2017 Atlanta International Auto Show

The Atlanta Auto Show is usually a quiet affair, normally constrained to only a few prototypes. Cars don't get unveiled here, but it's still a good opportunity to climb around in luxury sedans and to see some neat concepts under convention hall lights.

This year's notables include the Kia Stinger, a twin-turbo sedan whose styling would be bold for any car maker, but somehow fits just right into KIA's lineup. The Korean manufacturer's auto show real estate was impressive; hardly a surprise, given the location of major manufacturing centers in West Point, Georgia and Montgomery, Alabama.

Another manufacturer that's recently started calling Atlanta home is Mercedes-Benz. Just a few feet away, final work is being done on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which will be the new home of the Atlanta Falcons and the burgeoning Atlanta United Football Club. And Mercedes brought out the big guns--a 4x4-and-then-some G550 and a Maybach S650 convertible, along with a healthy spread of AMG offerings.

You may have noticed a post here a couple of months ago when I visited the Jim Ellis Alfa Romeo dealership, and this brand was a new reappearance at the Atlanta Auto Show. Several Giulias were on display, along with a 4c. Fiat was also in attendance, showing off the Miata-based 124 Spider.

Ford continues to impress with bold, inexpensive cars aimed at the enthusiast. Focus and Fiesta ST made mandatory appearances, but the stage was really being stolen by the Focus RS--with a shocking $41,000 sticker to match. Ford also displayed Mustang and Expedition prototypes, a nice touch.

A final surprise? Volkswagen. Hot water doesn't begin to describe the trouble this mammoth auto maker has been in the past few years. But only a company as big as Volkswagen Auto Group could still manage to bring out both compelling and exciting vehicles. Much to my delight, there were two VWs with manual transmissions on the show floor--and not the ones you'd think would be there.

A Jetta Sportwagen and a Jetta Alltrack (think Audi Allroad but more down-to-earth) both sported six speed manuals and more than agreeable price tags. Enough to make you rethink even a Japanese mainstay --whispers-- Honda Civic.

Of course, this is far from an exhaustive look at the show. Here are some more of my photos from the 2017 Atlanta International Auto Show:

The 80's in Car Advertisements

It was a zany time, a decade before I was born, but I read the stories afterwards. I saw the flourescent workout clothes and heard the synthesizers that backed up a moody Phil Collins. The 1980s were a time of discovery, and the decade sticks out in history as a time of life in color.

Car advertisements, of course, reflected that time. New, exciting, red, fiery, a blast to drive--these words could've been used to describe a Pontiac GTO or Pontiac Fiero.

One of the first things I noticed about these ads, which are lifted from 1985 and 1986 issues of Road & Track magazine was the sheer amount of information still present in ads at that time. Often, several paragraphs touted things like the oddball Peugeot 505's lackluster 0 to 50 time (it was still measured in that before the national speed limit was upped). Instead of slow, they said their customers cared more about just the power anyways.

Sadly, though, the 505, like a lot of strange cars for sale in the United States at the time, didn't sell very well at all. But those bad sales numbers weren't just limited to imports. This was a time when the auto industry in our country was having a bit of a struggle.

Japan had swept over the United States like a Kevin Bacon Footloose number. Honda, Toyota, Nissan, and even Subaru had started to make a name for themselves here and in Europe, because buyers realized they could have a car that sipped fuel, was inexpensive to maintain, iron-clad reliable, and inexpensive to buy in the first place.

Echoes of the fuel crisis were still being felt in the late 80s, and American carmakers simply couldn't adapt as well to the small car market. Think cars like the Ford Grenada, the AMC Pacer, and the abysmal Cadillac Cimarron. Advertisers touted these cars' abilities like you wouldn't believe, even going so far as to suggest buyers were somehow "un-American" for choosing a car from an overseas maker.

Muscle cars were where the US held strong, though. The ad agencies knew this of course, and plastered the magazine with scenes of bikini-clad women surrounding a guy in a Camaro, edgy, almost Tron-inspired ads for cars like the Dodge Daytona, and slick spots for the fox-body Mustang that touted its handling prowess.

Indeed, this time in history marked a bit of a shift back to the gas-guzzlers that were alienated in the late 1970s. No longer was it as unwise to own a Corvette or a big Cadillac or full-sized pickup, but the market had certainly expanded further. Cars like the Plymouth Conquest, a six-cylinder turbocharged hatchback coupe, represented a new age of affordable sports cars that could hold their own on a road course.

Of course, the Conquest jumped into the ring with Japanese sports cars like the Toyota Supra, the MR2, and even the Isuzu Impulse, which all offered affordable, forced-induction performance.The high-pitched whines of those engines combined with the constant squealing tires must've meshed pretty well with the Miami Vice soundtracks of the era, I imagine.

And the Vice was certainly an inspiration for many an ad agency as well. BMW mixed that with James Bond to appeal directly to the types of folks they figured bought BMWs--slick, business types who liked to party. And of course, they were right.

Truthfully, though, most of the ads were pretty straight-laced. One or two pages, they usually featured a visual that took up 50-75% of the page, accompanied by quite a lot of text, as mentioned before, and usually a catchy slogan that went with the campaign. During this time, Dodge used "An American Revolution," which would interestingly enough be used by Chevrolet in the mid-2000s. Toyota liked the question: "Who could ask for anything more?" And  my favorite, from Hyundai: "Cars that make sense." Although, at the time, Hyundai's cars weren't doing very much more than that.

You can catch more of my vintage automotive advertising finds on my newly-minted Tumblr blog, Car Advertisements in Print.

An Evening at the 2016 Petit Le Mans

One of 1,963 50th Anniversary 911s built, this Porsche makes a statement overlooking turns 11 and 12 at Road Atlanta. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Campground craft take multiple forms. As it turns out, one of these is a convertible Chevy sedan. There's no arguing; the patina is perfect. (Brooks Metzler 2016) 

A classic long wheel base Range Rover flexes for the camera in the Road Atlanta infield during the 2016 Petit Le Mans. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Members of Ferrari team Risi Competizione stand on the pit wall, awaiting their turn in the 488 GTE. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Ford Racing's team tent in the paddock on pit lane. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

A replacement front bumper for the Ecoboost Ford GT sits on top of a toolbox by the Ford team. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

An Audi R8 V10 pace car was the subject of a lot of attention at the far end of the paddock. (Brooks Metzler 2016) 

The No. 4 Z06.R of Team Corvette powers out of turn one at Road Atlanta. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

The No. 68 Ferrari 488 GTE of Scuderia Corsa, which went to take home 8th in the GTLM class. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

No. 8 Audi R8 LMS GT of Stevenson Motorsports negotiates turn 10 at Road Atlanta. Finishes 6th in the GTD class. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Ford Chip Gnassi Racing's GT No. 67, which went on to finish 7th in the GTLM class. Its twin, No. 66, finished second in class, bested by Risi Competizione's Ferrari 488 GTE. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

An offering from local manufacturer Panoz at Road Atlanta. Out of frame, their DeltaWing prototype is loaded into the trailer. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

A BMW M4 GTS at the manufacturer's booth on vendor hill at Road Atlanta. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

BMW race cars line up underneath the vendor awning at Road Atlanta. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

A trio crosses under the bridge as the sun starts to duck behind the trees during the final hours of the 2016 Petit Le Mans. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

A group barrels down the hill towards the fast final corner at Road Atlanta during the 2016 Petit Le Mans (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Ferrari and Ford round the final corner before the straightaway. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Change Racing's Lamborghini Huracan GT3 rounds turn three at Road Atlanta, followed by the red and silver Huracan of Paul Miller Racing, which ultimately finished ahead. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

A Chevrolet fan watches the 2016 Petit Le Mans action across from the grandstands on turn 10. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

The No. 66 Ford GT of Chip Ganassi Racing, which went on to finish second in the GTLM class. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

The No. 60 Honda HPD of Michael Shank Racing, which won first overall at the 2016 Petit Le Mans, while also setting the best lap time of the day, at 1:13.5. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Team Seattle Racing's 911 GT3R and Change Racing's Huracan GT3 are door-to-door leaving turn one. (Brooks Metzler 2016) 

All four discs glow red on a Mazda Prototype as night falls on Petit Le Mans. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Porsche North America prepares to pack up their 911 RSR early. They finished 10th in the GTLM class. (Brooks Metzler 2016)