AutoMatters & More: OC Auto Show — first of the SoCal auto show season
After a two-year hiatus, the OC Auto Show returned to the Anaheim Convention Center. This is traditionally the first major auto show of the Southern California auto show season. This family-friendly auto show is owned by the Orange County Automobile Dealers Association.
“While much of today’s headlines focus on high priced vehicles, there are many affordable new car choices to check out including an abundance of affordable fuel-sipping new cars too – 40, 50 or even 60 miles per gallon is common in today’s hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles,” said Kelly Blue Book Executive Editor Brian Moody. “Trucks, hybrids, electric vehicles, high performance and high tech, the OC Auto Show really does have something for everyone.”
A primary goal of the OC Auto Show is not to sell vehicles there, but rather to inform visitors and potential customers alike. On-hand were hundreds of new vehicles, including cars, trucks, crossovers, SUVs, electric vehicles (EVs), plug-in hybrids and exotics. Vehicles exhibited included the Hummer EV, Ford Bronco Raptor, Toyota Crown, Toyota Tundra Hybrid, Ford F-150 Lightning Lariat, Nissan Ariya EV, KIA EV6, fully electric Porsche Taycan sportscar, Audi E-Tron, BMW iX, Corvette Z06, Genesis G80e, Hyundai IONIQ 5, KIA EV6, McLaren Artura, Volkswagen ID.4 and more.
A variety of vehicles were available for licensed drivers to take for test drives outside the convention center, to personally experience their real-world driving characteristics, as well as their state-of-the-art safety, comfort and convenience features.
It appears certain that EVs will continue to play an ever-increasing role in meeting our personal transportation needs, and that auto shows including this one will help to keep us informed about our growing variety of electric vehicle choices.
Legacy auto manufacturers, as well as several newer ones, continue to bring more and more electric vehicle choices to market for our purchase considerations. EVs continue to benefit from rapidly evolving technological advancements in terms of increased driving range, speed of charging and more. Furthermore, the necessary EV infrastructure — in particular the number of publicly available charging stations — is multiplying exponentially.
Indoors at ELECTRIC AVENUE, in conjunction with National Drive Electric Week, the OC Auto Show offered visitors a thrilling, high-performance track experience consisting of rides in electric vehicles driven by professional drivers, to demonstrate their lag-free, right-now acceleration, as well as precise handling.
An EV learning center served to educate potential customers about the benefits of owning an electric vehicle, charging station options and how easy it can be to make the switch to electric from internal combustion engine (ICE-powered) vehicles. There were electric vehicles from a plethora of auto manufacturers’ brands including GMC, Hyundai, Chevrolet, Nissan, Ford, VW, BMW, Genesis, Porsche, Audi and Mini.
Over at Camp Jeep, professional 4x4 drivers took passengers on thrilling rides across a variety of challenging off-road elements, “featuring the iconic Jeep Mountain, an 18-foot, 35-degree hill climb; three-wheeling over Camp Jeep’s Trail Rated Pass; and a stretch of terrain that simulates fallen logs.” All-new Jeep models were available to experience on the track, “including the Gladiator Mojave, Gladiator Rubicon, Wrangler Rubicon 392, Wrangler Rubicon 4XE, Grand Cherokee Trailhawk, Grand Cherokee L, Compass Trailhawk and Cherokee Trailhawk.”
Kids could take a test drive of their own on a mini electric car at the Mini Motorz booth, or visit the Kia booth and take a ride on the Telluride SUV virtual experience. A scavenger hunt offered kids the opportunity to search the show floor displays with a special pass, upon which they could collect stamps from auto manufacturers. They could then present their completed pass for an official OC Auto Show crown and to enter to win a remote-control car.
At the exotic vehicle display, visitors could see ultra-high-end exotic vehicles from Lamborghini and McLaren, courtesy of Lamborghini Newport Beach and McLaren Newport Beach.
For Mustang enthusiasts, on the Sunday of the show, there was a special collection of Ford Mustangs from the OC Mustang Club.
In addition to the food choices offered by the convention center in its food court inside the show, food trucks provided even more food options.
To explore a wide variety of content dating back to 2002, with the most photos and the latest text, visit “AutoMatters & More” at https://automatters.net. Search by title or topic in the Search Bar in the middle of the Home Page, or click on the blue ‘years’ boxes and browse.
Copyright © 2023 by Jan Wagner – AutoMatters & More #792r1
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