The Chicago Auto Show is an institution. I attended my first in 1988. I was in third grade, and my parents took me up. It was a revelation for eight year old me. Cars, cars everywhere! Two floors of cars! And concepts, and free brochures! Good Lord, this must be what heaven is like!
1988 Volvo 780 coupe. Yes, that’s me.
Suffice it to say, I was hooked. And while we didn’t attend every single year, we went most years between the late ’80s and late ’90s. There was always something to see. And we’d wander around Chicago as well. It was fun, being in the big city for the weekend.
Ferrari 512TR, 1992 Chicago Auto Show
The most recent year I attended was 2015, when my brother and I took a weekday off from work and drove up for the day. Since then, the weather has conspired to be exceptionally nasty, so as to prevent my willingness to make the three hour drive.
Volvo 940 Turbo, 1992 Chicago Auto Show
But I do need to get back, because a friend of mine in Chicago, Jim Smith, always goes to press day. He’s been telling me for two years to come up for the day, but Mother Nature has had the final say. So far.
But never fear, for friends were there on Friday, Michael Risatti and Erik Pedersen, and Michael graciously allowed me to plunder his photographs to share with all you fine folks! So lets take a virtual tour.
2019 Silverado, made entirely out of Legos.
2019 Bullitt Mustang.
2019 Ford GT, in Gulf colors no less.
Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrofoglio. Say it three times fast!
Genesis G90 sedan, formerly the Equus.
Maseratis!
Rolls Royce Phantom. I gotta say, this is giving me a real 1980 Cadillac Seville Elegante vibe!
Bugatti Chiron. Nice to see one in a nice shade of navy blue, rather than Screaming Zonkers Yellow, or matte-finish black.
Acuras. They had an original NSX on display too, you can just see it above the race car on the left.
The Coach Door Lincoln Continental, a special run of 80 for the 80th anniversary of the Continental nameplate.
It sold out within 24 hours of the availability announcement, but will be more widely available next year.
In addition to the doors, it is also on a stretched wheelbase, and with an even more plush interior than the regular Continental models.
Chrysler had an original minivan on display.
According to Michael, this was a 1984 model and had only 12,000 original miles. I remember these so well from my elementary school days! They were everywhere.
The brand new Cadillac XT6, meant to compete with the also brand new Lincoln Aviator.
Cadillac XT5, in a nice shade of blue, with off-white leather. So much nicer than the de rigueur silver over black interior.
This V Series was Erik’s choice out of the show. The pearlescent bronze is nice!
Blue over off-white Escalade.
Cadillac also had this cool display of dealership promotional model cars. I have several of these myself, including the yellow ’70 Coupe de Ville. I also have ’73, ’74 and ’76 Eldorados, but in different colors than these models.
Last but most certainly not least, this pristine 1959 Eldorado Biarritz was on display.
There was no mistaking these for anything else on the road. Not when they were new, and not today. And the biggest fins in the business!
Definitely the showgirl of the Cadillac stand! And the red on red combo is impossible to ignore. Now that’s a Cadillac!
Once again, special thanks to Michael (pictured above, with his favorite car) for taking these great pictures! Hopefully, I’ll finally get back to the auto show in 2020. For those of you in Chicagoland, it runs through next weekend, so check it out if you get a chance!