This past weekend the International Motorcycle Show was in Minneapolis, presented by Cycle World. Upon entering the show you are greeted immediately by a person handing out a Progressive Insurance bag for all the swag you might find at the show. Throughout the show I noticed how much advertising Progressive was doing. There were stickers on the floor featuring “Flo” everywhere you went along with the massive booth that they had with people talking about their motorcycle insurance. Progressive was not alone as Allstate was there with a nice sized booth of their own. Seems insurance companies are making a push for the motorcycle crowd.
Everyone at the show seemed to be an enthusiast of some kind. Some were adorning full leathers while others merely wearing a t-shirt with a companies logo on it. Everybody seemed to be representing something. Many families were at the show and the kids all seemed to be drawn to the sport bikes. There was a member of the Ducati freestyle team at the show, and they had a whole section of the floor to perform a show every few hours.
Each manufacturer had specialists to answer questions and show off the latest features and bikes. I over heard a specialist at the Yamaha booth asking a customer if they really needed the power of 1000 cc or if 600 cc might do it. The Ducati booth had an espresso bar with laptops loaded with information on their current line up of bikes which was very cool.
I met a group called ZeroGravity, a local Minnesota based group of sport bike riders. There are plenty of forums and groups out there, so what made them stick out? I held a conversation with the groups founder, Bjorn Iverson, about what exactly makes them different. He explained to me he used to be part of quite a few forums and while they were informational, people did not interact offline. Bjorn thought there was a better way and thus ZeroGravity was founded. The group hits the open road together, “spank twisties” and tear up the back country roads. While this all seems normal, what really got me was how much they all interact outside of motorcycles. The ZeroGravity members are a tight knit group that always welcome new comers. They hangout outside of the motorcycle realm doing everything from dodgeball to bowling. Nothing is out of the question, and they all just want to have fun together. The motorcycle is just the common object that brings them all together. They are nearly 700 members strong and growing quickly. If you are a motorcyclist in the MN/WI area, I suggest you check them out for sure.
Overall, the whole show was a blast. I am glad to have met the crew at ZeroGravity. I saw a lot of innovation at the show. Many manufacturers listen to what the customers are saying and try to implement just that. There are a lot of different segments in the motorcycle industry from stunters, racers, hardcore riders and just the casual cruiser and yet there was something for everyone.
Americans in general have never associated small cars with high price tags. They are seen as regular transportation and not premium vehicles. In Europe this is simply not the case rather small cars are very popular and the price tags are not cheap. They are fully featured cars with options many small cars do not have in the U.S. With the new CAFE standards coming soon automakers in the U.S. are starting to realize that maybe we need to be a little more like Europe. Smaller cars with higher fuel efficiency and more options.
The Detroit Auto Show was all about downsizing. Engines were being downsized using lower displacement and it is all about getting more from less. Utilizing forced induction both in the way of turbo charging and super charging the automakers are doing what they can with the latest technologies. It is going farther then that.
Americans are realizing they need less. Not everyone technically needs a Suburban to haul the kids to soccer practice. The reality of it is when you are taking two kids to soccer practice you are not towing a 25 foot boat. In fact most people that have large vehicles do not need them at all. It is a perception and comfort thing. While I know some of you are readying your pitch forks, just hear me out. Yes, some people do need their large vehicles. Some people actually do need SUV’s. I drive an SUV and do use it to tow boats up north. If we weigh out how much I need an SUV it is probably more then some but still less then others.
Interior of the 2012 Ford Focus
The automotive manufacturers are starting to bet on the little guys. Ford’s new small car line up will begin with the new Fiesta. The Fiesta has a base price just above $13,000 but that price can get very close to $25,000 after customizing it with a myriad of options. Next Ford debuted the next generation Focus as a 2012 model at NAIAS last month. The new Focus will be more refined while offering more options and features. While they have not talked pricing you can naturally assume it will cost more. The current Focus pricing starts a little over $16,000 topping out around $22,000. It is estimated by some that while the base price of the the new Focus will increase slightly, a fully optioned Focus might approach $30,000. That is a lot of coin for a small car. The question is, are Americans willing to pay a premium on these new small cars? Some are probably scratching their heads saying how could they charge so much. We as Americans have been asking for the same product that Europe has been getting for years. Ford has finally listened and decided it would be cheaper to amortize costs, thus the “ONE Ford” strategy comes to play. Cars will be developed by Ford to be sold globally with minor changes for safety regulations and such.
2011 Chevy Cruze
Chevrolet is betting on the new Cruze to carry its sales in the compact car market. This new model will replace the lackluster Cobalt which itself replaced the Cavalier. The new Cruze is said to be rated at 40 mpg on the highway which is an impressive number to be sure. The car is said to be dynamic to drive and offer the premium feel of a larger car. That is exactly what these smaller cars with larger price tags will have to do.
So will we Americans embrace these smaller cars with larger price tags? I think it all depends on where the starting price tag is. This all goes back to my post about why strippers are important. The base price on a model is what seems to drive traffic to show rooms. Maybe that will change with time and it will be features that drive customers to the showroom. One thing is for sure, the pricing and options work in Europe where people are paying more for less. Are you really getting less? In the end it is all about how you look at it. You are getting more miles per gallon, you are getting more technology and amenities all in a slightly smaller package. So the question is, will people buy these small cars that all the auto manufactures are betting on?
GM has appointed Ed Whitacre as permanent CEO (for now)
Opel confirms another 8,300 jobs to be cut
The upcoming new Ford Explorer
Ford earned $2.7 billion in 2009
We then proceed to the clip of the week segment. This week we featured the later then it should have been Chrysler holiday ad.
Last but certaintly not least, we discuss our three main topics. This week those included Chrysler’s future, the sale of Saab to Spyker and Toyota’s latest recall woes.
The first generation SRX was really never the sales success that Cadillac hoped for. Styling on the the first generation made it look like a tall, boxy station wagon. With both an optional third row and V8, the first generation was rear wheel drive with all wheel drive as an option. None of this really lined up with what the mainstream rivals were offering.
For the second generation, Cadillac has taken a much more mainstream approach. The third row option was ditched, front wheel drive and all wheel drive replaced the old drive train and there is no more V8. The largest change is the price. This generation is starting at $33,330 where the first generation was $38,880 for the V6 and $45,880 for the V8. The new SRX is much more competitively priced. You can immediately tell that Cadillac is gunning straight for the RX in every sense of the word. A base SRX is now almost $4,000 less then the starting price of a Lexus RX. So how does it stack up?
The interior is closely related to the CTS, which is not a bad thing. The center stack with the rising screen is directly lifted from the CTS. The software used in the touchscreen is definitely upgraded. I could pair my phone using only the screen in the SRX while I had to dig out the manual to figure out phone pairing with the voice command system in the CTS. The gauge cluster has a trick screen in the center of the speedometer. This screen essentially had all the trip computer functions while also displaying the speed limit on most major roads. Navigation directions are also shown with this display. The interior has non-overpowering white LED “mood” lighting at night. The seats are supportive but not firm. They are much softer than the seats in the CTS Sportwagon which, in my opinion, were better. The cargo area has a track running around it that sliders can be placed in to secure cargo. This is a very nice feature that is executed quite well.
The styling of the SRX is strong both inside and out. From the outside, the evolution of Cadillac’s arts and science styling is in full swing. The sharp creases and strong character lines all play together to create a rather good looking CUV. The rear end has the classic Cadillac “tail fin” tail lights. The angular styling leaves a D pillar in the back that creates a large blind spot. The rear window is very small, causing visibility to be less than stellar when backing up. The back-up camera is a much needed feature. The front air dam is low and I actually asked people at GM about this. They said it was both for aerodynamics and it looks better in their opinion. I do not know about all that, but in deep snow it acts as a plow. The little touches on the outside caught my eye. For example, the headlight has the Cadillac symbol stamped in the reflector. One thing that did not add up was the GM chiclet. This “Mark of Excellence” has now been removed from new models, but I assume the tooling for the SRX was already in place before the decision was made to ditch this “Old GM” symbol.
The engine in the vehicle I had was the base 3.0 liter direct injection V6 putting out 265 hp and 223 ft-lb to the front wheels. All wheel drive is optional with this engine. The optional 2.8 liter turbo V6 puts out 300 hp and 295 ft-lb to standard all wheel drive with torque vectoring. Both engines feed out to six speed automatic transmissions with manual shift capabilities. The base 3.0 liter is some what of a dog. The lack of torque is the main problem here. The SRX is not light weight, as such you can feel every one of those 265 hp and 223 ft-lb trying to get underway. The vehicle is more engaging than the class champion, Lexus RX, but feeling the engine trying to cope with the vehicle’s weight is not the best experience even though it does get up to speed just fine. More power would be welcome via the optional 2.8 liter turbo. The problem with this option is the mileage, which is rated at 15/21 mpg while the front wheel drive 3.0 liter is rated at 18/25 mpg. People seem to take these numbers very seriously these days and that turbo looks thirsty on paper for this vehicle segment.
The particular SRX I had was a premium collection vehicle with a sticker price of $47,010. This is the top level non-turbo model. There were not many options, but rear seat entertainment was on board for $1,295 and of course GM’s crystal red tintcoat for $995. Each rear seat has a flip up monitor attached to the back of the front seats with two wireless headphones and a wireless remote control that comes standard with the system. I liked the set up, and in my opinion, was done correctly. The upgraded stereo that was in this package was a 10 speaker 5.1 digital surround sound by Bose. I was not really that impressed with the system. It sounded decent enough but the optional Mark Levinson system in the Lexus RX is better. I would have liked to have seen something like the optional Harmon Kardon system from the LaCrosse in the SRX.
Equipped with 20 inch wheels, low profile tires and front wheel drive, I will admit I was a little nervous when the blizzard came through town. In fact, I drove through three blizzards and over 1000 miles within three days while driving the SRX. The only problem that I saw was with the front air dam. It is so low that it plowed through the snow and getting started down an unplowed street was not easy. It is worth mentioning that I was able to make it up a driveway that was covered in 2.5 feet of snow. To do this I had to turn off traction control and slam the gas in order for it to crawl its way up. Overall, I was impressed with everything it did in the snow. I somehow managed to eek out 26.5 mpg on the highway back through one of those storms. That is 1.5 mpg more then the EPA’s 25 mpg highway rating.
So we have gone from a rear wheel drive with an optional third row and V8 to a front wheel drive and optional turbo V6. How did we fare? The SRX is now officially a competitive vehicle. The last generation was not a mainstream approach and sales reflected that. Yes, I do think the base engine is under powered. In reality, the general public might not even notice. They will notice the mileage numbers that the turbo gets and will not be that impressed with them. I am guessing most SRX’s will leave the lot with the base 3.0 engine and customers will be content. The vehicle has distinctive styling and I like the overall packaging. While some powertrain improvements are needed, this new SRX is a solid contender in this hotly contested segment.
I do not even know where to start. The Toyota situation is getting so far out of hand it is not even funny. This started months ago when a family was killed when driving a loaner Lexus ES350. That situation has since come into the limelight of both the media and the government. Currently, the total recall count is a little over 6 million vehicles. This is due to the “sticky accelerator.”
The decision came down Tuesday that all sales would come to a halt on the vehicles affected. This sales freeze will be in affect until a fix can be implemented. Toyota has said they expect a fix in the next two weeks rather than months. With that said, they failed to mention what that fix might be. I would call this a “we are scrambling as quickly as possible” tactic. Many are convinced Toyota does not have a fix yet. Others are reporting Toyota already has the fix and new parts are starting to ship. It is hard to know what to believe at this point. The freeze affects eight models which makes up about sixty percent of all North American sales for Toyota. The list of affected vehicles is as follows-
• 2009-10 RAV4
• 2009-10 Corolla
• 2009-10 Matrix
• 2005-10 Avalon
• Certain 2007-10 Camry
• 2010 Highlander
• 2007-10 Tundra
• 2008-10 Sequoia
Avis/Budget car rental announced they will be removing nearly 20,000 Toyota’s from its fleet immediately. Enterprise Rent-A-Car, who now also owns Alamo and National Car Rental, will be pulling all Toyota’s and Pontiac Vibe’s included in the recall. While numbers were not provided by Enterprise it is estimated to be about 4% of their fleet.
It is coming out now that Toyota has known there was problem since mid 2008. In June of 2008, Toyota announced “sticky pedals” are a drivability issue not a safety issue. Well we all know how that turned out now that people have died. Toyota has ignored this problem. They continued to sell cars when they knew something was wrong! This is just ridiculous. Even further, Toyota was contacted last Friday by NHSTA after they heard the models were still being sold. It took four days for Toyota to make the announcement of the sales freeze on the affected models. It almost seems as if they had no intentions of stopping sales until it started hitting the public and governmental eyes.
I have spoken with many people who are shocked at this whole situation. In a conversation with a gentleman in the baby boomer generation the words, “Never in my life have I seen an auto manufacturer halt sales of over half their line up. This is history in the making.” He continued to compare this situation to 9/11, the difference is that this is going on inside Toyota. Another friend compared Toyota to big tobacco.
Many see this whole situation as getting out of control. I have heard some say it is snowballing. I personally think this is far from over and it will get much worse. Toyota’s reputation has now been thrown into question in front of the public view and in a terrible way. It will be interesting to see how current Toyota owners react when it is time for them to purchase a new car. This could benefit Ford, Hyundai, and General Motors. Time will tell if that happens. In recap, Toyota knew what was going on before people were killed, they continued to sell vehicles, more people died, did not fully think through the recall, things are going to get worse. I think I’m going to get sick.
Last but certaintly not least, we discuss our three main topics. This week those included the 2011 Buick Regal getting priced, the latest in the string of Toyota recalls, and Honda’s hybrids being behind sales projections.
GM announced that they will be the first U.S. auto manufacture to build its own electric motors in house. This will lead to the next generation rear wheel drive 2 mode hybrid system. That should be hitting the market sometime around 2013. GM says they realize that we need to lessen our dependence on petroleum and that they have a wide array of alternative energy solutions in mind. Those solutions include-
Mild Hybrids- GM hybrid system
Full Hybrids- 2 Mode hybrid system
Plug-In Hybrids (PHEV)- Modified 2 mode hybrid system
Extended-Range Electric Vehicles (EREV)- Voltec system
Battery Electric
Fuel Cell
The plug-in hybrid (PHEV) was recently shown on the Cadillac XTS Concept vehicle at NAIAS (Detroit Auto Show). This system is scheduled to hopefully debut on the production XTS in 2013.
GM says they plan to invest a total of $246 million in electric motors and electric drive facilities. $2 million will be spent in Pontiac, MI for the electromagnetic computational facilities while $26 million will be spent for the development and validation dynamometer facilities. Indianapolis will be receiving $10 million for development and validation dynamometer facilities. Torrence, CA will receive $6 million for characterization and development dynamometer facilities. Another yet to be disclosed U.S. location will receive money for a high volume electric motor manufacturing facility.
GM says that since 2003 they have “quietly” been testing, designing, and validating their capabilities in house to develop and produce the electric motors themselves. Using suppliers means relying on someone else. They like the mantra “If you want it done right, do it yourself.” Personally I am a huge fan of this saying. Also mentioned was the fact that they will work with “their best suppliers” to produce the best product possible.
Click read more for the full press release after the break.
Most people do not know it but Minnesota has the highest boat per capita in the United States. Further then that Minnesota boats have the lowest average hours used on those boats in the United states. It all stems from us having so much water (i.e. Land of 10,000 Lakes) which leads many people either to have a cabin up north or just enjoy time out on a lake somewhere during the summer months. The reason we have the lowest average hours on those boats is simple, we have a short summer. Since we have so many boats/boaters the Minneapolis Boat Show is one of the best places for boat sales men to meet quotas. Many of the sales people on the floor at the show actually told me that this show is where they sell the most boats out of the entire year.
When I started this blog I said I would write about anything with a spark plug. The first comment I got back was, well diesel engines do not have spark plugs. To that I say touché. I also say boats have engines, some of them massive, and those engines have spark plugs so here goes.
I ran into Cydney at the show!
There were many vendors as well as boats at the show. The state of our economy was evident a the show most noticeably some prominent OEM manufactures were absent due to bankruptcy filings. These included Crestliner, Lund, Glastron, and many more. One of the first things that struck me as I was walking the show floor is the jet skis. When I was a kid jet skis were quickly becoming popular. Years ago they were truly personal water craft. Sure some said they fit three but that was in a pinch. Now these things are literally huge! If you saw a jet ski from 15 years ago next to a brand new one you would be shocked at how much they have grown in mass. Along with the mass is the engine. The average jet ski in 1995 would top out around 45-50 mph. That was fast enough for a recreational small water craft. Now if you buy a jet ski they can top out at over 80-90 mph!! I ride jet skis during the summer and know exactly what people do when on them including full throttle 360’s. I do not know if doing a 360 at 80 mph would be considered safe. I can throw myself off a jet ski doing a 360 at full throttle as it is, now if I was going twice as fast, I could imagine a trip to the emergency room or worse. I can see on open water why going fast in a straight line would be useful, but I know what many people do on jet skis and this could get dangerous!
Blown Small Block V8
Like cars many people buy old boats and restore them. One company in particular that stood out to me was Shipwreck Boat Repair. They had a 1990 Donzi Classic 18 on display that had been fully restored. With a small block V8 that had been completely redone including a pro charger supercharger. This engine had already been hooked up to a dyno and is putting out 575 hp with 11 lbs of boost after all modifications and restoration. A mere four months and now the boat is gorgeous and looks like new. With a great white on blue color scheme the boat is terrific looking. The total bill came to $30,000 for the restore including the engine. While some of you may think that is a ton of cash on a boat, you do not even want to know what a new Donzi would cost.
The show had more then just boats and jet skis. Two huge tanks of water were set up with ramps in between them. This was used for wake board shows. Top professionals were on hand doing multiple shows for crowds. Using a machine to tow them through the first tank they would launch off the ramps doing flips, twits, and much more only to land in the second tank. It was a very cool extra to have at the show.
The Screen in between the Tachometer and Speedometer has the Video Camera Feed
The biggest trend I saw at the show was technology. Many manufactures seemed to be working hard to incorporate technology into their boats in any way possible. I saw one ski boat that had a small camera in the wakeboard/ski rope tower at the top. The camera relayed a feed straight to the center console between the tachometer and the speedometer. This allows the driver to see what is going on behind the boat. I can only assume this video can also be recorded and taken off the boat for use on a computer. Another use of technology was having the same screen in the same spot on other boats but without the camera. The screen would be used for GPS navigation or radio functions. As a tech guy I love the idea that these manufactures are trying new ways to incorporate technology into the boating experience. The camera idea, just pure genius. What an easy way to video tape yourself or a buddy water skiing or wake boarding.
The last thing I wanted to note was the marketing of the show. This year the Minneapolis Boat Show struck a personal cord with me. They embraced social media. I saw someone retweet them and instantly started following the account. Upon digging further I saw they had a Facebook fan page. When I walked into the show the first thing I was greeted with was a sign proclaiming that the Minneapolis Boat Show was on Twitter and has a Facebook fan page. This to me is great. Showing that they are trying to embrace new ways to not only market but to engage with the consumer.
The show overall had many people in attendance. I saw everyone from young couples to families. At about the price of a movie ticket, the boat show was a great way for people to get out and do something different.
It is widely known that General Motors paid for my travel and accommodations for the Detroit Auto Show. In fact they even asked me in writing to disclose it on anything I write about the show. This was part of the new full disclosure rules the FTC has imposed on all bloggers beginning at the end of last year. General Motors was quick to mention that by them paying for my travel and accommodations I was in no way obligated to write about them or anything for that matter.
I was one of over 10 bloggers brought to NAIAS as press by General Motors. Most manufactures bring certain people but General Motors put a specific emphasis on bringing social media people. Both General Motors and Ford have been the “poster child” automotive companies in the social media industry. Sure Honda made a “splash” when they did the striptease of the Crosstour on Facebook. Most would have called that a colossal failure when the burn it with fire comments started pouring in. As I mentioned Ford and General Motors in general are really using social media though they are taking vastly different stances with it. General Motors does have it’s social media team on Twitter but really it is the brands and products that have accounts.
It was very interesting to witness how the “traditional media” reacted to all the social media people being around. I am fairly certain the game is changing and they are not exactly happy about it. Traditional media people have yet to figure out how to play nicely with social media types. The funniest part is many of the traditional media will write their information once back at work yet the article and or pictures will not be published for days/weeks/possibly a month. Yet they must get that picture before me or anyone else there for social media. Social media buffs are publishing this stuff live on the spot using our phones and laptops. We are connected (when we have signal) and are reporting live and on site.
That leads to another issue that has cropped up with the use of social media at an event such as NAIAS. Live and on sight I was reporting the information as it was literally being spoken. People on Twitter following me were getting the information as I received it including pictures. The challenge was that the ten other people sitting around me are tweeting the information out at the same time. How do I differentiate myself from these other people. Sure we all took different pictures and different angles, but the information, specifications, general information, is all the same. Social media types run in similar circles, many people that follow me also follow the people I was with. Realizing this early on I had to differentiate myself on Twitter while I was there. I could report what others were sure, but I had to have something else. I realized how lucky I was to have been afforded this opportunity. I decided I would try and make it so others that were not there could get whatever they would want. I tweeted numerous times asking what people wanted to see. When requests came in I obliged and took the corresponding photos. Some other blogs actually asked me privately to take photos for them and I did. Many people asked me to take a look at certain things and report back which of course I did. Then something else happened. General Motors set us all up with small round table sessions with some of the executives. I instantly saw an opportunity and tweeted out who I would be meeting with and when. I told my followers that if they had any questions for these people to let me know, and I would be happy to ask. I took video of all the round table sessions and have already up loaded this. Of course I asked the questions that came in off Twitter.
Fiat Twins
On Monday evening I realized that many pictures I had taken included the models posing with the cars. I decided to tweet out a bunch of the photos and hash tag them with the keyword #EyeCandy. This quickly turned into a “series” and people loved it. The last thing I decided to do was simple. There were plenty of models posing with cars and at the Fiat stand they had two girls to go along with the two 500’s. On the second day the two girls in the morning appeared to be twins. When I over heard someone saying they were I tweeted this. Soon I heard Jalopnik saying they were not in fact twins. Seeing that my eye candy series had been such a hit I decided to go and put an end to this debate. I walked up to the “twins” and simply said there was talk about whether they were in fact twins and asked if they were. They immediately said they were and I tweeted “BREAKING- The Fiat twins are in fact twins!” Of course this tweet started a whole new discussion. I also happened to learn that the twins live in Minneapolis about 15 minutes from where I live. After having a conversation I left them to continue modeling and went back to the business of walking the show. All of this gave me personality. It was something different then just reporting the specifications/information about the cars. When I got into the Lotus Evora I tweeted about how it felt like a glove when sitting in it.
The Ford area was one of the best consumer booths of the show. They have everything from interactive computer simulations to transmissions torn apart, just about anything. The booth itself is utterly huge. Ford also had some customized Fiesta’s strewn about so people could get an idea about the level of customization these cars will have.
It is clear to me that social media is making an impact both in how manufactures are advertising and how they are handling themselves at autoshows. It says something to me that the two auto manufactures most involved in social media are Ford and General Motors. The point of all this is embracing new ways to communicate is something that forward thinking companies are doing and we should all take note.
Phil Colley, Nicole Carriere, Me, Chris Barger (from left to right)
Full Disclosure- My NAIAS travel and accommodations were provided by General Motors
Episode 11 starts by discussing the past week on both of our respective blogs, AutoBird Blog and AccelerateMpls. The week in review included gas pump prices, and the major reveals at Detroit along with the videos from NAIAS. We move along to talk about NAIAS (the Detroit Auto Show) and the things we saw at the show. That list includes
2012 Ford Focus
2011 Lincoln MKX
Chrysler Delta concept
Chevrolet Spark
Chevrolet Aveo RS concept
Buick Regal GS concept
Cadillac XTS concept
Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
GMC Granite concept
Honda CR-Z
Volkswagen New Compact Concept.
The last two topics were the North American Car and Truck of the year awards and the upcoming Chrysler Super Bowl ad.
This past weekend the International Motorcycle Show was in Minneapolis, presented by Cycle World. Upon entering the show you are greeted immediately by a person handing out a Progressive Insurance bag for all the swag you might find at the show. Throughout the show I noticed how much advertising Progressive was doing. There were stickers on the floor featuring “Flo” everywhere you went along with the massive booth that they had with people talking about their motorcycle insurance. Progressive was not alone as Allstate was there with a nice sized booth of their own. Seems insurance companies are making a push for the motorcycle crowd.
Everyone at the show seemed to be an enthusiast of some kind. Some were adorning full leathers while others merely wearing a t-shirt with a companies logo on it. Everybody seemed to be representing something. Many families were at the show and the kids all seemed to be drawn to the sport bikes. There was a member of the Ducati freestyle team at the show, and they had a whole section of the floor to perform a show every few hours.
Overall, the whole show was a blast. I am glad to have met the crew at ZeroGravity. I saw a lot of innovation at the show. Many manufacturers listen to what the customers are saying and try to implement just that. There are a lot of different segments in the motorcycle industry from stunters, racers, hardcore riders and just the casual cruiser and yet there was something for everyone.
