2016 Chicago Auto Show

"Matthew Keyser" (teisco15) 02/15/2016 at 21:15 • Filed to: Chicago Auto Show

4

33

Very crappy and blurry opening picture I know, I promise it gets better.

In an effort to escape the lake effect blizzards pummeling Northern Indiana, I made a break for the Windy City and there was a car show going on so I figured I’d drop in and see what the deal was.

Sadly, my requests for a press pass were, understandably, denied. As such, I spent my day navigating the crowds like everyone else with the only special treatment being a warm bottle of water in the “Audi Owner’s Lounge.”

I even ate my lunch while sitting on the dirty floor leaning up against a garage door as the only chairs in sight were reserved for people held captive by a DirecTV representative under the impression that it was his God-given right to spread the word of 145 channels for only $19.95 a month to car enthusiasts who couldn’t care less.

So let’s get into the nitty gritty: the cars.

The “Supercar Gallery” this year consisted of essentially the same cars as least year. A Veyron Vitesse, an Aventador, a pair of McLarens, a few Aston Martins. In my opinion, unless you had never seen any of these cars before, this section was not worth the hassle of dealing with the masses of people simultaneously commenting on “how much the blue one costs.”

The only really new thing in this crowd was the new Bentley Bentayga. A stupidly expensive car with a confusing name and equally confusing face.

When I first saw pictures of the new Fiat 124 online I was slightly worried. It looked oddly proportioned, and the face just seemed retro for the sake of being retro. I will say, however, that the pictures really do not do this car justice. In person it’s just as I had hoped it would be, and I hope they sell boatloads of them.

Alfa Romeo is so proud of their new car that they brought five of them. All in different colors. All locked. Damn.

Speaking of locked, this year seemed to have the most locked cars I’ve ever encountered at the Chicago show. Porsche, Jaguar, and Land Rover had all their cars locked unlike previous years, but this is understandable as their cars are more upscale and don’t need to be filled with snot nosed kids pretending to be automotive journalists like myself. What was not understandable is why Kia would have production cars locked. It’s like they start making good cars and suddenly we can’t even sit in an Optima.

Mitsubishi also kept a Mirage GT locked, presumably because they didn’t want people to see just how terrible it still was. They also had an equally locked Lancer Evolution Final Edition. Sadly, one of their representatives confirmed that it is just the end of the Lancer Evo, not the end of Mitsubishi.

This year, Jaguar decided it was Land Rover and made an SUV, and Land Rover decided it was Jaguar and made a convertible.

Scion brought this funky looking concept, but the mood at the Scion display was somber as this is the last year they will be represented. I made sure to snatch up a pair of Scion branded headphones in rememberence of what was once the most enthusiastic and swag-filled display at the show.

In the same area that just a few years ago was crowded with fanatics and journalists trying to catch a glimpse of the C7 Corvette sat two Kia concepts. Nobody seemed to really be bothered by them. I’m sure if they make it to production, they’ll both be very decent cars with unbeatable warranties, but they’re not incredibly interesting. (CORRECTION: The red one is a new production model called the Niro and Chicago was its grand debut. Quite grand if I do say so myself. My opinion is unchanged.)

When I arrived to the Lincoln display to check out the new Continental, I joined by a gentleman who said to his young child: “look at dis shit, it’s classy.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

The BMW M2 sat very inconspicuously among the rest of the BMW lineup. Can’t wait to watch this thing get very, very sideways.

Ah the Mercedes-AMG G65. How I loathe thee. Starting at $217,000, it is the perfect car for people who buy things just because they are expensive regardless of the fact that it’s terrible at everything.

I really like the new Camaro, and can’t wait to test drive one when my local dealer gets one. Chevrolet is finally catching up to Ford in regards to fit and finish and interior quality.

Speaking of Ford, the Focus RS was receiving little attention largely because the Ford GT sitting next to it. The GT is still probably one of the best looking and most exciting cars at the show.

Now comes my biggest surprise of the day: The new Genesis. If I came to you five years ago and said that there would soon be a car from Korea that would stand as a genuine threat to some of the most prestigious luxury car brands you would likely say I was crazy. You would say that Kias are just those funky square things that hamsters drive and that Hyundais are just less interesting Kias, but the Genesis seems to shoot that claim down.

Speaking of interesting Kias, I would prefer to never have to see this car again.

This is the only thing of any interest that Nissan brought to the show, and I couldn’t even be bothered to take a proper picture of it.

Toyota also set out to prove that they are hip and fun and cool too by making a DeLorean out of a Mirai. Too bad it just feels like Hillary Clinton trying to appeal to young voters.

The Polaris Slingshot wins the award for the most uncomfortable seat I’ve ever sat on. Seems like it’d be good fun though

First one to guess what car this air vent is fitted to gets a pair of Scion branded earbuds.

So there you have it, the 2016 Chicago Auto Show is complete, and if you would excuse me, I have to eat a chocolate filled deep-fried stick of dough.

carcrasher88 > Matthew Keyser 02/15/2016 at 18:53

2

Actually, that second Kia (the red one) isn’t a concept. That new Niro is a production car (technically pre-production prototype), and Chicago was it’s grand debut.

Steve in Manhattan > Matthew Keyser 02/15/2016 at 19:02

1

Shouldn’t they let us Oppo authors in? If any of you have ‘credentials’ for me, I’ll try and do the NY Auto Show. Famously (?) a shut-in, I’ll do my best to cover it.

fourvalleys > carcrasher88 02/15/2016 at 19:11

2

Fun moment with that car: Kia had a couple of guys filming reactions to it, and they happened across me and two other people I’d qualify as “enthusiasts.”

We honestly didn’t have anything positive or negative to say about it, but when put on the spot, it’s hard to get excited about a hybrid crossover. I believe the way the guy with the microphone phrased it was “ Please say something positive about the car.” Sorry, man.

fourvalleys > Matthew Keyser 02/15/2016 at 19:18

2

I’m going to nominate the Fiat 124 for “weirdest badge placement.”

The rear badge really looks like it should go below the third brake light on the back of the car, not on top of the trunk. It looks like they made the badges and realized “oh hey, this is too big!” before putting it wherever it fit. You can kind of see it here:

(It really does look much better in person. Still not sold on it, but it looks better than I thought it would.)

Runner-up on badge placement: The Camaro and its odd bumper-mounted trim badge:

Matthew Keyser > carcrasher88 02/15/2016 at 19:19

0

You are correct, I fixed it. Thanks for pointing that out.

Matthew Keyser > fourvalleys 02/15/2016 at 19:22

0

I wasn’t hot on the blue color it was shown in, but I really do like it. And knowing Chevy, that issue can be fixed with some dental floss.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Matthew Keyser 02/15/2016 at 19:29

1

Never thought I'd say this, but damn I want that Fiat.

Matthew Keyser > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind 02/15/2016 at 19:35

0

It’d have to have a warranty. I'm not taking any chances.

NinetyQ > Matthew Keyser 02/15/2016 at 19:40

3

I was there on Saturday and missed the Fiat 124 Spider! Realized it the next morning. I was secretly hoping that maybe it was in a boring or hard to photograph color, but it is definitely not. That thing is GORGEOUS. If I had to put up my own money for a brand new sports car, that might very well be it.

Nothing on the Acura Precision concept though? Here’s one of my shots:

Matthew Keyser > NinetyQ 02/15/2016 at 19:47

2

It was okay, just kind of seemed like a generic concept car, and I figured being an Acura concept I’ll have the next 9 years to comment on it before anything actually comes from it.

NinetyQ > Matthew Keyser 02/15/2016 at 19:49

1

Actually, yeah, I agree with you there. It was striking, but definitely in a concept way.

How about the Lexus LC 500? That looked pretty awesome to me. No photos to put up just yet though.

Hot Takes Salesman > Matthew Keyser 02/15/2016 at 19:52

1

“Too bad it just feels like Hillary Clinton trying to appeal to young voters.”

Feel the Bern

Matthew Keyser > NinetyQ 02/15/2016 at 19:58

0

Kind of the same deal for me. Lexus always has some kind of concept that they show and they’re all vaguely the same. I didn’t really have anything that interesting to say about it. I’d rather pay attention to cars people will actually be able to buy than look at a rolling sculpture. They’re very pretty but its highly unlikely anything will ever really come of them.

NinetyQ > Matthew Keyser 02/15/2016 at 20:02

1

Hmm... I was under the impression it was a production model. Seems I was mistaken, but they’re expecting to release it early next year, so it can’t be far from production-ready. Hopefully it manages to go through minimal changes, because it really didn’t strike me as pure concept like the Acura or even the Buick Avista.

Matthew Keyser > NinetyQ 02/15/2016 at 20:05

1

I very well could be wrong. I actually hope I am cause that could be pretty cool if it does go to production.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Matthew Keyser 02/15/2016 at 21:35

1

Does the air vent belong to something from Chrysler?

Jack Does Cars > Matthew Keyser 02/15/2016 at 21:50

1

The LC500 is a production car that just looks like a concept.

Jack Does Cars > NinetyQ 02/15/2016 at 21:50

2

It’s a production car.

Matthew Keyser > BaconSandwich is tasty. 02/15/2016 at 21:53

0

Sorry to say it doesn't.

PatBateman > Matthew Keyser 02/15/2016 at 22:00

1

Awesome Churro. Where in Indiana are you? My wife’s family is from Whiting/Hammond, lives in Valpo now.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Matthew Keyser 02/15/2016 at 22:03

1

Oh yeah. The new Genesis looks really good.

Matthew Keyser > PatBateman 02/15/2016 at 22:20

0

Elkhart. Just east of South Bend.

Matthew Keyser > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap 02/15/2016 at 22:21

0

I was very pleasantly surprised

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Matthew Keyser 02/15/2016 at 22:52

1

Can I take another guess? 2017 Chevy Sonic?

Matthew Keyser > BaconSandwich is tasty. 02/15/2016 at 23:06

0

Also incorrect. Sorry!

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Matthew Keyser 02/15/2016 at 23:09

1

Bummer. They are kind of close, as near as I can figure:

Matthew Keyser > BaconSandwich is tasty. 02/15/2016 at 23:14

0

They are pretty similar! I'll grant you that!

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Matthew Keyser 02/15/2016 at 23:25

1

Wait, I think I got it now - the Scion iA? :P

It’s funny looking at the picture of the Camaro interior now - it seems to use the same air vents as the Sonic. Parts binning, I guess.

NinetyQ > Jack Does Cars 02/16/2016 at 00:15

0

I thought so, but then the URL leading to it on Lexus’s own website was lexus.com/concept/lc (but nothing came up). So I wasn’t sure.

Matthew Keyser > BaconSandwich is tasty. 02/16/2016 at 08:20

0

Close, but no cigar.

pjhusa > Steve in Manhattan 02/16/2016 at 21:45

0

Two things. One: too many people were abusing Oppo as a “journalist site”, even as most were just occasional contributors. Two: I’m planning to go too! So excited...

Steve in Manhattan > pjhusa 02/16/2016 at 21:54

1

Oh, and the soup dumplings at Joe’s Shanghai are great.

pjhusa > Steve in Manhattan 02/16/2016 at 22:17

0

They are. 100% beat Nan Xiang.