MILWAUKEE — Cars of the past, present, and future currently fill every level of the Baird Center as the Milwaukee Auto Show gets underway.
Several of the major automobile manufacturers come to shows like this one to unveil their current and upcoming models. Electric vehicles are present in nearly every section of the display, as well as cars from the 60s and 70s.
Most guests come to see what the next invention out of Detroit is, but it’s a deeper connection for others.
Brent Lewis came from Chicago for the show, and said he’s always had a passion for automobiles. “My office at work is all Hot Wheels, car posters on the wall, and all that stuff,” Lewis said, even though he doesn’t work in the car industry.
“Plenty of people just see cars as a means to an end, Point A to Point B,” Lewis said. “And then there’s people out there for whom the car is more of an experience. It has a personality, and that’s why coming to the Auto Show is great.”
While Lewis marveled at the new cars available on the third floor of the Baird Center, classic cars were aplenty on the ground floor.
Dan Skopp and his friends brought classic Corvettes to the show. Skopp’s was from 1995, and said people have a respect for the artistry it takes to make a car: “It’s the styling, its the look of the car,” Skopp said. “It’s not necessarily the make, although I am kind of prejudiced for the Corvette. But if it’s a nice looking car, it’s a really good looker.”
Bob Bennett of Bennett Coachworks said restoring classic cars is a great hobby because of the individuality allowed to the driver. “There are people in our shop right now spending more money on their 1978 Suburbans than it costs to buy a brand new Suburbans,” said Bennett. “But when it’s all done it’s going to be built exactly the way they want it.”
The Milwaukee Auto Show will be in town until March 3, 2024. On Friday, March 1, Wisconsin’s Afternoon News will broadcast live from the Baird Center from 3 – 6pm.
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