2022 Auto Show Features Indoor Ride-Alongs
by Peter Ciani, Editor
RPM News Weekly
Following a two year hiatus, the New York International Auto Show kicked off last week with a smaller footprint, fewer manufacturers and a new focus on EVs. The Auto Show runs through Sunday, April 24 at the Javits Convention Center in New York City.
New-car shows have been around since the dawn of the automobile but the New York Auto show is, in fact, THE longest running, beginning in 1900. So, as you can imagine the NYIAS has seen – and survived – many ups and downs, from the Great Depression and World War II, to low points in the American auto industry and the arrival of Japanese imports.
When COVID shut everything down in 2020 and the Javits Center was turned into a makeshift hospital, it was the first time since WWII that the NY Auto Show was canceled. The show almost happened in 2021, but was canceled at the last minute out of caution due to the Delta variant. So, there remained some uncertainty that this 2022 Show would ever actually happen.
On top of COVID concerns – and with the auto industry still playing catch up because of it – the question one might ask is, “Do manufacturers really need a car show to sell vehicles right now?” More specifically, if Ford dealers are selling every Bronco they can get their hands on for thousands of dollars over MSRP and customers are waiting, does it really make sense to have some of them sitting on a car show floor?
Ford, Chevrolet, Nissan, Toyota, Subaru and Hyundai are back to answer those questions with their usual displays (perhaps with a few less cars on hand), while others like Stellantis had a much smaller showing, and brands like Mercedes-Benz, Honda and BMW didn’t show up at all.
Nevertheless, with so much empty space to fill, the absence of established brands has opened up opportunities for new and up and coming EV automakers. VinFast, a relatively new automaker from Vietnam, is a good example.
If you were compiling a list of countries with the most global EV automakers, Vietnam probably wouldn’t be the first place you would think of, yet here we are in 2022 and a Vietnamese automaker has a booth on the main show floor right between Subaru and Kia. And yes, legacy automakers should be worried, because from what we’ve seen and experienced so far, their models look mighty impressive.
Another EV startup INDI EV also has a presence at this year’s New York Auto Show with a good location, right up front near Toyota where a lot of showgoers will pass by. Granted their booth isn’t as large as VinFast’s, but they, too, have a good looking car with impressive all-electric range.
For comparison, when RPM News Weekly interviewed the folks from Lucid Motors back in 2017, their booth wasn’t in a prime spot on the main show floor, or on any show floor, they were down in the lower concourse next to a news stand.
Besides more exposure for new brands, EVs themselves are benefiting from the extra floor space. This year at NYIAS there are three indoor EV tracks. That’s one of the many benefits of an EV. If you run a bunch of them inside a building, you won’t kill anyone with emissions.
In addition to the large EV test track on the first level, Ford and Kia are also running their own EV tracks. The larger track, which is hosted by the auto show itself, offers ride-a-longs in some of the newest EVs on the market, including the VW ID.4 and the all new Nissan Aryia. You can also get a ride in pre-production models from VinFast and INDI EV.
RPM News Weekly Photo by Peter Ciani
There were three EV vehicles in particular that RPM News Weekly wanted to get into for test rides – the new Nissan Aryia, the VinFast VF 8 and the INDI EV One. Unfortunately, because of time limitations, we could only ride two so we skipped the Nissan, knowing that we’ll get another opportunity to experience it in the not too distant future.
Our first ride was in the INDI EV One. Because this was a concept car, it wouldn’t be fair to give it a top-to-bottom review right now. I will give them props though – not many automakers have the guts to let the press folks and the general public ride in a pre-production car, let alone a prototype. My first impressions of the INDI One are that the powertrain seemed smooth and the interior layout was pretty cool. The dash follows the minimalist concept that was originally pioneered by Tesla, but in the INDI One, the passenger basically gets a full-on computer. This is right on brand for INDI EV, whose focus is on in-car entertainment and connectivity.
RPM News Weekly Photo by Peter Ciani
Our next ride was in the VinFast VF 8. Not only does it look spectacular, but we were very impressed with the quality, and fit and finish on the inside.
Meanwhile, Ford is giving riders a taste of instantaneous EV torque with the F150 Lightning and KIA is offering rides in the impressive new EV6. We took rides in the F150 Lightning and Ford’s heritage-inspired 1978 Ford F100 that’s been re-fitted with a Mustang Mach E powertrain. That, my friends, was a pleasant surprise. Look for our drive impressions in an upcoming article.
In case you’re wondering, The 2022 NY Auto Show is not all BEVs all the time. Jeep is still offering ride-a-longs on their Camp Jeep obstacle course. However, we did notice that most of the Jeeps on hand were 4XE plug-in hybrid models, including the Grand Cherokee. This certainly offers show-goers a great way to see and experience how going green doesn’t affect the Jeep brand’s capability offroad. If anything, the quiet running and instant torque of the EV actually improves it.
After the ride-alongs- you might want to wander over to the Chevrolet booth for a look at the upcoming Silverado EV, which I personally think should have been called the Avalanche, or E-valanche (sorry, I’m not a marketing guy). On the other end of the spectrum, Chevrolet is also showing off the new 2023 Corvette Z06.
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It’s a funny thing, when the New York Auto Show got its start in 1900 automobiles were simply known as play things for the rich, and indeed they were. Now in 2022, as the future of the auto show as we know it is up in the air, the expression “play things for the rich” once again turns up, as a term some critics use to refer to Electric Vehicles. Hopefully history will repeat itself and in the year 2122 when EV tech has advanced to a level that we can’t currently imagine, a blog writer (still a thing in 2122?) will point to the boom of EV innovation that started in 2022 and the quaint old EV technology that was shown at the 2022 New York Auto Show.
EVs might just possibly save the car show as we know it thanks to their emissions free powertrains. With them, not only can manufacturers show you new models, but now they can take you for a quick zip around their booth. Could be that brands like Mercedes and Honda may end up regretting their handing the floor to the newcomers.
So, if you are heading out to the 2022 New York Auto Show, expect to see a little less from manufacturers, but also find that there are more opportunities to actually interact with the vehicles that are on hand. It’s one thing to sit in a car, but getting blasted down an indoor track in one is a whole new experience. And if you’re angrily shaking your gas-loving fist at the thought of an EV future, go for a launch in the new F150 Lightning. I’m pretty sure there aren’t any vehicles in its price range that can match its performance.
