Chicago Auto Show 2010

Hello from the 2010 Chicago Auto Show! We drove in this morning and we are already hard at work. Since our arrival we have already learned how to process credentials, blog on the official CAS website and have taken a tour of the entire floor. As a first time Auto Show attendee, it has been quite the eye-opening experience. Our room in the Hyatt is luxurious and we feel right at home in the Windy City!

The scene on the floor is an extravaganza. There are crates, tarps, ladders, cranes and cars everywhere you look. It's amazing to think that the entire show is put together in only four days! The CAS set-up crews are working diligently to make sure that everything is ready by tomorrow night. Here in the media center we've already met some high-profile media such as Charlie Wojociechowski from NBC5 News.

(Check out his report http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/AutoShowFacebook-83830162.html )

We've also been greeted by Dave Sloan (CATA President and Co-Auto Show General Manager) and Jerry Cizek (Co-Auto Show General Manager) from the Chicago Auto Show Executive Board. The entire CAS staff has been extremely helpful and so inviting. This week looks like it will be a lot of hard work but it will be great fun and very rewarding!

Monday at the Chicago Auto Show is a flurry of activity, especially on the show floor. Boxes and crates fill the enormous space while forklifts and cars maneuver their way around the exhibits. It’s difficult to believe that by Wednesday morning McCormick Place will be spotless and filled with glossy, new cars.

Everyone is hard at work getting each exhibit set up for media previews on Wednesday and Thursday. As I walked around the South Hall, trying to stay out of everyone’s way, cars drove as slow as possible down the aisles to get to their destinations. Everyone worked around them until a bright green Lamborghini turned the heads of everyone in the vicinity. I stood in awe as it roared to a stop next to me. This is probably the closest I’ll ever be to a vehicle like that! I asked the man driving how he landed that sort of job. “It wasn’t easy,” he replied. Shame it was only driving at about three miles per hour. I’m sure the driver would have loved to take it for a spin around the city.

The Chicagoland Toyota dealers are planning to give away a Prius at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show. However, the Asian automaker is taking a fresh approach by having contestants enter through a special Facebook page.

If you want a chance to win the Prius, you must register for the "The 2010 Chicago Auto Show Prius Giveaway" on Facebook at www.facebook.com/chicagolandtoyotadealers.  Between now and February 18, 10 semi-finalists will be selected with the chance to win a Prius on the final day of the Chicago Auto Show, on February 21.  That day, all semi-finalists will meet at the Toyota exhibit and be provided identical envelopes. The envelope containing a picture of the Prius will be named the grand prize winner.

The sweepstakes is open to all legal residents, 18 years of age and older, in the states of Illinois (residing only in the counties of Cook, Dupage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendal, Lake (IL), LaSalle, McHenry and Will) and Indiana (residing only in the counties of Jasper, La Porte, Lake (IN), Newton and Porter).

Hybrid dream-team Fisker Automotive announced today that they'll be showing off their much-anticipated Karma plug-in hybrid electric vehicle at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show. This will be the Karma's Chicago debut, just ahead of its release to the streets later this year.

The sculpted four-door Karma is a 403 horsepower green dream, capable of 125 mph and 0-60 in 6 seconds, all the while maintaining an impressive 100 mpg. Even better the first 50 miles of the PHEV's 300-mile range are electric only and produce no emissions. 

The Karma features 22-inch wheels, a 10.2 inch touch-screen control center, and space for two sets of golf clubs in the trunk, proving that the frisky hybrid is no poser. As versatile in the garage as on the road, the vehicle’s lithium-ion battery can be topped off from a standard 110v power outlet or charged in just 6 hours from a 220v outlet.

Two Chicagoland retail groups will carry the Fisker brand when the Karma hits showrooms later this year: the Fields Auto Group, and the Patrick Dealer Group. A new Karma will set you back at least $87,900, though there's a $7,500 federal tax credit plus up to $4,000 from the state--making the possible base price a much-more-palatable $76,400.

The striking and distinctive Fisker Karma is proof that sometimes concepts do come true. It's a must-see during your visit to the 2010 Chicago Auto Show.

[Source: Fisker Automotive, Inc.]

Ford announced that the 2011 Mustang GT has been selected as the pace car for this year's Daytona 500. Not only will this be the first time Ford's pony car has paced Daytona, but the first time for any Ford since the Torino GT convertible in 1970.

The Daytona Pace Car edition adds a Ford Racing suspension, strut tower brace and mufflers, and a unique paint scheme with painted wheels, special interior treatment and specially branded lit sill plates to the already fearsome 5.0-liter, 412 horsepower V8 Race Red glass roof coupe. Like a stock Mustang GT, it will also have specially tuned Electric Power Assist Steering (EPAS), 11.5-inch front and 11.8-inch rear vented disc brakes, and a pretty decent 25 mpg highway.

To commemorate the occasion, Ford will build 50 2011 Mustang GT Daytona 500 Pace Cars, to be sold to the public. If you want the actual car that touched tires to the Daytona International Speedway, it will be at auction on January 23 at the annual Barrett-Jackson Car Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. All proceeds over MSRP will be donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. We probably won't see the pace car in Chicago (it'll be busy on the speedway,) but we promise that all you pony car fans will have plenty to love at the Chicago Auto Show.

Volvo announced that it would be bringing their prototype all-electric C30 Battery Electric Vehicle to the Chicago Auto Show this February. Volvo intends to put a plug-in hybrid on the market by 2012, and this prototype hints that there's a lot to look forward to on that front. 

This all-electric version of the lightweight C30 stores power in a lithium-ion battery that plugs into a run-of-the-mill electrical outlet, with a full eight-hour charge providing a 93 mile range. The C30 BEV accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in under 11 seconds and tops out at 80 mph, well suited for commuters and city drivers (not that Chicago highway driving gets much faster.)  Because the electric motor lives up front and the rest of the car is straight production C30, Volvo says that the electric handles exactly like the original.
 
Volvo still emphasizes the safety of the C30 BEV, as well. The vehicle is packed with the manufacturer's usual laundry list of safety features, but one of their most unusual priorities has been finding the best place to house the battery. Using a combination of virtual and real-life crash tests, Volvo is making sure their battery tech won't add insult to injury by zapping you after a collision. They've found that the safest place to put the battery is in the drive shaft tunnel, though putting it where the fuel tank would be is good too.
Because Volvo has stated that they’re focusing more on plug-in hybrids, this will be a prime opportunity to get a feel for the electric portion of the hybrid they’ll undoubtedly come up with next. This is one car you'll definitely want to check out in Chicago.

[Source]

We understand, December is a very taxing month. Between digging yourself out of a snowy driveway every morning and spending half an hour trying to park at the mall, you might start to lose it. Just count your lucky stars that you're not as far gone as these two drivers.

Unable to experience the joy of scrambling around hanging lights on an ice-slick roof, Texan Rachelle Brown decided to have her festive near-death experience in her Corolla. Decked out with a nativity scene, cotton snowballs and a few strands of lights plugged into an inverter, the snow globe car is as distracting as it is a fire hazard. Nicely done, Rachelle.

[Source - NewsNet5]

Kris Marshall's Christmas truck, on the other hand, is a 25-year-old tradition. The central Iowa truck salesman hauls around a generator to power the 3000 lights taped all over the vehicle. While most police officers are pretty understanding, the whole business is not at all street legal and Kris has been ticketed a few times. In any case, nobody will be able to say they didn't see him coming.

[Source - Jalopnik]

Merry Christmas to all of you, we'll catch back up next week.

So you're on the way to the big game and plan on doing some serious tailgating. Until now, your choices for getting amped up included listening to the pre-game show on the radio or pulling out a TV and generator and adding a big honking antenna on the top of the van. No longer, Chrysler Corporation has just launched Mobile TV.

Available on Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles as a $629 MOPAR dealer-installed option, Mobile TV utilizes the in-vehicle entertainment system to stream up to 20 different channels, including live sports, breaking news, kids programs and primetime TV.

The channel lineup includes CBS Mobile, CNBC, Comedy Central, FOX News, MSNBC, MTV, NBC 2Go, and Nickelodeon. Mobile TV is being offered on 2008-2010 model year vehicles with factory DVD entertainment systems, including the Chrysler Town & Country, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Commander, Dodge Grand Caravan, Dodge Journey, Dodge Nitro, Ram 1500 and Ram 2500/3500. The service also can be added to select 2008-2010 model-year vehicles when new Mopar headrest or seat-top DVD entertainment systems are purchased.

A small antenna, similar in size to a laptop mouse, is mounted on a vehicle's roof to deliver the digital TV signal. Inside the vehicle, the receiver and wiring are installed under the interior trim of the vehicle and are not visible to occupants. The $695 purchase price includes a one-year subscription and a 3-year/36,000-mile warranty for new vehicles and 12-month/12,000-mile warranty on used vehicles.

You'll be able to see Mobile TV for yourself at the Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep display at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show. I wonder if Chrysler will demo Mobile TV in the line for the Jeep Driving Experience?

[Press Release]

Dodge is throwing this generation of the Viper one heck of a going-away party. Not content with the street-legal 2010 Viper SRT10 ACR's production lap records at Laguna Seca and Nurburgring, the special edition ACR-X goes track-only to rub it in.
 
Though it runs with the same 8.4-liter V10 as the ACR, the ACR-X ups the horsepower from 600 to 640 by adding a new set of headers and a low-restriction exhaust system. Combine that with an upgraded track-tuned suspension, factory roll-cage, fuel cell, race seat, and 160-pound diet, and you've got some serious competition cred. The Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR-X is priced at $110,000 (about $30,000 under the Viper Competition Coupe) and should be available by spring 2010.

Two other special editions have been announced as well. The Vooodoo Edition is a stock ACR painted black, striped silver down the driver's side, and limited to a ten unit production run. The 1:33 edition (of which only 33 will be manufactured) commemorates the car's record-breaking Laguna performance, featuring red and black detailing on the seats, console trim, and instrument cluster. Even more special editions are on the way, so expect a serious Viper showing by February's Chicago Auto Show.

[Chrysler]

We had the first snow of the season here in Chicago, which means everything on the road will soon be lightly crusted in salt. While salt is great at keeping the roads clear, the corrosive runoff tends to do a number on the steel in bridges, road supports, and your car. There are alternatives to using salt, like piping hot water under the pavement or introducing additives such as steel shavings that produce heat in the presence of a little electricity. However, those methods work too slowly or are far too costly to implement.
 
Fortunately, there's still hope for those who wish their driveways would just shovel themselves. Christiana Chang and her colleagues at the University of Houston used paper embedded with cone-shaped nanofibers to heat a 10cm thick chunk of garden-variety road concrete from -10 to 0 degrees Celsius in two hours. That’s just enough to prevent snow and ice from accumulating in the first place.
 
The nanofiber paper Chang and colleagues are using is already widely and cheaply used to make electronics, but it will still take a considerable amount of work to scale up to a full-size roadway. Still, the potential savings on salting, plowing, and maintenance could make self-heating roads cost-effective.

[Source: NewScientist via AutoBlog]