2008 Jacksonville Auto & Truck Show

I got the opportunity to attend the show last week at the Prime Osborne Convention Center. I have to say that I'm rather disenchanted with the show.

The Prime was filled with cars from many of the different manufacturers. However, there are many that were missing. Some of the key manufacturers that I didn't see included Mercedes, Audi and Porche. Yes your Chevy's, Ford's and Chryslers were there. But even they were lacking in their displays. I didn't see the new Camaro or even the new Bullitt Mustang. The new Challenger was there but only from an outside display.

Other manufacturers also had poor showings. Saab only had a couple of vehicles. Toyota had some but not their entire product line. This is Florida people. Where are the convertibles?

Mini had a small but good sampling of their cars. Lexus had a large number of cars. Lincoln seemed to be represented well.

I was speaking with the Cadillac representative about the show. She commented that the JAX show plays second fiddle to the Chicago show. All of the concepts go to that show. Very little ends up here. Heck, they didn't even have a couple sample for their cars.

Kudo's to Nissan for having their GT-R at the show. Yes it is the rocket from the other side of the world with the steering wheel on the opposite side. But it is one sweet looking ride.

The bottom line is that this show is an afterthought. Many of the mainstream vehicles are there to see and climb into. But if you want to see newer models and the future, this isn't the place. You want to see the mainstream vehicles, drive down the street and you can see over a dozen in a showroom or else make a trip to one of the real shows (Miami, New York, Chicago, Detroit or Los Angeles).

I'll avoid this show in the future.