THE BEST DAYS TO SEE THE LA AUTO SHOW

It is Thanksgiving weekend. You have eaten more turkey in the last 36 or so hours than you normally eat in an entire year. If you see another sweet potato smothered in marshmallow, you are likely to gag just on sheer principle. You love your family, but after a while, even in the closest of families, there is maybe just a bit too much togetherness.

Well, good news! Even after Thanksgiving, you can still get away and go to the LA Auto Show, check out the displays, and hit up the gourmet food trucks for a change of masticatory pace. That's what we did. And the virtues of attending the show on the final days should apply just as well for 2026 and beyond. In the meantime, here are some favorite bits from the show.

“Feel Good” Moments at the Show

If you need a bit of inspiration, Volkswagen provided it with Azul, the 1977 VW microbus which became an unlikely symbol of hope by surviving the Palisades Fire in January of 2025. The AP photo which became a viral sensation, showed what appeared to be a mostly undamaged iconic blue VW bus amidst the rubble of burned-out homes, vegetation, and other destroyed vehicles.

By some miracle, it had not been reduced to the skeletal remains to which everything around it had been rendered. You can read about the story of VW corporate reaching out to the owner, Megan Weinraub, and working with her permission to restore the bus to its previous classic condition (or better). Instead, just go see it in person and watch the touching video presentation at the VW display. (Editor’s Note: If you miss the LA Auto Show, Azul will be displayed at the Petersen Museum from Thursday, December 4th through January 5th of 2026.)

Afterward, you can go build a wooden toy car, decorate it, and run it down the small racetrack that VW has set up to entertain the child hiding inside of every adult. 

For some more feel-good moments, we stopped into Subaru’s Pet Adoption Park. Once again, Subaru helps support our furry friends find forever families at the LA Auto Show. And even if you cannot adopt right now, who does not love being able to stop in and pet an adorable pup while enjoying a day out at the car show?

Going Off-Road

It seems like every year there are more SUVs and CUVs at the “auto” show. And yes, that is true this year too. Competition to show who can do off-road and challenging conditions best is on full throttle, and this year we headed over to Camp Jeep for a rollercoaster-like drive that showcases what the Wrangler and Gladiator are best known for doing well. Not to be out-done, Ford also featured the off-road capabilities of their Bronco. Be sure to hold on tight because their indoor track feature obstacles which mimic real-life outdoor terrain is no joke for the uninitiated – experience navigating a v-notch, vertical and horizontal inclines, and a flex test.

Speaking of SUV and CUV, Hyundai and Kia are betting heavily on that market segment now too. You can see more of the Hyundai CRATER concept vehicle at the show. This innovative take on off-road four-wheeling incorporates the CRATER MAN symbol throughout and is an attempt at answering the question, “What does freedom look like?” Freedom may seem a bit like a sci-fi novel landscape in this setting, but no matter what your definition, the CRATER definitely exemplifies the level of ingenuity and adventurous spirit that designers can achieve when allowed to dream. And it has a spot for your fire extinguisher within arm’s reach of the driver.

Kia featured their 2027 Telluride X-Pro whose attributes can be summed up by saying everything is bigger, and current thoughts are that bigger is better. Kia has increased pretty much everything on this self-described midsize SUV and added numerous upgrades to tech, passenger comfort and vehicle capacity. Per Kia, the new Telluride is “bigger, bolder, and still proudly boxy. Now 2.3 inches longer overall, with a wheelbase stretched by nearly three inches and a height increase of one inch.”  They even added recovery points, something surprisingly missing on many newer designed SUVs.

The Sports Car Market 

Is the sports car market gone? Well, no, but they hold a different space in the current automobile line up. While perceived utility (able to haul large numbers of people or pets or Costco scores on the type of terrain which many of the vehicles will never see) has taken center stage of most of the displays, Chevrolet has stepped up with their displays of the iconic Corvette, as well as a concept car with a very unique nearly clamshell-like entry. Will this vehicle make it to production in that exact ingress/egress configuration? No. But it is worth stopping by the exhibit to see what the engineers are dreaming up for the future as well as check out the latest updates on the currently available road-going Corvettes.

Automotive Tech Gadgets

I checked out the Hall of SPARQ. What is SPARQ? It is a multi-function app on your phone that pairs with a device connected to your vehicle’s OBDII port. This new AI powered method of datalogging, diagnosing, researching, and retaining of historical information on your vehicle combine multiple tools into one interface that you can access on the device that you already carry in your pocket. What does that CEL mean? Ask SPARQ. How much is your car currently worth? Ask SPARQ. Do your tires need replacing? Take a picture of the treads and ask SPARQ. Want to share your vehicle’s maintenance history with your mechanic? Use SPARQ.

In a world full of subscription based-model apps, SPARQ is different and is a one-time purchase which you own for life. This does beg the question of “how does the company pay the bills down the road with this app?” But it’s worth looking into and playing with the display devices showcasing demos of the app. While there, we were able to check out the display area that SPARQ shares with several featured vehicles from the Petersen Museum. (See Reed Berry's story about SPARQ.)

It's All in the Details

We checked out The Underground in Kentia Hall for everything aftermarket, including detailing products from Chemical Guys in one of their largest show displays to date. Need PPF? See exhibits featuring protective film solutions from clear to opaque, designed to either show off your vehicle’s paint or change it to something completely custom. Want diecast miniatures? Find them here. Collectible car related merch? Also here. In-n-Out burger’s traveling truck? Yep, all here.

In the end, we were able to put down the left-over turkey, go to the LA Convention Center, and check it out before it was gone.

What was there: Alfa Romeo, Buick, Cadillac, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Genesis, GMC, Honda, Lucid, Maserati, Nissan, Ram, Rivian, Toyota, and Volvo are all represented at the show at various levels. Noticeably absent of the bigger name automakers since the pandemic is Mazda.