Innovation, old and new, at heart of this weekend’s 2020 Michigan International Auto Show

Sports cars, along with SUVs and trucks, are expected to be the big draw at the 2020 Michigan International Auto Show , as they were last year in this photo. (Supplied)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

People attend the annual Michigan International Auto Show, running this week at the DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids, for many reasons, including to find their next new car or just to get a glimpse of the muscle car or luxury car they’ve always dreamed about.

Many people, however, go to see what’s next in automobile technology or innovation — from space-age rear-view camera systems, to self-driving and self-parking features that almost make the driver a passenger.

But when it comes to innovation and new technology, it could be argued that one must understand, and appreciate, the past to fully embrace the future.

And so it is only logical that the Gilmore Car Museum will be on-hand with a display called “The History of Station Wagons”, which showcases vehicles which may be out of vogue today but were often considered innovative if not technological marvels of their time.

The Gilmore Car Museum’s 1950 Skyline Deluxe Station Wagon at the Michigan International Auto Show. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)

“I always think it is very important for people to appreciate the new but also to look back and go ‘Mmmm? How did we get here?’,” Jay Follis, Gilmore Car Museum marketing director, said to WKTV on Jan. 29 at a media preview. “Today we have SUVs and crossovers. We do not think of station wagons. The auto industry has actually said ‘We are not going to produce sedans any more.’ So we decided we are going to bring station wagons to the auto show to tell people where we have been and how we got here.

The Gilmore Car Museum’s Jay Follis, marketing director. (WLTV/K.D. Norris)

“We’ve got a 1919, one of the first station wagons. It was nothing more than to pick you up at the train station. … all the way up to a muscle car that is actually a station wagon (and an Indy 500 pace car). … A lot of the cars we have on display here, and a lot more at the museum, have their own unique innovations.”

The presence of the Gilmore Care Museum is nothing new for the auto show, too.

“We come down to the car show every year, 15 years now,” Follis said. “Our mission is to evoke memories and tell great stories … We are only 50 miles south of Grand Rapids and we are North America’s largest auto museum. So this is a perfect place to introduce people to auto history and the car museum.”

The new cars on display by the Grand Rapids New Car Dealers Association will include spectrum of sedans, vans, hybrids and sports cars, but the field will be dominated by Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and trucks, the two biggest sellers, according to the association.

One of the Million Dollar Motorway cars on display at the 2020 Michigan International Auto Show. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)

Among the highlights of this year’s auto show is the latest in automotive technology by Gentex, a Michigan based company which develops and manufactures “custom high-tech electronic products for the automotive, aerospace, and commercial fire protection industries.” Also returning, and always worth drooling over, is the Million Dollar Motorway, featuring luxury brand cars this year valued at $4.5 million collectively.

And, as shown during the media preview, some of the new technologies — and all the luxury brand cars — are nothing short of amazing.

The 22nd Annual Michigan International Auto Show will open to the pubic Thursday, Jan. 30 and run through Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 2 — 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday (to be over in time for the big game, of course).

Thursday, Jan. 30 is also a special First Responders Day, with free admission for active EMS, fire, police, public safety, U.S. Coast Guard and other active military and retired veterans who can show valid I.D., badge or other verification.

Admission is $12 for adults and $5 for children 6-14. Kids 5 and under are admitted free.

There is parking beneath DeVos Place, across the street and nearby but connected by the skywalk. Be aware, though, of “Hamilton: An American Musical” also playing at DeVos. For more information on parking and directions visit here. You can also take the complimentary trolley by parking in the Dash Lot Area 9 (on Seward Avenue) for $2 and hop aboard the Trolley which will be making runs on an 8-minute loop for an hour before the show opens to an hour after the show closes each day.

For more information about the 22nd Annual Michigan International Auto Show visit here.