OC Auto Show

Held annually at the Anaheim Convention Center, the OC Auto Show Isn’t a full-fledged, LA-style event with dozens of participating car manufacturers; despite marketing to the contrary, it’s a glorified exhibition of currently available vehicles – almost exclusively mainstream ones, with few exotics – plus the opportunity to briefly test drive or sit in on test drives of certain companies’ electric cars. Lucid exhibits in a small area that doesn’t qualify as a “booth,” while Rivian, Polestar, Tesla, and VinFast do not attend.

For the past two years, the show has had about an hour worth of educational and entertainment value, so adult admission tickets cost less individually than paying for parking in the closest nearby lot. Sadly, there’s also the possibility that you may see more interesting cars walking through that lot than in the auto show itself — unless you are fascinated by current models from Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Chevy, Kia,and Hyundai.

Each officially participating brand brings most of the same cars you would find on a local lot, and some display a couple of upgraded models, usually fenced off to limit any touching. Booths barely exist, and exhibitors seem to give more consideration to ensuring an array of colorful vehicle paint jobs than offering interactive exhibits, well-informed sales people, or anything else. Some brands are represented by local dealers, including Honda, which is crazy given that their (and other major automakers’) corporate headquarters are only a highway or two away from Anaheim. If they felt there was value in attending this show, it would be easy to set up shop here.