After attending the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last January, I knew right away that it had ruined me for any new car show from that point forward. It was mind-boggling huge – and well represented from pretty much every major auto manufacturer in the world (and then some).
Unfortunately, my schedule didn’t allow me to get back to Detroit this month to see that show, but there are a lot of new cars I’d like to kick the tires on. The next best solution: to attend the 2015 San Diego International Auto Show, which was held Jan 1st through the 4th about 20 minutes away from where I live. I have attended this show several times in the past, and while it is usually pretty good, not all major car companies attend. Most notably missing over the past few years has been Tesla – which is odd to me considering that they sell a crap ton of cars here in California (I see many daily right here in San Diego), but they snub this show year after year.
On top of that, some manufacturers in attendance only bring select models. For example, Nissan has had a bad habit of not brining the GTR in years past – the pinnacle of their lineup. And, BMW seems to leave the M models at home most of the time – which is not something I quite understand. Those are the cars people want to see!
Despite the drawbacks to this show, the car guy in me was happy to attend regardless. Located in the convention center in beautiful downtown San Diego, it’s a pretty nice place to kill a few hours while looking at all the new cars. And the best part? Admission prices are pretty darn cheap – I only paid $12 for my ticket.
Here are some highlights from this year’s show, along with comments about each one:
So where was the Dodge Hellcat? And the regular (non-NISMO) 370Z? No M4 or M5 from BMW? Really? But at least we got to see the uber-rare Porsche 918 Spyder, which more than made up for some of what was missing.
