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LOS
ANGELES -- It’s that time of the year again! The
2014 Los Angeles Auto Show opens to the media on Nov. 18 and then
opens to the public on Nov. 21. It runs everyday through Nov.
30, including Thanksgiving Day, at the L.A. Convention Center.
This year’s world debuts will include the Scion iM, 2016
Acura ILX, 2016 Ford Explorer, 2016 Jaguar F-Type R Coupe AWD,
2016 Mazda CX-3 and CX-5, 2015 Audi R8 competition, 2015 BMW X5
and X6, 2015 Cadillac ATS-V, 2015 Chrysler 300, 2015 Mercedes-Maybach
S600, 2014 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS and the 2015 Volvo V60 Cross
Country, among many others.
Some of
this year’s North American debuts are expected to include
the MINI Superleggera Vision concept, Mitsubishi Concept XR-PHEV,
Volvo “Drive Me” autonomous vehicle, 2016 Kia Sorento,
2016 Mazda MX-5, 2016 Volvo XC90, 2015 BMW 2 Series Convertible,
2015 Honda HR-V, 2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport, 2015 Mercedes-AMG
C63 and the MINI hardtop 4-door.
“This
year stands to be one of our biggest L.A. Auto Shows to date,”
said Brendan Flynn, senior director of marketing and communications
for the auto show. “The auto industry is back, doing extremely
well in North America. That’s going to be reflected in the
number and quality of debuts we have in L.A. this year. We have
over 60 total debuts, 30 of those are true global debuts. You’re
going to see a lot of news about the future of transportation.
We have an entire day dedicated to discussions and talks and press
conferences all about the convergence of technology in the automobile.
That’s going to be a big change. There’s going to
be lots of conversations about autonomous vehicles, the continued
electrification of vehicles, safety features and more connectivity
than you’ve seen before. You’re really going to see
the beginnings of a whole new era of auto.”
Looking
at the press conference schedule, I noticed that several automakers
are having announcements during the Connected Car Expo.
“This
area of technology for the automakers has become a huge part of
their business. They all have divisions focused on that. We’re
going to see Audi make an announcement with a company called NVIDIA.
That’s going to touch on how they’re changing they’re
whole product development cycle. Volvo’s going to be talking
about their new autonomous vehicle program. Jaguar and Land Rover
are going to making a technology partner announcement and talking
about some new features in their vehicles. KPMG is going to be
releasing some new data. We produced an app developer conference
for Ford. They picked 10 finalists. Some of these finalists are
from big companies—Microsoft, IBM and Kelley Blue Book.
These are big companies that wanted to work on this new Ford software
They will be presenting their apps and a winner will be announced
on Tuesday.”
Since
the L.A. Auto Show has a brand new logo, can we expect any other
changes at the show?
“You’ll
see a new look for the L.A. Auto Show,” the senior director
of communications and marketing explained. “We had our old
look for a couple of decades. It was time to change with the industry
and kind of have a new look and feel for the show. You’ll
see the signage and even the outdoor banner that had been traditionally
the same forever. The website’s been updated with more of
the press and trade day activities. What you’re seeing is
two shows in one—a true press day and then a consumer show.”
What can
the media expect to see during the press days this year?
“I’m
really excited about a lot of the news. Audi has a ton of news.
They teased this grand new concept [R8 Competition] they’ve
rolled out. That’s going to set the tone for the look of
Audi moving forward. Cadillac you’re going to see the ATS-V
and the redesigned ELR, the Cadillac version of the Volt. Mercedes-Benz
is bringing back the Maybach brand, which is huge news for them.
Mazda is basically going to have an entire new showroom. A whole
new look for the company is going to be on display. The only one
that they officially announced is the redesign of the Mazda2.
Ford has a really important global debut with one of their best-selling
vehicles. Chrysler has already announced they’re going to
have the 300. Honda has already announced they’re going
to have the HR-V. It’s going to be the first time that nameplate
will be available in the United States.“
Flynn
added: “BMW has two global debuts. Lexus has a really fun
global debut. Volvo has the XC90 that they’re bringing and
a new vehicle that they’re having a global unveil of. Land
Rover has the Discovery Sport making its North American debut.
Volkswagen has yet to announce their news, but they have a couple
of globals as well. Scion has an all-new vehicle. Chevy has some
really important debuts—a lot of concepts coming. That’s
only day one. Day two and you have Acura, Fiat and Nissan and
Mitsubishi. Some really interesting piece of news from Fisker.
Not the carmaker, but Henrik Fisker. He’s going a collaboration
with Galpin Ford.”
This will
be the first time Mitsubishi will have a press conference in several
years.
“It
probably has been a couple of years,” he said. “I
think they’re making some moves. You’ve seen their
national advertising campaign ramp up. They’re making another
push to increase sales in North America.”
I understand
you used to do public relations for Hyundai. Can we expect to
see John Krafcik walking around the auto show in his new role
as the CEO of TrueCar.com?
“I
would expect to see John Krafcik walking around the show floor,
yes.”
Tell me
more about the Motor Press Guild's Motoring Invitational this
year.
“This
is going to be a really fun event,” Flynn explained. ”You
know southern California is a hot bed for car culture and customizing
and hot rods and motor sports. It has been since 1906. We’re
trying to bring out the who’s who of that group and have
a car culture celebration that morning. It’s a free breakfast
for all the people coming to press days. We have some really good
names coming. Jay Leno is probably one of the most famous car
guys. He’s coming out with his 1964 Chrysler Turbine with
a jet engine. Then, there’s Magnus Walker who was with us
last year that refurbishes old 911’s from the 1960s. Rob
Dickinson with Singer Automotive Design rebuilds 911’s and
turns them into very expensive pieces of art. Jeff Dunham, the
comedian’s coming out. Adam Carolla’s promoting the
movie he’s doing about Paul Newman. We hope to get all of
the winners from each of the four categories of the NHRA drag
race finals that are happening the week before. We have Vic Edelbrock,
Jr., who’s going to come with some cars from his museum.”
Can you
discuss the thinkLA Motor City West conference?
“thinkLA
is an advertising/marketing organization that’s been putting
on conferences for a long while. The Motor City West event has
been happening for six years, I believe. We’re just simply
partnering with them. They wanted to take their event, which has
been well attended by the regional automakers and advertising
agencies and it expand it’s reach a little more globally.
They hope to get some presenters and auto executives from around
the world to attend this event. It usually draws about 600 people.”
How will
the public days be different from the press days?
“The
public days really transform,” the senior director of communications
and marketing explained. “The entire South Hall lobby is
going to be filled with really cool cars. We’re filling
every inch of the lobby space and the hallways with fun cars for
the consumers to look at. For example, Mazda is coming in and
they have a partnership with The Hunger Games. They’re going
to have the Hovercraft and you can get your picture taken with
it. Metallica’s lead singer is bringing his Black Pearl
Custom car. Lexus is going to have an exhibit with some of their
performance vehicles.”
Any updates
on a new football stadium coming to downtown L.A.?
“No
updates, I believe it’s still a possibility. They have a
couple more months to see if they can get an NFL team. There may
be an NFL team coming to L.A., we just don’t know where
the stadium is going to be. It’s still alive. If it was
determined that it would go in downtown L.A. as AEG has defined
it, they would begin construction where the South Hall is, add
onto it, and as soon as that building is up, they would then tear
down the West Hall. We shouldn’t be without facility space.
The major impact would probably just be to the workers that have
to move in. As far as in the inside of the show and the exhibitors,
we shouldn’t skip a beat.”
AmericaJR.com
will be offering complete coverage of the 2014 L.A. Auto Show
and the Connected Car Expo.
The
2014 Los Angeles Auto Show opens to the public on November 21
and runs through November 30. Tickets are $12 for adults (ages
13+) Mon-Thurs and $15 for adults Fri-Sunday. Children (5 and
under) are $5 at all times. Seniors aged 65 and up are $10. Group
tickets can be purchased by Julian Lile at julian@laautoshow.com
or 310-444-1850. The L.A. Convention Center is located at 1201
S. Figueroa Street in Los Angeles. Click
here to order your tickets online.
>>
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FREE TICKETS TO THE 2014 L.A. AUTO SHOW PUBLIC DAYS!!
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| PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com |
New
auto show banners are already up on lampposts around downtown
L.A.
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| PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com |
The
2016 Mazda CX-3 will make its debut at the auto show.
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| PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com |
The
2016 Volvo XC90 will be revealed in L.A.
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| PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com |
The
2015 Honda HR-V will be shown off for the very first time.
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| PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com |
The
2015 Audi R8 Competition will make its debut in L.A.
