Northwood Sets Theme, Readies for Auto Show
“Driving the Dream” will be the theme for this year’s annual student-run Northwood University International Auto Show (NUIAS) at Northwood University in Midland, MI.
The auto show, which is billed as the largest new car outdoor auto show in North America, will be held October 5-7 on the school grounds.
This is the 49th year for the event which hosts more than 50,000 visitors throughout the three-day show. More than 500 new cars, trucks, RVs, semi trucks, specialty and promotional vehicles will be on display. The show is free and open to the public.
There are about 600 Northwood students from various curriculums who take part in the event. Participating students use the event as a learning experience and do not receive payment or credit for their work.
Organizers for the event said “Driving the Dream” focuses on realizing the “Dream” experience for each individual product in our show.
Past year’s themes included:
• Electrify The Drive
• The Road to Innovation.
According to the staff’s release, “Whether it is basic transportation or the most exclusive sports car, the owner has a dream for that product’s use when they make the purchase.
The manufacturers of automobiles especially are working to increase the amount of enjoyment owners can get out of their cars, our displays will evoke the specific personality of each product as well as each individual.”
Cody Colella, public relations chair, said the theme was chosen to not only show what Northwood hopes to emphasize, but also to show trends that are occurring in the automotive market and what is trying to be emphasized by the manufacturers themselves.
“We try to make the theme both appealing and exciting to the public as well as relevant to what is happening out there in the market,” Colella said.
“The goal of the theme is to give the public some idea of what to expect as well as interest them to attend the show.”
Colella explained that the theme for this year was also picked due to the students’ conclusion that overall, the gap between the quality of different manufacturers is shrinking, and there are no longer car brands that are synonymous with low quality or even a certain demographic necessarily.
“The marketing techniques have really had to get creative to emphasize what makes each car individually appealing, rather than something like fuel economy which many competitors share,” Colella said. “Our theme was chosen to show that individualism. Every car in the market has a dream that the buyer associates with it. If a mother buys a minivan, her dream is likely to transport her kids in comfort and safety, a Jeep would be to enjoy off-road capabilities or get to your destination with confidence in any weather condition, a Chevy Volt buyer’s dream might be to never use a drop of gasoline again.
“While most people associate a ‘Dream Car’ with things like Corvettes, Ferrari’s and Escalades, for a mother with three kids, someone with a 50 mile commute, or a worker who has to haul 3,000 pounds regularly, a dream car is not so easily defined. Because most people have to make their dream car also fit their lifestyle, dream cars become as individual as the person purchasing that vehicle. The goal for this year’s show is to emphasize what makes each individual car great, and a dream in itself.”
Auto Show dates and times:
Friday, October 5, 2012 - 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, October 6, 2012 – 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday, October 7, 2012 – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information on the show, visit: www.northwood.edu/autoshow/
or the event’s Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/TheNUIAS.
