Expanded Washington Auto Show offers digital assistance for 2013

 

The 2013 Washington Auto Show, which ran through Sunday, packed two levels of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. More than 700 new vehicles from some 43 manufacturers were spread out over 750,000 square feet of space; a casual inspection of a mere half-minute per car would take roughly six hours to complete your tour. If you set aside all the 2012 models, your time is reduced to a more manageable four hours.

One navigation strategy is to download a “Barcode Scanner” to your smartphone.  Select the cars to your liking, then scan the barcode on the product description sheet located right next to the driver-side of the car.  After the tour is over, you can go back and study more closely the model name, specifications, MPG, accessories and cost for each vehicle.

Some of the more notable vehicles in the Show include most of the 2013 10 Best Cars selected by Car and Driver: (I – and many other attendees – was unable to find one single Porsche in the entire show.)

Audi A6 3.0T/S6/

BMW 3-Series

Ford Focus/Focus ST

Ford Mustang GT/Boss 302

Honda Accord

Honda Fit

Mazda MX-5 Miata

Porsche Boxster/Boxster S

Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ

Volkswagen Golf/GTI

The Motor Trend SUV of the Year, Mercedes-Benz GL, and the Truck of the Year, RAM 1500, are proudly displaced next to their respective Motor Trend Trophies.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Washington Auto Show
all photos by Kwai Chan / Meniscus Magazine