• by Tanya Gazdik , Staff Writer, February 27, 2018

It’s more than a month away, but I have been thinking about nothing but the New York International Auto Show for the last several weeks. It’s a big deal for MediaPost: We host our annual Marketing: Automotive conference and also present awards for best marketing to the top automakers and their agencies.

“This conference tackles issues that really matter to auto marketers,” says Ian Beavis, chief strategy officer at AMCI Global. “I was impressed by the quality of the presenters and the content. In a busy NYIAS schedule, every marketer needs to make time for it."

The automakers also have been hard at work preparing the events that will unveil a slew of new models during the media-only days, which officially are March 28 and 29, but as in other auto shows, are creeping backward since everyone wants to get a jump on the competition. 

Cadillac sent out its invites Feb. 2 (which was even before the Chicago auto show) for its big press event March 27 at Cadillac House. The luxury automaker will be unveiling the XT4 for the first time globally. The crossover will be smaller and cost less than its XT5 sibling. It’s the first of five major vehicle introductions that Cadillac has planned through the end of 2020.

Nissan's all-new Altima will make its world debut on March 28. "New Yorkers have always loved the Altima, making the Northeast region the most popular market for Nissan's best-selling sedan and NYIAS the ideal place to reveal the next generation," the automaker wrote in its invite. The car represents the sixth generation for the Altima nameplate, and it has been five years since a redesign.

Kia is rumored to be prepping to reveal its 2019 Kia K900, of which it released teaser shots last week. Not much has been released but Motor Trend speculates it will be closely related to the Genesis G90.

Lexus is also likely to show off its UX crossover for the first time in North America. The automaker confirmed last week via a teaser video on Facebook that it will unveil it March 6 at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. The small SUV will rival the Jaguar E-Pace and Mercedes-Benz GLA.

The New York show officially opens to the public at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on March 30 and runs through April 8. Annual public attendance tops 1 million. More than 1,000 vehicles are on display on the show floor, which takes up 950,000 square feet. If you love automobiles, it is not to be missed.