Cleveland Auto Show

This morning I was assigned to head out to the Cleveland Auto Show at the IX Center. I was there was to photograph the latest crop of concept cars. There was a time when a concept car looked like something out of a Batman movie. Times have changed. At some point over the years, the idea of a concept car has turned into something more like a sneak preview of next year’s model. To tell you the truth, it’s kind of disappointing.

Two good examples of concept cars that have become production cars are the Pontiac G8 concept that will be in production next year and the Chevy Camaro convertible going into production in 2009.

The only car at the show that looked like something unusual was the Chevy Volt. This futuristic car is designed to run on several different fuel options while charging its own batteries. The car is very cool and has the look you would expect to see.

Since I already sound like an old man pining for the good ol’ days, here’s one more quick gripe. While I was at the show, I also was to cover – just as we do every year -- the Ford press conference in which Ford officials give us all the latest news about the company and its plans for the next year. Several speakers would come from Detroit to talk about the future of the company and its line of cars. It usually makes for an interesting story or, at the very least, some tips to start chasing down.

The last few years, however, the press conference has turned into a sad depiction of a dying industrial giant. When the spokesman assigned to be the speaker today, he walked up to the podium and started talking about nothing. After listening to him speak, I know he believes Ford isn’t dead in Cleveland but that’s about it. The rest of the press conference was filled with a guitar solo from a guy from the Fender guitar company and a few optimistic words about what a good corporate citizen Ford is. We have no news, good, bad, or otherwise to report about Ford and its impact on the residents of Lorain County.

I’m afraid the automaker of the future will be even more disappointing than the concept cars of today.