Shannon Gordinier
2016 was a great year for FCA at the Chicago Auto Show. Both the crowd favorite Camp Jeep track and the City Drive, a showcase of FCA’s Dodge, Chrysler, and Fiat brands, were in full force at the show.
Both tracks gave guests the opportunity to ride in the newest vehicles offered by FCA, with Gordinier Group drivers behind the wheel. Tasked with delivering detailed information about each vehicle while piloting guests up over and through technical obstacles, the GG drivers made countless positive impressions on CAS guests. The tracks operated at full capacity, bell-to-bell, for 10 days, setting a new record for registered guests at an auto show ride and drive.
Camp Jeep –
The Camp Jeep track is always a big hit in Chicago. This is no surprise, given the infusion of massive amounts of organic material (dirt, boulders, mulch) alongside the mobile properties that make Camp Jeep a thrilling ride that shows off the brand’s off-road prowess. The track features an 18-foot tall, pass-through mountain, staircase, Trail Rated pass, side-hill traverse, breakover and several other challenging obstacles.
City Drive –
The 2016 CAS City Drive track gave customers the chance to experience a ride in 2017 FCA vehicles such as Chrysler 300 and Pacifica, Dodge Charger and Challenger, or Fiat 500 and Spider 124. The track featured an ambient sound zone, vehicle info center, and everyone’s favorite, the acceleration/braking strip.
1/27/16 – 2/1/16
Located 160 miles southwest of Denver, the 20th Annual Winter X-Games took place in Aspen, CO. More than 200 of the world’s best action sports athletes competed in skiing, snowboarding and snowmobile events at Buttermilk Mountain for the premier Winter X-Games event.
Jeep offered event guests, athletes, and VIPs the opportunity to experience the 2016 vehicle lineup while traveling from downtown Aspen to the mountain venue. 12 shuttle vehicles were used, consisting of a mix of Wrangler, Grand Cherokee, Cherokee and Renegade vehicles. Consumer data was collected by Gordinier Group trained drivers, who provided product information during the ride.
The free shuttle service is always a hit in Aspen, particularly on the weekend, after attendees recognize the wrapped vehicles swarming around town.
Amidst the fabulous winter backdrop of Aspen and the buzz of Winter X-Games, the Jeep shuttle service was a huge success again in 2016!
1/30 – 2/2/16
Always up for a challenge, Gordinier Group was brought in on a very interesting ride & drive program for the launch of the HX series from International Truck. The HX is a heavy duty series of work trucks setting the standard in premium service vehicles.
One of the major selling points of this new line of trucks is the driver-centric design of the cab, with features such as an angled console, LED lighting, and DriverFirst cab suspension which gives a super plush and quiet ride.
It’s hard to tell the story of a cab like this without actually letting people experience it from behind the wheel, and that’s where the Gordinier Group was called in.
The vehicle was unveiled at the World of Concrete show in Las Vegas. Select dealers and media personnel were invited to a special showing offsite at a makeshift construction site. What guests didn’t know was that George P Johnson Company had staged a heist stunt with the trucks and the International execs were in on the stunt (see video below to see how it played out).
When the stunt was finished, Gordinier Group activated a truck test drive with the entire lineup, using an off-road construction site/course that was used in the stunt. This was a challenging proposition. With a large crowd of dealers and journalists who were very anxious to drive the trucks and very tight timeline, the test drive needed to run smoothly and efficiently. Furthermore, many of the reporters had never driven heavy duty work trucks with manual transmissions.
The event went off without a hitch and the guests loved driving the new trucks. Successful commercial truck test drive – check!
OCIAS in full swing with Disnneyland fireworks in the sky
While 2016 is still down the road a bit, the Orange County International Auto Show Camp Jeep is our unofficial kick off to the 2016 auto show season.
After a very busy summer with Ram Truck, Acura and Harley Davidson, Gordinier Group drivers changed gears and got back into their Jeeps – where most of our pro drivers got their start.
There were some concerns with our location in Anaheim this year (we were behind the hall instead of inside), but the Anaheim crowds were good to us once again, as Camp Jeep once again eclipsed the previous years’ metrics.
After OCIAS, the team will head south to the Miami International Auto Show. The ‘pre-season’ then closes out at Orlando, FL at the Central Florida International Auto Show, followed by the 2016 season opener – the San Diego International Auto Show.
Orange County International Auto Show – October 15-18
Miami International Auto Show – November 6-15
Central Florida International Auto Show – November 25-30
San Diego International Auto Show -December 31 – January 3
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- 2015 – Orange County AS – Trail Rated Pass
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- 2015 Miami Auto Show
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- Anaheim 2015