Wednesday, September 17th, MBN was on the road to Detroit for CAR – the Center for Automotive Research’s 60th annual Management Briefing Seminars.
The event moved from The Grand Traverse Resort & Spa to Michigan Central the refurbished railroad hub in the city.
Watch this interview with Steve Purdy, owner of Shunpikers Productions, LLC, Author of MASCOTS in MOTION, Board of Directors for the Society of Automotive Historians, Host of ‘A Shunpikers Journal’ on Michigan Business Network, in the YouTube video shared below:
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Overview of CAR MBS & 2025 Edition: The Center for Automotive Research
DETROIT – (CAR) returned with its flagship Management Briefing Seminars (MBS) 2025, from September 15–17 in Detroit, hosted in the iconic Michigan Central Station. This relocation signaled a bold renewal, marrying automotive heritage with forward-looking mobility innovation. The MBS platform is built to convene leaders across original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), suppliers, mobility services, government, and infrastructure, enabling connection at the nexus of policy, technology, and business strategy.
CAR’s 2025 tagline—“a new era, a new home”—underscores the intent to redefine expectation. MBS is positioning itself not merely as an industry conference, but as a decision-making engine: the place where executives, strategists, and policymakers gather to debate the future of mobility under one roof.
Content explored major disruptions in the sector: electrification, autonomous systems, infrastructure, regulatory reform, and sustainable business models. Panel sessions and keynotes examined how shifting global competition, supply chain sovereignty, and policy uncertainty challenge legacy businesses — and empower new entrants.
The agenda promised curated sessions across themes: policy and regulation, technology foresight, industry transformation, and strategic planning. CAR delivered resources through the Whova app and partner portals — slides, video, and supplemental materials — ensuring attendees can revisit content long after the event.
Selecting Detroit and Michigan Central Station was deeply symbolic. It reflects a belief in returning to the roots of American mobility while leaning into reinvention. The venue choice embodied the tension the industry faces: honoring legacy while disrupting its own foundations.
For businesses and stakeholders, MBS 2025 offered several tangible value propositions:
Policy Intelligence: gain insights into regulatory trends, infrastructure planning, and legislative shifts critical to mobility investments.
Strategic Exposure: thought leadership, scenario planning, and competitive benchmarking beyond daily operations.
Network Leverage: depth of access — from OEM C-suite to technology firms to government actors — opening doors for partnerships, investment, and collaboration.
Content Longevity: recorded keynotes, slides, and materials will endure, making MBS a reference resource, not just a live event.
Ecosystem Alignment: bringing together fragmented actors in mobility to foster alignment around standards, strategy, and shared goals.
Logistics of Detroit, legacy industry expectations, and maintaining inclusion for smaller firms required careful curation and execution by CAR.
In short, MBS 2025 aimed to be more than a conference — it wanted to be a turning point in mobility strategy. By marrying Detroit’s symbolism with future-forward content, CAR sought to reset how the auto/ mobility ecosystem convenes, defines direction, and collectively moves forward in an era of rapid transformation.
Ann Arbor, MI — The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) announced that Dr. Gill Pratt, Chief Scientist of Toyota Motor Corporation and CEO of Toyota Research Institute, served as a keynote speaker at the 2025 Management Briefing Seminars (MBS) — the premier automotive conference that celebrated its 60th anniversary this year.
Held September 15–17, 2025, at the newly revitalized Michigan Central Station in Detroit, MBS 2025 proved to be a groundbreaking convergence of industry titans, tech disruptors, and global policymakers. With the theme “Redefining Global Automotive Leadership,” the event challenged conventional thinking and spotlighted the forces shaping the future of mobility.
As a globally respected authority on robotics, artificial intelligence, and sustainable mobility, Dr. Pratt brought a rare depth of insight into how emerging technologies are revolutionizing the automotive landscape. His keynote explored the intersection of human-centered AI, electrification, and the path to carbon neutrality — providing attendees with an exclusive window into the next era of innovation from one of the world’s most influential automakers.
“Dr. Gill Pratt’s work is at the leading edge of technological transformation in the automotive industry,” said Elizabeth Krear, CEO at CAR. “Having him on the MBS keynote stage offered attendees unparalleled insight into where Toyota — and the industry at large — is headed next.”
MBS 2025 marked a bold return to Detroit, the birthplace of American automotive ingenuity. The historic Michigan Central Station — itself a powerful symbol of reinvention — provided the perfect backdrop for this landmark event.
In its 60th year, MBS continued to lead the global conversation at the intersection of technology, policy, and innovation. Attendees connected with C-suite leaders, startup visionaries, government regulators, and global thought leaders in sessions designed to inspire action and ignite collaboration.
For updates, please visit www.cargroup.org/mbs or contact Mark Garrison at carmarketing@cargroup.org.
Center for Automotive Research
The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) is an independent, non-profit organization conducting industry-driven research and analysis. Focusing on critical areas like Energy & Sustainability, Technology, and Labor, Economics, and Policy. CAR has been a trusted resource for the automotive industry for over twenty years. www.cargroup.org
