Chicago Auto Show #CAS

I was thrilled to be a guest of General Motors at Media Day of the Chicago Auto Show.  Spending the day in what a Facebook friend described as "a whole room of new car smell" was both entertaining and educational.


Before I go on about the Chicago Auto Show (CAS) itself, I need to give a great shout out to both the Peninsula Hotel and Gibson's Steakhouse who made the night before the show so much fun for all of us "out of town" guests.  Be sure to take a peak at my slideshow farther down in this post to see the Peninsula's luxurious rooms and Gibson's gargantuan desserts!  GM's social media guru, Connie Burke, planned an evening of fun and food for all of us and we certainly appreciated it.

 The auto show itself was amazing.  I was immediately impressed with the fact that the organizers of the CAS understood the power of social media and chose to utilize it to help get the word out about the event.  

Our day started with a breakfast attended by both social media influencers and Chevy Volt owners.  Hearing the personal accounts of how the Volt is working so well for folks who live in the city was really interesting for a suburban chick like myself.

We then moved onto the floor of the show where we learned about some of the new features of the different GM vehicles.  I personally fell in love with the tweaks that have been made to the 2013 Acadia that makes it just about perfect for families.  The Acadia's front middle airbag is an industry first and exemplifies GM's commitment to making the safest vehicles for your family.


I loved that our tour included not just GM vehicles but other manufacturers as well.  The GMC tour guides spoke honestly and candidly about their competition, pointing out what other vehicles offered and what their strong points were.  I felt it spoke volumes that the GMC folks had such positive things to say about their competitors and did not feel the need to "bash" or talk badly about them.


Overall, the CAS was really a lot of fun. Jeep had a test track-type experience that felt more like a roller coaster ride than a test drive and Chevy offered the opportunity to test drive the Volt (which has all kinds of cool features to teach you to use your fuel most efficiently).


The 2012 Chicago Auto Show runs through Sunday, so be sure to pop over to www.ChicagoAutoShow.com and check out the upcoming events.