Time for Detroit's Lazarus moment
Detroit’s design renaissance leaves its auto show behind
Detroit is rebounding as a design city, yet its once-mighty auto show falters, eclipsed by westward industry shifts, timid launches and winter woes. It is time for the Big Three to re-engage urgently, writes CDN editor-in-chief James McLachlan
Exciting things are happening in Detroit. The oft-promised renaissance of America’s only internationally recognised city of design, which seemed perpetually just out of reach, might just be upon us. No lesser publication than Wallpaper named it their City of the Year 2026.
Much of the enthusiasm was kickstarted by Ford’s revival of Michigan Central as an events-cum-creative space. The defunct beaux arts train station had become a cold symbol of decline. Now it points to warmer climes. Couple that with Hudson’s Detroit, a glassy new skyscraper downtown that will soon be home to General Motors, and you have a city embracing its future.
But if a new dawn is truly breaking over the Deco-laden downtown and beyond, what will that mean for its most faded of institutions, the Detroit Auto Show.
Beneath its blue collar facade lies a city studded with beautiful architecture, a rejuvenated waterfront and deep reserves of creativity
What was the US premier motoring event, has suffered greatly since the pandemic. Truth is, the virus accelerated forces that were already in motion and any hope of a post-covid bounceback seems to get dimmer with each passing year. Sadly, 2026 was no different.
The Big Three were present but were showing cars launched at the end of 2025 in Los Angeles. Save for Cadillac’s new racing livery; nothing genuinely new was making its debut. The forum, tucked away in the corner of the convention hall, ebbed and flowed depending on interest. The most prominent speaker, Pete Buttigieg, was former President Biden’s transport secretary, whose vision for an electric future already feels like a footnote to a bygone era.
President Trump was in town, CDN’s own transportation plans were diverted by his motorcade, to address The Detroit Economic Club. However, the sporter of the long red necktie steered clear of the show itself.
Among the many challenges facing Detroit is the growth of California-based brands, which sell progressive California-type cars i.e. hybrids and EVs. Rivian and Lucid are becoming common sights on LA roads alongside established West coast brands like Kia and Honda while being non-existent in Michigan.
California is a double threat with technology show CES turning the heads of OEMs that see cars as a tech product. Whether the sheen has worn off in recent years (and my sense is that it has) is open to debate. The timing, right before the Detroit Auto Show, must be a source of frustration. With the industry axis pulled westwards, Michigan has struggled to make a compelling case for itself.
Michigan’s triumvirate need to step up once more and throw their weight back into the auto show
Amid declining attendance, some motorshows, like IAA Munich, are making efforts to stay relevant by broadening their remit and engaging with their respective cities. It is an approach modeled on the hugely successful Salone del Mobile in Milan, which has broken free of its roots as a furniture exhibition to become far more diverse and sprawling. The exhibition halls are still there if you are at the business end of design but a visit need not be a requirement.
Diversity is not inherently a virtue – much depends on context. Milan, with its incredible piazzas, museums and architecture (both modern and ancient) offers the kind of backdrop creative directors dream about. You could plonk any old shed at random in the city and it would instantly become more interesting, which is partly why car makers are so keen to be there. However, the Salone will forever be car adjacent – the two Fs, furniture and fashion will always dominate.
Detroit is a harder sell than Milan, particularly in January. Nevertheless, beneath its blue collar facade lies a city studded with beautiful architecture, a rejuvenated waterfront and deep reserves of creativity. That said, even the toughest Michigan inhabitants (and the locals are undoubtedly that) will tell you that harnessing these gems in deep winter is plain daft.
My colleague, for example, attempted the short walk from the convention centre to our hotel downtown, only to be engulfed in a blizzard. Upon his eventual return I told him I feared he’d be found frozen stiff until Spring. I was only half-joking. The show organisers have tried moving it to September but were ultimately unsuccessful.
The irony is that as the city moves forward, the motor show, the one shard of light amid many gloomy years, is being left behind. The question before the organisers appears to be how to hook the show to the tow rope of the mother ship. Or is the answer more straightforward? Few would argue that when the city was in the doldrums, the motor show was one of the few things bringing money into the city.
People still love cars. They can love car shows, particularly this one, again.
In contrast, every designer I spoke to this year was optimistic about the near-term future of the industry. So while there is no doubt that both GM and Ford are making huge contributions to its future, I would argue that Michigan’s triumvirate need to step up once more and throw their weight back into the auto show. That means launching new cars, bringing exciting concepts, and giving Joe Public a reason to get excited about visiting. Not so long ago, I spoke with GM's retired VP of Design Ed Welburn who reminisced about discovering, not only his love of cars but his love of GM itself at the Philadelphia car show. So much so that he wrote to the car maker asking for a job. Mr Welburn was barely out of short pants at the time and went on to become one of the most famous designers in the world. His is but one story that began with a visit to a convention centre. How many thousands more stories were first sparked by a visit to Huntington Place. And how many may go unwritten should it disappear. People still love cars. They can love car shows, particularly this one, again.
