The Great Blackout at the 2011 New York Auto Show

I'm starting to feel like a bit of a disaster.  Wherever I am, disaster strikes:  2003.....The great blackout in NYC (and I was living in Minneapolis at the time.), 2009......the Cobo Hall Fire at NAIAS and now, 2011.....the great blackout at the Jacob Javits Center.  Wherever I go, trouble follows.  Last night, around 7:50 PM. all of the lights dimmed in the middle of the New York Auto Show at the Jacob Javits Center.  It became very dark, very quickly.  I love the resilience of New Yorkers because an event like this barely registers to them.  As someone who has officially spent more time in LA (11 years) versus NYC (9 years), I did look around to make sure this was just a faulty electrical moment instead of a true emergency.

I also love that Jalopnik and the NY Times Automotive Section were on to my tweets within seconds.  Are they trolling for auto show information by the moment?  Either way, I am impressed.  The consumers remained calm and the lights were back on within 8 minutes. The only thing that I questioned was the lack of response from show management.  We didn't hear a peep from them.  Surely there is a universal PA system to tell the public that everything is okay and that they are working on restoring power?  Does anyone have an emergency plan in place these days?  I know Cobo Hall didn't do a thing during the fire in 2009.  The other good news is that New York's famed "Gang Night" on Easter Sunday was the calmest in years, so maybe my luck is changing after all.

Lights back on and all is well at the 2011 New York Auto Show........

**The views/opinions on this page are not necessarily those of TOYOTA.

North American International Auto Show 2011

If you have been following me on Twitter, then you have seen my notes and comments on NAIAS.  Right after I finished the live internet broadcast of the Toyota Prius v in LA, I jumped on a plane to Detroit to the North American International Auto Show.  This is the fourth year we have hit Detroit with Toyota Live and I have to say, I am having a better time this year than previous years.  Yes, service is still slow and things still close down early, but the economy is looking up in this town and the automotive industry is a whole lot happier versus January 2009.  I ranted and raved last year about my visit and an electrical fire in Cobo Hall dampened one of the days, but I think Detroit and I have turned the corner and happily, we have a new understanding.  Check out a few fun photos from the first weekend of NAIAS:

Thanks to Joe Neuberger and Jalopnik for giving me the secret sign via Twitter to get my free CFL bulb from BYD Auto.

 I am one big day-glow orange pumpkin head while being interviewed for a local news story. Ah, convention center lighting!

Hanging with NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series champion and Toyota Racing team member, Todd Bodine.  

Photo 1 & 4:  Courtesy of Trackside Tina.

Photo 2 & 3:  Courtesy of Matthew Troyer.

2010 in Review: January

It's that time of year again, a time to reflect and look back on the year that was:  2010.  I will be kicking it off with 5 photos each day over the next 12 days.  It was a busy year and one that professionally was very rewarding.  I look forward to achieving more of my goals in 2011 along with a little more time set aside to relax and rejuvenate.  May I present, January 2010:

1.  We kicked off the year on The Web Files with an interview about the controversy surrounding the release of The Bannen Way.  Jesse Warren and Mark Gantt couldn't be nicer (or cuter) and they went on to win multiple, well-deserved Streamy Awards.  Check out one of my favorite interviews of 2010.

2. Despite my pasty white thighs, I cannot stop wearing this Deborah Viereck dress bought at Roni B's.  I bought it for The Bannen Way interview, but I also showed up in the dress at the Ghostfacers premiere and Fashion's Night Out event. Time to retire it from photographed events rotation, sigh.

3.  This photo is from the NAIAS Charity Preview Night also known as the "Adult Prom" in Detroit.  It's a super swanky night filled with cars, stars, interesting fashion choices, and a headliner crooning the night away.  

Me and 2009-2010 Toyota Account Manager, Lisa Cole:

4.  Ah, we can't forget this day:  The Great Cobo Hall Fire.  It was just an electrical fire, but the evacuation process was chaotic and the smell was even worse.  Jalopnik picked up the photos that I Tweeted out, so I gained a few more automotive friends in the process.  Here's my account of the fire. 

5. The other fascinating element of NAIAS is the rabid photographers that come each year to photograph the cars and the girls.  I have one photographer who has come year after year to my show and he made laminated place mats for me this year.  It was certainly the most unique gift I have received from a fan.  And no, I don't eat off of KB place mats each night, my blue Target ones work just fine, thank you.

Come back tomorrow at Red Carpet Closet where I look back on February 2010--Chicago, Club 33, and the infomercial streak begins.

"The Great Detroit Auto Show Fire of 2010"

You never know who reads your blog, who picks up on your Twitter feed, or where you are going to be quoted. My good friend, Joe Neuberger, kindly informed me via Twitter (again!) that I was quote in a post over at Gawker Media's Jalopnik. If you aren't familiar with Jalopnik, it is a compelling auto news site that I check out frequently during the auto show season.

Head on over to Jalopnik to check out the article and the um, interesting comments that follow or read the article in its entirety below. Thanks, Jalopnik!

Were You At The Great Detroit Auto Show Fire Of 2010?

Reports from those on hand at the Great Detroit Auto Show Fire indicate no fire alarms went off, information was poorly shared, and Cobo Hall was altogether ill-prepared for the incident. Were you there? Have pictures of the aftermath?

The consensus is the fire occurred due to an electric issue with an adapter above the Audi stage that quickly ignited the roof above Audi and spread flames and black smoke around the hall. The response, according to The Booth Babe on DYCWTC, wasn't great:

What's the opposite of urgent? Lackadaisical? Because that's the kind of announcement that was made to evacuate the hall, and it was not backed up by anyone from their crack security team ushering people out. In fact, people were still milling around inside the hall poking around in vehicles a good half hour after the initial announcement. Instead of being led to nearest exits, people were told to go back to the lobby, which meant everyone marched straight towards the fire and smoke.

This reported is backed up by Kristyn Burtt, who writes RedCarpetCloset and is also a product specialist:

Honestly, I am not sure the show should have reopened. We came into a hall that had a strong stench of burnt plastic and all of the fire doors open to the outside. So, the temperature had dropped below 50 degrees in order to blow out the smoke and odor. It was not the healthiest environment to work in, but we plowed through the rest of the shift with headaches and stinging, burning throats.

Curiously, the new management company in charge of Cobo made a big deal this year about preparing for just such an occurrence in an Automotive News story before the show. Gary Brown, the chief construction officer for the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority, said they'd fixed a glitch in Cobo's fire system and worked on emergency equipment.

There are emergency battery lights that were dead, and we've replaced those batteries on the emergency system. We've also done a fire protection investigation and inspection that was routine anyway, but we've done it in advance of the auto show."

Since the building didn't burn down it doesn't yet appear there was a major failure of any fire-suppression systems, but it does make us wonder how much of the $3 million was spent on technology or operational training for staff to alert and direct visitors in the event of an emergency and if any was spent, where the money actually went.

We're glad no one was hurt (and for our sake, that the fire didn't happen during media days), but if you were there for the fire, or are there now, drop us a note with photos of the event or aftermath.

Article written by Matt Hardigree