The Cars of CES 2012

The Cars of CES 2012

Having attended CES many times in the past ten years it’s been fascinating to see how the car has increasingly become an integral part of the electronics industry. Cars only used to be seen in the audio section where companies, such as Pioneer and Sony, displayed their aftermarket audio systems. It struck me that this section of the show has actually shrunk as auto companies install more sophisticated entertainment systems directly into the new cars they are selling.

In the past few days we’ve heard several manufacturers describe how they plan to connect cars with the internet and with other cars as well as the road infrastructure. Because of this an increasing number of auto companies are creating their own displays at CES as they want to reach out to customers in the electronics world.

Despite a serious conflict with CES going on at the same time as the Detroit Auto Show there were plenty of people who managed to split their time between the two shows.

Here’s a snapshot of a few of the cars and displays at CES.
First off was this 1939 Crosley I caught at the Crosley radio booth. Your great grandfather might remember Crosley as a manufacturer of radios and cars. Well, the company has been revived and it is producing replica “old fashioned” radio sets. It has not yet announced a return to building old cars.

At the other extreme, Audi had the most dazzling exhibit as it displayed several models. It also snuck in a sneak peek of the dashboard in the upcoming 2013 Audi A3 that will be unveiled at the 2012 Geneva Auto Show.


Mercedes-Benz showed off its idea of a future dashboard in an unusually lit pod alongside the F125 concept car and the new SL.


Next door, Ford displayed the 2013 Fusion that was simultaneously unveiled in Detroit. It was also designated as the official car of CES.

I even found a Ferrari on display – it was on the stand of a company selling official Ferrari-branded headphones and other audio accessories.

Kia had a display that included the Ray EV that is only being made available in Korea.

Chrysler displayed several of its cars outside while promoting Uconnect, its telematics/infotainment system.

Honestly I lost count of how many cars were on display throughout the 1.86 million sq.-ft. of displays at the 2012 International CES. It was obviously far less than the number of new TVs, tablets, cameras or sound systems on display. However, cars were far more popular than refrigerators or washing machines, which was encouraging.