Lots of cars and people

During a visit to the Chicago area over the weekend we attended the opening day of the Chicago Auto Show on Saturday. My son-in-law Branden and I needed something to do while our wives went shopping.

Chicago hosts one of the big four auto shows in the nation, along with Detroit, New York and Los Angeles. Thousands of people showed up to wander around the vast McCormick Place, the largest convention center in the United States. Last year 300,000 attended the 10-day show. It was the first time for me.

This year’s show only featured about half the vehicles of previous years, with few foreign automakers represented. The only one I saw was BMW. No Mercedes Benz, Ferrari, Jaguar or Rolls Royce. In fact, no Italian, French or English cars at all. My guess is that the tariffs had something to do with the absence of foreign car makers.

The biggest exhibitor by far was Ford, which was heavily promoting its off-road Bronco. If you waited in line long enough you could ride — securely strapped — in one of five doorless Broncos negotiating an expansive obstacle course of simulated boulders, steep 40 degree inclines and terrain that would tear a normal vehicle apart. The Bronco, which can sell for $80,000 all tricked out, is a remarkable vehicle that is basically engineered to take you where you should not go and cannot be rescued except by helicopter.

We also rode in electric cars that could take you from 0-60 miles per hour in three seconds — inside the building. There were guardrails for safety.

We saw the new Tesla two-person driverless cybercab that will be deployed on city streets in the southwest later this year. This space age vehicle, that looks like something from the sci-fi cartoon The Jetsons, is completely autonomous. It doesn’t even have a steering wheel.

You could sit in any of the cars on display to see if they suited you. Roving attendants with rags and dusters constantly wiped dust and finger prints off the cars so they always looked good. In fact, I was impressed with the condition of McCormick Place overall. Every inch of its 2.6 million square feet was sparkling, especially the floors. Workers were constantly on the move cleaning.

In addition to regular passenger vehicles, there were displays of recreational vehicles and camping equipment, classic cars from the 1950s and 1960s, and lots of stuff you can add to customize your vehicles.

We spent hours walking the vast expanse of cars. Comfortable shoes are advised.

One car show I’d like to attend is the Concours d’Elegance at Pebble Beach golf course in California, which attracts car enthusiasts from around the world every August. It would also be fun to attend the Barrett-Jackson car auction held in January in Scottsdale, Ariz. I know a few Storm Lake people who have been there and say it’s fun. I wouldn’t be a buyer, but it would be fun to be a looker.

In the meantime, I’ll tool around town in my good old Chevrolet.