New York Auto Show Returns for 2024 Promising an ‘Electrifying Experience’

NEW YORK — The New York International Auto Show returns once again to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and electric vehicles and new cars from Korea are commanding the spotlight.

Show organizers are promising an “electrifying” experience to visitors.

“The automotive industry is in the midst of a seismic shift towards electrification, and nowhere is this more evident than at the New York Auto Show’s EV Test Track,” the group that runs the show, the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association., said in a statement. “As manufacturers showcase their latest electric vehicles on the track, attendees will have the opportunity to experience the thrill of emissions-free driving firsthand.”

The list of EV manufacturers participating on the test track includes Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, Lucid, Kia, Lexus, Nissan, and Volkswagen.

Volkswagen exhibited the old, a 1949 Käfer, or Beetle…

The show offers the largest indoor EV test track ever built, covering nearly 250,000 square feet (23,226 square meters).

The New York International Auto Show opens to the public on Friday following two press preview days and runs through April 7. The show dates back more than a century and was previously held at the New York Coliseum, the old Madison Square Garden, and the Grand Central Palace.

Organizers said they expect over 1 million visitors to the show, which is, according to their reckoning, New York’s largest publicly attended consumer event and generates hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact for the city and state.

… and the new soon-to-be iconic ID.Buzz, the 2024 interpretation of the original Type 2 Transporter from 1950.

This year’s show will be light on anything new from the high-end automakers who previously would make a big splash here and many are sitting out the show in its entirety.

But all is not lost.  Hyundai and Kia stole the show with a bevy of concept and new cars including the Kia K4, which replaces the Kia Forte; the Genesis GV60 Magma; the Genesis Neolum, a GV90 with futuristic styling elements; the refreshed Hyundai Tucson; and the world debut of the enhanced Hyundai Santa Cruz Sport Adventure vehicle.

The show was also host to three North American debuts for Porsche this year. The new sports cars at a glance are the sporty 911 R; the 718 Boxster, which revisits the concept of the legendary 718 mid-engine sports car; and the new Macan, Porsche’s lightest SUV at only 3,902 pounds (1,770 kg).

Genesis GV60 Magma Concept

Meanwhile, Polestar revealed its luxury SUVs, the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4

For sheer excitement, the Jeep Experience includes a climb up ramp that goes 30 feet in the air, with great views of Manhattan, while Volkswagen will let you get behind the wheel of a remote-controlled car on an isolated track.

Finally, for vintage car enthusiasts, there are motorcars on display that were once owned by celebrities such as Princess Grace, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar and Elvis Presley.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)