2017 St. Louis Auto Show

The St. Louis Auto Show is the premiere showcase of cars in the Midwest, and the largest car event in the St. Louis area that draws a crowd of thousands in a single weekend every January. The show features over 500 new cars, trucks, SUVs, and luxury vehicles from over 25 worldwide manufacturers, as well as a guest appearance from professional drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr. While it's no L.A. or Detroit auto show, there were still a few exciting new things this year.

First, Lincoln brought out their most recent model of thier flagship car, the Continental. One of the first things to notice about the elegantly designed vehicle is their all-new single piece signature grill. While this may seem like an irrelevant detail now, it will soon become the face of Lincoln styling, as they will incorporate it into all new models. Lincoln has delivered on their luxury status, as both the front and rear seats have heated, cooled, and massaging features. But they haven’t forgotten entirely about performance, as this new model comes with a 3.0L twin turbo V6 engine that produces 400hp and 400ft/lb of torque. Combine this with technology such as the Lincoln drive control, dynamic torque vectoring, and adaptive steering, to give the driver a smooth and responsive ride with plenty of power. The new Lincoln Continental should not be overlooked.

Toyota made a bold move earlier this year to kill off their Scion brand; however, they are bringing a few models back under new titles. One of these throwback cars is the new Toyota 86, formerly recognized as the Scion FRS. This two door, front engine, rear wheel drive sports car is a tribute to Toyota’s 1986 Corolla which featured the same mechanical design. While the new 86 looks a lot like the FRS, there are a few changes. The front lower grill fans out wider where fog lights used to be, and new headlights and taillights give the car more width visually. The car comes with an option for both an automatic and a manual gearbox, which we manual-lovers are happy to hear. The manual version puts out 205hp and 156ft/lb of torque. However, the new 86 comes in essentially one trim style and option range, not allowing for upgrades like leather, climate control systems, etc. Whereas this is available in its main competitor, the Subaru BRZ.

Honda revealed their brand new Civic Hatchback in concept form back in 2016 at the Geneva Auto Show, but has finally brought it to the States, and you can preview it at the St. Louis Auto Show. The 10th generation Civic comes in both coupe and sedan forms both hoping to capture back the classic young Civic feel. Car and Driver even rumors it to be a sneaky preview of the highly anticipated Civic Type-R. It comes equipped with a 2.0L turbocharged engine packing in 300hp in a six-speed manual transmission. I stand right alongside Honda in hoping that this new hot hatch will bring back some of the Civic’s forgotten cool factor.

My third year at the STL Auto Show was another good one, and I look forward to what next year has in store. Until then, I'll just leave a few pictures here for you to enjoy.