by Paul R. Spitzzeri
My younger son and I made the trek once again to the mammoth Los Angeles Convention Center to see the Los Angeles Auto Show, an event that can be overwhelming in terms of the sheer size and scope of presentation of the products of major manufacturers like Ford, Chevrolet, Honda, Kia and Toyota, as well as more specialized companies like the luxury electric vehicle maker Lucid. As before, the most impressive, in terms of ambiance and decor, was almost certainly the Subaru display, with its lush forest environment and light show infused presentation.
In light of recent dire reports, such as the release ten days ago of the 5th National Climate Assessment, it continued to be notable how many more electric and hybrid vehicles are being offered at these shows compared to just several years ago. Yet, while this is another record year of sales for electrics in the United States, it, at 9% of all purchases, lags far behind other developed nations in percentage of overall purchases of vehicles. In China, a third of all new cars sold are electrics, while the number is slightly higher in Germany, and a remarkable 90% in Norway—these include plug-in hybrid EVs as well as full battery-powered cars and, of course, there are many factors, such as government policies, incentives, subsidies and affordability, that account for the variability.
Some sources, though, suggest that there may be a plateau effect among EV sales in America, where not far under 1.4 million such cars will be sold in 2023, boosted by a price war initiated by Tesla, as it slashed prices several times to fend off any potential or real challenges to its market segment supremacy. Moreover, the Inflation Reduction Act continued offering tax credits of either $3,750 or $7,500 for buyers and materials, like lithium for battery packs, get cheaper and allow for price reductions.
Indications appear to show that higher-income buyers carried the EV market, but those with lower incomes remain hesitant, as the average cost of an electric is about $3,800 more than a gas-powered vehicle (though the higher upfront cost should be compared to fuel savings and lower maintenance costs over the life of the vehicle). Additionally, there have been improvements on range of a charge and more charging stations, but much more needs to be done, especially with the latter—the adoption of major manufacturers to Tesla’s charging platform in the next couple of years should prove important. Finally, in California and Washington state, the target is to have all new vehicles sold be zero-emission ones by 2035, while New Jersey has pledged to end all gas-powered vehicle sales by then.
The auto show debuted in 1907 at Morley’s Skating Rink on Grand Avenue, featuring nearly fifty carmakers and almost double that number of vehicles (including two electric cars) on display. Over the next few years, the fledgling event was featured in the basement of Hamburger’s Department Store (later the May Company) and Fiesta Park, where tents were first used to provide exhibit space.
For the thirteenth edition of the show, held the last nine days of February 1926, the location was at the southwest corner of Hill Street and Washington Boulevard, recently known as Washington Park but which had a history dating back to the formation a half-century prior of Washington Gardens, and where tents, albeit much larger, were still in use and comprised 136,000 square feet of space. The highlighted artifact from the Homestead’s holdings for this post is the program for that year’s event, sponsored by the Motor Car Dealers Association of Los Angeles with the publication made possible by the highly influential Automobile Club of Southern California, which advertised on the back cover that it placed more than 177,000 road signs for the convenience and safety of motorists.
The nine-day extravaganza was open from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. with the stated mission being that,
Probably no commodity manufactured has more generally relieved man and animals of heavy labor in transportation and has promoted the industrial life of our entire country to such an extent as the automobile and commercial truck.
It is to show the amazing advancement in these 1926 creations for passenger travel and the great ability of the commercial truck that the exhibition is given.
As for the car dealers’ association, it existed to promote better roadways; more equitable local, state and national laws pertaining to motor travel; educate members about how to properly run their businesses; inform chauffeurs, mechanics and owners about best practices with vehicles; and to seek harmony among dealers, factories and owners so that the most benefit at the lowest cost could be achieved.
With respect to advance publicity, it is striking that it was not until two weeks prior to the show that the Los Angeles Record of the 6th recorded that manager Burt Roberts made the official announcement, with the paper adding that “no building in Los Angeles is adequate in size to display the immense showing” of vehicles “which the Los Angeles trade yearly presents.” Moreover, the article observed, “an interesting feature of the display this year will be the enlargement of its scope to take in air and water transport as well as land,” with aviation, in particular, growing in leaps and bounds from a novelty to an increasingly integral part of the transportation sector.
The following day’s Los Angeles Illustrated Daily News and its “auto editor,” T.E. Perry, noted that,
For the first time in years, Los Angeles is to have its automobile show so timed that the very latest motor car models and most advanced automobile equipment introduced at the New York and Chicago shows will be brought directly to this city for display here.
It was added that each of the quartet of massive tents was to have a particular décor, including ones denoted as Chinese and French and the others resplendent in silver and gold, with nearly 40,000 yards of satin drapery to be utilized. Additionally, “the most brilliant lighting effects ever seen in a Los Angeles automobile show” were to be introduced, comprising 400,000 watts of electricity hourly. The dirt lot was being made level and smooth for the laying of wooden floors topped with roofing paper and rugs and 44 car makes, including a dozen commercial bus and truck lines and 80 accessory firms were to exhibit.
In its edition of the 12th, the Illustrated Daily News reported that “an emphatic need exists in Los Angeles for a large exhibition hall, sufficient in size to house automobile shows, industrial displays” and others, as stated by Roberts. Adding that tents were again to be utilized, the show manager commented “Los Angeles is the only large city in the country where it is necessary to hold the auto show” in such accommodations. It was not for another decade than an indoor space was found, with the newly-completed Pan-Pacific Auditorium on Beverly Boulevard east of Fairfax Avenue utilized. In 1993, the show moved to a greatly expanded Convention Center, where it has remained for three decades.
The Record of the 17th observed that the increased presence of car company executives from Detroit and other eastern locales was an important part of the upcoming event and, after noting the considerable recent rainfall, which, however, did not hinder preparations, quoted Roberts with respect to the growing importance of the local auto scene with greater Los Angeles much more horizontal than vertical in urban development, given the large surrounding territory:
More than 118,000 new cars were sold in Southern California in 1925. This has always been an important territory in the motor car market, but it is assuming greater prominence each year. The fact that the show this year is being held directly after the close of the national shows has made it possible for an unusual number of factory officials to attend it.
The Times of that day added that the first of some 300 vehicles was to be placed in the tents the following morning and that set-up was a full day ahead of schedule for an event that was deemed second in importance to that of Detroit, the car-manufacturing center of the world. It was added that most shows could only accommodate five models per maker, but the Angel City version was ready to handle more than three times that number.
In an editorial on the 18th, the Los Angeles Express informed readers that there were enough cars for each of the 115 million Americans to ride in at one time “and there are more cars in California per capita than anywhere else in the world, and more cars in Los Angeles than anywhere else in California.” It was, the paper continued, small wonder that there was such a strong interest in the car show given that “pretty nearly everybody owns a car,” meaning, of course, adults. The Express added that attendance was expected to comprise a new record as “it has done so since the first show” nearly two decades before and that “the show has improved each year.”
It was observed that “the exhibits will be larger and finer than ever” and that there were more vehicles and accessories to display, not to mention those devoted to watercraft and airplanes, and, disagreeing with its rival, the Express concluded that “those who are best informed about such matters say the Los Angeles automobile show has but a single rival in the country, and that is the New York show.” Then again, it ended, the Empire State still possessed more autos that the Golden State, though that would soon be changed.
On opening day, the Express offered another editorial asking “Why Go To The Auto Show?” and answering its rhetorical query simply, “to improve your knowledge of motor cars.” After addressing the likely reply that a reader might suggest that they already own a vehicle, see them in multitudes on the streets and that “cars are no novelty to me,” the paper went on to observe that,
The motor car has become a dominant factor in the social, recreational and industrial life of America. It has become a member of far the larger number of American families. The show gives the opportunity to become better acquainted with the new member.
It is a short course in higher motor car education. No other industry in the world has the courage to assemble its competitive products under a single roof, and invite the public to come and compare them.
The Auto Show is a visible manifestation of the thought, research and skill of the manufacturers. It is the unveiling of styles and models for the year . . .
. . . the educational feature predominates. The basic reason for the show is to make known the improvements wrought during the year in cars, how they have been strengthened, made more conveniently and economically operated, made more serviceable, and to instruct the people in the handling of cars—to make them better acquainted with this machine which has come to play so important a part in modern life.
During the nine days of the show, press coverage was considerable, including in the automobile sections of the papers. In its issue of the 22nd, the Times stated that “breaking last year’s attendance by a wide margin,” the event “drew record crowds” during its first two days, with Governor Friend Richardson among those admiring the exhibits, with California’s chief executive reportedly paying “closest attention to the huge air-mail plane,” built and operated by Western Air Express, “which is to inaugurate the new mail service which will bring Southern California almost forty hours closer to Chicago and other eastern points.”
Angel City Mayor George E. Cryer also attended on the opening day and congratulated Roberts on the event’s success. The paper also reported the presence of executives of such auto manufacturers as Cadillac, Oakland, Chevrolet, Marmon, Pierce-Arrow, REO, and Durant, as well as Fred Fisher of the prominent auto body maker. The Times added that “an unusually large number” of San Francisco auto dealers ventured south to see what its colleagues were up to, perhaps offering a sly dig at the northern metropolis, always a rival to what it often considered an upstart after the Bay City’s commercial dominance since the Gold Rush.
Among the many articles found in local papers during the event were ones on innovations on auto financing, changed in body lines of some models from curves to square backs, improvements in mechanics such as with advances in all-wheel braking systems, and a pronounced trend in the use of brighter colors (the recent fad for gunmetal gray has largely faded and a range of eye-catching colors are in abundance in our latest models, as well.)
The Illustrated Daily News of the 22nd addressed the issue of body colors, noting that “even with the variegated color schemes there is nothing freakish in the show this year, although manufacturers are depending upon the bright and beautiful hues to add to the lines of their products.” While female buyers were more likely to have been the target of this movement, there was no shortage of discussion about the mechanics for the male shopper to chew on, with the Rickenbacker Super 8 Sport Sedan, as just one example, highlighted as “America’s fastest stock car!” and generating a then-astounding 100 horsepower with a guaranteed top speed of a blistering 90 miles per hour.
An amusing commentary from the paper that day concerned its assessment that “Human Nature Reaches New Heights in Ardent Admiration of Autos.” Suggesting that readers adopt psychoanalysis, the unidentified scribe observed that “what few horses and buggies are still left are going to crawl back under the barn” when their owners got a gander at “the steeds that do not have to be harnessed and only have to be fed while they are working.” The writer then turned to the auditory arts in observing,
Musical directors had best look to their laurels after they have heard the love songs of the salesmen, who simply purr words of enticement in answer to your questions regarding their particular favorites. There is jazz in their conversation, and also in the old-fashioned folk songs, as they seduce you with musical phrases describing the joys of a picnic party in the “umpithy-doodle-six” that is waiting to carry you and the family or the friend to the “Rim of the World” [this being the very scenic mountain area above San Bernardino].
It added that even the bulls on Wall Street (who were to become vociferously growling bears some three years later as the Great Depression burst forth) couldn’t compare to the enthusiasm of the auto hawker, while football star Red Grange would be stopped at the line of scrimmage by such sales rhetoric. The journalist concluded that the “Phrase Nut” dominated at the show as “he never seems to be able to call a motor car a motor car” because “there are as many names as there are coaxing calls in a dice game.” An accompanying cartoon nicely illustrated the content of the piece.
As the show came to a close, Roy A. McMillan of the Times proclaimed that the event “immediately won the distinction of being the most beautiful ever held in Los Angeles or the entire West, for that matter.” It was accounted a “glory—the most successful yet staged by the energetic and progressive dealers” while “the already record attendance is expelted [sic] to be sent to still higher figures” on the last day of the month. McMillan noted the profusion of flowers, rugs and vases in the displays while “a splendid co-operative spirit” permeated the show’s run.
He observed that the inclusion of airplane and boating exhibits was so successful that it would undoubtedly be a permanent feature to future editions, while those working the displays “report more genuine interest among spectators than ever before” with sales beginning as soon as a half-hour after the opening of the show. It was fully expected that 1926 would be a banner year for motor car sales in greater Los Angeles “and the public is in a lively buying mood,” hardly accounted a surprise “considering the values that are being offered today.” Despite remarkable technical advances in automobiles, expanding production volumes allowed for less overhead cost per unit “and the buyer reaps the benefit,” perhaps something to remember regarding the future of alternative fuel vehicles.
In his brief post-event assessment, John W. Swallow of the Express commented,
The thirteenth Los Angeles Automobile Show is now recognized only by the chalk mark that it registered in the book of history, and by the impression if left with thousands of interested motorists. Like the proverbial ships that steal away in the night, the four tents at Washington park have vanished—the fairyland that existed for week has been scattered to the four winds.
An unofficial statement was that attendance shattered all previous shows of the kind held in the Angel City and Swallow concluded that it “was by far the prettiest ever offered local motorists” while dealers on Automobile Row along Figueroa Street, very close to where the current show is held, reported that the days since the event’s end were quite profitable to dealers and distributors who displayed at it.
Nearly a century later, the LA Auto Show, which ends this Sunday, has become a phenomenon the promoters, organizers, exhibitors, manufacturers and attendees of 1926 could not likely have comprehended if they were to forecast its future. As we confront worsening climate change and what will have to happen with fossil fuel use, what the event will be like in years to come will surely be interesting to observe when it comes to the registering in that “book of history.”