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The 2021 LA Auto Show media days began Wednesday, Nov. 17, marking the first major automotive show of the season after a two-year COVID-19 pandemic. The Weekly Driver Podcast was in attendance for the first of our daily episodes.
A few minutes after the show opened, co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia visited various halls at the Los Angeles Convention Center. We viewed the new models of legacy brands, Ford to Chevrolet, Honda to Chrysler. And we viewed a slew of current and pending (maybe) electric vehicles — high-end Porsche to moderately priced Hyundai, the Mullen Five (2024?) to the 2022 Lucid Air, the MotorTrend Car of the Year.
As the first LA Auto Show since November 2019, differences in this year’s show were readily apparent from the last edition.
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LA Auto Show: Electric Cars Galore
The emphasis on electric vehicles from more manufacturers is an overriding theme. Matted color palates are also more prevalent.
The Weekly Driver Podcast has hosts offer our opinions as we meander from manufacturer to manufacturer.
We observed the new Mustang Mach E, the new, bigger and the more plush Lincoln Navigator and its competitor, the Jeep Wagoneer.
As for electric vehicles, newbies include the Kia EV9, Fisker Ocean, Nissan Ariya, Subaru Solterra, Toyota bX4X and Vietnamese startup VinFast.
Of course, where’s the new, there’s usually old. Among the vast array of new Porsches in the Germany manufacturer’s segregated hall, a wondrous barn find — a vintage 1960 Porsche 356, 1,600 Super 90 resplendent in dents and patina.
LA Auto Show: Public Show, 10 Days
Following another media-only day, the public show will be held Nov. 19-28. For show details, visit: www.laautoshow.com.
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Hosted by James Raia and Bruce Aldrich, The Weekly Driver Podcast dives deep into the highways and byways of the automotive world. Each week, we put you in the driver’s seat, exploring unique, unusual, and often untold stories from across the industry’s spectrum.
Article Last Updated: November 20, 2023.
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.
