mmarshall

The 2011 Washington, D.C. Auto Show starts tomorrow at noon tomorrow. It will run Jan. 28-31, and from Feb. 4-6 (Unusual, like that, to have a break in the middle). I plan to go at least on 2 days, and possibly more (covering, as usual, the Upper Floor one day, the Lower Floor the next, and any more days reserved for anyone who is car-shopping and/or wants me there with them for assistance).

At one time, the D.C. Show was somewhat neglected by the automakers (too much so, IMO), held between Christmas and New Years Day when Congress was out of town, and was not considered a top-level show.....generally a B-Class one. Today, it is still not as significant or as large as the Detroit and L.A. shows, but is considered far more important now (a borderline Class-A show) than in the past. It is held now in a new Convention Center, the Metro Subway has a station right under the building itself without the former several-block walk, and it is now held when Congress is in session and Members can attend (one reason for the rescheduling). The increased importance of the more recent D.C. Shows is also fitting, since the D.C. area is one of the largest new-car markets in the country, arguably second only to the L.A.-SoCal region.....and a much larger new-car market than the Detroit area itself.

For those who want to attend, though there is some paid-parking in the area, it is probably best to take the Metro Subway to the Mount Vernon Ave-Convention Center station (as I do), take the escalator upstairs to the building itself, and walk right in. It's not always easy getting parking spaces at the crowded Metro station-parking garages, though, so take this into acount when you plan your trip. Sometimes you can walk to the stations, take a cab, or ride local commuter-bus lines that will take you there. The best chances of getting parking spaces in the Metro garages are early in the morning before they fill up, in the mid-afternoon when commuters start coming back home, or on weekends (and they are free on weekends).

I'm not sure exactly which days I'll be there, but I think I'm going to try and hit the first day tomorrow.......maybe during the mid-late afternoon into the evening. I've got other plans for Saturday. Since I'm still recovering from surgery (but getting stronger every day), I also might have to limit the time I spend on my feet and walk.....you can be on your feet for hours at a big show like that.

I suspect this year's show's floor plan will be substantially different from the past in one thing......Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer, and Mercury are gone, Fiat may be added, and, of course, the alternate-fuel (non-gasoline) section will probably have a lot of displays.

You don't necessarily have to pay to get in, either. You can often get free show-passes (as I do)........just ask for them at any local Washington-Area car dealership. In most cases, if they have them on hand, they are glad to give you at least a couple of them for the asking. The local D.C.-area dealership associations sponsor the show, and they, of course, want you to go and look at their vehicles and compare them with others. And, of course, in this bitter-cold winter, you can see all the vehicles inside in nice warm toasty heat.

While I'm there, I plan to especially take some time checking out the all-new 2011 Ford Explorer, 2012 Ford Focus (if the Focus is out on the floor, unlocked), 2011 Dodge Ram 1500, and 2011 Hyundai Equus....I've got review requests for all four of them. I've already checked out the new Explorer to some extent, but under very limited conditons in the bitter cold outside where I really couldn't spend much time. I also want to get the latest news from Subaru....as I'm a big Outback fan. And, of course, you generally can't do any test-drives at the show.

For those of you planning to attend.........Enjoy the show. Here's your official info:

http://www.washingtonautoshow.com/public/2011-show-info

SLegacy99

I wanna go...would like a new Subie after this most recent snow storm.

LexBob2

Enjoy the show. I'll probably be going to the Chicago Auto Show in February,

I'm not sure that the D.C. auto market is the 2nd largest in the country. After L.A./So, Cal., other metro markets like NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia, DFW, Houston, Miami etc., have larger populations and probably more new vehicles sold each year. D.C. certainly is one of the larger markets though.

Mbenz528i

I will certainly be attending, most likely twice as well.

IS-SV

Sounds like good plans for attendance, enjoy.

I attended SF and SJ shows recently. Attendance was up some, interest-level seemed to be up significantly which is a good sign.

mmarshall

Yeah.....if more people here in the D.C. area drove Subies (and other AWD vehicles), there wouldn't have been anywhere near the awful mess there was on area roads last night with that quick, heavy snowstorm. People were abandoning their vehicles in droves, clogging up all the roads, and almost nothing could get through. Many commuters from yesterday afternoon didn't get home until this morning.....and found power failures to boot.

Avoid the new 2010-2011 Legacy/Outback, however.....(I've posted on that subject several times). There are ongoing problems in the front suspension and steering, which have persisted even into the second model-year of the re-design. Perhaps by the 2012 model year (2012 Subarus will probably start coming out next July or August), those front-end problems will finally be history. I hope so....I'd like another Outback myself.

mmarshall

Thanks...I always enjoy the D.C. Show. For me, it's usually the biggest secular event of the year. Before I retired, I considered it as my annual vacation.


Did those two shows have a heavy accent on electrics and extended-range plug-ins? That's going to be the case here.....a lot of floor space given to electrics and non-gasoline vehicles in general. Obama, in the State of the Union Speech a couple of nights ago, said he wanted to see a 10% electric-car market here in America in just a few more years, and Congress is going to vote on a new $7500 tax credit for electrics.

mmarshall

True, the D.C.-Baltimore metro region, though very large, is not the nation's largest in population, but what sets this region off from most other large urban areas is the stable recession-resistant economy, low unemployment, and a LOT of affluence (Fairfax/Loudoun Counties, VA and Montgomery County, MD, both right next door, are among the counties in the nation with the highest average incomes). All of the other local D.C.-area counties rank in the Top 20 or so. There is simply no other part of the country where so much money (and such a stable economy) is concentrated in a metropolitan area of this size.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highest..._United_States

That translates into a LOT of new-car sales.....and the number of new-car dealerships in this area is enormous. That is one reason, among several, why I'm able to see and review so many new vehicles.

NYC, despite its huge population, does not sell as many new private-sale vehicles as this area (though there are a lot of cabs in NYC), because of the area's huge public-transit system....much larger than that of the D.C. area. A lot of people in and around NYC simply don't drive private cars. Other cities like Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, etc.....that you mention have a good population base, but their economies aren't as stable as the D.C. area, and their average incomes are lower. Like it or not, the Federal Government's presence in the D.C. area, together with a large presence of high-tech firms and white-collar jobs, has an enormous effect on the local economy. The Federal Government, of course, never goes out of buisness, even in recessions........It simply doesn't happen.

In fact, in some ways, the people of this region are spoiled.......and I'll be the first to admit it. Many people in this area don't really know the hardships that the national recession, loss of jobs, and high unemployment have caused to others.

TripleL

Have fun MM!!

Our local autoshow is the weekend too (I think they call it Northeast International Autoshow) and I'm going to try and make it there for at least one day. I'm sure ours will be a very small show compared to the one near you but regardless its always fun to see what's new and to be able to see nearly all makes and models in one visit.

PS Anyone know if there will be an LFA at the DC or RI show this weekend?

LexBob2

Good points on the income levels.

My point though was total new car sales and average incomes are different animals. Affluent consumers probably buy more expensive vehicles, not necessarily more of them. A region with a population of 10 million will sell more vehicles of all types vs. one with say 6 million. That's about 4 million more potential vehicle buyers in this case.

In any case it looks like new car sales are rebounding and there will probably be more excitement and optimism at the car shows than in the past few years.

mmarshall

Thanks. You have a nice time at your show, too.

I'll let you know if I see one at the DC show. (I think they had an LF-A displayed last year, but for just one day only). It's not listed on the official tally....but manufacturers sometimes make unannounced day-to-day changes. In the meantime, you can also check the website for the RI show, and see what they list.

2002GGPIS3

Have fun at the show!

I will be attending next week , on a Wednesday, the main reason, because it is not crowded then.

Also thanks for the metro info that will help others, thankfully I can walk from my house to the metro and not worry about parking!

I also might attend the Baltimore show the week after as well..

IS-SV

Yes and since we are getting side-tracked here I see nobody mentioned the #1 ranked metro area (highest median income), with a population of 7.2 million. It's the SF Bay Area which includes SJ.

LexBob2

Staying off track for a minute.

Noted. An honest oversight. That is a lot of people AND a lot of $$'s.

mdsbrain

iTrader: (9)

Ya, the misses and myself are probably going. Get her out of the house and look at some shiny new metal (for her).