I had a great time in Dearborn and Detroit after experiencing the awesome 2012 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). Just like NY, if you love cars…there are few places that can compare. I spent the entire day here pretty much just taking it all in and taking a done of snapshots. I attended the Ford Fusion press conference, which was really impressive. Visually interesting. The message was good. The Fusion is awesome. Truly beautiful and packed with safety and techie features. Look out to all the other mid-size sedans on the market.
During the day Ford was good enough to allow the “online influencers” access to top-level executives at the company for a small presentation and Q&A session. Ford luminaries included Derrick Kuzak (Global Head of Product), CMO Jim Farley, CEO Alan Mulally, and a sustainability and safety session with heads John Viera and Steve Kenner, respectively. It was a great experience and very intimate and informative. Ford showed us all great appreciation and respect, which was great. Later in the evening, Ford reported that with the help of the bloggers in attendance, the Ford Fusion media share went from 9.5% in it’s segment to almost 60%, that over 5 million unique Twitter followers received info about Ford, Ford’s share of overall coverage was 40%, and that there were over 2,200 media mentions…just today alone. A very impressive showing, indeed…don’t you think? Shows the power of social media and the blogosphere…and Ford gets it.
The show itself was great. We say debuts of the new editions of the Nissan Pathfinder, Dodge Dart, ord Fusion, and so many others. There were elaborate concept cars like the Chevy Miray (Batmobile?), Volvo Concept You, Chevy Camaro Hot Wheels, and the Lexus LFA. So many great cars. So many technological advancements. So much focus on sustainability and alternative fuel sources. So many great brand improvements and extensions.
So, without further adieu, here’s only some of images from the show. More to come.
