I attended my first Chicago Auto Show with my family on Valentine’s Day. I went into the show expecting the cloud of the economy to block out any rays of light from the show floor. The show not only provided an escape from any Woe of the Week, but provided plenty of sensory stimulation.

As a newbie, I can’t reflect on the “good ol’ days” of the century-old show. I can’t “wow” you with recollections of the highs and lows over the years, comparisons of the crowds on the floor, or trends in “booth babe” costumes. I went into the show, though, with the mind of an enthusiast of both the automobile industry and of motorsports. I keep up on the latest developments in both through various public media, including Road & Track and Popular Mechanics dead-tree magazines, news feeds from Edmunds, the UK’s Crash and My Name is IRL, and podcasts from the likes of Autoweek and Indy Racing League. I can’t tell you the displacement of a 1956 Chevy, or any vehicle off the top of my head. Heck, I’m not even so sure I know what the point of rating a vehicles torque is.

But, I love cars. Old and new. Fast and slow. Big and small. American, European and Asian. And the Chicago Auto Show is a place to see all types of these cars collected for your sensory pleasure.

For the Eyes

Your eyes are the first to take it all in. The sheer size of the show is staggering at first. McCormick Place is a huge convention center, as those places go. To see two of the huge halls filled with displays from the world’s automakers is awe-inspiring. These  booths are huge productions for the manufacturers and feature turntables, lighting effects, special flooring  and banners. The coolest visual element was SAAB’s “air display”, a 20 x 30 foot or so digital display that hung in the middle of the booth. From a distance, it appeared to be like the standard draped projection system or large flat-panel display. At one point, though, I could see people as they were walking behind the “screen”. On closer inspection, the wall was a grid of small, individual LEDs linked by a plastic grid, each LED about an inch from the other. Eye candy, sure, but very cool eye candy.

The true visual treats were the vehicles themselves. It’s easy to be seduced by the arching, flowing lines of the Maserati Gran Turismo or the low-slung knife edge of the Lotus TwoEleven. In fact, many people are quickly seduced by these supercars. And, as much as I love these cars, I found an equal admiration for the forward-glancing Lincoln concept car, or the class-expanding Nissan Cube (a great companion to the Scion xB and Mini Cooper), or the evolutionary styling of the Mazda MX-5 (I still want to call it a Miata).

To the Touch

The sense of touch gets a little exercise at the show, as well. As an old marketing flak and one who produced tradeshow booths, I always check out the floors. You can tell a lot about a company by the surface under your feet at a show. For me, I always provided my guys with the thickest padding under nice carpet. The booth workers appreciated, and visitors always commented on it. Many exhibitors opted for the traditional carpet base for their massive display areas. Some added small display areas of wood or tile flooring. BMW placed a full wood floor under their entire display area.

For a full-body experience, many of the manufacturers have open vehicles. The form-fitting MX-5 felt like just the right car for me…or maybe it’s the comfortable Mini Clubman. The Scion xB’s backseat and the Smart TwoFour’s front seat each felt roomier than most people apparently thought they would. And, I swear I could see Steve McQueen sitting next to me in the Bullitt Mustang.

In Your Ear

The ears got their share of stimulation, too. There were the ever-present turntable presentations (“The Dodge Circuit will do 0 to 60 in less than 5 seconds!”) and the blast of enhanced stereos hidden in vehicles. One woman’s scream revealed the fun to be had at the Dodge/Jeep torture course. At the back of Chrysler’s display, they had an indoor course set up to demonstrate their off-road vehicles. The 27 degree side-angle ramp, and 35 degree hill climb gave a lot of people reason to hoot and holler. Actually, it was probably the fast ride back down that 35 degree ramp that provided the biggest squeals.

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