Podcast: Howes on shrinking auto show

Detroit News Columnist Daniel Howes and Michigan Radio are partners in weekly essays examining what's hot in Michigan business and politics – and what it all means. This week, Howes says the decisions by German heavyweights Mercedes-Benz and BMW to bolt the Detroit auto show are an unmistakable sign: the annual rite at Cobo Center needs to find a new way forward. Detroit is fast becoming an optional stop on the global auto show circuit, Howes explains. And credit for that goes to technology and year-round product development cycles that enable automakers to tout new products at the times and places of their choosing.