Nissan Dealers Pull Out of Detroit Auto Show

After the corporate honchos at Nissan said the automaker would not have a presence at the 2009 Detroit auto show, Nissan dealers stepped in to fill the void — not to mention the 25,000 square feet of floor space. Now, after having been asked by headquarters not to man the show, dealer partners will pull out as well.

This will leave Nissan and Infiniti’s floor space to be divvied up by Kia, a Bertoni exhibit, the College for Creative Studies and a luxury event in which it will be used as a lounge and gallery.

This is a curious move by Nissan. Given its dealers were footing most of the bill, it seemed only logical to have a presence. Nissan has both the new Cube and the 370Z, which would surely have generated interest at an event attended by hundreds of thousands of consumers. Yet clearly the parent company cared enough to ask its dealer partners to stay away. Is this a bad PR move?

Nissan Dealers Won’t Have a Presence at Auto Show (Detroit News)