2019 is the last year the North American International Auto Show will be held in January.  It moves to a new June timeframe in 2020, and many other changes are in the offing.  

You’ll want to see this historic last January show — with new cars and trucks — in the familiar Cobo Center setting in downtown Detroit.  Your Columbia Alumni Association of Michigan again has a great way for you to do so, with its exclusive insiders’ tour, days before the show opens to the public.

Our tour guide, Tom Libby, is Manager of Loyalty Solutions and Industry Analysis for IHS Markit. He is a prominent figure who provides data and analysis for automotive clients and the media. He is also a graduate of Amherst College and Columbia University, where he earned his MBA. 

Tom has shared his expertise with our Columbia tour groups for the past four years.  His tours are among our club’s most popular events and always sell out.  They offer an exclusive opportunity to hear from an expert with more than 25 years in the business share his knowledge of the U.S. new and used vehicle industries.  This is your chance to hear him and see cars from around the world — up close and personal — without the crowds that come when the doors open to the public.  

Tom’s tour will begin at the Joe Louis statue in the main lobby of Detroit’s Cobo Center on Wednesday, January 16, during Industry Preview days.  Industry insiders pay as much as $150 to gain advance access to the showduring these special days, but the Columbia Alumni Association of Michigan offers its tour for just $30 per person.  

We will gather at the Joe Louis statue beginning at 6 p.m. Please be prompt:  We will be admitted as a group to the show at 6:30 p.m. and have no way to accommodate latecomers.

Our thanks to the Detroit Automobile Dealers Association for granting us early access to the show for this fundraiser. The Columbia Alumni Association of Michigan is a 501(c) (3) tax exempt organization.

NOTE: Attendance on the tour is limited to 25 people, so please act now. This tour always sells out.

Click here for a map of the location.