Chicago Auto Show

Well, we took a trip to McCormick Place for our annual Auto Show trip. We started around noon and had about six hours to cover the whole show. I NEED to remember for next time that six hours is NOT enough with a wife and two little kids. Also, another tip for anybody looking to take pictures is to not leave your "camera" option on constantly. I left my phone camera on for easier picture taking and it ran out of battery juice halfway through. We spent about $60 to $70 throughout the whole trip. $20 for parking, $22 ($11 a piece) for admission, $15 for a sandwich, chips, and drink, and $15 for 2 hot dogs, chips, and drink.

So, what's new at the Auto Show? First and foremost, the Ford Fusion is redesigned for 2013 as is the Malibu. The Fusion is totally redesigned, while the Malibu underwent a severe facelift. The Sonic is out in sedan and Chevy is coming out with a subcompact called the Spark. Toyota has a couple of Fuel-cell and Electric concepts. The Prius V was a big letdown. I thought it would have a third row seat, but no. It's just a Prius wagon. The Kia Rio and Accent have been out for a while, but this is the first time I've seen them in person. The Mistubishi Imev, Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt made big appearances. The Volt had a section devouted to it, as it was last year. Ford Focus has an Electric version as well. The Imev seems like something I could do. It's only a four seater, and smaller than the Leaf, but it's cheaper. All the Electric cars get about 110 to 120 miles on one charge. The IMev recharges from dead to full in about 6 hours.

Cadillac is giving the DTS the axe. I'm not suprised, but still a little sad. A 4.6L V8 with a four-speed, front drive full-size car just doesn't seem like viable option. The XTS will replace it with a V6 with front or All-Wheel drive. The STS is gone, too. They introduced the ATS. I believe that the pecking order is ATS, CTS, and XTS or CTS, ATS, XTS. Cadillac had a CIEL concept, a four-door, no top car with suicide doors and a humidor. Volvo had a four-door suicide door sedan concept. The CLS 63 AMG is my favorite expensive car ($94,900). Dodge and Chrysler shined with the Chrysler 300 and 200. They also introduced the Dart sedan. The SRT section had a slew of hi-performance stuff like the "Yellow Jacket" Challenger, the "Super Bee" Charger, SRT8 Grand Cherokee and 300C. The 200S is a sharp, midsized sport sedan. Buick released the Verano (I think it's replacing the Lucerne, or something). Lexus redesigned the GS sedan. The Camry and Yaris are redesigned. The Yaris is a great step in the right direction. The instrument cluster is back in front of the driver where it should be, instead of in the center of the dash. The Camry is pretty much the same, but boxier. Toyota and Lexus are adopting a boxy look, but they use too many conflicting lines and angles.

Honda and Acura's tagline should be... "ehhh..." They redesigned a couple of models for the better, but they used materials of lesser quality for the interiors and supposedly the horsepower isn't really there. Volkswagon had the usual stuff. I like the Jetta TDI wagon and Passat CC. Audi's A7 is really cool. It's a cheaper alternative to the Panamera. The quintesential "Chick Car", the Beetle was redesigned to be geared more towards the male crowd.

Check out the Mercury XM-800 concept. IT was originally displayed in 1954 and has been meticulously upkept and redisplayed at this show.


All in all, there were a few things interesting in the show, but far less than in previous years. The Fusion and the Electric cars are the highlights of the show. Check out my pics on Facebook. Stay tuned for more reviews and updates.