It's showtime, and what that means in early April in New York City is ... no, no, not the current staging of "How To Succeed In Phantom Of The Lion King," but an event far more portentous, and with drama, comedy, and tragi-comedy: the New York International Auto Show.
Car and truck manufacturers are hitting the Big Apple this week, and with relatively salubrious news about the business this year, it is highly likely they will be smiling and hoofing at the show, with consumer-engagement gone wild: rides, drives, ride-and-drives, immersive video, games, movies, models, futurist exhibitions, performances, and (sorry, this one is for reporters only) food.
Oh, wait. I forgot something: there will also be cars. The show organizer says there will be something like 1,000 vehicles under the smoked glass roof of the Jacob Javits Center. Since the New York International Auto Show is on the tail end of the annual show circuit, which really begins in the fall of the prior year, a lot of the new vehicles will have been unveiled elsewhere -- Los Angeles, Chicago, or Detroit. But who's counting. Most of the show-goers will be seeing vehicles like the new Dodge Dart for the first time, even if they've read about them or seen pictures.
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Other vehicles on show starting this week include the Chevrolet Spark sub-compact, and Scion FR-S, the division's first real sports car. Subaru will unveil the BRZ, a new vehicle for that automaker's lineup. Subaru will unveil the restyled Legacy for the 2013 model year. Toyota Motor Sales says it will unveil a new sedan that was designed in the U.S. Word has it the car will be the new Avalon. Toyota says it will have a live-streaming video chat with the designers of the new sedan, where people can submit questions via Twitter and Facebook with the #ToyotaDesign hashtag. That will take place at 2 p.m. on April 5 on Toyota’s Facebook page.
Land Rover will take its act down to the Chelsea portion of Manhattan to tout the fact that the Range Rover was officially introduced to the United States 25 years ago. To wit, the automaker will have what it calls an "urban off-road adventure" in the meatpacking district, where people can test the vehicle in an unnatural natural habitat, presumably not the High Line.
Cadillac will have bookend vehicles: the new XTS large sedan and Cadillac ATS compact luxury sports sedan. Ford will show the new Fusion, which was a hit in the Detroit Show, so many Tri-staters will be seeing that vehicle for the first time.
And Chevrolet will be unveiling the Malibu Eco and Nissan a new Pathfinder.
On the higher end of the auto market the new Lexus GS will get the spotlight, as will Acura's ILX, a small luxury sedan. Honda's luxury division will also show off the next generation RDX. Infiniti, which has been showing off its JX crossover, will put it on the Dais in New York.
Porsche will show its new Boxster, and Mercedes-Benz the new SL.
In terms of activity Chevrolet says it will talk about the making of the Sonic 5-door hatch, which recently was featured in a music video by the band OK Go. GM says the car will be in a display that includes a film on the making of the “Needing/Getting” music video. It will also show the latest Sonic “Anthem” TV spot. Using two photo kiosks, Chevrolet will encourage visitors to pose in front of a “green screen” with a guitar prop from the video, take photos and broadcast a customized image via social media.
The automaker is also hosting a "Sonic Studio" in the hall joining the convention center to the new North Hall where General Motors holds court.
Chevrolet is also debuting an all-new Impala and Traverse crossover at the show.