2022 Portland Auto Show


After a hiatus in 2021 (I think I'm remembering that correctly-what year is it?) the Portland Auto Show was back for 2022. This is always a highlight of the year for me as I'm definitely a car enthusiast and it's a great opportunity to see a ton of cars in a centralized location and to be able to examine them, sit in them, test for fitment, ask questions of the representatives, etc. I'll take this blog post as a forum to discuss what I liked, what I thought could be improved, and (of course) to share some images.


I'll start by saying that I'm really grateful this event happened and both my good friend, Michael, and I had a blast. For us there were a few stars to the show and the things that I really liked:

  • Pretty good variety of makes/models
  • Not too busy (we went on Thursday evening)
  • Porsche (whether old or new there were some really great ones) My favorite was probably the new Taycan Turbo EV and the guy working the booth was a blast-told us about picking his Cayman up from the factory in Germany and spending two weeks there goofing around on the Autobahn
  • Chevy Suburban (such a swanky people hauler)
  • Toyota Supra (with the funky paint)
  • Ford Mustang (remember when 300 HP was nearly impossible under $100k)
  • KIA EV6 (I'm VERY excited to see the GT version this fall)
  • Nissan Pathfinder (thanks for turning this back in to an SUV and not a glorified minivan)
  • Ford Mustang Mach E GT (a car I'd seriously give some thought to were I in the market)
  • BMW i4 (love that the Germans actually give you head room)



There were some things that I would really like to see the Portland Auto Show address and I'll tackle those here:

  • More brands. Hyundai was missing (really wanted to see their IONIQ 5), Genesis was missing (wanted to compare the G70 to my Stinger), Acura was missing, Mercedes was missing (not that I'd buy one), Cadillac was missing, Audi was missing, Range Rover was (mostly) missing, and there's probably a few I'm forgetting
  • Have all the cars opened/powered
  • The RAM TRX was locked
  • The C8 Corvette was locked (at least have the option to check this out if you don't want 8 year olds ransacking it)
  • The Ford Lightning was off limits/locked (that's a serious contender for next car for us)
  • The EV's (KIA and Ford) in the "Electric Avenue" were barely open and definitely not powered to move seats, see screens, etc.)
  • RAMs were there with dead batteries so you couldn't adjust anything

Make a good event a great event, please


I definitely don't want to give an overall negative impression but I have to say that I was, and continue to be disappointed by the Portland Auto Show. Year after year they continue to not have the vehicles displayed as best they could and it's a place where people like myself can get a really good impression of what a car might be like without being hassled by a dealer. Have the cars, have them open, and have them powered up. Battery chargers and/or DC power supplies are cheap so do it right.