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Broncos, Wranglers, Lightning! Chicago Auto Show is back with reveals
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 15, 2021
Step right up, folks, and see the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler in the ring together for the first time! Ride ’em both! Kick their tires!
Yes, the auto show circus is back. First stop: Chicago.
McCormick Place, the biggest convention center in the U.S., opens its doors Thursday for the “Special Edition Chicago Auto Show 2021.” The show, which runs through Sunday, features the dueling Ford/Jeep Bronco off-roaders, electrified Fords, VW hot hatches and exotic supercars.
Normally held in frigid February, the show this year seized the opportunity of the waning epidemic — and summertime on Lake Michigan — to put on the first autopalooza after COVID brought shows to a standstill for more than a year. Detroit hasn’t had a show since January 2019.
A showcase for mainstream SUVs and pickups in demand across the Midwest, the CAS will offer visitors the rare opportunity to experience them inside — and outside — thanks to the unusual July dates. Attendees can ogle new vehicles inside the massive, 400,000-square foot West Building, then spill out onto Indiana Avenue and ride new vehicles. A street festival will rock Windy City’s historic Motor Row District into the evening with food and music.
“We came up with the concept of a shorter, smaller show and a move to the West Building last year,” said Chicago Auto Show General Manager Dave Sloan. “We knew that coming out of the pandemic this new concept would allow us to experiment with a show significantly different than usual.”
Some automakers — Acura, Audi, Cadillac, Infiniti, Jaguar-Land Rover, Volvo, Hyundai, Mazda, Mini — will skip the show. But visitors will still have a healthy 24 brands to choose from, including exotics like Aston Martin, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Rolls Royce thanks to Chicago’s rich Gold Coast dealership row. Other brands include Alfa Romeo, BMW, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Jeep, Karma, Kia, Lexus, Lincoln, Lotus, Nissan, Ram, Subaru, Toyota and VW.
Here are the new vehicle highlights:
Ford Bronco
With a flood of new, brand-defining product coming to showrooms, Ford embraced the show’s outdoor Indiana Avenue venue. Bronco will be showcased in a 30,000-square foot space called “Built Wild.” That’s the tag line of Ford’s new dirt-kicker making its auto show debut.
Aimed squarely at the Jeep Wrangler, Bronco is a two-or-four door, truck-based SUV for the adventurous. Like Wrangler, its doors and roof are removable so passengers can get closer to nature. Its macho Badlands edition goes head-to-head with Wrangler’s Rubicon with locking differentials, detachable sway bar, and big 35-inch Sasquatch tires.
Bronco seeks to differentiate itself from Wrangler with high-tech gizmos like rotary GOAT dial Trail Turn Assist and Hill Descent Control.
Ford F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E
Nearby on Indiana Avenue, Ford will showcase its first two electric vehicles, the Mustang Mach E and F-150 Lightning pickup truck at its “Built to Electrify” experience. Lightning is Ford’s salvo in the EV pickup market — competing against the upcoming GMC Hummer EV, Tesla Cybertruck, Rivian R1T and others. It features stump-pulling 775-pound feet of torque and 300 miles of range (when not, ahem, towing 10,000 pounds).
Best of all, it puts that empty space under the hood where the gas engine used to be to good use. Lightning features the world’s biggest “frunk” (front trunk) that can swallow two golf bags or three piece of luggage. For buyers with extra pocket change, the F-150 EV options an inverter that can power your house when the lights go out.
Jeep Wrangler
Not to be outdone, Stellantis’s prize Jeep brand will feature Camp Jeep inside the West Building.
There reside the latest members of the Wrangler family: the 2022 plug-in Wrangler 4xe and Wrangler 392 stuffed with the same V-8 powertrain as a Dodge Challenger.
Jeep Compass
The stylish Compass pioneered the small-compact SUV segment in 2017. Slotted between the subcompact Renegade and compact Cherokee, it has since been followed by other competitors in the space like the Chevy Trailblazer and Mazda CX-30. To stay ahead of the pack, the refreshed ’22 Compass gets a new fascia and high-tech interior that includes optional, 10.25-inch instrument cluster and a 10.1-inch tablet infotainment display.
Compass even takes cues from big brother Grand Cherokee L and Wagoneer with driver-assist capability. The Jeep starts at $26,490 and adds a Latitude Lux option to its blizzard of trims — including the range-topping, trail-chewing, 4×4 Trailhawk.
Ram 1500 BackCountry
Customers can’t get enough of the gorgeous Ram pickup, so the brand is throwing more trim options at them. Say hello to the 2022 Ram 1500 BackCountry, a V8-powered, off-road bruiser with lots of off-road and bed functionality.
Sitting atop the Big Horn trim, BackCountry gets all-terrain tires, shocks, hill-descent control, skid plates, and a rear e-locker for when the asphalt ends. The bed gains lighting, spray-in bedliner, a step and adjustable tie-downs.
BMW
Big gopher teeth are here. BMW shows off its new look mega-grille on the BMW M4 coupe and the iX SUV. The iX also leads Bimmer’s new lineup of i-series electrics. The EV SUV — costing $20k more than a comparable, gas-fired X5 — also shows off a floating console interior and a whopping 516 horsepower.
Toyota Corolla Cross, GR 86, Tacoma, 4Runner
Toyota drops an array of new models on Chicago, including the 2022 Corolla Cross, GR 86 sports car, Tacoma TRD Pro 3.0/Tacoma Trail Edition and 4Runner TRD Sport. Forty-five vehicles in all will be spread across the Toyota display.
Corolla Cross take the popular Corolla compact sedan and turns it into a bold crossover (think the Subaru Impreza sedan and Crosstrek SUV). Corolla Cross sits higher than the Corolla and offers all-wheel-drive.
The GR 86 upgrades Toyota’s terrific, affordable sportscar. Partnering with Toyota’s Gazoo Racing team, 86 gains better handling, aerodynamics, and customer-demanded increase in power from 205 to 228 horses. Performance lovers will also drool over the Supra GT sportscar and Martin Truex’s NASCAR racer.
The Taco is America’s best-selling mid-size pickup and Toyota offers more options for the menu. Tacoma TRD Pro 3.0 gets a suspension lift. Tacoma Trail Edition comes standard as a 4×4 with Double Cab. Cousin 4Runner adds TRD Sport grade for a more stylish, on-road look.
VW GTI and R
The original hot hatch is back for its eight generation with evolutionary exterior design and a high-tech interior that will wow loyalists. GTI and Golf R are the last remaining Golf models in the U.S. market as VW introduces its Taos SUV. The hatchbacks sport a standard, digital 10.25-inch cluster and big infotainment screen. GTI’s signature “golf ball” manual shifter remains while the automatic gets a Porsche-like chicklet shifter. GTI pumps out an increased 241 horses from its turbo-4 while all-wheel-drive Golf R boasts 315 ponies.
Other vehicles making their auto show debuts include the Chevrolet Bolt EUV, Honda Odyssey, Jeep Grand Wagoneer, Kia Carnival, Lexus NX, Nissan Ariya, Nissan Pathfinder and VW ID.4.
Chicago Auto Show schedule
July 15-18, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.; July 19, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
Location: McCormick Place, West Building, 2301 S. King Drive, Chicago, Illinois
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.