Detroit Auto Show Hailed as Biggest Year Yet - WLNS TV 6 Lansing - Jackson | Your Local News Leader

The doors to the North American International Auto Show finally open to the public Saturday and many are saying it could be the biggest year yet.

"In talking with some of my European colleagues, they're like 'wow four years ago, we were on top of the world and you guys were going down the dumper... now it's the complete opposite'," said John McElroy, Host-AutoLine Daily. "Even my colleagues from elsewhere in the world have picked up on the buzz that's at this show."

The proof lies in the numbers. The auto show chairman says there are about 780 cars at the show this year and 50 reveals, most of them worldwide. He says public ticket sales are also up 20 percent, possibly even breaking the 800,000 mark for public attendance.

"The show has got better and better. Obviously the last two years before that, it was ya know, we were looking for manufacturers that were bailing out. Now we've sold every square inch of the place," said Jim Seavitt, NAIAS Chairman.

Seavitt says Toyota actually has the biggest display they've ever had in Detroit covering 3,500 square feet.

"The economic impact of this show alone is $375 million to the detroit area. $375 million," says Seavit.