you wanted to see a premium car from FCA you were limited to Alfa, and you couldn't sit in it.

 

[Chipps]

I agree. They really do worry me.

 

[DaneARFOM]

Attended the North American International Auto Show in Detroit during the industry preview yesterday. The good news is there was a very nice Alfa display with several Giulias in various trim levels on display, plus a Stelvio Quadrifoglio on a dais. They all looked fantastic. The bad news is they were all locked! Could not sit in them, could not open the hood, could not open the trunk. I complained to the only representative on site, an extremely attractive young lady, but apparently not overly bright, whose response was, "I knowwwwww..."


Honest to God, I'm starting to wonder about the people in charge of marketing at Alfa. It seems like one ridiculous decision after another. Directly across the aisle from the Alfa display, people were getting in and out of the BMWs without restriction.


Furthermore, Maserati had no display at all! So you could look at Mercedes, Audi, and BMW, but if you wanted to see a premium car from FCA you were limited to Alfa, and you couldn't sit in it.

I agree. They really do worry me.

I'm not quite sure why they were locked, but I did meet that woman today, she sat about a foot from me for 8 hours today, working on multiple things and answering every question I had that she could. Yesterday I probably would've agreed with you, but after realizing they are working on, 1. The extensive class I attended over the past two days, 2. Future projects, 3. Dealer materials (brochures, artwork etc) and 4. the Online Configurator. Something happened with the online configurator and they lost everything and had to start from scratch, her level of frustration with that is more than any of ours.

There's probably a valid explanation for Maserati not being there. Major auto show's are extremely expensive, and used to unveil or showcase prior to availability. There are Levante's located at dealers and plenty of reviews online, there isn't a real need to spend the millions of dollars on a display.

 

[autostocks]

There's probably a valid explanation for Maserati not being there. Major auto show's are extremely expensive, and used to unveil or showcase prior to availability. There are Levante's located at dealers and plenty of reviews online, there isn't a real need to spend the millions of dollars on a display.

People go to shows to comparison shop. If FCA wants these vehicles to be cross-shopped with the competition, they need to be accessible at the major shows.

 

[Fastoldman]

Wow, the Midlands Auto Show was just in Omaha , Nebraska , and they had virtually all the Maserati models there , and only the Ghibli was locked --folks were in and out of the rest and the Levante and Quattroporte especially drew a ton of interest.

 

[EricVonHa]

There are a few levels of Auto Show configurations to be aware of...

The first is that the cars that are at the auto show are typically in-stock models from the local dealer supply. The manufacturer provides support, personnel for the show, and any specialized kiosks and special display constructions. For this scenario, different cars will be used obviously at each venue depending upon the local dealer stock.

The second scenario is where the manufacturer supplies the actual cars. The manufacturer will supply the cars that have not been formally released yet. Pre-production samples are always provided by the manufacturer. Whether or not the cars are accessible to the public depends upon the legitimacy of the product plan. If the car is definitely going to market, it will be more accessible to the public. If certain cars are not available in the local dealer Market, the manufacturers delivery and supply to the auto show is coordinated well in advance. In this scenario, the cars tend to be locked and on some type of special display that is inaccessible to the public.

The third scenario involves the non-public portion of the show. Oftentimes the day before the actual show opening there may be large-scale charity events or Black Tie tailgate parties. There is also typically a press day. The entry to these events may or may not be available to the public. The entry is typically a multiple price factor compared to the regular public days. I've been fortunate to get tickets to a few of these in the past. The closed door non-public events are obviously much less attended. Most of every manufacturer car is fully accessible at the private events. I've sat in Ferraris and Rolls-Royce in the past. Even Lamborghini.

---

Given the above, if you are friendly with your local dealer and are on track to possibly purchase a car, they can get you tickets to these events. The savvy dealers will have tickets available for potential clients.

The Philly show is ongoing now. The Guilia Quadrifoglio and the 4C was on a manufacturer provided deck with banister railings. The public had zero access to the cars. Though, I'm sure the Black Tie tailgate event made these cars accessible. Ask the staff and they might be friendly enough to allow you a moment to actually sit in the car. No guarantee.

There are no Guilia base models at the Philly show.

The Stelvio is not there either.

The Philadelphia Auto Show typically does not get the breadth of models of the Detroit, L.A. or New York shows. I suppose Philly is too close to New York for the manufacturers to support another all-out presentation. Philly does not get as many pre-production or futuristic cars either.

The Black Tie tailgate experience is really awesome. There is all kinds of good food and alcohol throughout the entire floor area for those pre-show evenings. Lots of fun!

That being said, yes, Alfa Romeo should have more pronounced support for their show offerings. The interior of the new Quadrifoglio is incredible and on par with the AMG and BMW offerings. Alfa Romeo should want to give the public as much access as possible! But, noooo... cars are locked up on the fancy display.

 

[AR1]

Last Feb (that is 2016!) I went (as in paid $250/ticket - it's a charity event) for the First Look the eve of the opening of the Chicago Auto show. They had about 4 Quadrifoglios there - red, black, white and my color-Vesuvio Grey. They were all locked. We were told those were the only cars in the US at the time, so it made sense. They weren't going to start shipping for a few months (sic) and so no one could go out and buy one the next day. And they needed them fresh for other shows.

Can't understand why they wouldn't want people to be all over these cars now. Particularly opening the hoods on the QV. What a beautiful sight.

 

[Klimis90]

I agree with you.