Today I took a quick trip to the Washington Auto Show, just to scope the place out. There’s been a fair bit of buzz around the show this year–much more than usual–due to the auto industry’s financial struggles. As most everyone knows, the U.S. government has wound up owning a fair bit of the American auto industry, making this a key event for many auto manufacturers. In addition, with the recent problems plaguing Toyota, and the industry-wide shift in marketing towards fuel- and energy-efficient vehicles, it made for some interesting observations.
To put it simply, there were a lot of great looking cars. There were also some pretty ugly ones. But that’s how it goes, I guess. Overall, there were more luxury cars than I expected, however, although fewer concepts than I’d hoped. The highlight of the show for me was probably the Chevy Volt. Since last summer, I’ve been following the buzz on the Volt both through the usual news methods as well as through GM’s excellent communications team on Twitter (@GMblogs). I can honestly say I think they’ve done the most to really put their brand out there with an electric vehicle. Is it the best one? I don’t know, but really, it doesn’t matter. For most people I feel like the idea of the “American electric car” is now almost synonymous with the Volt. And regardless, it’s gone a long way towards pushing the industry farther than ever into alternative fuel technologies. It’s not a leap, but it’s a step. A crucial first step. The car launches in November of this year–should be exciting!
Check out all my pictures from the show in the Flickr slideshow below, on my Flickr page, or on my Facebook. Enjoy!
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