Auto Shows
Auto shows serve many purposes. They provide automakers with a place to share their latest models with the press and the public. They allow aftermarket vendors to promote goods and services. And they give visitors a chance to research — or maybe just dream about — their next new car. Part trade show, part show business, the auto show is an institution nearly as old as the automobile itself.
"Fifth National Exhibition of Cycles, Automobiles and Accessories, Official Program," 1900
Second Annual Show of Automobiles, Madison Square Garden, New York, November 1901
Program, "6th Annual Boston Automobile Show," March 7-14, 1908
Program, "Duquesne Garden 5th Annual Automobile Show," Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 25- April 8, 1911
Toledo Automobile Dealers' Association (T.A.D.A.) Automobile Show Program, January 1912
Detroit Auto Dealers Association Eighteenth Annual Automotive Show Program, March 1919
Naturally, Detroit's auto show is among the oldest in the United States. The 1919 event took place in the Crosstown Garage Building — a downtown parking garage. The show was pushed back to March rather than its usual January timeslot. Manufacturers, returning to civilian production from war work, could not get their new models ready any sooner.
Program, "The Automobile Salon," New York City, 1920
Poster, "Auto Show February 18th -25th, 1922, State Armory, Albany, New York,"
Depending on size, auto shows were held in various venues. Smaller salon-style shows, which catered to wealthy customers, might be held in an elegant hotel. The largest shows took place at big-city convention centers. Mid-size shows in mid-size cities occupied any suitable building — like the armory that hosted Albany's 1922 event.
Baltimore Automobile Show Program, January 1925
Program for the "44th Annual Chicago Auto Show," 1952
Program, " 1954 Spring Auto Show," Rochester, New York, March 13-20, 1954
Spring has long been a favorite season for auto shows. Before enclosed cars and improved roads became common in the 1920s, many drivers simply put their cars away for the winter. The return of warmer weather in March put people into the driving — and buying — mood once again.
National Automobile Show Official Program, 1956
By 1956 New York considered its auto show a national event. It certainly was — and remains — one of the largest and most important. Chrysler was there in force with its "Forward Look" cars. Introduced for 1955, the "Forward Look" was characterized by longer and wider bodies, two and three-tone paint jobs, and — starting with 1956 models — tailfins.
Program, "70th Annual Chicago Auto Show," February 25 through March 5, 1978
There's more than a little civic boosterism involved in hosting an auto show — note Chicago's modest description of its event as the "world’s greatest." A successful show attracts thousands of visitors, many of whom spend money in local restaurants, stores and hotels — and later at local dealerships.
Greater New York International Automobile Show Official Program, April 1987
The New York Auto Show moved to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in 1987. The new home featured prominently on that year's program cover. The building's façade was echoed by the celebrated "coffin nose" on a Cord 812 — a model introduced at the New York Auto Show some 50 years earlier.
