Seattle International Auto Show – Get in the Driver’s Seat with Drive FCA!

By Lynn Hooper

(We were provided with press passes)

I was recently able to attend the International car show here in Seattle. If you’re thinking of getting a new car, it has a great advantage of going to visit – there are so many different cars in one place; a great place to compare “apples to apples”.

While we decided to not test drive any cars there (raining, little kids in tow) we did take a close look at a few. My husband was with, and he really knows a lot about cars. I can call up a random name and he’ll describe in detail what the car looks like and it’s engine, etc, so it was helpful for me.
We’re still in the “minivan” era and so we took a look at the Chrysler Pacifica, it did have more styling than most minivans, it was less “box like”. It also had a beautiful panoramic sunroof.

My 6 year old instantly fell in love with the fact that there were TWO screens for the middle row, one for her, one for sister. She wanted to buy the car right then and there and didn’t understand why we couldn’t and proceeded to burst into tears. She was VERY sad, poor thing!

Next up we checked out the Dodge Durango – American made alternative to the Honda Pilot. It had a more aggressive look than typical SUV, access to 3rd row is less easy than a minivan, but you get more ground clearance and off road capability.

For fun we looked at the Fiat 124, it’s a very nice looking sporty two-seater. Not a car for our household right now, but a good opponent to the Mazda Miata

We also sat in the Fiat 500, this was a tiny car 2 doors and our 2 small children fit in the back seat. This acre gave me the impression that it is very zippy.

Another car that caught my children’s eye was the Bright green Jeep.

As I said in the beginning, the advantage of the car show was to compare cars side by side, my hubby got to see a Volvo XC90 he’s been considering. So we could walk from one vehicle, to another and back again.

There were lots of people on hand to answer questions and were helpful.

Also, for the kids there were these Push pedal cars that were fun to look at as there were all decorated and then some battery operated jeeps for them to ride around in.

And finally a tip: If you’re going with little kids, get there early! It got crowded really quickly.

Enjoy!