Is An Auto Show Any Different On A Press Days?

When people ask me what I do, I come out and say the truth: I’m an automotive journalist. Unfortunately, the job of an automotive journalist has been misused, abused and now seemingly refers to as being a “YouTuber that makes crappy videos about cars.” Now, I am no YouTuber, but I’m the type of automotive journalist that actually writes about cars for a website. However, when people realize that I’m do things with cars, they have some kind of unrealistic notion that I drive the most expensive, fastest and craziest cars in the world (Top Gear). For those that are wondering, that’s not even close to what I do.

What I actually do, is spend countless hours researching, digging and probing for the latest news. I then have to write a few paragraphs on the topic as quickly as I possibly can. While I have driven a few vehicles, they haven’t been for reviews nor were they incredible supercars. I knew this going into journalism, so I’m not exactly disappointed by the true nature of the job. In fact, I’m looking forward to going to my first Auto Show as a journalist.

Before I became an automotive journalist, I would usually go to the Washington D.C. Auto Show as a regular pedestrian. Unlike the Detroit Auto Show or any other one that takes place in the US, the one that takes place in D.C. is an utter joke. Instead of using the capital of the US as a place to reveal cars, automakers bring old, boring vehicles to the D.C. Auto Show. It’s been the same case for the past five years since I’ve been going and I doubt this year will be any different, except for one major thing.

This will be the first time I will be attending an auto show as a journalist with my very own press pass. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to attend an Auto Show from a journalist’s perspective. I also purchased a DSLR to capture all of the behind-the-scenes goodness that comes with being a journalist. Here’s to hoping the D.C. Auto Show will have some proper cars this year.