Outside of visits as a media person, I cannot confirm when I last attended an auto show (not to be confused with a car show, as in a bunch of guys showing off whatever in a parking lot, which you’re also free to discuss), but I would guess it was in the late 1980s when my Dad was in the peak of his new-car-every-two years habit. He usually just got the latest Toyota Celica, but he’d pack up the fam each year and we’d check out all the latest wares nonetheless.
Though not valueless as a buying-decision-helper, the event was hardly essential and mostly just a good time. It did, however, go a long way in building excitement for getting a new car if not solidifying the call on which one to get, and maybe Dad visited a few dealerships he may not have otherwise bothered with before getting that latest Celica. And so, you could say the car show worked.
Spacer
A lot has changed since then, what with the electronic tube system communication system and our pocket supercomputers/televisions/attention-absorberizers that have become fixtures in our lives. The auto show scene has contracted greatly, and the era of major manufacturers saving their big new releases for auto-show debuts is long past. The auto show may be defunct as the best, if not sole, means of getting the word out about the newest models, but who among us doesn’t like to look at cars?
And so, the Autopian Asks: What Was The Last Auto Show You Attended?
UPDATE: The Bishop tracked down “The Fiero Triplets” on video, nice:
Top graphic image: The New YorkAuto Show
2019 New York Auto Show. Lots of manufacturers weren’t present and then after COVID, never went again
I used to go to the DC auto show every year but haven’t gone in over a decade. I tried some other regional shows but they were less interesting the the DC show. But that had gone down hill alot too. Sometimes I think I should try the Chicago or NY show again but seems kind of weird to go just for that and don’t really want to go to either and refuse to go to California unless I’m dragged.
2025 Chicago Auto Show. A sad shadow of its former self. Tickets were free, it was a good excuse to take a day off.
8-year old Shop Teacher attended the 1989 version, where the Miata debuted. Heady times, those were.
I suppose I can say I “attended” the 2010 Seattle Auto Show although primarily I was there as an exhibitor. The LeMay Museum invited my KV Mini 1 (and, thereby unavoidably, me) to be part of their display of vintage microcars, some from their own collection and some from the local community. My car ended up parked between a much larger Isetta and a truly gigantic 2CV:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54456951133_60b20b16a3_b.jpg
The pedestals for the informational signs were thoughtfully designed in that parking a tire on each base made it unlikely that anyone would inadvertently tip one over.
Last one for me was the New York 2010 where the CTS-V Sportwagon was being introduced. I remember there were several other interesting booths and I generally had a great time. The CTS-V wagon and a long wheelbase Alpina B7 were the only two cars that I remember specifically though.
I still go to the Chicago Auto Show every year, even though I can see everything online and in videos, I still enjoy going and seeing stuff in person, even if I’m the guy buying it ten years from now. Hahaha
The Houston auto show back in ’18 or ’19. I used to go every year but they quit bringing the fun concept cars. The last trip was basically the same as walking a new car lot which I could do for free.
Washington, D.C. Auto Show in 2005. First and only time I’ve seen a Ford GT in person.
Chicago Auto Show 2007. Got to see the Chevy Volt Concept and was completely fascinated by it. Ended up rather disappointed at what it looked like in its released form in 2011, not that I could afford one anyway.
Later I saw a new one at a NASCAR race as part of a Chevy display once they came out. I went and sat in it and a sales rep came up all excited because while there were lines for the trucks and the Camaro, I was the first person to actually sit in the Volt that day. It was fun – he was the only salesman I ever met who actually knew a lot about those cars.
Amazingly, five years later I was able to easily afford a 2012 Volt as the prices on used ones had cratered. Still have it – ended up being the best car I’ve ever owned!
I tend to go to the NY show when it overlaps with NNL East, the big cars on Friday and the scale ones on Saturday. Until this year that last happened a couple years ago which was the first year everything was fully reopened after Covid.
Detroit 2019. Seems like that was about the end of it.
4 Days ago! I went at least every other year growing up so I have many fond memories. I remember when I was encouraged to hit the side of a Saturn with my fist!
Brought my toddler to this years’ show and he had a blast watching the Jeeps on the hill climb track they set up. Went last year and I’ll go next year too most likely.
Doesn’t matter if it’s a base Hyundai or an E-Ray Vette, I still enjoy checking everything out.
I went to the DC Auto Show this year. It’s a miserable waste of time, all things considered. Manufacturers don’t seem to value regional shows anymore.
Chicago, this year. It’s really a shell of itself as compared to the pre-Covid days, with the show down to just one hall of McCormick Place, and lots of indoor ‘test track’ rides in EVs. Marginally better for brands appearing but still a bummer that more brands don’t bother showing up. Less appealing year after year with small/medium/large SUVs and Stellantis’ bringing everything, and lots of stuff you’ll likely never see in a showroom or on the roads (Fiat 500X/Y/Z, anybody?). A buddy and I drive three hours each way yearly for the show, leaving early-afternoon on a weekday (Valentine’s Day is the best!), finding some sort of proper Chicago dining before the show, getting through the show in an hour and a half, tops, and three hours’ drive back home.
My first show, ever? New York, 1995, with the Ford GT90 concept still stuck in memory. I still have the program from that show.
Yeah, COVID killed it. I went to almost every Chicago show from the late ’80s through 2020. 2021 was the absolute downfall and the show is now a shell of its former self.
For a change of pace I went to Detroit this year and it was basically a copy/paste of Chicago: lots of show space occupied by demo tracks and many manufacturers conspicuously absent.
We are now past peak Auto Show, I’m afraid.
2020’s show was very surreal–it was as lightly attended as some of the last few years’ events. It was weird being there, knowing that this was likely to be *it* for a while.
Probably some kind of “O’Reilly World of Wheels” show, the kind of ones that they do in midsize and smaller cities in an effort to drum up business for dealerships — the dealer groups are the real stars of those shows, the manufacturers are almost a distant second.
The only thing I rememberer was a 350Z with the shift knob unscrewed and stolen. You know, THAT kind of auto show.
Umm, 1985 in Los Angeles? Been to motorcycle trade shows in the SF Bay Area much more recently, though even there we’re still talking mid-aughts.
That said, the New York one in the article does actually look interesting.
As a teenager in 2003, I went to an auto show in Albany, NY, which was… fine. One of the big deals there (somehow) was the new 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix, which was about to go on sale. After spending some time hanging around it and getting inside, my dad and I both agreed that Pontiac might not be around a whole lot longer…
I genuinely can’t remember. Probably 20+ years ago. I’m generally not interested in many newer vehicles, and I won’t be in the market to buy another one for quite a while, so I spend more time at *car shows* as you defined them looking at older and more interesting vehicles.
I went to the 1998 Miami Auto Show. I was 18 and went with my parents. I was super bored until I found out you could sit in most of the cars.
I grew up when going to the Detroit Auto show was the annual thing as my Step-dad was a loyal employee and he would get tickets for free. Back then all the freebies were the best. Now though the challenge is they use so many more outlets the in-person reveal is less momentous.
I think the last one I went to was in the early 2000’s and it was just disappointing. The fun ones were the offbrand auto-show like Autorama and such there was still some sort of life in 2010 or so.
Milwaukee Auto Show ’24. I sat in Supra. I didn’t fit. I was sad.
That was me with a Miata. I had fantasies of getting one when I retire. I decided to sit in one to see what it was like, and my dreams were crushed. I didn’t fit. I sat there for a few seconds feeling pretty sad, but then I had to get out because it was really uncomfortable.
I was forced to work at the 2019 NY Auto Show, which took me away from my actual job of selling cars. Wouldn’t have been so bad if our booth wasn’t in the back corner of the lower level. I know it was designed to generate sales, but aside from wandering around the Javits Center, seeing some cool stuff (most of which is no longer on the market, naturally) and spending $12 on a salad, it was a complete waste of my time.
Before that, I attended the smallish show in Raleigh back in the early aughts. Before that, with my Dad at the Chicago show at McCormick Place in the 80s (there was a whole booth of Hummers and I remember even as a kid finding the irony in such a large vehicle with such abysmal interior room).
I used to go to the New England International Auto Show every year but I don’t think I’ve been to one since 2017 because it got less interesting every year.
Twin Cities auto show 2010 because I remember seeing the H3T Alpha. It’s not worth my trouble or time to go back.
It was before the internet was really useful. I’ve never been afraid to walk into a dealer and ask to look at something. Plus, driving the car seems more important than just looking at it.
I also have a well-established hatred of the tradeshow industry in all its forms.