Event Recap: The 2011 LA Auto show

The LA Auto Show’s story begins over 100 years ago. It all began back in January of 1907 when 99 cars gathered at Morely’s – a skating rink on Grand Avenue. Over 3,000 people – most dressed up for a night on the town – flowed through the doors. A young Henry Ford was in attendance that night as were all of the kings and titans of the auto industry.

At the time, Los Angeles had a population of around 250,000 people. But the automobile still dominated the roads. In fact, LA had one automobile for every 8 people. As the LA Times wrote back in 1907, “It is without exception the banner automobile city of the world.”

Fast forward to the modern era of the automobile and LA is still a mecca for great cars. In the past 25 years the LA Auto Show has been at the forefront of showing off the automobile’s progress. It has become famous for worldwide debuts, high-tech exhibits and a truly festive atmosphere.

This year was the first time in two that I have attended the show. I first attended back in 2006 when Bugatti debuted the Veyron. I attended again in 2007 and got a first look at the Ferrari Scuderia. In 2008 I had the pleasure of seeing the debut of Lamborghini’s Reventon and the Mercedes SL65 AMG Black.

After a short hiatus I was back at the LA Auto Show this year and it was well worth the trip. Despite a 2.5 hour drive from Orange County – roughly 45 miles – we arrived excited to be there. Among the highlights we anticipated were the world debut of the Porsche Panamera GTS, an Aston-Martin One-77 and the Auti R8 GT Spyder.

I have always enjoyed the Sneak Preview Night. It is held Thursday before the show opens to the public on Friday. There is always a very manageable crowd and you get unfettered access to the cars. It is a bit expensive, but all proceeds from the night go to charity. So it is a good deal all around. We attended the Preview night again this year and were not disappointed.

Though the exhibits are always poorly lit – catering to atmosphere more than photographers – I tried to capture all of the excitement. Below are my pictures from the event, I hope that you enjoy them.