January 15, 2009
By Brian Watkins
Brian Watkins
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This past week, nearly 7,000 members of the international media descended on Detroit’s Cobo Center for the press preview days of the North American International Auto Show. While I’m not “real” media, I was once again able to finagle my way in the door, not only for the review days, but also a few days prior, where I got to see the finishing touches being put on the displays.
I know this is a racing news website, and there was admittedly little racing news going on in Detroit this week- but given the state of the automotive market, any automotive news right now relates to NASCAR, and if you believe the hype during the press conferences- then there is nothing to fear because the world is going electric and that will solve every problem from malaria in Africa to crack addiction in the alleys of Washington, D.C..
Reality me thinks, is much less rosy, however it was fun to listen to the heads of the Detroit three tout the messiah like arrival of the electric car. Apparently they have bet the farm on the technology or would at least like us to. While it’s nice to think about, it’s far from a solution as practical electric vehicles are a long way off- even if they’re predicted to be in show rooms in late 2010.
The most promising of the full electrics is the Chevy Volt which will travel a whopping 40 miles on a single charge. That’s great if you live in the city and drive only here or there.. but if you do live in the city and if like many city dwellers you live in an apartment, where pray tell, do you plug your car in?
I remember having the same problem years ago when I was a kid. My family was driving to Florida for Christmas with my grandparents and out diesel van needed to be plugged in at night when it was very cold out. So here we were in a hotel parking lot, trying to find a place to plug the van in. We eventually had to jimmy the window so that we could run a big orange extension cord out the window from the hotel room.
It was an interesting exercise in creativity- one that will be repeated much more often once the electrics hit the road.
So how does this bode for NASCAR? I’m honestly not sure. My prediction would be that we’ll see at least one race this season with a Volt as the pace car- that is if it can maintain the correct speeds. Other than that, things are still up in the air. If GM or Chrysler can’t meet the requirements of the government, they have to give back the bailout money and go bust. That will certainly not help matters at the track. So in the end, I don’t think anything that’s happened in the past few weeks has added any stability to the future of racing and we’ll all have to continue to keep our fingers crossed. In less than a month the 2009 season kicks off in Daytona.
While it’s encouraging to see that we’re so close, there’s nothing that says a collapse of one or more manufacturers during the season wouldn’t throw a big wrench into the works even after the season gets underway. If things go bad enough, we might suffer an abbreviated season, or a season that gets paused at some point. Thousands of people in racing stand to make or lose millions of dollars based on how things go in Detroit in the coming months. Here’s hoping they go well.
For those planning on attending the Auto Show in Detroit this year, don’t expect much NASACR to be found on the show floor. As it stood when I left, the only manufacturer with anything NASCAR related in their display was Toyota. They have an interesting Kyle Bush show car that has transparent panels and other openings in it to allow you to see some of the inner workings of the car. It’s far from a reason to attended, but it is interesting enough to be worth the walk to the back of the show to see it.
On Friday, January 23rd however, things will get a bit racier. That is Auto Racing day at the show. There will be four NASCAR Sprint Cup racing simulators as well as prizes, driver appearances and other racing related activities. Other form of racing will also be represented at the event.
While specific driver and event details haven’t been released yet, it sounds like an interesting event. I don’t know that I would travel to Detroit just for that event, but if you were already planning to be there for the auto show, going on Friday to take in Auto Racing Day might not be a bad idea.
Tickets for the Auto Show run $12 for adults and about ½ that for seniors and kids. Many Detroit area Shell stations are giving 2 for one deals if you spend $20 on gas which could save you a few bucks more. Parking near the event runs from $10 to $20 depending on the garage.
For more information, you can visit the website at www.naias.com
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
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