Ben Spiro // Contributing Photographer
The Miami International Auto Show has held it’s standing as one of the nation’s best auto shows for a solid 46 years. Due to excitement over what’s to come in the auto industry, the showcase has opened much earlier than in previous years.
“Our auto extravaganza is the first major show of the season and offers a first glimpse of the available 2017 and 2018 models,” show Co-Chairmen Jay Rivchin and Faisal Ahmed said in their program welcome.
The auto show features debuts like the 2017 Nissan Rogue and Hyundai’s first two models for its new brand Genesis. Attendees gathered around these exhibitions, hopping in and out of their potential next cars.
Memory Lane features cars aged as old as 80 years with a 1959 Jaguar Mark IX as the focal point of the attraction. Even if guests aren’t that into cars, this exhibit will give them insight to the past, which brings together old and young alike.
Camp Jeep returns to the auto show for its eighth year with more than 100,000 guests since 2004. Jeep invites attendees to drive through obstacles that simulate the testing Jeep vehicles are put through before hitting the market. You’ll experience a 13-foot high, 35-degree mountain, a staircase, uneven ramps set at 25 percent (which enables the vehicle to teeter on two wheels) and many more trail-rated passes.
Million Dollar Alley is one of the smallest exhibits of the show but highlights some of the biggest dreams. With cars from the McLaren, Aston Martin, Ferrari and Lamborghini, your six-figure fantasies are sure to be fulfilled.
Paying a visit to Ally’s booth will allow you to experience that “New Car Smell” all over again. The Cars Meet Art display welcomes the exhibition alongside artist DUAIV’s artwork on a Corvette Z06 C7R. His love for both art and cars is reflected in the artwork, in which the paint gives the car its own persona, just as DUAIV’s flaming orange hair has its own.
The concept of personality is what Ally’s New Car Smell exhibit highlights. The eight different fragrances featured include City Compact, Luxury Coupe, Eco-Friendly Hybrid, Muscle Car, Trusty Sedan, Pick-up Truck, Family Wagon and Rugged SUV. Each scent captures the essence of the car and driver with humorous ingredients such as Family Wagon’s 44 percent baby wipes, 31 percent stain remover, 22 percent crayon and 3 percent regret. No matter who you are, one of these eight fragrances will be sure to capture your vehicle’s identity and, if not, you could create your own personalized virtual scent on their iPad app. Visitors can also design a car like DUAIV’s Corvette in Ally’s Digital Car Design Experience. A number of paint colors, designs and patterns can be chosen from, creating a car unique to each designer’s personality.
The Miami International Auto Show will run until Sept. 18 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. If you’re a car fanatic, this is an event you won’t want to miss.