2024 Toronto Auto Show

2024 Canadian International Auto Show

    Another year and another auto show done.  This years Toronto Auto Show was good for the concepts and high end cars you really wanted to see.  A lack of BMW, Volkswagen A.G., Daimler Benz, Honda and Mitsubishi made it hard to see the entire industry.  But this wasn't a bother after you found a few North American premieres on our doorsteps.

    This years trip started out late into the night.  A late night trip with a stayover in a hotel just outside of Toronto is what I thought would be better than getting up at 5am.  Wrong I was, as by the time we hit the French River area, the snow began.  And began it did, as soon enough we were only travelling at 60kph on highway 69.  This slow speed would soon get a lot slower as we soon met up with casual drivers who like their brakes.  But this didn't matter, as they would soon leave our highway train and we would meet up with the inevitable snow plow.

    We would soon spend the next hour behind the plow, but this time this was a good thing as the weather would soon turn from bad to worse, as a near whiteout condition came down on us and without the plow, we would still be going the same speed, but would have had more of a possibility of hitting the ditch.

​    Soon enough the plow would stop at a turn around and we could get back on our way.  But we still had to travel a bit slower than we usually did, as the two-lane portion of the Trans-Canada was still snow covered and conditions were still heavy with snow. 

    By the time we hit the end of the 400, just outside of Nobel, ON, the snow was letting up and we were able to get back to near highway speeds.  We still had hard-pack snow to deal with, but being an avid driver and someone with a background in racing, this wasn't much for me.

   Before long we would meet up with edge of the Greater Toronto Area and with it, a lot more traffic.  But at least by now, the snow had stopped and we were only a short ride away from our home for the night.  This couldn't come any sooner, as I was burnt out from the long, white knuckled drive down, but we would have to be up early and it was now midnight.  Too bad for the good sleep I wanted before the show.

    7am comes to quick when you had a long night, but it was for a good reason, as today was AutoShow day and I was happy to get up for this early morning adventure.  Before long we were outside cleaning off our vehicle, as it still had a bit of caked on snow from the night before.  We packed our bags and soon enough we were on our way towards downtown T.O. for a show we had tickets to since November of 2023.  Talk about a long wait time.
  
    As we  cruised along the Gardiner Expressway to our exit at Spadina Ave, we noticed that traffic was rather calm for a Saturday morning, along with taking notice of a few new skyscrapers along the way.  I do love to see all of those nice new tall buildings, but still prefer my home away from the city next to the lake.  Nothing better than living on a clam lake and waking up to quiet every morning.

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    Soon we were entering the underground parking facility, just under the Steam Whistle brewery.  No free beer though, but I guess that is a good thing.  As we left our vehicle to enter the show, we passed by a brand new Lucid Air.  Something we have never seen up close.  Should have stopped to check it out, as Lucid didn't come to the show.

    As we came to the entry point of the show, we were soon greeted by a nice lady who informed us that the show was not opening until 10:30am.  This was new, as the show usually opened at 10am.  She did tell us that if there were enough people waiting they would open the show early.  This enticed us to hang around and soon enough we were on our way into the 2024 Canadian International Auto Show.

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    During our short time waiting to enter, we were able to take a glance at the Lego and Little Car Co. pavilion.  We would see these later as we would make our way over to the Autostrada display, to see some of the great exotics, custom, classic and new energy vehicles.  We wouldn't be disappointed, as we first met a classic from China.  

    HongQi has been around for a long time, but this was our first time coming face to face with the premiere luxury brand from China.  Sure, the model we met was a bit outdated, but it still showcased what the Chinese market was able to deliver.

   From here we passed a few product stands for home and automotive products.  But soon were gazing upon something which I had not seen in over a decade.  For 2024, Dario Franchitti was inducted into the Canadian racing hall of fame for our international category.  So, Toronto wanted to pay homage to him with a display of his great work and one of his Indy 500 winning race cars.  Along with this was a bit more information about this years inductees, with Canadian driver and Dancing With the Stars person, James Hinchcliffe made it in this year.  Good for him as his driving career was short, but did make an impact.

   Around the corner from there we met up with our first automotive room.  Here we found the Autostrada display, Rivian, Barret Jackson, Lotus, Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Cobble Beach displays.  Rivian was nice to finally see and we have the opportunity to check out the entire lineup as both the R1T and R1S were there and unlocked.  I did make a joke that the rear seat storage area was for my kids if they were bad.  They didn't find it funny.

   Next to this we got to see a few of the classics from the Barret Jackson Auction, but were not all that impressed, as they were vehicles we can see at nearly any classic car show or meet.   AutoStrada was next to Barrett Jackson and their display was one which has to be seen at the show.  Inclusive of a Weismann, Shelby Series 1, Viper GTS, an original Lamborghini and Porsche tractor, McLaren P1, Porsche 918 and Carrera, Ferrari LaFerrari and a replica of the Tumbler Batmobile.  This was my second favourite from this display, as the tractors were a piece of history from two of the greatest sports car manufactures.

    Seeing an original Lamborghini and Porsche tractor, really puts the automotive world in to perspective for the viewing public.  Most of us don't know how some of the greats came to be and these two products were what did it for Lamborghini and Porsche.  Of course, Porsche moved on to the Beetle and their original sports car.  Lamborghini on the other hand, moved into the sports car market because of Enzo Ferrari.  "Go back to making tractors farmer" is a variation of what he told Lamborghini.  And the rest is history.  To bad they didn't include a new version of the Lamborghini Nitro tractor, that would have made this the best display.

   Lotus was great to see, as we really wanted to see the new Eletre ALV.  It did not disappoint, as it is better to see in real life.  Maserati and Alfa had a few good products on display, but nothing to really write home about, as they were not the supercars you really want to see.  And you couldn't even sit in them, so it wasn't on the priority list.

    Across from them sat the Cobble Beach display.  Cobble Beach is Ontario's version of Concours or pebble beach shows.  This is were Ontario and Canada's best come to be displayed.  Their display was amazing as it had classic Bentley, Peugeot and Stutz products along with one of my all time favourites, the Countach.  Yes, I had to get a few pictures and spend some time with this amazing product.

    From here we moved on over to the Ferrari display, which was this years feature display.  Inside was a GTO, F40 Enzo, Daytona and a 308 GTS.  If you love Ferrari's, this was your place to be, as it was full of products and information about the brand.  Although it was missing one thing.  It had no Ferrari F1 car from Canada's own, Gilles Villeneuve.  He was a good friend of Enzo himself and is one of the only Canadian athletes to have a stature outside of our country, at the Monza F1 track.  Check it out, as its pretty cool to see.

    We were now done in the basement and it was time to move upstairs.  On our way there we found a few Mattel display cars from Hot Wheels in the lobby.  Along with this was a popup Mattel store which had toys to play with and purchase.  A perfect way to split you from your money.  But this was not for us and we headed upstairs after a few quick pictures.

    Upstairs was were you found Genesis, Kia, Hyundai, Nissan, Infiniti, Subaru, Ineos and Stellantis, along with Canada's EV display which included, Porsche, Polestar, Fisker and a custom Bronco EV.  But our main goal on this floor was to find the Barbie Corvette, as we could see it and soon enough we got up close with it.  Sure, it wasn't the car from the movie, but it was inspired by Barbie and what woman doesn't like Barbie.  Not my family.

    After this we stopped by Subaru to check out the Crosstrek and see that the line to drive a Jeep at Camp Jeep, was a bit too long.  To bad as you actually get to drive a Jeep Wrangler or Gladiator over an off-road inspired playground.  I guess I could just do this at home in my own 4WD product.  There are a few back roads to have fun up here, but if I break my own, then I have to pay to fix it.  I don't at Camp Jeep.

    Next to Camp Jeep, we found ourselves waiting to play slapshot and a racing SIM at the Hyundai stand.  This made it a bit more fun than just seeing cars.  On top of that, Hyundai had new trading cards at their display, which is one of my favourite forms of brochures.  Too bad more companies don't do this, as trading cards for cars would be a great idea.

    A few good slaps and a loss to my son later, we were making our way through the EV display checking out the Fisker Ocean along the way.  This is were I always have fun, as I like to talk with the book information people about their industry to see how much they really know about it.  Its like Leonard and Sheldon going to the Apple store and seeing how knowledgeable the staff really is.  Got to love the Big Bang Theory show.

    After some time playing with the EV people, we made our way over to the Infiniti stand where they had their Vision Qe and QX Monograph concepts on display.  This was their first trip to Canada and North America, so it was a pretty big deal to see them.

   Between Nissan and Kia sat a display which was hard to get near as Pfaff Motors had their McLaren and Pagani products on display.  Being the dedicated Pagani dealer for Ontario gives them some great cars and allows them to display them with a great emphasis on the best in the business.  But with the crowd hovering around it, it really wasn't my cup of tea.  That cup came from the Dodge Charger Daytona concept which really made my day.  I thought I would never get to see it early and here we are.  I would have said that about the RAM Revolution concept, but the lunch-bag letdown which came with the production vehicle, made that concept not a big deal.

     Soon we were on the move to the next section, but not before stopping to see the Ineo Grenadier first.  Talked with their information specialist about the product and we had a good chat.  Probably one of the only ones she had that day, with someone who actually knew something about the product.  This was similar to my chat with the Project Arrow people last year.

   On our way to the other side we hit some traffic.  Yes, we were walking and we came to a standstill at the escalator for some reason.  Security never told anyone why the stopped all of us, but it was annoying as there was over 100 people waiting to head downstairs.

​    Once we got moving we made our way to the lower level.   This is where we found the Lego display, but wanted to move behind the scenes to see where that great music was coming from.  Seems RedBull wanted to bring the party to T.O., as they not only brought their fan car, a replica of Max's 2023 F1 car, but Backup DJ himself dropping some great beats.  This was set in to set the mood for both the F1 car and the REV tv custom car show in the rear.

    We did want to stop and get a picture with the F1 Fan car, but the line was a bit long and things around us were starting to get a little hairy.  Maybe its time to drop a good beat and get moving on.  And with one amazing beat from Backup DJ, we had our beat to move onto.

   Around the corner from Backup DJ is where we found the Lego, Little Car Company, Porsche and Auto Exotica displays.  We first went over to the Lego display to see what we could make.  They had little plates which had colours on them which when used with a 1x1 piece, would create a part of a larger image.  You basically got to be part of the Lego art picture for the autoshow.  Sure, it was intended for children, but that wasn't going to stop me.

    Part of this display was a life size Porsche cutout you could have your picture in and a lowrider custom Lego car, with working hydraulics.  This was all too cool, but in no way was I going to wait in line to go into the store.

     Heading down the hall we found the Little Car Company and its smaller scale versions of some of the greatest classics.  The Aston Martin DB5 was a favourite from us, as we all wanted to drive it around the show.  This would have made our movement a bit better.

    At the end of the hall we came face to face with the one and only Porsche Vision Gran Turismo concept.  This was a car especially made for the Gran Turismo game and it was this concepts first time across the pond.  Yes, Canada was the first stop in North America for this amazing car which we could all drive in the digital world.  Seeing it in real life made it even better.  From here we entered the Porsche display which had a few gems we all wanted to see and one gem most people had never heard of.

    Inside we came face to face with the one and only Porsche and one of the only sports cars to ever climb a mountain.  Yes, the 911 that climbed the tallest Volcano came to T.O.  It was very cool, but not as cool as the life size 911 Lego car.  This was not only cool to see, it was an amazing product to get up close with to see how they molded the plastic to look like real Lego pieces.

    Around the corner from the Lego car we found a real life Dakar, painted in Rothmans racing guise.  Again a cool car and one we loved to see.  At the back of the display we found both versions of the new Taycan and one feature most people didn't know about.  Two Porsche bicycles sat in the corner, out of the way of the general public.  Don't know if this was done to see who really loves Porsche or just to keep only the truly interested parties talking with the dealer.

    As we left the Porsche display we finally came into contact with the Auto Exotica space.  This is were Mate Rimac and Richard Hammond had been just a few days earlier.  Too bad we, again, were not invited to the pre-show events.  Maybe next year they will invite AutoLooks again.  

    Within this space we found ourselves face to face with a few of the most expensive and fastest products in the world.  With the new Aston Martin DB12 Volante, Bentley Continental GT convertible, Rolls Royce Spectre, Rimac Nevara, Bugatti Chiron, Pininfarina Battista and the new Lamborghini Revuelto.  This was the place to be, as we had to sit in traffic just to get close enough to take a picture.  Guess we will not go on a weekend again, as by this time it was a zoo.

   After leaving the zoo we made our way downstairs to see what else the show had in store for us in the last place to visit.

    At the bottom of the stairs you will find yourself engrossed in a field of vendors and company displays.  Not all of it is automotive themed but all of it, is made to get you to stop in an learn more.  We only had time for two of them, as I wanted more info on purchasing a go-kart for my son.  Next to this we stopped by the Georgian College/OMVIC display to get a free picture inside of a VW Microbus.  This will make a good keepsake for the future.

    We soon made our way down the hall towards the Ford display, but by this time it was after lunch and we were all hangry.  After a quick bite of pizza from Pizza Pizza, we were off again to see more vehicles.

    Ford was rather disappointing from years previous, as they had not concepts and really had no wow factor.  Besides a Ranger Raptor and a few Broncos, there really wasn't much for us to look at here.  This was the same for both Chevrolet and Lincoln as well.  A few new products and not much else.​

    As usual GMC and Buick made a rather light impact on our day and without the usual latte from Buick, there wasn't much to see as there was nothing new besides the all new Envista.  Across from Buick was a larger display than last year for VinFast.  This year they brought their up and coming VF3 micro model.  This little CUV is set to start a new part of the market, as today there are no micro CUV's in the EV market.  Although it was only the pre-production layout, this little vehicle is sure to make a splash in the entry level market.  We know it made an impact on us.

    VinFast also had their Wind truck concept on display.  As VinFast is looking to move after the big players in every major market, a truck is something require for most major markets.  The Wind concept is an amazing product to see, but does feel more like a Mitsubishi product, rather than one from VinFast.  Lets just hope the final production unit is more in line with the rest of their lineup.

    On our way over to Toyota, we stopped off to see the all new GMC Sierra (as seen last year) and the Hummer SUV.  We did have the chance to check out the entire Hummer product lineup, but with the crowd swelling to a point of congestion, we bypassed this and only took a minor review of the product.  Too bad as the Hummer was on our list to try out.

    Next to GM was the Toyota display, one which we were looking forward to.  On display were the Tacoma Trailhunter, Land Cruiser 1958 and Crown Signia.  It was too bad they we were only able to find the 1958 Land Cruiser, as we did want to see what the new Land Cruiser was like.  Unlike 2023, we were able to check out the Crown sedan, to see what Toyota's Premium product lineup was like.  With a near Lexus like appeal, the Crown models are sure to add a bit more to the Toyota lineup.

    Next to Toyota you had to be careful, as the OPP had their display.  Choosing to move on from this was a good idea, as it was at a point when you could hardly move anymore.  Because of the amount of people the show was starting to be come unbearable for us.  But before we left, we did check out the all new Polestar 3, Lexus LX Off-Road and the new EV product from Cadillac.

   Cadillac has made their EV variation of the Escalade a bit on the odd styling side, as it has lines more similar to a CUV than its standard utility appeal.  This is all washed away when you see the Escalade IQ from the front.  Large and in charge is still the name of the game for Cadillac, and the new IQ is sure to make that true.  We did have the chance to really check out Lyriq this year and were pleasantly surprised by its features and size.

   By now it was time to leave and after a quick stop at the washroom, we were on our way out.  The 2024 Toronto Auto Show was decent for its offering and we wish we could have spent more time at the show. Unfortunately the crowd had become too much for us to handle and the lack of respect from the average Torontonian was starting to get to us.  

   If you didn't already know, Toronto is not like your average Canadian city, where as it seems once you get past Parry Sound district, the average person seems to only care about themselves.  This is why we usually stay away from the large crowds of the south, as we prefer the kindness attributed to the rest of Canada.

    Upon leaving the show we decided to take the Don Valley Parkway up to the 404 on our way towards Newmarket.  this would ultimately lead us off the 400 series highways so that we could hop on over to the 400 to make our way to Barrie.  Barrie was our next stop and with a stop in at the Mandarin restaurant for supper we were on our way home.

    During supper another snowstorm crashed on through which made it seem like we may have to stay the night in Barrie.  But by the time we finished supper, the snow cleared up and we were able to make our way home.  This was a usual thing, as we were passing through the snow-belt region of Southern Ontario.  Our drive this time would be a bit better than our drive down, but that was not without another blast of winter in Parry Sound, before making it home.

    The 2024 Toronto Auto Show was great stop and a fun way to spend the day with your family.  But with large crowds full of inconsiderate people, you may not find it as enjoyable as you would like.  The features of the auto show do make it stand out from others, but a lack of Canadian content makes this, just another auto show.

    Maybe sometime in the future the Toronto Auto Show will learn that showcasing what Canada has to offer would make this more of a global auto show, rather than its regional appeal.  Vehicles from Conquest, Terradyne, Potential Motors, Daymark, Zeal Motor, Magnum, HTT and Electra Meccanica would better serve to showcase what Canada has to offer.  Hell we are the home of Magna International and yet you never see them at the show.  Maybe some day the auto show organizers will wake up and realize that Canada has a vibrant automotive community and we need to show it to the world.  But for now, we can just rely on the fact that we still have a fun auto show to attend.

Everett J.
​#autolooks