The Old Man and his dreams

One of the things that helps your Center City Correspondent get through the winter months is attending the Philadelphia Auto Show. It’s held every year in January or February over the span of two weekends. In the past when our son was around, he and I would go down on the first day of the show right at the opening and spend hours there checking out the shiny new cars and trucks. He especially liked the bazaar where he would pick up two or three new model cars every year. We would leave when it started getting crowded, gauged by how long it took to get into a car. If you had to wait for two or three people before you got in a car, it was time to leave, loaded down with all the brochures we had picked up. We’d stop at the Reading Terminal for lunch and then head home. A great day to bond with the boy.


After he left for the warmer climes, Mrs. CCC would take pity and go with me so I could get my fix of new chrome. But this year she said she did not want to go, so I took it upon myself to go by myself, and I found it to be a new experience. I went on Thursday afternoon and was surprised to see how many people were there. Then I noticed that most of them were my age or older, so it must have been retirees’ day at the Car Show. I did not have to share my time with somebody who wanted to look at muscle cars or simple sedans while I waited to see the cars I came for. I’m always impressed by the fashion models who describe a vehicle while spinning around on a turntable. Just watching them makes me dizzy; and there’s nothing sexier than a pretty young lady talking about horsepower and foot-pounds of torque!

In about 2 hours I was able to see all the (car) models I wanted. I was impressed by the Buick LaCrosse. For your CCC to endorse an American car is rare. GM has worked hard to design and develop a car that by the looks of it can compare to European and Japanese family sedans. The fit and finish rivaled if not surpassed other similar cars, and if the price tag is believed for about $5000 cheaper than the others. Another car that I liked was the Audi S4, a supercharged 4-door sedan that would make driving fun again. Hey, a guy’s allowed to dream, isn’t he?

The Auto Show closes on Sunday 2/7, so if you want to go better get there fast.

All for now. Going to go oil up the snow shovels for the cataclysm that’d about to descend on us. Can’t wait for spring to get here. 12 days till pitchers and catchers report to spring training!