gregtyree.com

Well today I visited the AJC Auto Show here in Atlanta and wasn’t able to accomplish what I wanted.  Now for those that know me I am quite tall, so as expected I need the seat all the way back to get in to most any car.  My beef is that many of the cars at the show have the batteries disconnected (or are allowed to drain completely) such that you can’t move the power seats.  I can understand not wanting anyone to crank up a car or otherwise take advantage of keys, but what harm can come from letting potential buyers see how the car fits them. 

I had my short list of cars ready to check out and only two of six had power available.  This seems a small thing that any major automaker would want to handle - as a buyer I come to easily check out the cars I find interesting - so why not make it easy to do.  You can’t demonstrate power features and other electronics (now that navigation systems are so common why not show them off) that would help sway potential buyers.

Kudos to Mazda who actually had someone that travels around doing the car shows.  He (I think his name was Phil) was very knowledgeable and even got the key out for us to check out everything.  Others weren’t so helpful or prepared. 

With my Honda Odyssey now 3.5 years old I am looking and thought this venue would let me get an initial impression about all on my list - but it didn’t.  Now I have to decide if I want to visit a dealer just to sit in and see if it has enough room.  As someone looking to buy a new car in the coming months the auto show failed me.