2024 Los Angeles Auto Show Recap

There was only one press day this year — which some might take as sign that auto-show media days mean less than they used to. I've covered that before, so I won't belabor the point — though I do go back and forth on the future. Sure, Zooms are cheaper, but you can't touch a car through a laptop screen.

Anyway, the big newsmakers at the show were Hyundai and Kia. The two brands have been on a roll lately, and they blitzed L.A. with product.

As an aside, some of you seem to have an unfair grudge against Hyundai/Kia in the comments. Look, our job is to tell the truth, and the truth is most Hyundai/Kia vehicles are, at this moment in time, quite good. Our job is not to simply say “everything sucks”, especially when that's not true.

Ahem.

The other big news came from Volkswagen with the 2025 Tiguan. Stellantis made smaller bits of news with special editions, and Genesis did an off-site unveil.

By my count there were six or seven new-car debuts in and around L.A. Not too shabby.

Perhaps not enough to say media days are back, but also not so bleak as to say they're dead.

Some other scattered thoughts from L.A.:

• Cupra might be coming Stateside, and yours truly spotted a couple in the hotel valet stand — I was being hosted by Volkswagen. I wish I'd gotten a pic.
• There was almost zero Chinese presence, which surprised me given how much the Chinese auto industry has grown and given all the talk about how Chinese automakers could enter our market.
• The overlanding area was very, very interesting, even to a city-dweller like me who never spends any time in the great outdoors. Just some really cool stuff — if you're in town and going to the show this week, check it out.
• Normally, there's a much stronger aftermarket/dealer presence and more weird cars placed around the edges of the convention center. That part of the show was quieter. There was still a show hall for companies that operate in that space, but not as much space given over to companies like Galpin.
• A company called SPARQ was giving out artificial-intelligence powered onboard-diagnostics systems. I didn't take one because I don't own a car, but I also later found out the price is $499 and that might run afoul of our ethics standards. Still, the idea is interesting. If it works, it would make the process of diagnostics a tad easier than using a code reader. But given that A.I. is often not-so-intelligent, we'll see. Maybe we'll arrange a test unit for one of our staff.
• One thing putting a damper on the show was the relative lack of luxury makes. Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Lexus — none had a booth presence. Porsche had its usual exhibit, though it's not clear to me if it was organized by corporate or a dealer/dealers. Volvo and Polestar didn't have booths but did have cars on hand for test drives.
• While some luxury brands were missing, others were not. Acura, Alfa Romeo, Buick, Cadillac, Chrysler, Genesis, GMC, and Tesla all had displays.
• So, too, did Ineos — the truck looks pretty cool up close.
• There were dogs a plenty, both at the Subaru booth and in an open area between halls. Getting animals rescued from horrific situations is a good thing.
• Next up, Detroit — which returns to the cold gray of January next year.

[Images © 2024 Tim Healey/TTAC.com]

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