February 17: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
- Adults: $10
- Seniors (62+): $5
- Children (7-12): $5
- Children 6 and under are free when accompanied by a paid adult.
Parking lots surrounding McCormick Place are $17 a day, cash only.
On the weekends, there are also shuttles running from the Millennium Park parking garage to the show. Rate is $14.
The Chicago Auto Show, being the largest in North America, draws almost every possible auto maker eager to show off their new line of cars and concept vehicles. Utilizing over 1.3 million square feet of exhibit space at McCormick Place, it's crammed with cars, trucks, and SUVs, most readily available for visitors to climb in and check out the feeling behind the wheel (alas, you can't actually start or drive them). While this is great fun for auto buffs, it has a practical purpose as well -- when shopping for a new car it's nice to be able to sit in a number of different models and rule out certain ones due to lack of leg room, undesirable interior finishes, etc., without having to drive around to numerous dealerships.
But the big hits are the concept cars and the revealing of new production models. A number of vehicles make their production debuts at the show, and the concept cars are trotted out to gain press for the auto makers.
Trivia tidbit: the Chicago Auto Show went on hiatus from 1943 - 1950, as interest in cars took a backseat to the production of tanks and military vehicles during World War II. This explains the 7 year discrepancy between the start date of 1901 and the anniversary number.
