2006 Chicago Auto Show

Thing1 always likes to go and drool look at cars. Since Thing2 was at PrimeTime the wife and I got moving early Saturday (the one day each week I can sleep past 6:00am) and picked him up and went to the show. We were there about 30 minutes before the door opened. I had purchased my tickets online so we go in that line. It was longer than the line for tickets!

While we were waiting in line I started talking to the 2 guys in front of us. Turned out they are in the U.S. Coast Guard and stationed in Indiana. They get in for free with their military IDs. Very cool! And very nice guys to talk with.

We got in and headed for the Ford display. The wife wants a F-150 but they are just out of our price range. The Fusion seemed nice - about as roomy as my Taurus. The GT wasn't open to sit in :-(. Wandered over to Chevrolet and planted myself in a 2006 Z06 Corvette. Way out of my price range but I still want one. A lot of Chevrolet cars still have have wood grain trim on the dash. Bad looking wood grain. Not sure why they do that. On the other had the new Camaro looks sweet! Thing1 kept gravating over to trucks. He seems to want one for his first car. Not a bad choice - especially if he buys a house after graduation.

We kept wandering - mostly American cars. Had to look at Mini's, the wife wanted to walk through the MB and BMW displays (more to laugh at prices than anything else), and then into the aftermarket area. Lots of the usual crud - expensive rims, loud video, and clickers. Really annoying clickers.

The US Army display was next. A Stryker vehicle with remote control machinegun on top. Lots of recruiters wandering around. Lots of people coming up and saying hi. And thanks. They also had a booth where one could get replica dog tags. And a long line of kids waiting to get them.

The show was great. Seemed to get busy much sooner than unusual. It's a fun way to spend the day.

Dropped off Thing1 after dinner and went home. A 150 mile day...