The diversity of new vehicles has never been greater than it will be for 2020, and much of it will be on display at the San Diego International Auto Show, opening New Year’s Day for a five-day run in the downtown convention center on Harbor Drive.
The electrified-vehicle surge has begun and there will be more choices for small gasoline-electric hybrid SUVs (Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4). And for the first time, there will be an EV test drive held Jan. 2.
But Ford will not bring its electric Mustang Mach-E and, despite Volkswagen’s big plans for an ID Buzz revolution in America, there will be none of those electrified concepts or prototypes in San Diego.
The 525,000-square-foot show — the second largest auto show in California — is, essentially, the largest (nonselling) new-car showroom in town.
As American drivers migrate to SUVs from sedans and wagon, that segment is splintering with so-called coupe-styled SUVs, as in Volkswagen’s new five-seat Atlas Cross Sport. In addition, there will be more of the popular subcompact SUVs, such as the Kia Seltos, and Mazda will show its new CX-30 compact SUV, with a “more mature” design. And the big cash cows of the herd, the three-row SUVS, will stand tall, including Hyundai’s new Palisade.
There also is more focus by manufacturers to encourage SUV owners to get out and get dirty, whether soft-roading or “overlanding” expedition style. Ram will show the Rebel OTG (Off-the-Grid) concept pickup, loaded with a collapsible rooftop tent, solar s, battery-powered cooler and kitchen unit with a gas-powered stove and sink with an on-board water system.
The Jeep Gladiator has been added to the indoor Camp Jeep ride-along, which has been expanded a bit to accommodate the new midsize pickup.
Subaru will emphasize its relationship with nature in a new display with an earthy backdrop of blues and greens. The display highlights the brand’s partnership with the National Park System. It also will hold a daily pet adoption, “Subaru Loves Pets.”
Amid the rise in family vehicles are several sports-car disruptors. Among them are the midengined Corvette Stingray, Ford’s 760-horsepower Shelby Mustang GT500, the brought-back Toyota Supra (with a BMW inline six-cylinder engine) and Nissan, which is celebrating anniversaries for its GT-R supercar and the 370Z. Cadillac will be back this year and will show a 550-hp CT6-V, and Dodge will bring the muscle with a 707-hp Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody.
Special displays
For a sprawling show of new vehicles, this show will have 80 or more classics and collectibles, movie cars, lowriders and vintage muscle representing a large swath of San Diego enthusiasts.
To tie in with the current “Ford v Ferrari” movie, a tribute display is planned with cars provided by the local Shelby and Ferrari clubs.
JBA Speed Shop in Kearny Mesa will be back with its muscle alley of 17 cars, with classic and late-model muscle cars that include Hemis, Hellcats and a GT500.
Precious Metals in San Diego will bring a stable of around 10 of its exotics and collectible classics, including a 1969 Lamborghini Islero S V-12, 1967 Ferrari GTC V-12, 1972 Lamborghini Jarama V-12 and a 1971 Oldsmobile 4-4-2 convertible.
The San Diego Cadillac-LaSalle club will display around 11 cars, ranging from a 1955 Fleetwood to a 1993 Allante. The big-finned 1959 coupe in the display wears its original colors of Vegas Turquoise and Dover White and has 97,000 original miles.
The San Diego Mustang Club will celebrate its 40th anniversary and 55 years of the Mustang with 18 cars ranging from 1965 to 2017.
And the grouping of 10 movie and TV cars will include re-creations from “The Fall Guy,” “Wayne’s World,” “Vacation” with the Griswold’s wagon, “Starsky & Hutch,” “Herbie” and the Pizza Planet truck from “Toy Story.”
The all-female Athena Racing program, based in San Diego, will demonstrate how it guides high school students on career paths related to automobiles, engineering, robotics or design.
The Genesis luxury brand, a division of Hyundai, will be a first-timer at the show, bringing its entire lineup and a special craftsmanship tour to learn about the brand. Participants will be given a Nappa leather keychain as a thank-you gift and they can enter a contest to win a luxury vacation experience, including resort lodgings, first-class airfare and special activities. In the display will be the redesigned flagship G90 sedan, G80 and G70 sport sedans.
Also new to the show will be Karma Automotive (in the Exotics Vault). Based north of San Diego in the Moreno Valley, Karma builds exotic high-performance plug-in coupes and sedans ($130,000 and up).
Nissan is working with the Rancho Coastal Humane Society and its PR director John Van Zante who has used his 2002 Frontier pickup to rescue and transport hundreds of dogs, cats, horses and other animals for nearly 300,000 miles. He and his truck will be in the Nissan display from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day for a “fur-ever” dog-adoption event.
And the Eco Center has been renamed SDG&E Ener-G Station, and will feature more educational facets.
No-shows
But the traditional auto show is evolving to be more of an experience than acres of static displays. Many manufacturers believe in the show format because they reach people who will pay to look at and sit in the vehicles, the first step of creating a relationship.
Others, mostly luxury brands, are putting their budgets toward more experiential events, such as intimate dinners with a company executive in a trendy urban restaurant, pop-up mall displays or their own organized test-drive events.
It’s not just the regional shows they are avoiding; the big media shows in Detroit, New York and Chicago are losing brands. Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Porsche skipped the Detroit show this year (though they might have held off-site events to poach journalists attending the show). And smaller manufacturers, such Mitsubishi and Mini, have opted out, too. You won’t see any of the above-mentioned brands in San Diego. But Cadillac is back in the show. And so will be Aston Martin, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Maserati — plus a 15,000-square-foot Exotics Vault of modern dream cars.
Cozy dinners have appeal to those in the market for a fine luxury car. But these events do little to sow seeds among young enthusiasts who begin their love of cars by seeing them, hearing them and then, someday, touching them — at an auto show.
Someday those dreamers will be purchasers, and for those many thousands who will attend this show, their dream will have begun in a static display for a $15 ticket.
For a complete overview of the show, look for the official auto-show program in today’s Union-Tribune.
IF YOU GO
Jan. 1-5: San Diego International Auto Show, downtown convention center, 111 W. Harbor Drive, 92101.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets: General ission $15, ages 13-61; military with ID and seniors (62 or older), $12; children 7-12, $11. Sunday will be Family Day, when children 12 or younger are itted free with a paid adult. Participating local dealerships will offer $2 discount coupons and there will be a $3 discount coupon in the U-T for Jan. 2, Newspaper Day.
Info: SDAutoShow.com.
