“Wow! So tight! Cool!! Those are some of the words that best describe the 1999 Los Angeles Auto Show. Ever since I was 10 years old, I’d been interested in different cars and the products to enhance them so my dad takes me to the L.A. Auto Show every year. If you think you go to the Auto Show just to see a bunch of cars you have the wrong idea. The L.A. Auto Show is a place where you can check out thousands of every brand of car without going to a dealer. But that’s not all: the Auto Show is also an interactive place to have fun. I had two types of interactive fun: first talking with other car enthusiasts and second, racing Volkswagen Golfs.
If there was an award to give out for best display, my award would be given to the VW company. Unlike the other car companies, they had representatives to talk to. Not just one or two, but rather ten or more! I was checking out the new Bug when one of the VW reps came and we spoke about the souped-up parts and different colors for the Bug. I even surprised him with a little knowledge of my own. He was a kind and cool guy who never gave me a snotty attitude, as in “I know more than you do.”
The VW company had a place set up to race small models of the VW Golf. You could race four at a time against one another. The winner got a VW hat and the three disappointed losers got a Bug pin. Hey not bad, I was one of them.
My favorites were the Bug and the Spyder
The new Bug bugged me with its great design. This car is beautiful inside and out—and you can say it’s one happy car. For all the other car buffs like me, it has a 115 horsepower engine and 16″ rims—pretty large for a small car. This car is not your everyday vehicle, it has many options but also has cool standard equipment. For example, if you like flowers, you can put them in the bud vase by the steering wheel. Some options are an automatic transmission and ABS, which is important if you want great solid brakes. Don’t think you can’t get exotic parts for this car. Many companies have different parts such as spoilers, mufflers, smoked taillights, and lowering shocks. VW was correct when they said “If you were really good in a past life, you come back as something better.” These Bugs are a hot item and hard to capture. Don’t think you can go to the dealer and drive back home with one. You will have to wait until they build one for you.
Moving from today to tomorrow, I saw a cool concept vehicle at the show. The difference between a production car (like the VW Bug) and a concept car is a production car is being sold to the public. A concept car is the very start of building a car although some are for fun and others will be produced. The Bug was once a concept, but aren’t some new buyers happy it wasn’t just for show or fun!
My favorite concept car is the Mitsubishi SST Spyder. This tangerine-colored car is sweet!!! It presents a new line of sport cars for the next generation of buyers: us! This hot roadster comes with an automatic transmission but it also can be turned to manual by a switch. It also comes with a navigation system, which tells you how to get to the place you are going when you are lost. Under this bright hood is a turbocharged 250 horsepower 4-cylinder engine. This car also comes with 20″ aluminum wheels, with a spider’s jointed-legs look. This is one heck of a car and I’m dubious there will be haters.
Perhaps you own a car with a weak stereo and want to upgrade it. Well, there are people at the Auto Show who can boost that sound system (and you think an airplane landing hurts your ears, wait till you hear a new sound system). They practically have every car care product and souped-up parts, from car wax to mufflers to body kits to navigation systems.
I know I’ve changed your minds about the Auto Show. Don’t bite your nails and don’t pull out your hair—you’ll have to wait until the new millennium for the next L.A. Auto Show.”