Winter is traditionally the time that the world’s automakers showcase their brand new, up-and-coming models to the automotive press and the general public by putting on big, splashy auto shows all over the world.
The biggest and most prestigious of these shows takes place in Detroit, naturally, in the most inhospitable of months, January. There are also shows in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Geneva, New York and, this week, in Chicago.
And while these shows spend much time focusing on vehicles for singles, couples, families, off-roaders, campers, racers, and the occasional billionaire business tycoon, they rarely, if ever, talk about DogCars.
So it came as a pleasant surprise today when I saw that David Kiley, senior correspondent for BusinessWeek, chose to open his preview of this week’s Chicago Auto Show with a reference to dogs.
If the string of international auto shows between September and April were dog shows, this week’s Chicago Auto Show would be known as the competition of the working dogs — retrievers, herders, hunters, and pack dogs. For automakers, it’s the place to show trucks, sport-utility vehicles, and vans.
Imagine my excitement as I prepared to read about what sort of dogs the other auto shows represented. Perhaps Detroit was more of an agility competition, while the LA show is for Poodles, Tokyo is for Terriers and New York is for Boxers. Or something like that.
Sadly, this was not the case.
What followed Kiley’s opening was an actual preview of the autos being rolled out for the show, sans any further references to dogs. He mentions the GM crossover vehicles (Buick Enclave, GMC Arcadia and Saturn Outlook and Chevrolet Traverse), and the Denali XT SUV. He also points out that Volkswagen is bringing the minivan back in the new Routan (pictured here), while Ford has discontinued is minivan, the Freestar, in favor of a cargo van called the Transit Connect.
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So, while there are many choices of Dog Cars on the automotive horizon, there appears to be only one location where the two worlds to come together to coexist in peace and harmony: Dog Cars.