Topic: Return of Ottawa Auto Show

[5 Wheel Drive]

Well it looks like the Ottawa-Gatineau Autoshow is making a return.  March 22 - 25 at the new Convention Center.  It's been 4 years since we've had one here.  Honestly, the last time I went it sucked.  There were a lot of major manufacturers missing.  Hopefully that will change with our new bigger and better convention center.

http://autoshowottawa.com/

Undecided if I'll go or not. 

[kardood69]

It seemed just like a little event for the local dealers to show off the current models and hand out a few brochures.... I don't think they launched any new cars amid smoke, or had keynotes from the lead designer at Porche or anything..

But good a excuse for something to do on a Saturday morning.. get a coffee, look around, get a free t-shirt or pen, etc..

[Sir Osis of Liver]

It seemed just like a little event for the local dealers to show off the current models and hand out a few brochures.... I don't think they launched any new cars amid smoke, or had keynotes from the lead designer at Porche or anything..

But good a excuse for something to do on a Saturday morning.. get a coffee, look around, get a free t-shirt or pen, etc..

Press: Sir, could you explain what drove your design direction?

Porsche design: Vee haff made it de zame as de last vone! NEXT QVESTION!

[richink]

Yeeeeep. When I was selling cars up there 15 years ago the car show was pretty much a nuisance for us. Kind of like the half breed sibling of the Montreal and Toronto shows. We used to draw straws to see who would have to work the Sunday shift.

I can think of benefitting on a couple of occasions where I sold cars to people that I wouldn't have otherwise but it was generally a waste of time.

The year where we had the Hyundai booth directly beside the Ford booth made me want to rip  my fingernails out one by one to quell the annoyance from their goofball sideshows they do. God forbid you just have a bunch of cars around for people to look at and some reps that know their stuff, no, domestic manufacturers have to turn it into an hourly circus show to p!ss off the neighbours.

[G0dspd]

It's been 4 years since we've had one here.  Honestly, the last time I went it sucked.  There were a lot of major manufacturers missing.  Hopefully that will change with our new bigger and better convention center.

Undecided if I'll go or not. 

I went to take a look this afternoon and it's definitely bigger and a lot better than the previous shows.  It's obviously not Montreal or Toronto but it's very respectable for a "minor-league" car show.  The new convention centre is a great venue (3 floors) and almost all the manufacturers were there.  (No Mitsubishi or Suzuki)  I was pleasantly surprised by the cars that were present and the access.  Every brand had most of their line-up on the floor but here are the highlights.

Subaru: STIs ... no BRZ 
BMW/Mini: 2012 3-series, X5M, X6M ... no other Ms
Kia: Optima hybrid meh
Nissan/Infiniti: 370Z roadster, GT-R (roped), Leaf, JX (locked) ... no Altima or Maxima (missed it?)
VW: Golf R, 2012 Beetle ... no Touareg
Mazda: CX-5
Jaguar/LR: XKR, Evoque (very impressed)
Volvo: ...
Audi: TTS, R8 GT (roped) ... no Q5
Mercedes/Smart: AMGs ... no SLS 
Porsche: Panamera Hybrid, 911s ... no Boxster.
Acura: ILX
Honda: 2012 CR-Vs
GM: Camaro ZL1, Corvette ZR1, 2013 Malibu, Spark (locked), Volt, CTS-V Coupe/Sedan
Chrysler: everything SRT
Toyota/Scion: Prius C, iQ ... no FR-S
Ford: Mustang GT (locked), GT 500 (roped), Focus ST (roped), new Escape (roped) ... Transit Connect is a cool truck!
Hyundai: Veloster, Elantra GT (roped), Elantra Coupe (locked), 2013 Genesis Coupe (locked), Genesis, Equus 

Adult ticket = $15 at the door but it's $12 if you purchase it online.

[wing]

Lol at roped cars.  Did they have any podiums?

[G0dspd]

"Roped" cars were almost all on podiums.  The 2013 Escape was even on a rotating display. 

Some brands just had cars and a desk (BMW) while others had a legit display (Kia, Ford, Chrysler).