This for all you auto enthusiast in Texas.

Gearheads, start your engines

05:57 PM CDT on Thursday, September 28, 2006

By MIKE DANIEL / The Dallas Morning News

The folks who run the State Fair Auto Show know exactly who comes around.


File 2005 / Staff photo
Eddie Babbe (foreground) and his friend Ryan Wiese, both of Granbury, tried out the NASCAR simulator at last year's Auto Show. Extensive demographic studies by the organizers have pinned down that information. The average Auto Show patron is married, is about 44 years old and has a yearly income approaching six figures. That person is nearly as likely to be male as female and to hold a graduate college degree as not.

But many other types of people wander through the 300,000 square feet of new cars and trucks situated in the Automobile and Centennial buildings as well as outside them. Plenty are actively shopping for new vehicles and thankful for the chance to compare models by about two dozen makers in one place and with little sales pressure. Some are young adults wanting a close-up view of the wheels they aspire to own someday. Some are tagalongs: children or spouses appeasing someone close to them. Some are merely thankful for a comfortable, indoor place to sit and relax.

But the event's true enthusiasts are the "gearheads": those who actively follow the auto industry and who go gaga over new products, especially extreme ones. They want to sit in a Hummer H2 about as badly as in a Dodge Viper. They want to see the retro-cool Dodge Challenger concept as much as the blocky but innovatively powered Ford Super Chief. They want to determine which car, the Lexus LS or the Mercedes E-class, has better leather on its steering wheel, richer wood trim, deeper-looking paint and more neato interior gizmos.

Whatever the reason, the Auto Show is as natural a fit for the State Fair as livestock and country music. We Texans love our cars and trucks.

BIG TEX CHOICE: The choice is clear: the all-new 2007 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, which will debut at the show. The Silverado is General Motors' best-selling vehicle, and Big Tex almost certainly drives a pickup. However, he may be tempted by the Ford Super Chief concept truck, which boasts a supercharged V-10 engine and runs on hydrogen, ethanol and good ol' gasoline. It'll be on view Oct. 12-22.

DON'T MISS: SUVs on display will include the 2007 Jeep Compass and Dodge Nitro and redesigned Chevy Suburban and Cadillac Escalade. New crossovers will include the swoopy Ford Edge and Audi Q7. For fresh takes on sedans, see the Nissan Altima and Maxima, Infiniti's G35 and the all-new Saturn Aura. For gas misers, the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris subcompacts fit the bill, and hybrid versions of the Toyota Camry and Lexus GS 450 are coming.

RETURNING FAVORITE: With all the new vehicles on display, a blast from the past is welcome for context. The Classic Corral, located outdoors near the Music Hall and the Texas Vietnam Veterans Memorial, will rotate vintage vehicles on an almost daily basis, most coming from private owners in the area. Highlights will be the Jaguars on Oct. 7, Ford Thunderbirds on Oct. 8, Chevy Corvettes on Oct. 8 and 15, and the Sports Car Club of America (all sorts of exotica) on Oct. 22.

WAIT AND SEE: Because of bookings at other auto shows, some concept vehicles, such as the Dodge Challenger and Chrysler Imperial, won't be on display until late in the fair.

 

Oh, you people in Texas are lucky! Sounds like it would be a lot of fun. So, are you going to be able to make it Jeremiah?

 

I have not been to the state fair since I was a teenager, but if I know for sure the Challenger will be there, I will consider it and take a lot of pictures.

 

Please do Jeremiah! I'd love to see more and newer pics! Oh just thinking about the car makes me...[sm=drooldude.gif]...drool. Hmmm...Challenger...aawwww...

Is it a long drive for you or you just lost interest?

 

Gosh, I have not lost interest in the Challenger if that is what you meant. This is a 3.5 hour drive so I want to make sure
it is going to be there on the day I go before I make the drive and determine how that interferes with my job schedule.

I may need to take a day off.

 

No, I didn't mean "did you lose interest in the Challenger?" What I meant was did you lose interest in this auto show is all. I know better than to think that you might lose your interest in the Challenger. You're like me, you never get tired of it.

That is quite a drive. I can see your point.

 

The Texas State Fair is always in October every year in the Dallas area. This has always been considered a family event. Only in recent years has it grown the Auto show to a significant size. Since 1989, the Auto Show has grown from 84,000 sq. ft. to encompass two buildings, an outdoor truck area and 300,000 sq. ft. of cars, activities and entertainment.

For the past several years, I have been going to Auto shows only like the San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, and Austin auto shows.

I think the Challenger will be at this show during Mid-October so I will have to check it out. If I go, you will definitely see pictures.

 

I REALLY WISH I COULD GO 2 THAT

 

Nice, I also wish I could attend it. I thank you for at least considering to go if the Challenger is there.