2009 Detroit International Auto Show (worst of show)

TSIBrian · 01-21-09, 10:40

I went to the Detroit auto show this Tuesday and this being my first year since I discovered autopia I thought it would be interesting to see the what kind of condition the paint was like on all the cars. I started with the Ford display and worked my way around. I was pretty shocked with what I saw.

Some nice holograms on the hood of a Lincoln

A Mustang that looks like it had a poor repaint done, notice the fish eyes. It also had a run in the paint but this being my first time trying to capture paint defects and with someone else's camera I couldn't quite get it

Bottom of front bumper

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I think this Mustang is in the top 3 for worst paint, looks like someone polished through the clear coat.

In front of the passenger headlight. Notice in between the 2 lights in the reflection.

I don't know if this is indicative of Honda still using that soft clear I keep hearing about but have not yet experienced, or if it is just keeping on par with the rest of the cars.

Hood

Some holograms on the d pillar of a Mercedes.
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This Cadillac was pretty hammered. This is the best pic I could get, there were worse spots but the pics didn't come out.

Passenger fender

The hood of a BYD

I think the hood on this smart car was the worst swirl wise.

The culprit

These didn't come out too well but you can see it well enough. I've never actually seen what "pigtails" look like but I'm thinking this might be it.

Hood of a BMW

I took many many more pictures than that but its getting late and I have to work tomorrow. This being the first year I actually looked at the paint it seems like I almost missed out on the rest of the car show, maybe next year I wont worry about the condition of the paint and just enjoy myself. I also did miss quite a few cars but since I had already been walking around for 3 hours after a day of work my hip had had enough.

Denzil · 01-21-09, 11:59

This is typically normal for every car show unfortunately. You just kind of get used to it.

evolutionwc3 · 01-22-09, 03:11

Yeah- it's unfortunate but 99% of the general population wouldn't notice a thing. Even more disturbing are the carnies that walk around with their ragged towels and pledge-type instant detailer/wiwo wax. I have a good friend in the auto business that usually gets asked to supply some of his new models and he hates bringing them for this reason.

Great shots though- some just make me cringe.

POPPAJ · 01-22-09, 04:15

Ford had a display at the Union Industries Show held in Detroit last summer and I observed the same swirl/scratch city. They contracted with an auto wash in the city to maintain the vehicles throughout the show. During the set-up I got to see the guy being instructed how to "detail" the cars. Just an employee from the car wash who knew nothing instructed by someone who "knew it all". What a mess.

Danase · 01-22-09, 05:20

Yeah, most of those cars just come from local dealers and we all know how that goes. LOL Usually the guys taking care of the cars are just using some windex and a towel to keep the finger prints off.

How was the crowd this year? Pretty empty? I can't wait for Autorama.

MuttGrunt · 01-22-09, 05:44

i've been working this show doing "detailing" for lexus and subaru. yuk - what a mess.
if u think those pics are bad, you should have seen the MB SLR McLaren they had on the floor - swirls, halograms, bad buffer trails, etc. they removed the car once press days were over though.

TSIBrian · 01-22-09, 08:58

This was the slowest I have seen it. Of course it was 2 pm when I went on a Tuesday.

I did notice some of the guys wiping down the cars had a meguiar's with some pink stuff in it (I'm not too familiar with the megs line yet) but I never did see anyone use it. I was talking to one of the guys at the Chevy display and he said the guys doing the cars traveled with them. I don't know if that applied to all "detailers" or not.

MuttGrunt · 01-22-09, 10:13

^ not exactly. the pink stuff is their quick detailer. they also gave some of the pretty-much-useless union "car polishers" (as they call them) hyper dressing and glass cleaner.
i got hired by a company that goes show-to-show-to-show (they do around 60-80 a year) through the useless union as they needed help getting things ready and wanted someone who knew what they were doing.
glass cleaner seems to be the preferred cleaning product because it helps to get things off and leaves no residue which would make the finger-print problem even worse. i can tell you the companies there are somewhere between a good weekend washer and the lower levels of autopia - they kinda know what they're doing, but don't know enough behind the science of it all/have to do LOTS of cars in a short period of time/the peopel that hire them don't know the difference.
things seem to have been slower, but i kinda like the lower budget: no more massive walls everywhere. when u go to GM - u can see all their brands easily and walk over to any section you want. same with honda/acura, ford, toyota/scion/lexus, etc, etc.
turns out when the cars are done being shown (some go from show to show such as models soon to come out, or concepts), they are given to various dealers who then sell them like a normal car. this is good and bad. those car that are better looked after (the concepts/soon-to-be-released vehicles) are usually fairly "clean." of course if u got to actually look around the inside of the Lexus IS250C Convertable (red one on the turn-table) you'd see all kinds of marks on the leather, skuffs on the door ledge, etc. or the Subaru Legacy Concept which has a couple paint defects, and some scratches (from what looks like dirt/junk trapped on a MF towel). those are just two examples as i got to work closely with both models

TSIBrian · 01-22-09, 10:42

I missed those two. We weren't able to check out everything.

I'm sure they wouldn't pay to have quality detailers as that would get expensive with the amount of cars plus hours of labor. I guess I'm not surprised in the level of work being done but more about how quickly a new paint job can go bad with improper techniques.

Mark77 · 01-22-09, 10:58

I brought my car in for a service job today, and while I waited to get it back I looked at the used cars they had there, and I noticed a lot of flaws on almost each and everyone, but those show cars were not much better..
But like mentioned, the guys that keep the fingerprints and dust off them probably do more harm than good.

MuttGrunt · 01-22-09, 12:11

^^ very true TSI
i understand why they aren't going to pay people for high end detailing - not when a couple hundred people (including kids) are going to come in, put their hands all over the cars, touch them, rub against them, etc.
what i don't understand is how they don't hire high end jobs for when they debut a new car/concept cars....

here's a link to another forum i posted pics to a little over a week ago. i think i took these during the press days. i have more pics to post up here later:
S2000 Forums -> SNEAK PEAK!

Danase · 01-22-09, 12:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuttGrunt

^^ very true TSI
i understand why they aren't going to pay people for high end detailing - not when a couple hundred people (including kids) are going to come in, put their hands all over the cars, touch them, rub against them, etc.
what i don't understand is how they don't hire high end jobs for when they debut a new car/concept cars....

here's a link to another forum i posted pics to a little over a week ago. i think i took these during the press days. i have more pics to post up here later:
S2000 Forums -> SNEAK PEAK!

Remember that anal detailing freaks like us are only a VERY SMALL portion of the general public. Most people won't notice or think twice about the swirls and other paint defects.