
This year I took Amanda to the car show and so I didn’t have much time to check out the latest and greatest cars. But I think that she tried out most of the cars there as seen in the pictures below, when she was not distracted with other things.
Getting a balloon sword.
At the entrance there was a clown making balloon toys to the kids. After a long wait, she got the sword.
Amanda waiting in line.
Most of the time she was waiting in line, but I guess it was worth the wait for her.
Finally the fun part.
2012 Scion. This car looks like Mini, however it looks *big*.
I will call this car Big Looking Mini, if you see this car you will know what I mean. Here is another view.
Moving on to 2012 Mazda. Here is the latest incarnation of Mazda Miata. Definitely not a family car. But it is an awesome car for single people out there.
Here is the numbers for 2012 Mazda Miata.
Hyundai. Amanda looks very happy, it must be a good car.
2012 Honda. Amanda is making faces.
Numbers for 2012 Honda Civic. Pretty good gas milage.
Portland Police was there, and Amanda checked out their vehicles.
2012 Chevrolet Suburban. This thing is BIG, very BIG. If you were wondering how you could carry the most amount of metal with you when you go somewhere, this is your answer.
As big as this vehicle is, it gets surprisingly good gas milage.
2013 Chevy Spark (Another Electric Vehicle from Chevy). Chevy Spark is to be introduced in the summer of 2013. It is not available at this time.
2012 Chevy Sonic. This car looks very similar to Chevy Aveo, which is discontinued. I have always liked the looks of this car.
Numbers for Chevy Sonic. Simple utilitarian car.
2012 Chevy Volt. It is an amazing technology, but it still is a hybrid. You can plug in to charge, but you can also drive long distances with its gasoline engine. Best of both worlds I guess, but little spendy.
Numbers for 2012 Chevrolet Volt.
Side note: right about this time I lost Amanda. I was in a total panic! Where the hell did she go? I was frantically looking in every direction, and thinking how I will explain this to Lisa. Luckily although it was crowded, this was the last day of the show and it was Sunday afternoon. It was perhaps only a few minutes, but it felt like it took forever. Finally I spotted her in the distance behind a stand. I think she was scared too, because she had to hold my hand for a little while until she promised me that she would be more careful.
2012 VW Beetle. The looks haven’t changed much over the years.
Numbers for 2012 VW Beetle.
Little monster started to make faces again. (after the little scare earlier).
2012 KIA.
2012 KIA numbers.
Amanda is back to regular programs.
Then I discovered this area, set up to show the capabilities of Jeep. This set up definitely stole the show.
After waiting in line you could get a ride on the track driven by professionals (I did not because of Amanda).
When the Jeep went over the logs, it would shake up and down and side to side like crazy. The people in it seemed to enjoy it, but I wondered if they would get a whiplash from all the shaking. This was also the time that I thought I should have brought the camcorder to capture the whole scene.
You can see how steep the climb is on this photo. Just as steep is the other side when coming down.
The first picture shows the sideways stability. It is hard to see it, but in the second picture only the two of the wheels are touching the ground. The vehicle rocks back and forth on two wheels only.
Better picture showing the climbing abilities.
People waiting in line to get a ride. You have to sign a release, of course.
Amanda is getting her own Jeep ride on the track. But lot of the times there would be a pile up on the track causing a jam.
Then we saw the Jeep climbing wall promoting the Jeep life style. Well, Amanda wanted to do it, but I wasn’t so sure.
She wins, and she is waiting in line again.
See how high she went? I thought she did great!
There was another area where you could drive trucks by remote control (again showing the abilities of Jeep). And of course Amanda wanted to try it out again, and again I was suspicious. But again wait in line some more, and she is having fun again.
But many times these trucks would tumble down from the structure and needed to be put on it again. And we were done.
So how did it go? The picture above shows what Amanda thought about it. For me aside from the scare I mentioned above, it was another day at the car show.
