Tuesday, March lst, 2016 |

 

Kori Bowns
LAYOUT EDITOR

The 108th Chicago Auto Show made
its public debut February 13, taking up much
of the available space in Chicago’s McCormick
Place, the largest convention center in North
America. Prior to the public opening of the
show, the auto show’s First Look for Charity
event attracted over nine thousand guests and
raised over $2 million for local charities. The
public show was open from 9 am. until 10 pm.
each day, with tickets on sale for $12 for adults.

As a first-time auto show guest and
as someone who isn’t particularly interested in
cars, visiting the auto show was still well worth
it and quite a spectacle to behold. Upon ascend-
ing the escalators to the main exhibit floor of
McCormick Place, I was overwhelmed by the
amount of displays there were and the amount
of effort and planning that was put into each
company’s exhibit. As I looked around, I saw a
giant Toyota logo suspended from the ceiling,
large screen displays showcasing highlights of
different models, and dozens of cars in every
direction.

The group I was visiting the show

with decided to arrive early, right as the show
opened, on the last Saturday of the show’s
run. This turned out to be a wise decision, as
many people had not yet arrived to the show,
and afforded us several additional opportu-
nities that would have had long waits later in
the day. Almost immediately after deciding
in which direction to proceed upon reaching
the center of the exhibit floor, a Mazda repre-
sentative grabbed our attention and offered us
a test drive in a car of our choice. With some
slight hesitation, our group was led down
to the lowest level of the convention center,
where we quickly signed up to test drive a new
Mazda CX-5. Within minutes, we were led to
an outdoor garage area where we were able to
take the car on a short trip, driving it through
the parking lot north of McCormick Place.
Upon our return, I was pleased to find that we
weren’t pressured by any salespeople and were
rewarded with a $5 Starbucks gift card for giv-
ing the car a try.

One member of the group I was with
is intending to buy a new car within the next
year; after our first test drive, he was hooked.
Next, we hurried over to Subaru’s test drive
station and signed up to drive a Crosstrek

ae@technewsiit.com 5

Chicago Auto Show concludes after 9-day run

and Impreza. Subaru’s test drive course was
slightly more exciting, leading us out of Mc-
Cormick Place’s parking lot, up on to Lake
Shore Drive, and down some additional streets
before returning to the garage. With all of our
test drives, we were accompanied by friendly
representatives who were ready to guide us in
learning about the car and answer any of our
questions.

After having our fill of test drives,
we headed back up to the main floor, where
we began to walk through each car manufac-
turer’s display and looked at each model they
had on the floor, often taking the opportunity
to sit inside them, which was an option for all
but the most expensive cars on the floor. The
show hosted more than 20 global debuts and a
dozen concept cars. Every major car manufac-
turer was represented. We soon realized that
we had made a wise choice in arriving early,
as the show became more and more crowded
as the day progressed, contributing to huge
crowds around the super car displays and test
drive opportunities.

At lunchtime, our group decided
to skip the overpriced options at McCormick
Place and took a short walk into Chinatown.

After returning from lunch, we were able to
walk through the rest of the show and felt that
we were comfortably able to see everything the
Chicago Auto Show had to offer during our
full-day trip.

Visiting the Chicago Auto Show was
a fun experience, especially considering that
normally don’t find myself independently re-
searching the latest news in the auto industry.
I had a good time looking at new concepts for
cars in the future, gawking at cars I can never
hope to afford, and even looking at cars the av-
erage consumer might be considering for their
next purchase. All of the brands present did a
marvelous job creating their displays and fa-
cilitating guests in learning more about their
company and the cars that they offer.

Upon conclusion of the 2016 show,
dates for the 2017 Chicago Auto Show have
already been announced. Car enthusiasts can
look forward to checking out the show be-
tween February 11 and 20 of next year. Tickets
are expected to go on sale starting in Novem-
ber.

 

Photos by Kari Bowns