Hello, Detroit!

Yeah, I didn't sleep much this weekend and my 6AM flight this morning solidified the full-on nap I took the entire leg from LAX to Denver.  Unfortunately, our flight had mechanical difficulties and then we had jetway issues once we landed in Denver.  I had already started to plot how I was going to get to Detroit which involved two more flights, when I discovered there were several United Global Services passengers on my flight with the same itinerary.  If you watched the movie, Up In The Air, then you know exactly what I am talking about--that elusive card that gives you multiple flight benefits and carries enough clout to hold a plane.  So after running through the Denver airport huffing and puffing due to the altitude, I found out that they held the plane for us....okay, really just for them. I lucked out that they had the same itinerary.  Now you know that those secret airplane perks are all true and I just benefitted from them even with my little old Premier Elite card.

I am hitting the first press day tomorrow of NAIAS and I am sure I will tweet all of the updates happening from the show floor.  However, my first priority when I landed was eating at Slows, my favorite Detroit restaurant.  I stuffed my face with St. Louis ribs, Mac and Cheese, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, and a Brisket Enchilada. I know I am supposed to fit into a tiny dress on Thursday for the IAWTV Awards, but a girl has got to eat.

Have a great week, everyone, and don't forget to enter my 2012 Dress Challenge for Oscar Nominations.  The last day to enter is Wednesday, January 11th and the winner gets a $25 gift certificate!

An Open Letter to the City of Detroit

Dear Detroit,

I travel to your fair city for 14-16 days each January over the last 3 years for NAIAS. I come in with the masses for press, industry, and preview week and then stay to greet the public with the latest and greatest in the automotive industry. Your city has had a tough time over the last 20 years and I know the current economy has not helped either. But I have to say, for a city that is broke and needs a renaissance, you sure don't want my money. I don't get it. Don't you want me to spend $4 on a small hot chocolate? I was happy to pay for it, but your Starbucks at the Ren Cen had a line close to 45 minutes long. I tried to get soup and a panini in the lobby at Presto Deli by Andiamo at 6:30 PM. You told me...."Closed". That's odd...industry night went until 9 PM. I would figure that there is money to be made in the last 3 hours of the show. My hotel closed their coffee bar at 5 PM, their restaurants at 9 PM, the one place that does serve good food late won't do take out. I'm tired, I worked all day, why can't I take the food to my room? I am happy to tip the server. I know, I know, you want me to pay $18 for a small salad delivered by room service, but you didn't even offer bread with my expensive greens.

So, here's what I don't understand. NAIAS funnels millions of dollars into your city for two weeks, why aren't you trying to accommodate your visitors? Tell your staff they are going to work longer hours, extra days, make more money, and cater to the visitors to your city. Did you ever see Field of Dreams? Remember, "If you build it, he will come?" Trust me, it would work. I will happily give you my dollars. I don't mind spending a couple of extra bucks for conveniences like shorter lines at Starbucks or grabbing a soup at 9:30 PM when I get off of work. Sometimes I feel like at lot of you just quit trying to make this city shine.

While you are at it, please tell your cab drivers to stop trying to rip me off. I know how much it is from Cobo to my hotel. Don't tell me it is $5 more. I am going to only pay you what the meter says. Oh wait, you forgot to run the meter? I am still only paying the metered rate. Cab drivers are the ambassadors to any city. Just ask the Big Apple. Regulate your cabs and visitors will walk away happier and less disgruntled.

I will be back next year, and I hope to see more businesses open, your city flourishing, and a maybe a few more smiles for the guests who just want a hot meal after 12 hours at work. Come on, Detroit, I know you have it in you!

Now, not all of my experiences were bad. Here are a few gems in the Motor City that deserve my money and your money the next time you visit. They were open extra hours, or they had great customer service, or they just added something special to my trip.

Slow's.....Best St. Louis ribs not in St. Louis:

Zoom Cafe for staying open on the weekends so we had a place to eat lunch:

To The Whitney for being the most fabulous place to eat if you are a "Lady Who Lunches":

And to the pastry chef at Iridescence for making my tummy happy with my lantern dessert and to my server who offered up some great suggestions with enthusiasm and a genuine smile.

Thanks for letting me vent, Detroit. See you in 2011!

xo kb

Fire at Cobo Hall at NAIAS

If you were following my tweets or the news today, you might have heard about the fire at Cobo Hall at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. At about 1:20 PM today, a muffled voice commanded over the PA system to evacuate the building and file out in an orderly fashion out the front doors. The PA system sounded like it had not been used since the 1955 Detroit Auto Show so, there was a bit of confusion as to what was happening and what the actual message was telling us. Once we received confirmation from the Cobo Hall security guards, we grabbed our bags and jackets and headed out of the display. I decided to grab a few snapshots on my iPhone on the way out of the building. As we walked towards the Ferrari display, we smelled the burning plastic and saw the smoke........

As we approached the front doors, the smoke got thicker and the smell clearly indicated an electrical fire. Thankfully, the crowd moved in an orderly fashion. No one pushed, everyone was calm, and we moved to front doors in a matter of minutes. The only thing that really struck me as odd was the fact that people waited to get their hand stamped on the way out, creating a huge line of people trying to exit. Um, there is a fire and acrid smoke in the building, please move along. We moved to the right towards Audi where the fire occurred and headed out to an open exit. By the way, we never heard a fire alarm.....

Security let everyone stay in the lobby for quite a while even as the fire trucks pulled up and the firemen assessed the damage. Information on what was happening and if the show would reopen was sparse and often wrong. One security guard would say the building was closed for the day and another would tell us to return in an hour. Many of the auto show teams decided to gather across the street at Zoom Cafe and wait out the evacuation. Once it was determined that the show would be closed for more than an hour, a group of us ventured to one of Detroit's hidden gems....
Yes, that would be Slow's. If you must wait out a fire emergency, do it at the best BBQ place in the MidWest. I happily gorged on St. Louis Ribs, Mac and Cheese, and Green Beans to pass the time. We even managed to top it off with Ryba's chocolate fudge. Yep, a high caloric day!

While we returned to the convention center at 4:45 PM in time for the supposed 5 PM open, Cobo Hall was not ready for the public. The teams were allowed into their displays, but we did not see the public until close to 6:15 PM. 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. I am not the only one who questioned the reopening of the show, check out The Booth Babe and her take on today's emergency: The Booth Babe. The good news to end this drama was that no one was hurt and everyone exited the building safely. The show reopened and the crowds poured back into to see 2010's offerings.

Before I wrap up here, I want to call out the Detroit Free Press for pulling my photo off of Twitter and not crediting me. I took all of those photos on my iPhone on the way out the door. I don't mind that they used it, but responsible journalism goes a long way--especially when you are a legitimate media outlet.

**UPDATE** A big thanks to Jalopnik and Auto Blog for crediting the photos back to me. I also want to thank the readers of Jalopnik for thinking of creative spoofs for my name. I got a good laugh out of it and the comment section is worth a read.

**SECOND UPDATE** My photo continues to be linked to other publications even to international automotive media: iCarros.

**THIRD UPDATE** Another international view of the day's activities from Brazil: Notícias Automotivas.

**FOURTH UPDATE** Roman Mica of TFLcar.com kindly linked to my article and photo. Be sure to check them out too: TFLcar