http://www.washingtonautoshow.com/show-info/

For those of you in the D.C. area who plan to attend, some free passes for the upcoming Washington, D.C. Auto Show on January 27-February 5 are now starting to reach local-area dealerships (they don't all come in at once, or at all dealerships at once)....so some dealerships will have them right now, and some won't. I picked up a few of them when I looked at the new Volvo S90 a few days ago...even though Volvo itself will (apparently) not have a formal display at the show. Usually, the dealership's sales-manager will keep them up at the main desk, though sometimes individual salespeople (or the dealership's GM) will also have them at their desks/offices or cubicles. Most dealerships, providing they have some, will spare a couple of passes if you ask....they obviously want you to go and look at their new products, though sometimes those products are also at the dealership. Last year, my local Chevy/GMC/Buick shop gave out a number of VIP passes (each one good for up to 4 people)...but most dealerships don't readily give those out to the general public, and I doubt if they will repeat that this year.

As we get closer to the show date, of course, more local dealerships should start getting them...but a few places have them now. Personally, I'm not sure just how many times I'll make the show this year, or how long I'll stay (I usually go for 3-4 days and stay several hours each time), since my back and legs, though functioning, aren't what they are last year. And, and the Metro subway system (which is generally the best way for most people to get to the show in the first place) is a mess this year while they are (finally) trying to repair and rebuild a much-neglected and deteriorating system that has been horribly run for many years.

If at all possible, though, I'm not going to totally skip the show......it's just too important an annual event for me. I've been going for some 35 years.

Also, once you are at the show (we'll have to wait and see this time if it happens again, as they are probably losing money on it), Ford and Lincoln, at their displays, typically have a sign-up/test-drive program, were a company rep takes your name/address/E-mail and, by E-mail, sends you a form to print and take to any local Ford or Lincoln dealership for a test-drive. (I've obviously used it for a number of Ford/Lincoln reviews). At the dealership, after the test-drive, you are given a dealer-code, and then you can redeem it, on the program's web-site, for a $50 (Ford) or $75 (Lincoln) debit-card. Last year, I managed to get both cards, though (sometimes) the system won't allow that....it's either one or the other. The only sticking point is that the test-drive itself is usually limited to the end of March, so it can't be used for new products being introduced later in the year. If Ford introduces the EcoSport subcompact SUV early enough this year (before the end of March), I probably will use the test-drive offer for that, as that is an interesting new product, and I plan to do at least a condensed-review on it, if not a full-review. Then on to Starbucks with that nice debit-card for some of their excellent French Roast, which I buy and brew at home.....it is one of my pleasures each morning.

 

I thought these shows made their way around the country in series, but that's the same week as the Philly Auto Show...

 

Sometimes shows overlap, sometimes they don't. The start of the D.C. Show, for example sometimes (?) overlaps the tail end of the big Detroit Show, but not every year. Probably the same with D.C. and Philly.

The Baltimore show is typically held in February, and the big New York Show in April. The Chicago Show will also be held in February.