2010 Philadelphia Auto Show – The First Weekend
Philadelphia, the city of Brotherly Love. The land of cheese steaks, Phillies, them Iigles and the best Italian Market this side of the Atlantic. It’s also home to the 2010 Philadelphia International Auto Show. Buried deep inside the Phila Convention Center, which sits above the amazingly delicious Reading Terminal Market, auto makers, DUB enthusiasts and car collectors piled in to show off their goods.
Wowing the crowd is no easy task, however. With the Auto industry going through public relations (and financial) hell this past year or two, companies have little to show that we haven’t seen before. But I’ll admit, they know how to draw a crowd – sure the crowd may not be able to correctly pronounce “home” “phone” or “young’ins” – but they love automobiles. And even though car makers couldn’t bring too many concepts to the table this year (oh and the noticeable no-show of most Chrysler products) Philadelphians showed up in mass. Of course, every car show needs to begin with a suspended automobile on display…Here’s a little recap of what we thought of Philly’s first weekend at the auto show (and by we I mean me).
Company Logos – The Bigger and Brighter, the Better
If you’ve been to any sort of convention, well you can guess how an auto show is set up. Each company has their section, with the latest models and scantly-clad women on display. This year I noticed something – much like car logos, the signs of auto makers were bigger and brighter. It’s not like the Center City Convention Hall is THAT big. But everyone was outshining the next guy. MINI, ironically enough, had the smallest sign, and even that one was up 7 feet in the air.
Old Cars are Old
There were many antique and classic cars on display over the weekend at Philly’s Auto Show. From a pink 1955 T-Bird up for grabs to the first car Cadillac ever produced, old school vehicle ran the gambit on the convention center floor. Unfortunately, the DUB vehicle section (which we’ll cover below) garnered much more of a crowd than the antiques. In fact, as one point two kids were chasing a tiny Dachshund around the classic car show floor, and pretty much stole all the attention from these rides. Kids, no respect for their elders.
Merch Tables & Free-bees
As usual these was plenty of free swag to grab. From calenders to toy cars, Sham-Wows and some sort of miracle car wax – stuff was free & stuff was for sale – in the end it’s all probably worthless.
DUB – The White Trash Version of Sporty
I was very impressed with how large the fan-contribution second was at 2010′s Philly Auto Show. Dozens of car lovers were allowed to display their enhanced vehicles in the rear of Convention Hall. A downside to this, however, is they were mostly DUB enhanced – meaning a white guy with neck tattoos threw some lights under his car’s chassis and a ridiculously large stereo system in the trunk, of all places. But suburbanites love DUB, I guess someone has to.
Hybrid Luxury Rides
Everyone makes a hybrid these days, even Ferrari has one! So the next big thing is to make a luxury hybrid car. On display in Philly was SMART’s EV and the Tesla Roadster. Lexus also has a hybrid, the very pretty, and probably somewhat price-inflated HS250h. I’d bet money other auto makers will show up later this week with fancy, eco-friendly vehicles. So check back next weekend for more coverage of the 2010 Philly Auto Show…or as they say in South Philly, “Autao Shaaaaow.”
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