David and I have been attending the Sac Auto Show at Cal Expo for the past ten years. I remember the first time we attended when I got free tickets to go and figured “why not?”. We thought we’d spend about 2 or 3 hours and then go out to dinner. Eight hours later, we were exhausted, fed and had had a great time. Since then, we go just about every year.
So what makes it so much fun? Well, if you are looking for a new car – they’re all in one place. You don’t have to hassle with salespeople. The manufacturers do have reps there but if you want to just look, they leave you alone. BUT if you have questions about a particular car, they are SO informative and helpful. David and I have been leasing our last two cars and the current lease is up next year so we’re back in the market. By checking out the cars here, it wasn’t as exhausting. Within about four hours we had narrowed our search down to three different models from three different manufacturers without driving from dealer to dealer.
One of the displays we did see was from Toyota. It was a Tundra truck (left) that had been scorched and burned during the Paradise fire that happened last year. The story about it goes… In 2018, Allyn Pierce, an ICU nurse in Paradise, CA, risked his life with his Tundra during the deadliest wildfire in the state’s history. The hospital that he and his wife worked in also burned down, but not before he could help patients and co-workers escape safely. After narrowly escaping with his Tundra and the clothes on his back, Pierce posted an image to his Instagram of the damage his truck sustained, where it went viral. Due to his heroic efforts, Toyota was honored to give Pierce a brand new 2019 Tundra TRD Pro just 10 days later.
We saw this truck… the damage the fire had done was horrific. The headlights had melted and the scorch marks showed just how close the fire had gotten.
All the buildings at Cal Expo house the Auto Show. Intermixed with the new cars are classics, vintage trailers, novelty cars, motorcycles, and a lot more. Plus, they have cars that you can test drive within the Expo grounds. There is also a lot of food vendors and coffee kiosks so its easy to spend the day. We always have a great time!
You can get more information about the annual show at SacAutoShow.com
Photos and commentary by Diane B.
