2010: Oh, scrap - auto show cancelled again!

The highly anticipated annual car show, hosted by the Automobile Dealer's Association's (ADA), was cancelled for the second consecutive year. The event, which was scheduled for November at the National Arena, had to be called off because of the high cost of staging the event, said ADA Chairman Kent LaCroix.

LaCroix, who was last year returned as chairman of the association for the sixth time, said the budget to stage the show, which was introduced in the 1960s, was between $15 million and $20 million.

"In this time of economic challenges, it has been proving difficult for the dealers and sponsors provide funding for the event," he told Automotives in an interview last summer.

However, Major Desmon Brown, chairman of Independence Park Limited (IPL), manager of the National Arena, said the event was value for money. "We haven't increased the rental for the venue for the show for over three years and the National Arena can hold up to 7,000 persons. Only the cost of electricity has increased over the years," he noted.

In 2009, Major Brown said his organisation quoted a fee of $2.8 million for the ADA to use the National Arena for two days.

On the other hand, LaCroix lamented the fact that in 2010 sales on new vehicles had fallen 15 per cent below figures for 2009.

However, he was optimistic the event would be held in 2011, once sales improved.

- L.D.

• Navigating an unrest

2010, the Year of the Tiger, saw violence clawing at the heart of the west Kingston communities claiming the lives of two police personnel, one soldier and 73 civilians.

According to police reports, gunmen loyal to Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke engaged them in a three-day gun battle in an attempt to prevent the lawmen from entering the community to arrest Coke. Coke was wanted in the US for drugs and gunrunning. He was eventually held and extradited a month later.

During the unrest, however, many motorists traversing the city's streets used frequent updates from social networks Facebook, Twitter, and BlackBerry Messenger, to plot safe passage to and from work.

Wallen Hutchinson, a Spanish Town resident, who attends a HEART Academy training institution in St Andrew, told Automotives during that tumultuous time, tweet updates enabled him to skirt "hot spots".

"Tweet updates on Twitter guided me as to when and where to drive when I was on the road," Hutchinson told Automotives.

"It worked well because persons who were already in danger zones sent messages as to what was happening, and those receiving the information could make a judgment call as to whether to continue along the routes, stay put or travel other routes," he added.

Shiquita Woodyard, an online travel agent, found the updates useful as well.

She said in the absence of news reports, it was the postings on Facebook that kept her informed about what was happening on the roads and which routes to avoid if she had ventured out.

Similarly, musician Kedon Whyte, a BlackBerry owner and BlackBerry Messenger user, benefited from that smartphone application.

- Laranzo Dacres