PR International Auto Show 2010 (PRIAS)

Plaza Las Américas Revisited.

the 12th annual event is billed as the world’s largest auto mall show, featuring a vast assortment of cars, trucks, SUVs, minivans, hybrids, dragsters, ATVs and motor bikes. All under one roof with an estimated crowd draw of over 1,000,000 folks spread over 2 weeks. This year, it runs from October 18th through the 31st.

Its worth noting that for a mall of over 40 years old, you would never know it by its general appearance. Immaculately maintained and continuously updated, it is a jewel in the crown of San Juan. It reminds me of the main mall in Honolulu. Just as upscale, but not quite as pretentious.

If you were ‘born to shop’, you’ll love it here.

I took the opportunity to check  out a quad-core 27″ iMac at one of the few Apple Resellers on the island as well as the Sony Style store (I shoot with Sony Alpha). I was not here to shop per se, but to scope out the car show.

We were there on Sunday, October 24th.

This mall always has a crowd and Sunday was no different. Folks from all walks of life were there to checkout the new rides on display.  It made for a very festive atmosphere.

Cars, etcetera

Every major automotive manufacturer was represented with a few I had only read about.  2011 models were on the floor from- GM with Cadillac, Ford with Lincoln, Chrysler with Dodge and Jeep, Toyota, Hyundai, Scion, Suzuki, Mazda, Kia, Subaru, and Smart were all represented as well as Lexus, Mercedes, Jaguar and Maserati. Yes, Maserati.

There were oversize ATVs from Bennche and bikes from Harley Davidson too.

Of particular note, vehicles on display included the all new Ford Explorer and Ford Focus as well as the redesigned Ford Edge. A bright red Shelby Cobra also drew a lot of attention. GM had their 2012 Cruze on display. Suzuki’s Kizashi Sport was very stylish looking. I particularly liked the ‘boxy’ 4 door Scion on display. The black Mercedes E350 convertible was gorgeous, as was the gun-metal gray gull-wing SLS-Class sports car. Of course, the yellow Maserati looked like it was doing 90mph, standing still.

Ford had the largest display area and had set up a computer driven, driver’s simulation machine. It featured 3 displays and a pneumatic suspension system to simulate cornering. This drew quite the crowd.

The itsy-bitsy Smart Cars were very popular with the attendees. Folks were hopping in and out to see what they were like. There was even a convertible model.

Jeeps are way more popular in PR than I thought they would be. Especially the soft-top 4 door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited models. Jeep had several new models on display in addition to the Wranglers.

Mech-Tech, a local automotive service training entity had two of their dragsters on display. I hope to get shots of those on the track in the near future.

Harley Davidson had 3 of their more exotic bikes on the floor. Big street bikes and bike clubs are extremely popular here in Puerto Rico

You see them everywhere. Especially on the weekends.

This annual event
is a real crowd pleaser.

If you find yourself needing to kill a couple hours while in San Juan, Plaza Las Américas
is a great place to do it. There’s always something going on.