Small Car

Jill and Tom welcome Chicago Auto Show Communications Director Jim OBrill to the show. Jim talks about the changing nature of the major auto shows, and what’s on tap for this year’s Chicago event. 

Rolled out in 2024, the Wagoneer S brought Americans their first electric Jeep. Roughly the same size as the maker’s Grand Cherokee, the Wagoneer S also served a similar mission, that of premium midsize crossover. Note that the 2-row electric crossover was not the first Jeep EV. European consumers have had access the compact Jeep Avenger EV since 2023, though that model, not offered with AWD, was not considered for U.S.-market Jeep customers.

With automaker marketing budgets likely remaining tight, we expect most auto shows to continue in a scaled-back state relative to the days before the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, they will go on, and here’s a list of the places and dates where major-market shows will happen in the US and Canada.

This small electric SUV is serving as a signal the South Korean automaker could create a dedicated sub-brand for its XRT line of off-road-themed vehicles. Such a move has been successful for other car companies, including GMC and Subaru with their Denali and Wilderness models, respectively. Hyundai offers XRT versions of the Palisade, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, and Tucson so it would make sense for the company to attempt some kind of spinoff.  

The Polestar brand may not yet be familiar to you, but we hope it will be soon. The start-up spin-off of Volvo, now dedicated to producing only premium electric vehicles, is owned—more or less entirely—by Chinese carmaker Geely. And though not well known in the U.S., Geely owns Volvo, and also sells vehicles—mostly in China—under the Geely, Zeekr, Proton, and Lynk & Co. brands. Geely also now owns British design and engineering firm Lotus.