exhibit here — and still have hands-on demonstra-
tions, such as our infotainment systems, as well as
future concepts.”
Nissan spokesman Dan Bedore agrees that the
more space, the better. “More space means you can
display more product, and product is what this busi-
ness is all about. We had the chance to add to our
footprint this year and jumped at it. Headquarters
in Japan said they wanted more versions of our new
Rogue at auto shows this year. They wanted three
versions of Rogue at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
We did, but it meant taking out two other models
to do so,” Bedore said, adding that with its wealth
of space, Chicago will have “multiple versions” of
Rogues without having to sacrifice other vehicles to
make room.
“The Chicago Auto Show is for consumers and
draws traffic into our dealer showrooms so it’s
important to have more product displayed here,”
Bedore added. “The industry had a good year in
2013 and we had records sales. All of us in the
industry are looking for 2014 to be good as well —
and for the Chicago Auto Show to keep building up
that head of steam we had going in 2013 into 2014.”
And while hundreds of cars, trucks, vans and
crossovers are on static display throughout both
halls, there also are a couple test tracks inside to
give show visitors an up close and personal look at
the vehicles, including the trek up and over the dirt
hill in the front seat of a Jeep.
Toyota and Chrysler take advantage of the space
within McCormick to offer both static displays as
well as test tracks for consumers to experience the
machines in motion. Ironically, the very first Chi-
cago Auto Show in 1901 featured a wooden track on
which visitors, many of whom had never seen a car,
much less ridden in one, were transported in circles
to determine if they were ready to trade in their
horse for a newfangled machine. While there were
no 8-foot dirt hills to cross, news reports at the time
said some women visitors fainted as they watched
cars circle the 20-foot-wide wooden track at the
daredevil speed of 10 mph.
This will be Toyota’s fourth consecutive year
of offering an indoor test track. In that time span,
more than 80,000 show visitors have slipped inside
a variety of offerings to either experience the brand
for the first time, or compare it against a rival make,
or to observe what changes had been made versus
older models to determine if they wanted to upgrade
to the new model.
“We consider the test track a valuable tool. Over
the years, Toyota has worked hard to create enjoy-
able indoor drive programs with an amusement-like
flair. This year is all about trucks, a variety of Tun-
dra, Tacoma and 4Runners driven over an adventur-
ous desert and obstacle course, because we want
our visitors to have fun while
experiencing our vehicles,”
according to Toyota spokesman
Curt McAllister.
As part of Toyota’s “Drive for
a Cause” campaign, Toyota will
make a donation to one of three
groups —American Red Cross,
AMVETS, and the Future Farmers of America — on
behalf of those test-driving a truck.
While Toyota has taken advantage of the space in
the McCormick Place complex to have a test track
the last four years, Chrysler is celebrating 10 years
of test tracks at the Chicago Auto Show, accord-
ing to Phil Bockhorn, senior manager of shows and
events for Chrysler.
“For 2014 we have the Camp Jeep course that
takes you over the hill and a second track for Chrys-
ler and Dodge cars,” Bockhorn said.
“Chicago is such a great consumer show. In the
10 years we’ve been doing the test tracks we are ap-
proaching 500,000 test rides. Our research says con-
sumer awareness of the new vehicles always bumps
up because of the test rides. Consumer interest and
intention to buy a new vehicle goes up each year as
a result of the show. So it pays off to be here. It’s the
place you want to be,” he said.
More Than 100,000 Veh i c l es Jus t A Cl i ck Away…Dr i veCh i cago. com
CHICAGO AUTO SHOW 2014
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