Autoshow in motion: Questions concerning the event

[Vintalage]

GM sent me a notice today stating that the event will be held Thurs. - Sun. in Maryland (Fed ex field). I knew this already since I visited the website. This is a great oppurtunity to test drive most of the vehicles that i'd usually never get to drive in one location. Even those that are either out of my price range or I have no interest in. What I'd like to know is what is needed from me before I can drive the vehicles there?

By the way, I see the age limit has dropped from 21 to 18 or older. They refused to let me drive the cars last year, even though I was turning 21 less than a month later.

[Vintalage]

I suppose no wants to answer my question?

[Vintalage]

Aw, come on! I ask a GM related question and get no response. There isn't much info on the "autoshow in motion" site.

[jro4566]

I think as long as you have a valid driver's license you're good to go.

[zabolots]

Yeah, just need to meet the age req's and have a valid driver's license.

Have fun!

[Vintalage]

Good. I'm interested in how the Pontiac Bonneville GXP, Grand prix GXP, and the '05 GTO drive even though I have no desire to purchase any of them except possibly the GTO. I also want to drive the 300C. Hopefully that is there. I want to drive everything they have there!

[Vintalage]

Went today. Had some fun. Drove almost all the cars they had. I'm going to try and keep this short.

First car I drove was the Acura TL. Having a seat in the car is one thing. Actually driving it is another. It's quick and that surprised me. And it handles great. Then I drove the STS V8. I still am not thrilled about the quality of the interior, but it drives fantastic. And I was hard on it. You can certainly feel the power from that V8.

Then I went over to the small SUVs. The one I enjoyed the most was the SRX V8. That thing can move. But it was the X5 4.4 that really took the cake in the larger luxury SUVs area. That thing shocked me. The handling is fantastic and the power...wow. I've never driven an SUV this quick and nimble.

Other vehicles I test drove were the Escalade Platinum, Yukon Denali (both nice), Navigator (6 speed really makes a difference), GTO (love), Corvette. Now about the Corvette. The track is to frickin short!!! Hell, all the tracks are too short. Especially the one for the GTO. I was totally let down. And I said to the guy in the Corvette "that's it?"

[Vintalage]

Oh, forgot a few other things. I drove the SSR automatic. I like the sound from the exhaust. In fact, it sounds louder than the Corvettes. But the car has a heavy feel to it. Doesn't seem all that powerful. But as I was coming in, I put the car into neutral and revved it twice to 3500 rpms going around 5 - 8 mph in the return lane. Then I put it back into Drive after the engine returned to idle and proceeded to pull into the parking spot. Uh oh. Big mistake. The manager for the truck area came up to me and asked if it is an automatic. I said yes. He yelled "that's a $50,000 car!" I said "oh really?" I should have said "I know...so?" In anycase, he blurted out "are you trying to screw up the transmission? "I'm sorry", I said. "Would you do that to your car?", he asked. My response? "Of course I would!" "You must be rich then", he said. I replied "At least I didn't do a neutral drop." "Yes you did." "You dropped the car into drive while the car was rolling." "Don't be ridiculous", I said.

Result? Ejected from the truck area. Permanently. That means if he sees me Saturday or sunday in that area, he will throw me out again. I wasn't the only one. A guy driving the cobalt spun the tires while driving around the course and he and his friend were booted. I was actually having some fun with this guy at one of the courses earlier in the day around the track. He's good competition. But this rule they have is one of the dumbest I've heard. I say this because if you revved the SSR while parked, you received a verbal warning. WHAT THE HELL??? Now I see why some people have complaints about the way this event is operated.

On another note, I drove the Saturn Ion. I don't really know how to drive a manual, however I managed to drive the Ion. It wasn't too hard. I did jerk it into motion twice, but it wasn't that bad. I eventually got the rhythm. The interior is a disaster, but the car is actually fun to drive and quick. Surprised me. But when I tried to drive the Vibe GT, that was hell. I kept stalling the car. I couldn't manage to get the vehicle going. It was terrible and embarrassing. Ah well, live and learn. I need to learn how to drive a stick though. I'm losing out. I really wanted to drive the Cobalt SS but as most of you know...Manual only. Couldn't take that risk. Same goes for the CTS-V, GTO M6, and Corvette M6. That hurt.

[Buick61]

Odd. I did a Chrysler Ride and Drive and a Subaru event, in both they let you beat the snot out of the cars (it was encouraged, in fact). Nothing like laying rubber strips with a Town & Country.

[Vintalage]

Originally Posted by Buick61

Odd. I did a Chrysler Ride and Drive and a Subaru event, in both they let you beat the snot out of the cars (it was encouraged, in fact). Nothing like laying rubber strips with a Town & Country.

GM is not as relaxed from what I witnessed. Burn rubber in a GTO, SSR, Cobalt SS or any other high performance ride and out you go. It is sillly. And what I did didn't come close to this.

Another thing that bothered me is that GM makes mention of "competition" cars yet they are few and far between. Where was Infiniti? Lincoln cars? Hyundai? Acura RL, RSX and TSX? Lexus IS or LS (GS is an exception since it was just released)? Why wasn't the Nissan Altima SE or Maxima available? Why only offer the base model of the competition's cars? Why the 300 Touring and NOT THE 300C??? These are things that bugged me a bit. GM obviously wants their cars to appear superior so they offer the base vehicles from the competition. At least as far as cars are concerned. As for trucks, the only loaded vehicle I saw from a competitor was the Lincoln Navigator Ultimate. My guess is because they have the Cadillac Escalade Platinum.

[SVT2888]

****************! and I wanted to go to a GM Autoshow in motion. I know that if I go I would shurely be kicked out.

[Vintalage]

Originally Posted by SVT2888

****************! and I wanted to go to a GM Autoshow in motion. I know that if I go I would shurely be kicked out.

I went back yesterday and drove the GTO and the X5 again among others. I revved the engine for the GTO and I was motioned not to do that. BS. This applies for both the Manual and Auto. Others did the same and received the same response. Anyhow, I enjoyed whipping the GTO around the course. I made the rear end swing around alittle when I came out of a corner. That was fun. But the accleration area is too **************** short.

As for the X5, I was given a warning to slow down. I'm telling you guys, that truck is quick. I had alot of fun with that truck.

I forgot to mention this. I had one major complaint about this whole event. The length of the tracks. Too short. By the time you begin to get a feel for the vehicle, the test is over. The course that seemed the longest to me was the Chevrolet/Pontiac course and the Small SUV course. Another complaint was the idea of combining Chevrolet and Pontiac onto one course. The lines for the GTO were extremely long and there was a line of vehicles waiting to start the test. One good thing about it was that you got to spend extra time playing with the gadgets inside the car. The bad was spending time in line waiting for that car.

[Ming]

The tracks are too short. But that seems to vary. 2 years ago the Corvette track I drove had a nice long straightaway after a short turn. The GTO track had a good stretch of road right from the start line, to encourage a tire squealing start.

Too many people were getting into Corvettes and GTOs and driving them like they were Aveos, and the lame attendants were motioning me to follow them --- of course I would catch up with them almost instantly and have to drive 15 mph the rest of the way.

I enjoy the show more for the chance to get in and feel / look at all of the different models, and often models from the car show are also on display and you can sit in them.

The free Swag and food is also good.