words: Bill, photos: George Achorn, Bill Cho, Denis Podmarkov
For the past several years, quattro Magazine editor-in-chief, George Achorn, and I would make the trek up to New York City. The city in early-mid April is a great time to be there…the winter chill is mostly gone as is the snow, residents and tourists alike flood the streets, and the New York International Auto Show at the Javits Center kicks off the auto show circuit in North America; well at least for me since I found Detroit in the middle of winter not an appealing adventure. I love going to New York City.
So when word came out this weekend that Audi was dropping out of the show, it wasn’t a huge surprise as BMW and Mercedes-Benz had already announced their departure. In a statement to Automotive News, Audi of America Chief Communications officer, Tara Rush, confirmed that Audi was not participating. She also mentioned that Audi would “continue to evaluate auto shows on a case-by-case basis moving forward to determine if they are the best platform for U.S. and world premieres of our upcoming models.”
While Audi did show at the LA Auto Show this past November (where the e-tron Sportback was revealed), it pulled out of Detroit in 2019 so this isn’t a new move for Audi (BMW and Mercedes-Benz also pulled out). Tara Rush also stated that it is “important to review the way we bring the Audi experience to life and introduce our new products and innovations to media and consumers.” We saw that when Audi brought two of the highly-anticipated RS 6 Avants to Malibu Cars & Coffee days before its official debut at the LA Auto Show.
So while I will miss going to New York City in April, we may see Audi doing more “pop-up” events like Cars & Coffees in the future. To read the whole story of Audi’s withdrawal, please go to Automotive News HERE.
