Text and photos by Richard Bartholomew –
The Show is back and maybe coming to a town near you. The opening of The AutoMobility LA 2021 press days was November 17th and was quite different in many ways from shows in the past: Masks every where, and vaccine card checks to get in as Los Angeles had just enacted a vaccine mandate for indoor events.
Hyundai
Electric vehicles of all sizes everywhere with very large footprints of new electrics on display from Ford and Hyundai plus new manufacturers like Mullen and Vinfast offering their versions of ‘the small box on the front of a big box’ SUV formula with electric drivetrains and in the case of Vinfast a made in Vietnam SUV also reported to come with the latest in smart driving technology.
It will be interesting to see if they can pull off large enough quantities to spar with the big boys in the field or fall back on their electric motor bike roots to stay afloat in the superfast competition to provide large quantities of non polluting transportation around the world.
Lots of test-driving and ‘rides’ going on, indoors and out at this show too. Some car makers didn’t spend a lot on big display space but had cars in the test-driving areas like Lucid, VW and Audi.
GM sadly only brought Chevy as in the new Corvette and Camaro but I was really wanting to see the new Cadillac electric cars as well as the new V-series hot rods. Alas and alack but perhaps the show will grow back better faster and the automakers that didn’t attend this time will return next year and beyond.
Nissan
The photos include a nice Rivian pickup truck being driven on the streets of LA that was only a display at the last LA show here that happened to be way back in November 2019. This show seems to be a first step but not a small step of electrics and fuel cell cars making a big statement at this historic event and venue. Anybody in the know can feel free to contact me for VIP parking and VIP test drives of new cars for the next years show, wink, nod, hint hint.
The show is open to the public from November 19th through the 29 this year, as we speak and the AutoMobility people have a very good internet presence and made contact all year like a smart watch with the heartbeat of the auto industry programmed in and when the event finally hits the physical street it always seems to please. Checking in was as easy as any show or concourse I have attended. Note: the era of lanyards and big plastic Press and VIP passes hanging from polo shirts might just be history as the QR code via email and small wrist bands were used with ease and efficiency.
Every encounter had at this show was always extremely courteous, friendly and professional. A+
LA Outside
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
Richard Bartholomew is an artist and photographer based in Southern California. Visit his YouTube channel here. He is open to interesting consignments and can be reached at zeroagenow@aol.com
More photos are in the slide show below.
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