We’re live at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show, and back once again with our Reporter’s Notebook. Our show-behind-the-show coverage lets you walk the floor with us as we explore the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures that lead to a mind-numbing sensory overload. So bookmark us, come back frequently, tweet it all to your friends, share it on Facebook, hit that Google-plus button, and if you’re rockin’ it old school, go ahead and throw it on your MySpace page.
Thursday, 11:38 am
Talk about bringing them in early. I think the adults were more interested in these toy Jeeps than the (few) kids at the show. And no: they’re not for sale.
–Joel Arellano
Thursday, 8:30 am
These are the buttons in the elevator of the Chicago Convention Center. We really can’t figure out what a floor 2.5 means.
-Jacob Brown
Wednesday, 3:30 pm
Nissan’s NV food trucks have become an auto show staple this season, serving up delectable dishes at every North American auto show we’ve been to since last November’s Los Angeles show. Time time around, the automaker is serving up mac ‘n cheese. We got the blue cheese, mushroom, and bacon variety on stock.
-Jacob
Wednesday, 12:04 pm
Armored and dangerous. Not. One of the armored personnel at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show military booth. There’s a strong military showing of armored vehicles and their handlers at the show, a unique feature.
–Joel Arellano
Wednesday, 12:04 pm
Free food! Free food! One of the perks of the job. (Those stuck in the press room had hotdogs, chips, and sodas. Oh, and coffee. Lots of coffee.)
–Joel Arellano
Wednesday, 11:40 am
Forget Waldo. Where’s Automotive.com? Making buttons at the Chevy booth is the most fun we’ve had this morning. And uh, we’ve been to a few press conferences.
-Matthew Askari
Wednesday, 11:35 am
Ford left the underbelly of its 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 vulnerable to the masses at the auto show. It highlights the cool performance add-ons seen on the underside, and it just looks odd in a convention center of cars standing right-side up.
-Jacob Brown
Wednesday, 11:30 am
Took in the press room. Nice reminder to us not to take things too seriously. Think it already stopped one argument which Chevrolet concept (Code 130R and the Tru 140S) is better. (Obviously, it’s the Tru 140s).
-Joel Arellano
Wednesday, 10:50 am
As if the heavy metal cover band and Sandman from the Optima Super Bowl commercial weren’t enough, Kia also had Creamsicles on hand. Creamsicles. When was the last time you had one? I think I was, maybe 9. It was delicious, by the way.
-Keith Buglewicz
Wednesday, 10:25 am
Kia’s going all heavy metal on us here in Chicago with its . As a child of the 80s, I approve…although I could have done without Poison’s “Unskinny Bop” as a followup. And where was the G’n'R? Monday was Axl’s 50th birthday, after all.
-Keith Buglewicz
Wednesday, 10:15 am
These are Lexus LF-A supercars. They cost $400,000 apiece. Chicago has four of them. We have no idea why, but we’re not complaining.
-Jacob Brown
Wednesday, 10:00 am
Later, Zeus made Sisyphus stop pushing the boulder, and wipe off cars at an auto show instead.
-Keith Buglewicz
Wednesday, 9:45 am
The Chicago Auto Show bills itself as “the biggest in the country.” That’s true in the literal sense: McCormick is the biggest convention center in the world. Where else can you find a dirt track to test Ram trucks on?
-Keith Buglewicz
Tuesday, 3:30 pm
OK, full disclosure here, we’re all from Los Angeles. L.A. doesn’t really have this “winter” thing we hear so much about, although it does sometimes dip into the mid-50s in January…sometimes we even have to wear long pants! But in the rest of the world, such as in Chicago, snow accumulation is an actual, real problem. So be careful where you park. Luckily, Chicago this year is cold, but snow-free.
-Keith Buglewicz
