Hi Greg:
Thanks for the nice review of the Chicago show. As a kid growing up in
forties/fifties Edmonton I always dreamed of going to one of the big shows.
I would have killed to see a GM Motorama. However, it was not to be.
During the last 10 years or so we have had a new model show with some
"dream" cars etc. but it is nothing like the big shows.
Last AprilI went to New York to attend a conference of my wife's. It was
her conference - I went along. Having never been to New York I was
interested but a bit aprehensive about security, costs etc. Imagine my
delight, just after I turned on the TV in the hotel, to discover that I had
arrived just in time for the New York International Auto Show at the Javits
Convention Center. Needless to say, the sightseeing was put on hold. It
was a wonderful experience. The clincher was that after walking and taking
pictures for 4 hours, I discovered that there was a basement - with about
as many vehicles as I had just seen. There must have been more than 1000
vehicles.
Yes, I loved the XK8 and yes, the coupe looks at least as good as the
convert. I also loved - being an old Mopar fan - the Chrysler display. It
was the outstanding effort at the show and was the busiest. The Copperhead
wasn't ready yet, but I certainly drooled over the Prowler. Incidentally,
the Prowler had the greatest number of people looking at it of any car in
the show. I noted that they were mostly all grey-haired guys about my age.
Is this marketing or what? The ultimate touch - for all us old guys - was
that the tach was not mounted in the dash but was attached to the steering
column - right where we all put them in the old days.
I certainly agree with you about the LBCs. I remember something called the
Bentley Palm Beach (I think). It may have been the convertible version of
the coupe you saw. This was a very cool car even thought they stole the
name from Allard. However I think the price was higher than all of my cars
and bikes put together.
The show was a fantastic thing and better than I could have imagined. I
now think that I should try to attend the Chicago show in the future. I
wonder when my wife has a conference there?
John McEwen
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