I know we are already in the month of February, for the year of 2016, but a couple weeks ago my 2016 auto and photography season started with the Philadelphia Auto Show. Since I have had my license (2007) I have been going to this show to check out the new cars, and with the horrible winters the Northeast gets, it was a perfect way to give me something to do. For years, I always went on the first weekend of the show , as Ford had its Mustang Club breakfast, and let you check out the newest Mustang. That was fun for a couple years, but after dealing with the Saturday crowds, along with trying to drive through the city with a manual, the show Saturday trip started to get old, quick. Fast forward to recently, I have had the luck to get into media day thanks to the help of friends over at Stang Magazine.

Media days are a whole different animal, with many main stream media outlets, along with small and mainly social media outlets there. Having some experience from last years Philly and New York media days I was better planned on what photos to get, and after looking at what car companies were doing talks there I planned out most of my day. So now its the morning of media day for the show, and you would think me taking off work I would get to sleep in......nope. Up at 5am and out the door to go fight for a parking spot at the super small Levittown Train Station in Pennsylvania. Grab the train and relax on the hour train ride into Philly. Finally after getting to the Convention center, and getting my morning Dunkin Donuts run I checked in at the media booth, got my credentials, and rushed into the place to see what cars where there. As always,the day starts out with the Philly Auto Show Chairman David Kelleher welcoming, and giving an introduction to the media day. After that its really up to you what you want to do. You can follow the band wagon to each auto maker talking or you can just go off on your own.

Knowing I wanted to see what was on the show floor, especially the classic area, I soon made my trip around the auto show floor seeing what each auto maker brought. From the Dodge Charger Hellcat to the Fiat 124 Spider and even a very interesting car from Alfa Romeo, the Giulia Quadrifoglio, which didn't even look like something Alfa Romeo would make. Not to mention the Pope Papals Fiat, he used in Philly along with Bon Jovis customized Dodge Viper, the auto show definitely had some interesting cars. The one other item I did notice was how built up the displays were this year, for the show. Unlike years past where most cars were just plopped there, they actually had some nice background designs and made it feel as a more up class show such as New York or Detroit.

Aside from all this I finally made it to what I was dying to see at the show. The Simeone Foundation Museum, located in south Philly, brought some amazing American Racing history. Standing before me was the 1965 Cobra Daytona Coupe, Ford GT 40 Mark II, and the Ford GT Mark IV. Even though I have seen these cars at the museum, to have them all together in one place along with the 2005 Ford GT was amazing to see. So much of American and Ford racing history sitting in one spot. The 1965 Cobra Daytona Coupe is 1 of 6 cars Shelby built to compete in the World Sportcar Championship and the only one out of the 6 completely built on American soil. This car has never been restored, and is left in the way it looked over 50 years ago when it last raced. It has also became the first car to make the National Historic Vehicle Registry. The other two Ford GTs, even though they are not the ones that won Le Mans, they still raced there, and have plenty of racing history to make them amazing cars to see.

For the first automotive event of the season for me, the Philly Auto Show was a great event! This is one event I always look forward to. Most importantly.....it tells me the 2016 automotive season is here and I cant wait to see whats ahead! Make sure yo check out the gallery I posted with all my photos from the show and look forward to bringing more content here!

Begining of the 2016 season!!!