The Philadelphia Auto Show came back to the Convention Center this year with not only new models but a few new wrinkles to make the experience more enjoyable for fans and car enthusiasts.
Walking into the show is breathtaking for the thousands of show-goers who mill through the room, as the glim of fresh paint grabs their eye and new car smell drags them inside the interiors of the hundreds of new cars on display.
And this year the brilliance of the show shined through the changes.
The show used to span multiple floors in smaller, more congested rooms; but starting this year the show utilized a different approach with one floor to showcase every brand. The room spanned 630,000 square feet, fitting models from a variety of manufacturers in over 700 total cars.
Besides fantasizing what it would be like to own your dream car, there was also a test drive option for almost every major manufacturer.
One of the more noteworthy attractions of the show was the Jeep exhibit, which was hosted by a live DJ and allowed free rides over different hills and terrains to demonstrate the traction and durability of their various models. The exhibit featured the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited starting at just under $26,000, Grand Cherokee at just under $28,000 and Wrangler Rubicon starting at just under $36,000.
Toyota also had an indoor test drive center, but on a smaller scale and did not have near the amount of obstacles. Fans of the brand were welcomed to jump in and take a ride in anything from the Prius starting at just over $19,000; RAV4 starting at just over $23,000; Venza starting at under $28,000; Camry Hybrid starting at just over $26,000; and Avalon starting at just under $31,000.
GM took the test drive experience a step further, allowing show-goers to zoom new Chevy, Buick and GMC models through the city of brotherly love. A wide variety of different models were featured including: Camaro, Cruze, Equinox, Malibu, Silverado, Traverse, Volt, Sonic, Spark, Regal, Enclave, Verano, Terrain, Acadia and Sierra.
The more luxurious Cadillacs also allowed customers a first-hand on-road experience like the other GM brands, featuring the CTS Sedan starting at over $39,000; CTS-V Sedan starting at just under $64,000; CTS-V Coupe starting at just over $64,000; CTS-V Wagon starting at just over $64,500; SRX starting at just over $37,000; XTS starting at just over $44,000; ATS starting at just over $33,000; and Escalade starting at just over $63,000.
Also, the highly popular Corvette and Camaro were featured along with other more consumer friendly models like the Malibu starting at just under $22,000, Cruze Turbo Diesel starting at just under $25,000 and the Volt starting at just under $40,000.
The Subaru brand offered their variety of efficiency and performance including the Legacy 2.5i Limited w/Eyesight starting at just over $21,000; Legacy 2.5i Premium Sport starting at around $22,500; Outback 3.6R Limited w/Eyesight starting at around $28,500; Impreza 2.0i Limited starting at just under $22,000; Impreza Sport 2.0i Limited starting at just under $23,000; and XV Crosstrek Limited starting at just under $22,000.
Ford was especially well equipped to win over eco-minded consumers with this year’s lineup, which included the new C-Max Hybrid and Energi-Plug-In Hybrid. Both models feature 47 miles per gallon for city and highway driving while starting at the affordable price of just over $25,000.
Also, unveiled by Ford was the Focus Electric, the all-electric vehicle that can roughly go 77 miles on a single charge and starts at just under $40,000. The manufacturer also featured their Eco-Boost engine which is designed to increase performance while reducing emissions, according to a Ford product specialist.
Honda also featured a similar product lineup, included a redesigned Accord with the “Earth Dreams” engine which comes in a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder and the 3.5-liter V6. The 2014 Accord Plug-In offers 124 city mpg and 105 highway at nearly the same price as Ford’s comparable model.
Staying in line with cost efficiency, Kia also offered motorist the opportunity to test the values of the Optima Limited starting at $34,500; Optima Hybrid starting at just under $26,000; Sorento SX starting at just under $32,000; and Soul starting at $14,400.
Entertainment wise, there was also a rumor circulating that Pierre Robert, the 93.3 WMMR DJ’s “Minerva” was supposed to make an appearance. This turned out to be false, however, and people ended up being happy gawking at the new lineup of cars coming out of production.
Either way the week long show offered a large variety of attractions for car lovers.