CHICAGO (CBS) — Mayor Emanuel cut the ribbon to open the 106th edition off the Chicago Auto Show at McCormick Place.
Emanuel said this is the largest Auto Show to take place in Chicago since the recession began, and said Chicago is the perfect place to host the largest show of its kind, because of Ford’s long-time tie to the city, its Torrance Avenue Assembly Plant.
After he cut the ribbon, along with Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who noted that the auto industry accounts for 20,000 jobs in Cook County, they took a look at some of Torrance Avenue’s products. First, he got comfortable in the driver’s seat of a black Explorer. He ended up having to peer into the Police Interceptor sedan and SUV versions, both of which were marked, “Locked for your protection.”
When he said that the city will be buying more Interceptors, it prompted several salesmen to ask the mayor for his business card. He stopped briefly to sit in a Dodge Dart, made at Chrysler Group’s Belvidere Assembly Plant, and then left.
The show will run daily through Feb. 17.
