Honda Prelude. No, the power train is not exciting. But this maybe had the best interior and comfiest seats that I tried out. Build quality seemed strong. Hatchback is actually huge and the rear seats fold totally flat. You can fit a lot of stuff in this, so if you just wanna drive a no nonsense cpupe and still ha e room for your stuff, this is it. It is a pretty car overall. Based on some short conversations I had, some old Prelude fans didn't seem to hate it after witnessing it in person.
Alfa Romeo Tonale. New facelift, and this new Speciale model that has the cool three hole wheels (a throwback to a much older wheel design and also I'm guessing to make it similar to the Junior) and a really neat interior color scheme, and some new seats that seem better than the old ones. Tonale also seems to be stanced lower than before and actually seems like a small hatchback now, less a CUV. I think oems are just afraid to use the word hatchback now or something. Can't wait until it depreciates into my price bracket!
Fiat 500e. New colors for 2026. Really fun. I still love sitting in this car. Just wish it had more range for the price. Also the white interior is cool, but you could tell it was dirty from everyone getting in and out. An unfortunate reality of some light colored interiors. Overall I still think these are cool, just impractical for me. They also had a classic 500 on display, which is just sooo tiny. Smaller than these of course, though about the same size as that upcoming Topolino.
Jeep Recon. Lobe the wheels. This is the MOAB version. The Recon is like if you take a Cherokee and give it removable windows and doors to cross it over to a Wrangler. Also ahas a huge moon roof, although it is a fixed roof. I don't think you can replace the Wrangler's true convertible nature, but this seems like a pretty decent middle ground and I'm all for more weird and quirky vehicle types. So keep on the weirdness.
Alright, so a couple actual vehicles that seemed interesting at the Chicago Auto Show. As much fun as it is to make fun of Stellantis quality they are at least interesting to look at. See alt texts.
[ #cars #chicagoautoshow #prelude #alfaromeo #fiat #jeep #cas2026 #Chicago ]
