The 2024 Chicago Auto Present could seem to be a shell of its former self, however it nonetheless holds the title of the biggest client auto present in the USA. It did not get that repute just by being effectively produced or handy for locals determined for one thing to do in February — it earned it over a long time of breaking automotive information and powerhouse reveals, finally incomes an off-the-cuff designation as America’s truck present.
2024 could also be a down yr for Chicago, however let’s not neglect all the nice issues which have come out of it, traditionally. This is a have a look at a few of our employees favorites. Wager you did not learn about a number of of those automobiles that had been first revealed within the Windy Metropolis.
2008 Dodge Challenger SRT-8
I did not simply decide this one as a former Challenger proprietor, however as an alternative as an example simply what number of cool Chicago debuts we take without any consideration. Chrysler usually selected its house turf to debut new automobiles, so the few occasions its unveilings occurred elsewhere have a tendency to stay in our minds. The primary Challenger SRT-8 was form of rubbish, if we’re being sincere. I imply, who buys a race-bred, V8-powered muscle automobile with no limited-slip differential? However the SRT-8 formulation advanced over time into one thing really particular, and what we noticed in Chicago was basically the early model of the Scat Pack, which was in the end very profitable for Dodge. And who would have thought we would be right here, 15 years later, nonetheless speaking about that debut? And nonetheless loving these huge Mopars, flaws and all. — Affiliate Editor Byron Hurd
SHO time in Chicago
I’ll all the time have a sure fondness for the return of the Taurus SHO on the 2009 Chicago Auto Present. Chicago has all the time leaned truck and van heavy for press reveals, however once in a while, as this checklist illustrates, one thing spicy would seem. The return of the SHO as a high-powered successor to the unique that ran from 1989-1999 gave lovers hope for Ford’s efficiency enterprise, particularly for sedans. With a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 packing 365 hp, all-wheel drive and five-spoke wheels, the SHO was a pleasant improve from the lower-rung Taurus fashions. It was a bit extra sedate than the unique SHO’s Yamaha-sourced V6 that teamed with a five-speed handbook transmission, however nonetheless a worthy response to the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and later the Chevy SS. The SHO — Tremendous Excessive Output — begat issues just like the Fusion ST and gave Ford stable four-door efficiency for the remainder of the last decade. — Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore
1983 Buick Questor
Buick trotted out its automobile of the longer term in 1983. It was so futuristic that it was really billed because the 1995 Buick Questor, with a laser key, touchscreen navigation, steering wheel controls, digital rear-view digicam and extra. It even had a rudimentary pop-up head-up show that served as an instrument panel. Maybe as spectacular as its computer-controlled electronics was its styling, which influenced automobiles just like the Buick Regal and Reatta. Would you drive the Questor? I actually would. — Senior Editor, Electrical, John Beltz Snyder
1993 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning
The Chicago Auto Present has been recognized for 2 issues over its lengthy and storied historical past: efficiency autos and pickup vehicles. The 2 have mixed a number of occasions through the years, notably on the 1992 present when Ford formally launched its SVT sub-brand. Each the SVT Mustang Cobra and the F-150 SVT Lightning had been first debuted in Chicago earlier than happening sale early within the 1993 calendar yr.
However that is not the one hi-po truck the halls of the McCormick Middle has seen. Just a few years later in ’96, Dodge unveiled the VTS Idea (marvel what Ford thought of using these particular letters…), which was the primary time a Viper-powered Ram truck was proven to the general public. Sure, we all know the Ram supplied a V10, however that was a truck-specific cast-iron lump; it wasn’t till 2004 that Ram would bless the SRT-10 with the fire-belching Viper engine for manufacturing consumption. Seems vehicles and efficiency make for a nice pairing in Chicago or anyplace else. — Senior Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski
1990 Mazda MX-5 Miata
How might I not decide this? If you happen to’ve been round Autoblog lengthy, first, thanks, second, you most likely know I am our unofficial Miata individual. And it is wild that such a monumentally essential automobile for the Japanese model, and what’s now one of the iconic Japanese sports activities automobiles, launched in America. Granted, the undertaking was kickstarted by Mazda’s American division, and the American design idea received out, however nonetheless. And it was proven in darkish and frigid Chicago, not sunny Los Angeles. The essential factor, although, is that it did launch, and it is nonetheless round at this time. Mazda even periodically had Miata bulletins in Chicago ever since, with the latest being the searingly orange thirtieth Anniversary Version MX-5. – Information Editor Joel Stocksdale
1989 Acura NS-X Idea
Automakers prefer to one-up one another, and whereas lately the battleground is often social media, the 1989 Chicago Auto Present noticed my favourite little bit of gamesmanship in auto present historical past, no web crucial.
It’s a well-known sufficient story that you simply’ve most likely heard it earlier than, however the Acura NS-X Idea’s debut was one I’m positive the parents in attendance for each Acura and Ford will always remember. You see, simply previous to Acura’s press convention on the Drake Lodge, Honda President Tadashi Kume determined it was a superb time to fireside up the prototype and actually let the engine rip. Whereas Kume was revving the hell out of the NS-X Idea’s V6 engine, Ford was subsequent door giving its personal Chicago press convention. After all, the supercar’s engine could possibly be heard clearly by everybody attending the Ford convention. Did everybody shortly lose curiosity in Ford and must know what the hell Acura dropped at the present? Perhaps! However at any fee, good one, Honda.
All of this occurred earlier than anybody even knew that Honda/Acura was growing a supercar that’d change the world of supercars as we knew it again then. After all, the remainder is historical past, and the manufacturing Acura NSX went on sale for the 1991 mannequin yr. Acura even held a particular 30-year press convention on the 2019 Chicago Auto Present the place it appeared again on the occasions from the hilarious 1989 debut (sorry, Ford) and what transpired after that. From the angle of somebody who adores the unique NSX and outdated Hondas basically, that is peak auto present historical past. – Highway Check Editor Zac Palmer
