Recently went to LA Auto Show. It was never world class but a decade or two ago it definitely had all mainstream German brands represented, the mainstream exotic brands (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati) and the small market share brands like Alfa Romeo, Mitsubishi, etc. It had literally none of that. It wasn’t boring but it also wasn’t the “near-complete index of new cars for viewing” it used to be.
Do such shows still exist? Geneva and Detroit come to mind, but have they withered away too?
Maybe some lesser-known shows like Dubai, or Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, India? Mexico?
Would appreciate any input & insight
Sadly, covid seems to have killed the Detroit show as a all-in-one premier event.
Best I can tell, the big ones left are Geneva, Tokyo, LA, and possibly NYC, with different automakers favoring different shows. I’m not sure there’s any show left that has all of them.
Chicago used to be the hidden gem in the auto show circuit for consumers who were actually in-market, since the event space is enormous. Manufacturers and even local dealers would bring new inventoried models that were of different trims. It was nice to see them all side by side and poke around to see what made the sometimes-double-the-MSRP of the base add up in features and options.
I still enjoy chicago for that reason, this year I ended up driving a solid 10-12 cars too, could’ve been more but i’m under 25. It sucks on the more flagship end of things though, no launches and the german luxury brands are basically absent as well, let alone any higher end or bespoke brands to oogle at. Ford does a good job bringing some cool GTs though.
Loved Chicago growing up. Went this year and it was a shell of its former self. Super disappointing. Wasn’t really worth going, and I live in the city.