The history of Detroit's Auto Show

The history of Detroit's North American International Auto Show started back in 1907 when the Detroit car dealers first produced it. According to the Detroit News, however, it was started by bicycle-store owner, William E. Metzger, after he attended an auto exhibit in Europe and became Detroit’s first auto dealer. Metzger's 1899 show, sponsored by the Tri-State Sportsman's and Automobile Association, exhibited automobiles along side sporting goods. By 1902, automobiles were big enough that Tri-State held a show exclusively devoted to them. 1907 marked the first year in which the Detroit auto dealers, now numbering 16, held their own show. In 1909, they created the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, which has produced the show ever since. Surprisingly, auto manufacturers didn’t get in on the act until 1957.

During its long history, the Detroit Auto Show has been held in some very interesting locations, including beer gardens, dance halls, lumber yards and the Michigan State Fairgrounds. It moved to Cobo Center in 1961, however, and has been there ever since.

In a bid to compete with auto shows in New York, Chicago and New York, Detroit expanded its auto show and became the North American International Auto Show in the late 1980s. Part of the expansion involved getting certification from the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobile (OICA) and landing enough world debuts to insure the attendance of the foreign press. While Detroit still claims the most world debuts, those other auto shows recently received certification from OICA.