Bring on the obstacle course: Jeep Wrangler makes traction at Chicago Auto Show

Arts & Culture, Beyond Chicago, General Interest, Winter 2018

Bring on the obstacle course: Jeep Wrangler makes traction at Chicago Auto Show

February 26, 2018

By Annanya Johari
Medill Reports

Navigating an indoor hillside pulled drivers to the biggest draw at the 110th expo of the country’s largest auto show. The “Jeep Camp” allowed visitors to rev up the 2018 Jeep Wrangler and set course for an 18-feet hill, boulders and other off-road obstacles. The Chicago Auto Show highlighted hundreds of vehicles and drew thousands of car enthusiasts of all ages this month.

Other popular attractions included the Cadillac Escala, powered by a twin-turbo V-8 engine, a prototype for future Cadillac models. It was voted the best concept car at the show, narrowly edging out the Lexus LF-1 Limitless featuring technologies such as digital side-view monitors and 4D navigation.

Off-road racing driver Ivan Stewart speaks to the crowd about his experience driving in Toyota vehicles. The Toyota booth featured his Trophy Truck and had a gaming station where people could play Ivan Stewart’s Super Off-Road arcade game.

Many exhibits featured simulators where visitors could race against opponents or experience virtual driving through VR headsets.

The Cadillac Escala, voted the best concept car of the Chicago Auto Show 2018, derives its name from the word ‘scale.” The Escala is built on an elongated platform used by Cadillac’s CT6 but it is about 6 inches longer than the CT6’s.

The futuristic Lexus LF-1 Limitless Gold finished a close second to the Escala in the best concept car poll. It made its debut at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year.

The BMW M2 in red, white and blue was another popular attraction. It is a part of BMW M series featuring lightweight aluminum suspension. The M2 has a Nurburgring lap time of just 7 minutes and 58 seconds.

Chevrolet’s custom-made Blackhawks Camaro will be given away at the Blackhawks convention in July

The Mercedes AMG GT-R, or “Beast of the Green Hell,” was developed at the racetrack in Nurburgring, Germany, a place also known as Green Hell.

“Camp Jeep” stole the show as the most popular attraction. IT featured an 18-foot hill and some boulders and other obstacles which the visitors could tackle in the 2018 Jeep Wrangler.

The Jeep Wrangler won the attendees’ vote for Best All-New Production Vehicle.

The GMC Sierra Denali All Mountain concept vehicle features tracks similar to those found on a snow plow. It is meant to be used on mountains at a height of up to 12,000 feet.

The Chicago Auto Show Welcome Globe. (Annanya/MEDILL)