Los Angeles Auto Show video.
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Today was the Auto Show press day in Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, these things are never as fun or interesting as they were just a few years ago. The press event for the Auto Show is now reduced to just one day when it used to be 3. Far fewer new cars are unveiled. This year it was mostly new versions of existing models. Like the Kia EV9 GT or the slightly revised EV6 for 2025.
The only all-new models seemed to be the new Hyundai Ioniq 9 and VW Tiguan. I wasn’t really disappointed by the Tiguan since I wasn’t expecting much at all. But the Ioniq 9 wasn’t that fantastic. Mostly because of the interior which is not very original it seems to be trying a bit too hard.
The main problem is that many brands just don’t show up at Auto Shows anymore. Which could be a problem for many car shows around the world. Mercedes, Mazda, Audi, Lincoln, Mini, BMW, and others were no-shows. It wasn’t as bad as last year where even more brands decided not to show up, but it’s pretty bad.
The short video above tries to make fun of all this. However, in the end, the whole thing makes you wonder how long these auto shows will be around. Which ultimately, is really sad…
I’ll be there next weekend! I’m shocked that Mazda and Lincoln are no shows.
Probably the same fate as large electronics trade shows. Marketing budgets have been shifted to other, much more cost effective (and trackable) tactics.
Not to mention ride-and-drives are probably way more expensive now that you have 50 YouTubers to entertain vs. several big magazines and newspapers.
Uggh. I decided against going when I realized there was no Mazda this year. I should point out that the reason there were a few less brands last year was the (typically woke) LA requirement that only brands offering a full-electric vehicle could display there in 2023. Seems like they dropped that mandate for 2024.