Friday was a good day. Not only did I receive something new for the Focus (more on that later), but I also attended the annual Auto Show and had a lot of fun seeing the new vehicles on display. To make it just a bit better still, I had the opportunity to attend the show during normal work hours as opposed to during the evening or on the weekend as I have done in the past. There were still a lot of people present of course but for the most part I didn’t have issues with photos being blocked or having to wait to sit in vehicles.

Attending the Auto Show is something I have done each and every year for as long as I can remember. Since well before I could drive, I would go to check out everything that the manufacturers had on display, take lots of photos, and grab as many brochures as possible to read through afterwards – some things never change.

As always I made sure to stop by all of the booths and see everything that had been brought out but there was one vehicle which I absolutely had to see to year, as I had been waiting months for the opportunity to do so. Upon entering the building I made a beeline for the Ford booth and there it was – the Focus RS.

I had hoped to see one last year but sadly it didn’t happen. This time around it was at least present, but it was locked – as were a few other vehicles at the show – since it was a prototype. I would have loved to sit in it but just having the chance to finally see one in person was outstanding. I haven’t counted but I would bet that I took more photos of this than of any other single car at the show (there will be more of it later on).

Since I had rushed straight over to Ford to see the RS, that is where the coverage will begin today. As per usual the photos will be shared more or less in chronological order, starting in the front hall (Ford, Nissan, VW, etc) which I covered fully before moving on to the back hall (Lincoln, Infiniti, Porsche, etc).

Another vehicle I was hoping to see – that was also locked – was the new 2017 Fusion Sport. I’ve always liked the styling of this generation but the facelift is still a big improvement.

Yet another locked 2017 model – the new Super Duty.

Along with the RS I was also able to finally see in person a new Raptor. I’ve briefly driven a few and they are just too cool.

It probably shouldn’t have been a surprise considering how much of the lineup has been facelifted or replaced in the last couple of years, but I wasn’t expecting to see an updated Escape.

The revised SUV looks rather good. The nose very much reminds me of a Taurus SHO which is kind of cool.

The new Edge – big fan of these. They even in come in a bright orange which of course is what I’d opt for.

Perhaps it’s unfortunate that the Subaru photos come immediately after the numerous Ford photos – I had said at the start that the crowds generally weren’t too bad but the WRX, STi, and BRZ were absolutely swamped so I walked past them…and never came back. Oops. After all of that Ford content, I have here precisely two photos of Subaru’s stand. Hate mail can be sent to me via the contact page. Haha

I did rather like the wrap on this Outback, I should point out. I thought it was a rather neat way to illustrate the hidden structure and safety features.

Across the aisle from Subaru happened to be Audi, and they had brought out a new R8 V10 Plus to show off.

When the new generation was revealed I was surprised at first to see that the signature side blade was split in two, but it works rather well.

Looks good from the front, but even better from the back in my opinion. The tail lights are probably my favourite part.

RS7 – as shown, $127,000. Yikes.

It was nice to see Audi displaying more colours on their cars. Traditionally they seemed to mainly display white vehicles. The blue on the Q5 (the rear bumper of which you can see here) was stunning.

Personally, I think Audi has the best interiors hands-down, at least of the ‘mainstream’ manufacturers.

This nice little A3 sedan was on display, tucked back in the corner.

The new A4 was open for showgoers to sit in and I made sure to wait for a turn.

I really wanted to see the new virtual cockpit up close and this was my chance to. Just now actually, as I was typing this caption, did I realize that the new TT wasn’t at the show. It too features the new virtual cockpit, as does the Q7 – but I didn’t sit in that.

Following Audi, next up was Honda. It was certainly hard to miss the new Civic coupe with the colour it was painted in! I did not alter the saturation of this photo in any way – it was really this bright!

In terms of styling the Civic has changed quite a bit from the iconic EG and EK. I’m curious to see how these look with modifications.

The rest of Honda’s vehicles wore much more restrained colours – mostly white in fact.

The CR-Z is a funky little thing but I swear I’ve seen more at auto shows than I have on the road. Haha

Now, Buick. This is the only vehicle from their stand that you’ll see in this coverage because frankly, nothing else particularly interested me. This however, quite literally stopped me in my tracks. I caught a glimpse and came to a full stop. It’s the Avenir concept, and was one of the most beautiful cars at the show.

Fortunately a couple of the doors were open so we could look inside but we couldn’t get close to it since it was up on a stand. Just look at it though – to the team that designed this, excellent work I say.

Next door was Chevy so I wandered over there after. Here’s the new Cruze, which is a pretty good-looking little sedan.

Behind the Cruze, up on a rotating stand was the new Camaro SS – I’m not yet sure if I prefer this to the 5th generation (Derrick’s) in terms of styling.

I couldn’t walk through Chevy’s booth without grabbing a photo of the Tahoe – we in fact have a Suburban (the longer version of the Tahoe) which is almost old enough to be considered a classic now and it’s still perfectly reliable. I adore that thing.

The last manufacturer for today’s coverage is Scion. I’m sure everyone has probably heard the news but just in case – Scion will be closed down and everything will be sold under the Toyota name instead.

It’s sad to see Scion as a brand disappear, but the cars will still exist so it’s not the end of the world. In the case of the FR-S, now owners won’t have to rebadge them as Toyotas after purchase any more! It’ll already be done for them. Haha.

Not only was there the modified FR-S (from Speed.Academy) on display, but to go along with the standard iM they were showing…

…was this modified matte purple example. The wrap, roof rack, and Rays wheels were the obvious mods; I can’t share much more info beyond that.

Today we close with a Cement Grey tC, and a glimpse at the makeshift barber shop that was set up. Needed a hair cut but also wanted to look at new cars? No problem, Scion had you covered. Haha

Hopefully you all enjoyed the start of the auto show coverage! I actually don’t yet know how many parts there will be to this, but if I were to hazard a guess I’d say 3. The rest of the photos from the show will be coming along with some photos and video of the latest delivery from Rebel Devil Customs which I hinted at back at the start. It’s something I’ve been waiting for for a long time and am quite excited to share it in more detail soon (check the instagram page @ officialthreetwenty for a teaser!).

-Bill