QOTD: Will The Detroit Auto Show Bounce Back?

by Tim Healey

Published: January 16th, 2026

qotd will the detroit auto show bounce back

With only one vehicle debut, the 2026 Detroit Auto Show wasn't very muscular in terms of influence.

So, the question is, will this be the new normal or will Detroit once again matter in terms of debuts and news?

I've said my piece -- now it's your turn.

So, you know what to do. Go ahead and sound off below.

[Image: NAIAS/Detroit Auto Show]

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Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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6 of 27 comments

Chris P Bacon on Jan 18, 2026

The wife and I went to the show today. It was a disappointment. There were more "ride along" options inside Cobo, which took up a lot of space. Otherwise, maybe half the floor had actual car displays. The Stellantis display was Jeep heavy, as it should be. But you couldn't get in a Recon, and the new Cherokees were locked up as well. Ford was Bronco heavy, and heaven forbid you want to see an affordable F-150. Not here, good sir. Non-Detroit automakers with displays were Hyundai, Kia, Subaru, Honda and Toyota. Oh wait, Audi had 2 cars I think. There were some kind of Mercedes display but the entire display was roped off. No Nissan, Acura, Lexus, Volvo, etc. To make matters worse, the price of entry soared to $25. At least we got in and out early. Had time for a burger at Nemo's and a stop in Mexicantown. Hard to say I'd go again next year.

1 Reply
- See 2 previous
- Mnemic on Jan 18, 2026
  
  Only a few manufacturers showed up, the rest were dealer provided. What a fall from grace. Last time I went it was standing room only and absolutely massive in size. The whole place was just a mob of people flowing from one hall to the next, you stumbled along and hoped your ankles didnt get clipped by a woman pushing a stroller
  
  1
- Grandmaster T on Jan 19, 2026
  
  Chris, thank you for the journalism [very serious comment].
  If you open a buymeacoffee dot com, I'm in for 5 bucks. (TTACers could send you back each year.) How are you at photography?
  
  Like
- Lorenzo on Jan 21, 2026
  
  If you are sad a lot of the cars are locked up, blame many visitors who got out of the cars with knobs, decals, and anything else removable from the cars they sat in. The alternative was to screen attendees and confiscate screw drivers and other tools used to unscrew or even pry off interior parts.
  
  1
Lou_BC on Jan 20, 2026

Will the Detroit Auto Show Bounce Back?

If you fall off a cliff, you might bounce... or you might just go splat.

Like Reply
- Michael Accardi on Jan 20, 2026
  
  The answer we're looking for: Dead Cat Bounce
  
  Like

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