AutoShow aiming to speed forward

Jim Kenzie

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Like every other aspect of the car industry, auto shows have faced some hard sledding for the past couple of years.

Some have been cancelled altogether. Even the mighty Tokyo Motor Show was one more manufacturer pullout away from falling on its ceremonial sword last fall. As it turned out, it was an almost all-domestic affair, with only a handful of non-Japanese brands attending.

I found the atmosphere in Detroit last month more upbeat than I expected, as there was finally some decent if not entirely good news from the local manufacturers.

Still, it could not hide the fact that there were notable absentees.

Why are autos shows in trouble?

Because today, more than ever, car makers are scrutinizing every dollar they spend. As a result, they are wondering if putting every car and truck they sell on display in one location – and having local dealers and their sales staff on site rather than back at the dealerships selling – is really the best bang for their buck.

Not to mention the increasing allure and showroom-in-your-living-room opportunity presented by the Internet.

The Canadian International AutoShow, which opens Friday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, hasn't escaped the sea changes sweeping – if not swamping – the auto industry.

The major change for 2010 is that the Rogers Centre is not being used so there is less floor space. Few will mourn the loss of the drafty ballpark. It was a tough (and often cold and wet) place to get to for showgoers, and a tough place to set up displays for the car companies.

One inadvertent advantage it did offer – because fairly large numbers of show visitors were always in transit to and from the dome – was that the show stands themselves didn't seem quite so crowded.

For those of you who view the Toronto show as part of your winter physical fitness program, fear not: the North and South Convention Centre buildings where the show is now concentrated are still separated by the city's main railway tracks. You still have to do some hiking – and significant stair climbing if you eschew the escalators.

The AutoShow has been Canada's biggest and most popular consumer show ever since – well, pretty much forever.

The Arcadian Court, an Art Deco venue that was part of the old Simpson's department store (now The Bay) on Queen St., claims to have held the first Toronto AutoShow in 1929, but I'm fairly certain there were shows bearing that title well before that. Toronto garnered the coveted "International" title, bestowed upon a handful of such shows by "OICA" – Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles, self-appointed bestower of such lofty nomenclature – in 2001, but apparently fell off the official roster a few years later.

Still, I assume you can't copyright a word like "international," so "Canadian International AutoShow" it remains.

The usual 300,000-odd show visitors can be largely divided into two camps: tire kickers and entertainment-seekers, although they are not mutually exclusive.

Despite the increasing popularity of multi-brand car dealership "malls," there's nothing like an AutoShow to at least test-sit cars that might be on your shopping list.

Yes, sales people will be on site, but you won't typically be exposed to the sort of pressure you might find in a showroom. Sales reps are not allowed to actually make sales on the show floor, although business cards are there for the asking, as are brochures.

There will be no shortage of free shopping bags, too, although the more environmentally conscious might want to bring their own (made of hemp, of course).

Your favourite Wheels staffers' personal choices of the hottest cars to see this year are to be found elsewhere in today's Special Section.

For entertainment seekers, there will be some pretty exotic concept cars (also described elsewhere herein), fresh from their world-wide debuts as recently as Detroit.

The Classics display, always one of my favourites, will be a once-in-a-lifetime collection of Shelby cars. Richard Pickering, who has curated this display for much of its existence, has really outdone himself this year, gathering some exceedingly rare Shelbys from across the globe, many of which will be displayed together for the first time.

The seventh annual Cruise Nationals display offers some of the GTA's most gorgeous hot rods.

There will be contests galore (who doesn't love to win free stuff?) and a host of other attractions.

Details at www.autoshow.ca.

Jim Kenzie is Wheels' chief auto reviewer. He can be reached atjim@jimkenzie.com

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