The Detroit auto show is back, organizers vow to put on 'best show ever'

The Detroit auto show is back. 

After a more than three-year hiatus, the North American International Auto Show kicked off at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday for members of the media with some vehicle reveals, including Ford Motor Co.'s new Mustang. President Joe Biden will visit the show early Wednesday afternoon along with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. 

Rod Alberts, executive director of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, opened the show on Huntington Place's main stage downtown. The show fought through the effects of the pandemic to make a comeback and show off Detroit as “the epicenter of mobility,” he said. 

“And we're gonna make this show the best show ever,” said Alberts.

The reimagined auto show is taking place for the first time in the warmth instead of the dead winter. Show organizers decided in 2019 to switch to a warmer season instead of January to have outside activities not possible to have in Michigan's winter. 

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Detroit Auto Dealer Association show organizers in 2020 and again 2021 to cancel the major Detroit event. Last year, the DADA decided to have an outdoor event at the M1 Concourse in Pontiac.

The 2022 show is back in Detroit with the main floor at Huntington Place, where there will be new vehicle lineups on display, concept cars and rides on special tracks, including Bronco Mountain.

There will also be outdoor drives on part of the new Detroit Grand Prix downtown course. There's a dinosaur-themed exhibit, a 61-foot-tall rubber duck, electric air mobility demonstrations, monster trucks and other activations. 

khall@detroitnews.com

Twitter:@bykaleahall