Unlike last year, the 2023 Detroit auto show has no giant rubber duck or monster trucks.
The show, which runs through Sunday, Sept. 24, features 35 brands. Organizers said 16 of the brands have corporate-sponsored displays; the rest were put together by dealers.
"The thing we learned last year is we had a whole bunch of cool displays and, I don't want to say gimmicky, but [we had] non-automobile-related activities going on, and we learned that the cars are really the stars," said Thad Szott, chairman of the show, which is owned and produced by the Detroit Auto Dealers Association.
Rod Alberts, executive director of the association, said he was hoping to attract 250,000 to 300,000 visitors this year. Organizers did not disclose attendance figures from 2022, though Alberts said the latest iteration will be far superior.
"This show is, by far, 100-fold better than last year," Alberts told Crain's Detroit Business, an aff…