Something different from the Detroit we saw at the LA Auto Show
The LA Auto Show was a combination of automaker showcase and enthusiast hot rodding.
- Automakers exhibiting at the LA Auto Show included Volkswagen, Hyundai, Kia, Lucid, Subaru, Nissan, Rivian, Honda, Toyota, Volvo, General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford.
- Southern California’s car culture was also on display.
Imagine what would happen if the Detroit Auto Show and Autorama teamed up.
That’s just part of the vibe I got from this year’s LA Auto Show, which concluded at the end of November. If you’re not familiar with Autorama, it’s a big annual showcase of customs and hot rods that takes place in a few months at Huntington Place in Detroit.
Southern California is a hotbed of car culture, so perhaps it wasn’t surprising that the new vehicle would have a bit of local flavor mixed in.
The Los Angeles Convention Center is a large place, with two large halls displaying major exhibits from participating automakers. But the center also has other event spaces, and was home to custom, lowrider and exotic events, as well as vehicles related to the Fast and Furious movies and game series.
These additional locations reminded me a bit of Autorama in Detroit. Not as a direct comparison, but as a way the LA show was trying to appeal to a wide audience. Some of the people I talked to came to the show primarily to see things like lowriders rather than new cars.
Before arriving, I had no idea what to expect. I had had some conversations beforehand with people who had visited there in recent years, but I didn’t think I would be surprised.
The last time I was in Los Angeles for a show was in November 2017, and aside from the stress of COVID-19, car shows are always under stress.
Of course, the Detroit show, which will be held again in January, was not unrelated.
But about the LA show.
I remember seeing some pretty wild custom vehicles in 2017 as well, so what I saw this year wasn’t an entirely new approach, but it seemed more extensive this time around.
I can’t say it was as packed with news as it was a few years ago. Hyundai and Kia had scheduled press conferences to show off the new sheetmetal. The announcement of the second-generation Kia Telluride was no surprise, and Hyundai’s biggest news was the unveiling of its Crater Concept SUV. This will influence future product design, but it won’t make it to dealers in that form.
Electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid has given its Gravity Touring SUV a new trim that isn’t an all-new vehicle, but it’s generated some excitement.
My favorite news was that Volkswagen unveiled a restored 1977 white-on-blue T2 Microbus. Associated Press photographer Mark Terrill was able to snap a striking photo of a blue bus while touring fire damage in the Los Angeles area earlier this year, but he didn’t initially realize what he was taking.
The bus was safe, but needed a lot of repairs. The result was a feel-good story that found a wider audience because of the location in which it was told.
In recent years, many automakers have changed the way they communicate news related to auto shows. For example, attendees at the LA show were able to see the new Jeep Recon, but the vehicle was unveiled just days before the show’s media day.
The explanation I’ve heard is that automakers don’t want their new car announcements to get lost in a sea of car news. They time their announcements before and after the show, attracting attention even as journalists and the public get their first look at a new vehicle on the show floor.
I stayed for a few days after the LA show’s media day, so I was able to talk to the general public after the show opened to the public. The only complaint I heard from several attendees, and one I’ve heard in recent years related to Detroit, was that some luxury brands had chosen to skip the show. For example, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Lexus and Tesla were not there.
What show organizers sometimes do is feature exhibits from local dealer groups. For example, the way Porsche was showcased in Los Angeles was in a prominent display outside the halls of a major convention center.
However, in addition to the General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford Motor Company brands, many other automakers had corporate exhibits, including Volkswagen, Hyundai, Kia, Lucid, Subaru, Nissan, Rivian, Honda, Toyota, and Volvo. Volkswagen’s Scout Motors had an exhibit outside the convention center.
It’s hard to say whether the exhibits were overall as flashy as in the past. It didn’t seem like the show had slowed down to me.
Additionally, in addition to test tracks and test drive opportunities, Camp Jeep and Ford’s Built Wild Area (if you’ve ever attended a car show, you’ve seen both of these in Detroit) provided people with many opportunities to interact with many vehicles in one large area.
Several visitors said the show was an improvement over what they had seen in recent years, so they were likely to come back.
This is a positive response, and we hope we’ll hear about the 2026 Detroit Auto Show more than a year after returning to its traditional, and in my opinion much better, January time slot.
Detroit doesn’t need to copy other programs to succeed. Special events such as charity previews set this show apart, making viewers feel more connected to it than similar examples.
Politics aside, the announcement that former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will speak at a forum at the upcoming Detroit show is the kind of news that will generate buzz. Buzz certainly helps.
Show organizers can’t do anything about which car manufacturers will show up or not. While these decisions clearly make sense for the companies involved, it still seems strange not to take advantage of the opportunity to have your car seen by so many people, even if you can only imagine them behind the wheel.
Eric D. Lawrence is senior auto culture reporter for the Detroit Free Press. If you have tips to share or suggestions for things you’d like to see at future car shows, please contact us at elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.
