2025 New York Auto Show

Manufacturer investment and participation in auto shows has been in decline for a while now. The New York Auto Show however motors on due to its adjacency to media HQ’s and the sizable tri-state consumer population. 2025 marks the 125th anniversary of the show’s first edition, held in 1900 at Madison Square Garden. Would this coincide with a magical return to the excesses of auto show experiences of the past? Sadly no, it was a fairly pared back event.

The majority of press reveals came from either the Hyundai group or Subaru. The former with some affordable small cars for Kia(including a shocking hatchback) and a new top end SUV for Hyundai. The Palisade loses the enormous front grille and vertical lights in favor of a subtler overall styling. The exception are the 2d looking front and rear lights which in my opinion attract too much attention and don’t allow the eye to flow over the exterior. I’ll nit pick and say that either 5 or 7 horizontal light bars would have looked more interesting.

Subaru is wading further deeper in the maximalist design pool with the new Outback and Wilderness edition of the Toyota-derived refreshed Solterra.

Genesis stayed with tradition and debuted a new concept car, the X Gran Equator. The proportions are odd for an SUV, with the long hood and compressed cabin. The front doors look particularly small. Maybe this should have been a 2-door in the vein of a Jeep Wrangler or Land Rover Defender. The front end seems unresolved as well. Why put square lights inside a round bezel? Still, good on Genesis for bringing not only this concept but the new GMR-001 racecar destined to compete in the WEC and IMSA Hypercar class in 2026.

One other highlight of the show was getting to see and climb in a Fiat Topolino. Not available in the US, it’s a golf cart-sized 2 passenger car that bucks the trend of insanely complicated vehicles. It’s bare bones but with a lot of style and clever design solutions. The doors for instance are a single symmetrical part, just installed so the drivers side is rear hinged and the passenger is front hinged. This negates the use of roll down windows so there are lower panes that flap open instead. The seats are essentially plastic chairs with some padded cushions applied. The dash is very simple, topped by an upholstered lid for a storage area. If it were more robust, it’d be a perfect car-sharing vehicle for NYC.

Coverage will continue with a look at all the classics, supercars and customs posting in a few days.

Photos and Text: Dave Pinter