The Chicago Auto Show – An Amusement Park for Adults
Last week, I had the opportunity to visit the 2011 Chicago Auto Show for The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Or, according the Rob Manker in last Friday’s Chicago Tribune, “…as it’s also known, the year’s second largest collection of vehicles on Lakeshore Drive.”
I’ve never been one to need a car with bells and whistles. If my car can get me from point A, to B, to C, to D, and E and back to B without breaking down, then I’m happy. But there was something about my first auto-show experience that left me, well, electrified. And it wasn’t just the electric cars.
I can see why the Auto Show attracts young and old. Especially the old. It’s an indoor amusement park for adults.
My tour took me past a houndstooth-wrapped Smart car, a vintage Fiat and an eerily silent yet moving Chevy Volt.
I shadowed a couple of executives as they braved a ride in a 2011 Jeep Rangler Unlimited Rubicon. We gasped and laughed as the driver effortlessly lifted us up at a 30 degree incline, 28 feet above the showcase floor, and took us down another 30-degree incline before we landed safely again on the ground.
I sat in the 2011 hybrid version of my now 170,000 + mile 2003 Hyundai and thought, perhaps it IS time to consider a trade-in.
And definitely not-to-be missed, a perfectly-synced 27-camera extravaganza at the Chevy Camaro display, in which regular families are transformed into 3-D pictures, Matrix-style, thanks to time splice technology (view an example here: http://social-gen.com/chevy/cs.php?u=e2E49). The experience made me want to rig up my very own 27-Canon Rebel camera 3-D picture booth.
Below are some pictures from last week’s showcase. The Chicago Auto Show runs through the end of this week. Enjoy!
