{"id":26743,"date":"2021-01-28T12:15:25","date_gmt":"2021-01-28T16:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=26743"},"modified":"2021-01-28T12:15:25","modified_gmt":"2021-01-28T16:15:25","slug":"how-m1-concourse-became-metro-detroits-1-auto-venue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/how-m1-concourse-became-metro-detroits-1-auto-venue","title":{"rendered":"How M1 Concourse became Metro Detroit’s #1 auto venue"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pontiac<\/em> \u2014 Suddenly, M1 Concourse is the epicenter of Detroit car shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2021, Pontiac\u2019s exclusive car club will host four of the region\u2019s major car events, including the Detroit Auto Show\u2019s Motor Bella and American Festival of Speed back-to-back in late September. In addition to those fall headliners, M1 will dominate summer Woodward Avenue cruising as it brackets the Aug. 21 Dream Cruise with the (tentative) Roadkill Nights and Woodward Dream Show weekend events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In so doing, Pontiac \u2014 Metro Detroit\u2019s second city \u2014 will be the focus of the automotive community as thousands of spectators and media descend on its sprawling enthusiasts\u2019 playground anchored by the 1.5-mile Champion Motor Speedway race track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don’t see us in competition with Detroit,\u201d M1 Concourse CEO Jordan Zlotoff said in an interview. \u201cObviously there’s a lot of news right now about there not being a traditional auto show event in the city, but I think there is a big future for the whole region in terms of what we can do around automotive activations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Automotive activations are participatory auto venues increasingly craved by automakers over static convention center shows. Zlotoff said that M1 had been in talks with the Detroit Auto Dealers Association (which organizes and manages the North American International Auto Show) to complement Motor Bella before COVID concerns forced the entire event outdoors to M1 Sept. 21-26.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe offer things by having a mile and a half track and 87 acres of outdoor space that can’t be offered downtown,\u201d Zlotoff continued. \u201cOur whole is bigger than the sum of the parts, and there’s a lot of ways we can work together and just leverage each other’s strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zlotoff said that becoming the region\u2019s automotive Disneyland was part of the plan since the club broke ground in 2015 on its first phase of private garages. With 173 built, M1 is now well into Phase Four of its garage development with a planned 255, making it the biggest private garage facility in the world. Its 160 Motorsport Club members keep a variety of exotic vehicles \u2014 from snarling Mustang muscle cars to rare Ferraris \u2014 with regular access to the track for exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tom McDonald, a member of M1 since 2017, likens the facility to a golf club \u2014 but with a track at its center. Like a golf course, M1 is a magnet for public events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHosting auto shows is like bringing a PGA (golf) tournament to Oakland Hills,\u201d smiled McDonald. \u201cIt brings more attention to the facility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s a twist on the usual auto club business model. Similar private club tracks like Virginia International Raceway between Richmond and Durham, North Carolina, or Autobahn south of Chicago, tend to attract racing competition. Located miles from urban centers, these tracks double as major race venues. M1\u2019s location in the middle of an area precludes wheel-to-wheel racing lest it violate local noise ordinances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, it\u2019s focused on testing and time trials, making it a prime spot for activation events where manufacturers can show off their wares. Zlotoff credits the facility\u2019s attraction to auto shows to a number of factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cOne is just our location in Pontiac being so close to everything in metropolitan Detroit,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you look at where (other) tracks are located, they’re far off from city centers. Also, we\u2019re conveniently located to all (Detroit automakers) \u2014 as well as the hotels, restaurants, and the infrastructure of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given its proximity to automakers and their supply chain, Zlotoff said that club\u2019s goal from day one was to be an event facility \u2014 not just a track facility \u2014 with premium dining, restrooms\u00a0and driveway amenities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a world-class facility that caters to clients that are in the automotive business world,\u201d he continued. \u201cThey can produce a sophisticated event that has the look and feel of something you could do in a very high-end hotel or equivalent facility. I think it’s the confluence of those factors that are allowing us to put on all these events.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M1 broke ground in September on an events facility that is designed not just to cater large events, but as a dining destination and configurable event space so that manufacturers could, for example, stage vehicles for auto show-like reveals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McDonald, an ex-communications executive for VW North America and Mazda, said M1 is perfectly suited to new car reveals. Its exposure this year will raise its profile in North America, not unlike England\u2019s Goodwood Festival of Speed which has become a must venue for international automakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe experiences of Motor Bella and American Speed Festival will really solidify M1\u2019s reputation as an experiential facility that should push growth in the future,\u201d he said. \u201cAuto shows are changing, and auto marketing budgets are being tailored to take advantage of events like M1 can put on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McDonald points to the growth of similar, sprawling outdoor venues like Goodwood, Amelia Island Concours d-Elegance in Florida, and Monterey Car Week in California as examples of what M1 could become in the future. They are events where automakers can not only unveil new products \u2014 but also show them in action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat better location than a race track off of Woodward Avenue in Detroit?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M1 has recently hosted small media reveals for the Ford Mustang Mach 1 and the Honda Civic Type R. Porsche and Mazda have hosted track-oriented M1 events, too. Though Roadkill Nights sponsored by Dodge was canceled last year due to COVID concerns, the 2019 event brought 50,000 spectators to M1 over two days to ogle the new Dodge Charger Daytona, take thrill rides in muscle cars, and watch Woodward drag racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zlotoff acknowledged that COVID circumstances have accelerated M1\u2019s viability as organizers look for less-risky outdoor venues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The events will make for a crowded M1 calendar in 2021 that includes a Fourth of July fireworks show and regular Cars and Coffee collector events sandwiched around private member use. Zlotoff said the attention will benefit Pontiac, which as the center of M1\u2019s mission statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M1 has been involved with the local community including the donation of a neighborhood playground, while M1\u2019s Pontiac Motorsports Exposition arm will host charity events at the Aug.\u00a019-21 Woodward Dream Show and Speed Festival to benefit local organizations.Get the\u00a0COVID-19 Update\u00a0newsletter in your inbox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBusinesses are helping to change the nature and character of the city and its economic growth,\u201d said Zlotoff. \u201cWe are certainly focused on helping the city. We want to see it prosper. I think M1 has been on a great trajectory, and I think it’s going to continue go upward in the next five to 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pontiac \u2014 Suddenly, M1 Concourse is the epicenter of Detroit car shows. In 2021, Pontiac\u2019s exclusive car club will host four of the region\u2019s major car events, including the Detroit Auto Show\u2019s Motor Bella and American Festival of Speed back-to-back in late September. In addition to those fall headliners, M1 will dominate summer Woodward Avenue cruising […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26743"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26743"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26744,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26743\/revisions\/26744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}