Thread by @glennrstevens

Some thoughts on Detroit, @NAIASDetroit & the future this morning.
It has always been experiential. It was at the first auto show, Paris 1898, and it was the next year for the first Detroit Auto Show of 1899. The experience was real every year up to 2019 with the 1/20

exception of a stretch during and after WW2. Cars and trucks have changed over a span touching 3 centuries, but they still have four wheels and are primarily propelled by an internal combustion engine. The experience of viewing, testing, and buying a car is still there, but 2/20

the “experience” has changed and continues to transform. The “traditional” auto show is quickly disappearing. In fact it’s already gone. Tradition is based in the idea of something being “long-standing.” Very few things stand forever, and even they change with time. Today we 3/20

are experiencing an inflection point impacting an industry. Everything is changing - the vehicle, how we live, the consumer interface....our priorities. The inflection point is a time of significant change, a turning point. At this point we are witnessing a convergence of 4/20

“mobility,” digital & AI proliferation, and a changing planet. We either find a path to the upward trajectory curve or fall victim to the downward spiral. Things can not stay the same. We would like them to, it’s our nature. As one of the founders of @intel, Andy Grove stated5/20

“The person who is the star of a previous era is often the last one to adapt to change, the last one to yield to logic of a strategic inflection point and tends to fall harder than most.” Sound familiar? How many times has Detroit, our products, our industry fallen harder 6/20

than most? @GM doesn’t want to be the star of a previous era, they want to own a significant part of the future. That means - Zero crashes, Zero emissions, Zero congestion. It means an all-electric future.
I am not a journalist, but I certainly learn from them and depend on 7/20

their profession. I’m not an engineer, but I learn from them as well and they design, engineer and build the things I need to live. I’m not running the auto show but I fully believe in and support what Rod Alberts and team are doing. They are seeking to determine the safest, 8/20

the most relevant & most impactful bridge and path to owning a piece of the experience, the future. I’m an observer, a participant & someone who is extremely proud that we “put the world on wheels.” Along w/ many other partners we have been working for several years 9/20

now to capitalize on Detroit’s position as the most unique cluster of auto mobility tech, engineering, testing and advanced mfg in the world. Period. There is nothing else like it. The sheer amount and concentration of innovators, companies, decision makers and 10/20

industry stakeholders does not exist anywhere else. So having and holding an auto show is something we have owned and need to own as the epicenter that we are. But the experience has changed. When a person can view a vehicle online, choose every aspect of it and can 11/20

pick that car up at a tower that resembles a real world Matchbox set or have it delivered to their home, well the experience has changed.
The show experience has too. I’ve been to @CES, Europe, @sxsw, @Dreamforce, @movinonconnect and others. Why? To see what the trends are, 12/20

to connect with others. to witness the reimagining of the media and consumer experience. You know who I saw at every one of those places? The @NAIASDetroit DADA team. Because they knew the inflection point was here. They knew that it was not going to be about cars and 13/20

trucks revolving on platforms. It was going to be about the high impact media connection, the consumer digital and interactive expericece. It is going to be more virtual, music, culture, @fosgoodwood & @Cirque than ever before. The OEMS, suppliers and their partners do 14/20

need the in-person connection and the real experience of their technology and products. The forces of change have been capped by the pandemic. This tradgedy has impacted lives, business, learning, and every aspect of the way we live. It is also accelerating the 15/20

transformation of mobility and as we sit this morning our “traditional auto show.” I remember the @Jeep coming through the glass. I have watched @TomWalsh_xfreep, @HenryEPayne, @JoannMuller @MichKrebs & their peers chase down Sergio. I have experienced the technology of 16/20

.companies like @Bosch @Aptiv. @MagnaInt @DENSOinNA @CSPPLASTICS @ZF_Group and their industry peers. I have been able to walk up to Mr. Mulally and thank him for what he had done for our industry. I have been able to watch students and youth connect with companies that are 17/20

high tech global and growing. I’ve seen Detroit alive and in a blizzard! We thought June of 2020 was going to be “it!” The “new” Detroit show, the new experience. It wasn’t to be. Things change. But I do know this. WE will figure it out. WE will help determine, create and 18/20

build the new experience. I know the NAIAS team is committed to that, and we need to be right there with them creating the future. As Mr. Grove also said,
“Most companies don't die because they are wrong; they die because they don't commit themselves. They fritter away 19/20

their momentum and their valuable resources while attempting to make a decision. The greatest danger is standing still.” I like the fact that we aren’t standing still. And make no mistake the “evolution” will never stop. But we aren’t yielding. 20/20

The perception & brand of our industry, of Detroit, of MI matters. For our youth, for our economy, for business, for talent, for diversity, equity, inclusion, & new Americans this industry & the solutions it brings to the world matter.Our “show” matters. I like our chances. 21/21