I love auto shows. The glitz, the glamour, the cars all sitting on soft carpets where you don’t usually find cars, it just feels right. You all seem to agree with me, as I had plenty of answers to choose from in my Question of the Day from earlier this week; “What’s Your Favorite Auto Show Moment?”
It was a wonderful trip down memory lane. I’d totally forgotten about GM’s hydrogen cell concepts a whole 20 years ago, or Dodge dropping a Ram through the ceiling of the Detroit Auto Show (those Stellantis brands really knew how to make a splash at auto shows back in the day.) Take a wander through this post, won’t you? And remember all the fun times we’ve had as the corpse of the American auto show continues to stumble towards irrelevance.
The 2015 Ford GT reveal
The 2015 Ford GT reveal felt pretty special, and I still think the car is gorgeous.
From Ryan Brenn
If only there was surviving footage of the dancers!
Sometime in 90’s, LA Auto Show Press Day. The day before the official opening, it is sparsely populated and many displays are still being constructed. I turn a corner and, behold, I see before me: The Toyota Dancers. They are being put through the paces by an especially serious choreographer. He was yelling and clapping his hands (not for applause, but for tempo instruction/reinforcement) and maniacally stalking the lip of stage back and forth. They were rehearsing an elaborate dance routine to an extended version of the hyper-annoying, omnipresent, “I Love What You Do for Me, Toyota” advertising jingle. The very “expressive” and combustible choreographer was acting as if they were opening on Broadway that night, while the dancers’ expressions transmitted the reality that none of them would be dancing on Broadway….ever. So it was simultaneously funny, pathetic and therefore, a bit sad.
From Clowncone4
GM playing with hydrogen fuel cells all the way back in 2005
2005 Detroit Auto Show where GM routinely spent more money than God on displays.
Specifically, when GM had an amphitheater where they debuted several models, but one of which was the Sequel (a literal sequel to the GM Hy-Wire “skateboard”). While the vehicle itself wasn’t particularly attractive (ended up inspiring the gen-1 Traverse), and while the cool tech was previously shared, the memories of being with my dad and listening to Tom Cochrane’s “Life is a Highway” as we exited will always be a signifcant memory.
That moment has stayed with me far longer than anything GM put on the turntable (but made me a GM fan for life nonetheless).
From Nick Thomas
I won’t lie, I love this woman
I was at the Denver Auto Show once sitting in the back seat of a 2015-ish Grand Cherokee and this woman who was dressed in a ridiculous, lavish fur coat got in the front seat with her husband. She started running her hands all over the dashboard and said in a very southern accent “OOOOOOOH BABY, NOW THIS IS LUXURY!!”
It was hilarious because of the way she was dressed and because of how loudly she said it and also because it was a Jeep Grand Cherokee. It’s one of those core memories that I’ll never forget.
From JonRob 951
Jeeps are tough, but not always showroom tough
That time a Jeep got stuck on the fake mountain they made. Don’t know how long it took them to get it things fixed as it was near the end of my visit and watching nothing happen isn’t all the much fun to watch.
From Cluck
It was just a regular ol’ 1994 Dodge Ram!
I can’t seem to find video of it, but I remember seeing archived footage of Dodge dropping the new semi-truck-inspired Ram onto stage at the 1993 NAIAS. Under Bob Lutz, Chrysler really was the king of auto show reveals.
From DiRF
Straight to the heart
I grew up in Wisconsin, where rust never sleeps. I remember I was maybe 13 or 14, and I was drawn to the BMW display-specifically the tail pipes. They came straight out the back, rather than curve around the back side of the rear wheel where water and road salt would spray up on it and slowly turn it to dust, like most of the other manufacturers were doing. So clever, so obvious. Honestly, that’s the only thing car-related I remember. Most of my memories were about leering at the models working each of the booths.
From dug_deep
Easing down the walkway to see a new Cadillac
My favorite car show moment has to be in around 1990, I was at GNRS in Pomona. I was able to get in early as my dad knew Boyd Coddington. Boyd got me in about 1 hour early. I was walking around and was looking at Scion XB that was unique and customized. when Billy Gibbons from ZZ-Top stepped behind the ropes and into the car. I just said hello Billy. He asked how I got in so early and I explained Boyd let me in. He asked if I wanted to walk the show with him, I could not answer yes fast enough. We spent about 30 min together. He really is a car guy and I will never forget how pleasant he really is. Because of him, I realized that famous people are just people that make a living do what they love to do, just like most of us.
From 77Camaro
The cool car company
It must have been 2008 or 2009 at the New York International Auto Show. Scion was still around, and they had their own booth setup, separate from Toyota. They were blasting music and showing how youthful and lively their brand was. I remember them giving out all sorts of goodies, like Scion-branded hats and beanies, iPod socks (so 2008 of them!), and then at one point, the ceiling just opened up and it started raining Scion plush toys. As a kid, I thought it was incredible!
From JacksonGoToMC
