Auto shows

"Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!" (patrickgruden)
02/12/2019 at 15:01 • Filed to: None

So, this weekend I went to the Philly auto show. I’ve been going to this show when it was in Valley Forge. Anyway, my wife and I got in to a discussion about it.

Maybe I’m lame or just old, but I didn’t even look at the exotics that were there. Hell, the most expensive car I sat in was under 40k. Really expensive cars just don’t interest me. I go to a car show to scoop out my next potential car.

My wife thinks that’s dumb, and the point is to go and see stuff you can’t see every day. I explained to her that I want to crawl around the car and examine more closely. She said just go to a dealership for that. No, I’m not wasting the dealership’s time when I’m not buying now.

So, what is the point of an auto show for you?

SSide note to Honda. Why do you continually bring cars with power seats to the car show and then give people no way to adjust the seats? That’s my biggest reason for going to a show, to see if I can find a comfortable driving position. Okay, rant over.

DISCUSSION (25)

BeaterGT > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
02/12/2019 at 15:15

Also went to the Philly show this past weekend and we did some testing of normal cars as well as some o gling at the exotics . Also checked out the car clubs and various muscle cars. My f amily is in the midst of cross shopping Subarus and Mazdas whereas I just wanted to sit in cars I was interested in for potential daily drivers and check out cars I’ll never be able to afford .

Mercedes Streeter > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
02/12/2019 at 15:21

I go there to play with everything I can. This is even easier with a media pass because the doors that are normally locked for the public are unlocked for you. Want to sit in a Rolls Royce or a McLaren? With a media pass, you can! I’ll never own a Jeep Compass, but I can say I’ve now ridden in one that’s driven up a staircase and traversed some rocks. lol I’ll probably never buy a new MX-5 unless I get some random windfall, but I drove one anyway and fell in love. :)

An added benefit is that if the show you go to is big enough there will be manufacturers there that you never heard of before.

interstate366, now In The Industry > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
02/12/2019 at 15:22

I’m planning on going to the auto show in Richmond this weekend, for the same reason. I want to check out possible future cars without being pestered by dealer salespeople since I’m not going to be in the market until, bare minimum, 2022, probably later. (I checked out a new Acura RDX in the dealer showroom when I was getting my TL’s brakes done last weekend, and told a salesman that.) If I want to see out of the ordinary stuff, I’ll go to Cars & Coffee or Japanese Classics.

WilliamsSW > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
02/12/2019 at 15:24

I’m also old, and I only look at cars that interest me on some level - which generally means that I won’t give a Lambo a passing glance, but I’ll sit in the Miata, Mustang, and Pacifica, because reasons.

It annoys me when the seats don’t work, too, but you’d be amazed at the shit people break and steal from auto show display cars - they might have disconnected the battery, or, equally likely, the seat worked when the show started and is now broken.

I like it because you can start by looking at every manufacturer, and rule a bunch out - so it saves you a few trips to dealers, and you don’t have to deal with pesky sales people, either.

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > BeaterGT
02/12/2019 at 15:24

Yeah, if you’re looking for a CUV, not much better choices out there right now than Subaru and Mazda.

Me I'm cross shopping a CX3 with a 2020 Soul, Elantra GT, Yaris, Insight, GTI and Ridgeline. Yes I realize those are wildly different. Lol.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
02/12/2019 at 15:24

I’m the same as you, I don’t care about the cars I’m never going to drive, let alone own. On the other hand, I’ll sit in every seat and push every button and go over every detail of something i may want to own soon. Unfortunately that’s...none of them, all new cars suck.

Chariotoflove > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
02/12/2019 at 15:27

It’s a comfortable environment where you can sniff around the cars without someone trying to four-square you. But it’s also a place to see stuff you can’t buy and would have no excuse in a dealership for. Mostly, it’s somewhere you can see stuff all in one place without having to drive around.

Most makers’ models have battery power on their displays so you can adjust seats , but some don’t, and that’s disappointing.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
02/12/2019 at 15:28

Last time I went to the auto show I did exactly that- touch, feel all the materials, check out visibility, sit in it adjust steering wheel and seat to how I want it, check back seat space, trunk space etc. But nothing really replaces a test drive even if it is short.

I do go there to look at all the flashy stuff in the metal, and sit in it as well. Like a Mercedes S class that I will never buy ever.

Don’t care for the exotics any more. Ferraris Lambos and Bugattis are in every show these days and more so they are behind velvet ropes. Heck I can get closer to some exotics at my local cars and coffee.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > interstate366, now In The Industry
02/12/2019 at 15:29

Speaking of the RDX...

https://www.autoblog.com/2019/02/12/hondatas-2019-acura-rdx-tuner/

benjrblant > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
02/12/2019 at 15:29

I don’t really go to them anymore, but I get to work on the detailing and engineering for them, so that’s somewhat like going?

BeaterGT > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
02/12/2019 at 15:30

I was in a GTI, a Stinger, and a Corvette so I’m all over the board too. I was bummed they locked the Z06 but I guess that makes sense since they had an unlocked C7 . I really wanted to try out those Competition seats though .

What’d you think about the CX3?

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > WilliamsSW
02/12/2019 at 15:32

Fucking degenerates some people who come to shows, and this includes adults and kids. Stolen shifter knobs(some dsiplay vehicles already had them removed in anticipation) , volume knobs missing, broken mirrors, broken buttons, jumping up and down on seats for example.

WilliamsSW > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
02/12/2019 at 15:34

Yep - the first thing we did to a car going to an auto show was to put a locking gas cap on it, because people are assholes.

I went to sit in a car at the Chicago show this weekend, looked, and there were 5 children in the *front* seats of it.

ranwhenparked > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
02/12/2019 at 15:39

I used to do that black tie gala at the Philly auto show, which does let you get up close to the exotics, but, even that doesn't really draw me anymore. It's gotten so crowded, all the popular cars just stay mobbed all evening.

WilliamsSW > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
02/12/2019 at 15:40

Those are probably all in the same basic price range though, except maybe the Ridgeline? That’s how most people really shop - I can afford X dollars, what can that get me?

Party-vi > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
02/12/2019 at 15:42

I went to the Baltimore Auto Show to 1) oogle the LC500 and 2) sit in the new RAV4, Kona, Ranger, etc. It gives me the perfect opportunity to see the normal shit that I don’t have time to run around to dealers to see, and I found out that the Pathfinder seats 7 and is pretty spiffy, except the knees in your chest in all the rear passenger seats.

interstate366, now In The Industry > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
02/12/2019 at 16:17

*checks prices of 2016s as a baseline for what 2019s might be in 2022*

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > interstate366, now In The Industry
02/12/2019 at 16:19

Kinja'd!!!

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > BeaterGT
02/12/2019 at 16:32

I took the CX3 on a brief test drive at the show, if you could call it that. I just kind of sat in traffic in it since the diving loop was a big square around the convention center. That being said, it seems like a well enough put together car. It is a little on the small size, but since it’s just my wife and I (and the dogs) i t’s a good size for us. Acceleration wise it’s okay, it was better than my Crosstrek was . It wasn’t a really fair comparison because I test drove that right after the GTI, though. All of the materials that I could touch felt f fairly decent quality Still not sure how I feel about Mazda’s “iPad glued to the dash” infotainment screen, but I’m sure I’d get used to it.

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > BeaterGT
02/12/2019 at 16:33

What did you think of the Stinger? Seemed a little bit cramped to me. An d it was oddly low/hard to get out of for me.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
02/12/2019 at 16:45

Car shows? How quaint. As far as I know there hasn't been a new car show in Oz for quite a few years...both the people and the manufacturers just stopped turning up.

BeaterGT > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
02/12/2019 at 16:47

Haha, I wondered what the route was for those test drives. That must have been...interesting. We were all surprised how small the CX3 was, but also comparing it to an older 3 sedan which seemed bigger in our heads . Not sure how the two actually compare space-wise. All of the infotainment stuff throws me for a loop , so I just ignore it because I know I will rarely use any of it.

I really liked the Stinger but then again I’m used to low slung sports cars so it was a step in the ‘ comfort’ direction for me. Another car I wanted to check out was the VW Arteon but it was locked sadly.

punkgoose17 > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
02/12/2019 at 16:48

I am going to the Pittsburgh show this upcoming Sunday. I will never be able to afford any of these cars, so I am just looking out of curiosity. Also, it is a good event to go to with my Dad and brothers to get together, mostly this .

t0ast > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
02/12/2019 at 16:55

Having a non-dealership environment to casually peruse new cars at my own pace and maybe even test drive a few of them (even if briefly) is huge in my book. I just like to take in all the little details and try to experience what I can in a variety of vehicles that I’m unlikely to interact with in the wild. Add in the free sim racer that Ford usually brings and some decent food trucks and it becomes a pretty good way to spend a winter weekend afternoon.

interstate366, now In The Industry > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
02/12/2019 at 17:44

It’ll be awhile...