A new smart phone app designed to bring the “excitement and beauty” of new cars and trucks to smartphones and iPads is now available for free download, it was announced Tuesday.
Created by organizers of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit and sponsored by Michelin North America and Delphi, the app, called Auto Show Passport, features dozens of galleries and thousands of photos from shows in Paris, Geneva, Detroit, Frankfurt, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, among others.
NAIAS Chairman Bob Shuman says Auto Show Passport will enable car enthusiasts to view new vehicle photos that capture the energy and ambiance of global auto shows, adding: the new app will answer a common question: “What are auto shows like in other parts of the world?”
“That question is inevitable,” says Shuman, vice president of Shuman Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram SRT in Walled Lake. “Because I’ve had the opportunity to visit other great shows in Europe and Asia, I’m usually able to answer the question. But, now, Auto Show Passport will provide people with the feel of what it’s like to be a part of the excitement from the auto show floor in Paris, or Geneva, or Beijing, and so on.”
Shuman says Auto Show Passport will include show descriptions, local happenings, and cultural information about specific auto show host cities.
“That’s partly why we named the app, ‘Auto Show Passport,’ because it’ll enable people through their smart devices to travel virtually to different auto shows, and get a feel for other countries while doing so,” he says.
Features include 33 galleries with more than 2,000 individual photos from 16 auto shows and events, including: Beijing; Brussels; Detroit; Frankfurt; Geneva; Guangzhou; Moscow; Paris; Shanghai; Tokyo; Cholmondely Pageant of Power; Goodwood Festival of Speed; Motorexpo; Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance; Salon Prive Concours d’Elegance; SEMA Las Vegas; and Windsor Castle Concours d’Elegance.
Other offerings include:
- Availablity on the following platforms: iPad, iPhone, Android Phone, and the Auto Show Passport website
- “World Tour” functionality allows users to spin the globe to discover new shows
- “Favorites” allows users to collect and save their favorite cars on their journey through the app
- “Photo Finder” allows users to quickly find photos that have been tagged by manufacturer, color, car type, event, and year
- “Sharing” allows users to share and forward favorite photos with friends and family via text or email
- Photos are shot on location by professional photographers. No stock photos. No retouched studio shots.
App developers say new features and enhancements are expected to be added in 2014. In addition, visitors to the upcoming NAIAS at Detroit’s Cobo Center — Jan. 18-26 — will be able to submit their own photos, some of which will be selected for a “User-Submitted Gallery.”
In addition, NAIAS has partnered with China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Automotive Industry Committee, which hosts auto shows in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai, to launch a Chinese version of the app on Nov. 21.
