On the Road: Come Visit the Denver Auto Show [VIDEO]
If you find yourself in Denver this weekend, and particularly if you are in the market for a new car, this is the place to be. The Denver Auto Show runs through Sunday at the Colorado Convention Center.
And it makes sense, because, if you are car or truck shopping, no matter what kind of vehicle you’re interested in, an auto show is perfect because, well, it’s all here.
Now, at first it can be a little intimidating walking in. You are simply overwhelmed by the variety and sheer number of vehicles. But during the press preview day, we got the full pitch on some of the newest vehicles on the market.
For example, the folks at Fiat-Chrysler showed us the new Pacifica Hybrid, the first hybrid minivan on the market. And the presentation was from Chrysler marketing guru Kelley Enright.
Their Jeep brand not only had the full lineup, including the new version of the compact Jeep Compass, but they let you drive them over an indoor version of Camp Jeep, complete with a hill to climb.
Volkswagen, too, showed its new Atlas SUV, or more properly, it is a 3-row crossover vehicle, which is a first for VW.
Around the hall, everywhere you turn you see the latest and greatest from pretty much everyone.
Ford, of course, had the latest versions of the car that invented its own market. This is the reason they are called pony cars, and the Mustang still carries design cues from the original. And the Shelby GT-350 performance version, with 526 horsepower is an absolute thrill ride, but you will require an extra pair of undies.
Speaking of horsepower, this is the Cadillac CTS-V. The V means it’s outrageously fast. With a twin-supercharged V8, there are 640 ponies under the hood, 0-60 miles per hour come up in 3.6 seconds. That is race car territory.
On the Toyota stand, I found I really like the new colors for the 4-Runner, and if that’s not good enough, try the new Expedition Overland.
The little Scion sports car is now the Toyota 86 since Scion is no more. And then there is the 2018 C-HR which stands for Coupe-High Rider. It’s designed to compete against the Nissan Juke, Jeep Renegade and others, but curiously, is not available in all-wheel-drive.
Chevrolet had, of course, its own pony car, the latest Camaro with a much more integrated dashboard. The Corvette remains America’s only true, 2-seat sports car and is now truly competitive with the best from Europe at a fraction of the cost.
The Chevy Volt Hybrid Electric car has been redesigned and is now just flat gorgeous. This is in addition to offering more economy and range than any other electric on the market, because the gas engine in the Volt is there to generate more electricity, so in essence, it carries its own generator on board.
And now, it has a smaller brother, the Chevy Bolt, so, like the Toyota Prius, there is now a family of electric-hybrids at Chevrolet.
Of course, trucks are essential for an auto show in the Rockies. From the aluminum-bodied Ford F-150, to the Nissan Titan, Dodge Ram, Toyota Tundra, GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado, you have lots to choose from.
Nissan performance was ably represented by the classic 370Z and if that’s not enough for you, there is the absolutely insane GTR, with 600 horsepower. That’s just plain scary.
But for sophisticated performance, you can’t beat Alfa Romeo and Fiat. And if when you hear Fiat, you think of the cheeky little 500, then look at this. The 124 Spider is back, and it’s as much fun as the one I had in college.
And since I owned just about every miserable European two-seater in my misspent youth, one of them was also of course the Alfa Romeo Spider.
Well, you can’t get the spider anymore, but you can get this. The Alfa 8C is arguably the prettiest thing of any sort, on the planet today. Alfa made a strategic error in my opinion, parking their new Giulia sedan next to it. Mainly because, who is going to look at a sedan, even a sleek one, when this is right beside it.
And of course there are Dodge Challengers and Chargers, the new Chevy Trax crossover vehicle, hybrid Ford Escapes, Volkswagen Beetles, Hyundai Veloster sports coupes, and everything in between.
If you can make it down this weekend, you can do all your shopping in one place.
And no salesman will bother you.