L.A. Auto Show - Should It Be Called The L.A. Truck Show?

A few years ago when the Los Angeles International Auto Show’s press preview became "AutoMobility," my theory was that this was due to the switch-over to electrification. It no longer was socially acceptable to stay stuck in the fossil fuel era, much less to celebrate it. So, you couldn’t say anything that reminded anyone of "automobile."

Now, I realize that I was wrong. The reason for the name change wasn’t anti-dinosaur political correctness. It was this: There aren’t any actual cars there, so they couldn’t call it an "auto" show anymore. 

Well, that’s not 100 percent true, but as an exaggeration, it’s useful. This year there was the Altima. You don’t even know who makes that, do you? And the Sentra. The "new" 240Z. All from Nissan. And a Jetta and a Golf and a few Mustangs and three or four Corvettes and a couple of Honda Civics, plus some decently handsome Kias. You remember them—cars that used to have cool names like "Stinger" but now are known by silly combos of letters like "K4 LXS."

But there were also a lot of gaps. No Mercedes. No Jaguar. No BMW. [Editors’ note: You can read all about the no-shows at the show here: LA Auto Show Shifts Gears, Moves Into The Slow Lane] All companies that have at least an attempt at keeping the passenger car in their lineups, though if this year’s auto show is any indication, there’s no point in bothering, because people love trucks of all sorts—from retro Broncos to massive Chevrolets to an electric VW van. Many were displayed in campground-type settings. The message: get in your vehicle and do stuff.

This logic also determined the language used on many displays. Chevy, for example, demands you to “Get Out There.” Out where? Somewhere rugged, though if you live in the suburbs, as most of us do, you might be more inclined to go with the VW tagline, "Life Half Full." Is that the same as "life half over," for the middle-aged amongst us?

Anyway, what is everyone doing with these trucks? They’re camping. Or maybe “glamping”—anyone need some solar panels for the roof of your truck to power whatever devices you didn’t leave at home?

Most manufacturers on press day had at least part of their displays devoted to the task of proving the ruggedness of their offerings. This involved displaying them on foresty-looking carpets, or climbing faux rocks. You can understand thus with Subaru. They have to have a way to convince people that there’s a reason they need AWD in climates where it might rain a few weeks a year, like LA. (Believe me. That used to be my job.)

But what ever happened to cars, or little trucks even, that did not have to look like they crossed the Amazon to get you to work, when all they really did was survive the traffic on the 10 freeway? Short of a small-ish Honda and the redesigned Nissan Kicks, they were AWOL, maybe banished as not being rugged enough? [Editors’ note: The new Kicks was there, if not very prominently.] Or perhaps shunned for not providing the perfect accoutrement for the adventurer who lives inside all of us (supposedly).

Mitigating the lack of cars, there was a DeLorean. No, wait, that was a Tesla Cybercab, ready to take you on an Uber ride. Say it this way: When someone got around to showing a car, it’s one that a human doesn’t actually drive. Tesla also displayed other car-like objects. Other manufacturers seemed happy not to.  Where were the ten different Prius models (or however many it is)? They might be there on the consumer days of this year’s show. They were nowhere to be found on press day.

From a spectator point of view, that made it feel like there wasn’t enough to look at. But if you like trucks (and camping), you’ll be entertained.

This is especially true in the "Overland Outpost," nearly half of one of the massive display halls devoted to all manner of vehicle-related outdoor accessories. In this section, it was essential to have a kayak strapped to the roof, or the aforementioned solar panels, or even a tent set up on top, because this, apparently, is now what we do.

One irony to note is that if you’re trying to be all green and electrified, most of the vehicles on display that were gas-powered are less, sometimes considerably less, efficient than what these companies used to offer—passenger vehicles, not logging trucks in disguise. But then, we can’t attack the wilderness in something like a Ford Focus, can we?

Who is "we"? Why, practically everyone, if you take this show as a representative sample. Not me, though. I’d rather be less rugged and more showered. In hot water. And no, I won’t change my mind if you say the glamp-ground has that.