Thanksgiving Weekend seems like an odd time to have an Auto Show, but it sounded like a better “Black Friday” option for us than fighting crowds at Walmart!
So, after Tom finished up his camphost training session in the morning, we headed down to the Phoenix Convention Center. With Friday being a government holiday, we lucked out and were able to park on the street for free, rather than paying $12 for the structure!
We knew that this show wasn’t going to be anywhere near the size or elaborate extravaganza that the Detroit International Auto Show is, but one thing that they did have that we did not have in Detroit was test drives!
As we walked toward the entrance to the show, the Lincoln display drew us in with the offer of a free gift if we took a test drive. We opted to drive the MKZ Hybrid, and since I was the only one over 18 who had brought her license, I was the designated driver.
We drove around the block, and were pretty impressed with the performance of the hybrid. I’m not sure it would work for fulltimers, though – not too many charging stations in campgrounds! We could have driven as many cars as we wanted – Lincolns, Fords, Chevys, VWs, and others – and all of their representatives were trying to lure us in, but the boys just wanted to get inside. So, we took our fruit-infusing Lincoln water bottles, and headed into the convention center.
As we walked in, it was obvious that our expectations were correct – that this show is significantly smaller and simpler than the Detroit show.
We could see all the way across the room!
It wasn’t crowded at all, though, and that was nice. We didn’t have to wait to get into any car, and there was plenty of room to walk around and take pictures. Even with much less to look at, we ended up spending a good 3-1/2 hours walking around!
While Tom and I checked out the off-road Jeeps, the boys got in line for the race simulators. They have all the racing games for the XBox, so they are pretty good at these!
There were a few specialty vehicles at the beginning of the display, including these great-looking Mustangs,
an old firetruck,
and a couple of Airstream Class B motorhomes.
They were nice-looking and pretty well equipped . . . I wouldn’t mind travelling in one, but I don’t think I could live in one fulltime.
From there we moved on to the production vehicles . . . Bryce liked the Fiat,
and the VW Bug.
The little cars were kindof cute, but they are going really retro on the interiors, with the same pastel colors as the exteriors!
Me, I tend to prefer the brighter colors . . . like “plum crazy”
and “green envy”.
Similar to the Detroit Auto Show, the Ford display covered the most floor space, and we spent plenty of time there . . . there was even a Mustang pool table.
It was really cool looking, and would be a nice addition to a rec room . . . if we had one!
Bryce checked out all the vehicles, looking for his favorites . . .
will it be a truck, or a Mustang?
Bryce and I stuck together most of the evening, but Tom and Nicolas wandered off on their own . . . we occasionally crossed paths . . .
That’s Nicolas’ kind of car!
Mini Cooper is always a favorite of ours . . . but you have to be pretty well off to have a car just for the month of December (at least that’s the only time I would drive this green and red car!)
Nicolas says he’s man enough to drive a car with pink accents!
Tom and I even found a cute little convertible . . . maybe we can flat tow that behind a motorhome!
Or maybe this convertible?
In the Mazda display, Nicolas found another race simulator to try . . . and he scored even higher on this one!
No Auto Show visit would be complete without the hamsters . . .
or the dream cars!
By the time we (finally!!!) finished walking around, it was 8pm, and I was definitely ready to go home . . . “but it’s open for another hour!” says Nicolas . . . “No way!” says Mom!
On the way home, we stopped for a frozen yogurt treat at Zoyo Neighborhood Yogurt . . . YUM . . . a great way to top off the evening!
Didn't get to go to the show this year, so thanks for sharing your pictures, they were great. And actually you could use the Lincoln MKZ in your campground, because no charging station is necessary, runs on gas and electric, which keeps it fully charged.
ReplyDeleteMuch better choice for Black Friday;o)) Looks like a great time for all of you!!
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