First Impressions

Hey readers,


I hope you're all doing well, because it has been an amazing week in the automotive world. I'll get to more specific stories later, but I was at the New York International Auto Show on Wednesday, March 31st, and Thursday, April 1st.


I thought I'd comment on something briefly while I'm waiting for my flight home. Yeah, those word you see in the title. Impressions, or more specifically, first impressions. But I'm not talking about the cars; I'm talking about the people that represent the cars. Sales representatives, PR people, models, and anyone else who deals with people at auto shows have a huge impact on how a brand is seen. 


Being able to finally attend a press preview, I was very excited to be able to take pictures without random strangers starring in my shots. I was also eager about the possibility of meeting...well, anybody in the automotive industry. I went as a sponge, ready to learn all I could. 

But I already had preconceived notions of certain brands. I kinda thought, because of their incredible cars, Audi might be a little snobby. You probably know somebody like that, right? Someone who thinks they’re all that, and they are. But, judging by the treatment I received at the Audi pavilion, I’ve never been more wrong. I asked one model some vague question about some vehicle (maybe the new A8, which is a phenomenal land yacht), and she didn’t know the answer. She quickly found someone who could, though. A few minutes later, I was deep in conversation with a complete car guy, one of the people whom I took to be in charge of the Audi exhibit. Steven, the veritable Audi guru, talked with me for the next hour or so about everything from the R8 V10 to his new A4. So, on top of learning about the amazing features on many of the models (like the new 20-speaker system which will be available on the A8 and Q7), I developed a connection to Audi. I know, I know; people who write about cars are supposed to write about cars. They shouldn’t let unrelated occurrences flavor their perceptions of a brand or vehicle. But this wasn’t unrelated, and Steven’s affiliation with Audi painted the brand in a great light for a first impression.

            I had a similar experience at lunch, where I talked for quite a while with the owner of a New York Scion dealership. I learned quite a bit about the exciting new Scion tC, as well as the general integrity of the previous model. I also received plenty of advice on car buying and leasing, and discussed the difficulties in modifying a car.

          On the other end of the spectrum, I was severely disappointed by Hyundai. I have had no first hand experience that dictates that I should like or dislike Hyundai, but their first impression was less-than-stellar. The new Equus luxury sedan having been released a few hours previous, I went to the Hyundai information desk to ask for a press kit. Nobody was there. I decided to exercise my patience (a virtue I sometimes appear to lack) by waiting. I showed up as one of the Hyundai representatives was finishing a conversation with another journalist. He did, then drew back from the information desk, completely disregarding me, despite the fact that he’d clearly seen me. He walked over to some seats at the front of Hyundai display, and sat down. Maybe 15 minutes later, after I had been ignored by the majority of the people who seemed to work for Hyundai, another journalist showed up, and two representatives promptly appeared, asking if they could help him. We had the same color press badges, and both were clearly visible, so I don’t quite understand the difference in treatment. I won’t hold it against the cars, but Hyundai’s first service impression wasn’t brilliant. On the plus side, from what I’ve seen on the difficult-to-obtain press kit, the new Equus could very well be brilliant.

This is one of the pictures from the nicely-packaged polished aluminium flash drive that contained the press release on the Equus.