The Pacific Southwest Chapter Sees What Is New At The LA Auto Show
The NAFA Pacific Southwest (PSW) Chapter gathered on December 4 at the ESPN Zone LA Live restaurant for food, presentations, and a brief stroll over to the Los Angeles Convention Center for the 2012 LA Auto Show. The meeting was in conjunction with the Chapter's Christmas party get-together.
Chapter Chair Rick Sikes, CAFM, Fleet Management Superintendent for the City of Santa Monica, CA, introduced representatives from the major OEMs, who provided overviews of vehicles suited to fleet that would be displayed on the show floor.
Volvo's vehicles were touted for the "City Safety" forward collision avoidance system, now available. Alternative powered models was a theme among the auto makers: Toyota showed off the 2013 Avalon available in both 3.5L V6 and hybrid versions; the 2014 Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid and Honda Civic Natural Gas made a splash; General Motors featured the all-electric Spark; and Fiat gave the PSW Chapter crowd a peek at the 500e electric. A majority of the vehicles described featured changes that conform to new federal fuel economy requirements.
Other car makers presenting were Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Chrysler, and Ford.
Before the meeting broke so attendees could visit the car show for themselves, Sikes announced that the PSW Chapter, with Chapter Secretary Leonie Von Halle, made a gift donation for the annual pre-Christmas toy drive.
At the show, not only were the Chapter Members treated to an up-close look at the described vehicles, but also an array of top-of-the-line "dream" sportscars and classic restored vehicles.
