Philadelphia Auto Show

I made my way to Center City Philadelphia this week to attend the annual new car show, held as always in the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Fortunately, it’s only an hour’s drive (if traffic is behaving), and there are plenty of parking lots and garages in the immediate vicinity. The Philly show is on a much smaller scale than the NY show (which will be in April this year), and tends to be less crowded and more laid back than NY, and therefore more enjoyable. It’s been at least five or six years since I made my way to Philly for this one, and I’m glad I went. (I wrote a blog post about my 2012 visit to this show, which you can read here.)

There was a surprisingly good array of both domestic and import brands represented, but that observation deserves an asterisk. As I came to realize during my stroll, more than a few of these brands were supported not by the manufacturer, but by a local dealer. I cannot tell you with a high degree of certainly which were which, but if the size of the display were an indicator, I would conclude that Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, Honda, and maybe Stellantis (Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram/Fiat/Alfa Romeo) were manufacturer-sponsored, and Subaru, Nissan, Volkswagen, Cadillac, Tesla, and maybe Lincoln were dealer-sponsored. The two brands which I am 100% certain were dealer-sponsored, both because of the signage and my engagement with a salesperson, were Volvo and Polestar, with vehicles on site courtesy of Volvo/Polestar of Princeton, owned by the Long family.

Despite the turmoil in the news about electric vehicles and the loss of government incentives, consumer reluctance, and factory pullbacks, every brand at the show included EVs, some more prominently than others. First, you had pure EV makes like Polestar, Tesla, Fiat, and Lucid. Cadillac shocked me (no pun intended) when I learned that except for the CT5 sedan, every other vehicle they had on display was a pure EV (NOT hybrid). Obviously, the EV push is not going away.

Just as NY has done for the past several years, the main floor in the Convention Center included an EV test track, and show-goers could ride in the EV of their choice. While I didn’t take advantage of the opportunity, whenever someone mentions to me that they would “never” own an EV, my first question in response is, “but have you driven one?” Almost always, the answer is “no,” and it becomes difficult to reconcile the “never” answer when one hasn’t at least tried it. Shows like NY and Philly give you a free, no pressure chance to have the experience.

General and specific observations continue below, accompanied by photographs.

For a Tuesday afternoon, the show was well-attended, but not so crowded as to impede access to the cars.

The main aisle was cleverly carpeted with this highway-like stripe.

This was my first time seeing a pillar-to-pillar screen. It was so wide that I had to sit in the back seat to photograph it.

If a sea of silver, grey, and black bore you, McLaren offers these eye-searing shades.

SUBARU

The new Forester has grown to the size of the previous Outback

No one was near the RWD BRZ sports coupe which looks tiny next to its siblings

INEOS GRENADIER

These high-end SUVs and trucks have been advertised on TV, but aside from that, I know very little about them. This show was the first opportunity I’ve had to see them in person, and while I’m not a “truck guy” by any means, I could relate to their attractiveness for a certain clientele. Looking at the manufacturer’s website, the starting prices are lower than I expected, $62,995, which is competitive with many similar vehicles.

CADILLAC

The Optiq is the smallest of Cadillac’s EV SUV lineup (followed by the Lyriq, Vistiq, and Escalade IQ), and I found the exterior to be quite attractive. I especially liked the low height, giving it more of a station wagon profile. The AWD model starts at $56,195.

The Escalade IQ, by comparison, is grotesquely obscene. Photos do not adequately portray the gargantuan, gluttonous proportions of its hideousness. The only purpose this vehicle has in the marketplace is to call attention to itself and its ostentatious owner about its ability to cast its dark shadow onto every other vehicle on the road.

BUICK

With an MSRP starting under $25,000, the appeal of this good-looking Envista is easily understood. It looks to me like a well-designed cross between a car and a crossover. Take a look at that Monroney label as well: the engine and transmission are sourced from Mexico, 73% of its foreign parts come from Korea and China, and its final assembly point is in Korea, which help hold down the price.

THE Y-JOB

What an incredible surprise to see Harley Earl’s Y-Job in the metal. He unveiled it in 1938, and the public must have thought they were looking at a space ship. It still looks revolutionary today. Yet, it was mostly ignored by the show attendees.

ALFA ROMEO

Situated among its Stellantis cousins was a Tonale SUV, the only Alfa at the show. (Alfa showrooms also include the Giulia sedan and the larger SUV, the Stelvio.) The black paint did it no favors, as I find black cars at indoor car shows to mute the styling (as well as being a challenge to photograph). Still, at least Alfa was here.

FORD

The Bronco and Bronco Sport were the big story, highlighting some different color choices too.

POLESTAR

As mentioned above, it was the local dealer which populated the Polestar display, and it included the cleverly-named Polestar 1, 2, 3, and 4 models. All kidding aside, the 1 and 2 are out of production, and the cars on the floor were used cars for sale. (I thought the 2024 Polestar 2 with an asking price of $36,888 to be a bit of a bargain. I had one for a weekend, which you can read about here.) The new Polestars were the 3 and the 4. The 3 is the large SUV, but again, the black paint did nothing to accentuate its rather nice lines. The 4 is the controversial one, as it has no rear window, and the inside rear view mirror is a camera. From what I’ve read, drivers who wear glasses might struggle with a poorly defined depth of field. I must also ask: what happens when (sad to say, not “if,” but “when”) the mirror/camera goes on the blink and you no longer have any vision of what’s directly behind you?

Did AI write this? “Passenger doors rear left: Conventional left rear passenger door.”

Pre-owned 2024 Polestar 2 with 10,000 miles

This Polestar 4 has no ‘backlight’ (rear window)

The inside rear view mirror is really a camera. Here’s what you see.

THE AACA EXHIBIT

If tradition is any guide, I was expecting a display of classic cars at the Philly show, because they have been there during my previous visits. This year, with the AACA sponsoring what was billed as “Classic Blvd.,” it took over an entire hall separate from the new cars. I will guess that there were 40 to 50 classics on display, and about a third of those were Triumphs, sponsored by the Delaware Valley Triumph Club.

This Alfa Romeo Montreal was a special surprise:

The Triumphs:

In January 2012, I was a little less than a year into my new job as Product Training Director for the company which operated the www.CARiD.com website. At that time, our company only sold accessories (exterior, interior, performance, lighting, audio, and wheels) for cars and trucks. The repair parts side of the business was still a few years away. When training our sales staff, my responsibilities included teaching them what was new in the industry. Rather than wait until April for the NY Auto Show, I decided to head to Philadelphia for their show, always held in the January/February timeframe.

The location was familiar to me; I had been to this show in the past as part of my work with Volvo. This time, I cajoled my wife into joining me (under the guise of “we should look for a new car for you, honey!”) and she semi-reluctantly agreed. The drive into Center City Philly was only an hour, and parking in a nearby garage was easy enough. I should not have been surprised, but I was, that the place was jammed with attendees on a Sunday afternoon.

What the Pennsylvania Convention Center lacked in glitz compared to Manhattan’s Javits Center was made up in substance. Floorspace was not consumed by rotating tables, cutaways, never-to-be concept cars, and artificial landscapes. Instead, the vehicles were neatly arrayed, close to each other but not so close that one couldn’t open and close doors and get good three-quarter views. A huge additional benefit (for me anyway) was the side show consisting of “classic cars” with no particular rhyme or reason to the collection.

Pickup trucks, normally not my main interest, were a focus because much of the accessorization sold on CARiD is for pickups. I rarely photograph Monroney labels, however, the 2012 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 pickup grabbed all my attention. I was shocked, SHOCKED, to see an MSRP, after options, of $62,000! Little did I realize that ten years ago, I was witnessing the start of the trend whereby overloaded luxury-laden 4×4 pickup trucks would displace luxo-barge American and imported four-door sedans as Americans’ choice for ultimate comfort and convenience. (Visiting the build-and-price function on Chevy’s website allowed me to recreate this truck as a 2022 model, and today’s price is $75,000, if you can find one.)

Returning from the show armed with photos, I created a slide presentation for my internal training class to bring our young and inexperienced sales staff up to speed. (I didn’t bother showing them the DeSoto.) The Philadelphia Auto Show, this year in March, continues to be a viable alternative for New Jerseyans who would rather avoid the trek into the Big Apple.

What’s that wire coming out of the fuel filler? Customers in 2012 were not yet used to seeing charging ports like on this Fisker Karma, which was beautiful but ahead of its time.

The 2012 Fiat 500 was in its 3rd year of U.S. sales after returning to this market in 2010. This is the zippy Abarth version.

And to remind us how far it’s come, here is the previous 500

Subaru showed its new BRZ, which had just been introduced a month prior

The BRZ’s grandfather, the XT, was also on display

Here is the 2012 Lexus LFA, with an MSRP of $375,000 (take that, Silverado!). According to Wikipedia, a total of 52 units were sold in the U.S. in 2012.

Many of the classics on display were on loan from the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles. From the top: A Nash-Healey roadster; a 1969 Camaro Yenko; a 1956 DeSoto; and a Series III Jaguar E-Type (note the flared fenders and long doors indicating a Series III, but with retro-fitted covered headlamps).

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The 2026 Philadelphia Auto Show