The World By Road

Steve S. and I went to the Denver International Auto Show this afternoon to hand out some flyers, check out some cool new cars and hopefully maybe even make a few additional contacts with some representatives from various auto manufacturers that we are contemplating sponsorship with. Well, unfortunately the auto show was a HUGE disappointment. The show was basically one giant car sales lot. None of the manufacturers seemed to have any of their products presented in a way that made me want to stop and check it out (although Toyota did have an old-school Land Cruiser on display similar to the one that Steve and Al drove around the world in 1965). Porsche didn’t even have a 911 Turbo to look at. I felt like I was walking around a car lot with people trying to convince me why the new Crown Victoria P.O.S. is better than last year. No cool displays, very few concept or exotic cars, and no booths about travel, racing or any other auto related stuff, just tired models standing on a rotating platform trying to convince you that the new Chevy whatever is great because it has 45 airbags in it. There seemed to be very few manufacturer reps in attendance as well… just someone who was paid to memorize the stat sheet on the car but not really provide you with any meaningful information. The audience was not really our target either… the place was filled with people who thought it was cool to take pictures of the hood emblem on the Bentley with their camera phones so they could show off to their friends who wisely chose not to pay the $10 to get in. At least I could have worked on my tan walking around the lot at John Elway Autonation and had a better time… all for free.