2012 New York International Auto Show
We love New York City in April. Spring is in full bloom, air temperatures are getting warmer, and people are flocking to the outdoors. Our favorite part though is that the New York International Auto Show is in town. The massive Jacob Javitz convention center hosts the show, and we joined the masses there on a sunny Saturday.
Sometimes we like to skip media days in favor of attending the show during public days, just to get a feel for how well the show as a whole, and the Audi stand in particular, is attended. Sure we can get a good feel for it based on how many journalists are angling to get photos and info on any new vehicles, but nothing beats seeing the general public – indeed the car shopper, admiring the latest Audi examples. Compared to any media day we’ve been to at even the largest of international auto shows, nothing could have prepared us for the amount of people we’d be mingling with on the first Saturday of the NYIAS.
The Audi stand was completely mobbed the whole time we were there. People were 2 and 3 deep trying to get at certain models. As most of the cars were open, people were lining up to sit in the various A8s, A7s and A6s. The Q7 S line TDI was being explored at all corners. Audi had the all new for the USA A4 allroad open for all to see, and even though it was parked next to the R8 GT, it was still receiving lots of attention. The S8 was being admired heavily, even though it, along with the TT RS and RS5 were locked up tightly.
Not at all surprisingly, the RS5 and R8 GT Spyder were receiving huge amounts of attention. Fortunately for our photos, the GT was behind a low glass wall, which kept the mobs and arms length away, and kept the car’s matte finish fingerprint free. The rest of the stand was not so photo friendly, and since it wasn’t media day, people didn’t care if we needed to get our shot. Such is the joy of public days though, and we loved all of the attention we were seeing the Audi stand get. We took some time to chat with people there, and it’s clear that Audi is highly regarded in the marketplace.
It is also evident that Audi is taking their social media campaigns to new levels. Every one of the cars on the stand had a unique hashtag on it’s number plate, something that we have never seen before at a major show, and something in keeping with Audi’s forward thinking and hip attitude.
After the NYIAS, it’s clear to us that Audi is exceedingly popular amongst consumers (as if that should be a surprise based on the ever increasing sales numbers). Compared to the relatively un-crowed stands at the primary competitors, the Audi stand was positively mobbed, and the people we chatted with were truly enthused about the cars they were looking at.
Without question Audi is riding high with their entire lineup, and rightfully so we feel, as we genuinely like every model offered. We were thrilled to see so many others sharing the same excitement at such a large show.