CRI听力:Detroit to Gear Up for North American International Auto Show

Automakers are gearing up to unveil their newest designs at the North American International Auto Show.

Organisers say, on the media preview days falling on next Monday and Tuesday, around 45 new production vehicles and experimental concept cars will make their world debut at the event.

Max Muncey, the show's public relations manager, says a major renovation on exhibits is also underway to give visitors a fresh feel.

"New this year: 70 percent of our floor plan is brand new. So, people coming down to the show can expect to see brand new exhibits. Double-deckers are back. One automaker actually has an escalator in their exhibit. And what that means, too, is about 200 million dollars of investment automakers have put just into their exhibits in Detroit alone."

The show is set to open to the public from next Saturday at Detroit's Cobo Center convention hall.

Visitors can see 750 cars spread over 17 acres.

Muncey is confident that the Detroit auto show can compete with other top international motor shows.

"We follow right behind shows (such) as Frankfurt and Shanghai, but we're in the brotherhood of the top three internationally."

The headlines of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week were dominated by automotive technology, which brings concerns over the amount of attentions Detroit could get.

Some say that because electronic technologies are now closely connected to automobiles, such as driverless cars and in-vehicle software, the presence of auto makers is no longer limited to traditional auto shows.

AP automotive writer Dee-Ann Durbin says the thing that makes Detroit stand out is the media coverage it receives.

"The Detroit auto show is not the biggest in terms of square footage. It's not the biggest in terms of attendance. It has about 800,000 visitors who come each year from the general public. However, it is the biggest in terms of media attendance."

More than 5 thousand journalists from 60 countries and 40 states in the US are expected at this year's event.

The show is also a hot ticket for tens of thousands of automotive engineers, designers, and other industry attendees.

For CRI, this is Fei Fei.