Auto Show Boos

This video of a walk-through of the entire 2022 New York International Auto Show made me realize how wise I am to have decided not to attend the show in person this year.  This may be the most pathetic "international" auto show ever held.

The lovely woman above is Maggie Clark, a one-time auto show product presenter and a YouTube channel host who specializes in presenting automotive news and exhibitions.  On YouTube, she goes by the name of "Motor City Maggie."  She's an engaging host, and she's certainly likeable, but not even she can breathe life into what a dreary, dismal show this year's New York show is.

One reason the show sucks is due to automotive brands who have mostly ditched sedans and hatchbacks in favor of sport utility vehicles; I can count all of the luxury sedans offered by Ford's Lincoln division on zero fingers.  But the biggest problem is that many of the best-known automotive brands in America are absent; most of the German luxury brands are absent, as are my favorite American luxury brand, Cadillac, and my favorite Asian luxury brand, Acura.  Honda isn't there either.  True, Volkswagen is at the show, and I thought that the new ID. Buzz electric minivan would be the biggest reason to go to the VW display.  In fact, it's the only reason.  The rest of the cars at VW's display, nestled in a tight corner of the Jacob Javits Convention Center, are all SUVs except for one Golf R - no Golf GTI, no Jetta, no Arteon, and no Passat, which is now in its last year.  This is the worst VW display at an auto show that I've ever seen.  

But it's better than the Stellantis display across the hall,  in which Alfa Romeo and Fiat share space with the Chrysler Group (Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep), that appears to be smaller than the VW space.

As for the indoor EV tracks, well, that's all good and fine, but as most of the EVs available in this country are crossovers, I can't be bothered.  My only regret about the show is that I can't see the mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette in person.

The video above lasts only forty-five minutes, yet Ms. Clark manages to cover everything.  True, she did it on a press day without visitors, but there's so much open space in between the vehicles - and there are so many SUVs -  that, if I did go to the show, I could probably see everything I want to in half an hour.   

Yeah, I know the pandemic is part of the reason for the show's lameness, but with the unappealing (to me) product and the growing lack of excitement, the annual auto show was already in decline before COVID hit.   Even if the pandemic is over tomorrow, I don't expect the 2023 New York auto show to be any better.  I've been on YouTube watching old videos of international auto shows from the 1980s and 1990s . . . and remembering how fun they used to be.