Lane's SCA - Chicago Auto Show 1999

A bunch of Saturn Performance Club members got together for the weekend of Feb 13 1999 at the Deebs Compound near Chicago, IL. We gathered from New York, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan to attend the annual Chicago Auto Show as well as discuss some serious Saturn performance. We'd all like to thank the SPC and its sponsors for providing complimentary tickets to the auto show as well as breakfast and lodging for the weekend.

Attendees included Jamin (NY), Lane (WI), Deebs (IL), Wallyman (MI), and Mike P (IL). George (IL) is not pictured. In addition to the attending the auto show, we spent some serious time discussing thoughts on Saturn performance and planning for the upcoming June Rally.

The auto show was really packed on Saturday. It was difficult to take any pictures without having people in the way. There were a great deal of beautiful concept cars and 2000 models exhibited by all the manufacturers. Some vehicles that really stood out included a Lincoln 'pickup', the Honda S2000 roadster, a few Panoz cars, the new Thunderbird, and a few Mercedes convertibles with lots of leather.

While at the show, we also stopped by the local SCCA chapter's booth to confirm the SPC's involvement in their upcoming driving school. Be sure to check out the SPC's website for details on both the Rally and the driving school.

Chrysler had quite a few beautiful cars at the show (as usual). The Dodge Neon RT and the Dodge Charger Concept vehicles are shown above.

Dodge Powerwagon concept (25k)

This is the Dodge Power Wagon concept vehicle. This thing was huge. You can see more pictures and additional information on Chrysler's concept vehicles HERE.

At the right is a look inside the SPS/Saturn 1999 RAD concept vehicle. The black and red leather interior really gets your attention. For a description and some great pictures, check out the press release on SPS's site or see Brian's writeup here. Bob also has some nice NY auto show pics here.

Saturn concept interior (26k)

Back at SPC headquarters, Wally was quite intrigued by the 'Turbo Zet', one of the many parts sent in for dyno testing. Needless to say, we were less than impressed with it's construction, much less it's performance claims.

My compliments go to Wally for resisting the urge to go out into the driveway and start tearing apart his car. He was even able to wait two days before calling Sierra to order a whole bunch of new toys.

Wally (18k)

Since Deebs' nitrous-powered machine had a fresh engine rebuild and some firm suspension enhancements (ala Carrera and H&R), several of us had the opportunity to take it for a spirited drive. No pictures are available, and they probably would have been blurry anyway.

You can find more information on the Chicago Auto Show HERE. Be sure to check my site regularly for my take on upcoming Saturn Performance Club events. We hope you'll consider joining us, so be sure to visit the SPC site for details on future events.