A brief NEMPA President’s letter this month because I’ve spent two nights in a hotel, I’m home for one powerless night, and then we expect two more nights in a hotel, all because Mother Nature decided to drop winter on New England six weeks ahead of schedule.
This is a natural segue to our Winter Vehicle Awards. One major OEM has already committed seven vehicles (with maybe more to come) to arrive next week. This company knows that the best way to get serious consideration for New England Winter Vehicle of the Year is to get contenders into our fleet well ahead of time and let them stay here, so all our media members can drive them.
It simply does not work to send a vehicle up here in January for a couple of weeks and then yank it, never to be seen again. Ignorance is not bliss. Nobody knows winter like New England drivers, and we know how to judge the best vehicles for winter. If you’d like to be considered, please get your contenders to John Lawlor as soon as possible.
Keep in mind, too, that NEMPA each year hands out more than just the Winter Vehicle of the Year award. There are lots of other categories in our winter judging, And it’s hard for us to return the love to a manufacturer who ignores New England.
Here’s our event schedule for the next few months:
• Nov. 8 – Jeep Wrangler presentation at the Museum of Transportation
• Dec. 13 – NEMPA holiday party at the Boston Globe
• Jan. 12 – Media Day for the New England International Auto Show.
In a quick look back, kudos to Buick for its recent program at John Lawlor’s world headquarters. We enjoyed being able to drive the product, talk to the executives and eat brick-oven pizza made right in John’s parking lot. Plus, Buick benefited from lots of follow-up coverage from the event and having their vehicle in the fleet. Our thanks to Pierre Kanter and GM and the whole Automotion crew for a great event.
Sorry for the brevity (but I’m sure most of you aren’t). Have a great Thanksgiving, and we’ll keep you posted on more happenings in the coming months.
Keith Griffin,
NEMPA President
No comments yet.