2017 Canadian International Auto Show

2017 Canadian International Auto Show (Toronto)

    Through the fog and light drizzle.  Past the high priced gas and Tim Horton's, brought us to gridlock and one of the most sophisticated toll roads in North America.  After which we decided to bypass the main 400 series highways and the QEW to bring us to beautiful Lakeshore Blvd.
   Which in turn brought us to the parking garage just under the Steam Whistle Brewery.  Yes we had finally made it after just over 4 hours of travelling, but in turn we would not be disappointed.

    After making our way in we decided to make our way over to the North hall and down into the basement.  Why might you ask would we travel all that way.  Well the best displays are in the basement of the north end of the Toronto Conventions Centre.  This is where you will find all of the exotics and this years special exhibit. 
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       For 2017, Toronto decided once again to bring out some of the biggest players.  With Ariel, Lotus, Mclaren, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley, Rolls Royce and even Bugatti showing up for one of the best exotic car displays around.  

    Next to the exotic display was one that everyone was sure to remember.  And if your a F1 fan, its one you would not want to miss out on.  This years special display was to honor 50 years of F1 history in Canada.  And what better way to do this then to display both Jacques & Gilles Villeneuve's F1 cars.  Yes both father and son's cars were on display, but for Jacques they brought his F1 Championship car to the show.  On top of their cars, you could also find ones from Mario Andretti, Michael Schumacher, Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna.
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    From here we moved upstairs to the main showroom floor, which did house a few good displays.  Sure we saw Nissan, Mitsubishi, Volkswagen, Honda and FCA in Montreal, but in Toronto they brought some better concepts with them.

   Hot off their display in Chicago was the new SRT Durango, which is sure to heat up the SUV market and maybe bring in a new segment.  Next to this Hyundai decided that T.O. would be a great show to unveil their new Accent Sedan and Elantra GT.  Sure it's not the coolest thing to see, but this is a world premiere we are talking about.  Onto Honda we did get to see the Civic Type-R again, but the real show stopper here was the display for James Hinchcliffe and the new Odyssey.  Sure Indy is not as cool as F1, but they do run on better courses.

    But on the floor the biggest show stopper had to be something which has never made its way to North America before.  Something out of this world and something that we all long for.  The new Aston Martin AM RB 001.  Sure it may still be a production concept, but it was one of the most spectacular things to see at the show.  Sure the Chiron is cool to see, but a car developed with F1 technology and with help from an F1 team.  Something like this hasn't been seen since the F40.

    From there we moved across the tracks to the south side of the convention centre.  There we found a few vendors and some great cars from history.  

    As it seems to be standard now in T.O. a display of classic cars and some cars with Canadian stories were on display.  This really got to you and made you think, hey maybe Canada does play a pivotal role in the world Automotive market.  And here is where you find the stories and cars from Canada.  Of course it would have been better to seem some actual existing Canadian car companies, but the stories were a great second choice.

   After we took a stroll down memory lane and made a few purchases, we moved to the bottom floor and onto the final showroom floor.  But before entering the main hall, we took a walk over to see the green display.  And just like any other year, Toronto put on a great display of new green automobiles.

    Now we had to move onto the main hall and see what was really happening behind those doors.  Behind the doors we found the always great Ford display.  And yes just like all previous years, Ford brought their A game and not for just the parents, but also the children.  A few of us stopped by to colour some pictures and make a few buttons, because who can really say no to a Raptor button.

   From Ford we moved onto Kia and the new Stinger model.  Yes it really is better in the flesh.  After this we took a gander at the GM display, and like most years, it was full of space and nothing much else.  Well I guess the free espresso from Buick did help us stay in the GM display a little longer. After leaving GM we moved on over to Toyota where we found the new Camry.  Woo Hoo.

    From their we moved over to Lexus where they we finally got to see the new Lexus seat and UX.  They are better in real life.  After Lexus came the Lincoln Navigator concept, Mercedes, Infiniti, BWM, Porsche, Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Land Rover / Jaguar.  Sure some of them did bring concepts, but nothing that really made a difference.  The last display we wanted to see was one that was all new and was really making a difference.  Sure they didn't have a great concept, but they did change the perception of Korean cars.  Genesis really does make you think about how the Hyundai Pony brought upon the existence of the G90.  Sure we get it, but do most consumers.

    Now after a long day of photos, talks and sit-ins, we were sure tired.  And for that we needed to recharge across the street for some food.  After we had eaten, we moved on back over to our AutoLooks ride and fought our way through the mean streets of Toronto.  Really we always have to ask why Black Lake Drive doesn't go all the way to the Gardiner.  If it did, we wouldn't have been stuck in traffic for an hour.
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    Well besides the poorly laid out infrastructure, we did manage to find our way back home, but not without having to go through thick fog again.  T.O. this year was a show to see and enjoy and we look forward to visiting Hogtown again next year.

Everett J.
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