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All-outside event in Pontiac will take place of NAIAS this year

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Organizers of the North American International Auto Show say they're calling it off this year. But there will be an outdoor replacement of sorts.

Organizers of the NAIAS decided in 2019 to move it to the summer, with the inaugural summer show to be held in June of 2020.  Then, the pandemic hit, and the June date for the show was postponed, and then postponed again. 

Now, the show will not happen in 2021 at all, at least not in its traditional setting of Detroit's TCF Center, formerly known as Cobo Center. 

Organizers instead will expand a September European supercar event called "Motor Bella" that had been planned to run concurrently with the auto show. 

The all outdoor show will include traditional vehicle reveals and exhibits on the grounds of the M-1 Concourse in Pontiac.

“The pandemic has caused changes in our society and world in ways not previously imagined, and we all should be looking for new and highly creative ways of doing business,” said Executive Director Rod Alberts in a press release. “This new event captures that creative spirit. It will provide new mobility experiences and increasingly innovative approaches to tapping into the industry and its products.”

The public days for the event will be September 23-26.

Tracy Samilton covers energy and transportation, including the auto industry and the business response to climate change for Michigan Public. She began her career at Michigan Public as an intern, where she was promptly “bitten by the radio bug,” and never recovered.
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